Q1 of 9 Page 80

Explain why patriliny may have been particularly important among elite families.

1. In ancient India, elite families followed the system of patriliny which is a system through which descent from father to son is traced.

2. According to this system, the sons could claim the resources (including the throne in case of kings) of their father when the latter died.


3. In manusmriti it is mentioned that the eldest son would get a special share.


4. In Dharamshastras it was believed that only son can carry forward the dynasty and not daughters, and pray for son as a child.


5. The acquisition of throne was included in the heritance. After the king’s death his elder son is supposed to inherit the throne. Most of the royal families followed the patriliny since 600 B.C.


6. Elite families followed this system because it is mentioned in the mantras of rigveda and it possibly conflicts among the sons after their father’s death.


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2

Discuss whether kings in early states were invariably Kshatriyas.

 3

Compare and contrast the dharma or norms mentioned in the stories of Drona, Hidimba and Matanga.

 4

In what ways was the Buddhist theory of a social contract different from the Brahmanical view of society derived from the Purusha sukta?

 5

The following is an excerpt from the Mahabharata, in which Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, speaks to Sanjaya, a messenger:

Sanjaya, convey my respectful greetings to all the Brahmanas and the chief priest of the house of Dhritarashtra. I bow respectfully to teacher Drona … I hold the feet of our preceptor Kripa … (and) the chief of the Kurus, the great Bhishma. I bow respectfully to the old king (Dhritarashtra). I greet and ask after the health of his son Duryodhana and his younger brother ... Also greet all the young Kuru warriors who are our brothers, sons and grandsons … Greet above all him, who is to us like father and mother, the wise Vidura (born of a slave woman) ... I bow to the elderly ladies who are known as our mothers. To those who are our wives you say this, “I hope they are well-protected”… Our daughters-in-law born of good families and mothers of children greet on my behalf. Embrace for me those who are our daughters … The beautiful, fragrant, well-dressed courtesans of ours you should also greet. Greet the slave women and their children; greet the aged, the maimed (and) the helpless …


Try and identify the criteria used to make this list – in terms of age, gender, kinship ties. Are there any other criteria? For each category, explain why they are placed in a particular position in the list.