Social Developments in the Gupta Age

At a Glance

• Rise Brahmana supremacy
• Castes Multiplied into sub-castes
• Shudras Better status
• Untouchables Chandalas increased
• Women Upper-varna women more dependent
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms

Where Does It Fit?

This is the fifth topic of the category on the Gupta age. The previous topic covered trade, agriculture and land grants, and this one covers society. The next topic covers religion, Bhagavatism and Buddhism. Previous topic: Trade, Agrarian Economy and Land Grants in the Gupta Age. The modern constitutional position is in Right to Equality (Articles 14–18).

How Did Brahmana Supremacy and Caste Change?

In short: land grants raised brahmanas, and caste multiplied through the assimilation of foreigners and tribes.

Large-scale land grants to brahmanas suggest that brahmana supremacy increased in Gupta times. The Guptas, probably originally vaishyas, came to be viewed as kshatriyas by the brahmanas, who presented the kings as having godlike attributes. This legitimised the Gupta princes, who became great supporters of the brahmanical order. The brahmanas accumulated wealth through grants and claimed many privileges, which are listed in the Narada Smriti, a lawbook of about the fifth century. Castes proliferated into numerous sub-castes for two reasons. First, a large number of foreigners were assimilated into Indian society, and each foreign group was regarded as a caste; as most came as conquerors they were given kshatriya status. The Hunas, who came towards the close of the fifth century, eventually came to be recognised as one of the thirty-six clans of the Rajputs. Second, many tribal people were absorbed into brahmanical society through land grants: tribal chiefs were assigned a respectable origin while most of their kinsmen were assigned a low origin, and every tribe became a caste. The earlier assimilation of foreigners is in Cultural Consequences of Central Asian Contact, and the grants are in Trade, Agrarian Economy and Land Grants in the Gupta Age.

What Happened to Shudras and Untouchables?

The position of shudras improved. They were now permitted to listen to readings of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas, which represented the kshatriya tradition and whose myths won loyalty to the social order. Shudras could worship the new god Krishna and perform certain domestic rites, which meant fees for priests, and this links to some rise in their economic position. From the seventh century they were mainly shown as agriculturists, whereas earlier they generally appeared as servants, slaves and agricultural labourers. However, the number of untouchables, especially chandalas, increased. Chandalas entered society as early as the fifth century BC, but by the fifth century AD their number had become enormous and their disabilities glaring enough to draw the notice of Fa-hsien, who reports that they lived outside the village, dealt in meat and flesh, and struck a piece of wood when entering a town so others could avoid them. The earlier position of the shudras is in Varna System, Social Orders and Legislation in the Age of the Buddha.

What Was the Position of Women?

Women, like shudras, were allowed to listen to the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas and advised to worship Krishna. But women of the higher orders lacked independent sources of livelihood in pre-Gupta and Gupta times, while women of the two lower varnas were free to earn their living, which gave them freedom. The reasoning was that vaishya and shudra women took to farming and domestic service and were therefore outside the control of their husbands. By Gupta times, members of the higher orders acquired more and more land, which made them more polygamous and more property-minded, and in a patriarchal setup they began to treat women as property, to the extent that a woman was expected to follow her husband to the next world. The first example of widow immolation occurred during the Gupta period in AD 510. Some post-Gupta law-books allowed a woman to remarry if her husband was dead, destroyed, impotent, had become a renouncer, or had been excommunicated. The main reason for the subordination of upper-varna women was their complete dependence on men and lack of proprietary rights.

As an analytical point, these changes reflect land, patriarchy and caste hardening together: wealth in land and grants raised the priests and the property-minded upper orders while lowering tribal peasants and untouchables, even though shudras gained some religious access. The religious changes that accompanied these are in Bhagavatism, Buddhism and Religion in the Gupta Age, and the later varna shifts in Changes in the Varna System and Rise of Regional Identities.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Caste question Proliferation and assimilation
• Women Frequent theme
• Source awareness Fa-hsien and smritis

What Came Next?

The next topic describes Bhagavatism, Buddhism and religion in the Gupta age. Next topic: Bhagavatism, Buddhism and Religion in the Gupta Age.

Key People and Terms

• Narada Smriti Fifth-century lawbook
• Chandala Untouchable group
• Stridhana Woman’s property
• Niyoga Levirate
• Sub-caste Division within a caste
• Rajput clans Thirty-six clans including Hunas

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about social change in the Gupta age. These points add depth.

• Caste Proliferation
• Status Shudras and chandalas
• Women Dependence