READING #24: THE COHESIVE ROLE OF SANSKRITIZATION

M N SRINIVAS COINED THE TERM SANSKRITIZATION

Sanskritization is an important cultural process. It can be defined as the process by which a low
caste or tribe or other group takes over the customs, rituals, beliefs, ideology and lifestyle of the
high and twice-born castes. This happens because; adoption of such practices (Sanskritization)
can improve the position of the group as a whole in the caste hierarchy. Some groups are
considered high because of their contact with a Great Tradition of Hinduism such as a pilgrim
centre or monastery etc. Absorption of Sanskritization also led to increase in its prestige but also
the absorption became easier.
The British rule in India proved to be both a boon and a bane for Sanskritization. The
systematized caste hierarchy favours Sanskritization because the ambitious lower castes aspire to
rise up in the caste ladder by adoption of Sanskritization. At the same time, the hierarchy proves
to be deterrence to Sanskritization as the higher castes attempt to retain their exclusivity and
prevent lower castes from usurping their practices, customs etc. Despite this, Sanskritization
grew.
Sectarian movements are agents of Sanskritization because these movements attracted a lot of
lower caste members and also, raised their status. However, outsiders tend to place the whole sect
as a caste (which again falls into the hierarchy) and within the sect itself, there is a caste
hierarchy. This is same as castes where outsiders ignore hierarchy within a same caste. The
converts often retain their castes. (THE EXAMPLE GIVEN IN CLASS WAS THAT OF
LINGAYATS OF KARNATAKA. This was started by Basaveshwara. Despite being a separate
sect, the caste distinctions among Lingayats itself remain.)
Sanskritization is not limited to Hindus but also to various sects and religious groups extends
outside Hinduism too. It is seen sometimes in places like Ceylon. Tibet, Indonesia etc. The impact
of Sanskritization within culture is seen in a multi-dimensional manner art, music, dance, drama,
literature, language, lifestyle and rituals.
Hinduism is different from most other religions of the world because it does not have an
overarching formal structure or no body of trained missionaries, no congregational religion or
even a distinct code of belief. It is a loose congregation of many cults connected by means of
Sanskritization. These cults of Hinduism are based on ancestors, caste, village, sectarian deities
etc. Hinduism has many centres of pilgrimage, some centres are known to the whole of South
Asia, while the others are known only to a few neighbouring villages. These pilgrimage centres

are places associated with certain heroes, Gods, tombs of saints etc. The Hindu Calendar is also
not fixed. Same with festivals.
The literature of Hinduism is also varied but it is greatly inspired by Sanskrit. Ramayana,
Mahabharata and Puranas are the major works. The Puranas unite by producing a common
religious culture out of the vast and varied belief systems, myths, cults etc. These Puranas grew
in acceptance as they provided a link between the learned scholars and the masses.
Any outsider observing Hinduism is bound to be confused by the variations within it. Hinduism
lacks form, it is complex and heterogeneous in modes of worship and the Gods. However, Rig
Veda laid down the concept of ONE GOD a single Supreme Being. Rig Veda states that God
is one but sages call him by different names. Although this propagated monotheism, polytheism
and henotheism were still prevalent. Higher groups preferred monotheism and henotheism.
Although both polytheism and henotheism preach the existence of many Gods, in henotheism it is
believed that the God who is currently being worshipped is Supreme. It is also called momentary
monotheism. That particular God is elevated to the position of Great Power. Hindu monotheism
is different from that of other religions because according to Hindus, there is only One God who
is called by different names. There is a sort of division of labour for Hindu Gods. For success in
any enterprise Vinayaka is worshipped; Lakshmi is worshipped for wealth and Saraswati for
learning. Apart from these, there are many local deities, such as village Goddesses for the cure of
various ailments and diseases like cholera, plague etc. (However, certain sects practice
exclusivity by not worshipping one God. Eg: ShriVaishnavas of South India will not worship
Shiva.) Many deities are seen as manifestation of another deities. This can be seen in the
chanting of different names of the same deity. Deities of low castes and tribal people were now
being seen as manifestation of some other well-known deity. Example: Village goddesses are
often seen as Shakti/ Parvati. Similarly Rama and Buddha are seen as manifestations of Vishnu.
Kaveri River is called Ganga of the South. Pantheism is also practiced whereby, the objects
mythically associated with any Sanskritic deity is also worshipped
Epics Such as Ramayana and Mahabharata have been instrumental in transmitting certain basic
theological idea and for spreading a common culture throughout the country. The institution of
Harikathas (public reading of Puranas) has helped Sanskritic Hinduism reach the illiterate masses
also. However, post World-War I, in the South, there has been a rejection of Ramayana as it was
considered northern, Aryan and anti-Dravidian.

Listed above are the characteristics of SanskriticHinduismwhich enable it to absorb local cultural
beliefs. Thus, Sanskritic Hinduism has grown this way by way of such additions of local
customs and beliefs. This process is also termed as universalization. The opposite of this is
called, de-Sanskritization or Parochialization (an element of Sanskritic Hinduism gets
localised)
Sanskritization is closely related to social mobility. Although, the overall structure is pretty rigid,
there is fluidity at the lower levels, and this gave scope for social mobility. The Kshatriyas are the
most open varna as they have accommodated outsiders as long as those outsiders had political
power. But here too Sanskritization plays a role. A chief (irrespective of origin) was linked to a
well-known Kshatriya lineage or Sun or Moon. The chief had to adopt the lifestyle of classical
Kshatriyas. For this again, they needed the Brahmin support.

Brahmins were those who

legitimized power into authority, by performing the essential Vedic rites. Brahmins revered
anyone with power --- this included Muslims and British rulers. In return, the rulers patronized
the Brahmins. They gave a particular Sanskritic life-style to these Brahmins.
The relation between Sanskritization and Westernization is multi-dimensional. New agencies and
development of communication such as All India Radio, school textbooks and films spread both
Westernization and Sanskritization. This resulted in the radical transformation of local culture and
a simplified uniform culture has emerged.
Relationship between Sanskritization and caste. Two models of caste varna model and jati
model. Varna model is the conceptual division of society in 4 distinct hierarchical categories. It is
seen as per the sacred Hindu literature and Dharmashastra and it is the literary model of caste
system. The popularity of this model has increased ever since the development of communication
systems and Western education. There is a need to fit each of the jatis in a single India wide
framework i.e. the varna system. Secularization has resulted in the ideas of pollution and purity
becoming weaker. This is seen more in urban areas wherethe people dont give much importance
to caste (compared to rural India) Urbanization, education and geographical mobility of people is
leading to the increasing adoption of the varna system.
Caste may be viewed as a series of local systems of interacting jatis linked in an all-India
framework by means the idea of varna. However, it is uncertain the varna system is influential
within a local system of jatis. This may be related to their varying awareness of varna system; or
political/economic/social position or awareness of larger society of which the local group is a part
of.

Caste is and was much localized. In pre-British India, many castes did not intermingle because of
political boundaries. Certain people believed that crossing the boundary would make them lose
their caste. Localization can also be attributed to the interdependence of castes because of each
ones specialized occupations. Each local system has a unique hierarchy of jatis. And a jatis
position within the local hierarchy is not clear. This helped in mobility. Where the rank of a caste
was in dispute, the king would settle it.
To what extent does Sanskritization take place largely depends on the character of the locally
dominant caste. Supposing the locally dominant caste was non-Sanskritized and the Sanskritized
jatis of that region were not influential/dominant; then Sanskritization will not take place. Instead,
de-Sanskritization will take place as the jatis lower in hierarchy would be influenced by the nonSanskritized dominant caste.However, it is important to recognise that it is not merely local
factors that played a role in determining whether Sanskritization or de-Sanskritization would take
place. The aura around Brahmins and Brahmanism persists. When peasants of lower castes want
to pass of themselves as Kshatriya or Vaishyas, they had to seek the power of the priestly
Brahmins to legitimize their claim. Only the Brahmins could the role of legitimization and thus,
their lifestyle is Sanskritized to a greater extent. Thus a Brahmin sometimes had to face pulls in
the opposite directions to be de-Sanskritized and imitate the dominant , non-Brahmin castes or
to be Sanskritized in order to perform their roles.
Wherever Sanskritized groups were dominant, the whole region underwent Sanskritization.
However, there were obstacles to this also. Dominant castes punished lower castes and prevented
them from adopting rituals and practices that were exclusively for the high castes. Despite this,
there was slow but steady seepage of Sanskritization.
Mobility can happen in 2 ways one a jati adopts name/attributes of a regionally prestigious
and but not highly Sanskritized caste. Two Prefix Brahmin, or Kshatriya etc to their name and
adopt certain changes in lifestyle etc. The latter was easier. By the beginning of 20th century, low
caste members realised that education and political power were more important for upward
mobility. Once that was acquired Sanskritization also became easy.
Indian Cities are becoming centres of Sanskritization apart from Westernisation. Big temples,
Sanskrit schools, printing presses for Sanskrit literature all exist here. Many revivalist functions
such as Vedic yajnyas are performed in recent times. When the West discovered the richness and
versatility of Indian Culture and Sanskritic literature, it gave Indians a boost to their self-esteem
and now they could match up to their western counterparts as cultural and intellectual equals.
Certain concepts of Sanskritic Hinduism such as ahimsa and vegetarianism began spreading.

However, rise of Sanskritization has faced many backlashes especially due to the growth of
regional self-consciousness. There was a conscious move to discard Sanskrit words from
vernacular languages. In Tamil Nadu, Sanskrit began to be associated with Brahmins who were
viewed as oppressive Aryan invaders. DravidaKazhagam (DK) and DravidaMunnetraKazhagam
(DMK) preached this and incited hatred towards Brahmins and advocated rationality.
The other important but indirect sources of Sanskritization are as follows:
Economic opportunities brought by the British combined with the literary tradition of upper
castes enabled them to become professionals like teachers, doctors, lawyers etc. This increased
the social distance between the elite and the backward classes.When the British began to give
back power to Indians in instalments the leaders of the backward classes realised that capturing of
political power is essential if there needs to be progress in education and employment. The
Backward Class Movement resulted in the downgrading of importance to Sanskritization.
Western discovery of Sanskrit literature and systematic reconstruction of history aided in the
development of Indian nationalism. During the freedom movement, Gandhi and other freedom
fighters used
Hindu Symbolism to unite the masses. Tilak,garlands, aartis were used. Gandhi proclaimed
himself to be a Hindu. Satyagraha and ahimsa have their roots in Hindu and Jain customs. Gandhi
also preached vegetarianism and teetotalism.
The beginning of the 19th century saw Hindu revivalism where reformers tried to re-interpret the
religion to suit modern needs. This heightened the self-consciousness of the people resulting in
increased communalism. Hindu communalism stimulated Muslim communalism and vice-versa,
ultimately resulting in the partition of the country.
One of the most important tasks for independent India today is to draw all of the heterogeneous
population into mainstream and at the same time retain what is valuable in Sanskrit thought and
culture. This is possible only if Hindus acknowledge the contribution of all sections of population
to Indian Traditions and non-Hindus to accept the contribution of Sanskrit heritage. This can be
done by cultural osmosis. India is a secular country and there must exist tolerance and mutual
appreciation of values.
The author ends the essay by stating that intellectuals have not sufficiently studied the long term
conflict between Sanskritization and Westernization. Industrialization and education will extend

to all classes and we have not examined the conflict between religious and scientific worldview
which will affect all religionsnot just Hinduism.