Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c7.10

c7.10

The sūta mentioned here is not the caste that was described as the offspring of a kṣatriya father and brahman mother; ⁵ that was a later application of the term. This sūta was a bard, like the māgadha, and the origin of both is placed in the time of a primaeval king Pṛthu, son of Vena.⁶ It is explained by a fable, which says the first sūta and māgadha came into existence at his sacrifice, and gives a fanciful explanation of the names. What is noteworthy is that the story says Pṛthu assigned the Anūpa (or Sūta) country to the sūta and Magadha to the māgadha ;⁷ and this discloses that the māgadhas were really inhabitants of Magadha and the sūtas inhabitants of the Anūpa country which appears to mean Bengal here, or of the Sūta country, the district east of Magadha. The story clearly distinguishes between these sūtas and the later class sprung from kṣatriya fathers and brahman mothers which also was called sūta, and explains that the latter received this name because they observed the same duty as the original sūtas, while they were also allowed two other inferior occupations, namely, secondly, employment with a kṣatriya in connexion with chariots, elephants and horses, and lastly, medicine.¹ The original sūtas seem to have been gradually superseded by the latter class.