Post – 2018-09-11

LIBERATING INDIAN MIND – 32
Division of Work

Agriculture is the grandmother of culture. Agricultural technology is most complicated, most diversified , and yet diversifying a technology. It is as good as the mother of all sciences, arts and philosophy, including all the crimes. It is a new epoch in our traditional history called The Manu Age. The Age of agricultural production.d

Despite this truism, we think, even today, agriculture to be the simplest and the crudest vocation to be efficiently handled even by a man with less than average intelligence. Know you why? Because it demands maximum physical toil, utmost alertness, sacrificial self surrender, extraordinary patience, forbearance and fortitude that clever people mostly lack or shirk from. They, like gamblers, want too much with too little stake and corrupt the incorruptible in numerous ways.

But in the beginning it demanded all these qualities multiplied many times. What looks so common a beginning astonishes me. I fail to imagine the indomitable determination of the pioneers who bore with all the odds, even bloody opposition of their own brothers whom they now recalled as step brothers (सपत्न), and inevitable expulsion from all the corners. Numerically they were none entity (कनीयस्विन इव वै देवा आसन् भूयस्विनो ऽसुराः। ) Physically they neither were more stout nor more courageous. They were affraid of Asuras (ते असुररक्षसेभ्यः आसंगात् बिभयांश्चक्रुः, शतपथ). What could have been the driving force that they faced all the ordeals and yet did not deter. I think it was just their extra-ordinary sensitiveness. They could not tolerate the death during the lean days of infants, feeble, sick, elderly but not old, and even the able bodied due to starvation. They just wanted to produce the seed bearing choice grasses (वरुण प्रघास) in sufficient quantity so that they could sustain the chain of lean periods when there was little fruit , nut or tuber. It was the women who took the lead in agriculture and perhaps they ruled the family, the kulpatni, not the kulpati, as has comedown in our male-centered tradition while enough hints are there to show that women enjoyed more dignified position. But this is just an offshoot.

How arduous was the job when man had no weapons, no instruments, except his vision and compulsion to look for a dependable source of livelihood.

At the gathering stage he had nothing to carry, nothing to store, plucked and ate -ते वै असुरा:… स्व स्व आस्ये जुह्लतश्चेरु: – no need to fetch water. Thy reached the water source to quench their thirst, to wash and clean them. No cloth to wash, no utensils to care for. But plants could not walk up to the water source. To save their crops they had to invent devices to make it possible. hollow in the horn, sculls of dead animals available here and there and later use of mature and dry bottle gourd and still later the hollow of the bamboo.

But look, this simple task of irrigation was so exacting, not to talk of the protection of crop from animals as ferocious as water buffalo, rhino, and as swift as herds of gaval (नीलगाय, घोड़रोज), deer. and as sly as hare/mouse on the one hand and as sneaky and fearsome as wolves, jackals, cats from hyena to tiger. But none was more formidable than the roaming bands of gatherers in the vicinity who had no moral reserve outside their tribe and therefore commited any offence, even poisoning to kill their domesticated animal.

This small enterprising group was variously named as Devas(देव), Baram/Brahmans (बरम/ब्राह्मण) and Suras (सुर) by different speech-groups. The first two names were initially derogatory in the modern sense of arsonist as they resorted to use of fire to burn the wild outgrowths that had been the source of provision earlier, to clear the land for agricultural operations and even to deter the pressure and assault of the Asuras (अग्निर्वै रक्षसां अगहन्ता. It is clear that deva and baram denoted fire and later underwent semantic improvements. The last one denoted production.

Agicultural production demanded division of the group to ensure smooth operation with adequate protection. We cannot imagine the nature and dimensions of the challenge, especially from sunset to sunrise; the courage and patience, self control to keek awakened in the night. As such the healthiest and brave young ones were drafted for this hazardous duty to save the ‘family’ from damage. क्षतात किल त्रायत इति उदग्र क्षत्रस्य शब्द: भुवनेषु रूढ़:| They were required to be in the best of health and fondly offered the best nourishment, beloved of all as they were. (२) Elderly once, the sick, toddlers, and infants who could neither Work were spared physical chores but the elder once had to take care of the rest. Their job can in modern terminology was the entertainment and teaching them necessary skills, to attending the sick and offer their advice as and when needed. This could be the initial form of Brahmin cast of later days. (3) All the rest comprised the working team who devoted their energies to physical work- scratching / tilling, sowing, irrigating, cropping, separating, grinding, processing or storing, cooking with namesake crude and simple aids and devices. It was labour intensive, risk-free, community sensitive operation, which possessed the entire wealth, provided all and was happy with if it had to face some material inconvenience. Naturally it formed the Vaishya Varna. These three could be called the earliest Aryans तिस्र: प्रजा आर्या ज्योतिरग्रा. The elder ones through their advice became the rudimentary lawgivers and the seniermost among them played the role of the Kulapati. This defines why Manu the originator of agriculture was called the first king i.e. Kshatriya, the first producer or the Vaishya and the first lawgiver.

Enormously different from this self reliant and industrious society was the leisure loving, art and dance loving, nature worshipping, loosely bound protectionist राक्षस, abstaining from productive activities (असुर) mutually sharing and ready to donate even its best (दानव) collectives surviving on bounties of nature, thought to be idle and mentally backward. They did not wage war, but kept constantly to reverse the process or at leat contain the former while they kept their pressures all along and we, in a way, are still fighting devasura war with a minute difference that on moral ground or under some strategy to re-establish the classless and discrimination free society a section of visionary youths from the devas have joined hands with the Rakshasas and are continuing a loosing battle.
It must be mentioned that with this unwritten understanding of duties came into existence the Varna-Dharma which has been so emphatically and uniformly mentioned in all the lawbooks. The rigorous part of the duties of the Vaishyas was transferred to those who were late to realise their mistakes or under serious deprivation caused because of numerous factors came to offer their services to the devas in exchange of food, or agreed to use their skills to meet their requirements. They were called the Shudras. This is what our traditional history as recorded in Puranic accounts- those who came repenting- shudatah – were called the Shudras. The Purush Sukta, mentions in its own style the birth of all the Varnas from Brahm, but it was the original unit called, as we have seen, by many names- Brahmana, Deva, Sura, and later Aryans – and that Brahm was personification of the same unit with thousands of feet, and thousands heads and thousands eyes, and only this could and did self divid itself, after the productive obligations, i.e. Yajna.

Herein lies the secret how the two were freed from productive labour. Why the Brahmanas called themselves bhudeva, bhusura, and intermediary between humans and the gods, and why they were called fire incarnate.