“The Mahabharata is a story of kinship, marriages and patriliny.” Examine the statement.

OR

‘Because of the diversity of the Indian subcontinent there have always been populations whose social practices were not influenced by the Brahminical ideas during 600 BCE – 600 CE.’ Examine the statement.

Mahabharata is the longest written epic poem in history. It was written by Vyasa originally in Sanskrit. The final form of the epic consisted of over 2 lakh verses. The epic describes a dispute over land and power between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. But they belonged to the single royal family of the Kurus. The conflict which stated as small disputes and skirmishes ended in a war. Ultimately the Pandavas became victorious.

Mahabharata portrays the story of kinship and relationships. It depicts the story of two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas belonging to the single royal family of the Kurus. They grew up together and are sent to the same gurukul. But with the passage of time, the displeasure between them increased that resulted in the Mahabharata war between them. It gives a deep analysis of the relationships between the family clans and their behaviour.

Patriliny is tracing the descent of the family in different generations from father to son, grandson and so on. It is the method of tracing the ancestry from the paternal side. After the victory of the Pandavas, the patrilineal succession was declared. Even though patriliny had existed prior to the composition of the epic, the Mahabharata strengthened that it was important to follow the tradition to ensure the stability of the system. Under this, sons could claim the resources, positions and wealth of their fathers when the latter died.

The status of daughters is given in an entirely different viewpoint in the epic. Unlike the sons, the daughters had no claims to the resources, position and power of the family. Also marrying them into families outside the kin was considered appropriate. Marrying daughters to a different clan were considered desirable at the right time and to the right person. Thus, this was considered to be an important religious duty of the father. The organisation of swayamwara to Draupathi is part of this system of exogamy. Also, her marriage with the five Pandavas is the practice of polyandry, in which a woman can have several husbands.

Thus the Mahabharata can also be identified as a story of kinship, marriages and patriliny.

OR

The Indian subcontinent was home to a diverse culture and traditions from the ancient era. The whole society was divided into four classes of people according to their social status as Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras or Chandalas. The subcontinent with its huge population and ethnic diversity, there were many classes of people who were not the followers of the Brahminical ideas and whose social practices were not influenced by Brahmanical ideas. But they are described in Brahminical texts and scriptures as odd, uncivilised and even animal-like. The social groups who were not influenced by these ideas are comprised of a mixed populace.

The Brahmanas considered some people as being outside the system and introduced a severe social divide in society. They classified some social categories of people as untouchable on the basis of the activities performed by them. Some of the activities performed by them included handling corpses and dead animals were considered as polluting. The people who were involved in these tasks were designated as chandalas and were placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Also, whenever Brahmanical class encountered new groups of people who could not fit the Varna system, they were included in the separate category of Jatis.

The first class of people to be included in this group are the forest-dwellers. They mainly led their living by hunting and gathering. One important example for this is the Nishada clan, to which Ekalavya of the Mahabharata is believed to belong.

Another group of people who were not the believers of Brahminical ideologies were the nomadic pastoralists. They did not have the characteristics and behaviour of the settled agriculturists. Also, the group of people who spoke non-Sanskritic languages were considered as mlechchhas and were marginalised and looked with contempt.

According to the Brahminical shastras, only Kshatriyas could be the kings. But, this was not followed by several important ruling lineages. The Brahmanical writings illustrated them as of low origin. The rulers such as the Shakas who were from Central Asia were considered by the Brahmanas as mlechchha, barbarians and outsiders.

Thus because of the vast culture and traditions practised within the huge subcontinent, there existed many groups and sub-groups of people who were not part of the Brahminical thoughts and ideologies prevalent at the time.