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Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs c2: Apology for Reprint

Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs c2

Language
English

Apology for Reprint

c2.1

The present work (*Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs*) was written in 1933-35, when I was a Research Student at the University of Dacca (now in Bangla Desh); and it was published by the said University a few years later, in 1940. At that time no critical edition of the Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa, or any of the Purāṇas or Upapurāṇas had been published, nor was there in printed form any of the parts of Lakṣmīdhara’s voluminous Smṛti work Kṛtya-kalpataru, which abounds in references to and quotations from the Epics and the Purāṇas and Upapurāṇas and is thus extremely helpful in checking their contents and determining their chronology. I could not even find within my reach any complete or incomplete Ms. of Lakṣmīdhara’s work. Of Ballālasena’s Dānasāgara, which is equally valuable for its quotations from the Purāṇic works and records highly interesting information about some of these works, I could use only the India Office (London) Ms., the Bibliotheca Indica edition of this work being published much later.

c2.2

On the other hand, the publication of my work, as the late Professor P. K. Gode predicted in New Indian Antiquary, Vol. IV, 1941, pp. 250-251, opened up new avenues of research and gave an impetus to the study of the Purāṇas, particularly on their social and religious sides, and added very much to their popularity.

c2.3

So, there is no denying the fact that my work ought to have been revised and improved thoroughly by this time. But, unfortunately, having little freedom of work and being compelled under unavoidable circumstances to divert my attention very often to subjects other than Purāṇic from about 1956 after I had joined service at the Sanskrit College, Calcutta, in 1951, I found little time to take up the work of revision in right earnest. In the meantime my work went out of print, and interested scholars from different parts of India and outside pressed me hard from time to time for a revised edition or at least for a reprint of the book.

c2.4

Under these circumstances I was naturally feeling helpless, but fortunately, to my great relief, the generous and widely reputed publishers of Delhi, Messrs Motilal Banarsidass, came forward to remove this long felt want of scholars by bringing out immediately at their own risk a reprint of this book, with a short list of most unavoidable *Additions and Corrections*. But I hope to be able to revise this work thoroughly very soon after getting relieved of my present encumbrances.

c2.5

Calcutta, April, 1975.

c2.6

R. C. Hazra The *fraternities* of the Middle Ages, which were so numerous and so varied in their objects, were not all of the same origin. Some were religious, some social, some charitable, and some industrial. The religious guilds, or *gilds*, as they were often called, were associations of laymen for the purpose of performing religious duties, such as the maintenance of a chaplain, the celebration of masses, or the support of a hospital. The social guilds were formed for the purpose of mutual aid and good fellowship, and often included in their objects the relief of the poor, the sick, and the aged. The charitable guilds were established for the purpose of supporting hospitals, almshouses, and other institutions of mercy. The industrial guilds, or *craft guilds*, were associations of men engaged in the same trade or industry, and were formed for the purpose of regulating the trade, protecting the interests of the members, and maintaining the quality of their work.

c2.7

The craft guilds, which became so powerful in the later Middle Ages, were the successors of the earlier *collegia* of the Roman Empire. The *collegia* were associations of artisans and tradesmen, which were recognized by the state and had a legal existence. When the Roman Empire fell, these associations were largely destroyed, but the idea of association for mutual protection and the regulation of trade survived. In the early Middle Ages, the *gilds* began to reappear, and by the twelfth century they were firmly established in many of the cities of Europe.

c2.8

The craft guilds were organized on a democratic basis, and every member had a voice in the management of the guild's affairs. The officers were elected by the members, and the rules and regulations were made by the guild as a whole. The guilds had the power to fix prices, to regulate the hours of labor, and to determine the conditions of apprenticeship. They also had the power to punish members who violated the rules, and to expel those who were guilty of serious offenses. The guilds were thus a powerful force in the economic life of the Middle Ages, and they played an important part in the development of the modern industrial system.

c2.9

The decline of the craft guilds began in the sixteenth century, when the rise of the factory system and the growth of international trade made it difficult for the small, local guilds to compete with the larger and more efficient industrial organizations. The guilds were also weakened by the growth of the power of the state, which began to regulate trade and industry directly, and by the rise of the capitalist class, which sought to break the power of the guilds and to establish a system of free competition. By the end of the eighteenth century, the craft guilds had largely disappeared, but their influence lived on in the trade unions and other labor organizations of the modern world.

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