Class 12

History
Theme-I Ch-3
KINSHIP, CASTE & CLASS

Renaissance 2.0
By: Shivang Bharadwaj
 Introduction
• There were several changes in the economic, social and political life between c.600 BCE- 600 CE. All these
changes and the processes that led to the changes can be understood by studying the available texts.
• Few texts paint the picture of social life by narrating contemporary events, social norms and regulations,
and the idea of a society that existed in those times. Mahabharata is one such text. In this chapter, we will
study the various texts and traditions and the contemporary era.
Critical Edition Of Mahabharata

• Noted Indian Sanskrit scholar, V.S. Sukthankar, started an

ambitious project with other scholars to prepare a critical
edition of Mahabharata. He undertook the project in 1919.
• This team organised and collected Sanskrit text manuscripts
from all parts of the country and compiled the pars that were
recurring or found in all versions. Several volumes were
published. This project was done over 47 years.
• The Sanskrit versions had several common elements, and the
regional texts had variations over the years.
 Kinship & Marriage
Family and kin
• Families are not the same. They vary in the number of members, their interrelations and their activities. They are usually based on
blood relations. They share food and resources. This extensive network is termed kin.
Patriliny
• Patriliny means tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on. The concept of Patriliny existed before the composition of
the epic Mahabharata. But the epic sheds new light on the idea when it ends with the war between a group of cousins, and one side
ends victoriously. Patrilineal succession was proclaimed. Later, kings and dynasties tried to follow the same concept of Patriliny.
Sons succeeded their fathers; there were instances of a brother coming to the throne after the death of his elder brother and rare
exception of queens like Prabhavati Gupta who ruled.
Rules of Marriage
• Types of marriage that existed – 1) exogamy (it refers to marriage outside the unit, families outside the kin). 2) Endogamy (this type
of marriage is when a girl marries a boy from her kin group, caste or from the same locality. It refers to marriage within the unit). 3)
polygyny- a man can have several wives of this type. 4) Polyandry – a woman can have many husbands of this type.
• With the passage of time and increasing urban life, people from faraway places met and shared their thoughts and ideas. The earlier
belief was questioned as people go exposed to different views. Hence the Brahamans laid down specific codes of conduct. These
codes and norms were compiled in texts such as Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras. These texts recognised eight types of
marriages. Few were termed good, while others were demeaned.
Gotra of women
• Gotra was a widespread Brahmanic practice to classify people.
• Each Gotra was named after a seer, and members of that Gotra were considered to be the descendant of that seer.
• Members of the same Gotra could not get married, and women were expected to give up their father's side of gotra when they
got married and accept their husband’s Gotra.
• We learn about these practices by studying the texts and names of some rulers. Some of the wives of satavahana rulers
retained the Gotra of their father’s side in their names (Gautama, Vashishta). This shows a close-knit family structure. This also
indicates that few of them may belong to the same families.
Caste, varnas and occupations
Social Differences
• Varna or caste refers to a category of people who belong to the same social hierarchy. Brahmanas claimed that this order was created by the
divine and was based on birth. Dharma sutras and Dharmashashtras contained rules about the occupation of each Varna.
• Vaishya were people who found occupation in trade and commerce. Shudras were at the lowest of this hierarchy. Brahmanas were supposed to
do the priestly work, perform rituals and teach Vedas; Kshatriyas were to participate in warfare, defence and political affairs. Shudras had to
work for these three varnas.
Non-Kshatriya kings
• As we studied earlier, only Kshatriyas could become kings. But there are instances of kings who belonged to different varnas. The social origins
of the Mauryas need to be clarified. Shunga and Kanvas were Brahmans. The Sakas who came from central India were considered mlechchhas
and barbarians.
Jatis and social mobility
• In Brahmanical theory, jati, like varna, was based on birth. However, while the number of varnas was fixed at four, there was no restriction on the
number of jatis. Whenever Brahmanical authorities encountered new groups – for instance, people living in forests such as the nishadas – or
wanted to assign a name to occupational categories such as the goldsmith or suvarnakara, which did not easily fit into the fourfold varna
system, they classified them as a jati.
Beyond the four varnas
• The Brahmanas considered some people as outside the groups. And few people were classified as untouchables. Certain activities, such as
ritual conducting, were considered sacred; if people took food from the impure ones, they would be contaminated. Activities such as handling
corpses and dead animals were considered polluting. People who performed these tasks were called chandalas and placed in the lowest order.
Manusmriti laid down the duties of chandalas. They were forced to live outside the city areas.
Beyond Birth

Gendered access to the property

• According to Dharmashashtras and dharma sutras, including
Manusmriti, a father's property was to be divided equally
amongst his sons. The daughters were not allowed to have
their share of the property. They could keep the gifts they were
given during their marriages (stridhana). Because of this
difference, the social difference between men and women
widened.
Varna access to the property
• Another way through which access to wealth was controlled
was by Varna. Kshatriyas and Brahmanas were wealthy.
 Handling Texts
Historians and the Mahabharata
• Various texts were written in several languages such as Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali and Tamil. It becomes crucial to study these texts.
Mahabharata in particular is mainly composed in Sanskrit. The contents of it have been divided into two categories – narrative
(parts that contain stories) and didactic (parts that contain social norms).
• There are various theories about who composed this great epic. The original story was probably composed by charioteer bards
called sutras. This epic has various recollections of battles, forests, palaces and settlements. In 1951-52 archaeologist B.B.Lal
excavated the site of Hastinapur which has been related to the capital of the kurus in Mahabharata.
• The concept of polyandry that we studied earlier can be seen in this text where Draupadi marries the Pandavas.
• With time various versions of this epic were composed in many regional languages and texts.
Until Next Time…