Some characteristics of Vedic society were:

a. The political importance of the Harappan city states of the Indus River Valley

b. The settlement of Indo-European-speaking peoples in the lands of Northern India

c. Elaborate religious rituals, mainly articulated in hymns, rhymes, and explanatory texts, called Vedas

d. The growing belief among the priestly caste, discussed in the Upanishads, that souls are reborn and transmigrate into new lives

e. The division of society in four ranked social groups (varna): Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras