| Summary, etc. |
A cursory glance at society in Ancient India makes it clear<br/>that Brahmins held a very prominent place in almost all the<br/>important domains of life. In the field of culture, our most<br/>precious heritage, the Brahmins held sway. In political affairs,<br/>practically nothing was possible without the advice of the<br/>counsellors who used to be largely Brahmins. That they were<br/>prominent also in other fields can be learnt from a perusal of<br/>ancient records. In fact, the prominent role played by the Brah-<br/>mins continued right up to the present century. During the<br/>middle Ages, they had the last word as intellectual leaders of<br/>Hindu Society. In recent times, they have been prominent among<br/>the leaders of our national movement.<br/>But it is strange that all this notwithstanding, practically<br/>very little work has been done on the origin and evolution of<br/>Brahmins as a distinct social group. Most of the facts known<br/>about them still remain to be investigated or are to be found as<br/>passing remarks in the treatises on caste-system such as the<br/>Śūdras who have attracted the attention of scholars more than<br/>any other social group of Indian Society.<br/>Even if one were to look at the problem only from the point<br/>of culture, one cannot help remarking that Brahmins have<br/>bequeathed to us a precious heritage in the form of the over-<br/>whelming majority of their works in Sanskrit Literature, by far<br/>the richest part of our heritage. In fact this language, which<br/>has been the vehicle of Indian culture abroad, is in itself<br/>the creation of Brahmins. The contribution of Brahmin<br/>converts to Buddhism and Jainism, to literature in Pāli and<br/>Ardhamāgadhi is no less remarkable.<br/>In the present work an attempt has been made to examine<br/>the position of the Brahmins from the Earliest times to 300<br/>A.D. The work is primarily devoted to a study of their position<br/>in the social, religious, political and cultural fields-where they<br/>held undisputed sway in those times. It also attempts a survey<br/>of their economic affairs and seeks to assess the importance of<br/>their role in different fields.<br/>Anthropology, etc.<br/>,<br/>although help is sought from Pali texts, Archaelogy, Ethnology,<br/>We have generally followed the dates as<br/>accepted by Prof. P.V. Kane in his History of Dharma-śāstra.<br/>The first Chapter deals with an examination of sources avail<br/>.<br/>able in the Vedas and Brāhmaṇas. These works are mostly reli-<br/>gious in character but provide us with data about the Varnas,<br/>occupations, duties, saņskāras, education, marriage, privileges<br/>and punishments.<br/>The second chapter depicts the status of the Brahmins as<br/>teachers and as householders on the basis of Kalpa Sūtras.<br/>This rich source is supported by material gleaned from the<br/>Upanişads, the early technical texts such as the Nirukta and the<br/>Aștādhyāyi as also from early Páli texts, viz. Majjhima Nikāya,<br/>Dīgha Nikāya, Anguttara Nikāya, Vinaya Pițaka and the<br/>Jātakas. “There can be no difficulty in accepting facts attested<br/>by all these sources; where such concord is wanting, materials<br/>furnished by Buddhist and Jaina sources may be taken as<br/>reflecting more of actual conditions than the rules laid down in<br/>Dharma-Sūtras"). The facts of Dharma-Sūtras are corrobo-<br/>rated by the other sources.<br/>The third chapter discusses the position of the Brahmins from<br/>about the 3rd century B.C. to 2nd century B.C. and draws its data<br/>from Kautalya's Arthaśästra. These data are supported by the<br/>material drawn from Megasthenes and the Aśokan Inscriptions.<br/>The fourth chapter deals with the position of the Brahmins<br/>in the Gupta-Age, and incorporates material from Smſtis like<br/>those of Manu, Nārada, Bphaspati, Yājñavalkya and Kātyā-<br/>yana. This information is supplemented by the material of<br/>medical treatises of Suśruta and Caraka, from the Mahābhāsya,<br/>the Kānasūtra, and from texts such as the Buddhacarita,<br/>Saundarananda, Vajrasūci Upanişad and Milindapañha.<br/>The fifth, the concluding chapter is in attempt to present a<br/>rapid survey of the position and the role of the Brahmins in each<br/>period. It also recounts the changes, the ups and downs in their<br/>position in course of their struggle for power and their status. |
