AGRICULTURE IN VEDIC INDIA: SOME BASIC FACTS
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Abstract
Agriculture is the source of perpetual creation on which civilization depends. It has a dominant role in the Indian trade and economy from very ancient times. In India, it is a way of life, unique and irreplaceable in human values. The history and evolution of agriculture is inextricably interwoven with the progress of civilization because it was the taking up of agriculture that made it possible for primitive man to live in selected spots, forming a society and growing a significant portion of his food nearby. In developing crop and animal husbandry, man learned to supplement his own physical capability with that of domesticated animals. This enabled human beings to find a certain amount of leisure to create the initial ingredients of what is known as civilization.
Agriculture is based on the cultivation of domesticated plants and keeping of domestic animals. Domestication, thus, is a key social practice that defines agriculture, but agriculture is more than domestication. Development in agricultural traits is a long term process having fundamental social and economic significances. The present paper concentrates on the state of agricultural practices in Vedic India.References
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