Suvira jaiswal biography of william

There is strength in the argument that the endogamous brahmana caste was formed by the assimilation of the Aryan with the non-Aryan, whether or not they were survivors from the Harappa culture. Madhav M. It is true that complexion is not race, though it is often taken to be a sign of race. The text also contains prescriptions for having a daughter or a son of fairer complexion, and suggests that there was an uninhibited blending of Aryan and non-Aryan elements in the formation of the brahmana caste.

But also provides grist to the

Such assimilation has taken place in later times too. The fragmentation of brahmana varna into a number of endogamous subcastes is a development that took place in early medieval times in a different socioeconomic and political set-up. The emergence of a large, ritually superior caste of brahmanas in later Vedic times was mainly due to their control over Vedic sacrifices, which had by then become a highly specialized affair and required the services of a large number of ritual specialists, particularly for the performance of the sattra and soma sacrifices, such as the rajasuya and the asvamedha.

The brahmanas even claimed to be the bhudevas , or gods on earth, with such magical powers at their command that a priest, if so desired, could even ruin his patron — for whom he was officiating — by deliberately committing an error in the performance of the sacrifice. Such exaggerated claims did not go unchallenged and although the Upanisads are mainly the works of brahmana thinkers, and, on the whole, propagate varna hierarchy and Brahmanical values, the ksatriyas were seen as challenging their supremacy in the field of knowledge and the brahmanas seeking instructions from them.

But the real challenge to their supremacy and hierarchical position was articulated in the early texts of Jainism and Buddhism, which not only rejected the cult of sacrifices but also gave precedence to ksatriya varna while enumerating the varna orders. Several factors contributed to the strengthening of the varna stratification and pre-eminent position of the brahmanas.

The shift from Vedic ritualism to Puranic religion, which meant an appropriation of popular cults and heroic legends, such as those of Vasudeva—Krsna and Rama Dasarathi, and making them the vehicles for propagation of Brahmanical ideology through the remodelling of the Bharata epic and the composition of numerous Puranas and similar texts, provided an effective ideological tool for the perpetuation of the varna caste system.

No less significant was the part played by the brahmanas in early medieval polity. That this was a pan Indian phenomenon is clearly brought out by an inscription from Karnataka issued by king Madhavavarman II of the Talakad branch. It records the gift of five villages and a tenth share of taxes of Kirumundaniri nagara to twenty-two brahmana families, described as follows:.

Versed in the six duties, the study of the Vedas and employed within the palace enclosure prasada prakara baddhodyoganam , they were adept in counsel and the determination of usage to be followed; acted as envoys; advised on making alliance and wars; determined with whom to ally and when to keep quiet after proclaiming war vigrahyasana and how to march forth to battle in combination with others and how to attack the enemy in the rear.