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Unit 8: Changing Trends and Future of Caste System

teaches Brahmins their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his Notes
ears. If a king be in a dying condition on account of lack of money, yet he shall not take tax from a
Brahmin who is well-versed in the Vedas. Thus, equality in law was completely destroyed by such
prescriptions and the caste system developed on rigid lines and assumed a new structure.
While the foundation stone for the revival of Brahminism was laid in the Sunga, Kanva and Kushan
dynasties, its real development came in the Gupta period (300A.D.–500 A.D.), the period called the
Golden Age of Hinduism or the period of Hindu Renaissance. Brahminism became the ethnic religion
of India in this period and the caste system got a fresh incentive. However, the caste system had not
assumed that rigidity in this period which we associate with it in the Muslim or in the beginning of
the British period in respect of inter-marriage, inter-dining, and professions. Marriage rules were
some what elastic and inter-marriages between people of different castes were not unknown. The
prehistoric view that the Sudras should be content merely to become the servants of the twice-born
was neither accepted in theory nor followed in practice. Sudras in this period were permitted to
become traders, artisans and agriculturists. However, untouchability existed in this period more or
less in its present form. The untouchables lived outside the main-settlements and used to strike a
piece of wood as they entered them so that men might note their arrival and avoid their contact.
8.1.5 Harsh Vardhna and Other Periods (606–700 A.D.)

After the collapse of the Gupta empire, northern India again became a congeries of small states and
many petty kingdoms arose in the course of next fifty years. But under Harsha Vardhana (606-647
A.D.), these disintegrating units were brought under the central authority and the political unity of
India was restored. The caste system, therefore, continued to have that structure in this period as it
had in the Gupta period. The elaborate account of social, religious and economic conditions of India
of this period is available in Chinese scholar Hieun Tsang’s writings who visited India in 630 A.D.
and remained here till 643 A.D. He writes that Brahminism dominated in the country, caste ruled the
social structure, and persons following unclean occupations like butchers, fishermen and scavengers
had to live outside the four walls of the city.
8.1.6 Rajput Period (700–1200 A.D.)
The medieval period (700–1757 A.D.) includes the Rajput period (700–1200A.D.) and the Muslim
period (1200-1757A.D.). The ancient Hindu period came to an end with the death of Harsha in the
middle of the seventh century and the medieval period of history began. After the death of Harsha,
the whole of India once again disintegrated into a large number of small independent kingdoms set
up throughout the country, each under a Rajput ruler. This period (from the middle of the seventh
century to the end of the twelfth century) is, thus, marked by the rise and growth of the Rajput power
over northern India.
The cultural life of the Hindus in the beginning of the Rajput period, that is, before the advent of
Islam, was not very different from the one found in the end of the ancient period, that is, during
Harsha’s period. One of the most remarkable facts which influenced the social system of this period
is the absence of any external danger and isolation of the country from the rest of the world, particularly
with the neighbouring countries like China, Java, Sumatra, etc. No known country was isolated from
the rest of the world for so long a time as India was for five hundred years. This had far-reaching
effects. The Indian social system did not change. Society became static and the caste system became
rigid. Brahmins gave themselves more privileges and permitted flesh, wine and women in worship.
The mathas established by Shankaracharya became the centres of the luxurious life. The system of
devdasi fostered the growth of temple prostitution which had the effect of loosening moral codes. The
Rajputs were loyal to their clans and to die in the battlefield for clan’s honour was esteemed as a
personal triumph. A Rajput’s exclusive loyalty to clan, which was confined to the person and territory
of his chief, made him blind or indifferent to the larger patriotism of the whole of India. Consequently,
when foreign armies attacked India, they were more often than not met singly, each individual clan
in its turn, with disastrous results for the country. A large number of new castes and sub-castes
sprang up. The Brahmins tightened their bonds of caste and defended themselves by the increased
rigidity of caste associations. Probably the process of disintegration began with the Brahmin caste.
Besides the Rigvedi and the Yajurvedi Brahmins of old, their sub-castes multiplied and they came to

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