Q. Consider the following statements:

1. Rig Vedic Polity was essentially a tribal polity.
2. Kings in the Rig Vedic Period did not maintain a standing army.
3. The term ‘Janapada’ is mentioned in the Rig Veda.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?
Answer: 3 Only
Notes: During the Rig Vedic Period, people gave primacy to their tribe called ‘Jana’, which has been mentioned 275 times in the Rig Ved. It is inferred from this fact that the territorial extent of any tribal group was not fixed as being a semi-nomadic pastoralist society, they were regularly moving places. So, statement 1 is correct. In such a tribal society, there would not be enough surplus production which the King could tax in order to set up a standing army. Most of the fighting during the numerous tribal conflicts were done by the irregular militia/ tribal groups called ‘sardha’, ‘grama’, ‘gana’ and ‘vrata’, etc. So, statement 2 is correct. The term 'janpada', which has territorial connotation, does not appear in the Rig Veda, but only in the later-Vedic literature. So, statement 3 is incorrect.