In the Vedic age, the term 'Takshan' was used for a:

In the Vedic texts, the term "Takshan" refers to a carpenter, a worker who shaped wood.

About the Takshan:

• The word comes from the root "taksh", meaning "to cut" or "to fashion".
• Carpenters were very important in the Vedic period, as they made chariots, carts, houses, ploughs, and wooden vessels used in sacrifices.
• The Rigveda often compares the composition of a hymn to the work of a carpenter who builds a chariot.
• In the later Vedic period, the carpenter was sometimes counted among the officials honoured by the king (ratnins) in some lists.
• The god Tvashtri was considered the divine craftsman, who made the weapons of the gods.

Crafts and occupations in the Vedic period:

• "Rathakara": chariot-maker.
• "Karmara": metal-smith.
• "Kulala": potter.
• "Vaya": weaver.
• "Charmanna" or "charmakara": leather-worker.
• "Hiranyakara": goldsmith.
• "Vapta": barber.
• "Bhishaj": physician.

In the early Vedic period, these occupations were not hereditary and were not linked to a fixed social position; a Rigvedic hymn mentions a family in which the father is a physician, the mother grinds grain and the son is a poet.

In the later Vedic period, occupations gradually became associated with particular groups, and some crafts were looked down upon.

Importance of the chariot:

• The chariot was very important in warfare, races and rituals, so the rathakara and takshan were valued craftsmen.
• The rathakara had a special status in some rituals.

Crafts in the later Vedic period:

• With the use of iron, new crafts developed.
• Painted Grey Ware pottery was made by skilled potters.
• Weaving was done mainly by women.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The potter was called "kulala".
• ✗The weaver was called "vaya".
• ✗Good to know
• ✗The metal-smith was called "karmara".