Kerala Plus Two History Notes Chapter 3 Kinship, Caste and Class
1. Family is the basic unit of society. But all families are not alike. There are differences in the number of members, their mutual relationships, and the activities they do.
2. From BCE 6th century, most families in India followed the patriarchal system. This was a male-dominant system. After the death of the father, only the sons were entitled to his property. If the father was a king, the right to the crown belonged to the sons. This patriarchal system played a big role in marriage.
3. Since sons were the heirs to the authority and paternal property, they had much importance in this system. Daughters were not entitled to family property. It was considered best to marry them to homes which were not connected with them in any blood relationship.
4. The Dharmasutras and Dharmasastrds acknowledged 8 kinds of marriages.
5. The first 4 kinds were considered good. The remaining four were ridiculed and rejected. It is believed that these ridiculed types were practiced by those who did not follow the Brahmin laws.
6. Caste or Jati shows a group in the social hierarchy. It was during the end of the Rigveda period that social divisions based on Caste distinctions came into existence.
7. There were many people in the society that did not approve of the caste ideas of the Brahmins. Sanskrit Books of those times call these people, who were outside the influence of Brahmin laws, uncivilized, ugly, and animal-like.
8. In different parts of the subcontinent, many kinds of social classes came up at this time. There were slaves, landless agricultural workers, hunters, fishermen, shepherds, farmers, village heads, artisans, traders, and royal people. Their status was determined or based on their resources.
9. Buddhists were aware of social inequalities. Brahmins saw inequality as something divinely ordained. This theory was rejected by the Buddhists. They believed that social inequalities were neither by birth nor ordained by God. It is possible to overcome them. Therefore Buddhists developed institutions that were capable of controlling social conflicts.
10. “Mahabharat” is considered as an “Ithihas” (Classic)of early Sanskrit literature. The literal meaning of ‘Ithihas ‘ is “Thus it was”.
11. The real writing of Mahabharata started in BCE 5th century. It is the Brahmins who took the initiative to do it. The Mahabharata story which was in oral tradition was collected by them and it was written down.
12. The most important feature of Mahabharata is its energy. Even with the Sanskrit edition, its growth did not end. Different editions of the “Ithihas” continued to be written in different languages for centuries. So many stories that were popular in certain areas or among certain sections of the people became part of the Ithihas.
Timeline – 1
Important Books
- Around 500 BC: Panini’s Ashtadhyayi, a book on grammar
- Around 500 BC: Important Dharma Sutras (Sanskrit)
- Around 500-200 BC: Tripitaka (Pali) and other early Buddhist books. Around.
- Around 500 BC to-400 AD: Ramayana and Mahabharata (Sanskrit)
- Around 500 BC to 200 AD: The writings and collection of books by Tamil Sangham’; Manusmriti (Sanskrit)
- Around 100 AD: Charakasamhita and Susruthasamhita (medical books)
- Around 300 AD: Bharata’s Natyasastra (Sanskrit), about performing arts.
- Around 300 to 6Q0 AD: Other Book on Dharmasastra (Sanskrit)
- Around 400-500AD: Sanskrit Plays including those of Kalidas; Books on Astrology and Mathematics (Sanskrit) by Varahamihira and Aryabhatta; Jain Writings in Prakrit.
Timeline – 2
Milestones in the Study of Mahabharata
- 1919-1966: Critical Studies on Mahabharata
- 1973: J.A.B. van Buitenen started the English translation of the Critical Judies of Mahabharata. But he died prematurely and the translation is incomplete.