N.B:- The accompanying table is a pain,
because wordpress(free) does not support custom CSS. But we will put it
as a picture for clarity.
(This) isolation among the classes is the work of Brahmanism. The
principal steps taken by it was to abrogate the system of intermarriage
and interdining that was prevalent among the four Varnas in olden times.
This has already been discussed in an earlier section of this chapter.
There is however one part of the story that remains to be told. I have
said the Varna system had nothing to do with marriage. That males and
females belonging to the different Varnas could marry and did marry. Law
did not come in the way of inter-varna marriage. Social morality was
not opposed to such marriages. Savarna marriage was neither required by
law nor demanded by Society. All marriages between different Varnas
irrespective of the question whether the bride was of a higher Varna
than the bride-groom or whether the bride-groom was of the higher Varna
and the bride of the lower Varna were valid. Indeed as Prof. Kane says
the distinction between Anuloma and Pratiloma marriage was quite unknown
and even the terms Anuloma and Pratiloma were not in existence. They
are the creation of Brahmanism. Brahmanism put a stop to Pratiloma
marriages i.e. marriages between women of a higher Varna and men of
lower Varna. That was a step in the direction of closing the connection
between the Varnas and creating in them an exclusive and anti-social
spirit regarding one another. But while the inter-connecting gate of the
Pratiloma marriage was closed the inter-connecting gate of Anuloma
marriage had remained open. That was not closed. As pointed out in the
section on graded inequality Anuloma marriage i.e. marriage between a
male of the higher Varna and the female of the lower Varna was allowed
by Brahmanism to continue. The gate of Anuloma marriage was not very
respectable and was a one way gate only. still it was an interconnecting
gate by which it was possible to prevent a complete isolation of the
Varnas. But even here Brahmanism played what cannot but be called a
dirty trick. To show how dirty the trick was it is necessary first to
state the rules which prevailed for determining the status of the child.
Under the rule existing from very ancient times the status of the child
was determined by the Varna of the father. The Varna of the mother was
quite unimportant. I he following illustrations will place the point
beyond doubt:
Father’s Varna of Mother’s Varna of
Child’s Varna Name father
Name mother name
child
1. Shantanu Kshatriya Ganga Shudra Bhishma Kshatriya
(Anamik)
2. Shantanu Kshatriya Matsyagandha Shudra Vichitra Virya Kshatriya
(Fisher)
3. Parashar Brahmin Matsyagandha Shudra Krishna- Brahmin
(Fisher) Dwaipayana
4. Vishwamitra Kshtriya Menaka (Apsara) Shakuntala Kshatriya
5. Yayati Kshatriya Devayani Brahmin Yadu Kshatriya
6. Yayati Kshatriya Sharmishta Asuri Druhya Kshatriya
(Nonaryan)
7. Jaratkaru Brahmin Jaratkari Nag. Asita Brahmin
(Nonaryan)
The rule was known as the rule of Pitra Savarnya. It would he
interesting to consider the effect of this rule of Pitra Savarnya on the
Anuloma and Pratiloma systems of marriage.
The effect on Pratiloma marriage would be that the children of
mothers of the higher Varnas would be dragged down to the level of the
lower Varnas represented by their fathers. Its effect on Anuloma
marriage would be just the contrary. The children of mothers of the
lower Varnas would be raised up and absorbed in the higher Varnas of
their fathers.
Manu stopped Pratiloma marriages and thereby prevented the higher
from being dragged to the status of the lower. However regrettable, not
much damage was done by it so long as the Anuloma marriage and the rule
of Pitra Savarnya continued in operation. The two together formed a very
useful system. The Anuloma marriage maintained the inter-connection and
the Pitra Savarnya rule made the higher classes quite composite in
their make up. For they could not but help to he drawn from mothers of
different Varnas. Brahmanism did not want to keep this gate of
intercommunication between the Varnas open. It was bent on closing it.
But it did it in a manner which is disreputable.
The straight and honourable way was to stop Anuloma marriage. But
Brahmanism did not do that. It allowed the system of Anuloma marriage to
continue. What it did was to alter the rule of determining the status
of the child. It replaced the rule of Pitra Savarnya by the rule of
Matra Savarnya by which the status of the child came to be determined by
the status of the mother. By this change marriage ceased to be that
means of intersocial communication which it principally is. It relieved
men of the higher Varna from the responsibility to their children simply
because they were born of a mother of lower Varna. It made Anuloma
marriage mere matter of sex. a humiliation and insult to the lower
Varnas and a privilege to the higher classes to lawfully commit
prostitution with women of the lower classes. And from a larger social
point of view it brought the complete isolation among the Varnas which
has been the bane of Hindu Society.
CHAPTER-7 The Triumph of Brahmanism : Regicide or the birth of
Counter-Revolution, part-III. Revolution and Counter-Revolution in
Ancient India, Volume-III. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writing and Speeches
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