History Assignment

Name – khushi chaudhary
Roll no. – 210164

Course – BA.programme.
Bibliography
Websites
-https://www.indianetzone.com
-https://syskool com
-https://gcwk.ac.in
-https://unacademy.com
Books
-History 12th NCERT

-Ancient india
-indian art and culture.
Acknowledgments
I am thankful to our history teacher, Megha Ma’am , for providing with a thoughtful
course of topic to research on.
It helped me in understanding the deeper depths of the theme.
Likely thanks to my friends and classmates , and my mentors who helped me with raw
information and ideas to rely on.
SOCIETY
the gupta society was divided on the varna system.
Varna-System (Chatuh-Varna)
the four varnas were -

1.brahaman
2.kshaitriya
3.vaishya
4.sudra
the Brahmana
- were as influential as ever.

- they used to get land from kings(to individuals too , to group too)
to settle in remote areas.
Thus these brahmana settlements were called - brahmadiyas ,

agraharas
( spreaded , and promulgated the idea of varna social order.)
the kshaitriyas
-The Kshatriyas followed commercial and industrial vocations
the vaishyas
-The Kshatriyas followed commercial and industrial vocations
- One can also easily find the evidence that Vaisyas and Sudras were
rulers of the mighty kingdoms:
R.C.Majumdar writes, “Vasyas and Sudras figure as rulers of mighty

kingdoms”.
the sudras
-The position of the Shudras improved in this period and they were
now permitted to listen to the epics and the Puranas.
- They were also allowed to perform certain domestic rites which

naturally brought fee to the priests.
The practise of untouchablity.
The practice of untouchability became more intense than in the earlier period.
- Penance was provided to remove the sin arising out of touching a

chandala.
- Fa-Hien informs us that the chandala, entering the gate of a city or

market place, Would strike a piece of wood to give prior notice of
his arrival so that men could avoid him.
- Antayajas – or untouchables – impure, their physical presence was
not allowed.
the ideal order .
each varna was prescribed set of duties , and they had to indulge only in task
related to it.
two paradoxes
1.there were groups whose varna identity could not be identified.
-barahman tried to give false explainations to their ordigin to determine the status
of these castes or varna or jati,
for example -the foreign ruling families of pre-gupta period , of greek of siythian
origin, were given the kshatriaya status.
2.in reality , the varnas may not have performed their ideal duty.
Varnas took to activities that were not assigned to them with the spread of
brahmans , the social structure became complex.
Varna-ashrama-dharma.
purushartha
- means "object of human pursuit"
basically referring to the aims of human life
1.artha'2.dharma'3.kama'4.moksha
these four goals can be seen in the context of the four stages of life <ashrama>
ashrama
-regarded as resting places , in one's journey on the way to final liberation.
there are 4 ashramas
1.brahmacharya - stage of student

2.grhastha - stage of married man
3.vanaprastha -stage of a retired life
4.sanyasa -complete renunciation of worldy life and pleasures.
now that we have discussed about varnas , gotras are a add up in this.
Gotra refers to the name given to a particular group of people on the name of a Vedic
seer as their
fore father so as to establish kinship between them.
 The system of gotra had significance to the women.

 Women were expected to take up the gotra of her husband upon marriage and gave up
their
father’s gotra.
 Members of same gotra could not marry.
Types of Marriages
 Endogamy: Endogamy refers to marriage inside ones own group. Here group stands for
kin.
 Exogamy: Exogamy refers to the marriage outside ones own group or kin.
Dharma sutras recognized eight forms of marriage.
 Out of these, four forms of marriage were considered as good.
 The remaining marriages were condemned because they do not follow Brahmanic norms.
1. Brahma Vivaah: Brahma vivah is considered the best marriage.
2. Prajapatya Vivaah: This type of marriage is the same as the Brahma vivaah in all
respects,
except that the bride’s father gives her away as a gift, not to the groom, but to the
groom’s father.
3. Daiva Vivaah: In this type of wedding, there are no feasts or celebrations that
are specific to the wedding,
4. Arsha Vivaah: In this type of marriage, the family of the groom pays kanya-shulkam
or bride-price to the parents of the bride.
but the wedding of the daughter of a poor family is held as an act of charity by
wealthy people.
5. Asura Vivaah: In the Asura type of marriage the groom is not at all suitable for
the bride
6. Gandharva Vivaah: When a man and a woman marry for love and without the consent of
their families, that marriage is
called Gandharva Vivaah or ‘love marriage.
7.Rakshasa Vivaah: This is essentially marriage by abduction
8.Paisacha Vivaah: In the case where the bride is intoxicated, possessed or not in a
conscious state of mind when being
married and thus is married unwillingly, is an example Paisacha vivaah, and which
has been outlawed by Manu.
Status of Women
The status of women continued to decline.
In a patriarchal set-up, the men began to

treat women as items of property, so much so that a woman
was expected to follow her husband to the next world.
- The practice of sati (self-immolation at the funeral pyre

of the husband) gained the approval of the jurists.
But it seems to have been confined to the upper classes. The first memorial is found
at
Eran in Madhya Pradesh.
-Lawgivers of the period almost unanimously advocated early marriage;

some of them preferred even pre-puberty marriage.
- Celibacy was to be strictly observed by

widows.
- Women were denied any right to the property except for stridhana in the form of
jewelry,
garments, and similar other presents made to the bride on the occasion of her
marriage.
-They were not entitled to formal education. In the Gupta period, like Shudras, women
were
also allowed to listen to epics and the Puranas and advised to worship Krishna. But
women
of higher orders did not have access to independent sources of livelihood in pre-
Gupta and
Gupta times.
---The fact that women of the two lower varnas were free to earn their livelihood
gave them considerable freedom, which was denied to women of the upper varnas.

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Name – khushi chaudhary

Roll no. – 210164

-History 12th NCERT

the four varnas were -

- were as influential as ever.

Thus these brahmana settlements were called - brahmadiyas ,

-The Kshatriyas followed commercial and industrial vocations

-The Kshatriyas followed commercial and industrial vocations

R.C.Majumdar writes, “Vasyas and Sudras figure as rulers of mighty

- They were also allowed to perform certain domestic rites which

The practise of untouchablity.

- Penance was provided to remove the sin arising out of touching a

- Fa-Hien informs us that the chandala, entering the gate of a city or

the ideal order .

1.there were groups whose varna identity could not be identified.

there are 4 ashramas

1.brahmacharya - stage of student

 The system of gotra had significance to the women.

 Members of same gotra could not marry.

Dharma sutras recognized eight forms of marriage.

 Out of these, four forms of marriage were considered as good.

1. Brahma Vivaah: Brahma vivah is considered the best marriage.

In a patriarchal set-up, the men began to

- The practice of sati (self-immolation at the funeral pyre

-Lawgivers of the period almost unanimously advocated early marriage;

- Celibacy was to be strictly observed by

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