Analyze the features of the Later Vedic society and polity: 1. The emergence of large territorial states began as tribes amalgamated, shifting the political focus from jana to janapada. 2. The Samiti and Sabha retained their supreme primitive political authority, completely overriding the growing military and financial powers of the hereditary monarch. 3. The social hierarchy rigidified into four distinct varnas with hereditary occupational boundaries, curtailing the ritual mobility previously observed in early Vedic times. Which of the statements given above are correct?

💡 Solution & Explanation

During the Later Vedic period, tribal assemblies such as Sabha and Samiti lost their political clout and effectiveness as the king accumulated greater authority through elaborate sacrifices like Rajasuya and Ashvamedha. Territorial consolidation transformed nomadic tribal groups into permanent geographical janapadas. The varna system solidified into birth-based strata, establishing Brahmanical dominance over the governing Kshatriyas, producing Vaishyas, and relegating Shudras to servile status. Painted Grey Ware pottery characterizes this cultural phase across the Indo-Gangetic divide.