Chapter 3 – Kinship, Caste and Class | CBSE History Notes

HISTORY | CLASS XII | NCERT

Book: Themes in Indian History – Part I | Chapter 3

Kinship, Caste and Class

Early Societies (c. 600 BCE – 600 CE)

⭐ Topper Level 💬 Easy Language 📌 Point-Wise 📜 Mahabharata Focus

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1. Learning Objectives

After reading these notes, you will be able to:

Understand how historians use the Mahabharata and other texts to reconstruct social history.

Explain the ideals of patriliny, gotra, and rules of marriage in early Indian society.

Describe the varna system, jati, and how social differences were maintained or challenged.

Analyse how access to resources was shaped by gender and varna.

Understand how the Mahabharata was composed, compiled, and evolved over time as a dynamic text.

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2. Introduction

Between c. 600 BCE and 600 CE, major changes took place in the economic and political life of the Indian subcontinent — the spread of agriculture, the rise of craft specialists, and the unequal distribution of wealth all sharpened social differences. To understand these changes, historians turn to textual traditions — texts that lay down norms of behaviour and describe social situations. Each text was written from the perspective of specific social groups, so historians must always ask: who wrote what, and for whom? One of the richest sources is the Mahabharata — a colossal epic of over 1,00,000 verses composed over roughly 1,000 years (c. 500 BCE onwards). Its stories reflect kinship ties, caste structures, gender roles and class differences. By reading it carefully, we can piece together much of the social history of this era.

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3. The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata

In 1919, a major scholarly project began under V.S. Sukthankar, a noted Indian Sanskritist — preparing a Critical Edition of the Mahabharata.
Process: Collected Sanskrit manuscripts from all over India (Kashmir, Nepal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu). Compared verses from each manuscript. Selected verses common to most versions and published them in several volumes — over 13,000 pages.
Project took 47 years to complete (1919–1966).
Key findings: There were common elements across all versions; but also enormous regional variations — documented in footnotes and appendices. More than half the 13,000 pages are devoted to these variations.

📌 Why Variations Matter

These variations reflect the complex dialogues between dominant traditions and local ideas. Our understanding comes mainly from Sanskrit texts written by and for Brahmanas. Early historians took these at face value. Later, scholars studied Pali, Prakrit and Tamil texts and found that Brahmanical norms were sometimes recognised as authoritative, sometimes questioned, and occasionally rejected.

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4. Kinship and Marriage

Families are not identical everywhere — they vary in size, relationships, and activities. In Sanskrit texts, kula = family; jnati = larger network of kinfolk; vamsha = lineage. For early societies, reconstructing the family life of ordinary people is harder than that of elites.

👑 The Ideal of Patriliny

Patriliny = tracing descent from father → son → grandson. Matriliny = descent traced through the mother.
At one level, the Mahabharata is a story about patriliny — it describes a feud over land and power between the Kauravas and Pandavas, two cousin groups of the Kuru lineage.
After the Pandavas won the war, patrilineal succession was proclaimed. The central story thus reinforced the value of patriliny.
Under patriliny, sons could claim resources (including the throne) of their fathers after the father’s death.
Most ruling dynasties from c. 6th century BCE claimed to follow patriliny, but with variations — sometimes brothers succeeded each other, sometimes other kinsmen. In exceptional cases, women like Prabhavati Gupta exercised power.
This concern for patriliny was not unique to kings — it is evident in Rigvedic mantras and was likely shared by wealthy, high-status men including Brahmanas.

💍 Rules of Marriage

Daughters had no claim to household resources under the patrilineal framework.
Marrying daughters into families outside the kin group was considered desirable — this is called exogamy (marrying outside).
Kanyadana = the gift of a daughter in marriage — regarded as an important religious duty of the father.
As new towns developed (c. 500 BCE onwards), social life became more complex. Brahmanical texts called Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras were compiled to lay down codes of behaviour. The most important was the Manusmriti (c. 200 BCE – 200 CE).
These texts recognised eight forms of marriage. The first four were considered “good”; the rest were condemned (possibly practised by those who didn’t accept Brahmanical norms).

Types of Marriage (Key Terms)

Endogamy: Marriage within the same kin group, caste, or locality
Exogamy: Marriage outside the unit
Polygyny: A man having several wives
Polyandry: A woman having several husbands

8 Forms of Marriage (Manusmriti)

1st (Best): Gift of a daughter to a learned Vedic man, with jewels
4th: Gift after the priest says “perform your duties together”
5th: Bridegroom gives wealth to kin and bride of his own will
6th (Condemned): Voluntary union of a maiden and her lover — out of desire

🏛️ The Gotra of Women

From c. 1000 BCE, Brahmanas classified people (especially themselves) into gotras — each named after a Vedic seer.
All members of a gotra were regarded as descendants of that seer.
Two important rules: (1) Women had to give up their father’s gotra and adopt their husband’s gotra on marriage. (2) Members of the same gotra could not marry.
Evidence from the Satavahana dynasty (c. 2nd century BCE – 2nd century CE, western India and Deccan) shows that many queens retained their father’s gotra name even after marriage — going against Brahmanical rules.
The Satavahanas also practised endogamy (marriage within the kin group), prevalent in South India even today — directly opposing the Brahmanical norm of exogamy.

📌 Satavahana Kings — Metronymics

Satavahana rulers used metronymics (names derived from the mother’s name). E.g., “Gotami-puta” = son of Gotami. This is unusual in a patrilineal society. However, their succession was still patrilineal — so using the mother’s name didn’t necessarily mean matriliny. It may have been a way of honouring the mother.

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5. Social Differences: Varna, Caste and Jati

The varna system was a hierarchical social order laid down in the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras. Brahmanas claimed this order — in which they ranked first — was divinely ordained. Status within the order was supposedly determined by birth.

🏛️ The Four Varnas and Their Occupations

Brahmana

Study and teach Vedas; perform and get sacrifices performed; give and receive gifts

Kshatriya

Warfare; protect people; administer justice; study Vedas; perform sacrifices; make gifts

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Vaishya

Agriculture, pastoralism, trade; also study Vedas and perform sacrifices

Shudra

Only one occupation — serving the other three “higher” varnas

🤔 How Brahmanas Enforced the Varna Order

Strategy 1: Claimed the varna order was of divine origin — citing the Purusha Sukta (Rigveda): “The Brahmana was his mouth, of his arms was made the Kshatriya. His thighs became the Vaishya, of his feet the Shudra was born.”
Strategy 2: Advised kings to enforce these norms in their kingdoms.
Strategy 3: Tried to persuade people that their status was determined by birth. Reinforced through stories in the Mahabharata.

👑 Were All Kings Kshatriyas? — Non-Kshatriya Kings

According to Shastras, only Kshatriyas could be kings. But reality was different:
Mauryas: Brahmanical texts called them of “low” origin; Buddhist texts said they were Kshatriyas — debated.
Shungas and Kanvas (successors of Mauryas) were Brahmanas.
Shakas (from Central Asia) — labelled mlechchhas (barbarians, outsiders) by Brahmanas. Yet Rudradaman (best-known Shaka, c. 2nd century CE) rebuilt the Sudarshana lake — showing familiarity with Sanskritic traditions.
Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani (Satavahana) — claimed to be both a “unique Brahmana” and destroyer of Kshatriya pride, yet entered marriage alliances with Shaka kin and practised endogamy.
In practice: political power was open to anyone who could muster support and resources — birth as a Kshatriya was not a strict requirement.

🔀 Jatis and Social Mobility

Jati = like varna, based on birth. But unlike varna (fixed at 4), there was no restriction on the number of jatis.
Whenever Brahmanical authorities encountered new groups (e.g., forest-dwellers like nishadas) or new occupational groups (e.g., suvarnakara = goldsmith), they classified them as a jati.
Jatis sharing a common occupation were sometimes organised into shrenis (guilds).
Mandasor inscription (c. 5th century CE): A guild of silk weavers from Lata (Gujarat) migrated to Mandasor (Dashapura, Madhya Pradesh), attracted by the greatness of the local king. Guild members pursued diverse activities (music, literature, religion, astronomy, warfare) — showing that guild members were not limited to just their craft. They collectively built a temple to the sun god.

🌳 Beyond the Four Varnas — Integration and Conflict

Many populations across the subcontinent were not influenced by Brahmanical ideas. In Sanskrit texts they were described as odd, uncivilised, or animal-like.
Examples: forest dwellers like the nishadas (Ekalavya’s community), nomadic pastoralists, non-Sanskritic language speakers (labelled mlechchhas).
There was still some sharing of ideas and beliefs between these groups and mainstream society (seen in Mahabharata stories like Bhima’s marriage with Hidimba, a rakshasi).

🚫 Chandalas — “Untouchables”

Brahmanas developed a sharp social divide by classifying certain groups as “untouchable”.
Activities considered “polluting”: handling corpses and dead animals. Those who did these tasks were called chandalas — placed at the very bottom of the hierarchy.
The Manusmriti laid down their “duties”: live outside the village; use discarded utensils; wear clothes of the dead; iron ornaments; cannot walk in villages at night; dispose of bodies without relatives; serve as executioners.
Chinese Buddhist monk Fa Xian (c. 5th century CE): untouchables had to sound a clapper in the streets so people could avoid them.
Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang (c. 7th century CE): executioners and scavengers were forced to live outside the city.
Non-Brahmanical texts (like the Matanga Jataka in Pali) show some chandalas resisted the life of degradation.

📖 Key Story — Ekalavya (Adi Parvan, Mahabharata)

Ekalavya, a nishada (forest-dwelling hunter), was refused as a pupil by Drona (Brahmana teacher of Kuru princes). He made a clay image of Drona and taught himself archery, becoming supremely skilled. When Drona discovered this and demanded his right thumb as guru-dakshina, Ekalavya cut it off — ensuring Arjuna remained Drona’s best student. This story was used to reinforce the idea that certain social groups should not acquire skills beyond their “proper” station.

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6. Beyond Birth: Resources and Status

Social positions were often shaped by access to economic resources. Slaves, labourers, hunters, fisherfolk, pastoralists, peasants, village headmen, craftspersons, merchants and kings all emerged as social actors whose status depended on how much they could access and control.

👩 Gendered Access to Property

Critical episode in the Mahabharata: During the dice game, Yudhisthira staked and lost his gold, elephants, army, treasury, kingdom, brothers, himself — and finally their common wife Draupadi.
According to the Manusmriti: paternal estate to be divided equally among sons after parents’ death (eldest got a special share). Women could NOT claim a share of these resources.
Women were allowed to keep gifts received at marriage as stridhana (literally “woman’s wealth”) — this could be inherited by her children, but the husband had no claim. However, women could not hoard family property without the husband’s permission.

💼 How Men Could Acquire Wealth (Manusmriti — 7 ways)

Inheritance
Finding (discovery)
Purchase
Conquest
Investment
Work / labour
Acceptance of gifts from good people

💍 How Women Could Acquire Wealth (Manusmriti — 6 ways)

Gifts given in front of the fire (at marriage)
Gifts given during the bridal procession
Gifts given as a token of affection
Gifts from brother, mother or father
Any subsequent gift
Whatever an “affectionate” husband might give

🏛️ Varna and Access to Property

The Brahmanical texts assigned various occupations to the first three varnas but only servitude to Shudras. If these provisions were followed, the wealthiest men would be Brahmanas and Kshatriyas.
Early Buddhism (c. 6th century BCE onwards) criticised this: Buddhists recognised social differences but did not regard them as natural or inflexible. They rejected claims to status based on birth.
The Buddhist Majjhima Nikaya story shows: if a Shudra had wealth, even a Brahmana would serve him politely — proving that actual social relations were shaped more by wealth than by birth.

🌟 Alternative Social Scenario — Ancient Tamilakam

In ancient Tamilakam (South India), there were several chiefdoms around 2,000 years ago. Chiefs were patrons of bards and poets.
Tamil Sangam poems (c. 1st century CE, Puranaruru anthology) show that while there were differences between rich and poor, those who controlled resources were also expected to share them.
A man was respected if he was generous and despised if he accumulated wealth only for himself. This was an alternative model of social status.

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7. Explaining Social Differences: A Social Contract

The Buddhists developed an alternative understanding of social inequality. In a myth from the Sutta Pitaka, they explained the origin of kingship and social institutions not through divine command, but through human choice.

According to the myth: Originally, humans lived in peace, taking from nature only what they needed. Gradually, humans became greedy, vindictive and deceitful.
They then chose a ruler — the mahasammata (“the great elect”) — who would punish wrongdoers. In return, the people gave him a proportion of their rice (i.e., taxes).
This suggests: kingship was based on human choice (not divine command); taxes were payment for services. And since human beings created the system, they could also change it.

📌 Buddhist vs. Brahmanical View of Society
Brahmanical view (Purusha Sukta): The varna order was divinely ordained — Brahmanas from mouth, Kshatriyas from arms, Vaishyas from thighs, Shudras from feet. Status fixed by birth. Divine and eternal.

Buddhist view (Sutta Pitaka): Social order was created by humans, based on mutual agreement. Not natural or divinely fixed. Social differences could be changed. Status should ideally not depend on birth.

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8. Handling Texts: Historians and the Mahabharata

🔍 How Historians Analyse a Text

Language: Was it in Prakrit/Pali/Tamil (ordinary people) or Sanskrit (priests/elites)?
Type: Mantras (chanted ritually) or stories (read/heard/retold)?
Author(s): Who composed it? From whose perspective?
Audience: For whom was it composed?
Date and Place: When and where was it composed?
Only after assessing all these does a historian draw on the content of the text for historical understanding.

📝 Language and Content of the Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is in Sanskrit, but simpler than Vedic Sanskrit or prashastis — it was probably widely understood.
Historians classify the text into: Narrative sections (stories) and Didactic sections (prescriptions about social norms, e.g., the Bhagavad Gita).
Generally, historians agree the epic was primarily meant to be a dramatic story, and the didactic portions were added later.
The text is described as itihasa = “thus it was” (loosely translated as “history”). Whether the war actually happened is debated.

✍️ Author(s) and Dates of the Mahabharata

Stage 1: Sutas (Charioteer-Bards)

Original story composed by sutas — charioteer-bards who accompanied Kshatriya warriors. Compositions circulated orally, celebrating victories.

Stage 2: Brahmanas (from 5th c. BCE)

Brahmanas took over the story and began writing it down. Chiefdoms of Kurus and Panchalas were becoming kingdoms. Didactic and normative content added.

Stage 3: Later Additions (200 BCE–400 CE)

Sections on Vishnu worship and Krishna added (c. 200 BCE–200 CE). Large didactic sections like Manusmriti-style texts added (c. 200–400 CE). Text grew from ~10,000 to 1,00,000 verses. Attributed to sage Vyasa.

🏙️ The Search for Convergence — Hastinapura

Archaeologist B.B. Lal excavated Hastinapura (Meerut, UP) in 1951–52 — possibly the Hastinapura of the epic.
Found 5 occupational levels. The 2nd phase (c. 12th–7th centuries BCE): mud and mud-brick walls, reed walls plastered with mud.
The 3rd phase (c. 6th–3rd centuries BCE): mud-brick and burnt brick houses, soakage jars, brick drains, terracotta ring wells.
Whether this matches the epic’s description of Hastinapura as a grand city is debated — it could be poetic fancy.

📖 Draupadi’s Marriage — Polyandry in the Mahabharata

Draupadi’s marriage to all five Pandavas (polyandry) is the most challenging episode. The text offers three different justifications for it: (1) Kunti’s accidental command that couldn’t be violated; (2) Pandavas were incarnations of Indra whose wife was reborn as Draupadi; (3) Draupadi had prayed to Shiva five times instead of once in a previous life. Historians say offering multiple explanations suggests polyandry was gradually falling into disfavour among Brahmanas. The practice may have been prevalent in the Himalayan region, or may have arisen from a shortage of women during warfare.

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9. A Dynamic Text

The Mahabharata did not stop with Sanskrit — over centuries, versions were written in many Indian languages through ongoing dialogues between peoples, communities, and authors.
Regional stories were absorbed into the epic. The central story was retold in many ways. Episodes were depicted in sculpture, painting, plays, dance, and narration.
Modern example: Mahashweta Devi, a contemporary Bengali writer, wrote “Kunti O Nishadi” — a short story that continues from where the Mahabharata’s house-of-lac episode ends. She gives voice to the nishada woman’s perspective — questioning why the six innocent nishada lives lost to save the Pandavas are never mourned or remembered.

📌 Key Principle: Creative Literature and Social Reality

The Mahabharata contains depictions that may not literally reflect social reality — e.g., Draupadi’s polyandrous marriage. Creative literature often has its own narrative requirements and does not always literally reflect social realities. Historians must use texts carefully, cross-checking with other sources.

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10. Mind Map — Chapter at a Glance

🗺️ Mind Map — Kinship, Caste and Class

Early Indian Society (600 BCE – 600 CE)

👨‍👩‍👧 KinshipPatriliny · Exogamy
Gotra · Kanyadana

💍 Marriage8 forms (Manusmriti)
Endogamy · Polyandry

🏛️ Varna System4 varnas · Purusha Sukta
Divine origin claimed

🔀 JatiUnlimited number
Guilds (shrenis)

💰 ResourcesGendered access
Stridhana · Varna control

☸️ BuddhismMahasammata theory
Social contract

📜 MahabharataItihasa · Vyasa
1,00,000 verses

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11. Important Timelines

📜 Major Textual Traditions

Date	Text / Event
c. 500 BCE	Ashtadhyayi of Panini (Sanskrit grammar); major Dharmasutras begin
c. 500–100 BCE	Early Buddhist texts including Tripitaka (in Pali)
c. 500 BCE – 400 CE	Ramayana and Mahabharata composed (in Sanskrit)
c. 200 BCE – 200 CE	Manusmriti compiled; Tamil Sangam literature composed
c. 100 CE	Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas (medical texts, Sanskrit)
c. 200 CE onwards	Puranas compiled (Sanskrit)
c. 300–600 CE	Other Dharmashastras compiled
c. 400–500 CE	Sanskrit plays of Kalidasa; Aryabhata’s astronomy; Jaina works in Prakrit

📖 Landmarks in the Study of the Mahabharata

Date	Event
1919–66	Preparation and publication of the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata (led by V.S. Sukthankar)
1951–52	B.B. Lal excavates Hastinapura (Meerut, UP)
1973	J.A.B. van Buitenen begins English translation of Critical Edition (left incomplete at his death in 1978)

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Summary — Quick Revision

The Mahabharata (c. 500 BCE – 400 CE) is a colossal epic of 1,00,000 verses — one of the richest sources for social history. The Critical Edition was prepared over 47 years (1919–66) by V.S. Sukthankar and his team.

Patriliny = descent from father to son. Reinforced by the Mahabharata’s central story. Most ruling dynasties followed it; women like Prabhavati Gupta were rare exceptions.

Sanskrit terms: kula (family), jnati (kinfolk), vamsha (lineage). Marriage norms: exogamy (marry outside kin) was the Brahmanical norm; endogamy (marry within kin) was practised in South India (e.g., Satavahanas).

Gotra — named after a Vedic seer. Rules: women give up father’s gotra at marriage; same-gotra members cannot marry. Satavahana queens kept their father’s gotra, violating these norms.

Varna system: Brahmanas claimed it was divinely ordained (Purusha Sukta). Four varnas with specific occupations. But reality was complex — non-Kshatriya kings (Mauryas, Shungas, Shakas) were common.

Jati = social category based on birth + occupation; unlimited in number. Groups organised into shrenis (guilds). Mandasor inscription shows silk weavers who migrated and built a sun temple collectively.

Chandalas = “untouchable” groups at the bottom; forced to live outside villages, use discarded utensils, dispose of corpses. Described by Chinese pilgrims Fa Xian and Xuan Zang.

Women’s property: stridhana = gifts received at marriage, inheritable by children. But women could NOT claim paternal estate (sons only). Land, cattle, money generally controlled by men.

Buddhist alternative: Sutta Pitaka explains kingship as a social contract (mahasammata theory). Society not divinely fixed; humans created it and can change it. Status not determined by birth.

Mahabharata composition: Sutas (oral) → Brahmanas (written, 5th c. BCE) → Vishnu/Krishna sections (c. 200 BCE–200 CE) → Large didactic sections (c. 200–400 CE). Attributed to sage Vyasa.

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Important Terms to Remember

Patriliny: Tracing descent from father to son, grandson, and so on. Most ruling dynasties followed this system.
Matriliny: Tracing descent through the mother’s line.
Kula: Sanskrit term for family.
Jnati: Larger network of kinfolk (relatives) in Sanskrit.
Vamsha: Lineage — referring to a line of descent from a common ancestor.
Gotra: A Brahmanical category — a group of people named after a Vedic seer, regarded as his descendants. Members of the same gotra cannot marry each other.
Metronymic: A name derived from the name of the mother. E.g., Gotami-puta = son of Gotami.
Exogamy: The practice of marrying outside one’s kin group, caste, or locality.
Endogamy: The practice of marrying within one’s kin group, caste, or locality. Prevalent in South India.
Polygyny: A man having several wives.
Polyandry: A woman having several husbands. Example: Draupadi’s marriage to the five Pandavas.
Kanyadana: The gift of a daughter in marriage — considered an important religious duty of the father.
Varna: The four-fold social hierarchy of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Status determined by birth according to Brahmanical theory.
Jati: Social category based on birth; unlike varna (fixed at 4), jatis were unlimited. Assigned to occupational groups that didn’t fit the varna system.
Shreni (Guild): An organisation of jatis sharing a common occupation or profession.
Mlechchha: A term used by Brahmanas to refer to foreigners, barbarians, or outsiders — e.g., Shakas from Central Asia.
Chandala: Those who handled corpses and dead animals — considered ritually “polluting” and placed at the very bottom of the social order as “untouchables”.
Stridhana: Literally “woman’s wealth” — gifts received by a woman at marriage, which she owned independently and could pass on to her children.
Dharmasutras / Dharmashastras: Sanskrit texts (from c. 500 BCE) laying down codes of social behaviour for different varnas. The most important was the Manusmriti (c. 200 BCE – 200 CE).
Itihasa: Sanskrit term meaning “thus it was” — loosely translated as “history.” The Mahabharata is described as an itihasa.
Didactic: Meant for instruction. The didactic sections of the Mahabharata contain prescriptions about social norms (e.g., the Bhagavad Gita).
Sutas: Charioteer-bards who originally composed oral stories celebrating Kshatriya warriors — the original composers of the Mahabharata.
Mahasammata: The Buddhist concept of “the great elect” — the first king chosen by humans to maintain order, in return receiving a share of rice (taxes). Basis of the Buddhist social contract theory.
Critical Edition: A scholarly edition of the Mahabharata prepared (1919–1966) under V.S. Sukthankar, selecting verses common to most manuscripts and documenting regional variations.
Purusha Sukta: A hymn from the Rigveda describing the sacrifice of the primeval man (Purusha), from whose body the four varnas were born — used by Brahmanas to justify the varna order as divinely ordained.