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Malatimadhava (study)

by Jintu Moni Dutta | 2017 | 52,468 words | ISBN-10: 8120813057 | ISBN-13: 9788120813052

This page relates ‘Subcastes and Candalas� from the English study on the Malatimadhava of Bhavabhuti:—A Prakarana type of Drama in ten acts revolving around the love-story of Malati (from Padmāvatī) and Madhava (from Vidarbha). This study discusses the history of its author and the literary, social, religious, historical and cultural aspects of the Malatimadhava.

Go directly to: Footnotes.

Part 1.4 - The Subcastes and 䲹ṇḍs

In earliar society, there were mainly four castes viz.,

  1. 󳾲ṇa,
  2. ṣaٰⲹ,
  3. ղśⲹ and
  4. Śū.

The first three were settled as dvijātis.[1]

Due to anoloma and pratiloma marriages among these three castes there also developed several subcastes viz.,

  1. 䲹ṇḍ,
  2. ṣiٲ,
  3. ṣṭ,
  4. Avira and
  5. Ā󾱰.[2]

䲹ṇḍ:

In the ī󲹱, along with these four castes 󲹱ūپ presents one subcaste namely 䲹ṇḍ. In the ԻDzⲹ 貹Ծṣa, the 䲹ṇḍ is ranked with the dog and the bear.[3] According to Manu the 䲹ṇḍ is a ṇaṃk i.e. mixed caste and people belonging to this caste were lower or worse than Śū and he is produced from a Śū father and a 󳾲ṇa mother.[4] The 䲹ṇḍ is an out caste.[5] Further he says that 䲹ṇḍ is the lowest of mortals. [6] The 䲹ṇḍ is wicked in his deed and killer of animals.[7]

In the 󲹱ūپ’s ī󲹱 also, ǰṇṭ and ṇḍ were found as 䲹ṇḍs. They were merciless in killing the persons by various weapons.[8] ṇḍ was the disciple of Aghoraghanta and was a skull bearing practitioner of charms, who possessed miraculous power.[9] They were engaged in sinful acts. In the 5th act ṇḍ was found in the temple of nearby the cremation ground who gathered a special collection of materials for the worship of goddess by the command of her preceptor ǰṇṭ, for the attainment of miraculous power by incantations.[10] They prepared ī as a victim to worship goddess [11] . Thus, ǰṇṭ raised his sword to kill ī by offering ī to the divine at the commencement of the rite for making mantras efficacious.[12]

As found in the ѲԳܲṛt, the dwellings of 䲹ṇḍs are outside the villiage, they must be made untouchable and their dress is garments of the dead body.[13] As it has been found that ṇḍ was a night ranger, she had come from the Śī貹ٲ and she dwelt in a forest.[14] ṇḍ and ǰṇṭ wore the garments of the dead body.[15]

During 󲹱ūپ’s time, besides these four castes viz. 󳾲ṇa, ṣaٰⲹ, ղśⲹ and Śū the reference of 䲹ṇḍs was also found verily in dealing with horrible deeds.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Medhātithī on ѲԳܲṛt, V.168

[2]:

Ibid.,X.13

[3]:

tad ya iha ramaṇīyacaraṇ� abhyāso ha ytte ramaṅīyā� yonimāpadyoran brāhmaṇayoni� va kṣatriyāyoni� vā vaiśyayoni� vātha ya iha kapūyacaraṇ�
ś/
ha yatte kapūyā� yonimāpadyeran śvayoni� vā sūkarayoni� vā caṇḍālayoni� vā /Chāndogya 貹Ծṣa,V.10.7

[4]:

ѲԳܲṛt, X.12

[5]:

Ibid.,X.16

[6]:

ṇḍś Բ󲹳� /
Ibid.,X.26

[7]:

kravyādbhiśca hatasyānyaiścaṇḍālādyaiśca dasyubhi� /
Ibid., V.131

[8]:

vyāghrāghrātamṛgīkṛpākulamṛganyāyena hiṃsāruse� /
prāṇyupahāraketanajuṣa� prāptoasi me gocaram //
so‟aha� prāgbhavataiva bhūtajananīmṛdhnomi khaṅgāhoti /
chinnaskandhakavandha randrarudhiraprāgbhārāniḥsyamdinā //
ī󲹱, V. 29

[9]:

muṇḍadhāriṇo‟ghoraghaṇṭanāmadheyasyāntevāsinī mahāprabhāvā
첹ṇḍ/
Ibid.,I.p.19

[10]:

ida� tāvatpurāṇanimbatailāktaparibhṛjya mānarasonagandhibhiścitādhūmai� purastādvibhāvitasya 󲹳ٲ� śmaśānavāṭasya nedīya� karālāyatana� yatra paryavasitamantrasādhanas yāsmadguroraghoraghaṇṭasyājñayā saviśe ṣamadyapūjāsaṃbhāro saṃnidhāpanīya� /
Ibid.,, V.p.97

[11]:

ٲٲ� praviśato devatārcanavyagro kapālakuṇḍalāghoraghaṇṭo kṛtavadhyaciḥnā mālatī ca /
Ibid.,p.108

[12]:

(śٰܻⲹⲹ) : yadastu tadastu vyāpādayāmi /
峾ṇḍ 󲹲ī mantrasādhanādā /
vudiṣṭāmupanihitā� bhajasva pūjām //
Ibid.,V.p.112

[13]:

caṇḍāla śvapacānā� tu vahira grāmāt پśⲹ� /
apapātrāśca kartavyā dhanam eṣāṃ śva gardabham /
ѲԳܲṛt, X.51 vāsāṃsi mṛtacailāni bhinnabhāṇḍeṣu bhojanam /
Ibid., X.52

[14]:

tatra khalu śrīparvatādāgatasya rātrivihāriṇo nātidūrāraṇyavāsina� sādhakasya muṇḍadhāriṇo‟ghoraghaṇṭanāmadheyasyāntevāsinī mahāprabhāvā
kapālakuṇḍalā nāmānusandhya� samāgachati /
tat iya� ṛtپ� //
Ibid.,I.p.19

[15]:

ū󱹲� dhūnoti vāyuvivṛtaśavaśiraḥśreṇikuñjeṣu ñᲹ /
nnuttāla� kiṃkiṇīnāmanavarataraṇatkārahetu� 貹� //
Ibid., V.4

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