Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c14: Chapter VIII. The Brahmanas

The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c14

Language
English

Chapter VIII. The Brahmanas

c14.2

We have placed the *purohita*, on account of his often purely worldly position, among the officers of the king but have emphasised the fact that the proper source of his political power is to be sought in his being a Brâhmaṇa, in his belonging to the Brâhmaṇa caste; with this we shall now deal minutely.

c14.3

While we had to point out in the case of the Khattiyas that the expression "caste" did not strictly apply to them, either in the modern sense or in the sense of the Brahmanical theory, the case is different with Brâhmaṇas. They are no class and do not represent any special element of the Indian society which may be called the spiritual element, just as the Khattiyas represent the ruling element; also they do not represent a purely hereditary rank, as do, for example, the ministers of the king, for we shall see that the Brâhmaṇa and the priest are in no way identical. The Brâhmaṇas are a caste and that, too, almost in the sense in which they understand it in their own theory. Every one is a Brâhmaṇa by his birth,¹ not by his profession;

c14.4

¹ So also a Brâhmaṇa is defined in the Vinaya Piṭaka (Nissag-giya X. 2.1): *brâhmaṇo nâma jâtiyâ brâhmaṇo*.

c14.5

he may change his profession, he may follow the most humble callings, still he remains a Brâhmaṇa, a member of his caste. What lends exclusiveness to this Brâhmaṇa society, what unites the Brâhmaṇas closely with one another and separates them from members of other castes is, firstly, the consciousness of being the premier caste, the only one which enjoys the privilege of offering sacrifice, as the only medium of communicating with the gods, and secondly, the contempt arising from this, of all people who are low by birth, whose contact is strictly prohibited, and finally, the observance of certain universal customs relating especially to connubium and the eating of impure food, the violation of which leads ipse jure to excommunication from the caste. Of course, the exclusiveness of the Brâhmaṇa caste exists only in idea. The great mass of Brâhmaṇas, spread over the whole of Northern India in Buddha’s time, does not constitute a well-organised body with a chief and a council; such an external organisation, as we find in the modern castes, seems wholly wanting in that age.¹ Also the jurisdiction to which the members of the Brâhmaṇa caste were subject is not to be looked upon as a formal court in which cases of violation of the caste rules were decided; it rather seems to consist in the pressure of public opinion which was strong enough to enforce the observance of the rules. If, for example, as in the cases cited above (pp. 31 and 33 of the original, pp. 42 and 44 of the translation), a Brâhmaṇa had partaken of the table leavings of a Caṇḍāla, he ceased to be a Brâhmaṇa; in order to avoid the contempt of his former caste people, he gave up his residence or committed suicide (II. 84).

c14.6

¹ Only when the Brâhmaṇas live in villages which are exclusively inhabited by them and live in union, is the presence of any organisation thinkable. Such Brâhmaṇa villages (brâhmaṇagâma) are mentioned in the Jâtakas; II. 368; III. 293; IV. 276, further, Mahâvagga V. 13, 12; Digha Nikâya III. 1. 1; V. 1.

c14.7

If we try to get a picture of this caste from a popular source, like the Jâtakas, we should not be surprised to find it different from that of the Brahmanical sources. Freed from his worldly conditions, the Brâhmaṇa appears to be placed, as it were, in an ideal world, as the centre of which he is regarded, standing above the gods, or at least, on the same level with them.¹ It is different with the Jâtakas which present to us the Brâhmaṇas as they are in their daily lives. We see him now as a teacher asking the new scholar about the honorarium he has brought, now he meets us behind the plough, now in the court of the king interpreting signs and dreams or predicting from the constellation of the stars the future of the newly-born prince, now as a rich merchant in the midst of his accumulated treasures, now at the head of a big caravan.

c14.8

¹ Manu IX. 316: "Who are the support of all worlds and gods, whose treasure is Brahmana (sacrifice, prayer, Veda)--who shall injure them, if he has any love for life?"

c14.9

One may, however, object here that the Jâtakas, if they do not idealise, still commit the mistake that they give a prejudiced and contemptuous view of the Brâhmaṇas. Many narratives seem to justify this view, for in many cases the Brâhmaṇas are pictured as greedy, shameless and immoral and serve as a foil to the Khattiyas who play the part of the virtuous and noble humanity in stories. Such an intentional contrast appears to be fully evident in the Juṇha Jâtaka (IV. 96 sq.).

c14.10

"In old times, when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, his son "Prince Juṇha" studied in Takkasilâ. One night, as in darkness he quitted the house of the teacher to whom he was assigned, and went hurriedly to his residence, he met on the way a Brâhmaṇa, who was also likewise going home after finishing his begging tour, and as he did not notice him, he pushed him with his arms, so that the alms pot of the Brâhmaṇa broke in two. The Brâhmaṇa threw himself down on the ground, weeping loudly. Filled with pity, the prince returned, took him by the hand and raised him; the latter, however, cried: “You have broken my alms pot in two, my dear, give me my food.” The prince replied, “Brâhmaṇa, I cannot give you money just now, but I am the son of the King of Kâsi and am called Juṇha; when I ascend the throne, then come and ask the money from me.” The prince completed his studies, took leave of his teacher and returned to Benares, where he showed his father what he had learned. The father rejoiced that he saw his son before his death, wished to see him also as king and made over the government to him which he as “King Juṇha” conducted justly. The Brâhmaṇa heard of this and reflected: “Now I will fetch the money for my food:” he went to Benares and as he saw the king on a festive occasion in the adorned city, placed himself on an elevated seat, crying, “Victory to the king.” The king passed by, without noticing him. As the Brâhmaṇa knew that he remained unnoticed, he raised his voice and shouted:

c14.11

“Hear my word, O ruler of men! With a particular object in view I have come here, Juṇha; one should not pass by a wandering, Brâhmaṇa, whom one meets on the way, it is said, (without noticing him), O best of men.”

c14.12

When the king heard these words, he pulled up the elephant with his diamond-studded hook and recited the second verse:

c14.13

“I hear, I stand. Say, O Brâhmaṇa, on what purpose you have come here; tell me what you have come here to ask me, O Brâhmaṇa.”

c14.14

Upon this, the following verses were recited in the course of the conversation between the king and the Brâhmaṇa:

c14.15

“Give me five rich villages, a hundred slaves, seven hundred cows and more than ten thousand gold pieces and two consorts of equal rank with me.”

c14.16

“Have you, O Brâhmaṇa, made any penance of great severity, or do you possess, O Brâhmaṇa, various magic incantations? Are any demons in your power, or have you rendered me any service?”

c14.17

“I have not done any penance or magic incantations, nor are any demons in my power, nor do I remember having rendered you any service. It concerns only a former meeting.”

c14.18

“I see you for the first time, so far as I know. I have not known you before this. Make clear to me in reply to my question, when and where our meeting took place.”

c14.19

“In the beautiful city of the Gandhâra king, in Takkasilâ we lived, O King. There, in darkness, at dead of night, we met each other, shoulder to shoulder. There we both exchanged, O Prince, friendly words; this is the only time that we have met and we did not meet since or before.”

c14.20

“If at any time among men, O Brâhmaṇa, a meeting with another good man takes place, wise men do not ignore acquaintances resulting from casual meeting or long intercourse, nor do they leave out of account what is done before.”

c14.21

“Foolish men alone ignore such acquaintances as well as what was done before. Even great things which occur to fools come to nothing; for so are the fools, ungrateful by nature.”

c14.22

“The thoughtful, however, never allow transitory or long acquaintances or what was done before to disappear. Even a small thing which happens to thoughtful men does not go for nothing; for so are the thoughtful, mindful by nature.”

c14.23

“I give you the five rich villages, a hundred slaves, seven hundred cows and more than a thousand gold pieces and two consorts of equal birth with you.”

c14.24

“So it is with good men when they meet, O King, as it is with the moon when she meets the stars; she will be full, O lord of Kâsi, like myself, for I have received to-day what was promised at our meeting.”

c14.25

“The Bodhisatta,” so ends the Juṇha Jātaka, “heaped wealth and honour upon him.”

c14.26

As the shamelessness of a Brâhmaṇa is here ridiculed, so also in other passages, the greediness of the Brâhmaṇas gives the narrator a good opportunity for making fun of them. “The Brâhmaṇas are full of greed of gold” (brâhmaṇâ dhanalolâ honti, I. 425), so thinks the jackal in the Sigâla Jātaka who ventured into the town at night and when he was sleeping was taken unawares by the breaking of the day and frightened by the inability to make good his escape without being noticed. He offers a Brâhmaṇa two hundred kahāpaṇas if he can take him under his shoulders, concealed by his overcoat, out of the town. The Brâhmaṇa agrees, but is punished severely for his greed and in such a way that he cannot retaliate.

c14.27

Especially, it is the Brâhmaṇas in the King’s service whose greed is brought prominently into view. In the Susîma Jātaka it is narrated that the Brâhmaṇas after the death of the purohita, who, as explained, got ten millions every time for the consecration of the State elephant, went to the king and told him that they wanted, as the purohita’s son was still too young and knew neither the three Vedas nor the hatthisutta, to perform the elephant consecration themselves. The king agreed and the Brâhmaṇas were highly pleased to receive the money for the hatthimangala.

c14.28

The power of the Brâhmaṇas to give an opinion by reading signs about the future of a man or the success of an enterprise had concealed in it the temptation to make this opinion depend upon the expected reward, and the Jâtakas make it probable that the Brâhmaṇas in many cases could not resist this temptation. An asilakkhaṇapāṭhakabrāhmaṇa, i.e., a Brâhmaṇa who by fixed characteristics (for example, by scent) knows the goodness of a sword, says to people, who have simply paid him for this, “The sword has a lucky sign, it is luck-bringing” (asi lakkhaṇasampanno maṅgalasamyutto I. 455); if, however, he gets no reward for this, he declares the sword to be avalakkhaṇa, i.e., as “possessing bad characteristics.”

c14.29

In the class of enemies whom the dog of Sakka dressed as a hunter should kill (IV. 184), are included the reward-seeking Brâhmaṇas:—

c14.30

“If the Brâhmaṇas, knowing the Vedas, the sâvitrî¹ and the sacrificial litany, make offerings for the sake of the reward, then the dog must be let loose.”

c14.31

¹ The verse in the Rigveda (II. 62. 10) : tat savitur vareṇyam.

c14.32

Further, morality does not seem, according to the Jâtakas, to be in a good way with the Brâhmaṇas. We read in the Sambhava Jâtaka (V. 57 sq.) how the purohita Suchîrata is sent by his king, the ruler of the Kuru land, Dhanañjayakorabya, to the Brâhmaṇa Vidhura in Benares to bring an answer to the question relating to the dhammayâga¹ which he cannot himself answer. He does not go from Indapatta straight to Benares but goes to Vidhura after first travelling all over India without being able to get any answer from any wise man. Vidhura cannot answer his question, as he is occupied with other thoughts and sends him to his son Bhadrakâra. "My love," the latter replies to the request of the purohita, "I am in these days occupied in seducing the wife of another, my mind is full of it, so that I cannot answer your question, but my younger brother Sañjaya possesses a better understanding than I; ask him, he will be able to answer your question. But he gets nothing better from Sañjaya, for he also is in love with the wife of another and swims the Gangâ every day to go to his beloved: “Evening and morning, when I swim across the river, death can swallow me: of this my mind is full.” He points to him his seven-year-old brother and it is he who first answers his question.

c14.33

¹ Dhammayâga denotes literally an offering which suits the dhamma, the doctrine or the law. A special kind of offering is not to be understood by this, but rather, something like an "ideal offering which satisfies all requirements." In the answer which is finally ascribed to Sucirata, an offering in the Brahmanical sense is certainly not mentioned; for the Buddhist, even the dhammayâga, the ideal sacrifice, consists in virtuous life in accordance with the dhamma.

c14.34

Still, it would be wrong if we would infer from these examples a feeling in the Jâtakas hostile to the Brâhmaṇas. As everywhere in the Pali literature¹ the “true” Brâhmaṇa—that is, according to the Buddhistic view, the Brâhmaṇa who attaches value not to birth, nor to the study of the Veda, nor to sacrifice, but only to virtuous conduct—is very much honoured. On account of the importance which is attached in Buddha’s teachings to the virtuous life, there can be no question here of a hostile attitude of Buddhism towards the world-renouncing Brahmanical ascetics. The spirit of the Buddhistic writings and even of the Jâtakas is only against the external conception of Brahmanical duties (*brâhmaṇa-dhamma* IV. 301 sq.), as it is developed, for example, by Uddâlaka in answer to his father's question (see above p. 26 sq.). Whilst Uddâlaka understands by *brâhmaṇadhamma* going round the fire, sprinkling water and the setting up of the sacrificial fire, the *purohita* who sees the ideal of the Brâhmaṇa in the property-less, world-renouncing holy man, gives expression to the Buddhistic conception in these words:—

c14.35

¹ So in the Brâhmaṇavagga of the Dhammapada (ed. Fausböll, p. 79): “Not the flowing pair, not the family, not the caste makes the Brâhmaṇa. He who possesses truth, virtue, is happy and is a Brâhmaṇa” Cf. further the Brâhmaṇadhammika Sutta in the Sutta Nipâta (ed. Fausböll, p. 51 sq.) and the answer which in the Vinaya Piṭaka Buddha gives to the high-minded Brâhmaṇa in answer to the question regarding the characteristics of a Brâhmaṇa (Mahavagga I. 2-3): “The Brâhmaṇa who has removed all sins from himself, who is free from haughtiness, free from impurity and full of self-control, who has mastered science fully, who has fulfilled the duties of a saint, such a Brâhmaṇa can truly be called a Brâhmaṇa, for whom there is no more any desire for anything in the world.”

c14.36

"Without land, without relations, unconcerned about the sensuous world, free from desires, immune from bad lusts, indifferent to existence, acting thus, the Brâhmaṇa attains peace of mind; for this reason one calls him virtuous."

c14.37

That this Brâhmaṇa without property and without desires is even for the Buddhistic narrator a thoroughly honourable person, appears from numerous passages of the Jâtakas, for example, from the Saccamkira Jâtaka (I. 323 sq.), where with a hard-hearted and cruel prince an amiable and sympathetic Brâhmaṇa ascetic is contrasted. The frequent occurrence of *samaṇa* and *brâhmaṇa* together shows that the homeless ascetic and the Brâhmaṇa were for the Buddhist identical, just as for him the attributes of a homeless ascetic, propertylessness and desirelessness, inhere in the notion of a "true" Brâhmaṇa.

c14.38

"Let virtuous ascetics and Brâhmaṇas (*sīlavante samaṇa-brāhmaṇe* I. 187) sit in the stable of the (vicious) elephants and talk of the virtuous life" is the advice which the minister gives the king, as he hopes in this way to tame the elephant which has become wild through the plots of robbers. "Do you not know that you are a saint or a Brâhmaṇa" (*tava samaṇabhāvam vā brāhmaṇabhāvam vā na jānāhi* I. 305)—With these words the queen brings the sensual ascetics to their senses.

c14.39

In my opinion, we have to distinguish between two kinds of Brâhmaṇas who, though they do not perhaps appear to be outwardly distinguishable in any way, are essentially different in nature² and have nothing in common with each other except the name and the fact of belonging to the same caste. We speak of the distinction between "proper" and "worldly" Brâhmaṇas. The first class corresponds closely to the ideal sketched in their own writings. Their life is usually divided into three or four stages, into which the life of a Brâhmaṇa is divided by the lawbooks and the observance of which, as is recommended here, appears to be looked upon as essential.¹

c14.40

¹ Even in the edicts of Aśoka this juxtaposition of samaṇa and brāhmaṇa is found. In the fourth edict, among the duties laid down by Aśoka to be performed, proper conduct towards Brâhmaṇas and ascetics is mentioned (*bambhanasamaṇānam saṃpaṭipati*). Cf. Zeitsch d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellschaft,” Vol. 37, p. 255.

c14.41

² A division of the Brâhmaṇa caste into different sub-castes, a combination of those excommunicated from their castes to form a new caste, as takes place in India to-day, is I think, not to be supposed for the older Buddhistic period, as we find no trace of it anywhere in Pali literature. Also that the Brahmanical lawbooks know nothing

c14.42

¹ Āpastambh. II. 21.1 sq. "There are four stages of life (âśrama), the house-holder's stage, the scholar's stage, the stage of the ascetic and that of the hermit in the forest. Who lives in all these according to the prescribed rules, attains peace of the soul." Manu VI. 37 expressly states that going into the forest must follow the life of the scholar and that of the householder: "A twice-born who seeks to be freed from the world without studying the Vedas and without producing any son, sinks."

c14.43

The Brâhmaṇa goes, when grown up, to a teacher, studies here the Vedas, sets up then a household, renounces later worldly life and goes to the forest where he lives either as a hermit or surrounded by a host of pupils and ascetics and which he quits in course of time to take up the life of the ascetic and provide himself

c14.44

of this, I would not with Senart (*Revue deux mondes*, Vol. 122, p. 98) explain by the attempt of the authors to represent the castes in their ideal integrity, but would rather conclude from this, that it is first in modern times, when the castes take more and more the character of professional communities, that the old unity of the Brâhmaṇa caste, although existing only in the idea, is lost.

c14.45

with food by begging (Bodhisatto Kâsiraṭṭhe brâhmaṇakule nibbattitvâ vayappatto Takkasilam gantvâ sabbasippâni uggaṇhitvâ gharâvâsam pahâya isipabbajjam pabbajitvâ gaṇasatthâ hutvâ Himavantapadese ciram vasitvâ lonabilasevanatthâya janapodacârikaṃ, caramâno Bârâṇasiṃ patvâ râjuyyâne vasitvâ punadivase dvâragâme sapariso bhikkhâcâraṃ cari. II. 85. Similarly also II. 394, 411; III. 147, 352). Here we have the four âsramas of the lawbooks—the period of life of the scholar, the period of life of the householder, the period of stay in the forest and the period of wandering as a beggar. The formula quoted, by which the mode of life of an "upright" Brâhmaṇa should be characterised, occurs in exactly the same words at the beginning of a large number of Jâtakas. Still on a more minute comparison we notice differences; sometimes the Brâhmaṇa renounces the world immediately after he is grown up, apparently without fulfilling the duties of the scholar and the householder, and becomes a homeless ascetic (I. 333, 361, 373, 450; II. 131, 232, 262); sometimes we read of the beginning of the householder's stage and later renunciation of worldly life without any previous stage as scholar (II. 41, 145, 269, 437; III. 45); sometimes, the adoption of the houseless condition—residence in the forest or wandering—takes place immediately after the completion of the studies (II. 72; III. 64, 79, 110, 119, 228, 249, 308; V. 152, 193). Between these two last stages of life, no distinction, as between two successive stages, is made anywhere in the Jâtakas, and it is probable that in practice also no distinction between the two was made, as inclemencies of weather and the necessities of life compelled every ascetic at times to exchange residence in the forest for the mode of life of a wandering beggar. If we do not wish to suppose that the Jâtakas purposely vary the wording, in order not to use the same words always, in enumerating the different stages of life of a Brâhmaṇa—a supposition which is contradicted by the words which were wholly current in the then Pali literature and repeated to the point of weariness—we can, in my opinion, conclude from these variations that there was in reality no question of a schematic partition of the course of life of a Brâhmaṇa. Often might the four stages in the life of an orthodox Brâhmaṇa overlap one another and it rested with the authors of the lawbooks to try to make a model of this ideal in their theory: we should, however, be greatly mistaken if we would think of all Brâhmaṇas as given one and all to study and asceticism and suppose that they had divided their life into four stages and dedicated the last two to the occupation of a hermit and a wandering beggar.¹

c14.46

¹ Senart, *Revue des deux mondes*, Vol. 122, p. 102. The articles of Senart in the *Revue* quoted above (p. 8 Note, p. 3. Note in the original) have in the meantime appeared in book form under the title *Les Castes dans l'Inde. Les faits et le système.* Paris 1896. I shall refer henceforth to this edition.

c14.47

If we take into consideration this distinction between theory and practice brought about by the schematising influence of the Brahmanical lawbooks, there still arises a close approximation between the "proper" Brâhmaṇa of the Jâtakas and the Brâhmaṇa as we know him from the Brâhmaṇa texts and the lawbooks, and this, not because of the external division of life but through the fact that he fulfils the duties of a Brâhmaṇa and enjoys his privileges.

c14.48

As the four duties of a Brâhmaṇa the Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa mentions (XI. 5. 7, 1)²: Brahmanical parentage (brâhmaṇyam), suitable behaviour (pratirûpacharyâ), attainment of fame (yaśas) and teaching of men (lokapakti). We should not from the nature of our source expect that it should offer us any detailed illustration of this scheme, for this reason that the duties mentioned consist in part in the carrying out of things which lie beyond the range of vision of the Buddhistic narrator and of which he lacks any understanding. Thus, the Jâtakas contain no rules regarding sacrifice which together with study constitutes the duty of attainment of fame mentioned in the third passage; they only mention it, in order to exhibit its worthlessness and illustrate the swindling ways of the greedy Brâhmaṇas in filling their pockets. For the Brâhmaṇas to make profit out of the sacrificial ceremonies seems to have passed into a proverb current among the people. As a king at a sacrificial ceremony gives money to the Brâhmaṇas, so does the senápati willingly give his wife to his lord—thus runs a verse in the Ummadantî Jâtaka (V. 221). Also for the fulfilment of the first duty, namely, brâhmaṇya, I cannot give any illustration from the Jâtakas themselves, but we can infer from the polemic against the value attached to birth which we come across here, and indeed, generally, in the Jâtakas, that even in the eastern lands, great importance was attached, at least in some cases, to pure birth on the part of the Brâhmaṇas. What is meant here by a true Brâhmaṇa we learn, for example, from a passage of the Nidânakathâ (I. 2), where it is said of the first Bodhisattwa, that is, Buddha in his first existence as Brâhmaṇa Sumedha, “Of good family, on both sides, on the father’s side as well as on the mother’s of pure origin up to the seventh generation, faultless and irreproachable, so far as birth is concerned." They are the same words which appear elsewhere in the Pali canon¹ and in which in the Dîgha Nikâya (IV. 4) the Brâhmaṇas ask Soṇadaṇḍa to seek for his ancestor in the Samaṇa Gotama, while pointing out his Brahmanical origin. "Because you, O Soṇadaṇḍa, are of good family on both sides, therefore, you should not seek the Samaṇa Gotama but Samaṇa Gotama must seek you."

c14.49

² Cf. Weber, *Indische Studien*, Vol. 10, p. 41, 69 sq.

c14.50

¹ See the passage of the Vâseṭṭha Sutta quoted below p. 220.

c14.51

That examples of virtuous Brâhmaṇas who were quite serious about the second duty, that of leading a proper life (*pratirúpacaryá*), were not rare in the Jâtakas, has already been mentioned; here we will only quote the answer which in the Samiddhi Jâtaka (II. 56 sq.) the young Brâhmaṇa hermit gives with reference to the allurements of the nymph who reminds him that so long as he is young, he should enjoy life and not allow time to slip:—

c14.52

"I don't know the time (of my death), the time is hidden from my sight: I will therefore lead the life of a beggar without enjoying; the (right) time (of a virtuous course of life) should not slip from me."

c14.53

What is most explicit is the rule contained in the Jâtakas concerning study which constitutes, by the side of sacrifice, the third duty of the Brâhmaṇa, namely, attainment of fame (yaśas).

c14.54

When the young Brâhmaṇa is grown up he leaves his paternal home and goes to a teacher.¹ As a rule, the time for the beginning of studies is given as the end of boyhood: "After he was grown up (vayappatta)"—so it is said in the

c14.55

¹ Another possible mode of life for which I find no analogue in Brahmanical sources is sometimes allowed to a young Brâhmaṇa by his parents. These kindled a fire (jâtaggi) on the day of his birth and kept it burning ever since. When the boy becomes sixteen years old, his parents say to him, "Son, we have kindled a fire on the day of your birth and have not allowed it to be extinguished; if you wish to lead a householder's life, learn the three Vedas; if you, however, wish to enter the world of Brahmana, take the fire into the forest and serve it, so that you may win the favour of Mahâbrahma and attain the world of Brahma." The agni-service mentioned here is probably identical with the "service of fire" (aggiparicariyâ), the third of the four false paths (apâyamukhâni), of which it is said in the Digha Nikâya (III. 2.3) that they don't lead to the attainment of the highest perfection in knowledge and mode of life.

c14.56

For the explanation of the jâtaggi, the fire for a woman in childbed (sûtikâgni), mentioned by Hiraṇyakeśin (Gṛihyasûtra II. 3) and which takes the place of the domestic sacrificial fire, should be pointed out here. Cf. Oldenberg, Die Religion des Veda, p. 338. The lawbooks know nothing of a fire kindled at the birth of a son; they speak, on the contrary, of a vaivâhika-agni i.e., a fire kindled on the occasion of marriage which serves for the performance of domestic ceremonies, for sacrifices and for the cooking of the daily food, and consequently, requires to be kept permanently. Manu, III. 67.

c14.57

Tittira Jâtaka (I. 431) and also in several other places (I. 436, 505; II. 52; III. 18, 171, 194, 228, 248; V. 193, 227)—"he learnt all sciences in Takkasilâ." In the Jâtakas, however, the Brâhmaṇa youth as well as the Khattiya was considered grown up when he had attained the sixteenth year.¹ This appears clearly in the Sarabhanga Jâtaka, where it is said of the purohita's son that in his sixteenth year he was extraordinarily beautiful and that his father sent him to Takkasilâ on seeing the full growth of his body (Sarîrasampatti, V. 127). So also in the three Jâtakas where the parents give the son the option of either worshipping the "natal fire" (jâtaggi) in the forest or studying.

c14.58

¹ According to the lawbooks, the completion of the sixteenth year is the time by which the sâvitrî, i.e., the ceremonial introduction into the caste through the utterance of the sâvitrî, must have been performed. The upanayana, on the other hand, the admission of the pupil into the doctrine and thus the beginning of the study, could very well take place in the eighth, sometimes even in the fifth year. Manu, II. 36 sq.

c14.59

As in the case of the Khattiyas, so also in that of the Brâhmaṇas, Takkasilâ is always mentioned as the place where youths carry on their studies; more rarely, Benares is mentioned as the place of residence of a world-renowned teacher (II. 260; III. 18). This last appears, according to the Jâtakas—as already remarked—to be behind Takkasilâ in scientific importance, and is only resorted to, as a young Brāhmaṇa such as in mentioned in the Āsanka Jātaka (III. 248) born in a Kasi village would otherwise hardly go to the distant city of the Gandhāra kingdom for purposes of study but would rather go to the chief town of his own land, to Benares.

c14.60

As the chief subject of the study of the Brāhmaṇas, the Vedas occur naturally in our sources. "In the three Vedas thoroughly proficient" (tiṇṇam vedānam pāragū or pāram gato, I. 38. 43. 166 etc.), "attained perfection in the three Vedas" (tīsu vedesu nipphattim patto, I. 285)—these are the invariable epithets of a true Brāhmaṇa. Instead of the three Vedas, the mantas are sometimes mentioned which the teacher makes his pupils learn (mante vācesi, I. 402; II. 100, 260). "Formerly, I was a Brāhmaṇa like you studying the Vedas" (mantajjhāyaka brāhmaṇa, I. 167) says the goat, which remembers its former birth, to the Brahmanical teacher. Also when it is said generally of a Brāhmaṇa, "he learnt the science" (sippam uggaṇhi, III. 18; uggahitasippa, III. 249; V. 193), what is meant by it is the Brahmanical science κατ' ἐξοχήν, the study of the Veda. Still the three Vedas were manifestly not the sole subject which the Brâhmaṇas were taught during their student days; in several places "all the sciences" (sabbasippáni, I. 463; II. 53; III. 219) are mentioned as what the Brâhmaṇa has to learn and by this are to be understood, over and above the three Vedas, eighteen branches of science. The purohita in the Sabbadâṭha Jâtaka is versed in the three Vedas and eighteen sciences (tiṇṇam vedánam aṭṭhárasannam sippánam páram gato, II. 243) and the udicca-bráhmana of the Bhîmasena Jâtaka learns from a world-renowned teacher in Takkasilâ the three Vedas and the eighteen branches of knowledge (tayo vede aṭṭhárasa vijjaṭṭhánáni, I. 356. So also I. 463). Particulars about these aṭṭhárasa vijjaṭṭhánáni we don't learn from the Jâtakas themselves; still it is not improbable that they coincide approximately with the eighteen divisions which are mentioned in the Brahmanical systems and into which the Hindus still divide their sciences.¹

c14.61

¹ It is noteworthy that everywhere in our text only three Vedas are mentioned. It appears to me that herein we have a proof that the Atharvaveda in the older Buddhistic age, although it existed as a collection—as appears from Sutta Nipāta, Verse 927, and was made use of by the Brāhmaṇas in the performance of magical rites—was not considered from the religious standpoint of equal worth with the other three Vedas.

c14.62

¹ In a probably very modern work of an orthodox Brâhmaṇa, the Prasthânabheda (manifoldness of methods) of Madhusudana Saraswati, the following eighteen sciences are enumerated: 1. The four Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Sâmaveda and Atharvaveda. (2) The

c14.63

The scholars (antevasika) were not always placed in the same category, but were divided, according to the Tilamutthi Jâtaka, into two classes, namely, into the Dhammantevâsika, that is, such as during the day-time rendered service to the teacher (as remuneration for the instruction received) and prosecuted their studies at night, and the âcariyabhâgadâyaka, i.e., those who paid an honorarium to the teacher; these live—as it is said in II. 278—like eldest sons in the house of the teacher. To the honorarium brought by the pupil, great importance is attached by the teacher. The meeting between the newly arrived scholar, a prince from Benares, and the teacher in Takkasilâ, narrated in the Tilamuṭṭhi Jâtaka, takes place in the following way: The young prince is informed where his teacher lives and meets him as he walks to and fro in

c14.64

[P. 132.]

c14.65

six Vedâṅgas (limbs of the Vedas), namely, śikshâ (phonology), kalpa (ritual), vyâkaraṇa (grammar), nirukta (word-meaning), chandas (metrics) and jyotisha (astronomical science of almanac-making); (3) The four Upâṅgas (auxiliary members), namely, the purâṇas (stories of ancient times), nyâya (logic) mīmaṃsâ (Vedic dogmatics) and the dharmaśâstras (law books). To these fourteen sciences mentioned even by Yâjñavalkya (I-3), Madhusudan adds four more Upavedas (auxiliary Vedas), namely, âyurveda (medical science), dhanurveda (military science), gandharvaveda (musical science) and arthaśastra (practical art of teaching), so that in the total, eighteen sciences arise. With these the aṭṭhârasa vijjaṭṭhânâni of our text are surely not wholly identical, because in these the three Vedas are not comprehended. Cf. Bühler, Indian Antiquary, 1894 p. 247.

c14.66

front of his house after finishing his teaching work. When he sees the teacher, he takes off his shoes, removes his umbrella and stands saluting with respect. The former notices that the new arrival is fatigued with the journey and welcomes him cordially. After the young man has eaten and rested a bit, he approaches the teacher again, saluting respectfully and the teacher makes a minute enquiry about his antecedents. "Where do you come from, my dear," he asks him. "From Benares." "Whose son are you?" "The son of the King of Benares." "For what purpose have you come?" "For the purpose of learning the science." "Have you brought your teacher's honorarium (*ācariyabhāga*) or do you wish to become a *dhammantevāsika*?" "I have brought honorarium for the teacher," replies the prince and places a purse containing one thousand gold pieces at his feet.

c14.67

This sum of one thousand *kahāpaṇas*¹ is always indicated as the amount payable to the teacher at the commencement of study. Of course, we cannot look upon such figures in our text as an indication of the amount of the honorarium, but we may perhaps draw the conclusion that the fees of the Brâhmaṇa teacher were not trifling. Even the poor Brâhmaṇa scholar who received a free education tried later to pay the teacher by earning the money jointly by begging (dhammena bhikkhaṃ caritvā ācariyadhanaṃ āharissāmi. IV. 224); sometimes rich residents of the city, who took care to feed poor Brâhmaṇa youths, bore also the expenses of their teaching (Bārāṇasivāsino duggatānaṃ paribbhayaṃ datvā sippaṃ sikkhāpenti I. 239).

c14.68

¹ Acc. to Manu III. 156, the teacher who teaches for a fixed fee belongs to the class of Brāhmaṇas excluded from participation in the soma-offering. Teaching for the sake of money was considered undignified : the scholar might at the end of his studies make a present to the teacher, the amount of which was determined by his capacity and could consist in land, in gold, in a cow, a horse, an umbrella, shoes, a chair, a seat, corns, clothes and even vegetables. Manu II. 245 sq.

c14.69

Of other teachers for whom the question of honorarium was less important, it is narrated that in order that they might remain undisturbed, they leave the city and go with their pupils into the forest. These have to take with them the necessaries of life (sesame, rice, oil, clothes, etc.) and must not build a cottage for themselves and the teacher far away from the street. The great reputation of the teacher protects them, moreover, from want, for not only do the relations of the scholars bring rice, etc., but even the inhabitants of the land provide them with the necessaries of life (III.537).

c14.70

The method of teaching must have been the same as that which we know from Brahmanical sources,¹ and that which is still in vogue in India ; the teacher recites verse after verse and the scholar repeats what is recited. The same thing also is to be understood when in the Tittira Jâtaka it is narrated that the parrot consoles the scholars after the death of the teacher by saying that it will undertake their teaching and when they ask in astonishment how it can do this, replies, "I have listened when your teacher recited before you and have committed to memory the three Vedas." The parrot explains difficult (lit. knotty) passages one after another before the scholars (ganṭhiganṭhiṭṭhânam osâresi. III. 538).

c14.71

¹ Skr. kârshâpana. It means originally a certain weight and is used of copper, as well as of gold and silver coins, so that we get an idea of the value of 1000 Kahâpanas. Cf. Angus' Pali Dict.

c14.72

Outwardly, the intercourse between the teacher and the pupil took place with the exhibition of the greatest respect on the part of the latter. As characterising the view that the teacher under all circumstances stands above the pupil, whatever may be the position of the latter, we have the Chavaka Jâtaka (III. 27 sq.), where, as already mentioned, a Candâla raises this protest against the king that he gives the purohita who teaches him the Vedas a low seat, whilst he himself occupies a higher one. The conduct of the king as well as of the purohita is characterised by the Candâla as adhammika, unlawful, contrary to the *dhamma*; we see that the prescription of the law books,¹ in accordance with which the scholar must always occupy a lower seat than the teacher, held good even in Eastern India.

c14.73

¹ *Cf.* Weber, *Indische Studien*, Vol. 10, p. 129. Zimmer, *Altindisches Leben*, p. 210 sq.

c14.74

Much of what has hitherto been said in discussing the relationship between the teacher and the pupil falls under the category of the duty occupying the fourth place in the scheme, the duty of *lokapatti*, properly, making the people ripe, *i.e.*, teaching them. The Brâhmaṇa fulfils this in accordance with the Brahmanical texts, in his threefold position as teacher, as sacrificial priest and as *purohita*.² As from the *Jâtakas* we learn nothing of the sacrificial priest, in case he is not in the service of the king, whilst the *purohita* on account of his political position, is treated apart from his caste, the picture of the Brahmanical teacher has still to be completed by certain characteristics taken from the *Jâtakas*. Our text is full of passages which describe the Brâhmaṇas as "world-renowned teachers" (*disâpâmokkha âcariya*, I. 166, 239, 299, 317, 402, 436: II. 137, 260, 421; III.

c14.75

² Âpastamba I. 2, 21; Viṣṇu XXVIII. 12; Manu II. 198.

c14.76

215), surrounded by a great crowd of scholars whose number is given as five hundred. The scene of their activity is cities like Benares and Takkasilâ; here they teach the Vedas and all the sciences and maintain themselves and their families, at the head of which they stand as *grihasthas*, on the honoraria they get from the pupils. Of other Brâhmaṇas we read that immediately after they finish their studies, they accept the homeless state and go to the Himalayas where they gather round them a host of ascetics and figure as their advisers and teachers.

c14.77

We mentioned the Chavaka Jâtaka as an instance of the high esteem in which even in Eastern Buddhistic lands the position of the Brahmanical teacher was held. That, on the other hand, the people occasionally knew and condemned small defects of the “world-renowned men,” we can gather from the almost proverb-like expression of our text, *âcariyamuṭṭhim na karonti* (II. 221, 250), *i.e.*, “they don’t make the closed fist of a teacher, they keep nothing secret,” as the teachers evidently occasionally used to do, in order that they might have something not known to the pupils. They might be afraid that the same fate might befall them as befell the Brâhmaṇa of the Mûlapariyâya Jâtaka (II. 260) with his five hundred pupils, who believed they knew as much as their teacher and for this reason no more went to him or answered his questions.

c14.78

As they had to perform the duties of their position, so were the "true" Brâhmaṇas undoubtedly given certain privileges¹ even in the eastern lands. If their position was inferior to that of the Khattiyas who did not think it worth while to leave their seat at the sight of a Brâhmaṇa and offer a seat to him, and even if the claim which the young Brâhmaṇa Ambaṭṭha makes in the Dîgha Nikaya (III. 1, 15), namely, that of the four castes, three—Khattiya, Vessa, Sudda—existed in order that they might serve the Brâhmaṇa, was not so absolutely valid as he thought, he never suffered from lack of *arca*, *i.e.*, proper respect. If in the enumeration of the castes, the Brâhmaṇas are placed second, still even to Buddha himself the Kaṇṇakathâla Sutta¹ ascribes the saying that along with the Khattiyas the Brâhmaṇas take precedence over the other castes, so far as visible marks of respect are concerned.

c14.79

¹ As such there are mentioned in the Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa (XL. 5, 7, 1): 1. Arcâ (honour due to the Brâhmaṇas). 2. Dâna (presents to the Brâhmaṇas). 3. Ajyeyatâ (unmolestability). 4. Abadhyatâ (immunity from being killed). Cf. Weber, Ind. Stud. Vol. 10, p. 40 sq.

c14.80

² Cf. above p. 18 sq.

c14.81

Even the privilege of dāna, of receiving presents, the Brâhmaṇas of the Jâtakas enjoy in great measure. The liberality of the kings which probably laid the foundation for the wealth of individual Brâhmaṇas, seems to be even in the eastern lands, if not a duty, at least a recognised virtue. We have seen how willingly King Juṇha satisfies the by no means moderate demand of the Brâhmaṇa; in the Somadatta Jâtaka it is narrated that the king gives a Brâhmaṇa sixteen cows, articles of ornament and a village as a place of residence. The whole is described as a gift to a Brâhmaṇa (brahmadeyya, II. 166), an expression which indicates a standing custom and which we meet with elsewhere in Pali literature. In the Dîgha Nikaya mention is made in several places of villages which are given to Brâhmaṇas by kings as brahmadeyya.

c14.82

But it is not only that the duty or custom of liberality towards the Brâhmaṇas falls upon the king; we read also of gifts which come to their share. As the Brâhmaṇa is still to-day in India¹ a personality upon whose favour much depends for the individual, as he requires him not only for sacrifices but in all matters of daily life, such as protection against threatening evil coming from the stars, the ascertainment whether a day is good for a journey or for marriage or the consecration of a new house or new agricultural implements, so even in those times people tried to win the favour of the Brâhmaṇas whose services were required for similar purposes. People instituted festivities and invited Brâhmaṇa teachers with their pupils (brâhmaṇavâcanaka. I. 318) to them. Such a brâhmaṇavâcanaka given by a villager is described in great detail in the Citta-Sambhûta Jâtaka (IV. 391). Because it rained on the previous night and the roads were full of water the âcariya gives one of his pupils, along with others, the task of uttering benediction (maṅgala), to eat his own portion of the presents and to bring him (the âcariya) his portion. Before the pupils sit down to breakfast they bathe and wash their face; in the meantime, the people take the rice from the fire and set it down to cool. When the pupils gather together, they are given "guest-water" (dakṣiṇodaka) and dishes are placed before them.

c14.83

¹ Cf. Nesfield, The functions of modern Brâhmaṇas in Upper India, Calcutta Review, Vol. 84, 1887 p. 257 sq.

c14.84

Whether the Brâhmaṇas enjoyed the remaining privileges which they claimed, according to the Brâhmaṇa texts, namely, complete ajyeyatâ (unmolestability) and *abadhyatā* (immunity from execution) in the eastern lands, cannot be determined with precision with the very limited materials which the Jātakas offer on this question. Most probably, the Brāhmaṇas were free from taxes, for whenever the question is of taxes, the *gahapati* is mentioned as the person who is taxed; on the other hand, the claim of the Brāhmaṇas to immunity from execution, even assuming that in ancient times it had more than a mere theoretical value, seems to have found only a local recognition. The Pali texts know of no privileged position of the Brahmanas in the eye of the law; rather the statement of Madhura Sutta that a criminal, no matter whether he is a Brāhmaṇa or belongs to any other caste, would be executed, appears in a number of passages of the Jātakas where one speaks of the execution of a Brāhmaṇa (for example, I. 371, 439).

c14.85

Along with the "proper" Brāhmaṇas we meet with another sort whom I might call "worldly" Brāhmaṇas and by whom I believe that the Brāhmaṇa caste was chiefly represented in the eastern lands in Buddha's time. As the reason for this supposition, there is for me the circumstance that of one of the Brāhmaṇas hitherto described and conforming to the Brahmanical ideal, it is said with emphasis that he belongs to the north, or is of northern extraction, *i.e.*, is an *udicca brāhmaṇa*¹ (I. 324, 356, 361, 373, 406, 431, 436, 450, 494, 505 ; II. 83 ; III. 232 ; V. 193, 227). By these *udicca brāhmaṇas* we have, in my opinion, to understand Brāhmaṇas living in Kâsi or Magadha land who traced their descent to Brāhmaṇa families living north-west of the centre of Buddhism, somewhere in the regions of Kuru and Pañcâla, attached great importance to this descent and tried by a strict observance of the caste-prescriptions to prove that they were true members of their caste. The pride with which the Brāhmaṇa, in reply to the Caṇḍāla’s question to which caste he belonged, says, “I am a Brāhmaṇa from the north-west,” (*ahaṃ udicco brāhmaṇo* II. 83), corresponds to the suspicion which seizes him that he has probably violated the caste-prescriptions. In the Mangala Jātaka (I. 371 sq.) such an *udicca brāhmaṇa* is placed in direct opposition to a worldly Brahmana. The latter, a *sāṭakalakkhaṇa brāhmaṇa*, i.e., a Brāhmaṇa who can read the future from signs which are found in articles of clothing, learns one day that a dress which was kept in a box and which he wants to wear, is eaten by a mouse. He reflects "If this dress which is eaten by a mouse remains in the house, there will be very great misfortune, for it is a very bad omen. Also one cannot possibly give it to a child or a slave, for whoever wears this brings ill-luck to the whole of his surroundings. I will throw it into a cremation ground, but I will not give it to any of my slaves, for he may desire to have it and keep it with him and thereby bring mischief. I will make it over to my son." He calls his son and after he has explained the thing to him, he enjoins him not to touch the cloth but to carry it with a stick and throw it away into the cremation ground; after this, he should wash his whole body and return. Shortly before the son reached the cremation ground, the Bodhisatta reborn as *udicca brāhmaṇa* had gone there and sat near the gate. As the young man threw down the cloth, he took it up. The young Brāhmaṇa narrated this to his father and the latter went to the Bodhisatta and pressed him to throw away the cloth, as otherwise he would be ruined. The udicca brāhmaṇa, however, taught him that a cloth thrown into the cremation ground was good enough for him, that he did not believe in premonitory signs and that no wise man should cherish such superstitions.

c14.86

¹ Sk. *udicca* signifies as an adjective “living in the north” and as a substantive “the land lying in the north-west up to the river Saraswati,” in the plural, “the inhabitants of this land.” That by the *udicca brāhmaṇas* of our text is not meant, as I believe it does, “hailing from the north” but “Brāhmaṇas living in the north”—as Chalmers (Jātaka translation, Cambridge, 1895, pp. 178, 274, 308, 317) appears to suppose—is for this reason improbable that the scene of action of these narratives, in which *udicca brāhmaṇas* occur, is the kingdom of Kâsi. Moreover, in the Saccamkira Jātaka (I. 324) these very words occur: *Bodhisatto pi kho tasmim kāle Kāsiraṭṭhe udiccabrāhmaṇakule nibbattitvā* : “now even the Bodhisatta was at that time born in a northern (or north-western) Brāhmaṇa family in the kingdom of Kâsi.”

c14.87

Even in the Mahâsupina Jātaka (I. 334 sq.) it is an udicca brāhmaṇa who explains to the king the true meaning of his dreams and the deceit practised by the Brâhmaṇas in his service.

c14.88

This predominance of north-western Brâhmaṇas over those of the eastern lands forms a sort of complement to the statements which we find in Brahmanical sources about the Brâhmaṇas of Magadha—and in it I might see a further support for my assertion that in north-eastern India in Buddha's time the orthodox Brâhmaṇas were not the chief representatives of their caste but Brâhmaṇas who were unworthy, as estimated by the Brahmanical view. The name of these is in the Brâhmaṇa texts (Aitareya Br. VII. 27) brahmabandhu and by this name the māgadhadesiya brahmabandhus are expressly called.¹ The low opinion here formed of the Magadha Brâhmaṇas may, in part, be due to the low estimate in which the western Brâhmaṇas held Magadha which was at a great distance from them and was not wholly Brahmanised; partly, also the Brâhmaṇas by their conduct may have acquired this bad reputation.

c14.89

¹ Kâtyayana, XXII. 4. 22. Lâtyâyana, VIII. 6. 28. Cf. Weber, Indische Studien, Vol. 10, p. 99.

c14.90

Unworthy Brâhmaṇas are in fact those whom we meet with in the Dasabrâhmaṇa Jātaka (IV. 361 sq.)—unworthy, as judged by strict Brahmanical ideas, unworthy, also in the eyes of the Buddhists who were above caste-rules and who judged from the standpoint of their morality:

c14.91

"In ancient times there reigned in the city of Indapatta in the kingdom of Kuru, King Koravya of the family of Yuddhiṭṭhila. He was advised by his minister Vidhûra in worldly and spiritual things. The king made large gifts, whilst he set the whole of India in motion, but not a single person among the recipients possessed the five moral qualities and they all led bad lives, so that the king got no pleasure from his liberality. As he knew that gifts had only effect when there was a right choice (of recipients), he determined to give only to virtuous people and ask the advice of the wise Vidhûra. When, therefore, the latter came to have an audience with him, he gave him a seat and asked his advice:

First 90 of 181 passages. Read on

Linked texts (21)