Chapter Notes

The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata

To understand the social history of early India, historians often turn to texts like the Mahabharata. However, this epic text has changed over centuries. To create a reliable version, one of the most ambitious scholarly projects in India began in 1919 under the leadership of a Sanskritist, V.S. Sukthankar.

A team of scholars collected Sanskrit manuscripts of the Mahabharata from all over the country. Their method involved comparing verses from each manuscript to find out what was common.

Key Findings from the Project:

• The project took 47 years to complete and resulted in a publication running over 13,000 pages.
• There were many common elements in the Sanskrit versions of the story found everywhere, from Kashmir and Nepal in the north to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south.
• There were also enormous regional variations in how the text was transmitted over the centuries. These differences were carefully documented in footnotes and appendices, which make up more than half of the final publication.

Initially, historians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries tended to take Sanskrit texts at face value, believing that the rules they laid down were actually practiced. Later, scholars began studying other traditions in languages like Pali, Prakrit, and Tamil. These studies revealed that while the ideas in normative Sanskrit texts were often seen as authoritative, they were also sometimes questioned or even rejected.

Kinship and Marriage: Many Rules and Varied Practices

Finding out about families

Families are the basic unit of society, but they are not all the same. They are part of larger networks of relatives, which we call kinfolk. While we often think of family ties as being based on blood, they are defined in many different ways across societies.

For historians studying early societies, it is much easier to find information about elite families than it is to reconstruct the family lives of ordinary people. Historians also study attitudes towards family and kinship, as these ideas likely shaped people's actions.

Key Terms for Family and Kin:

• Kula: The Sanskrit term for families.
• Jnati: Used for the larger network of kinfolk or relatives.
• Vamsha: The term for lineage or a line of descent.

The ideal of patriliny

The Mahabharata is fundamentally a story about a feud over land and power between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. They belonged to a single ruling family, the Kurus. The conflict ended in a battle where the Pandavas were victorious, and patrilineal succession was proclaimed.

• Patriliny means tracing descent from father to son, grandson, and so on. Under this system, sons could claim the resources, including the throne, of their fathers after their death.
• Matriliny is the term used when descent is traced through the mother.

While patriliny existed before the epic was composed, the central story of the Mahabharata reinforced the idea that it was valuable. Most ruling dynasties from the sixth century BCE onwards claimed to follow this system. However, there were exceptions:

• Sometimes there were no sons.
• In some cases, brothers succeeded one another.
• Occasionally, other kinsmen claimed the throne.
• In very rare circumstances, women like Prabhavati Gupta exercised power.

The importance of patriliny wasn't just limited to kings. It was also important for wealthy men and Brahmanas, as seen in mantras from texts like the Rigveda, which prayed for "fine sons."

Rules of marriage

While sons were crucial for continuing the patrilineage, daughters were viewed differently. They had no claim to the household's resources. Instead, a system called exogamy, which means marrying them into families outside their own kin group, was considered desirable. This led to the belief that kanyadana, or the gift of a daughter in marriage, was an important religious duty for a father.

As new towns emerged, social life grew more complex. This may have led people to question earlier beliefs. In response, Brahmanas laid down detailed codes of social behaviour in Sanskrit texts known as the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras from around 500 BCE. The most important of these is the Manusmriti (compiled c. 200 BCE - 200 CE).

These texts recognized eight forms of marriage. The first four were considered "good," while the remaining four were condemned and were likely practiced by groups who did not accept Brahmanical norms.

Types of Marriages:

• Endogamy: Marriage within a unit, like a kin group, caste, or people living in the same locality.
• Exogamy: Marriage outside the unit.
• Polygyny: The practice of a man having several wives.
• Polyandry: The practice of a woman having several husbands.

The gotra of women

From around 1000 BCE, a Brahmanical practice was to classify people into gotras. Each gotra was named after a Vedic seer, and all members were regarded as his descendants.

Two important rules about gotra were:

1. Women were expected to give up their father's gotra and adopt their husband's gotra after marriage.
2. Members of the same gotra could not marry each other.

To see if these rules were followed, we can look at the names of ruling lineages like the Satavahanas, who ruled in western India and the Deccan (c. second century BCE - second century CE).

• Satavahana rulers were often identified by metronymics, meaning their names were derived from their mother's name (e.g., Gotami-puta means "son of Gotami").
• Many of the women who married Satavahana rulers had names from their father's gotras (like Gotama and Vasistha) and did not adopt their husband's gotra name.
• Some of these women belonged to the same gotra as their husbands.

Were mothers important?

The Satavahana practice of using metronymics might suggest that mothers were very important. However, we must be cautious. In the case of the Satavahanas, we know that succession to the throne was generally patrilineal. This means that while mothers were respected, the power and property still passed from father to son.

Social Differences: Within and Beyond the Framework of Caste

The term caste refers to a set of hierarchically ordered social categories. The ideal order was laid down in the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras.

• Brahmanas placed themselves at the top, claiming this order was divinely ordained.
• Groups classified as Shudras and "untouchables" were placed at the very bottom.
• A person's position in this order was supposedly determined by birth.

The "right" occupation

The Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras also prescribed the ideal "occupations" for the four varnas:

• Brahmanas: To study and teach the Vedas, perform sacrifices, and give and receive gifts.
• Kshatriyas: To engage in warfare, protect people, administer justice, study the Vedas, and make gifts.
• Vaishyas: Same as Kshatriyas, but also to engage in agriculture, pastoralism, and trade.
• Shudras: Assigned only one occupation—serving the three "higher" varnas.

To enforce these norms, Brahmanas used several strategies:

1. They asserted that the varna order was of divine origin, often citing a hymn from the Rigveda called the Purusha sukta, which states that the four varnas emerged from the body of a primeval man.
2. They advised kings to ensure these norms were followed in their kingdoms.
3. They tried to persuade people that their status was determined by birth, often using stories from the Mahabharata and other texts to reinforce these ideas.

Non-Kshatriya kings

According to the Shastras, only Kshatriyas could be kings. However, history shows a more complex reality.

• The social background of the Mauryas is debated. Buddhist texts suggest they were Kshatriyas, while Brahmanical texts describe them as being of "low" origin.
• The successors to the Mauryas, the Shungas and Kanvas, were Brahmanas.
• Other rulers, like the Shakas from Central Asia, were regarded by Brahmanas as mlechchhas (barbarians or outsiders). However, the famous Shaka ruler Rudradaman rebuilt the Sudarshana lake, showing familiarity with Sanskritic traditions.
• The best-known Satavahana ruler, Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani, claimed to be a unique Brahmana who destroyed the pride of Kshatriyas. Yet, he also entered into a marriage alliance with the kin of Rudradaman, who was considered a mlechchha.

Jatis and social mobility

Another term used for social categories is jati. Like varna, jati was based on birth. However, while there were only four varnas, there was no limit to the number of jatis.

Whenever Brahmanical authorities encountered new groups, like forest-dwellers or occupational categories like goldsmiths (suvarnakara), they classified them as a jati. Jatis that shared a common profession were sometimes organized into shrenis or guilds.

An inscription from Mandasor (Madhya Pradesh) from the fifth century CE records the history of a guild of silk weavers who migrated from Gujarat. It shows that:

• Membership in the guild was based on a shared craft.
• Some members adopted other occupations.
• They collectively invested their wealth to build a temple for the sun god, showing a shared identity beyond just their profession.

Beyond the four varnas: Integration

Many communities in the subcontinent were not influenced by Brahmanical ideas. When mentioned in Sanskrit texts, they are often described as uncivilised or even animal-like. These included:

• Forest-dwellers like the nishada, who lived by hunting and gathering.
• Nomadic pastoralists, who did not fit into the framework of settled agricultural society.
• People who spoke non-Sanskritic languages were labeled mlechchhas.

However, there was also a sharing of ideas. The Mahabharata contains stories that show these interactions.

Beyond the four varnas: Subordination and conflict

Brahmanas also created a sharp social divide by classifying some groups as "untouchable." This was based on a notion of purity and pollution.

• Certain activities, especially those related to rituals, were considered sacred and "pure."
• Other activities, like handling corpses and dead animals, were considered "polluting."
• Those who performed these tasks were called chandalas and placed at the very bottom of the social hierarchy. Their touch, or even sight, was considered polluting.

The Manusmriti laid down harsh duties for the chandalas:

• They had to live outside the village.
• They had to use discarded utensils and wear clothes of the dead.
• They had to serve as executioners and dispose of the bodies of those with no relatives.

Chinese pilgrims like Fa Xian (fifth century CE) and Xuan Zang (seventh century CE) also wrote about untouchables having to sound a clapper in the streets to warn people of their approach.

Non-Brahmanical texts, like the Buddhist Matanga Jataka, offer a different perspective. This story, where the future Buddha is born as a chandala, critiques the idea of birth-based status and suggests that true worth comes from being free of vices, not from one's family background.

Beyond Birth: Resources and Status

A person's social position was often shaped by their access to economic resources like land, cattle, and money.

Gendered access to property

The Mahabharata highlights issues of ownership, particularly in the episode where Yudhisthira stakes and loses everything, including his brothers and their common wife Draupadi, in a game of dice.

According to the Manusmriti:

• The paternal estate was to be divided equally among sons after the parents' death.
• Women could not claim a share of these resources.
• Women were allowed to keep gifts they received during their marriage as stridhana (woman's wealth). This could be inherited by her children, and her husband had no claim on it.
• However, the Manusmriti also warned women against hoarding property without their husband's permission.

While there were exceptions, like the wealthy Vakataka queen Prabhavati Gupta, evidence suggests that men generally controlled most resources. This difference in access to resources sharpened the social differences between men and women.

Varna and access to property

According to Brahmanical texts, access to wealth was also regulated by varna. Since Shudras were only meant for servitude, the wealthiest people should have been the Brahmanas and Kshatriyas. This seems to align with some textual descriptions of rich priests and kings.

However, other traditions, especially early Buddhism, critiqued the varna order.

• Buddhists recognized social differences but did not see them as natural or unchangeable.
• They rejected the idea that status was based on birth.

An alternative social scenario: Sharing wealth

There were also societies where generosity was more valued than accumulating wealth. In ancient Tamilakam (around 2,000 years ago), chiefs were patrons of bards and poets. Poems from the Tamil Sangam anthologies suggest that while there were rich and poor, those who controlled resources were expected to share them. A respected chief was one who was generous, even if he was poor himself.

Explaining Social Differences: A Social Contract

Buddhists offered an alternative explanation for social inequality. A myth in the Sutta Pitaka suggests:

• Originally, human beings lived in a state of peace and took only what they needed from nature.
• This state deteriorated as humans became greedy and deceitful.
• To restore order, people decided to choose one person to rule them, who would be known as the mahasammata (the great elect).
• In return for his service of maintaining justice, the people would give him a portion of their rice (a form of tax).

Handling Texts: Historians and the Mahabharata

Historians analyze texts like the Mahabharata by considering several elements: the language, the type of text, the author, the intended audience, and the date and place of composition.

Language and content

• The Sanskrit used in the Mahabharata is much simpler than that of the Vedas, so it was probably widely understood.
• Historians divide the content into two broad categories:
  • Narrative: Sections that contain stories.
  • Didactic: Sections that contain prescriptions about social norms. This includes the Bhagavad Gita, the most important didactic section.
• This division is not absolute, as stories often contain a social message, and didactic parts include stories.
• The text is described in early Sanskrit tradition as itihasa, literally meaning "thus it was," often translated as "history."

Author(s) and dates

The Mahabharata was not written by a single author but was composed over a period of about 1,000 years (c. 500 BCE onwards).

1. Original Story: Probably composed by charioteer-bards known as sutas, who accompanied Kshatriya warriors and composed poems about their victories. These circulated orally.
2. Writing Phase: From the fifth century BCE, Brahmanas took over the story and began to write it down. This was a time when chiefdoms of the Kurus and Panchalas were becoming kingdoms.
3. New Developments (c. 200 BCE - 200 CE): The worship of Vishnu was growing, and Krishna, a central figure in the epic, came to be identified with Vishnu.
4. Addition of Didactic Sections (c. 200 - 400 CE): Large didactic sections, similar to the Manusmriti, were added. The text grew from less than 10,000 verses to about 100,000. The entire composition is traditionally attributed to a sage named Vyasa.

The search for convergence

Historians and archaeologists try to connect the epic's descriptions with physical evidence.

• In 1951-52, archaeologist B.B. Lal excavated at a village named Hastinapura in Uttar Pradesh, the possible capital of the Kurus. He found evidence of settlements with mud walls and mud-bricks, which is far more modest than the grand descriptions of the city in the epic. This suggests the descriptions might be poetic fancy or were added much later.
• One of the most challenging episodes is Draupadi's marriage to the five Pandavas, an instance of polyandry. The text offers multiple explanations for this, suggesting that the authors were trying to justify a practice that was likely unusual or had fallen out of favor with Brahmanas over time. Historians suggest polyandry may have been practiced by ruling elites, perhaps in the Himalayan region or during times of war when there was a shortage of women.

A Dynamic Text

The Mahabharata is not a static text. It has continued to evolve over centuries, with versions written in many languages. Stories from specific regions found their way into the epic, and the central story has been retold in countless ways through sculpture, painting, plays, and dance.