Misplaced Pages

#983016

70-532: Ishwar Chandra Gupta was born in a Baidya family. He was brought up in his uncle's house after the death of his mother. Gupta spent most of his childhood in Kolkata . At that time, poets were named Kobiwala and the kobiwalas were not so civilized in language. Sexual words and clashes were common. But Ishwar Chandra Gupta created a different style of poetry. He started the newspaper Sambad Prabhakar with Jogendra Mohan Tagore on January 28, 1831, which finally became

140-675: A Vedic-era upanishad meaning "nourisher" and associates it with the creation of earth and production activities that nourishes the whole world, and the text calls this Pusan as Shudra. The term Pusan , in Hindu mythology, is the charioteer of the sun who knows the paths thereby bringing light, knowledge and life to all. The same word pusan is, however, associated in a Brahmana text to Vaishya . The ancient Hindu text Arthashastra states, according to Sharma, that Aryas were free men and could not be subject to slavery under any circumstances. The text contrasts Aryas with Shudra , but neither as

210-474: A daily on June 4, 1839. Many Bengali writers of the 19th century started their careers with that magazine. He reintroduced into Bengali poetry the mediaeval style with double meaning (already seen in Sandhyakaranandi and Bharatchandra): 'Ishwar' means God, 'Gupta' means hidden and 'Prabhakar' is the sun. So a translation runs: Also, Ishwar (Chandra) Gupta ran the journal Prabhakar . So a second meaning of

280-584: A dead prince. Kumkum Chatterjee feels that the Baidyas had probably crystallized into a jati long before the Sultanate rule , sometime around these times. In Sultanate, Mughal, and Nawabi Bengal , Baidyas often branched out into fields other than medicine and comprised a significant percentage of the elites. They were reputed for their proficiency in Sanskrit, which they needed to read treatises of medicine. By

350-524: A descent from the semi-legendary Ambashthas , mostly believed to be of Kshatriya origin in Hindu scriptures, but such connections are tenuous. It is plausible the Baidyas had some link with Vaidyas of South India; inscriptions of the Sena dynasty mention migrations from Karnat and other places. The Talamanchi plates of Vikramaditya I (c. 660 CE) were drafted by one Vajravarman, described as an "illustrious Vaidya"; besides, three South Indian inscriptions of

420-556: A hereditary slave nor as an economically closed social stratum in a manner that the term Shudra later was interpreted. According to Rangarajan, the law on labour and employment in Arthashastra has led to a variety of different interpretations by different translators and commentators, and "the accepted view is that slavery, in the form it was practised in contemporary Greece, did not exist in Kautilyan India". Kautilya argued for

490-521: A marker that the text is likely a medieval-era text. The traditional occupation of Shudra as described by Ghurye is agriculture, trade and crafts. However, this categorisation varies by scholar. As per Drekmeier state "Vaishya and Shudra actually shared many occupations and were frequently grouped together". The Arthashastra mentions Shudra as artisans while the Vishnusmriti (3rd century) states all arts to be their occupational domain. In contrast,

560-558: A member of this society, produced voluminous literature to put forward partisan claims on Baidyas descending from Brahmins. Binodlal Sen later published Bharatamallika's genealogies in print. A rivalry with the Kayasthas, who would be considered to be inferior thenceforth, became an integral part of this discourse; matrimonial alliances were discouraged, fomenting the rise of a rigid, endogamous caste group. In 1893, Jnanendramohan Sengupta wrote Baidyajatir Baisista in an attempt to prove

630-514: A physician in the Bengali and Sanskrit languages. Bengal is the only place where they formed a caste or rather, a jati . The origins of Baidyas remain surrounded by a wide variety of overlapping and sometimes contradictory myths, and are heavily contested. Aside from Upapuranas and two genealogies (Kulajis), premodern Bengali literature does not discuss details of the caste's origins, nor do any old and authentic Smritis . The community claims

700-588: A right of wearing sacred thread for the Baidyas of his own samaj. On facing opposition from other Baidya zamindars , who thought this to be an attempt at gaining trans-samaj acceptance as a Baidya leader, and Brahmin scholars of Vikrampur, who resented the loss of monopoly, Ballabh invited 131 Brahmins from Benaras , Kanauj , Navadwip , and other regions with expertise in Nyaya Shastra . All of them adjudicated in his favour, with ceremonial costs running to five lakhs . Soon, Baidyas sought for equality with

770-571: A summary of the former text. Bharata claimed a mixed-caste/Vaishya status for the Baidyas whereas Das skipped such discussions. In the Caitanya Caritāmṛta of Baidya Krishnadasa Kaviraja , one Candrasekhara is variably referred to as a Baidya and a Sudra. During the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, acrimonious debates about the caste status of Baidyas proliferated. Around 1750, Raja Ballabh wished to have Brahmins officiate at his rituals; he sought Vaishya status and claimed

SECTION 10

#1732851925984

840-515: A theological commentary. Sivananda Sena , an immensely wealthy Baidya, organize the annual trip of Caitanya devotees to Puri, and his son wrote several devotional Sanskrit works. As the Caitanya cult shunned doctrines of equality after his death, the associated Baidyas began enjoying a quasi-Brahminic status as Gaudiya Vasihnava gurus . Multiple Baidya authors partook in the Mangalkavya tradition ,

910-585: Is a Bengali Hindu community located in the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent . A caste ( jāti ) of Ayurvedic physicians, the Baidyas have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas . In the colonial era , the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, but not exclusively, from these three upper castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal . The terms Baidya means

980-458: Is it found in any Vedanga literature such as the Shrauta-sutras or Grihya-sutras. The word is almost entirely missing, in any context, from ancient Sanskrit literature composed before the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, and it scarcely appears in the dharmasutras. Increasing mentions of it appear in the dharmasastras of mid to late 1st millennium CE. The presence of the word dvija is

1050-456: Is its shortest section. Sections–of the Manusmriti state eight rules for Vaishyas and two for Shudras. Though Manusmriti says Brahmins may seize property from sudra because Sudra owns nothing. Sudra shouldnt accumulate wealth as if he becomes wealthy he might harass brahmin. In sections 10.43 - 10.44, Manu lists Kshatriya tribes who, neglecting the priests and their rites, had fallen to

1120-502: Is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in the Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality". Historian Ram Sharan Sharma states that "the Rig Vedic society was neither organized on the basis of social division of labour nor on that of differences in wealth... [it]

1190-521: Is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India . Some sources translate it into English as a caste , or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like workers. According to Richard Gombrich 's study of Buddhist texts , particularly relating to castes in Sri Lankan Buddhist and Tamil Hindu society, also "The terms Vaisya and Sudra did not correspond to any clear-cut social units, even in

1260-434: Is rarely mentioned in the extensive medieval era records of Andhra Pradesh , for example. This has led Cynthia Talbot, a professor of history and Asian studies, to question whether varna was socially significant in the daily lives of this region. The mention of jati is even rarer, through the 13th century. Two rare temple donor records from warrior families of the 14th century claim to be Shudras. One states that Shudras are

1330-543: The 7th century . Also, an "outcaste" who entered the profession of agriculture would be absorbed in the Shudra varna. The Shudra, states Marvin Davis, are not required to learn the Vedas . They were not dvija or "twice-born", and their occupational sphere stated as service ( seva ) of the other three varna. The word Dvija is neither found in any Vedas and Upanishads , nor

1400-546: The Pandyas (c. late 8th century) note the Vaidya- kula (trans. "Vaidya clan" /"Vaidya family") to be Brahmins , famed for expertise in music and Sastras, and one of them was noted to have served in the dual roles of War-General and Prime Minister. The Upapuranas played a significant role in the history of Bengal: they propagated and established Brahminic ideals in the hitherto-impure fringes of Aryavarta and accommodated elements of

1470-470: The Parasarasmriti and other texts state that arts and crafts are the occupational domain of all four varnas. Other sources state that this statement of occupations of Shudra is a theoretical discussion found in select texts, it is not historical. Other Hindu texts such as the epics, states Naheem Jabbar, assert that Shudras played other roles such as kings and ministers. According to Ghurye, in reality,

SECTION 20

#1732851925984

1540-521: The Rigveda was most likely compiled between c. 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE, John Muir in 1868 suggested that the verse that mentions the four varnas has "every character of modernness both in its diction and ideas". The Purusha Sukta verse is now generally considered to have been inserted at a later date into the Vedic text, possibly as a charter myth . According to Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel Brereton, "there

1610-556: The Upanayana , an initiation ritual, by the Brahmins. This claim has been contested by historians such as R. S. Sharma . Sharma criticised Ambedkar for relying solely on translations of texts for his information, and stated Ambedkar wrote the book with the sole purpose to prove Shudras were of high caste origin, which was very popular among the highly educated parts of the lower castes during that time period. Sri Aurobindo states Shudra and

1680-620: The smallpox epidemic of the 1840s in Dhaka , Baidyas would refuse to inoculate the masses and relegate such menial tasks to lower-ranked barbers and garland makers. Beginning in 1822, Brahmin and Baidya scholars produced a series of polemical pamphlets against one another and in 1831, the Baidya Samaj (Baidya Society) was formed by Khudiram Bisharad , a teacher at the Native Medical Institution, to defend class interests. Gangadhar Ray ,

1750-454: The vaishya from his thighs and the shudra from his feet. According to historian Ram Sharan Sharma , the purpose of this verse may have been to show that shudras had the same lineage as the other varnas and hence were a section of society in the Vedic period . On the other hand, it could also represent an attempt to provide a common mythical origin for the heterogenous Brahminical society. While

1820-437: The 3 wives of king Dasharatha, was a Shudra. Some of them even worked their way up to throne. The famous Chandragupta is traditionally known to be a Shudra. Among the Hindu communities of Bali, Indonesia, the Shudra (locally spelled Soedra ) have typically been the temple priests, though depending on the demographics, a temple priest may also be a Brahmin (Brahmana), Kshatriya (Ksatrya) or Vaishya. In most regions, it has been

1890-614: The Ambasthas had scriptural sanction of being ordained into sannyasa , like Brahmins; Sengupta remained a prolific author for the Baidya cause throughout the first quarter of the twentieth century. In 1901, colonial ethnographer Herbert Hope Risley noted the Baidyas to be above Sudras but below Brahmins. Baidya social historians like Umesh Chandra Gupta and Dinesh Chandra Sen supported Risley's observation of non-Shudra status with measured skepticism and went on to produce illustrious histories of

1960-471: The Ambasthas, deriving from a well-known mythical episode where Brahmins had them ordained to be the highest of Shudras and conferred a monopoly to practice Ayurveda. In contrast, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana (Bv. P.) —notable for a very late Bengali recension (c. 14th/15th centuries)— treats the Baidyas as separate to Ambasthas but notes both to be Satsudras . According to Ryosuke Furui,

2030-653: The Baidya community mentioned in the Bv. P. was a group of degraded Brahmins called Vaidya or Pandita, who resided in the Ganjam district of Odisha and may have served as a link between the Vaidyas of South India and the Baidyas of Bengal. Kulajis — a form of literature endemic to Bengal — were essentially immutable genealogical registers but actually, texts in flux, reflecting the needs and anxieties of contemporary society; they primarily served to establish social hierarchy vis à vis others. Of

2100-509: The Baidyas among Satsudra s, of whom Kayasthas were held to be the highest. The Chandimangal of Mukundaram Chakrabarti (c. mid 16th century CE) placed the Baidyas below Vaisyas but above Kayasthas, again indicating a Sudra status. Works by Raghunandana (c. mid 16th century) also hold Baidyas to be Sudras. In 1653 C.E., Ramakanta Das wrote the oldest available Baidya kulanji — Sadvaidyakulapnjika . A few years later, Bharatamallika would write Chandraprabha (1675 C.E.), and Ratnaprabha ,

2170-512: The Baidyas with the largest share of land per se —even exceeding the Brahmins— pointing to the yet-insignificant roles played by varna. Beginning the 11th century, kinship based organization was increasingly evident across all classes — sects of Brahmins claimed greater authority deriving from the illustriousness of their ancestors and networked among themselves, literate classes entered into practicing endogamy etc. Inscriptions increasingly point to

Ishwar Chandra Gupta - Misplaced Pages Continue

2240-470: The Brahmins and claimed themselves to be "Gauna (secondary) Brahmins", leveraging the recently conferred right to upanayana . Further, Calcutta Sanskrit College barred Shudras from admission, initially allowing only Brahmins and Baidyas to enrol until Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar introduced admission for Kayasthas. At the same time, they invested efforts to prevent lower rank caste from infiltrating into their ranks and emphasize on their social purity; in

2310-472: The Brahmins, Baidyas and Kayasthas were common and increasing. Baidyas wield considerable socio-economic power in contemporary Bengal as part of Bhadraloks; though in absence of rigorous data, the precise extent is difficult to determine. Parimal Ghosh notes this Bhadralok hegemony to have effectively disenfranchised the rest of Bengal from staking a claim to social capital. Shudra Traditional Shudra or Shoodra ( Sanskrit : Śūdra )

2380-582: The Buddhist texts as few exceptions, but states Bronkhorst, only in the context of abstract divisions of society and it seems to "have remained a theoretical concept without any parallel in actual practice". Historian R. S. Sharma, after discussing several examples concludes that the dharmaśāstras did not allow the Shudras access to literacy but allowed them to learn arts and crafts such as elephant training, etc. He also adds that texts denied them Vedic education as it

2450-721: The Hindu community of Maharashtra , but also in the Sikh community. Sixty of his compositions were included by the Sikh Gurus of Punjab region as they compiled the Sikhism scripture the Guru Granth Sahib . Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar , a social reformer, believed that there were initially only three varnas: the Brahmin , Kshatriya and Vaishya , and that the Shudras were the Kshatriyas who were denied

2520-447: The Shudra as a peasant. Shudras were described as the giver of grain and ancient texts describe a Shudra's mode of earning as being "by the sickle and ears of corn". The ancient precept, "Vedas are destroyer of agriculture and agriculture is destroyer of Vedas", is shown as one of the reasons as to why the Shudras were not allowed to learn Vedas. The fact that peasants were held as Shudras is also documented by Chinese traveller Xuanzang in

2590-481: The Shudra who typically make offerings to the gods on behalf of the Hindu devotees, chant prayers, recite meweda (Vedas), and set the course of Balinese temple festivals. Scholars have tried to locate historical evidence for the existence and nature of varna and jati in documents and inscriptions of medieval India. Supporting evidence for the existence of varna and jati systems in medieval India has been elusive, and contradicting evidence has emerged. Varna

2660-552: The Varnasamkara myth and the subsequent ordaining of Samkaras in Brh. P. reflected and reinforced the existing social hierarchy of ancient Bengal — that is, even in pre-Brahminized Bengal, the Baidyas had an eminent position and practiced medicine — while allowing the Brahmin authors to conform an alien society to orthodoxic standards, and establish themselves at the top. According to Sircar,

2730-632: The Vedas. Yajnavalkya Smriti in contrast, mentions Shudra students, and the Mahabharata states that all four varnas, including the Shudras, may hear the Vedas. Other Hindu texts go further and state that the three varnas – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya – may acquire knowledge from Shudra teachers, and the yajna sacrifices may be performed by Shudras. These rights and social mobility for Shudras may have arisen in times of lower societal stress and greater economic prosperity, periods that also saw improvement in

2800-536: The Vedic text's mention of Shudra and other varnas has been seen as its origin, and that "in the varna ordering of society, notions of purity and pollution were central and activities were worked out in this context" and it is "formulaic and orderly, dividing society into four groups arranged in a hierarchy". According to Sharma, the Shudra class originated from Indo-Aryans and non-Indo-Aryans who were relegated to that position due "partly through external and partly through internal conflicts". The word pusan appears in

2870-534: The ancient period, but various groups were subsumed under each term [...]; In medieval times (say AD 500–1500) though society was still said to consist of the four classes, this classification seems to have become irrelevant[.]" The word Shudra appears in the Rigveda and it is found in other Hindu texts such as the Manusmriti , Arthashastra , dharmaśāstras and jyotiḥśāstras . In some cases, Shudras participated in

Ishwar Chandra Gupta - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-412: The bravest, the other states that Shudras are the purest. Richard Eaton, a professor of history, writes, "anyone could become a warrior regardless of social origins, nor do the jati appear as features of people's identity. Occupations were fluid." Evidence shows, according to Eaton, that Shudras were part of the nobility, and many "father and sons had different professions, suggesting that social status

3010-572: The community, deriving from kulanjis . In the early twentieth century, Gananath Sen , the first dean of the Faculty of Ayurveda at Banaras Hindu University , opened a "Baidya Brahman Samiti" in Calcutta ; now, the Baidyas were not merely equal to Brahmins but identical. It was also suggested all Baidyas change their surnames to Sharma, a Brahmin patronymic. In 1915 and 1916, Kuladakinkara Ray published Vaidyakulapanjika to advocate that Baidyas were not just

3080-425: The conflicting stances within the Hindu texts, non-Hindu texts present a different picture about the Shudras. A Buddhist text, states Patton, "refers to Shudras who know the Vedas, grammar, Mimamsa , Samkhya , Vaisheshika and lagna ". According to Johannes Bronkhorst , a professor of Indology specialising in early Buddhism and Hinduism, the ancient Buddhist canon is predominantly devoid of varna discussions, and

3150-473: The coronation of kings, or were amatya "ministers" and rajas "kings" according to early Indian texts. The term śūdra appears only once in the Rigveda . This mention is found in the mythical story of creation embodied in the Puruṣasuktam . It describes the formation of the four varnas from the body of a primeval man . It states that the brahmin emerged from his mouth, the kshatriya from his arms,

3220-572: The early twentieth century; a majority of "revolutionary terrorists" from Bengal who partook in the Indian independence movement came from this class. In modern Bengal, Baidyas' place in caste-hierarchy follows Brahmins — they wear the sacred thread, and have access to scriptures, but cannot conduct priestly services. Their ritual rank — whether Sudras or not — is debated and claims to Brahmin status persist. However, their socioeconomic status rivals that of Brahmins. As of 1960, inter-marriages between

3290-683: The end of sixteenth century, Baidyas were occupying a position of preeminence in the Bengali social hierarchy alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas ; marriages between Baidyas and Kayasthas were commonplace. Around the late fifteenth century, Baidyas became intricately associated with the Caitanya Cult alongside Brahmins. Murari Gupta , a childhood friend of Caitanya, was a famed physician of Navadwip and went on to compose Krsna Caitanya Caritamrta , his oldest extant biography in Sanskrit. Narahari Sarkara , another Baidya devotees, composed Krsna Bhajanamrta ,

3360-482: The foremost being Bijaya Gupta (late 15th c.). Besides, two Chandi Mangalkavyas were penned by Jaynnarayana Sen (c. 1750) and Muktarama Sen (1774), two Manasa Mangalkavyas by Sasthibara Datta (late 17th c.) and one by Dbarik Das. Bharatamallika (fl. 1650), a physician and an instructor of a tol , wrote numerous commentaries on Sanskrit texts like Amarakosha , and produced miscellaneous works on grammar and lexicography. The Vallal Charita of Ānanda Bhaṭṭa classed

3430-419: The genealogical works to be free for anyone who purchased medications above a certain value and Baidya medicine distributors were frequently found to sell revisionist caste histories. Says Mukharji, that elements of colonial modernity—Western notions of physiology and medical instruments—were "braided" with Ayurveda to fashion Baidyas as the modern Brahmins. Notwithstanding these contestations of scriptural rank,

3500-464: The hereditary nature of a range of professions from merchants to engravers to scribes. In the words of Furui, proto- jatis were forming across these spans which would be legitimized into a Brahminic social order by the Upapuranas etc. The Bhatera Copper Plates mention the aksapaṭalika of King Isandeva (c. 1050) to be of Baidya lineage , on whose advice a parcel of land was granted to the family of

3570-530: The hereditary occupation aspect of Shudra and other varnas was missing from large parts of India, and all four varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras) were agriculturalists, traders or became warriors in large numbers depending on economic opportunity and circumstantial necessities. According to Ghurye: Though theoretically the position of the Shudras was very low, there is evidence to show that many of them were well-to-do. Some of them succeeded in marrying their daughters in royal families. Sumitra, one of

SECTION 50

#1732851925984

3640-606: The literacy( in vernacular and English respectively) of Bengal's overall male population as per the 1931 census. Baidyas were unquestionably established as among the "upper castes" by the mid-nineteenth century; they would go on to comprise the Bhadralok Samaj —the highest "secular rank" in contemporary Bengal—along with Brahmins and Kayasthas, and serve as the eyes and ears of the British Government. The Bhadraloks were instrumental in demanding democratic reforms during

3710-496: The local levels in bureaucratic affairs. It does not appear that varna played any role in the society — the Brahmins were the only group to be referred to by their caste-identity and were revered but still classed as one among the peasant landholder class. One Gunaighar Inscription, dated to Vainyagupta (507 C.E.), demarcated agricultural tracts that were to be collectively owned by Baidyas. The reference was, in all likelihood, to

3780-493: The material dominance of Baidyas continued unabated into colonial rule when they proactively took to Western forms of education and held a disproportionate share of government jobs, elite professions, and landholding. Male as well as female literacy rate of Baidyas were remarkably higher than in the case of all other castes of Bengal, as recorded in the 1881 census—which was the first to record caste-wise literacy data—and ever since. Baidya women, specifically, had two and three times

3850-461: The operating norm in these societies. North-eastern Bengal which saw aggressive encroachment upon tribal tracts via royal settlement of Brahmins witnessed a less egalitarian society; yet, notwithstanding rulers claiming to a Brahmin pedigree etc, the social groups in inscriptions did not have anything to do with varna . With increasing urbanization in Pala territories, stratification became ingrained into

3920-401: The poem, making a tongue-in-cheek reference to the author, runs: He brought modern era of poetry in Bengali . He did not describe the life of Gods and Goddesses, but the daily life of human beings. He also wrote biographies of many Bengali poets and musicians. Ishwarchandra Gupta often satirized the so-called modern class who blindly followed the colonial British power. In his early days he

3990-528: The profession of physicians who probably drew people from various varnas including Brahmins. With the rise of sovereign kingships centered around Vanga , Radha, and Pundravardhana , the relatively well-off sections among the landholder class gained eminence and split into several sub-classes depending on economic power. Inscriptions referred to people from these classes alongside the villages they owned and above other professional classes — thus, economic affluence, rather than varna , appears to have been

4060-479: The rights of Shudras and all classes to participate as warriors. Roger Borsche says that this is so because it is in the self-interest of the ruler to "have a people's army fiercely loyal to him precisely because the people had been treated justly". The Manusmriti predominantly discusses the code of conduct (dharma rules) for the Brahmins (priestly class) and the Kshatriyas (king, administration and warrior class). The text mentions Shudras and Vaishyas, but this part

4130-687: The rise of the Gupta Empire and by then, cultural contacts with North India were gradually flourishing. Written records predating the Guptas do not survive. Copper Plate Inscriptions from the Gupta Era point to a complex society with different professional classes having little socioeconomic homogeneity. Many of these classes had their own hierarchies corresponding to differential geospatial levels or economic conditions but there exists no evidence of inter-class hierarchy; rather, there were frequent collaborations at

4200-418: The same as Brahmins but the highest of them. In 1922, Basantakumar Sen wrote Baidya Jatir Itihas on the same themes. Pascale Haag notes these efforts to gain mobility would not have partly succeeded without acceptance by Brahmin society. These attempts at attaining mobility were heavily enmeshed with the modernization of Ayurveda, that transpired across the nineneeth century. Binodlal Sen had declared

4270-549: The social conditions of women. Medieval era texts such as Vajrasuchi Upanishad discuss varna and include the term Shudra. According to Ashwani Peetush, a professor of philosophy at the Wilfrid Laurier University, the Vajrasuchi Upanishad is a significant text because it assumes and asserts that any human being from any social background can achieve the highest spiritual state of existence. Outside of

SECTION 60

#1732851925984

4340-602: The social structure and Brahmins —probably with state patronage— ascended to the top, overshadowing the landed magnates. Pala grants frequently enlist a detailed social hierarchy from the Brahmins to the Chandalas, encompassing many professional classes. In contrast, largely-agrarian societies in the east, ruled by the Chandras, exhibited no such radical developments though rudimentary notions of ranks were under development. The Paschimbhag copperplate inscription of Sri Chandra allotted

4410-415: The status of Shudras. These are: Pundrakas , Codas, Dravidas , Kambojas , Yavanas , Sakas , Paradas , Pahlavas , Chinas , Kiratas , Daradas and Khasas . According to Laurie Patton , a professor of religion specialising in early Indian religions, the rights and status of Shudra vary widely across early Indian texts. The Apastamba Grhysutra excludes the Shudra students from hearing or learning

4480-514: The two extant pre-modern Baidya genealogies, Chandraprabha (CP; c. late 17th century) constructs a descent from the semi-legendary Ambasthas whereas the slightly older Sadvaidyakulapnjika (SV) did not. Further, both of them hold Adi Sura and Ballāla Sena to be among their ancestors; this is agreed upon by some Brahmin kulanjis but rejected by Kayastha ones. Sedentary agrarian societies had formed in western regions of Bengal by c. 1000 BCE. The growth of states were roughly simultaneous with

4550-543: The varnas are rarely referred to in its ancient discourses. The Buddhist texts do not describe the Indian society as divided into the four varṇas of "Brahmins, Ksạtriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras". Instead, states Bronkhorst, the bulk of society is described as consisting of "householders" (Pāli: gahapati ), without internal distinctions. Even where the Brahmins are mentioned in such a context, they too are referred to as householders, or Brāhmaṇa-gahapati . The term vaṇṇa does appear in

4620-482: The vernacular culture to gain acceptance among masses. In the process, they became evidence of sociocultural negotiations that transpired in late-medieval Bengal. Brihaddharma Purana (Brh. P.; c. 13th century ) was the earliest document to chronicle a hierarchy of castes in Bengal and it became the standard text for popular negotiations of caste status. It mentioned the Baidyas as an occupational caste, equivalent to

4690-482: Was a conservative, opposing the Young Bengal movement as well as disapproving of widow remarriage. His views on widow remarriage put him at odds with Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar . He was one of the earliest advocates of a Hindu view of Indian society. Later in his life, his views began to change and he championed the cause for the remarriage of virgin widows and women's education. Baidya Baidya or Vaidya

4760-622: Was believed to impede agriculture and vice versa. While the other varnas showed varying degrees of literacy, the Shudras were generally illiterate. The social reformer Jyotirao Phule blamed the deterioration of the Shudras on illiteracy and emphasised education for them. Phule stated: For want of education intellect deteriorated, for want of intellect morality decayed, for want of morality progress stopped, for want of progress wealth vanished, for want of wealth Shudra perished and all these sorrows sprang from illiteracy Traditionally, Shudras were peasants and artisans . The ancient texts designate

4830-600: Was earned, not inherited" in the Hindu Kakatiya population in the Deccan region between the 11th and 14th centuries. According to Johannes Bronkhorst, none of Ashoka's inscriptions mention the terms Kshatriyas, Vaishyas or Shudras, and only mention Brahmins and Śramaṇas . Several popular medieval era Bhakti movement poet-saints and religious leaders were born in a Shudra family. Examples include Tukaram and Namdev . The compositions of Namdev have been popular not only in

4900-488: Was primarily organised based on kin, tribe and lineage." According to Sharma, nowhere in the Ṛgveda or Atharvaveda "is there any evidence of restrictions regarding food and marriage either between the Dasa and Aryan, or between the Shudra and the higher varnas". Further, adds Sharma, in late Atharva Veda, "Shudra does not come in for notice, probably because his varna did not exist at that stage". According to Romila Thapar ,

#983016