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Class 10 Class 12

Kinship, Caste And Class

Describe the position of women with regard to ownership of property in ancient times.

(i) Under patriliny sons could claim resources (including the throne in the case of kings) of their fathers when the latter died.

(ii) Historical sources refer that most of the ruling dynasties (C. sixth century BCE onwards) claimed to follow this system although there were variation in practice; sometimes there were no sons, in some situation brother succeeded one another, sometimes other kinsmen claimed the throne.

(iii) For men, the Manusmriti declares, there are seven means of acquiring wealth.

(iv)These are: Inheritance, finding, purchase, conquest, investment, work and acceptance of gifts from good people.

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What, according to the Dharmashastras, were the ideal occupations for the four varnas? Give one way in which the Brahmanas tried to enforce these norms.

The Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras contained rules about the ideal ‘occupations’ of the four categories or varnas.

(i) Brahmanas were supposed to study and teach the Vedas, perform sacrifices and get sacrifices performed, give and receive gifts.

(ii) Kshatriyas were to engage in warfare, protect people and administer justice and study the Vedas.

(iii)The last three ‘occupations’ were also assigned to the Vaishyas, who were additionally expected to engage in agriculture, pastoralism and trade.

(iv)Shudras were assigned only on occupation that of serving the three ‘higher’ varnas.

(v)The Brahmanas evolved two strategies for enforcing social norms of Varna. One, as we have just seen, was to assert that the varna order was created by the gods. Second, they advised kings to ensure that these norms were followed within their kingdoms. And third, they attempted to convince people that their status was determined by the social category into which they were born. However, convincing men and women was not always easy. So prescriptions were often reinforced by stories told in the Mahabharata and other texts.

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Discuss how access to property sharpened social differences between men and women in ancient times.

1. For men, the Manusmriti declares, there are seven means of acquiring wealth. These are: Inheritance, finding, purchase, conquest, investment, work and acceptance of gifts from good people.

2. And the six means for women: What was given in front of the fire (marriage) or the bridal procession or as a token of affection and what she got from her brother, mother or father. In addition, any subsequent gift and whatever her affectionate husband might give her.

3. According to the Manusmriti, the paternal estate was to be divided equally amongst sons after the death of the parents, with a special share for the eldest. Women could not claim a share of these resources.

4. However, women were allowed to retain the gifts they received on the occasion of their marriage as Stridhana (literally, a woman's wealth). This could be inherited by their children, without the husband having any claim on it. At the same time, the Manusmriti warned women against hoarding family property, or even their own valuables, without the husband's permission.

5. We know about some wealthy women such as the Vakataka queen Prabhavati Gupta. However, cumulative evidence - both epigraphic and textual-suggests that while upper-class women may have been access to resources, land, cattle and money were generally controlled by men.

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Define the term patriliny. Give one example.

Patriliny means tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on. In ancient India (C. 600 BCE-600CE) patriliny might have been particularly important among elite families because most of the texts (religious and other books) refer mostly about elite families and they do not describe about the ordinary family.

For example, we can take Mahabharata. This epic describes a feud over land and power between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, who belonged to a single ruling family, that of the Kurus, a lineage dominating one of the Janapadas.

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How was Buddha’s presence shown through symbols? Give two examples.

By building Buddhist stupas, maths, viharas, different types of statues showing various postures of Lord Buddha, some of the physical things were shown and worshipped as symbols (such as Lotus) by the followers of the Buddhism.

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Kinship, Caste And Class

Define the term patriliny. Give one example.