They were deeply impressed by the great phenomena of nature which they conceived as alive and usually represented in anthropomorphic form. They believed in a complex and varied host of gods who were 33 in number. According to much later tradition, they were classified under terrestrial, atmospheric, and celestial groups. Agni, Indra, and Varuna were the respective chief deities. The chief deities in early days grew out of personification of natural phenomena, such as the sky (dyuh), earth (prthivi), sky god (Varuna), god of thunderstorm (Indra), morning and evening stars (Asvins), and goddess of dawn (Usas). With them came the domestic deities including the fire god (Agni) in his three forms (sun in heaven, lightning in atmosphere, and domestic fire on earth). and som a (drought of immortality, sometimes identified with the moon). Later on, abstract deities like Dhatr (Establisher), Vidhata (Ordainer), Prajapati (Lord of creatures), Sraddha (Faith) and Manyu (Wrath) made their appearance. Sometimes gods were conceived as animals, but there is no trace of animal worship. The Vedic Aryans, thus, worshipped a host of gods; but each in turn was worshipped as the highest god.

The Rig-Veda offers no consistent theory regarding, life after death. The dead were either buried or cremated, and according to some passages, dwelt in The Realm of Yama, The King Of The Dead.

There was a remarkable development in the domain of religion and philosophy.

 The simple ceremonial of worship gave place to elaborate sacrifices, a complicated procedure requiring the services of as many as seventeen priests. Some old deities like Varuna and Prthivi passed into insignificance while new ones like Rudra and Vishnu rose to eminence.

        In the later Samhitas and Brahmanas sacrifice dominates the scene. The doctrines of Karma, Maya, transmigration, identify of individual soul with the Universal Soul, and Mukti, which are the foundations of the different systems elaborated by later writers and are accepted as the main tenets of Hinduism, find their first expression in the Upanishads.

        The necessity of a trained class of persons who could perform accurately the elaborate and complicated ceremonial of the yajnas, led to the growth of a distinct body of learned men who came to be known as Brahmanas and gradually, with increase in number, formed a distinct class in society, highly respected on account of their association with religious duties.

        Another class known as the Kshatriyas who had the supremacy in temporal affairs as the Brahmanas had in spiritual matters. It was inevitable that these two would come to be regarded as occupying a much higher position than the remaining Aryans who therefore formed a separate class known as the Vaisyas (from vis or people). The non-Aryans formed the fourth class in society and came to be known as the sudras.)

In general, it may be said that the power and prestige of the priestly caste (Brahmanas) was on the increase though their claims to supremacy were successfully contested by the Kshatriyas. In consequence, the two castes enjoyed special privileges denied to the Vaisyas and Sudras. Different modes of address were prescribed for the four castes. The rise of numerous arts and crafts as a result of cultural advance resulted in the creation of sub castes based on occupation. Several intermediate castes were also evolved.

Change of caste, though very unusual was not as yet impossible. The higher castes could intermarry with the lower ones, but marriage with Sudras was not approved. The idea of pollution by touch finds expression. Sudras were denied the right to perform sacrifices.

There were still no prohibitions against inter-dining and the caste system had not acquired the rigidity it did in the period of the Sutras.

        The earliest clear reference to the four Asramas of the student, householder, forest hermit, and necluse, is found in the jabala Upanishad. The Chandogya Upanishad clearly refers to the first three Asramas.

        The previous style of dress continued, clothes were also made of silk and were dyed with saffron. The tendency against the eating of meat was gradually gaining ground under the influence of the theory of Karma and transmigration.

        There was deterioration in the position of women. A daughter came to the regarded as ” a source of misery”. Women could not attend the Sabha, they were excluded from inheritance and, along with Sudras, could not own property; whatever was earned by women became the property of their husbands or sons.