Caste and Race in India c7.2

c7.2

WE have here sought to give a picture of Hindu caste-society as it was functioning before modern ideas affected its course. We have now to see how it came to be what it was. For the convenience of such historical treatment we propose to break up the history of India into four periods. First, the Vedic period ending about 600 B.C. and comprising the literary data of the Vedic Saṃhitās and the Brāhmaṇas; second, the post-Vedic period, extending to the beginning of the Christian era. In this period we have three types of literature which shed light on this subject. The sacred laws of the Āryas present the orthodox and the more or less idealistic standpoint while the epics testify to the contemporary practices. Buddhist literature on the other hand, gives a glimpse of the institution as it appeared to those who rebelled against it and in part provides us with a natural picture of some aspects of caste. The third period may be styled the period of the Dharma-śāstras and ends with the seventh or eighth century A.D. Manu and Viṣṇu are the chief exponents of the social ideals of this age. The fourth period may, with propriety, be called the modern period, and it brings us down to about the middle of the nineteenth century. The customs and beliefs of contemporary Hindus are those that were mostly fixed and classified by the writers of this period. It was during this period that the present-day vernaculars of India were being evolved. A fresh religion and a somewhat different ethnic stock, accounting for many of our present-day political and social problems, were also introduced during this age. The idealistic point of view is provided by writers like Parāśara, Hemādri, and Mādhava, while the inscriptions and travellers' accounts reveal some of the realities of the times.