Social Life As Depicted in Early Brahmanical Literature

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Author Chira Kisor Bhaduri obtained his Master's Degree in Ancient Indian History and Culture from the University of Calcutta. Thereafter he obtained the L.LB degree from the aforesaid University. He is also Ph. D (Arts) of the University of Calcutta. He has written plenty of research papers on the Ancient Indian history in different reputed journals. He is closely associated with the Higher Academic World in various ways. His attachment with dramatic world in various ways is also noteworthy.

Dr. Bhaduri is simultaneously closely associated with group theatre movement for long. He is a director, actor, playwright and drama critique. He has written some several hundred of articles on history as well as on drama. He participated in Professional theatrical activities in Calcutta off and on. Author had been attached with bureaucratic services. He is also a regular talker in Allindia Radio, Calcutta.

The present work aims at bringing out a pen picture of the social life as reflected in early Brahmanical literature. I had the fortune of studying the original texts under the guidance of late Professor Rabindra Kumar Siddhanta Shastri, then attached to the Centre of Advanced Study in Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta. I have completed my researches of this work entitled "Social Life as depicted in early Brahmanical Literature" under the supervision of late Dr. Amitabha Bhattacharya, then attached to the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta, to whom I am extremely thankful.

I convey my sincere gratitude to my departed teacher Prof. Rabindra Kumar Siddhanta Shastri for his valuable help even on the eve of his death. I am also highly indebted to late Prof. B.?. Mukherjee, then the Carmichael Professor, Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta, for offering some valuable advices and suggestions.

I am grateful to the authorities of Calcutta Samskrta Sahitya Parisad, The National Library, Calcutta, The Central Library of the University of Calcutta, The Departmental Library of the Centre of Advanced Study in Ancient Indian History and Culture of the University of Calcutta, The Asiatic Society, Calcutta, etc., for their co-operation they extended to me.

In addition I am indebted my teachers Prof. Puspa Niyogi, Prof. Dipak Ranjan Das, Prof. Ashok Bhattacharya, Prof. Suresh Bhattacharya, Prof. Samaresh Banerjee towards the finalisation of this book. Besides, my school friend Late Dr. Niranjan Goswami, formerly Curator, Asutosh Museum, University of Calcutta, helped me much in this regard. My thanks are due to Prof. Subid Chatterjee also. Furthermore I express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Ramkrishna Chatterjee for helping me much towards publication of this book. Lastly I extend my cordial thanks to my publisher Firma KLM Pvt Ltd, for their active co-operation.

A voluminous literature has already been accumulated on the social history of ancient India in its varied aspects. Noted among them are, viz., The Cambridge History of India (Vol. 1. Chapter I to XIII) - - History and Culture of the Indian People Vol. I. i.e. The Vedic Age(Chapter XIX, XXIII and XXVII, etc.) The social and military position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India by Hopkins and The Social Organization in North-East India in Buddha's time by Fick. In all these writings, the social history of ancient India has been dealt with from the western point of view. The Indian society, according to the western scholars, had undergone continuous changes in its natural course and in the same line of social changes as is witnessed in the societies of other countries.

The social developments in ancient India can also be viewed from a different angle, i.e. the orthodox viewpoint. The vast literature of ancient India, particularly what we call Brahmanical literarture, provides us with the same idea with regard to developments that took place from time to time in this subcontinent. The thinkers of ancient India had themselves a notion of the major development which have been noted down in the relevant texts. The causes behind the changes, however, have not been accounted for. We must get note of the fact that ancient Indian writings are not characterised by any such analysis.