[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897) › c8.96 # The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c8.96 The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c8.96 - **Language:** English ### [c8.96](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c8.96) The instances hitherto cited which may be looked upon in several respects as typical, give us a view which represents the society of that time as governed by strict traditional morality or caste-rules. However much in the eastern countries, where the authority of the Brahmanical theory was less strong, practice may have transcended these limits, a sharp distinction between the despised people and the rest of the population was made here also. In the eyes of the aristocratic Aryans, the lower castes, such as the Caṇḍālas, are impure. Their very sight causes pollution; consequently, they must be excluded from the general society and must live in a special village of their own outside of the town and earn a living by means of lower occupations. That under these circumstances, any mixture with these lower elements is sought to be prevented appears self-evident. Surely, there existed from ancient times certain usages regulating marriage among the aristocratic Aryan families which must have been built up into strict rules, as the danger of a mixture with the aboriginal tribes and the merging of themselves in these was always felt by the Aryan races, and the existence of these rules is even perceived in the Jātakas. When it is narrated in the Mātanga Jātaka that the Caṇḍāla gets the setthi's daughter as wife, this is due only to his position as Bodhisatta: "For the resolve of such a man—so it is said (IV. 376)—" always realises itself" In the course of the narrative it is expressly stated that he is not guilty of a transgression of the rules relating to the distinctions of caste (jātisambhedavītikkamam akatvā), that is, that he abstains from sexual intercourse with the setthi's daughter who stands by virtue of her caste much higher than he. - [Previous: c8.95](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c8.95) - [Next: c8.97](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c8.97) - [Up: c8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c8) ## Linked texts (1) - [Jātaka](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.theravada.sp.khuddaka.jataka.497) — Pāli --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c8.96](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.fick-1897.c8.96) · Pramāṇa