Water, Hindu mythology and an unequal social order in India (original) (raw)
Related papers
Hindu mythology and an unequal social order in India
2001
This paper analyses Vedic philosophy 1 , the structural basis of currently practised Hinduism, to identify that water and the human body in the Hindu social system are not merely physical entities. Water has, since the Vedic periods, been recognised as a primordial spiritual symbol (Baartmans, 1990). Similarly, Vedic philosophy describes the symbolic division of Purusa, or the Eternal Man, into four varnas or classes, Brahmans, Rajanyas (Kshatriyas), Vaisyas and Sudras. The social hierarchy of the caste system in Hindu society is said to have originated from this four-fold class system (Prabhu, 1939; Das, 1982; Murray, 1994). The caste system, a product of post-Vedic philosophy, ascribes states of ritual purity and pollution to the human body on account of caste or rather caste-based occupation and gender. Water has since then been recognised as an instrument to determine the rigours of socio-ritual purity and pollution of the human body. This paper shows, through field research on water use in a rural Hindu society, that caste based socially hierarchy is determined locally through notions of purity and pollution. These notions are used in local culture in determining and reinforcing an inequitable access to, control over and distribution of water and water use rights. It is argued that popular policy visions of restoring the community's supremacy in water management can be counter-productive and reinforce existing inequality if the basis and reality of social inequality is ignored and the existence of a 'unitary, egalitarian and altruistic' community is assumed. 1 The term Vedic philosophy refers to ethical thought presented in Vedic literature written during the period 2500-600 BC. There is much conflict on the exact duration of the period. The literature consisted of 2 major bodies of literature, the Vedas and the later Brahmanas.
Elements of polity in the Vedic literature
India has a rich and variegated culture. With regard to polity or statecraft, the emergence of a systematic work like Kaitiliya Arthasastra, at least 2000 years afar, shows that the discipline has a hoary history in this land.In the Vedic literature, though we do not get a picture of well developed discipline of polity, we do get clear mention and descriptions of some elements of statecraft. This paper tries to trace such elements.
A different approach to Vedic Texts: researches on "myth-politics"
Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici, 2009
167 pages. isbn 978-0-940490-21-5. I P roferes' book is based on the pivotal idea that the liturgical hymns of Ṛgvedasaṃhitā were also an instrument to negotiate political claims. The author goes through the main motifs of sovereignty showing how this concept is working underneath the pure religious attitude, and analyses the central features of the ideal of power in the Vedic culture.
Concept of State and Nation In Indian Literature , Arthasasthra and In Islam
From the days of Plato and Aristotle, European thought has turned its attention to such questions as the origin of the state, the ideal form of government, and the basis of law, and the politics and has long been looked on as a branch of philosophy. Though there was no systematic literature on the political science composed in the earlier period , in India, usually called the age of Vedas and the Brahmanas, there are scattered passages in the Vedic literature, which throw considerable light on the theory and practices of government in the contemporary times. Systematic literature, on what we may call the Science of Polity does not go back to a time earlier than 500 B.C.
Rethinking Classical Texts: A Critical Examination of Caste and Gender Inequities in India
This paper investigates the profound influence of classical texts on social hierarchies and systemic injustices in India, particularly regarding caste and gender. By analyzing key religious, philosophical, and literary works such as the Vedas, Manusmriti, Mahabharata, and Ramayana, we argue that these texts have perpetuated societal norms that marginalize specific groups-particularly women and lower castes-while legitimizing oppressive structures embedded in societal frameworks. Engaging with historical interpretations, feminist critiques, and contemporary reform movements, the paper highlights the enduring impact of these classical texts in the pursuit of social justice. Our conclusions advocate for dynamic reinterpretations of classical wisdom in light of contemporary values of equality, justice, and human rights, urging interdisciplinary approaches to foster a more equitable society.
Scholars have highlighted various issues and approaches on which to focus attention within the emerging field of cross-cultural political thought. Developing a responsible methodological approach to non-Western traditions is of particular significance, given the growing importance of such traditions, the danger of cultural reductionism and the undue imposition of Western terms and categories during the comparative process. Consequently, this article argues for a historical approach to Brahmanical-Hindu political thought that examines distinctions between genres, concepts , terms and categories, including how these distinctions influence the historical meaning of political ideas. To illustrate my argument, a revised interpretation of the Sanskrit word mªtsyanyªya — which had been unfortunately translated into the familiar phrase 'state of nature' — both clarifies our understanding of Brahmanical political thought and displays how existing comparisons 'domesticate' important differences between European and Brahmanical political ideas. Such analysis exposes a culturally reductive interpretive process operating within existing comparative scholarship.