Women And Hindu Varnadharma

Krishna Prasad Pokhrel Thap at hal i C am pus , Thap at hal i . kri s na.pokrel @gm ai l .com

WOMEN AND HINDU VARNADHARMA

Abstract: The evolution of any forms of social organization or institution is based upon human needs. Social organizations are the devices just to adjust human behaviour. The different forms of social organization are the consequent schemes for conducting human life in terms with an understanding the meaning of human existence, its needs and interests. Caste society as formed on the ideology of Varnadharma must have evolved out to meet the societal needs of that time. Caste ideology therefore, gripped the society for a long time since it emerged. However, due to certain fallacies of this culture, women and men are treated differently. In this context, this paper deals with manwoman relationship in the institution of caste from the point of view of their socio-psychological foundations and implications.

Key

Words:

Varnadharma, Interdependence,

Social Gender

psychology hierarchy,

of

Varnas, Exclusion

Social or

order

as

separation,

Femaleness, Sexuality, System of classification,

Purity & pollution Vs. Auspicious/Inauspiciousness, Ritual defilement & sanctification, Caste distinctions, Regulation of inequalities, Sexual death/social obliteration, etc.

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Materials and Methods: As I hold the view that caste is a social construct built upon the tenet of divine father principle so as to solve the problems of family organization. It is therefore a patriarchal thought but functionally, it is equally important to regulate the family system among human society. However, consequently it emerged to be a major factor in producing social inequality along with gender imbalance. The conceptual frame formed on this article provides some possibility of getting social meaning of sex distinctions regarding the sociology of gender among the caste people. The study aims to discover the reasons and the consequences concerning man woman relationships generally in the people of caste order. It is therefore a fact-finding operation and descriptive in nature. The article is based on the secondary data as literatures of different scholars collected from the university library and other city books stalls. The study as focused to the people of high caste would not be appropriate to generalize to the people of larger society.

Varnadharma : The Caste Ideology: The origin of the four hierarchical caste divisions found among the Hindus is based on the four basic varnas (colours) which is assumed to be linked back to the mythology of Vedic times. The oldest Vedic literature - the Purushasukta of the Rig-Veda, dealing with the origin of the varnas suggests that the varnas were created from the limbs of the Purusha. "The Purusha is described as being himself this whole universe, whatever has been and whatever shall be." (Prabhu, 2000, p. 286). And thus, from the mouth of the Purusha, the Brahmans were created; the Kshatriyas from his arms; the Vaishyas from his thigh and the Sudras from his feet. (ibid, p. 286). The Brahmans therefore were created to be priests and religious teachers or instructors of mankind; the Kshatriyas were born to rule; the Vaisyas were created so as to provide food to 2

people and the Sudras to be the servant of all others. This fourfold varna order is structured under a strong sense of hierarchy and sanctioned by religiously reinforced ideas about purity and pollution however "from an economic perspective, castes were occupational in nature" (Hicks and Gwynne, 1996, p. 269). According to the idealist explanation, Quigley (2001, p. 3) asserts, caste as a cultural construct, the product of religious ideas: castes are higher or lower in relation to religiously conceived notions of purity and impurity. However, materialist thinkers, interpret caste to be

as

simply

a rationalization,

and

obfuscation,

of

more base

inequalities. Hocart’s explanation of caste ideology seeks to provide a transcendent foundation for the social order. He further argues that "caste society is only possible given a certain kind of political system namely a kingdom" and to him caste therefore, is indeed a means of regulating inequalities (ibid, p. 3). The caste system as if considering a management tool of people’s sex and labour, would be more realistic if analyzed, in terms the questions of John Ruskin illustrated in Ember et al. (2002, p. 313) as "which of us is to do the hard and dirty work for the rest and for what pay? And, who is to do the pleasant and clean work, and for what pay?" The Brahmans, at the top of hierarchy are allowed to perform the clean, pleasant and the purest priestly job and on the contrary, the Sudras or Untouchables who form the bottom of the caste hierarchy are prescribed to do the hard, dirty as well as filthy work for the rest of the caste society. There are hundreds of castes and sub-castes in between these two extremities of castes ranking. Castes are always ranked one above the other - from the lowly Untouchables, who do polluting task, to the pure, priestly Brahmans. Ember et al. (2002, p. 314) argue that, the power of those in the upper castes has been employed in sustaining the perpetual caste system through which they have derived three main advantages economic, prestige and sexual gains from their position. 3

Economic and prestigious gains are sustained in the provision of ample supply of cheap labour and free services from lower castes which is further maintained by the threat of sanctions. In the case of sexual gain, which is less apparent but equally real. Ember and his friends (loc. cit.) further argue that, the high-caste male has access to two groups of females, those of his own caste and those of lower castes. High-caste females are kept free of the 'contaminating' touch of low-caste males because low-caste males are allowed access only to low-caste women. It is because, according to Tambiah (1973) as illustrated by Dube (2001, p. 163), "superior seed can fall on an inferior field but inferior seed cannot fall on a superior field". Dube (2002, p. 154) observes caste as jati, typically a birth status group which is governed by three fundamental principles as hierarchy, exclusion or separation and interdependence. According to her, the principle of hierarchy consists of order and rank according to status. The principle of exclusion or separation governs the rules over marriage

and

contact

through

which

the

caste

distinctions

are

maintained and the division of labour, closely tied to hierarchy and separation is ruled on the principle of interdependence. The characteristic of interdependence between different caste groups in the form of patron-client relations, has now weakened considerably however, the principles of hierarchy and exclusion or separation are found still working in the high caste societies.

Women and The Caste Principle: Niranjana (2001, p. 104) quotes Dumont (1980) to uncover the fundamental principle underlying Hindu caste society. According to him, caste as a system of ideas and values, teaches us a fundamental social principle, 'hierarchy' and which works on as a structural principle guided by the opposition between the pure and impure. "The opposition of pure and impure appears to us the very principle of hierarchy". And, with the illustration of Dumontian scheme of purity - impurity, "where women are placed lower or in a position of 4

inferiority in relation to men, primarily as a consequence of their proximity to 'polluting' bodily functions (for example, menstruation, child birth)". Women in high caste societies are believed to be a potent source of pollution and consequently ritual defilement have been a major concern to them. "Women in states which emphasize their 'femaleness'

(menstruation,

childbirth)

-

must

be

segregated"

Chakravarti in Chen, 1998, p. 80). Women therefore, are considered inferior as well as compared and equated to the Sudras due to their association with impurity in which such a hierarchical principle governs the caste society. Widowhood in high caste society is also considered to be the source of impurity for women. According to Dube (2001, p. 162), "widows are not supposed to perform the puja of family deities; they do not cook the pure food offered to these deities". The limit of Dumontian scheme of purity - impurity further transcends and works on as the crucial principle of auspicious inauspicious polarity in ordering the Hindu caste world. Though, Dumont and Pocock, according to Niranjana (2001, p. 105), respond it to be the re-assimilation of auspiciousness into purity. Das (1982) explores system of classification "based on spatial categories such as right and left, while arriving at an analytical axis aspiring to go beyond the pure - impure opposition" (ibid, p. 106). In refusing to subsume right - left opposition under purity - impurity polarity, she has explored a new set of binary pair of opposition including such categories as [auspiciousness / life / right vs. inauspiciousness / death / left] in order to understand the aspects of Hindu caste ritual and myth (loc. cit.). The Hindu high caste society perceives auspiciousness as signifying a state of wellbeing and happiness, fertility and growth, progeny and prosperity but contrarily, inauspiciousness reflects a contrast opposite meaning to the former category. In the case of widows, they are symbolized as an inauspicious creature in the high 5

caste

society.

Their

inauspiciousness

and

life death

have

been

works

and

highly

impinged

therefore

on

such

excluded

from

auspicious ceremonies. According to Chakravarti (Chen, 1998, p. 81), the sight of the widow itself is considered to be inauspicious, so inauspicious that if sighted at the beginning of an auspicious venture, the venture must be postponed; even dreaming of widow augurs ill. And therefore, she assumes that Brahman widows who are the most feared amongst women. The social psychology of high caste society is guided by the principle of auspicious / life versus inauspicious / death polarity, which is systematically sustained in the wife versus widow opposition.

Caste Purity and Sexuality: The principle of exclusion or separation is the other important characteristic of caste system which works on marriage and sexuality through which the caste distinctions are maintained. This principle works through the cultural schemes premised upon a fundamental difference between male and female bodies regarding their vulnerability in incurring impurity through sexual intercourse. "In the case of inter-caste sexual relation, a man incurs external pollution, which can be washed off easily, but a woman incurs internal pollution, which pollutes her permanently" (Dube, 2001, p. 163). And the other principle, according to Tambiah (1973),

that

sanctions

hypergamy

in

order

to

maintain

caste

distinctions is "superior seed can fall in an inferior field but inferior seed cannot fall on a superior field" (loc. cit.). This is how culturally perceived notions work to differentiate female and male sexuality and consequently women's role in biological reproduction makes her the most responsible for maintaining the purity of

caste and its boundaries and therefore calls for proper control over

her sexuality (ibid, p.164). Therefore, virginity is highly glorified in order to preserve purity of girls so as to maintain caste purity . High caste societies also insist on endogamous marriages. Caste purity is 6

maintained through endogamy. Similarly, patirvrata dharma is also glorified for married women to preserve caste purity in such societies. "The offspring of intercaste unions are said to be assigned a status inferior to that of children born of primary unions (ibid, p. 170). Similarly, "the progeny born of the remarriage of widows and divorcees within the same caste are also assigned inferior status" (loc. cit). It is therefore, the sexuality of women in widowhood has always been the major threat to these high caste societies so as to preserve caste purity. For this reason widows are enforced to observe celibacy, their sexuality is not only controlled but had to be abruptly terminated. Chakravarti has termed it as 'sexual death' and social 'obliteration' . According to her, "the reproduction of the hierarchical caste order with its horror of miscegenation subverting the entire edifice necessitated such stringent control" (Chakravarti in Chen, 1998, p. 75).

Conclusions: As we discussed above, caste system as premised or better to say evolved along with a long social process pivoting around the religiously conceived notions of purity and pollution. The principle transcends through and works on every single act of the Hindu life from birth to their death and even to eternity too. With the lens of this thought, women are seen as the potent source of pollution and therefore, concerned with serious demand of ritual sanctification. In order to maintain the caste purity, ritual process of defilement and sanctification placed power in the hands of men and kept women under control. Thenceforth, the cultural process put women on an inferior position. The importance of caste purity thus affects a woman in all

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stages of her life and consequently it results and perpetuates the gendered social system.

References: Chen, M. A. (ed.) (1998). Widows in India: Social Neglect and Public Action. New Delhi, London: Sage Publications. Dube, L. (2001). Anthropological Explorations In Gender Intersecting Fields. New Delhi : Sage Publications Ember, C. R., Ember, M. and Peregrine, P. N. (2002). Anthropology. Delhi: Pearson Education (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Indian Branch. Hicks, D. and Gwynne, M. A. (1996) Cultural Anthropology. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers. Niranjana, S. (2001). Gender and Space: Feminity, Sexualization and the Female Body. New Delhi, Thousand Oaks, London: Sage Publications. Prabhu, P. H. (2000). Hindu Social Organization. Bombay: Popular Prakashan.

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Quigley, D. (2001). The Interpretation of Caste. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

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