[INDOLOGY] Sūta's real social status

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

Dear Indologists,

I just read the paper “  Of Śūdras, Sūtas, and Ślokas: Why is the Mahābhārata Preeminently in the Anuṣṭubh Metre?” by Arvind Sharma (Indo-Iranian Journal 43: 225-278, 2000). That raised a question regarding the real social status of Sūtas, the bards, in the early Indo-Aryan society. How can one rely on texts like the Dharmaśāstras or the Mahābhārata, which might not be without a vested interest in promoting their own social agenda? If there are early epigraphic data that deal with actual ground realities, that might be helpful. But, given the date of the advent of writing in north India, we may not have that possibility. Has anybody analyzed the real social status of the bards in the early Iranian society?

Thanks in advance

Regards,

Palaniappan

 

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