Question

In which century did the first movement against Vedic ritualistic practices start?
A.19th century BC
B.14th century BC
C.5th century AD
D. 600 BC

Answer 1

Hint: Vedic religion was initiated when people started worshiping the forces of nature such as the Sun, the Fire, the Wind, the Dawn, the Water, the Rain and Earth as Gods when some of them migrated to India from modern-day Iran. When various religious movements started alongside a total change in economic reforms that were followed in the Gangetic basin, the rituals performed by the followers of Vedic concepts faced backlash. Protests started emerging against these unethical modes of prayers and eventually after numerous religious sects arose in this area, the practices stopped.

Complete answer:
Vedic religion was a cult like religion formed by a group of ancient Indo-European-speaking peoples who migrated to India around 1500 BCE from present-day Iran. The name ‘Vedic’ arose from the collection of texts that they tend to follow, taken from the Vedas. Vedism stands as the oldest religious activity in India with written or engraved evidence. Vedism created a polytheistic sacrificial religion in which the followers worshiped a bunch of male gods and some goddesses. These gods were related to the concepts of natural forces like with the sky and the earth. The higher class of the religion were priests and they were considered as people who had direct contact with Brahmin, the concept of god. Their rituals were followed by the chanting of Vedas and often included sacrifices of animals which were carried out in the ceremony. In extreme cases, they sacrificed humans as well. Rituals like ‘sati’, where a woman is forced to jump into her husband’s grave and ‘purushamedha’, where people were sacrificed for wealth and prosperity were common under this religion.
The deterioration of the Vedic period started when various religious movements started alongside a total change in economic reforms that were followed in the Gangetic basin in 600 BC and started living here. They found the rituals absurd and started following the ‘Upanishads’ in which moksham is said to be obtained through a life dedicated to god.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: Some concepts of Vedic worship remained visible and continued in several aspects of modern Hinduism. The concept of four varnas on the basis of their position in society —the Brahmans (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors or rulers), Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (servants)—persisted in later Hinduism for a long time. Even some of the sacrifices performed in Vedic rites continue to be performed in India occasionally, and the offering of oblations to a sacred fire (homa) is an important element of much modern Hindu worship.