History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c19.4.3

v2.c19.4.3

This work will endeavour to steer clear of downright and hypercritical condemnation of the caste system due to relying on modern standpoints and conditions of society and unthinking adulation thereof. It will try to present and balance facts and though it cannot help passing judgments it will leave the reader free to judge for himself as far as possible. In the present work the discussion will be mostly confined to the evidence of Sanskrit literary monuments, ancient and medieval. An attempt will be made to trace the origin of caste from Vedic times, to exhibit theories of the Dharmasūtrakāras, other smṛtikāras and commentators on the subject and to describe the peculiar ceremonies, privileges, duties and responsibilities of Hindu castes as gathered from these works in Sanskrit. To discuss the feasibility or desirability of totally destroying the caste system or the ways and means of attaining that end is deemed to be outside the legitimate limits of this volume. It may, however, be expressly stated as the author's opinion, in order to avoid misunderstandings or fruitless speculations about his personal views, that he does not think that the caste system was an artificial product due to the intrigues, greed and cunning of brāhmaṇas, nor does he hold that it is feasible to destroy the whole edifice of the caste system in the near future.