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“Social Classes: varṇa”

Hindu Law: A New History of Dharmaśāstra, edited by Patrick Olivelle and Donald R. Davis, Jr. [The Oxford History of Hinduism, general editor Gavin Flood], Oxford: Oxford University Press, 60-77, 2018
The notions of class (varṇa) and caste (jāti) run through the Dharmaśāstra literature on all levels. They regulate marriage, economic transactions, work, punishment, penance, entitlement to rituals, identity markers like the sacred thread, and social interaction in general. Although this social structure was ideal in nature and not equally confirmed in other genres of ancient and medieval literature, it has nevertheless had an immense impact on Indian society. The chapter presents an overview of the system with its three privileged classes, the Brahmins, the Kṣatriyas, and the Vaiśyas, the fourth underprivileged class, the Śūdras, and, at the bottom of the society, the lowest so-called untouchable castes. It also discusses the understanding of human differences that lies at the center of the system and the possible economic and political motivations of the Brahmin authors of the texts....Read more
l ,. l I. I t f i t t I l i I l ( r t t I I f ! I j l i ! g i I t i The xf ord istory of Hinduism indu Law A New History of Dharmasastra Edited by PA TRICK OLIVELLE DONALD R. DAVIS, JR. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford, It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © Oxford University Press 2018 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted First Edition published in 2018 Impression: 1 All rights reserved, No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2017942091 ISBN 978-0-19-870260-3 Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only, Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work. Preface Given the centrality of Dharmasastra in the Hindu tradition for over two millennia, this is a book that had to be written. Left to our own devices, however, this is a book that we would never have undertaken. The daunting task of writing a history of Dharmasastra under the shadow of the pioneering and encyclopedic work of P. V. Kane would have made us hesitate. So, thanks are due in the first place to Gavin Flood, who, as the general editor of the new Oxford History of Hinduism, invited us to write this as a volume in the series, and to Tom Perridge, the editor at Oxford who, along with Gavin, launched the series. It was clear from the start that this was a book the two of us could not write on our own, at least not within stipulated timeframe. Our foremost thanks, therefore, go to the eighteen colleagues from around the world who generously agreed to write chapters of this volume, drawing on their own expertise: Mikael Alctor, Adam Bowles, David Brick, Richard Davis, Ariel Glucklich, Jonardon Ganeri, Andrea Gutierrez, Maria Heim, Knut Jacobsen, Stephanie Jamison, Timothy Lubin, Mark McClish, James McHugh, Axel Michaels, Christian Novetzke, Ludo Rocher, Matthew Sayers, and Gregory Schopen. They were all busy scholars and teachers, and yet they generously accepted our invitation and agreed to devote considerable time and energy to this project. It would not have been possible without their contributions. Our great regret is that our teacher Ludo Rocher passed away before this volume could be completed; his contribution on inheritance, in Chapter 12, will stand as a monument to his vast knowledge of Dharmasastra. We thank Rosane Rocher for her assistance with Ludo's chapter. Austin, Texas March 31, 2017 Patrick Olivelle Donald R. Davis, Jr.
l The xford istory of Hinduism ,. l I. I t indu Law f i t A New History of Dharmasastra t I li Il ( rt Edited by PA TRICK OLIVELLE DONALD R. DAVIS, JR. t I I f ! I j l i ! g iI t i OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Preface Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford, It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © Oxford University Press 2018 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted First Edition published in 2018 Impression: 1 All rights reserved, No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2017942091 ISBN 978-0-19-870260-3 Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only, Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work. Given the centrality of Dharmasastra in the Hindu tradition for over two millennia, this is a book that had to be written. Left to our own devices, however, this is a book that we would never have undertaken. The daunting task of writing a history of Dharmasastra under the shadow of the pioneering and encyclopedic work of P. V. Kane would have made us hesitate. So, thanks are due in the first place to Gavin Flood, who, as the general editor of the new Oxford History of Hinduism, invited us to write this as a volume in the series, and to Tom Perridge, the editor at Oxford who, along with Gavin, launched the series. It was clear from the start that this was a book the two of us could not write on our own, at least not within stipulated timeframe. Our foremost thanks, therefore, go to the eighteen colleagues from around the world who generously agreed to write chapters of this volume, drawing on their own expertise: Mikael Alctor, Adam Bowles, David Brick, Richard Davis, Ariel Glucklich, Jonardon Ganeri, Andrea Gutierrez, Maria Heim, Knut Jacobsen, Stephanie Jamison, Timothy Lubin, Mark McClish, James McHugh, Axel Michaels, Christian Novetzke, Ludo Rocher, Matthew Sayers, and Gregory Schopen. They were all busy scholars and teachers, and yet they generously accepted our invitation and agreed to devote considerable time and energy to this project. It would not have been possible without their contributions. Our great regret is that our teacher Ludo Rocher passed away before this volume could be completed; his contribution on inheritance, in Chapter 12, will stand as a monument to his vast knowledge of Dharmasastra. We thank Rosane Rocher for her assistance with Ludo's chapter. Patrick Olivelle Donald R. Davis, Jr. Austin, Texas March 31, 2017 Social Classes: vaq1a 4 Social Classes varna Mikael Aktor VARlyA AS DHARMA POWER How should a Hindu ldng expand his power into foreign land and how should he incorporate the conquered people into his ldngdom? This is discussed by the eighth-century commentator on Manu, Medhatithi, in his commentary on MDh 2.23. The verse occurs in the first part of the second chapter, which deals with the sources of the law (dharma), of which one is "the conduct of good people" (sadiiciira). That conduct is further defined both geographically and demographically (MDh 2.17-2.24). It is the conduct that is handed down through generations among the people who live in the sacred land of the Aryas, extending from the Himalayas in the North to the Vindhya Mountains in the South, and who belong to the four social classes and the "intermediate classes" (MDh 2.18), consisting of castes that were regarded as having their origin in a mixture of these four. Manu (2.23) defines the heartland of this sacred territory as "the natural range of the black buck" and categorizes it as "fit for sacrifice," thereby explicitly associating the country with Hindu rule. Beyond that land lie the countries of the barbarian foreigners (mlecchas). Medhatithi, however, adds a rider: If a good ldng from the warrior caste and the like gained victory over those foreigners and settled people from the four classes there, relegating the local foreigners to the status of ca,:iqalas, just as in the land of the Aryas, then that land also would be "fit for sacrifice," This is because land is not defiled by itself, for it becomes defiled through contact, as when it is sullied by something impure. Therefore, even apart from the regions specified, all people from the three upper classes must perform sacrifices whenever sufficient means are available even outside the natural range of the black buck. (Medh 2.23 translated from Dave 1972-85, vol.l: 200) 61 In other words, when foreign land is purified by the presence of people from the four classes settled there by a pious ldng, it becomes pure and fit for sacrifices. From then on, however, the local people must be regarded as ca~diilas, the lowest caste in the Hindu society, which was considered unto~~hable, even according to the earliest Dharmasutras. Shortly before this quote, Medhatithi had made it clear that "foreigners are known as people beyond the castes comprising the four classes, not even allotted the status of mixed castes of the reverse order" (Medh 2.23 in Dave 1972-85, vol.1: 199). 1 This quote and its context in Manu's text give us a lot of information about the ideas behind the Hindu social structure as it was understood in Dharmasastra in terms of "class" (var~a) and castes regarded as "intermediate" (antariila) or as a "mixture of classes" (var~asarrkara). It indicates that these categories were conceived by the Brahmin authors of these texts as both a political and a social structure closely connected with the ideology and aspirations of this priestly class. More precisely, it was a system meant to guarantee a special alliance between the Brahmins and the warrior rulers, including the specific privileges that such an alliance would yield. Hindu rule is made conditional on Vedic sacrifices, which is the specific sphere of expertise of Brahmins. The var~a system is the prerequisite for Hindu rule, and it is the foundation of dharma. The conduct of the people from the four classes is one of its main sources, and the king will have to settle the four varnas in the new territory in order to mal<e it fit for the rituals that are the foundations of dharma. The promotion of this special alliance between Brahmins and rulers is made explicit even in the earliest texts. According to Gautama: There are in the world two who uphold the proper way of life-the ldng and the Brahmin deeply learned in the Vedas. And on them depend the life of the fourfold human race and of internally conscious creatures that move about, fly, and crawl; as well as their increase, protection, non-intermixture, and adherence to the Law. (GDh 8.1-8.3 in Olivelle 2000: 137). 2 The four classes ("the fourfold human race") are the priestly class, that is the Brahmins (Briihma~a); the warrior class (K~atriya), from which rulers are 1 Visnu likewise, states, "Any region where the system of the four social cl~sses is not found should be ;ecognized as a region of foreigners; beyond those is the land of the Aryas" (ViDh 84.4 in Olivelle 2009a: 146). 2 The special relationship between the Brahma1,1a and the K~atriya vari:ia remained a central theme also in later Dharmasastra literature. This is sometimes expressed in symmetric juxtapositions of the two spheres, where the one is eulogized by metaphors of the o~er: "Wha:~ver the Twice-born [here meaning briihmai:ias] should say, even for fun, that, according to tradit10n, is the highest law, for they have mounted the war chariot of Dharmasastra, and they carry the sword of the Veda" (Par 8.26); and symmetrically: "When in battle the blood of the warrior flows on the forehead and enters the mouth, that, duly, must be regarded as equal to drinking soma in a sacrifice of war" (Par 3.38). Similarly, Smith 1994: 37-8. Mikael Aktor Social Classes: vaq1.a recruited or into which they are enrolled; the agricultural and merchant class (Vaisya); and the service class (Sudra), understood mainly as people engaged in various crafts and the working class. Note that while Medhatithi advised the king to settle all four van,1as in the new conquered territory, he only called on the upper three of them to perform sacrifices there. This is because the van;ia and caste systems are also a system of marginalization. It was only the three upper classes that were allowed to have Vedic sacrifices performed for them; the Siidras were excluded from such rituals and altogether from studying and using Vedic texts. Accordingly, boys from the three upper classes passed through an initiation ceremony (upanayana) that involved training in recitation of the Vedas. This initiation was regarded as a symbolic new birth, and, therefore, these three classes were labeled collectively as "twice-born" (dvija), whereas the Siidras was labeled as "once-born" (ekeja). 3 A further marginalization is indicated by the category of the "intermediate" classes that were understood as castes having their origin in a mixture of the four classes. Although these castes were not classified as belonging exclusively to any one of the four ideal classes but rather as the results of improper sexual mixing among them, they were still part of the Hindu social structure, collectively forming its hierarchical lower limit. This is expressed in precise terms by the fourteenth century commentator Kulliika: The conduct that is a source of dharma is that "of the classes starting with the Brahmins and extending as far as the mixed castes." 4 Within this group of mixed classes, yet another hierarchical distinction is made. One group of castes are regarded as formed through hypergamous relations between two classes, say between Brahmin men and Vaisya women, while another group is understood as formed through hypogamous relations, for instance between K~atriya men and Brahmin women. The principle behind the former is that the "father" must belong to a higher class than the "mother," and behind the latter that the "father" belongs to a lower class than that of the "mother" (the quotation marks here indicating that the parents must be understood more in terms of some hypothetical past origin of these caste formations than as actual contemporary parents, although there are overlaps between the two cases, to which I shall return later). Generally, hypergamous relationships are tolerated, while hypogamous relationships are condemned. This is indicated by the Sanskrit terminology according to which the former type of relationship is "natural," literally "with the hairs" (anuloma), and the latter is "unnatural" or literally "against the hairs" (pratiloma). We see here a blend of two hierarchical systems. One is the patriarchal ordering of gender (men higher, women lower), and another is the Brahmanical ordering of class (Brahmin higher, the other three gradually lower). It follows logically from this system of class mixtures that the lowest group must be that resulting from the hypogamous union between Siidra men and Brahmin women. This is the Cal).qala caste mentioned by Medhatithi in his comments on Manu 2.23 at the start of this chapter, and their lowness is emphasized by the idea that people from this caste are untouchable-members of higher castes have to take a bath in the event they come into physical contact with them. But notice that, according to Mehdatithi, the local people in the land that is conquered by a righteous Hindu king must be relegated into the status of the Cal).qala caste in order to make the conquered land "fit for sacrifice." This means that, in spite of the low status of this caste, it is still an integrated part of the Hindu society that makes a land fit for the sacrifices performed by the three higher classes. In this respect the Cal).qala marks the final marginalization of this whole demographic ideology, that between the people belonging to such a Hindu social structure-including the CaJ,1qalas at the bottom of it-and the "foreigners" (mleccchas) outside it. To repeat, Medhatithi maintained that "foreigners are known as people beyond the castes comprising the four classes, not ev~n allotted the status of mixed castes the reverse order" (Medh 2.23), that is, not even allotted a status as that of the hypogamous pratiloma castes of which the Cal).qala is the lowest. In what follows, more will be said about each of these social categories,5 but let me sum up the system for the sake of clarity: The van,1a system consists of 62 3 Louis Dumont, inspired by Georges Dumezil, saw the van;ia system as a series of embedded marginalizations. First Siidras as ekajas are marginalized in relation to the three dvijas; next, the Vaisyas are marginalized in relation to the governing Brahma-K$(1tra alliance with ~atriyas as rulers and Brahm~ as advisers and law makers; finally all three lower van;ias are marginalized in relation to the Brahmai;ias, which is the only class that can perform the rituals on behalf of the three lower classes the members of which can only order them (Dumont 1970: 67). Similarly, Smith 1994: 28-9. 4 bn:ihmal}ddivarl}dndm sarrkrr,;iajatiparyantiinarr (Kulluka on MDh 2.18). (A) (B) 63 the three "twice-born" (dvija) classes Brahma:J).a K~triya Vaisya beyond these three, the "once-born" (ekaja) class Siidra Each of these four van,1as contains a number of castes (jiiti), which also can be ordered hierarchically. Thus, there are high, learned Brahmins (bhru,:zas) and lower Brahmins officiating in temples (devalakas); there are "good Siidras" (sacchudras) and "bad Siidras" (asacchudras). 5 For detailed information on each category according to a great variety of Dharmasastra texts, the best source is Kane II: 19-179. 64 Mikael Aktor Beyond the four var,:zas, there are the mixed classes (var,:zasarrikaras): (A) hypergamous or anuloma castes, which are more or less tolerated; and (B) hypogamous or pratiloma castes, which are more or less condemned and looked down upon, of which the Ca1!4ala caste is regarded as the lowest and as untouchable. 6 This constitutes the Hindu society, and beyond that are the foreigners (mlecchas). An obvious question that needs to be addressed is how far this ideologically motivated social classification existed as an empirical reality in ancient and medieval India. For sure, this question cannot be answered on the basis ofDharmasastra texts alone, but must involve a study of evidence outside this tradition. Patrick Olivelle has drawn the attention to the Asokan inscriptions in which the word "var,:za" does not occur at all; even the names of the var,:zas are absent except for "Briihma,:za'~ which however is mentioned as a religious community rather than as a class in a hierarchical social system (see Chapter 1 in the present volume). The grammatical literature is another . source of evidence. Olivelle notices that the term "dvija" (twice-born), which is a prominent classificatory concept in three of the four Dharmasiitras (from early second to first century BCE) is missing from Pataftjali's Mahiibhii~ya, dated mid-second century BCE, and from the literature before that period (Olivelle 2012a: 118-19). These findings indicate that these concepts (var,:za and dvija) were promoted specifically by Dharmasastra authors. Although Manu incorporated much material from the Arthasastra (Kautilya's treatise on government), this text differs from Manu's text in its view both on Brahmans and Siidras. It does not eulogize the Brahmans as Manu and other Dharmasastra texts do, and it acknowledges the Siidras as artisans (AS 1.3.8) and not merely as servants of the three upper classes like Manu. Kangle remarks, "This appears to be more in consonance with the actual state of things than the views of Smft:i writer like Manu" (1965: 143). Finally, evidence from precolonial endowment records also give another picture than the one we meet in the Dharmasastra sources. In these records we get an impression of the identities that people ascribed to themselves. Cynthia Talbot concludes from material from Andhra Pradesh that "few of the donors of the endowments recorded in these documents choose to describe themselves in these terms" [var,:za and jiiti]. Instead, "the classical var,:za scheme was meaningful primarily to those who considered themselves brahmans." Also the word jiiti is "rarely found in the thirteenth-century inscriptions from Andhra, but there are also no references to specific subcastes by names." (Talbot 2001: 50-2). 6 F~r a discussion of the_ different theoretical views on the distinction between var(Ja and jati, see Smith 1994: 317-19. With reference to among others J.C. Heesterman, Smith argues that the var(Jas as the overall classifying system emphasized an ideal separation, whereas the notion of the jiitis testified to an actual interrelation between them expressed in the idea of intermixture (var(Jasarrikara ). Social Classes: vaq1a 65 All together, these different types of evidence confirm the hypothesis that the articulation and promotion of the var,:za system were primarily part of a priestly ideological strategy motivated by the specific interests of this class. THE ESSENTIALS: SVABHA VA, SVAKARMAN, SVADHARMA According to Manu, the four classes emerged together with the creation of the world. Like other species of living beings, they are each born with the inborn propensities (svabhiiva) that were placed in them by the Self-existent One at the time of creation. These specific propensities determine the activities (karmii,:zi) of each species, both animals and men. For men, however, "activities" in this context denotes first of all the specific occupation (svakarman) and duty (svadharma) prescribed for each class: As they are brought forth again and again, each creature follows on its own the very activity assigned to it in the beginning by the Lord. Violence or non-violence, gentleness or cruelty, righteousness (dharma) or unrighteousness (adharma), truthfulness or untruthfulness-whichever he assigned to each at the time of creation, it stuck automatically to that creature. As at the change of seasons each season automatically adopts its own distinctive marks, so do embodied beings adopt their own distinctive acts. For the growth of these worlds, moreover, he produced from his mouth, arms, thighs, and feet, the Brahmin, the K~atriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra. (MDh 1.28-1.31 in Olivelle 2005a: 88) The body parts mentioned here are obviously a reference to the twelfth stanza of the Puru~asiikta (R.V 10.90.12). The four var,:zas, according to Manu, are not the product of any social negotiation or political reasoning but emerged out of the body of Cosmic Man and are, as such, direct manifestations of creation, just as the differentiations between horses, cows, and sheep (R.V 10.90.10). Kulliika spells out the significance of these verses of Manu just quoted. The violent acts of a lion are the manifestations of the violent inborn propensity of this animal, just as the gentle acts of priests and the violent acts of warriors are the direct results of the inborn nature of people born into these two classes (on MDh 1.29). There can be no doubt that, according to these verses and according to the view of Dharmasastra in general, var,:za (and, accordingly, caste) is determined by birth; it is not the case that var,:za and caste can be decided solely on the basis of the character and skills of each individual (Smith 1994: 28). This is because, ideally, birth (jiiti), inborn nature (svabhiiva), and work (svakarman) will be harmoniously correlated as they were from creation. That said, however, other genres of literature, especially the Sanskrit epics, are full of 67 Mikael Aktor Social Classes: van_m examples of persons whose activities and wishes are in conflict with the norms of the class or caste they are born into. But eventually, dharma, that is the ideal order of bilth, duty, work, and personal character, will prevail. One episode from the Mahabharata is especially telling. During the long instruction on dharma that ldng Yudhi~thira receives after the war from the dying Bhi~ma, Yudhi~hira asks the controversial question about how persons from the three lower classes can attain the same status as Brahmins. The answer he receives is that this status is unobtainable for these classes because it is the highest stage of the whole of creation. Only through innumerable births may people from the lower classes hope to be born one day in the Brahmin class (MBh 13.28.4-13.28.5). The implicit premise is that birth determines class status. Consequently, differences and unequal possibilities in life are inherited through the generations, just as species transmit specific predispositions for wings or forelegs. To cross classes is lilce crossing species, a breach of the natural order established at creation. But even though crossing of classes (van:zasarrikara), unlilce crossing of species, cannot always be known from their physical appearance, their identity will inevitably be revealed through the pattern of behavior that originates from their inborn propensities.7 Bhi~ma illustrates this point by telling Yudhi~thira the sad story of Matahga. Matahga grew up as the son of a pious Brahmin. He was a good boy keen on living up to the expectations of his father. One day his father sent him to the town to get materials for a sacrifice. Matahga went on a cart pulled by a young donlcey, which, however, did not want to leave its mother. Eager to fulfill his father's wish, Matahga hit the donlcey with the whip. The mother donlcey comforted her crying child, telling him that such behavior is only to be expected from a Ca1,1q.ala lilce Matahga. Shocked by these words, Matahga asked the mother donkey how she knows about his identity. She answers that a true Brahmin embodies the quality of nonviolence (ahirrisa). 8 Therefore, this single act of violence inevitably reveals Matanga to be the bastard son of a Sudra (in this case, a barber) with his Brahmin mother, in other words, an untouchable Candala. Now Matahg~ ~mbarks on a severe regimen of extreme asceticism in order to change his destiny. Hard asceticism has the power to force the gods to appear and fulfill the wishes of the ascetic. Indra appears, promising to fulfill any wish that Matahga may have. However, confronted with Matahga's only wish-the attainment of Brahmin status lilce that of his dear foster fatherIndra has to refuse. That is beyond the possibilities of any god. When Matahga intensifies his ascetic exercises to the extent of almost dying, Indra reappears only to grant him the boon of being worshipped by women after his death, and eventually Matahga dies (MBh 13.28.7-13.30.16). The most famous example, however, is that of Arjuna, caught in between his obligation with respect to his family and friends and his duties as a warrior. But the divine authority makes no exceptions: 66 7 Better to do one's own duty (svadharma) imperfectly than to do another man's well; doing action intrinsic to his being (svabhava), a man avoids guilt. Arjuna, a man should not relinquish action he is born to (sahajalfl karma), even if it is flawed; all undertakings are marred by a flaw, as fire is obscured by smoke. (BhG 18.47-18.48 in Miller 1986: 149-50) These two verses echo the view of Manu: If a man of inferior birth out of greed lives by activities specific to his superiors, the king shall confiscate all his property and promptly send him into exile. Far better to carry out one's own Law imperfectly than that of someone else's perfectly; for a man who lives according to someone else's Law fall immediately from his caste. (MDh 10.96-10.97 in Olivelle 2005a: 213) Modern social reformers have seen this caste ideology as a serious hindrance to social mobility. My hypothesis is that this, precisely, has always been the intention of the Dharmasastra authors: to control upward social mobility. Compare Manu: An unknown man without the proper complexion [varra], born from a squalid womb, a non-Arya with some measure of Arya features-one should detect such a man by his activities. Un-Arya conduct, harshness, cruelty, and the neglect of rites reveal in this world a man who is born from a squalid womb. He will possess the character of either his father of his mother, or of both; a man born from an evil womb is never able to conceal his nature. (MDh 10.57-10.59 in Olivelle 2005a: 211) See also the note to 10.57 at page 337 about the translation of varra as "complexion." Outward appearance and co/or are among the meanings of the word varra, and the connection between complexion and class is made explicit by the grammarian Pataiijali on Piinini 2.2.6. 8 "A good man" (presumably including a Brahmin), however, is allowed to beat a low-caste person right away, without any interference from the state (the king), if he is assaulted verbally by the low person (including a Svapiika and a Cai;iqiila) according to NSm 15/16.12-15/16.14 and BrSm 21.5. These texts (Naradasmrti and Brhaspatismrti) are both dated to fifth-sixth century cE by Olivelle 2010b: 57. CONTROLLING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY Manu proposes a connection between the progression of the world ages (yugas) and the gradual weakening of dharma, the ideal norm on which society rests: In the K[ta Age, the Law is whole, possessing all four feet; and so is truth. People never acquire any property through unlawful means. By acquiring such property, however, the Law is stripped of one foot in each of the subsequent Ages; through theft, falsehood, and fraud, the Law disappears a foot at a time. (MDh 1.81-1.82 in Olivelle 2005a: 91). Mikael Aktor Social Classes: vanJa What might these unlawful means possibly be by which people acquire property and thereby ruin dharma, and who are those "people"? We get a direct answer, I think, in a section of the text that sets the norms for the livelihood of Sudras: "Even a capable Sudra must not accumulate wealth; for when a Sudra becomes wealthy, he harasses Brahmins" (MDh 10.129 in Olivelle 2005a: 214). The religious idea behind this statement lies in the role of Brahmins as officiants of sacrifices. It is sacrifice that procures rain at the right time, producing rich crops and healthy cattle. As such, sacrifice is the foundation of all kinds of material wealth. The Brahmins are indeed self-assured about the significance of their role: "This whole world-whatever there is on earth-is the property of the Brahmin.... The Brahmin eats only what belongs to him, wears what belongs to him, and gives what belongs to him; it is by the kindness of the Brahmin that other people eat" (MDh 1.100-1.101 in Olivelle 2005a: 91-2, 242). The economic reality of this idea is that sacrifice is also a source of income for Brahmins as receivers of donations. Since everything belongs to the Brahmin performers of sacrifice, what they receive in donations (dak~i,:iii) at the end of the sacrifice has always been their property. While it is the prescribed "activity" (karman) of all three twice-born classes to have sacrifices performed, to recite the Veda, and to offer donations in connections with these sacrifices and the other services from the Brahmins, it is the exclusive right and livelihood of the Brahmins to officiate at the sacrifices, to teach the Veda, and receive the donations from the members of all three upper classes. In addition, K~atriyas must protect the subjects by the use of weapons and be self-restrained, and Vaisyas must look after cattle and live by agriculture, trade, and moneylending (MDh 1.88-1.90, 10.74-10.80). "A single activity did the Lord allot to the Sudra, however: the ungrudging service of those very social classes" (1.91 in Olivelle 2005a: 91). The Sudras, it seems, cannot be a direct source of income for Brahmins even though they might have accumulated wealth. They cannot study the Vedas, and they cannot have sacrifices performed; so they do not have any opportunity to offer donations. Whatever wealth they may possess therefore "harasses the Brahmins," to whom it truly belongs. Besides, as servants they should not be in a position to accumulate wealth at all. Or, so it seems. 9 Reading behind the text and its strategies, however, we get another picture. One of these strategies is the notion of "times of adversity" (iipad). Patrick Olivelle suggests in the first chapter of the present volume that Mann's Dharmasastra was composed during a period with repeated invasions from the northwest that "created a cultural shock" among the Brahmin elite. These invasions caused the Brahmin authors to be explicit about the expectations of a true Hindu king, especially in regard to his relationships with the Brahmins. But even apart from these strained political conditions, and especially in the light of the nostalgic and utopian ideals of the perfect Hindu society envisaged in the texts, times are always adverse. We live in the degenerate Kali age, and iipad is more or less the new normal. Ideally, Sudras do not count among the paradigmatic givers, but during iipad Brahmins may receive gifts from anybody (MDh 10.102). 10 However, while "officiating at sacrifices and teaching always pertain to those who have undergone consecratory rites [whose donations therefore are pure], ... accepting pertains even to a lowest-born Sudra" (MDh 10.110 in Olivelle 2005a: 213), meaning that, although gifts from Sudras who maintain their lives by other means than by serving Brahmins are not desirable, they are nevertheless received. Manu is at pains to ensure that this should not tip the balance of dependency: While "a man who knows the Law should never beg money from a Sudra" (MDh 11.24 in Olivelle 2005a: 216), a Brahmin whose sacrifice is interrupted for want of an item "may freely tal<e two or three items from the house of a Sudra; for a Sudra has nothing to do with sacrifices" (MDh 11.11 in Olivelle 2005a: 215). Begging is one thing; taking from a Sudra's property what truly belongs to the Brahmins is quite another. What were the services that Sudras had Brahmins performing for them, and what made the Sudras wealthy enough to pay for these services in the form of donations? The historical development of the economic situation of the Sudra class and the religious possibilities connected to it cannot be deduced from the Dharmasastra texts alone, but requires a study that includes many other types of sources, literary as well as epigraphic and archaeological. R. S. Sharma's Sudras in Ancient India (1990) is an attempt in that direction. Sharma describes a gradual improvement of the economic situation of Sudras through the Gupta dynasty and early medieval period including the times when the late Dharmasastras of Yajiiavall<ya and others were composed. He concludes: 68 9 According to Ananya Vajpeyi, who has studied medieval Dharmasastra digests with specific focus on "Siidradharma," it is typical of the Dharmasastra discourse related to the Siidras that these are represented as silent listeners without any verbal agency of their own. "It turns out that the figure of the Siidra haunts the Brahm_anical literature from some of its earliest phases, and always at the heart of the othering of the Siidra lies a set of maneuvers whose locus is language" (Vajpeyi 2010: 159). 69 Perhaps the reason for the broadening of the religious rights of the sudras lay in the improvement of their material conditions, which enabled them to perform sacraments and sacrifices by paying for priests. For the ability to sacrifice was rightly believed to be intimately connected with the ability to pay. (R. S. Sharma 1990: 312-13) ° 1 For a systematic presentation of the occupations of the four vari:zas both under normal conditions and during stressed situations (apad), see Rocher 1975c. 71 Mikael Aktor Social Classes: van:ia The "sacraments and sacrifices" that gradually became part of the religious rights of Sudras were those such as prayascitta (penance), sraddha (ancestral offerings), mahayajflas (Great Sacrifices), certain san:iskaras (life cycle rites), puja (worship), vratas (votive observances), and dana (donations).11 Commenting on the statement that the wealth of Sudras harasses the Brahmins (MDh 10.129), the eighth-century commentator Bhiiruci rejects the idea that receiving the gifts of Sudras should amount to receiving gifts from unworthy givers (asatpratigraha). For, if it would be wrong for Brahmins to accept the donations from them, Sudras would not be able to perform sraddhas, which involve presenting the priests with a donation, obviously an indication that Brahmins performed sraddhas for Sudras. Penance is perhaps the most significant case, for here the inequality between Brahmins and Sudras in terms of religious merit and material wealth is spelled out. The lower the van;ia of a penitent, the lesser the amount of the observance (typically fasting) but the more the value of the donations-often in the form of cattle-that must be given to the Brahmins who advised the penance. Thus, Brahmins observe harder penance but give a small donation, while the opposite holds for Sudras. 12 Another of Manu's iipad rules, which probably prescribes what already had become the normal state of affairs, allows Sudras who are "unable" (or perhaps unwilling) to provide for their families by serving twice-born people to earn their living as craftsmen, provided they work in a craft that "best serves the twice-born" (MDh 10.99-10.100 in Olivelle 2005a: 213). And according to Vi~i:iu, who composed his Dharmasiistra five hundred years or so later than Manu (i.e., seventh-century cE), these crafts are not restricted to times of adversity but do constitute the livelihood by which Sudras fulfill their duty to serve the twice-born (ViDh 2.8 and 14). The sudravari:za comprised many crafts that were necessary for big building enterprises lil<e royal temple building projects, crafts such as those of blacksmiths, carpenters, bricklayers, and artists (Sharma 1990: 262-3). With increased trade, furthermore, the demand for goods produced by Sudra artisans may have grown. Sudras were also allowed to trade according to Yiijiiavall<ya (YDh 1.120) and other late Dharmasiistras (Sharma 1990: 267), and, apart from the Sudras' exclusion from Vedic recitation and rituals, the borderline between Vaisyas and Sudras became gradually more porous. R. S. Sharma (1990: 322) speal<s of medieval India as a "vaisya-sudra society": "Since the social fabric of ancient India was based on the vaisya tax and the sudra labour, it may be called a vaisya-sudra society, but from the ideological and ritualistic point of view it may be called a briihmaJ:lical society." This is an indication of the pyramid structure of the Indian social hierarchy even from early times: the number of producing, trading, and laboring castes at the relative _bottom o~ the Brahmanical hierarchical model outnumbered by far the warrior and pnestly castes at the top. With the growing economy and improved religious rights of the _Sudra~, starting during the Gupta period and continuing into ~edieval ~ndrn, their upward economic mobility could not be prevented. This was noticed by :he Brahmin authors of Dharmasiistra works, who reluctantly allowed Brahmms to receive as donations a part of the accumulated Sudra wealth. 70 11 12 See R. S. Sharma 1990: 296-307. See, for example, Par 11.1-3, and Chapter 17 on Impurity and Purification. THE MIXED CLASSES The Dharmasiistra doctrine asserting that the vast number oflow castes below the four classes have originated from a mixing of those classes (van;iasan:ikara) has puzzled scholars including me.13 In line with the _precedi_ng part o~ this chapter, however, I think it is reasonable to regard this doctrme_as basically another attempt by the Brahmin authors to control upward social and economic mobility, in this case, not the mobility that took place through ':ork and trade but the more tangible one that occurred though sexual relations. Whereas economic mobility created better possibilities and perhaps increased influence, it did not, from the point of view of Dharmasiistra, change class and caste identities. i 4 But that was possible through intermarriage. Intermarriage could have been initiated by the dissatisfaction of artisans and workers who assigned according to protested against the occupational obligations they ~r the Dharmasiistra rules, and it could have been mitrnted by peasants who protested against the taxes that were demanded from them by the ldng (Sharma 1990: 261). . Manu's terminology on mixed classes is not entirely clear, but theoretically, it should be possible for descendants of mixed relationships to raise their status to that of the highest of his/her parents within a certain number of generations. That is, if the child of a 1:1ixed relations?ip _marries upward, a~d the same happens in the next generations, at a certam time, the progeny ~ have the caste or class of the highest of the parents (MDh 10.64-10.65). 13 Aktor 1999: 269-74; Aktor 2008: 87-104 is a detailed discussion of the themes also presented here in brief. See, also, e.g., Jha 1970; Tambiah 1973b; Brinkhaus 19~8; Rocher 1981-2.. 14 Nevertheless, we know from records of caste disputes during sJXteenth throug? mneteenth century that groups of Sudras tried to be recognized as belonging t~ one of_ the ~1g~e: var~~s. Thus, paradoxically, "the positive assertion-'This group here cons1s~s of Sudra md1V1du~s comes from the Brahmin side, while the denial-'We are not Siidras -comes from the Sudra litigants themselves" (Vajpeyi 2010: 160). 1s The rule is already mentioned by Gautama (GDh 4.22-4.24). The med~~val_commenta~ors disagree on how to understand it. Some think that this kind of upward mob1hty 1s only possible The practical realities behind this rule can only be guessed, but it seems to indicate that, after a certain amount of time, descendants from mixed relations would be accepted (or their descent would be forgotten) and assimilated into the superior class, as it actually happens when distinct ethnic bodily features gradually vanish through generations of mixed marriages. The comparison with ethnic features is not far from the sense of the texts. We saw that van;ias were correlated with zoological species when they emerged from the body of Puru~a. The idea is the same with mixed var,;ias. This is made very clear by Kulluka in his comment to Manu's overview of the var,;ias, which states: "Three classes-Brahmin, K~atriya, and Vaisya-are twice-born; the fourth, Sudra, has a single birth. There is no fifth" (MDh 10.4). Kulluka explains: Moreover, there is no fifth. As with a mule, the mixed castes do not belong to any class because their caste is different from both of the different castes of the parents. And this clarification in the text about these other castes is for the sake of the regulation of mutual interactions. (on MDh 10.4) 16 Caste definitions were meant as a way of regulating the occupations of individual castes and their mutual interactions, although occupation and caste definition are mutually dependent: "From the function pursued, the caste as laid down by the sastra can be inferred. And by indicating the caste they can be enjoined to perform their functions" (Bharuci on MDh 10.40 in Derrett 1975, vol. 2: 310). But to define castes "genealogically" as descendants from former mixedclass relations seems artificial. When did these relations take place? Should they merely be regarded as speculative myths of origin? The question gets complicated because the notion of var,;iasarrikara is used in the texts in two different ways. One is as caste definitions, that is, in terms of some hypothetical past origin of the caste. Another is with regard to contemporary mixed marriages or sexual relations as when specific punishments are laid down for men and women who have such illegitimate relations, 17 or when the texts lay down exact rules about inheritance for descendants of mixed marriages. 18 In though the female line, that is, for females born from relations in the direct order (anuloma). Others think that it also holds for sons, that is, through relations in the reverse order (pratiloma). For an overview, see the note in Buhler 1886: 416-17. 16 The text is an example of the fluidity of meanings of the Sanskrit word jati, meaning birth, species, and caste: paficama~ punar var!Jo nasti/sarrikfr!Jajatini'llfl tv asvataravan. matapitr:jativyatiriktajatyantaratvan na var!Jatvam/ayarri ea jatyantaropadesa~ sastre salflvyavaharanarthah/1. 17 • ApDh 2.27.9; GDh 12.2-12.3, 23.14-23.15; BDh 2.3.52; VaDh 21.1-21.5. Also, it is the duty of the king to prevent var!Jasalflkara (GDh 8.3), and Bralimins and Vaisyas are encouraged to take up arms against men and women who are guilty of it, although only in a quoted verse: BDh 2.4.18. 18 Social Classes: van,-ia Mikael Aktor 72 GDh 28.35-28.45; MDh 9.149-9.155; YDh 2.125; ViDh 18.1-18.33, 18.38-40. 73 these latter cases, Dharmasastra texts do not label these mixed relations by the caste names known from the caste definitions. Probably the children of such reb:itions were not regarded as actually belonging to the castes that the relations between their unequal parents would suggest according to the genealogical-mythical caste definitions. As we saw with the Matailga story, it is different with the epics, whose object is not to malce prescriptions for actual real-life situations but more to exemplify moral dilemmas in literary form. Connecting certain tribes and castes, whose life styles and livelihood appeared appalling to Brahmin sentiments, with illegitimate sexual relations between persons from the four var,;ias accomplished a double aim. It margin alized these castes and tribes thereby expressing the exclusivity of the original classes from the mouth, arms, thighs, and feet of Puru~a, at the same time, connecting them to these very classes and thereby including them in the emerging larger Hindu social order. It is plausible, as has been suggested by many scholars, that the notion of varnasamkara arose in the process by which various groups of the indigenous populati~n were gradually included in the networks of transactions with the aryas. 19 Some of the names of these groups are known from earlier texts, but it is the invention of the early Dharmasastra texts to stipulate a specific var,;iasarrikara genealogy to each of them. They do this in the context of marriage or they speak of these groups as "sons" from men and wives from different varnas. 20 Perhaps this idiom was even used as a deliberate expression of inclusion. It is in these early texts we get the distinction between relations in "the direct order" (anuloma) and relations in the "reverse order" (pratiloma). The latter is "outside the law" according to Gautama and cannot improve their status by intermarrying upward (GDh 4.25). An explicit distinction is also made by Yajfiavallcya: "Those born in the reverse and those born in the direct order are known respectively as bad and good" (YDh l.95c-d). The notion of pratiloma as known from other textual genres is also used in contexts where a norm has been violated, where a situation is unnatural, or where a relationship has been reversed. When, according to the Brhadara,;iyaka Upani~ad, Gargya, the Brahmin, admitted his ignorance and asked to be instructed by King Ajatasatru, the latter remarked, "Isn't it a reversal of the norm [pratilomarri] for a Brahmin to become the pupil of a K~atriya?" (BrU 2.1.15 in Olivelle 1998: 63). But eventually he taught Gargya about the states of consciousness during dream and deep sleep. Purai;uc instructions for royal astrologers regarding favorable and unfavorable omens constitute another case. 19 Jha 1970: 277, 283-5; R.S. Sharma 1990: 240, 336-7; Tambiali 1973b: 218, 223; Parasher 1991: 185; Brinkhaus 1978: 7-8. 2 For a synoptic presentation of these rules as they appear in GDh, BDh, and VaDh, see Olivelle 2005f: 41-3. ° Mikael Aktor 74 The former belong to the anuloma class of signs, whereas the latter belong to the pratiloma signs. These latter would typically be related to various classes of unnatural events (Inden 1985: 32). The rhetoric about varnasamkara like the worst of these omens, is not without a touch of apocalyptic a~soci~tions'. "Wherever these delinquent-born individuals, who corrupt the social classes, are born, that realm quickly comes to ruin together with its inhabitants" (MDh 10.61). In relation to the Dharmasiitras, Manu's discussion of mixed classes was innovative in that he stipulated specific occupations for each of the varnasarr,,kara castes (see, e.g., MDh 10.46-10.49). I think this is an expression oian increased inclusion of these groups in concrete transactions and, consequently, increased social complexity. Whatever was the ethnic or other demographic identity of the groups mentioned in the Dharmasiitra lists of mixed classes they are now regarded as occupational castes with. which the people from th~ four van:zas make transactions. The number of castes has also increased considerably, and added to the earlier listed van:zasarr,,karas we get van:zasarr,,karas of van:zasarr,,karas, many of whom are associated with specific occupations (MDh 10.26-10.39). Clearly, the system tended to proliferate and multiply itself expanding the bottom of the pyramid. THE UNTOUCHABLES One feature that clearly distinguished the bottom of the caste system from the layers above it was that of permanent untouchability. In the early texts, this feature did not yet have its own technical term but was articulated as the need for other people to have a bath in case they had been in physical contact with these persons. Untouchability, however, was not limited to persons from low castes but was a temporary condition attached to various persons in the domestic sphere, such as menstruating women and those in a period of impurity resulting from a birth or a death (see Chapter 17 on impurity). What made the untouchability attached to a caste special was that it was made permanent, inborn, and professional in the sense that it involved certain scorned occupations.21 I have already mentioned the Cal).qiila caste as untouchable, but the name was generic, and, like the term Siidra, it could apply to various despised groups at the lowest rungs of society. Alternative names are used, such as Svapaca or Svapaka, Paulkasa or Pulkasa, and Diviildrti. The explicit rule that prescribes a bath after having been in physical touch with a Cal).qiila is recorded in all four Dharmasiitras (ApDh 2.2.8; GDh 14.30; BDh 1.9.5; VaDh 23.33). It is repeated 21 For a detailed study, see Aktor 2008. For an overview, see Aktor 2010. Social Classes: var1,1a 75 by Manu (5.85) and taken for granted in all medieval Dharmasastric texts along with the var,:iasarr,,kara definition of the Ca,:iqala as the pratiloma progeny of Siidra men with Brahmin women. 22 Indeed, he is "the worst of all men" (MDh 10.12). As such, he is also classified as one of seven antyavasiiyins together with other pratiloma castes; often the term antyavasayin is just another generic term for untouchable castes. As the term (antyiivasayin) indicates, Cal).qalas were associated with remoteness in space or sequence (antya meaning remotest, last, or lowest). This reflects the fact that Cal).qalas were geographically segregated and forced 23 to live in areas outside or at the edge of villages and cities (MDh 10.51). But antya applies to an end in more than one sense. Already in the Chiindogya Upani~ad, we learn that persons of "foul behavior can expect to enter a foul womb" after they have died-"lil<e that of a dog, a pig, or an outcaste [Candiila] woman" (ChU 5.10.7 in Olivelle 1998: 237). In a structurally similar ma~~er, the twice-born family man is instructed to throw some food on the ground to Cal).qiilas, dogs, and birds outside his house at the end of the domestic vaisvadeva offerings (SiinkhGr 2.14). 24 Cal).qalas are at the end, together with village dogs, pigs, and birds, not only in the spatial sense of the home and the village areas. As the lowest of men, they also mark the boundary in sarr,,sara between human and animal existence. Untouchable castes were typically assigned jobs connected with pollution in the form of death (cremation workers, executioners), products from dead animals (leather workers, drummers), or trash (cleaning the streets of villages). They came to form a large and indispensable unskilled labor force, not only in such traditionally assigned jobs but also as day laborers in the fields and on building sites. Unlike the Siidras, they could be prevented from upward mobility by a systematic series of discriminating practices, all prescribed in Dharmasastra texts. 25 These included isolation in terms of sexual relationships, sharing food and food vessels,26 communication, habitation, use of wells, participation in religious practices including temple worship, and, significantly, giving gifts (gift exchange remained crucial for economic transactions and mobility). In addition, they were forced to make themselves both visible and audible at markets and in the streets. It was not until the period of social reform 22 The latter is confirmed by Ludo Rocher based on nine different descriptions in seven different texts (GDh, BDh, VaDh, ViDh, MDh, YDh, and AS) (2012: 257-8, §7). 23 The connection between terminology and spatial segregation was also pointed out by Vivekanand Jha (1975: 14-16). 24 Similarly, ApDh 2.3.1-2.4.20, 2.9.5-2.9.6; VaDh 11.3-11.11; MDh 3.84-3.93. 25 For details, see Aktor 2008: 116-88. 26 The technical term for the latter is apapatratva. The practice was defined by the grammarian Pataftjali as the idea that food vessels used by Caµqalas cannot be used by others, even though they have been cleaned properly by regular washing (Pataftjali on Paµini 2.4.10: I: 475.8-475.10). Mikael Aktor Social Classes: vaqia movements during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that some of these discriminations were slowly but effectively lifted. The temple and the palace are indistinguishable, for the king represents the gods .... The god in his temple has his court like the king in his palace: smiths, carpenters, potters, all work for him. (Hocart 1950: 68) 76 MOBILITY CONTROL, BRAHMIN FRAILTY, AND THEORIES OF CASTE In fact, the attempt to restrict upward social and economic mobility, which I think runs all through the van:ia and caste rules in the Dharmasastra texts, did not go unchallenged, even during the history of that literature. Buddhist and other early renouncer movements, medieval ascetic and tantric groups, bhakti sant poets of both nirgu,:ia and sagu,:ia orientation, and Sikhs who included their poetry in the Adi Granth, all challenged the Brahmin social order. The marginalization of Brahmins in the South with the rise of Maharashtrian and Dravidian self-assertiveness lead by Jyotirao Phule and E. V. Ramasamy, respectively, marked a definite turn of authority, but perhaps a certain Brahmin frailty already lay behind the opulent self-promotion that we read in large parts of the Dharmasastra texts. After all, Brahmins haveI always been a service class dependent on ldngs and local landowners. This, I think, comes through in some of the recent debates on caste theory. These debates took their departure in a critique of Louis Dumont's hierarchical model. According to this model, the social system is oriented top-down, from the Brahmin to the Untouchable. Status, defined in relation to an ideology, is hierarchically superior to power. Therefore, Brahmanical values of personal and inherent ritual purity are the parameters in relation to which all else is defined (Dumont 1970: 36-42). Critiques of this Brahmanical-inspired hierarchical model, such as those of Gloria Goodwin Raheja (1988) and Declan Quigley (1993), were inspired by the alternative model of the British ethnographer A. M. Hocart. Unlike Dumont, who saw society as structured from a hierarchical top, Hocart saw it as organized around centers of power. The basic idea in Hocart's theory is that the state is a ritual organization that includes the services of the var,:ias and castes. The occupations assigned to these groups are primarily ritual services. Drummers may make their primary living as day-workers rather than by playing drums, but they are known as drummers because this is their ritual service at funerals and weddings. The ldng, as the paradigmatic sacrificer (yajamiina), is the pivotal character of the whole organization. However, the system is multicentric, reaching down through the society, as well as up through the skies: The King's state is reproduced in miniature by his vassals: a farmer has his court, consisting of the personages most essential to the ritual and so present even in the smallest community, the barber, the washerman, the drummer and so forth .... 77 The centrality model highlights the true relationship between Brahmins and ldngs. Brahmins may be sacrificers themselves, but ultimately, they depend on other sacrificers for their living. The praise of the righteous Hindu ldng who expands his kingdom and makes the conquered land "fit for sacrifice" by settling the four var,:ias on the new land is also an appeal for support and moral-social leadership, which is a basic motivation behind the Dharmasastra texts.
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Livia Jiménez
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Filip De Boeck
KU Leuven
Cymene Howe
Rice University
Anna Horolets
University of Warsaw