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JayantLele
Kosambi's Method.
150
4. Kosambi does raise the questionof the durationof viabilityof the malignant
face of an ideology. Althoughthereis not a directanswer,it is clear thatit has to do with
the level of developmentof a society,meaningitscapabilityforencompassingand fulfilling
materialneeds and spiritualaspirationsof its members.
151
For the upper classes the Gupta period broughtan unprecedentedpeak in living
standards(Thapar, 1966,p. 136). The conditionof theshudrasalso seems to have improved
somewhatas theygained new religiousand civicrights(Sharma, 1980,p. 316). There was
a generalaura of well-beingin thecore regionof the empire. The prosperity of the Gupta
empire depended both on the conquest of the domains of regional chiefs and on the
extensionof agriculture.The conqueredchiefswere reinstatedaftera promiseof a tribute
buttheyremainedalmosttotallyautonomous. Ploughcultivationwas expandedintofertile
Bengal and the not-so-fertile Deccan. Kosambi describes this extensionof agricultural
economyas "penetration byreligioncombinedwithprivatetrade"which"introduced private
propertyand class structurein formertribalareas undertheguiseof caste" (1975, p. 300-1).
The Gupta kingsencouragedprivateoccupationand exploitationof new areas. The central
authoritypromisedprotectionfrompettywarfareand,to some extent,servicessuchas water
works, trade regulation,and policing of trade routes. Even this was done through
subordinatefeudatoriesand governors. This was the beginningof "the fedualismfrom
above,"whicheventuallybecame transformed intoan era ofautonomousbutstagnantvillage
economies, or "the feudalism from below."
152
The Gupta period has often been described as an era of the "brahmanial
renaissance." It was more a period of reassertionof hegemonythan of renaissance of
brahmanism.Whereas renaissanceimpliesrenewal,revitalization, and reinterpretation of
the old, hegemonicappropriationimpliesabsorptionof any potentialforchange into the
legitimationof a social orderthatresemblesthe old in manyof the essentials. In assessing
therole ofbrahmanismand thebrahmins,in thisperiodand in others,a fewessentialpoints
should be kept in mind. Brahminscould not have and did not initiate or direct the
developmentof a systemin anyparticularway. The originsand the progressof its varied
manifestationsmust be firsttraced to the basic changes in productiverelations. The
brahmins,given theirparticularvantage point withinthe social order,interpretedthese
changes in certain specificways. They must also be credited with havingordered and
generalizedthe patternsof changeand recordedthemforcommonuse througha seriesof
textsand manuals. In fulfillingthisfunctiontheyalso ensuredforthemselvesa positionof
preeminencein Hindu society,unmatchedbyanyotherpriestlyclass in a comparablehuman
civilization.
153
154
155
forKosambi.
Placing of the BG in the earlyGupta period createsotherdifficulties
He is forcedto concludethatthisefforton thepartof thebrahminswas "notsufficient unto
the purpose"(p. 18). He goes one step further of the Gita was
and assertsthat "writing
156
157
Since the social contextof its originis so closelylinked to the explanationof its
content,it seems legitimateto ask: Is it possible thatKosambi's analysisof the BG would
have followeda different course had he accepted the interpretation of those who see it as
an expressionof the crisisof brahmanismand as a blueprintforovercomingit? Would he
reviewsynthesis
have stilldismissedthis"brilliant" opportunism"?A moredirect
as "slippery
question, from thisnew vantagepoint would be: Is thissynthesismerelyan equivocation,an
apologeticsformõyâvõda,and an irrationalbut cleverattemptto make the masses believe
in an essentiallyinauthenticjustificationof a decadent brahmanism? Kosambi himself
provides some possible clues. Take, forexample, the followingdescriptionof how the
synthesisis accomplished: "The essentialis taken fromeach (doctrine)by a remarkably
keen mindcapable of deep and sympathetic study;all are fittedtogetherwithconsummate
158
What does it mean whenone says thatthe BG is a productof crisis? The human
conditionproducesauthenticimpulsesthatlead to a quest fora lastingmeaningforone's
everydaylifeexperience. Their universalityis inherentin beinghuman,"inbeingborninto
this world,bound to a body whichis both the self and an apertureto the world in our
finitudeand openness." Birthand death are significant experiencesforall humanbeings
until,of course,theyare eliminatedfrombeing as such or frombeing "instructive destiny"
by being reduced to technicalcontrol(Ricoeur, 1978,pp. 225-27). The quest formeaning
leads human societies to a varietyof paths. Each one of them makes sense in its own
context,each is a productof creativehuman imagination,each is groundedin a specific
materialrealityand a concretelifeexperience. It is the authenticity of each one of these
quests thatmakes communicationbetweenthempossible. That authenticity also produces
a drive towards a synthesisand a transcendence. A synthesisthat increases human
capabilityto enhance and fulfillneeds,desires,and aspirationsof an expanded community
of participantssurvivesand prospers until human creativitymakes its restrictionsalso
redundant. The movementtowardsa new social order startsall over again. Attemptsto
manipulate,persuade,or coerce othersintoacceptingone path as superiorover the others,
effortsto avoid or postponethe transformation of a decayingsocial order,maysucceed for
a while, sometimesfor centuries,as with feudalism;but must fall before a weapon of
critiqueand/ora critiqueof weapons. Messianicmovementscontainwithinthemselvesthis
grainof rationality.They look to a futurethathas become possible.
Here Paul Ricoeur's two notionsthat:a) "Each epoch permitsa believable and an
unbelievable"and b) "There is also the frameworkthat is naturallybelievable,"become
relevant.We mayadd thatboththebelievableand theunbelievableof an epoch are always
anchoredin thepast,and theonlygenuinelinkbetweenthepast,thepresent,and thefuture
is the "naturally
believable." This "naturally
believable framework"
also translatesforme
159
If theBG is the documentof the social crisisand ifwe accept the obviousinference
that, unlike the Manusmrti,it is not a mere reiterationof brahmanism,withsome minor
concessionsto the richamong the shudras,thenits syncretism beginsto make a new sense.
It standsout as an attemptto bringto lifeall the old dreamsthatare as yetunfilfilled but
have become estranged. The life-giving qualityof the yajna, its affirmationof a once
egalitariancommunity, gainsthesame statusas theexplorationof theatmanas theabsolute
brahmanin the Upanishads. The explorationsin the independentessence ofprakrtibythe
Samkhyans(and themeditationsoftheyogins)withtheirpre-Aryanand perhapsagricultural
origins (Jaiswal, 1981, p. 56) become the subjects of the same desire to regain their
estrangedmeanings. The BG repeatedlystressesthe insightthat all formsof worship,
arisingout of the same naturalfaithwhichis inherentto humannature(17:1-4), have had
the same essential message. Differentreligiouscults may adhere to different objects of
worship,but those objects are only different overt manifestations of the same universal
divinity(9:23). Whatevermaybe the formsof worshipby humans,theyare the same as
long as theyare based on naturalleanings(sattva). The goal shouldbe to strengthen the
authenticquality of the urge to believe (Éraddhã). Such beliefs produce theirdesired
consequences. It is the same all pervasivedivinitythatensuresthe multiplicity of desired
outcomes(7:20-4). In thismannerthe BG rejectsall exclusivistclaims and counterclaims
of particularpaths to the possible future(Joshi,1972,p. 475).
160
161
162
163
and
164
165
NOTES
REFERENCES
Allchin,Bridgetand Raymond. The Rise of Civilizationin India and Pakistan. New Delhi,
1983.
in Mythand Reality.
Kosambi,D. D. "Social and EconomicAspectsof theBhagavad-Gitan
Bombay,1962.
in BhaktiMovements.Leiden, 1981.
and Modernity
Lele, Jayant(ed.). Tradition
166
Ricoeur,Paul. The Philosophyof Paul Ricoeur. (Charles E. Reagan and David Stewart,
eds.). Boston, 1978.
1966.
Thapar, Romila. A Historyof India. Harmondsworth,