ORIGIN OF CASTE

AND S TAT E

MIHIR SHUKLA

I.D.
N O.
1650

I YEAR
B.A.,
LL.B.
(HONS.)
 HISTORY I

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 13TH

APRIL, 2009.

National Law School of India University

NAGARBHAVI, BANGALORE – 560 072

Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................3
Research Methodology..................................................4
The Caste System.........................................................5
The State.....................................................................12
Interrelationships........................................................19
Conclusion...................................................................21

2
Bibliography................................................................22

3
__________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
__________________________________________________

The word ‘Caste’ itself provokes a range of emotional reactions in a country like India, from
protests by student groups on both sides of the ideological divide on reservations, politicians
using demagoguery to garner votes, discrimination against people in the workplace,
neighbourhood or even our homes, in determining ties of marriage, or even an act as simple
as drawing water from a well. The caste system is still all pervasive; affecting all sections of
society.

However the purpose of this project is not to show the nature of this discrimination, but rather
an attempt to show the reader as to how did this system come about, whose very basis was
that of what one author describes as ‘institutionalised inequality’1 in what is hoped is a view
as ideologically shorn of biases as possible.

The researcher has also dealt with the factors leading to the formation of the State in ancient
India, preferring to deal with the material history of the period of the Vedic age rather than
the myths and theories surrounding the same. The researcher will show the reader how one of
the reasons for the State to come into being was the presence of the caste system in its
rudimentary form, and how each system led to the consolidation of the other, by showing the
link between the ruling elites and the caste system, which thereby led to the crystallization of
each other, as deep-seated and well entrenched institutions in the Indian psyche.

However before any definitive arguments can be made we must realize that this paper
touches on a complicated issue whose contours have been sketched on a broad historical
outline going back to the Vedic age; therefore an attempt has been made to see these
institutions in a socio-economic context, which may lead us to an understanding regarding the
genesis of these twin institutions of Caste and the State.

1
Vivekanand Jha, Social Stratification in Ancient India: Some Reflections, (Social Scientist, Vol. 19, No. 3/4
(Mar. - Apr., 1991), at 30.

4
__________________________________________________

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
__________________________________________________

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

The primary aim of this paper is to deal with the origins of the Caste system and subsequently
the State in ancient India. Thus the researcher has shown the various facets to this gradual
evolution , by focusing on the changing societal and economic norms which characterized the
period under consideration.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS:

Thus the scope of the project is limited to the socioeconomic factors involved in the
formation the caste system and the State in ancient India.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
The main research questions are:
 How did the Caste system come into existence?
 What are the factors leading to the rise of the State?

SOURCES OF DATA:
For this paper, the researcher has relied primarily upon secondary (articles and books)
sources of data.

STYLE OF WRITING:
The style of writing adopted for this paper is both analytical and descriptive.

MODE OF CITATION:
The researcher has followed a uniform mode of citation throughout the paper.

5
__________________________________________________
CHAPTER I
THE CASTE SYSTEM
__________________________________________________

The caste system, which formed the basis of the social order in the later Vedic times was
along with geographical, racial and economical factors, the foundation on which the political
life of ancient India was built on.2

In an enquiry into the origins of the caste system we must need to look at the factors leading
to the formation of a system, which eventually embraced all levels of society, be it the
political, social or economic milieu. The main problem the researcher has encountered while
dealing with the collection of evidence is the different treatment given to the topic from
different authors, depending on the ideology of the day, each author has put down his own
hypothesis based on the same set of facts, we are then forced to glean what we can from the
data available to us. An attempt has been made to piece together this shifting narrative in the
context of the socioeconomic factors prevalent in the Vedic era.

It is believed that the Varna model, which implied a rigidly structured society based on the
hierarchy of status, is believed to be more of a theoretical model3 and isn’t an actual
description of society, therefore a study into the political aspects of the people in the Rig-
Vedic age cannot be undertaken unless we first understand the material and social life of the
people who were responsible for developing it.

The Aryan-Dasa Dichotomy.

The Aryan presence in north-west India is said to have been achieved through a series of
migrations from outside the Indian subcontinent.4 The members of the weak and unfriendly
peoples that comprised the Indus Valley civilization who were unable to withstand the
onslaught of the Aryans, were enslaved by them, and possibly became a servile class in the

2
Beni Prasad, State In Ancient India, (Allahabad, 1928) at pg. 11.
3
R. Thapar, Social Mobility in Ancient India, in R. Thapar ed., “Ancient Indian Social History- Some
Interpretations”,(New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1996) at pg. 112.
4
T. Burrow, The Early Aryans, in A. L. Basham ed. “A Cultural History Of India”, (Delhi :Oxford University
Press, 1975) at pg. 20.

6
Vedic socio-economic structure. They were called the dasas. The term dasa later came to
mean, according to Kosambi, a helot of some sort. He had, “not the right to initiation, nor to
bear weapons: he had no property of the Aryan tribes as a whole, much in the same way as
cattle”5 The Rig-Veda is replete with examples in which the god Indra is seen to be the
protector of the Aryans against the onslaught of the Dasas who are seen as having different
physical characteristics than the Aryans.6There are further references in the Vedas which
point to the subjugation of these tribes by Indra and the prayers invoked to protect the Aryans
against them.7 There are many references to hostilities between the Aryans and the Dasas in
the Vedas,8 which possibly may explain the reason as to why the Dasas were not treated at
par with the Aryans after their subjugation.

Although the Varna system in its inception was based on the ideals of racial purity, thus
signifying the Aryan-Dasa divide, however it does not indicate any particular division of
labour. They were two tribal groups in the ‘process of integrating themselves into social
classes’.9 The term varna occurs in the Rigveda a number of times and is initially used to
distinguish the Aryans from Dasas. The difference may initially have been both ethnic and
cultural.10

The primary difference seemed to that of colour; various terms such as asiknivusah(dark hued
people)11,krsna (literally ‘black’)12 and tvacamasiknim (black skinned demons)13 denote that
the chief enemies of the Aryans were dark complexioned in nature, it logically follows that
the Aryans were of a fairer complexion else the difference would not have arisen. There were
also physiological differences present between the two ethnic tribes, as the Dasas are
described as having big protruding lips and the Dasyus were also known as anasa, possessing

5
D.D. Kosambi, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, (2nd edn., Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1991) at
pg. 97.
6
D.D. Kosambi, The Culture and Civilizations of Ancient India in Historical Outline, (New Delhi: Vikas
Publishing House, 1990) at pg. 79. Kosambi writes about how the enemies of the Aryans were ‘dark (krishna,
black),and short nosed (anasas=noseless).’
7
R.S. Sharma, Sudras in Ancient India – A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa A.D. 600, (3rd
edn., New Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1990) at pg. 20. Sharma quotes specific passages in the Rig-
Veda and the Atharva-Veda which may help the reader understand the existing state of affairs between the two
tribes. Passages such as those in books II, III, IV,V, suggest that Indira was their chief deity invoked in order to
fight against these tribes.
8
Supra note 7 at 19.
9
Supra note 7 at 20.
10
Supra note 7 at 13-15.
11
Rig Veda, VII. 5.2-3 as cited in Supra note 7 at 14.
12
Rig Veda, IV. 16.13 as cited in Supra note 7 at 14.
13
Rig Veda, IX. 73.5 as cited in Supra note 7 at 14.

7
a flat nose. This further led to differences cropping up between the two, which possibly made
the idea of racial purity more acceptable.

However the caste system wasn’t as rigid as its later avtar and there was an ongoing process
of social adjustment amongst the ‘pre Aryan chalcolithic societies’14 There are instances in
the Rig-Veda of converting the Dasas into Aryans thereby indicating that the division based
on colour wasn’t as sharp as it would seem.15

Archeological studies throw up a large variety of cultures, none of them specifically Aryan,
nor do they show evidence of any single dominating culture16which slowly spread across the
northern part of India bringing the various diverse fields into its fold, which would be the
normal case if the theory of the spread of the Aryan culture would be accepted. A possible
conjecture is that there was an assimilation of the various cultures into each other rather than
an actual invasion per se. At the most we can say is that the Indo-Aryan speakers were small
groups of migrants whose linguistic roots were Indo-European.17 Thus we need not look at it
as an imposition of the Aryan cultures on the existing indigenous culture rather their
continued presence may have necessitated a process of acculturation18.Thus there may have
been a diffusion of cultures into the Indo-Aryan fold; thereby indicating that the existing
indigenous population adapted to the new language rather than the process of a new culture
spawning in the region. Thus to see the genesis of the early caste based societies as the
distinction between the fair skinned Aryans and the dark hued Dasas is the oversimplification
of a complex system.

However a possible conjecture at this stage is that the ideas of pollution extending to social
hierarchies19 which was one of the essentials of the caste system may have actually found its
origins among the Aryan-Dasa dichotomy based on the purity of race, which existed in the
early Rig-Vedic times.20

14
Supra note 7 at 21.
15
Supra note 7 at 23. Sharma quotes a passage in the Rig-Veda (RV. VIII. 85.3-4) In which the seer Kanava is
also known as krsna-rsi thus showing us that there did exist priests who were not of Aryan stock.
16
R. Thapar, The Study of Society in Ancient India , in R. Thapar ed., “Ancient Indian Social History- Some
Interpretations”,(New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1996) at pg. 191.
17
Supra note 7 at 39.
18
Supra note 16 at 193.
19
Supra note 3 at 113.
20
Supra note 7 at 14.

8
Changing Social Circumstances

The Aryans were primarily a pastoral people who had domesticated the horse, and as a result
gained superiority in martial status.21 Their indices of wealth were associated with horses,
cows and other animals. The Aryans had sought to combine pastorialism with agriculture and
are said to have used the wooden plough to cultivate barley and other cereals. 22 There were
however, no towns at this stage and the Aryans were in fact rather proud of the great
destroyer Indra who had allegedly demolished the earlier pre Aryan towns.23

Thus it is possible to surmise the nature of the early Rig-Vedic society as one of primarily
tribal origin, where the people were chiefly pastoral, there was an absence of the sharp class
divisions which later came to be the characteristic of the later Vedic age.24

The concept of private property did not actually come into being insofar as the pre Rig-Vedic
era was concerned; the Buddhist scriptures refer to wild creepers and roots as the earliest
form of sustenance.25Similarly the Jain as well as the Brahmanical accounts mention the
kalpavriksha as the main source of livelihood of the people. 26 Secondly the institution of
family in the patriarchal sense of the term did not exist.27 The Santi Parva informs us that in
some cases the institution of marriage itself did not exist. This naturally meant that people
had children simply due to the desire to cohabit (samkalpa).28 Thus the role of women in the
economy was thus equal if not more than that of men. Based on modern anthropological data
on tribal societies it has been postulated that the most egalitarian societies are to be found
among hunting-gathering tribes which are characterized by interdependency. 29 The relative
status of men and women can at the most be characterized as ‘separate but equal’.30 This is
important because later the very same concept was one of the decisive factors leading to the
crystallizing of the caste system, which shall be elucidated later.

21
Supra note 16 at 192.
22
Supra note 16 at 193.
23
Supra note 5 at 93.
24
Supra note 7 at 30.
25
Supra note 7 at 49.
26
R.S. Sharma, Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, (4th edn., New Delhi : Motilal
Banarsidass Publishers,1996) at 49.
27
Ibid at 50.
28
Supra note 26 at 50.
29
Conceptualising Brahmanical Patriarchy in Early India: Gender, Caste, Class and State Author(s): Uma
Chakravarti Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 28, No. 14 (Apr. 3, 1993), at 580.
30
Id.

9
The shift to an agricultural economy and the second urbanization (800BC- 600BC) was
marked by the emergence of caste and class divisions. The brahmans were a force to reckon
with and patrilineal succession was fairly well established within the context of a defined
family structure distinct from the earlier structure. Some of these elements are captured in the
Buddhist literature of the Digha Nikaya where the institutions of caste, private property, the
family, and the state are represented as emerging simultaneously from an earlier stage of
primitive existence.31 These changes, which included the emergence of a fairly stratified
society where the preservation of caste purity was paramount keeping in mind the collapse of
the earlier tribal economy, meant that the “behaviour of certain categories of women needed
to be closely regulated”. 32 This is so because there came to be a specific class of people who
were responsible for doing the chores of society, and thus it was in the interests of the ruling
elite to keep these lower varnas at bay. Women were seen as “gateways”33 for moving up the
caste hierarchy, thus it was felt that the lower castes needed to be institutionally prevented
from accessing women as a tool for social mobility.34 Thus the patrilinear structure of society
as it came to be seen in the later Vedic age was a factor in determining the concepts of purity
and pollution which formed the basis of the caste system.

The evidence of a Rig-Vedic hymn composer calling himself a poet, his father a physician and
his mother a grinder of corn35 however suggests that the indispensable division of labour had
not advanced beyond a point and specialization had not become hereditary. In view of the
usefulness of their work, the artisans were respected members of the Aryan vis. The economy
was not yet fully or even primarily agrarian; craftsmen and peasants were not two
compartmentalized categories; and their mutual relationship in a semi-sedentary set-up was
not hereditary, subsisting from generation to generation.36 Also the surplus produced in this
predominantly pastoral Rig-Vedic economy was not substantial enough to undermine the
tribal structure or to lead to the development of classes.37

31
Supra note 29 at 581.
32
Supra note 29 at 580.
33
Uma Chakravarty, Gendering Caste Through a Feminist Lens, ( Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 2003) at pg. 35.
34
Id.
35
R.C. Mazumdar, Ancient India, (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1994) at pg. 48.
36
Supra note 7 at 30.
37
Supra note 7 at 32.

10
Thus it is evident that there was no social stigma attached to these professions, at least in the
Rig-Vedic times, however the Pali texts show us that the same professions that were regarded
as dignified in the Rig-Vedic times were later practiced by the sudra varna.38

The Move Towards Rigidity

The transition from a casteless, though classified society which was present in the Rig-Veda
to that of an intricate caste system which is seen in the Yagur-Veda can be traced to the
complexities which were thrown up due to the shift from a predominantly pastoral economy
to that of an agrarian one, this implied a settling down, so to speak of the Aryan tribes and
possibly the beginnings of a new civilization.39 This period saw the genesis of the various
classes which were later crystallized into castes.

The Purusasukta (hymn of man) seems to provide a theoretical basis for the disintegration of
tribal society into classes.40 Here the sudra is stated to have sprung from the feet of the
Purusa or Primeval Being, unlike the brahman who sprang from the mouth, the ksatriya who
sprang from the arms and the vaisya who sprang from the thighs. However it must be kept in
mind that the word “varna” is not used in this context. Also there is a consensus among
scholars that the tenth book belongs to the later strata of the Rig-Veda and is more in tune
with the later Vedic texts.41 Evidently varna in the Rig-Veda did not have the sense it came to
acquire later. It is difficult to say that the fourfold varna system had been brought to India by
any group or wave of Aryans. It is believed that it was an indigenous development and was
not a pre existing social institution in the Rig-Vedic period.42

Social differentiation in the institutionalized sense of the term did not come about till later.
There were segregations in society based on function, however this delineations later led to
differences in rank, which led the tribes and clans to disintegrate into social
classes.43Although this theory of the common origin of the varnas could not explain the later

38
Supra note 7 at 32.
39
R. C. Majumdar, Vedic Age, (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay,5th edn., 1988) at 389.
40
Supra note 1.
41
Supra note 1.
42
Supra note 1.
43
Supra note 7 at 33.

11
assimilation of non Aryan tribes into the fold of the caste system it did serve as a useful
fiction44 in order to justify the servile position of the sudras in society.

44
Supra note 7 at 33.

12
__________________________________________________
CHAPTER II
THE STATE
__________________________________________________

The State, in the opinion of Lawrence Krader, is understood as a political authority operating
with its functionaries within a territory, deriving its income on an impersonal basis, and
integrating social segments with different ritual roles and economic functions.45

The researcher has encountered various narratives which deal with the period of pre State
formation; these narratives albeit tinged with a theological fervor, do help cast some light on
what society may possibly have been like in pre-historical times. A comparative examination
of these sources may possibly shed some light on the state of nature46 which was prevalent in
those times, which helps us understand the evolution of the State.

Theological Speculations

Altekar quotes the Santiparvan47 ,which narrates a society quite adept at surviving without a
kingly office where a utopic state of nature existed, however later people somehow fell from
this idyllic state dude to avarice, greed and selfishness. The law of the jungle prevailed and
anarchy was the order of the day, however then the narrative diverges into theological
speculation and states that the Gods installed a king who through various measures imposed
order in a society plagued with anarchy. 48

Buddhist and Jain literature also deal with this proverbial golden age where the
Mahajanasammata and the first tirthankara, Rishabhanatha respectively put an end to the
chaos surrounding society after the fall from this ideal age.49

Neither the existence of the caste system nor the state is explicitly mentioned in any of the
ancient texts. In fact the Santi Parva actually goes to the extent of saying that the state did not
45
R. Thapar, From Lineage to State: Social Formations in the Mid-First Millennium B.C. in the Ganga Valley,
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1984) at pg. 11.
46
Supra note 26 at 48.
47
A.S. Altekar, State and Government in Ancient India, (4th edn., Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1962) at pg. 27.
48
Id.
49
Supra note 47 at 29.

13
exist50 similarly the Puranas state that no varnas existed in the Krta age, which is roughly the
time of the Paleolithic age,51 where a hunter-gathering economy existed.52

However we cannot place too much trust on Vedic literature as a definitive account of what
exactly transpired during that era. Partiger writes about how Vedic literature, albeit well
preserved, did not exactly have a historical purpose53 associated with it and primarily dealt
with religious matters rather than history per-se. These theories are merely speculative
regarding the actual origins of the State, yet we are able to glean from the reading of the
above accounts that society did indeed flourish for some time without any real intervention
from an authority, however as societies became increasingly complex an institution was
evolved in order to meet society’s demand for some semblance of order. The primary concern
of the researcher is to show as to how exactly this transformation came about.

Societal Structure

Social classes based on hereditary occupation or on the appropriation of the produced surplus
hadn’t emerged in the age of the Rig-Veda. Although the warriors and priests did have a
separate identity, they didn’t exist as well defined social classes. 54The idea of the state as a
distinct territory had not emerged during the time of the early Rig-Veda, as well, thus it is
contended that the early Rig-Vedic kingship is basically the same as chiefship. The Rig-Vedic
chiefs fought for cows and not for territory.55

The law of primogeniture did not apply in the Rig-Vedic period, it is believed that in the
earlier stage the tribe elected their chief. 56This lack of strong hereditary succession did not
allow the chief to garner much power, furthermore it was checked by the early tribal
institutions like the sabha, samiti and the vidatha.

The chief also had to contend with the growing power of the priest (purohita), who is said to
accompany the chief in battle and offer prayers on his behalf. 57 However this is not to be
confused with the dependence of the chief on priestly support, it is felt that the tribe still held
50
Supra note 26 at 51.
51
Supra note 26 at 49.
52
Supra note 29 at 580.
53
F.E. Partiger, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1997) at pg.
10.
54
Supra note 26 at 351.
55
Supra note 45 at 24.
56
Supra note 26 at 353.
57
Supra note 26 at 354.

14
sway over the chief during this period, 58 as the rajan (chief) couldn’t run the government
without the support of the tribe.

Thus it can be surmised that the state still hadn’t come about in this era, as there was the
absence of any fixed territory, a lack of any tax (the closest parallel is bali, which was more
in the realms of a voluntary offering), and only the presence of a rudimentary apparatus of
public officials who weren’t appointed on a permanent basis. 59 Apart from the emerging
military and priestly class there were a growing number of allied professions as well. The
Atharva-Veda gives an example of how charioteers and troopleaders (gramani) were held in
high esteem by the king as he included them in his entourage.60

The Aryans had a simple social structure. They were divided among tribes which they called
jana and lived in villages.61Bali was the recognized form of payment to the Brahmin-
Kshatriya combine and was more in the form of an offering than a tax. 62 It appears most of
the land was divided into fields cultivated by individual peasants who were regarded as
kshetrapati or holders of the land.63 Lands, as Kosambi said, “were allotted to groups in
rotation and within the group by rank…Agriculture was so crude in any case that plowed
land had to be changed every year”.64 According to Irfan Habib, as the Aryans lived in “semi
nomadic conditions, the conception of permanent occupation, let alone ownership of
particular fields could not have possibly developed.”65

The above factors, namely living in semi-nomadic conditions and the constant fights over
cattle, led to these people being highly mobile, which played no small part in leading to the
lack of stability in the office of kingship as well as the lack of any rigid social structure
forming. 66 Under these circumstances, “small tribal or clan principalities had to the rule of
the day”.67

58
Supra note 26 at 354.
59
Supra note 26 at 356. The closest we get to any degree of a class of administrators are the offices of the
vrajapati (the head of pasture grounds), the kulpa (the head of the family) and the office of the gramani (a term
which the vrajapati was later known as and who was the leader of the grama, his primary job was to lead the
tribes unto battle).
60
Supra note 7 at 31.
61
Supra note 7 at 30.
62
Supra note 26 at 102.
63
Supra note 26 at 105.
64
Supra note 5 at 111.
65
Supra note 23 at 24.
66
Supra note 26 at 350
67
Supra note 26 at 350.

15
The Formation of Surplus

It is felt that no significant agrarian changes took place between the second millennium BC
and 500 BC. Although iron was known, its use was limited to weapons. 68 There appeared a
distinction in terms of lineage in the Rigveda in the form of that between the rajanya (the
ruling elite) and the vis (the general populace) and it continued in later Vedic texts. The
relationship between the two however became more distant in later Vedic times. 69 The
rajanya represented the senior lineage and the vis the junior lineage, thus implying latter
being the subordinate to the former, later the place of the rajanya was taken by the kshatriya
who represented power.70 The vis made presentations to the chief, who in turn reallocated the
same to the kinsmen, though most of the portion went to the priests and not to the ordinary
kinsmen.71 The claims to sovereignty and the increasing demands for presentations were
justified through the coronation rituals.72

Although pastoral life formed the basis of the Yajur-Vedic society, there is evidence to be
gleaned by the fact that there was a growing importance in the rituals regarding agriculture
and metals, which implied that society was slowly evolving into a more complicated structure
to deal with these changes.73

In what is termed as an urban revival74 the importance of agriculture over that of pastorialism
is seen. The establishment of a peasant economy has been regarded as one of the precursors
to the origins of the State and is possibly one of the prime movers towards State formation. 75
The art of cultivation led to the ability to store more than the people could consume, thus
leading to the tendency to store rice76, people began to appropriate land by force and the
concept of private property (“this is thine, this is mine”) began to germinate.77 It came to a
point where people began snatching each others rice without their consent, it was felt that

68
Supra note 26 at 178.
69
Supra note 45 at 32.
70
Supra note 45 at 32.
71
Supra note 26 at 172.
72
Supra note 26 at 162.
73
Supra note 6 at 85.
74
Ibid at 88.
75
Supra note 26 at 50.
76
Supra note 26 at 51.
77
Supra note 26 at 52.

16
some authority needed to be formed which would protect the respective fields of the people. 78
Thus, it is possible to hypothesize that the need for a rule of law led to the formation of the
state.

However it is seen that although the concept of territory emerged as an important element and
the raja enjoyed a high status and effective control over the populace, an increase in
resources through agriculture was ‘not sufficient to finance a state system’.79 The destruction
of wealth in the coronation rituals placed severe limitations on chiefdoms and prevented easy
transition to a State system. 80 Thus we have a situation of a proto state81 emerging where the
main factors holding a full fledged state back were the lack of a regular flow of income and
the fact that the gap between the chief and his kinsmen wasn’t very wide.82

Several institutions were developed around the kshatriya king who emerged as the head of
the State because of the authority conferred on him by the senior lineage status, which had
come to be associated with what was soon becoming a hereditary class of warriors. The
twelve ratnins or functionaries who took part in the coronation ‘remained essentially within
the orbit’ of the clan83,though their existence shows ‘the emergence of a group of non-
kinsmen’84.

It is at this point that we turn to the nature of the early Vedic assemblies, for we may get a
better idea about the evolution of the state by a study of these institutions.

Tribal Assemblies.

In the context of the early Vedic age, the tribe may be understood as a “large kin based group
consisting primarily of pastoralists”, whereas the clan may be considered a “small kin based
group” in the same set up.85 It was seen that during the Rig-Vedic times there was the
formation of possibly the earliest folk assembly, namely the vidatha. Although many theories
exist as to the specific functions of the same we can possibly agree with the conjecture which
the vidatha was an assembly meant for “secular, religious and military”86 purposes.
78
Supra note 26 at 52.
79
Supra note 45 at 67.
80
Supra note 45 at 66
81
Supra note 26 at 183.
82
Supra note 26 at 183.
83
Supra note 26 at 60.
84
Supra note 26 at 61.
85
Supra note 45 at 88.
86
Supra note 26 at 88.

17
Unlike the sabha and samiti ,which came to be characterized the major pre-state institutions
in the later Vedic period, the vidatha did place women prominently within its functioning; as
they did in fact take part in the deliberations of the vidatha.87 It is believed to be the earliest
folk assembly of the Aryans where people were bonded by ties of kinship answering the
needs of a “primitive society which hardly knew division of labour or the domination of man
over woman”.88 Thus we can trace the evolution of the state from the composition if the
vidatha, it is felt that people assembled in kin based groups.89

The sabha and samiti are, on the other hand seen as later assemblies in the context of the
evolution of the State. The sabha is seen as a gathering of a more exclusive kind the
membership being primarily restricted to the brahmins and the elders of the tribe. 90Whereas
the samiti is seen more in the realms of a folk assembly embracing both the common people
(visah) and the brahmins along with the rich patrons (maghavan)91

The rise of territorial state led to the decline of the tribal assemblies, as people from different
parts of the kingdom found it difficult to assemble together to deliberate matters as they did
92
in the past, furthermore complications arose when the non-Vedic people had to be
assimilated into the fold. Thus it led to an aristocratic tinge93being applied to the sabha and
samiti. The decline of the early tribal assemblies is an important factor to be considered
insofar as state formation in ancient India is concerned. Their decline signaled the rise of
caste associations, which regulated the social matters of the day. Their initial success lay in
the fact that they worked in a small territorial area however with the rise of the
mahajanpadas there arose difficulties in communication and regular meetings furthermore as
mentioned before their very tribal nature could not assimilate the non -Vedic people who
94
were part of these new kingdoms. Thus the new political order which consisted of the
Brahmin-Kshatriya combine created a small body called the parisad which consisted
exclusively of Brahmins.95 Thus further increasing the hegemony of the upper two varnas
over that of the lower two represented by the vaisya and the shudra.

87
Supra note 26 at 89.
88
Supra note 26 at 104
89
Supra note 26 at 90.
90
Supra note 26 at 105.
91
Supra note 26 at 111.
92
Supra note 26 at 362.
93
Supra note 26 at 363.
94
Supra note 26 at 367.
95
Supra note 26 at 367.

18
The final stage in the rise of territoriality is seen around the seventh century B.C. to the fifth
century B.C. as numerous small tribal kingdoms (janpadas), came together to form sixteen
major ones (majajanpadas).96

96
H.Kulke & D.Rothermund, A History of India, (London: Routledge, 1986) at 51.

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______________________________________________
CHAPTER III
INTERRELATIONSHIPS
__________________________________________________

The discovery and use of iron may possibly be one of the main reasons for the formation of
the state, with the harnessing of this metal came a new era, for now agriculture was easier and
the population could now produce a surplus which was not available in earlier times. This
made it easier for the two emerging elite groups, (namely the brahmin and the ksatriya) to
consolidate their position, in the social hierarchy of the age.

The availability of surplus meant that now it wasn’t necessary for the higher varnas to now
work with the general population, thus implying a division in terms of functions. 97 This
functional division was given religious sanction in the later Vedic age as it is evident from
hymns like the Purusasukta98which lay down the framework for this exploitation which was
carried on during this era. According to Kosambi, the new organization of society made
available for the first time a supply of labour whose surplus was easily expropriated and the
place of slave was taken by the sudra.99 The notion of pollution in relation to certain social
groups was used to subjugate them and this finds place in many theological works, by the
time of the Arthashastra this concept had been so ingrained in the psyche of the people that
no protracted effort was made to remove it. It had become a social reality.

Through ideological and political subjugation the lower echelon of society formed a ready
pool of labor available to the higher varnas, thus we have statements to the effect that the that
the vaisya and the sudra are to be exploited for the advantage of the ruling class with the
brahmin priest's active cooperation and help.100

97
R.S. Sharma, Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India, (New Delhi: Macmillan India
Limited, 2000) at 50
98
Supra note 1.
99
Supra note 5 at 91.
100
Supra note 1.

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The state was complicit in enforcing the caste system due to a variety of factors; possibly
the most important being that he individuals responsible for governing it formed the
higher two varnas. By emphasizing on their ritual status in terms of hierarchy they
slowly but surely consolidated their position in the societal hierarchy. The king was
invested with the power of danda101(the threat of physical force or violence) which led to
the higher varnas subjugating the lower ones, as the could now regulate the “totality of
social, political and economic relationships”102, which were prevalent in society.

Thus we have the objective of upholding the varnadharma to be one of the essentials of
the king, leading to the “idealization of the actual instead of trying to actualize the
ideal”.103

The higher two varnas came to a mutual understanding after a period of struggle over
the superiority in ritual status. With the increasing amount of land grants to the
brahmin community, the kshatriyas ensured that their rule was legitimized, thus the
caste system was strengthened by the power of the State, and the existence of the state
itself was in no small part influenced by the caste system.

101
Supra note 47 at 2.
102
Supra note 47 at 2.
103
Supra note 47 at 49.

21
__________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
__________________________________________________

The caste system has been treated as a system regulated by the hereditary division of labour,
hierarchy, the principles of purity and pollution, and civil and religious disabilities. 104 On the
other hand, tribes have been characterized by the absence of features attributed to the caste
system. The two types of social organizations are also seen to be governed by different sets of
principles, whereas tribes are said to be bonded by ties of kinship, implying that all
individuals are considered equal, lineage and clan identities play an important part in
determining the ownership, production and consumption of resources. 105 In contrast,
inequality, dependency, and subordination are seen as integral units of a caste based society.106
The attempt to show this shift from the tribal society to one with stratification based on caste
has been the primary focus of the project.

In the process of the shift from a pastoral society to a predominantly agricultural one, the
needs of society changed, thus the need for a state arose, which could govern the increasingly
complex relations which were thrown up because of the fixing of a definite territory in the
context of a tribal society. This same shift was reflected in the economic factors insofar as the
division of labour was concerned. Thus it is possible to surmise that the institutional
inequality107 which came into the fore of society was a reflection of the elites subjugating the
masses so that they could live off the efforts of these individuals.

The state apparatus came into being as a result of the stratification which the higher varnas
imposed on society, thus it is natural that the individuals running the state would be from the
same caste, if they weren’t then they were assimilated into the fold so as to maintain this
system.

104
G.S. Ghuyre, Caste ,Class and Occupation,( 4th edn., Bombay: Popular Book Depot, 1961) at pg. 78.
105
Supra note 26 at 10.
106
Supra note 97 at 76.
107
Supra note 1.

22
Thus it is evident that both the caste system and the state are closely related in India, each
deriving hegemony and power from the other, which led to the formation of both these
institutions in the form in which we eventually perceive them.

__________________________________________________

BIBLIOGRAPHY
__________________________________________________

BOOKS
 R.C. Mazumdar, Ancient India, (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1994).
 R.S. Sharma, Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, (4th edn.,
New Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass Publishers,1996).
 D.D. Kosambi, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, (2nd edn., Bombay:
Popular Prakashan, 1991).
 R.S. Sharma, Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India,( New Delhi:
Macmillan India Limited, 2000).
 R. Thapar, From Lineage to State: Social Formations in the Mid-First Millennium
B.C. in the Ganga Valley, (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1984).
 A.L. Basham, A Cultural History of India, (New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
1975).
 D.D. Kosambi, The Culture and Civilizations of Ancient India in Historical Outline,
(New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1990).
 R.C. Mazumdar, Vedic Age, (5th edn., Bombay: Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, 1988).
 R. Thapar, Ancient Indian Social History –Some Interpretations , (New Delhi: Orient
Longman, 1996).
 R.S. Sharma, Sudras in Ancient India – A Social History of the Lower Order Down to
Circa A.D. 600, (3rd edn., New Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1990).
 F.E. Partiger, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers, 1997).
 H.Kulke & D.Rothermund, A History of India, (London: Routledge, 1986)
 G.S. Ghuyre, Caste ,Class and Occupation,( 4th edn., Bombay: Popular Book Depot,
1961).
 Uma Chakravarty, Gendering Caste Through a Feminist Lens, ( Bombay: Popular
Prakashan, 2003).
 Beni Prasad, State In Ancient India, (Allahabad, 1928).

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  A.S. Altekar, State and Government in Ancient India, (4th edn., Delhi, Motilal
Banarsidass, 1962).

ARTICLES
 Conceptualising Brahmanical Patriarchy in Early India: Gender, Caste, Class and
State Author(s): Uma Chakravarti Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 28,
No. 14 (Apr. 3, 1993).

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