Kinship, Caste and Class: The Mahabharata
Theme III. Social histories of early societies. Covers The critical edition of the Mahabharata; Kinship and marriage; Varna, jati and social mobility; Property and gender; The Mahabharata as a dynamic text.
About this unit
This unit uses the Mahabharata and other texts to study social history between about 600 BCE and 600 CE. It asks how families were organised, who could marry whom, how varna and jati shaped social life, and who owned property. It also shows how historians handle a huge, changing text: who wrote it, when, and how it was edited.
Key ideas
- The critical edition of the Mahabharata was prepared under V. S. Sukthankar.
- Patriliny was the ideal; exogamy and gotra rules shaped marriage.
- Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras described an ideal varna order.
- Jatis multiplied and many groups did not fit neatly into varna.
- Men and women had unequal access to property.
- The Mahabharata grew over centuries and was retold in many forms.
How to prepare
Learn the eight forms of marriage, key terms (patriliny, matriliny, endogamy, exogamy, polygyny, polyandry, gotra, stridhana) and examples like the Satavahana metronymics and Draupadi's marriage. Practise reading short extracts and identifying the social norm they show.
Topics in this chapter
The critical edition of the Mahabharata
V. S. Sukthankar and the project to compile the epic.
5 questionsKinship and marriage
Families, rules of marriage and gotra.
5 questionsVarna, jati and social mobility
The ideal social order and how it worked in practice.
5 questionsProperty and gender
Access to property for men and women.
5 questionsThe Mahabharata as a dynamic text
Authors, dates and changing versions of the epic.
5 questions