sUta

[K S Arjunwadkar]

Priority:               NORMAL
Date sent:              Sun, 26 Sep 1999 16:10:19 -0400
Send reply to:          Indology <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
From:                   Patricia Meredith Greer <pmg6s at CMS.MAIL.VIRGINIA.EDU>
Subject:                sUta
To:                     INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK

> Dear Indologists,
>
> In the MBh,  "sUta" refers both to a bard and to a
> charioteer of mixed caste.  How are these two functions
> associated -- or are they?  Has anyone done work on this?
> Thanks for any help you can give here!
>
> Patricia Greer
>
> ________________________________
> Patricia M. Greer
> Department of Religious Studies
> University of Virginia

I do not have my reference books at hand at the moment. But
relying on my memory I can say that sUta is basically a mixed
caste, an issue of a BrAhmana mother and a kSatriya father, (see
ManusmRti for details), traditionally employed as a charioteer.
Being close to royal families for generations in this capacity, a
sUta was also in command of the history of the royal families
which qualified him as a bard. The first narrator/propagator of the
great epic MahAbhArata of VyAsa was a sUta. Sauti, his son,
carried on his profession when SUta was slain by BalarAma in a fit
of anger.
There may be more aspects to this issue for which I may advise
you to explore the monumental History of DharmazAstra by
Mm P. V. Kane published by the Bhandarkar Ori. Research Inst.,
Pune.

KSA <arjunwadkar at mcmail.com>