sUta

[Yaroslav V. Vassilkov]

Dear Ms Greer,
        I hope you will forgive me for citing the draft text of my own paper
read at the Second Dubrovnik International Conference on Sanskrit Epics and
PurANas this August. The title of the paper is "Indian tIrthas as a possible
environment of the MahAbhArata's <brahmanization> and transition from fluidity
to a fixed form". This is how I see the historical evolution of the sUta's
status (at least it seems to me to be the best possible explanation of the
whole epic database bearing on the sUtas' position):

"Original epic performer, ancient sUta, was, as we know, a king's charioter
(at the same time his personal cook, probably also bodyguard and physician
when needed). He was well versed in the kSatriyan legendary lore, warriors'
code of honour, customs and rules, royal genealogies and epic tales of the
past - in the battle epizodes we see sometimes that a royal warrior in the
middle of battle asks his sUta for an advice or a sUta himself, when he sees
that his chariot fighter fails to fulfill his duty, preaches to him a sermon
on kSatriyan svadharma, referring to famous precedents in legendary past
(see, e.g. III.19.15-16; 23.20-25; 190.46; V.8.29-30; VIII.18.52-54; 28.5-8).
By the way, it should not be forgotten that KRSNa, by preaching to Arjuna the
sermon of the BhG on the field of battle, simply fulfills his sUta's duty.
A sUta was also a witness to a noble warrior's great deeds (that's why so
often a warrior before attacking the enemy addresses his sUta with such words
as: "Witness now the might of my arms.." etc.) - and he also had to be ready
at any moment to describe these glorious deeds of his patron in an improvised
panegiric. This function of the sUta is probably personified in the image of
Samjaya. It should be stressed that this suta of the old type could sing
anywhere and anytime at his patron's (king's or noble warrior's) orders.
Quite different was the situation with the performance of the epic poetry at
the later period. The epic songs were now sung on the roads of pilgrimage and
the Mbh as a whole was being performed at a particular period of time -
during four months of the rainy season (Bomb. ed. I.62.32; XVIII.6.22ff.)......
....The symbiotic co-existence of sUtas and Brahmans at the tIrthas led to
the gradual change in the social image and status of the epic "singers of
tales". There appeared some transitory types of the epic performers: first,
besides the early kSatriya sUta whose reputation in the eyes of the late epic
singers was fairly low, there appeared a new type - sUta paurANika, whom the
late epic calls *munikalpa* 'equal to the ascetics' (I.57.82); the difference
between the two is evident, by the way, in the ArthazAstra 3.60.30-31, where
the ancient sUta's origin is traced to a pratiloma  marriage of a kSatriya
with a brahmana woman; and such an origin, in spite of a supposed brahman
connection, is considered to be low. But - the text goes on - there is
another sUta - the paurANika, whose status is even higher than that of both
kSatriyas and brahmans. Another transitory type of the epic performers may be
seen in the BhArgavas as a Brahman gotra standing particularly close to
warriors and kings (as specialists and consultants in black magic, teachers
of the art of war etc.) and, on the other hand, having a strong connection
with some important tIrthas, as, e.g., RAmahrAdAH, the great tIrtha on
KurukSetra"....
   Hope it may help.
        All the best
                                        Yaroslav Vassilkov