The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c20.7

v1.c20.7

As we read the works of these important sects we receive the impression that the world of India was one in which the ancient priestly caste had lost its authority; that nobles and wealthy merchants were more regarded than Brāhmans. But it must be remembered that, despite the wide reach of Buddhism when in its full power, it influenced at first only that part of the country where it arose, and that the earlier writings depicting the life and teaching of Buddha represent chiefly the circumstances found in a very circumscribed area, in fact just the area where Brāhmanism was weakest. The elements of social life were the same here as elsewhere, but they were not arranged in the same way. The stronghold of Brāhmanism lay to the West, and there the priest had had his say and built up his power among clans boasting direct descent from Vedic heroes and more inclined to bow to the mysterious Vedic word of which the only custodian was the Brāhman priest. In short, as Brāhmanism exaggerates the power of the priest, so Buddhism belittles it unduly, not because it sets out to do so but because each represents a special point of view based more or less upon geographical position. Owing, however, to a still later interpretation of caste, our modern ideas on the subject are apt to be peculiarly confused. To understand the social order into which we enter as we begin the study of the Sūtras, epics, and law-books, we must renounce altogether the notion of caste in its strict modern sense, as on the other hand we must free ourselves from the thought that the whole caste-system is merely a priestly hypothesis disproved by the conditions revealed in Buddhistic writings.