Page 183 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Social Structure and Social Change

Notes all times to come. The period also represents a spectacular growth of Brahminism and the Brahmin
privileges which the Brahmins won through the instrumentality of the religion. The rise of big states
increased the power of the Kshatriyas over the Vaisyas and the Sudras, though their secondary position
in relation to the Brahmins remained a cause of their discontentment. Brahmins and Kshatriyas came
into conflict with each other sometimes in the middle of the fourth century B.C., each asserting its
superiority over the other. The amalgamation of tribes, the acquisition of new territories and the
subsequent swelling of the kingdoms in size, and the successful leadership of the kings in wars
inevitably led to a growth in the Kshatriya power. This growth of royal (Kshatriya) power and
prerogatives on the one hand and the impossible demands of the Brahmins on the other was the chief
cause of this struggle. This being the case, the problem of social relations within the various social
groups along with their position, privileges and disabilities assumed prime importance. Caste
distinctions became clearer in the literature of the Samhitas and the Brahmanas. Besides, the fourth
caste of Sudras figured very often as an integral part of the Aryan society, occupying the lowest
position in it. The theory of four castes came to be repeatedly mentioned in the literature of this
period, and the four castes became clearly established and rigid.
In the Epic period (600-323 B.C.), therefore, we find that the class differentiation grew. Taking
advantage of the wars among the Kshatriya rulers themselves, the Brahmins succeeded in organizing
themselves as an exclusive class. In the latter part of the Epic period, priesthood became hereditary
and inevitably the Brahmins began to pay attention to the purity of the blood and attaining a position
of superiority over others. They took conscious efforts to organize the social life of the people by
writing the Grihsutras (700-300 B.C.) and Dharmasutras (600-300 B.C.), etc. The former prescribed in
the minutest details the duties of man from his birth to burial and the latter dealt with a code of social
behaviour and relationships. It may, therefore, be said that the starting point of the caste system was
the later Vedic age (800-500 B.C.) and the Epic age (500-200 B.C.). Since the basis of social stratification
was division of labour, therefore, in its original form it was the class system rather than the caste
system. The racial factor, the occupational bias, the philosophy of action, and the religious concept of
purity and pollution–all contributed to the formation of the caste system.

8.1.3 Maurya Period (322–184 B.C.)
After the fall of Nanda dynasty in 322 B.C. started the Maurya period. The two important rulers of
this age were Chandragupta Maurya (322–298 B.C.) and Ashoka (273-233 B.C.). It was in this age that
whole of India was politically united for the first time under one head and rule. Political unity led to
the cultural unity of the country. We get some idea about the social organization and the functioning
of the caste system in this period from Kautilya’s writings. Kautilya, a Brahmin minister of
Chandragupta Maurya, a Sudra ruler, tried to remove various restrictions imposed by the Brahmins
on the Sudras by declaring that the royal law would supersede the dharma law. The rights and the
privileges of Brahmins received a further blow in the days of Ashoka, grandson of Chandragupta
Maurya. Ashoka’s religious policy was broadly based on toleration and universal brotherhood which
did not recognize the caste barriers or geographical boundaries. In his period, Vedic ritualism was
completely ruled out and animal sacrifice prohibited. The caste system, because of all these measures,
could not develop as a rigid institution in this period.
8.1.4 Post-Maurya Period (184 B.C.–606 A.D.)
The last Maurya ruler was killed by his Brahmin commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Sunga who later
on became the ruler himself in 184 B.C. and established a new dynasty called Sunga dynasty which
ruled for 112 years (184–72 B.C.). Pushyamitra was an ardent patron of Brahmanism and therefore,
his reign marked a powerful and militant Brahmanic reaction. It was under the patronage of Sunga,
Kanva (73-28 B.C.) and Kushan kings (25 A.D-327 A.D.) that a fresh stimulas was provided to the
revival of the Brahmanical religion and the development of the caste system. The probable date of
Manu Smriti is believed to be 185 B.C. It was through the writings in this and other Smritis that Vedic
rites were revived and Brahmins, giving themselves special privileges and imposing severe restrictions
on the Sudras, once again established their supremacy. Manu Smriti mentioned that the Sudra who
insults a twice-born man shall have his tongue cut out; if he mentions the names and jatis of the
twice-born with contempt, an iron-nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust in his mouth; if he arrogantly

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