Class 12 History - Themes in Indian History - I - Chapter Kinship, Caste and Class NCERT Solutions | The following is an excerpt from the Mah

Welcome to the NCERT Solutions for Class 12th History - Themes in Indian History - I - Chapter Kinship, Caste and Class. This page offers a step-by-step solution to the specific question from Exercise 1, Question 5: the following is an excerpt from the mahabharata....
Question 5

The following is an excerpt from the Mahabharata, in which Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, speaks to Sanjaya, a messenger:

Sanjaya, convey my respectful greetings to all the Brahmanas and the chief priest of the house of Dhritarashtra. I bow respectfully to teacher Drona ... I hold the feet of our preceptor Kripa ... (and) the chief of the Kurus, the great Bhishma. I bow respectfully to the old king (Dhritarashtra). I greet and ask after the health of his son Duryodhana and his younger brother ... Also greet all the young Kuru warriors who are our brothers, sons and grandsons ... Greet above all him, who is to us like father and mother, the wise Vidura (born of a slave woman) ... I bow to the elderly ladies who are known as our mothers. To those who are our wives you say this, “I hope they are well-protected”... Our daughters-in-law born of good families and mothers of children greet on my behalf. Embrace for me those who are our daughters ... The beautiful, fragrant, well-dressed courtesans of ours you should also greet. Greet the slave women and their children, greet the aged, the maimed (and) the helpless ...

Try and identify the criteria used to make this list – in terms of age, gender, kinship ties. Are there any other criteria? For each category, explain why they are placed in a particular position in the list.

Answer

Not only age, gender and kinship ties but there were other factors too which were considered to prepare the list. The Brahmana, the Purohits and the Gums were bestowed the highest honours. They all were widely respected. Fraternal kins were also given respects who were considered like parents. People who were of equal age or younger were placed at the third rank. In the next order, the young Kuru warriors were respected.Women also received their due place. Wives, mothers, daughters-in-law and daughters came in this order. Orphans and handicapped had also been taken care of. Yudhisthira also greets them.

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