RAS question
In the Later Vedic Period, the 'Sabha' evolved into:
Correct answer: (C) A council of elders/elites.
In the Later Vedic Period, the Sabha evolved into a more exclusive council of elders and elites.
Explanation
The Sabha was not merely a ritual space or a mass meeting. Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia of India explains that sabha and samiti were Vedic terms for a gathering, assembly, or council of people. In the Later Vedic shift, the Sabha moved away from being a broader general assembly and became a more selective body of elders and elites. This fits the wider political change in which the Samiti also lost democratic character and royal authority grew through elaborate rites such as Rajasuya and Ashvamedha. So the best description is a council of elders or elites, not an all-inclusive democratic assembly.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Calling the Sabha a religious body is too narrow, because Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia of India describes sabha as a gathering, assembly, or council, while its Later Vedic form was an elite council rather than a purely ritual institution.
- (B) A democratic assembly of all is the opposite of the stated Later Vedic trend, since the Sabha became more exclusive and the Samiti also lost democratic character.
- (D) A military council is unsupported, because sabha is framed as an assembly or council rather than a specialised war body.
Concept
This tests the evolution of Vedic political institutions, especially how assemblies changed as kingship became stronger. RAS often asks this because Sabha, Samiti and royal rituals are standard markers for the shift from Early to Later Vedic polity.