An Inquiry into the Social Structures of the Indo Aryan Community

n view of the volume of literature already written about the caste-system, it would seem that yet another entry should ha been unnecessary. Yet it was precisely because of this mighty flood of titles that the present investigation was undertaken. Not only were there many conflicting definitions of the term caste itself; there were, also, many conflicting opinions as to the antiquity of the caste-system. In many cases, the latter problem wa was functionally related to the former. A definition of caste had been formulated on the basis of contemporary social practice. Then, this definition was projected backwards into the dim reaches of historical antiquity by means of selectively picking over the Indo-Aryan literature to find passages which lent support to the contemporary definition. Prestol Caste Through the Ages . Aside from the ethical considerations, or, rather, lack of them, involved in such a modus operandi, the results shed little light upon the social structure of ancient India. The Indo-Aryan literature contained many passages which, when taken out of conto the contemporary definition. Prestol Caste Through the Ages . Aside from the ethical considerations, or, rather, lack of them, involved in such a modus operandi, the results shed little light upon the social structure of ancient India. The Indo-Aryan literature contained many passages which, when taken out of context, lent support to practically any proposition an investigator might have wished to have uphold. Therefore, the intent of this inquiry was to determine the structure of the Indo-Aryan society from its literature, without pre-conceived opinions as to the existence of any particular social institutio