Page 3 - Notes

 Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani was a Brahmana who destroyed the pride of
Kshatriyas. He ordered that there was no inter-marriage amongst members of
the four varnas.
 Jatis which shared a common occupation or profession were sometimes
organised into shrenis or guilds. There were other categories like Nishada
(people living in forest) beyond the four varnas in society. Ekalavya is
supposed to have belonged to this class.
 Sometimes those who spoke non-Sanskrit languages were labelled as
Mlechchhas and looked down upon.
 Brahmanical scriptures developed a sharper social divide by classifying certain
social categories as ‘untouchable’.
 Those who performed ‘polluting’ activities like, handling corpses and dead
animals were designated as ‘Chandalas’.
 The Manusmriti laid down the duties of Chandalas, these were—they had to
live outside the village, use discarded utensils and wear clothes of the dead
and ornaments of iron.
 Historians got hints of different social realities about the Chandalas from the
non-Brahmanical texts.

Social Status and Right to Property:

 According to the Manusmriti, the paternal estate was to be divided equally
amongst sons after the death of the parents, with a special share for the eldest.
 Women had no claim in her paternal estate, but were allowed to retain the gifts
they received on the occasion of their marriage as stridhana.
 According to Brahmanical text, apart from gender, criterion for regulating
access to wealth was varna. The only ‘occupation’ prescribed for Shudras was
servitude (slavery), while a variety of occupations were listed for men of first
three varnas.
 The Buddhists recognised the differences in society, but did not regard these
as natural or inflexible. They rejected the idea of claims to status on the basis
of birth.
 There were other possibilities as well; situations where men who were
generous were respected, while those who were miserly were criticised.
 The Buddhists developed an alternative understanding of social inequalities
and the institutions required to regulate social conflict.
 The institution of kingship was based on human choice, with taxes as a form of
payment for services rendered by the king.

The Mahabharata:

The Great Indian Epic

 VS Sukthankar, a noted Indian Sanskritist, with his team initiated the task of
preparing a critical edition of the Mahabharata. It involved collecting Sanskrit
manuscripts of the texts written in a variety of scripts, from different parts of the
country.