Key Points

The Mahabharata is a massive Sanskrit epic of over 100,000 verses, composed over a 1,000-year period from c. 500 BCE. Historians divide its content into narrative sections (stories) and didactic sections (social prescriptions).

Beginning in 1919 under Sanskritist V.S. Sukthankar, this ambitious project took 47 years. A team of scholars collected and compared manuscripts from across India to publish a version with verses common to most, documenting variations in footnotes.

Patriliny means tracing descent from father to son. It was crucial for elite and ruling families as it determined succession to the throne and inheritance of property, an idea reinforced by the central story of the Mahabharata.

Brahmanical texts prescribed exogamy, meaning marriage outside the kin group or gotra, and considered the gift of a daughter (kanyadana) a father's duty. In contrast, endogamy, or marriage within the kin group, was practiced by communities like the Satavahanas.

From c. 1000 BCE, Brahmanas were classified by gotras, named after Vedic seers. Two key rules were that women had to adopt their husband's gotra after marriage and members of the same gotra could not marry.

Satavahana rulers were identified through metronymics (names derived from the mother, like Gotami-puta), but succession was patrilineal. Their queens often retained their father's gotra and practiced endogamy, challenging Brahmanical norms.

The Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras laid down a social hierarchy of four varnas. Brahmanas were to study and teach, Kshatriyas to rule and fight, Vaishyas to trade and farm, and Shudras were assigned to serve the other three.

To justify the varna order, Brahmanas often cited the Purusha sukta from the Rigveda. This hymn describes the primeval man, Purusha, from whose mouth, arms, thighs, and feet the four varnas were said to have originated.

While there were only four varnas, there was no limit to the number of jatis. Jatis were social categories based on birth, often linked to occupations (like goldsmiths) or communities (like nishadas) that did not fit neatly into the varna system.

Although the Shastras stated that only Kshatriyas could be kings, many rulers had other origins. For example, the Mauryas were described as having a 'low' origin, the Shungas and Kanvas were Brahmanas, and Shaka rulers were seen as outsiders or mlechchhas.

According to the Manusmriti, the paternal estate was divided among sons. Women could not claim a share but were allowed to keep gifts received at their marriage as stridhana (woman's wealth), which their children could inherit.

Brahmanical texts classified some groups as 'untouchable'. These were people whose occupations, like handling corpses (chandalas), were deemed 'polluting'. The Manusmriti prescribed a life of degradation for them, living outside villages and using discarded items.

Early Buddhism rejected the idea of status based on birth. Buddhist texts, like the Majjhima Nikaya, argued that social differences were not natural or inflexible and that a person's worth should not be judged by their varna.

In the Sutta Pitaka, Buddhists proposed that kingship originated from a social contract. People chose a leader (mahasammata) to maintain order in a deteriorating society, and taxes were a form of payment for his services, contrasting the Brahmanical view of divine kingship.

Historians analyze ancient texts by considering their language (e.g., Sanskrit for elites, Prakrit for common people), author, intended audience, and date of composition. This critical examination helps reconstruct social histories from sources like the Mahabharata.