And it so happened that several visitors to VO at once turned to me with a request to tell about the armor and weapons of Indian warriors of past eras. It turned out that there is enough information for this. And not even for one material. And besides, a number of photographs of original Indian not only from European, but, in fact, from Indian museums, and although they are not of high quality, it will undoubtedly be interesting to look at them. Well, then everything will be like this:

"With chariots and elephants and horsemen and many ships"
(First Maccabees 1:17)

“There are no diamonds in stone caves, no pearls in the midday sea...” – this was the opinion of Europeans about the riches of India for many hundreds of years. However, the main wealth of India was not at all precious stones, but iron! Even in the time of Alexander the Great, Indian steel was valued very highly and was used to produce only the best weapons. Bukhara and Damascus were famous centers of arms production in the medieval East, but... they got the metal for it from India. It was the ancient Indians who mastered the secret of the production of damask steel, known in Europe as Damascus. And they also managed to tame and use elephants in battles, and in the same way as their horses, they dressed them in armor made of chain mail and metal plates!

War elephant. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

India produced several grades of steel of varying quality. Steel was used to manufacture various types of weapons, which were then exported not only to the markets of the East, but also to Europe. Many types of weapons were unique to this country and were not used anywhere else besides it. If they were bought, they were considered as a curiosity. Very dangerous in skillful hands was the chakra - a flat throwing disc, used in India until the middle of the 19th century. The outer edge of the disk was razor-sharp, while the edges of its inner hole were blunt. When throwing, the chakra was intensively spun around the index finger and thrown at the target with all its might. After that, the chakra flew with such force that at a distance of 20–30 m it could cut a green bamboo trunk 2 cm thick. Sikh warriors wore several chakras on their turbans at once, which, in addition, protected them from above from a saber strike. Damascus chakras were often decorated with a gold notch and religious inscriptions were made on them.

Chakra. Indian throwing ring. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

In addition to ordinary daggers, the Indians very widely used kutar - a dagger with a handle perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. Above and below, she had two parallel plates, ensuring the correct position of the weapon and at the same time protecting the hand from someone else's blow. Sometimes a third wide plate was also used, which covered the back of the hand. The handle was held in a fist, and the blade was like an extension of the hand, so that the blow here was directed by the stronger muscles of the forearm, and not the wrist. It turned out that the blade was a continuation of the hand itself, thanks to which it was possible to strike from various positions, not only standing, but even lying prone. Kutars had both two and three blades (the latter could stick out in different directions!), have sliding and curved blades - for every taste!

Kutar with a guard to protect the hand of the XVI century. Weight 629.4 g. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

In India, no matter what museum you go to, kutars are everywhere!

A very original weapon was a pair of antelope horns, which had steel tips and were connected on one handle along with a guard to protect the hand, with points in different directions. Nepal was the birthplace of the specific shape of the kukri knife. It was originally used to cut its way through the jungle, but then found its way into the arsenal of the Nepalese Gurkha warriors.

Not far from India, on the island of Java, another original blade was born - kris. It is believed that the first kris were made in Java by a legendary warrior named Juan Tuaha back in the 14th century. Later, when the Muslims invaded Java and began to stubbornly spread Islam there, they also became acquainted with this weapon. Appreciating these unusual daggers, the invaders began to use them themselves.

To whom and why could in the XVIII century. need a sword like this? (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

The blades of the first kris were short (15–25 cm), straight and thin, and entirely made of meteoric iron. Subsequently, they were somewhat lengthened and made wavy (flame-shaped), which facilitated the penetration of weapons between the bones and tendons. The number of waves varied (from 3 to 25) but was always odd. Each set of convolutions had its own meaning, for example, three waves implied fire, five were associated with the five elements, and the absence of bends expressed the idea of ​​unity and concentration of spiritual energy.

Malay kris. (Museum in Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

The blade, made of an alloy of iron and meteoric nickel, consisted of several repeatedly forged layers of steel. Of particular value to the weapon was the moire-like pattern on its surface (pamor), formed during the treatment of the item with vegetable acids, so that the grains of stable nickel stood out clearly against the background of deeply etched iron.

The double-edged blade had a sharp asymmetric extension near the guard (ganja), often decorated with a carved ornament or a patterned notch. The handle of the kris was made of wood, horn, ivory, silver or gold and was carved, with a more or less sharp bend at the end. A characteristic feature of the kris was that its handle was not fixed and easily turned on the shank.

When capturing the weapon, the bend of the handle was placed on the little finger side of the palm, and the upper part of the guard covered the root of the index finger, the tip of which, together with the tip of the thumb, squeezed the base of the blade near the bottom of the ganja. The tactic of using the kris involved a quick thrust and pull. As for the "poisoned" krises, they were prepared quite simply. They took dried dope seeds, opium, mercury and white arsenic, thoroughly mixed everything and crushed it in a mortar, after which the blade was covered with this composition.

Gradually, the length of the kris began to reach 100 cm, so that in fact it was no longer a dagger, but a sword. In total, in Southeast Asia, up to the present time, there are more than 100 varieties of this type of weapon.

Khanda sword is on the right.

In general, the edged weapons of India and the lands close to it were extremely diverse. Like many other peoples of Eurasia, the national weapon of the Hindus was a straight sword - the handa. But they also used their own types of sabers, which were distinguished by a relatively small curvature of the wide blade, starting from the very base of the blade. Excellent masters of forging, the Indians could make blades that had a slot on the blade, and pearls were inserted into it, which rolled freely in it and did not fall out! One can imagine the impression that they made, rolling into the slots, on an almost black blade made of Indian damask steel. No less rich and pretentious were the hilts of Indian sabers. Moreover, unlike the Turkish and Persian ones, they had a bowl-shaped guard to protect the hand. Interestingly, the presence of a guard was also characteristic of other types of Indian weapons, including even such traditional ones as a mace and a mace.

Shamshir - Iranian-Indian saber, early 19th century. from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Length 98.43 cm. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

Very curious were Indian chain mail with a set of steel plates in front and behind, as well as helmets, which in India in the 16th-18th centuries. they were often made from separate segmental plates connected by chain mail weaving. Chain mail, judging by the miniatures that have come down to us, were both long and short sleeves to the elbow. In this case, they were very often supplemented with bracers and elbow pads, often covering the entire hand.

Bakhterets XVII century. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

Equestrian warriors often wore elegant bright robes over chain mail, many of which had gilded steel discs on their chests as additional protection. Knee pads, gaiters and greaves (mail or in the form of solid forged metal plates) were used to protect the legs. However, in India, metal protective shoes (as in other countries of the East), unlike the protective shoes of European knights, have not received distribution.

Indian shield (dhal) XIX century. from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. (Royal Ontario Museum, Canada)

Indian shield (dhal) from Rajasthan, 18th century. Made of rhinoceros skin and decorated with rock crystal umbos. (Royal Ontario Museum, Canada)

It turns out that in India, as well as in all other places, until the very 18th century, the armament of heavily armed cavalry was purely knightly, although again not as heavy as it was in Europe until the 16th century. Horse armor was also widely used here, or at least cloth blankets, which in this case were supplemented by a metal mask.

Kichin horse shells were usually made of leather and covered with fabric, or they were lamellar or lamenar shells made of metal plates. As for horse armor, in India, despite the heat, they were popular until the 17th century. In any case, from the memoirs of Afanasy Nikitin and some other travelers, one can understand that they saw the cavalry there "entirely dressed in armor", and the horse masks on the horses were trimmed with silver, and "for the majority they were gilded", and the blankets were sewn from multi-colored silk, velveteen, satin and "fabrics from Damascus".

Armor from India XVIII - XIX centuries. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

The elaborate oriental bow was also well known in India. But due to the peculiarities of the Indian climate - very humid and hot - such a bow was not widely used. Having excellent damask steel, the Indians made small bows from it, suitable for horsemen, and bows for infantrymen were made of bamboo in the manner of solid wood bows of English shooters. Indian infantry of the 16th-17th centuries. already quite widely used long-barreled matchlock muskets equipped with bipods for ease of shooting, but they were constantly in short supply, since it was extremely difficult to produce them in large quantities in handicraft production.

Indian bow and arrow.

In addition, the use of firearms did not correspond very well to the moral and ethical views of the Hindus. So, in one of the Sanskrit texts of that time it was said: "The commander should not use any craftiness (meanness) in the war, should not use poisoned arrows, nor fire weapons large or small, nor any kind of fire-piercing devices."

A feature of Indian percussion weapons was the presence of guards even on six-pointers and maces.

As for how knightly was the position of the Indian warriors who served in the heavily armed cavalry, everything here was exactly the same as in other regions of Eurasia. For the caste of warriors, land allotments were allocated to the amars, which were given for life, subject to the provision of a certain number of well-armed warriors. In turn, these large land plots were transferred by their owners in parts to their vassals, who received income from the peasants. The actual independence of the great princes led to endless strife between them, which was constantly used by foreign conquerors. Only one of them, the Samanid ruler Mukhmud Ghaznevi, in one of his campaigns in northern India captured 57 thousand slaves and 350 war elephants, not counting gold, precious stones and other booty.

Armor for rider and horse. Iran, India. About 1450 - 1550. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

In 1389, India suffered greatly from the invasion of Tamerlane, who captured and plundered Delhi, and took many of its inhabitants into captivity.

The swords are straight, but with a slightly curved blade at the end. For medieval India, this is normal!

But the most severe blow to the power of the Delhi sultans was inflicted by their own vassals, who, due to their dissatisfaction with the rule of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, in 1525 called on the ruler of Kabul, Sultan Babur, to help.

A descendant of Tamerlane and an experienced commander himself, Babur defeated Ibrahim Shah and seized his throne. The decisive battle between them took place at Panipat on April 21, 1526. Despite the numerical superiority of the Delhi army, which also had 100 war elephants, Babur won a complete victory thanks to the skillful use of his numerous artillery. Moreover, to protect the cannons and musketeers, Babur skillfully used fortifications from wagons, which were tied with belts for this.

As befits a faithful Muslim, Babur attributed his successes to the will of Allah: “As I hoped,” he wrote in his notes “Babur-name”, “the great Lord did not make us suffer and endure in vain and helped us overcome a strong enemy and conquer such vast state like Hindustan.

Helmet 1700 (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

Since Babur came to India from the territory then called Mogolistan, and even considered himself a descendant of Genghis Khan, the Hindus began to call him and everyone who came with him the Mughals, and his state - the power of the Great Moguls.

The cavalry, as before, remained the main striking force of the Mughal army, therefore, in order to stop the self-will of the feudal lords, who did not want to put up the prescribed number of horse warriors and appropriate the salary due to them, one of the rulers introduced mandatory branding of horses. Now the troops brought to the review were required to have horses with the brand of each sovereign prince.

After 30 years, the Indians rebelled, and again in the second battle of Panipat on November 5, 1556, their army, numbering 100,000 people and 1,500 war elephants, was defeated by the 20,000-strong army of Sultan Akbar. The outcome of the battle this time was decided by the superiority of the Mughals in artillery. Under the fire of cannons, the elephants attacking the Mughals took flight and crushed the ranks of the Indian troops, which led them to a complete defeat.

18th century padded fabric helmet Weight 598, 2 g. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

It was artillery that dominated the battlefields in the internecine wars of pretenders to the throne in the Mughal Empire, which the Indian historian Sarkar described as "a dispute between the sword and gunpowder." And the French doctor Bernier (1625-1688), who spent 12 years in India, wrote in his book “The last political upheavals in the state of the Great Mogul”: “He (Aurangzeb) ordered all the cannons to be lined up in the front row, linking them one to the other with chains, to block the path of the cavalry. Behind the cannons, he built a large number of light camels, tying small cannons in front of them the size of a double musket ... so that a person sitting on the back of a camel could load and discharge these cannons without descending to the ground ... ".

Portrait of Shah Aurangzeb on horseback. Around 1650 (San Diego Museum of Art).

A few pages later, Bernier detailed the organization of the then Indian artillery: “Artillery is divided into two kinds. The first is large or heavy artillery, the second is light, or, as they call it, stirrups. As for heavy artillery, I recall that ... this artillery consisted of 70 cannons, mostly cast iron ... mostly cast, and some of them are so heavy that it takes 20 pairs of bulls to drag them, and some to attach elephants to so that they help the bulls by pushing and pulling the wheels of the carts with their trunks and heads when the cannons get stuck or when they have to climb a steep mountain ...

The siege of Rathambor fortress. Akbarname. OK. 1590 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London).

The stirrup artillery, which seemed ... very elegant and well trained, consisted of 50 or 60 small bronze field guns, each placed on a small cart, well made and well painted, with a chest in front and behind for shells; she was drawn by two fine horses; the coachman drove her like a carriage; it was decorated with small red ribbons, and each had a third horse, which was led by the reins by the gunner's coachman's assistant ... ". "The artillery triumphed over the cavalry here," summed up Bernier.

Yushman. India 1632 - 1633 Weight 10.7 kg. (Metropolitan Museum, New York)

Thus, it turns out such a curious moment as the role of the animals themselves in the battle and the specificity of their combat use associated with it. It is understandable why the horse has become the main fighting animal of man: it is strong enough to carry a heavily armed horseman, and with appropriate training can help him very well in battle. By the way, it was the Indians who were the first to start training horses in the East. The earliest written information on the care and training of horses was left to us by Kikkuli, the equestrian of the Hittite king, around 1400 BC. e. The surviving texts are written in Hittite script and Babylonian cuneiform on clay tablets and contain detailed instructions on how to tame horses, care for them and harness them to chariots. However, some specific terms and numerical data indicate that many of this information in the Kikkuli treatise was borrowed by the Hittites from the Hindus.

Periodization of the state in ancient India. One of the most ancient civilizations in the world developed over four thousand years ago in the Indus Valley. The capitals of political associations already in the III millennium BC. became Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro - - large cities, centers of handicraft production and trade. Reliable information about the class structure and political organization of society of that time has not reached us, however, it is known that the decomposition of the primitive communal system took place here, and the social stratification of the population began. By the middle of the II millennium BC. the decline of the Harappan civilization began, which ended with the arrival of the Indo-Aryan tribes.

The period of development of Ancient India from the middle of the II millennium BC. until the first half of the 1st millennium BC. was named Vedic. This period was marked by the formation of a class society and the state - - major achievements in the field of production led to the stratification of society, to the strengthening of social inequality.

The leadership of the tribe was carried out by a military leader - - rajah, initially appointed by the assembly of the tribe. With the strengthening of social inequality, he gradually rose above the tribe, subordinating the organs of tribal government. Over time, the position of Raja becomes hereditary.

With the strengthening of the power of the raja, the role of the people's assemblies was diminished: gradually the assemblies that appointed the raja lost their former role and became an assembly of the nobility, close to the raja.

The organs of the tribal administration are gradually developing into state bodies. The slave-owning nobility occupied the highest positions in the state administration. The tribal squad turns into a permanent army. The people are subject to taxes, which are paid to the king through special officials.

Thus, in the Vedic period, on the basis of tribal groups, public education, taking the form of monarchies or republics. For the most part, their territories were small.

In ancient India, as in other early class civilizations, customs and religious taboos appeared much earlier than law. As elsewhere, religion has long been the exclusive means of enforcing the rules of human behavior. Taboo among the Aryans had absolute authority, even involuntary violation of the ban often led to suicide. So great was the feeling of guilt before the deity.

The role of ideology and social psychology in regulating the behavior of the individual in ancient India was so significant that here for a long time the interests of the ruling class did not require the norms of customary law to be enshrined in law, their systematization. The religion of this people, as a coherent system of moral norms and customs, developed much earlier than the law was established. The customs consecrated by religion gradually transformed into legal customs. All the ancient sources of Indian law known to us are a record of the rules of human behavior - dharma. In this concept, the ancient Hindus sometimes invested much more meaning than just “law”. The fulfillment of dharma was ensured not only by legal sanctions, but also by religious and moral ones. A person obedient to dharma deserved praise, joy in earthly and afterlife. Dharma was obligatory for everyone, but there were norms of behavior for estates, varnas, and even for each period of a person's life.

The purpose of dharma as a set of religious and ethical norms of Hindu behavior is to show him the best way to achieve a great and sublime goal, convince him of the meaning of being and help him gain “true” and “absolute freedom”.

The observance of dharma was controlled by priests and royal officials, since dharma is not only a set of rules that is mandatory for every inhabitant of the empire, but also a rule of law that has the force of law. In the laws of Manu, in the list of duties of the king, one of the main places is given to the observance of dharma by subjects.

Human behavior, his actions had to comply with three types of social norms: Dharmashastra, Arthashastra, laws and acts of rulers. They had a religious basis, especially the first two. Blood feud in a class society was prohibited, but law and morality secured the inviolability of private property, the privileges of the nobility, the "noble" estates. But already in the Arthashastra, the priority of royal regulations and prescriptions is emphasized. At the first stage, there is, as it were, a parallel coexistence of the customs of the tribal system, which often had a religious shell, and the social norms created by the ruling class.

In another monument - - Apastamba, the position on the class nature of law is quite definitely fixed. “That is a virtue that wise people from the twice-born castes praise, and what they condemn is a sin.” Apastamba is rightly considered a legal monument of ancient India, although the actual rules of law, legal regulations do not occupy the main place there. It clearly sees the protection of the interests of the ruling class, fixes the views of the top clergy, Brahmins and partly Buddhists, and also reflects the practice of public administration.

The main sources of information about the law, laws, and jurisprudence of Ancient India are the religious and normative collections of Arthashastra, the laws of Manu (II century BC), the authorship of which is attributed by legend to the progenitor of people.

After the collapse of the Mauryan empire, there was no centralized power, the people suffered from rebellions, lawlessness, robbery and violence. Those in power were in danger. According to legend, the supreme god Brahma sent Manu to the earth in order to establish order and law there. This story is found in the Mahabharata. Therefore, Manu is of divine origin. However, Buddhists and Jains stubbornly denied the sacred nature of the power of the rulers of India.

AT Magadho-Maurian era (IV-II centuries BC) the foundations of many state institutions were laid, which were developed in subsequent periods. The era is so named because the largest and most powerful state that arose in the Vedic period was Magadha, and this state reached its peak in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC. under the dynasty Mauryan, which united under its rule almost the entire territory of Hindustan. This historical period is characterized by the strengthening of monarchical power, as well as the decline in the role of tribal government institutions.

Although the creation of a united Indian state contributed to the communication of various peoples, the interaction of their cultures, and the erasure of narrow tribal boundaries, the Mauryan empire still consisted of tribes and peoples at different stages of development. Therefore, the rulers of the dynasty failed to maintain the unity of the state - - in the II century. BC. India, despite a strong army and a strong government apparatus, broke up into many autonomous state entities.

Social system. The decomposition of the primitive communal system and the development of social and property inequality led to the emergence of estates - - varn. All the free began to be divided into groups that were not equal in their social status, rights and duties.

With the formation of the slave-owning state, the division of all free people into four varnas was declared the eternally existing order and consecrated by religion. In accordance with the Laws of Manu, the following varnas existed:

· Brahmins- - members of priestly families;

· kshatriyas- - military and secular aristocracy;

· vaishyas(vaishii) - - personally free full-fledged community members;

· sudras- - lower varna, incomplete members of the community.

The way of life of each varna was formulated in special laws - - dharmah. The competence of the first two varnas included public administration in the broadest sense. Vaishyas were instructed to engage in agriculture, cattle breeding, crafts and trade. Shudras were supposed to be in the service of the three highest varnas.

Over time, the estates became more and more closed. This was facilitated by:

marriages between representatives of the same varna-i.e. strict endogamy;

a certain, hereditarily fixed profession;

worship of the same gods.

The transition from one varna to another was strictly forbidden. The possibility of mixed marriages was limited; different material compensation was established for the murder of a person, depending on his belonging to a certain varna: for the misconduct of a member of a higher varna in relation to a member of a lower one, a milder punishment was supposed and vice versa. Subsequently, with the transformation of free community members into dependent peasants, the Vaishyas began to approach the Shudras in importance, and the first two varnas finally separated themselves from the two lower ones. With the beginning of the 1st millennium of a new era, varnas are smoothly transformed into castes- professionally closed corporations.

The most important component of the social, social and economic system in the Mauryan period, as elsewhere in the Ancient East, was community, because it united a significant part of the population - - free farmers. The most common form of community was rural, although in some places a primitive generic also existed.

The community retained the features of a single team and the old communal traditions - free residents at meetings resolved various management issues. Over time, the heads of the village became more and more important. At first, the head of the community was elected at a meeting of community members, then approved by the state authorities, gradually turning into its representative. The process of property division was observed in the community:

The top, exploiting slaves and hired workers;

community members who themselves worked on their plots;

· ruined community members who were deprived of land and tools and were forced to work as tenants.

Village artisans also occupied various positions:

artisans who worked independently and had their own workshops;

craftsmen who were hired for a fee.

Slavery Ancient India is distinguished by its underdevelopment and extreme patriarchy- - along with slave-owning relations, remnants of the primitive communal system continue to be preserved: Indian slaves could have families, property, the right to inherit, the right to own gifts received. A free person, becoming a slave, did not lose his family, tribal and varna ties.

Slave labor did not play a significant role in the economy of ancient India. In the law of the ancient Indian state, there is no clear opposition between free and slaves, because, although this state was a slave-owning state, the varnas replaced estates typical of the Ancient East. Nevertheless, the Laws of Manu indicate the following classes of slaves:

captured under the banner (prisoners of war);

slaves born in the master's house;

purchased;

donated;

inherited;

slaves by force of punishment.

A characteristic and distinctive feature of ancient Indian slavery was the presence of legislation aimed at limiting the arbitrariness of the owner in relation to slaves.

State device. The Magadh-Maurian era is characterized by strengthening of monarchical power and the decline of the role of tribal government institutions .

was the head of state tsar. During the transfer of power, the principle of inheritance was strictly observed - - even during his lifetime, the king appointed one of his sons as heir to the throne. The king was at the head state apparatus and possessed legislature- - was the head of the fiscal administration, the supreme judge, issued regulations, appointed major government officials. An important place in the court was occupied by the royal priest, who belonged to an influential Brahmin family.

Under the king there were councils:

· parishad- - council of royal dignitaries;

· secret council;

· raja sabha, or royal advice.

In the case of extremely urgent matters, the members of the parishad gathered together with members of the secret council, which consisted of especially trusted persons. During the Mauryan era parishad acquired the functions of a political council, checking the entire system of government and carrying out the orders of the king. It consisted of military and priestly nobility, who sought to preserve their privileges and limit the absolute power of the ruler. In the early periods, the parishad was a broader and more democratic body of power, exerting a significant influence on the raja and his policies. But gradually his role was reduced to advisory functions under the king. It has undergone similar transformations sabha- - previously a broad assembly of the nobility and representatives of the urban and rural population. By the Mauryan era, the composition of the sabha becomes much narrower, it also acquires the character of a royal council - a raja sabha. With a certain degree of conventionality, this is shown in Scheme 6.

AT Mauryan era the state had the following administrative-territorial division:

The main provinces

regular provinces (janapadas);

Regions (Pradesh);

District (akhale);

villages.

Main provinces there were four, and they enjoyed a special status, including great autonomy. They were ruled by princes. To check the actions of local officials by the princes, there was an institute of special inspectors.

In charge of janapad there were large state officials - rajuks. In the main cities constituencies there were offices. Village was the lowest unit of provincial government.

There were two systems in ancient India ships:

royal;

Intra-communal (varna, later caste).

The highest court was royal court, in which the king himself participated, along with brahmins and advisers, or a judicial board (sabha) replacing him, consisting of a brahmin appointed by the king and three judges. The king, as the supreme judge, had the right to annually announce amnesties.

A brahmin, in extreme cases a kshatriya or a vaishy, ​​could interpret the norms of law in court. Starting with ten villages, in all administrative units a judicial board of three judicial ranks was to be appointed. In addition, criminal cases were heard by special judges.

The fight against crime in the cities was carried out by the city authorities. Most of the cases were considered by community varna (caste) courts.

Wars and robbery of other peoples were considered as one of the main sources of state prosperity. Concerning army played a very important role in ancient India. The king was considered the commander-in-chief of the army. Most of the stolen property passed to the king, the rest was to be divided among the soldiers.

The army was recruited from the following sources:

· hereditary warriors - - kshatriyas;

mercenaries;

· warriors supplied by dependent allies, vassals.

The army also carried out the functions of maintaining public order. She had to stand up for the protection of state integrity.

Laws of Manu (Manava dharmashastra) are the so-called dharmashastroy- - a collection of norms, rules (dharmas) that determined the behavior of Indians in their daily lives. These norms were religious character and were rather philosophical and ethical, than legal. General concept rights as a set of independent norms regulating social relations did not exist in Ancient India.

The laws of Manu are a set of ethical and religious prescriptions, rules, fixed traditions. There is no doubt that in the systematization of the norms of ethics and law, the main role was played by persons who perfectly knew religious dogmas and jurisprudence. Only learned Brahmins who had a high theoretical level of knowledge and experience in state activity could be such.

In form, the laws of Manu are a collection of sacred texts, norms of customary law; it also contains a list of the rights and duties of the king, his advisers, judges and officials of various ranks. The legislator introduced into this greatest work many legal ideas of the Rig Veda, Mahabharata, Arthashastra, as well as the experience of public administration before and after the Mauryan dynasty. And, finally, it reflects the views of famous philosophers, theologians, prominent statesmen on law, governance, ethics and the meaning of human life.

The Brahmins sought to limit the autocracy of the king. The laws of Manu repeatedly repeat the idea that his first duty is to protect, protect his subjects, provide conditions for the fulfillment of dharmas by people. In the laws of Manu, there is no indication of the right of the king to legislate, which is very significant. Moreover, the tradition warns the king about heavy punishments for non-compliance with the main duties, up to the right of subjects to oppose the objectionable ruler.

There are 12 chapters in the Laws of Manu, which consist of 2685 articles written in the form of couplets (slokas). The articles contained in chapters VIII and IX, partly in III and XII, have a predominantly legal content. The other chapters mainly clarify and reinforce the existing varn (caste) arrangement.

According to the Laws of Manu, there were the following ways of ownership:

· inheritance;

receiving in the form of a gift or find;

· purchase;

the conquest

usury;

the execution of the work;

receiving alms;

Longevity of ownership (10 years).

It was possible to acquire a thing only from the owner. It was forbidden to prove the right of ownership by reference to good faith possession. If a stolen item was found in a bona fide purchaser, it was returned to the former owner. Already at the time of the creation of the Laws of Manu in India, the difference between "property" and "possession" was understood, paying considerable attention to the protection of personal property, primarily land ownership. The lands were subdivided into royal lands, communal lands and lands of individuals. The Laws of Manu also protect movable property, mentioning slaves, cattle, implements as the most significant of this category.

The Laws of Manu deal with legal obligations. Basically, the Laws talk about obligations from contracts. The following types are considered contracts:

· loan agreement;

a labor contract;

land lease agreement

· contract of sale;

donation agreement.

The most detailed description loan agreement. The law establishes the inviolability and continuity of debt obligations. If the debtor could not pay the debt on time, he was obliged to work it off. It was allowed to return the debt with the help of force, cunning, coercion. In the event of the death of the debtor, the debt could be transferred to the son and other relatives of the deceased.

Due to the employment of free laborers (karma-karas), the Laws of Manu place great emphasis on labor contract. The terms of the contract depended on the employers. Failure to comply with the contract entailed a fine, and the perpetrator was not paid a salary. If the non-fulfillment of work was due to illness and the hired person, having recovered, did the work, he could receive a salary.

Land lease agreement was developed in ancient India due to the penetration of the process of property differentiation into the community - the ruined community members were forced to rent the land.

Contract of sale in accordance with the Laws of Manu, it had to be performed in the presence of witnesses and was considered valid only in this case. Only the owner of the thing could act as a seller. The law established certain requirements for the subject of the contract and forbade the sale of goods of poor quality, insufficient in weight, etc. The transaction could be terminated without any valid reasons, but no later than within 10 days after the purchase and sale.

The Laws of Manu also deal with liability for harm. Damage to property, as well as damage caused by the movement of the wagon through the city, were indicated as the basis for the emergence of such an obligation. The culprit had to compensate for the damage caused and pay a fine to the king.

In ancient India marriage was a property transaction, as a result of which the husband bought his wife, and she became his property. The head of the family was a man. The laws of Manu required a wife to honor her husband as a god, even if he was "devoid of virtue." A woman was completely dependent on her husband and sons - - in childhood she was supposed to be under the authority of her father, in her youth - her husband, after the death of her husband - - under the authority of her sons. For infidelity, she was subjected to severe punishment up to the death penalty.

In accordance with the varna system, the wife had to belong to the same varna as the husband. In exceptional cases, men were allowed to marry women from a lower varna, but a woman from a higher varna was forbidden to marry a man from a lower varna. Being the head of the family, the husband or father managed all its property, although formally the property of the family was considered common.

Ancient Indian law did not know testamentary succession- - only legal succession: property after the death of the parents was either divided between the sons, or remained with the eldest son, who became a kind of guardian of the younger brothers who remained in the house. Daughters were excluded from inheritance, but the brothers had to give them one-quarter of their share for dowry.

The Laws of Manu know the following criminal law categories:

forms of guilt

relapse;

complicity;

The dependence of the severity of the crime on the belonging of the victim/perpetrator to a certain varna.

This indicates a relatively high level of development of the criminal law industry. Nevertheless, the vestiges of antiquity have retained the following concepts:

· the principle of talion ("equal for equal");

Ordeals (court of the gods);

· the principle of collective responsibility of the community for a crime committed on its territory, if the offender is unknown.

Types of crimes allocated by the laws of Manu:

state crimes;

crimes against property;

crimes against the person;

crimes that infringe on family relationships.

In the first place are state - service to the enemies of the king, breaking the city wall or city gates.

The Laws of Manu are further described in detail crimes against property and against personalities. Among property crimes, laws single out theft as a secret theft of property, delimiting it from robbery committed in the presence of the victim. If the theft was associated with the use of violence against the victim, then this was singled out as a separate type of crime (robbery). It was also taken into account whether the thief was caught at the scene of the crime, whether the theft was committed during the day or at night. Harboring a thief and failing to report a seen theft were punished.

To personal violence, The Laws of Manu dealt with murder and bodily injury. The rapist was considered a worse villain than the thief, foul-mouthed, and bodily harmer.

The laws of Manu also know the concept necessary defense: a murder committed in the defense of oneself, the protection of sacrificial gifts, the protection of women and brahmins, was not punished.

Crimes that infringe on family relationships, The laws consider adultery an attack on a woman's honor.

There were many types of punishments, including:

· the death penalty - - in various variants (imprisonment, burning on a red-hot bed or at the stake, drowning, baiting with dogs, etc.);

a Brahmin was supposed to shave his head instead of the death penalty;

self-mutilating punishments (cutting off fingers, hands, feet);

· imprisonment;

fines;

exile.

Differences in management process in criminal and civil cases was not, and the process itself wore mainly competitive nature.

For lawsuits, the laws of Manu call eighteen reasons including non-payment of a debt, mortgage, sale of someone else's, violation of an agreement.

The court was not completely separated from the administration. Cases were dealt with in the order of the varnas. The Supreme Court was ruled by the king with the Brahmins.

Laws regulate in detail the use of testimonies, which served as the main source evidence. The value of the testimony corresponded to the witness' belonging to a certain varna. Interested persons and women could not act as witnesses - the latter could only testify "for" or "against" women.

In the absence of witnesses, the evidence used ordeals various types: test by fire, scales, water, etc.

test questions

What are the earliest Indian civilizations called?

How did the varno-caste system originate and evolve?

· What are "dharmashastras" and which of them are the most famous?

· What rules of law exist in the laws of Manu?

· What is the peculiarity of crimes and punishments in Ancient India?

Political system.

The Mauryan Empire emerged from wars and centralization was based on both power and politics. The empire included a number of semi-autonomous states that retained their customs, traditions, and governing bodies. They only paid tribute and provided military assistance to the central government. Therefore, in the empire there are 2 tendencies - centripetal and separatism, which prevailed and led to the collapse of the state in the 2nd century. BC e. The central government was not strong enough, and a large role was assigned to community self-government.

Religion in India excluded the legislative power of the kings, asserted the inviolability of the rule of law. The dharma of the king is the protection of the subjects, and the tax to the king is the payment for this protection. The king also exercised justice, was considered the guardian of the sick, widows and children, his important function was the organization of public works and irrigation. The king was not considered a god, but was "dear to the gods", that is, royal power was deified, and not a person. The king was influenced by the Brahmins. As elsewhere, the tsar is the head of the administrative apparatus, he has the right to appoint to positions and control their execution.

All officials in the state were divided into central and local. High dignitaries - mantrines constituted the state council mantriparishad, the composition of which was not strictly established, and it could also include, for example, representatives of large cities. Among the highest officials of the state were: the chief tax collector, the chief treasurer and the commander in chief ( senapati). The court priest played an important role ( purohita) and an astrologer. There was a practice of transferring positions by inheritance. The state also operated a network of control, supervisory and inspecting spies, whom the king received at any time of the day.

System local government assumed various administrative units and levels. The highest administrative units were provinces who were ruled by princes. This was followed by districts and 4 types of rural areas. The lowest unit was the rural community - the village ( gram), in whose affairs the state did not interfere and which was a closed little world, remaining almost unchanged for many centuries.

Judicial system consisted of two categories of courts - royal and intra-communal. The highest court was the court of the king together with the Brahmins or his judicial board - sabha. The king had the right to annual amnesties. In all administrative units, starting from 10 villages, there were royal judicial boards of 3 judges.

Army consisted of hereditary warriors, mercenaries and troops supplied by individual associations (guilds, allies, vassals). The army was caste - only kshatriyas could carry weapons. The army also performed the functions of maintaining public order.

Law of Ancient India. Laws of Manu and Arthashastra.

Custom was the oldest source of law in India. With the development of the state, the laws issued by the kings are becoming increasingly important. A distinctive feature of ancient Indian law is the great influence of religion. The oldest Indian collections of laws represented the work of various schools of Brahmins and served as educational guides.

The most famous of these collections is Laws of Manu(the mythical "progenitor of people"). They were compiled over several centuries and were mostly completed by the beginning of our era. The laws of Manu are a voluminous set of religious, ethical and legal norms. The collection is divided into 12 chapters, each of which consists of poems. The main content of the laws of Manu was the norms of behavior and a description of the way of life for representatives of different varnas ( dharma- life path). Along with this, the collection contains norms regulating the organization of state power, as well as norms of civil and criminal legislation.

Another collection was also widely distributed - Arthashastra("Science of Politics"), the compilation of which was attributed to Kautilya, an adviser to King Chandragupta, the founder of the Mauryan Empire. The form of the Arthashastra is a political treatise, but it contains sections on issues of the political system, process, civil and criminal law.

Ownership. Indian law knew 7 ways of property origin: inheritance, gift or find, purchase, conquest, usury, work, alms. There was an institute of limitation of possession (term - 10 years). Land ownership was carefully regulated, which was divided into royal, communal and private. The law forbade interfering in the affairs of the owner.

Law of Obligations been carefully crafted, especially with regard to contracts of employment. In India, indentured employees were common ( karmakars). The sale and purchase was carried out in front of witnesses, and 10 days were provided for terminating the contract.

Family law. At the heart of the patriarchal family. The woman was in a humble position. One of the principles of this position is expressed in Indian sources by the phrase “a woman is never fit for independence”, therefore she must always be under the rule of a man - father, husband or even son. The woman had very limited legal capacity and had almost no property rights. The marriageable age for a man was set at 24 years old, for women from 8 years old.

Criminal law had a high level of development for its time. Crimes against the person and against property are considered in detail. Particular attention is paid to punishments: they are interpreted as a force that rules people and protects them. Punishment should be applied taking into account all circumstances, since unjust punishment "deprives the sky in another world." The types of punishments are varied: the death penalty, prison, exile, a fine. Family crimes were singled out in a special category. Thus, crimes against the family were considered:

conversation with a married woman (punished by a fine);

meeting with a girl from the highest varna (a person of the lower varna was subject to corporal punishment);

connection with the protected Brahmin (vaishya lost his property, kshatriya was subject to a fine of 100 pan);

wife's infidelity (the guilty one was harassed by dogs);

relationship with a married woman (punished depending on belonging to Varna).

Process. In law, 18 grounds for litigation are distinguished. The source of evidence is eyewitness testimony. The value of testimony depended on belonging to the varna. Women could not be witnesses "due to the fickleness of the female mind." Ordeals were used in the process. In India, there were 5 types of ordeals:

trial by weights (the accused were weighed twice, probably before and after interrogation, if it was lighter the second time, they were considered not guilty);

trial by fire (the accused took a red-hot object in his hand and, in the absence of burn marks, was considered innocent);

water test;

poison test;

oath (if after the oath some kind of trouble occurred with the accused, then his guilt was considered proven).

In India in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. e. and in the first centuries of our era, the rules of war were widespread. The Laws of Manu enshrined the position that war is the last resort to resolve disputes when all peaceful options have been exhausted. Hindus singled out reprisals and wars.

The outbreak of war must be preceded ultimatum. Only after the presentation of the ultimatum should the official declaration of war follow. The declaration of war entailed the termination of all diplomatic relations, but did not exclude the exchange of special missions. Treaties concluded before the war lost their legal force and were suspended. Trade with the inhabitants of the belligerents, as well as other forms of intercourse, was regarded as a hostile act. Opponents deprived of legal protection could be captured and killed. Their property could be confiscated and their houses destroyed.

There were numerous restrictions on the conduct of hostilities and the use of weapons. It was considered unacceptable to kill the elderly, children and women, as well as parliamentarians and those who had surrendered. Also, the wounded were not to be killed.

During the conduct of hostilities, temples and other places of worship were not subject to capture and destruction. The guardians of temples and places of worship, as well as the guardians of bridges, wells, etc., also enjoyed immunity.

According to the rules of the Mahabharata, prisoners must not be killed, and the wounded must be set free.

Capturing enemy property during hostilities, it was considered legitimate: part was given to the king, and the other to the one who directly took possession of it.

Espionage was considered legal. But the parliamentarians could not deal with them, otherwise they would lose their immunity.

India has worked out in detail the rules of warfare at sea. Merchant ships belonging to an enemy state could be captured and destroyed. Ships that are on their way to an enemy country or even to a neutral state, but which have enemy cargo on board, were subject to destruction. Enemy cargo on a neutral ship was also destroyed. The exception was neutral cargo on board a neutral ship, addressed to the enemy.

The Hindus used the institute of naval blockade. It was carried out in relation to enemy ports and the coast as a whole. Violation of the blockade, as well as smuggling, were strictly punished (in ancient times, by the destruction of the vessel and cargo, and later by their confiscation). The perpetrators were prosecuted under the laws of the state that captured them.

The war was ending or complete surrender, or the conclusion of a peace treaty. With the entry into force of the peace treaty, the previously concluded treaties were also renewed.

States that did not take part in the war enjoyed the rights of neutral powers. No special declaration was required for neutrality. Its forms were very diverse and flexible. In India, several forms of neutrality were distinguished, but the main ones were the following: an indecisive state; a state that does not take part in hostilities, but exerts pressure on hostile parties; the state helping the weak; a state that supports one of the parties in the form of assistance in negotiations.

In India, mediation and recourse to arbitration were widely used. This is connected with the widespread dissemination of Buddhism and its moral and philosophical foundations. These included demands not to attack neighboring states, to unite efforts in solving peaceful problems, and to wage wars only in case of self-defense.

Changing each other, dynastic states. From ancient. India. Koshala. Magadha. Empire. M auriev State. SUEs and were based on the common basis of Indian society for them. The system of state administration depended little on the change of dynasties and remained traditional. Significant changes began to occur only in the VIII century, when. India was conquered by Muslim Arabs and partly Islam by the Yukans as the most striking example of ancient Indian statehood can be blown. Empire. The Mauryans were in their current heyday during the reign of the emperor. And shocks.

The general socio-economic basis, the features of the ancient Indian state, was the lack of developed property and the free market of the state plays a significant role in economic relations, and this brings it closer to traditional states. East ("Asian mode of production"). The state loma over society and constituted a centralized bureaucratic monarchy, although it is inferior to it in relation to such "lasiks" as. Egypt. Babylon,. China Egypt.. Babylon,. China.

State. The Mauryas were an empire in nature, and in their composition included many peoples, conquered states, principalities. By the nature of power, it was strictly centralized, with a branched state apparatus.

The emperor (raja) rules with an advisory mantriparishad. In addition to parishads, he had a secret council from a narrow circle of trusted persons, sometimes an advisory representative body was convened - a rajasabha (Sabha ha - meeting), which could include, together with dignitaries, electoral from cities and communities. Under the emperor there were seven or eight ministers, one of whom, a brahmin scholar, was an adviser to the king. The most important central institution was the treasury, which was in charge of tax collection and finance. The military council consisted of 30 members, divided into six colleges according to the type of troops. A special institution was the department of publicity. The city council consisted of 30 councilors, also divided into six colleges according to the branches of government. The state apparatus included controllers of the central government and numerous spies.

The provincial government was based on the decimal system. The society (village) was led by an elected head; ten villages. Desyatsky, who received five heaps of land, 100 villages - Sotsky, who took tribute from one village. Tysyatsky received tribute from one city.

Last years of government. Ashoka was marked by the growth of contradictions in his state. He wanted to build a state on the moral foundations of dharma, strictly followed the activities of the administration, regularly conducting audits. The inspectors were instructed to ensure that officials strictly adhered to the norms of dharma, in which he included religious tolerance, although in the last years of his life he gave increasing preference to Buddhism and generously endowed Buddhist temples. Probably, this caused discontent among the supporters of Brahmanism and officials. The power of the emperor weakened. There is information that. Ashoka became a Buddhist monk at the end of his reign. By heirs. Ashoka's empire broke up into a number of separate states, competing with each other.

4 Law of Ancient India

Ancient Indian Laws of the Conference and Brihaspati

Laws. Meetings (naradasmrita) is one of the later dharmashastras. Their compilation is attributed to the Brahmin sage. meeting. Laws. Meetings is a purely legal large collection containing state-legal and criminal guidelines. Unlike the early dharmashastras, Laws. The meetings consider the issue of law not taking into account the religious and ethical prism, but from a purely legal standpoint. Narada departs from the list of specific punishments for each type of crime, preferring local custom, the discretion of the king and judges, pays much attention to loan agreements, marriage and family relations, justice, and management procedures. The meeting recommends that the king not burden his subjects with excessive taxes, "because when the countryside flourishes, the religious merit and the king's treasury increase" in the field of criminal law. Meetings and recommends that kings and judges, when imposing punishment, observe moderation and humility.

Laws. Brihaspati is one of the latest dharmashastras (4th-7th centuries AD). Unlike the early dharmashastras, which had a sacred character. Laws. Brizaspati demanded the use, together with the dharma-ya astras, of "secular" normative collections - shastras. The latter were a "science of politics", focusing on the duties of kings, rulers to maintain public order, to observe the rules of justice, etc. "Judges sitting in royal courts should be aware of the dharmashastra and Arthashastra" - this was one of provisions. Brihaspati. Generally. Laws. Brihaspati reflected the evolution of ancient Indian law from ancient sacralized normative and ethical regulations to a more practical regulation of legal regulation, in which religious morality and "sinfulness" are relegated to the background as a criterion for the criminality of an act, and the state interest comes first as a criterion for the legitimacy of sovereign interests as a criterion of legitimacy.

Arthashastra (literally - the science of benefit) - the oldest Indian treatise on politics and the state, the art of government. According to tradition, it is believed that the treatise was compiled in the 4th century BC during the time of the right avlinnya. Magadhi. Chandragupta. Maurya and his adviser. Kautilya. It is possible that in the first centuries of our era this treatise was revised. Arthashastra is written partly in prose, partly in verse in the form of instructions to the king and is the most important source of information about the social structure of ancient Indian society, the political system, legal institutions, the economy, military organizations, foreign and domestic policy. When evaluating. The Arthashastra must take into account the following: it was written by a Brahmin (Brahmins) who knew and observed customs, laws, rules, traditions well and tried to preserve them, therefore, preserving the traditional order provided them with a privileged position in society. So, instruction and edification. Arthashastra is the "code" of the tradition. India, long established, and in this respect we can trust him as a source of information about life. Ancient. Indie Old India.

The treatise consisted of 15 books and contained instructions on the assimilation of new lands, income and expenses of the royal treasury, trade, spinning and weaving, artificial irrigation, the situation of slaves and hiring any workers.

Arthashastra is not a code and does not have an imperative character, its provisions are rather advice - instructions. These advices of instruction reflected the actual state of affairs in the state, its traditions. Giving "advice" to the king, the brahmins oriented iot to the preservation of the traditional orderly order.

Sacrificial priests, confessors and scholars, as well as village administrators, bookkeepers, district administrators, doctors who train elephants, horse trainers, messengers of the king should be given as zhalu. Anna land "without the right to sell and pledge."

"let him plant production in mines, fields, forests, elephant nurseries, animal husbandry, trade";

"let him build reservoirs with (rain) water and running water";

"Let the king use the right of ownership in relation to fishing, crossings and trade in greenery that grows in artificial water pools";

"whoever ignores (the needs of) slaves, hired workers and relatives, let the king force him to observe good behavior"

Arthashastra describes in detail the sources of income of the royal treasury. The chief tax collector must collect taxes from cities, rural communities, mines, forests, herds of cattle and trade routes.

Treasury revenues from cities are described in detail. These are duties on intoxicating drinks, slaughter of livestock, yarn, vegetable oil, animal oil, sugar, and gold items. The income of the state was also provided by prostitutes, its arable establishments, construction, taxes from artisans, and vimin duty.

Arthashastra also lists the main expenses of the state. This is the maintenance of the army, arsenals of weapons, state stocks of goods, metals, payment of state employees.

Generally. Arthashastra instructed the ruler on the path of justice, moderation, caring for the state and its subjects, and offered him to take an oath upon accession to the throne: "Let me be deprived of my life and descendants by heaven if I oppress you."

The legal status of the population in ancient India

V. Ancient. In India, during the Vedic period (the second half of the 2nd millennium BC - the middle of the 1st millennium BC), a system of vari - special class groups was formed. B. Laws. Manu mentions four varnas: b brahmins (priests), kshatriyas (warriors, rulers), vaishyas (farmers, artisans) and shudras (servants). In addition, the laws contain information about the untouchables, who actually constituted the lowest, fifth varna. Probably it was replenished with descendants from "wrong" marriages, expelled. FROM your varna. By. laws. Manu "untouchable" was punished by the work of gravediggers, executioners. They lived outside the villages, any communication with us was forbidden, and we were protected from them.

Three high varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas) in their origin were associated with the conquerors of the Indo-Aryans - the founders of the state. They were called twice born. The second birth - the rite of initiation (initiation), associated with the beginning of the study of sacred books, was the privilege of these varnas. The ceremony of initiation for a Brahmin was carried out at the age of 8, for a Kshatriya - at 11 years old, for Vaishyas - at 12 years of age. The study. The Vedas without such initiation was regarded as theft. Shudras - "born once" - were excluded from participation in sacrifices and rituals and rituals.

Each varna was assigned a hereditary circle of occupations for Brahmins and Kshatriyas, and it was forbidden to engage in handicrafts, trade and agriculture. Brahmins had to be studied. Vedas, perform sacrifices, give and receive alms. Kshatriyas - the military aristocracy - were supposed to create managerial functions for vaishyas, including trade, usury, and agriculture. Shudras were obliged and were to serve the highest varnas with humility. The behavior of the Varnas was strictly regulated, clear religious and legal boundaries were drawn between them. A man who was born in a particular varna belonged to it, as did his wife and descendants. Birth in a certain varna depended on karma - the result of behavior in past existences. It was believed that in the process of numerous rebirths, a person can worsen or improve karmic and karma.

The religious consecration of the varna system became tougher over time and turned at the end of the 1st millennium BC into a system of castes - narrow professional groups, of which there were several hundred

Marriage and family relations according to the Laws of Manu

Marriage and family relations c. Ancient. India was governed by customary law. Laws. Manu point to eight forms of marriage; the correct forms of marriage were those that were concluded between representatives. ONE varna by mutual agreement. In such marriages, the father gave the daughter in marriage and endowed her with a dowry. Marriages associated with the purchase or kidnapping of the bride, with violence against her, as well as marriages without parental consent, although recognized by law, were condemned. Mizhvarnovi marriages were considered extremely undesirable. Laws. Manu allowed the marriage of a man from the highest varna to a "low-nation" woman, but such marriages were condemned and raised the spouses to the position of a sudra. A Brahmana who married a Shudryanka was deprived of Brahmanism by becoming Brahmin.

Laws. Manu secured the patriarchal authority of the father. The head of the family could punish family members, allowed the sale of his wife and children (but this practice was condemned). Sold children did not become slaves, but semi-immuval rights of relatives in new families, since descendants were considered the main wealth. The position of a woman was determined by her constant dependence on her husband: in childhood - on the power of her father, in her youth - on her husband, after the death of her husband - on her son. The wife was considered an extension of her husband, his property. The man kept the rights to her both during his lifetime (even if he abandoned or sold his wife), and after death. Therefore, remarriage of widows was prohibited. A second marriage for a woman was considered shameful, and children from such marriages were not recognized. A man after the death of his wife had the right to remarry. Laws. Mann forbade divorce, but a man was allowed to take another wife in the following cases: if the woman was sick, wasteful, vicious, of bad temper, did not give birth to children, or only gave birth to girls.

Only sons had inheritance rights; women, outcasts, feeble-minded or crippled had no inheritance rights. Between sons from "correct" marriages, the inheritance was divided equally, but an additional share was allocated to the eldest son. S. The son of a Shudryanka did not have "twice-born" rights to the inheritance, he was content with the property that his father allocated to him. Deprivation of inheritance was supposed to ease the decline.

In conclusion, it should be noted that c. In India, as in other countries and peoples, it often happened that representatives of the lower classes broke through to the tops of power. For example, a dynasty. Nanda led her genealogy e id. Shudra.