''Vijnaneshvaramu'' ( IAST: Vijñāneśvaramu) is a 13th-century

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fam ...

'' dharma-shastra'' (Hindu law) text composed by

Ketana Mula-ghatika Ketana (c. 1220-1260) was a Telugu language poet and writer from southern India. He was a disciple of the poet Tikkana, and wrote multiple works under Tikkana's sponsorship. Works Ketana wrote the following works: * ''Dasha-kuma ...

in present-day southern India. It is based on the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

-language '' Mitakshara'', a legal commentary on the ''

Yajnavalkya Smriti Yajnavalkya or Yagyavalkya ( sa, याज्ञवल्क्य, ) is a Hindu Vedic sage figuring in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 700 BCE)., Quote: "Yajnavalkya, a Vedic sage, taught..."Ben-Ami Scharfstein (1998), ''A comparative histor ...

''. Ketana made changes to the ''Mitakshara'' laws to make them consistent with the contemporary Andhra society. According to scholar A. Padma, the text was "the basic source of law" during the

Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...

rule.

Views

Varna and caste

''Vijnaneshvaramu'' is a

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

text that follows the Brahmanic '' dharma-shastra'' tradition and considers the caste hierarchy as the most important aspect of a functioning society. The author considers the king as a guarantor of this hierarchy, and states that the king's council should include Brahmin advisors. Like the '' Manu Dharma-shastra'', Ketana's work suggests variations in trials and punishment based on the convict's '' varna''. For example, according to the text: * If a lower-caste man commits a crime deserving

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, he should be killed. If a Brahmin commits the same crime, his money should be confiscated, he should be humiliated in various ways (e.g. being made to sit on a donkey), and he should be driven out of town, but not killed. * If a lower-caste man rapes the wife of an upper-caste man, the rapist should be killed. If the rapist and the victim are belong to the same caste, the rapist should be fined 1000 ''panas'' (silver currency unit). * If a lower-caste man has sex with a higher-caste virgin, he should be killed. If a higher-caste man has sex with a lower-caste virgin, he should be fined 500 ''panas'', and if the virgin loves him, the two should be married. If a Brahmin has sex with a chandala (outcaste/untouchable) woman, he should be humiliated by inscribing the drawing of a vagina on his body, fined, and driven out of the town. Similarly, Ketana lists different ways of determining if a person is telling the truth, depending on the person's varna. For example, a Brahmin is weighed against bricks once, and then again on the day of the test: if he is lighter, he is determined to be telling the truth. Compared to this soft treatment, a Kshatriya is tested by placing a hot iron ball in his hands: he is determined to be telling the truth, if his hands are not burnt. Similarly, a

Vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking care ...

is tested using water, and a

Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...

by poison.

Women

The punishments recommended by Ketana vary by gender. For example, a high caste woman who has sex with a Shudra man is not to be killed: instead, she should undergo ritual atonement ('' prayashchitta''); if she becomes pregnant, than her husband should leave her. According to Ketana, both husband and wife should lead a virtuous life and beget progeny. Ketana expects women to remain chaste and religious. The text suggests that women enjoyed some degree of social justice and rights. Ketana specifies punishments for a husband who takes away the ornaments of his wife by force. He also allows women to enter into contracts, although only with the consent of their husbands. He does not allow

remarriage Remarriage is a marriage that takes place after a previous marital union has ended, as through divorce or widowhood. Some individuals are more likely to remarry than others; the likelihood can differ based on previous relationship status (e.g. div ...

for women. Ketana does not consider prostitution a sin, and refers to laws aimed at protecting prostitutes from their greedy procurer mothers and their clients, as well as laws aimed at curbing the unfair earning practices of the procurers. Punishments for the greedy mothers include monetary fines in combination with other punishments such as cutting the convict's nose or ears, and shaving her head. Monetary fines are imposed on clients convicted of causing physical injuries to prostitutes.

Other

Ketana strongly defends the royal authority, and recommends severe punishments for those who challenge it. For example, if a person insults the king, Ketana mandates cutting his tongue, and driving him out of town. Ketana outlines various rules to maintain social harmony. For example, someone who ridicules a handicapped person should be fined three ''rukas''. Someone who abuses people based on their country (e.g. calling people from Murikinadu stupid), language (e.g. calling Aravas, that is,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

speakers quarrelsome) or caste (e.g. calling Brahmins greedy), should be fined a 100 ''panas''. According to Ketana, a man who engages in

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...

should have his genitals cut off. However, he states that consanguinous marriage with one's paternal aunt or maternal uncle's daughter is an acceptable custom in southern India.

References

Bibliography