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This article was downloaded by: ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"] On: 27 September 2013, At: 13:36 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/csas20 A revised view of ‘traditional’ India: Caste, status, and social mobility in medieval Andhra Cynthia Talbot a a Northern Arizona University Published online: 08 May 2007. To cite this article: Cynthia Talbot (1992) A revised view of ‘traditional’ India: Caste, status, and social mobility in medieval Andhra, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 15:1, 17-52, DOI: 10.1080/00856409208723159 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00856409208723159 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Page 1: A revised view of ‘traditional’ India: Caste, status, and social mobility in medieval Andhra

This article was downloaded by: ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"]On: 27 September 2013, At: 13:36Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

South Asia: Journal of South Asian StudiesPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/csas20

A revised view of ‘traditional’ India: Caste, status, andsocial mobility in medieval AndhraCynthia Talbot aa Northern Arizona UniversityPublished online: 08 May 2007.

To cite this article: Cynthia Talbot (1992) A revised view of ‘traditional’ India: Caste, status, and social mobility in medievalAndhra, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 15:1, 17-52, DOI: 10.1080/00856409208723159

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00856409208723159

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) containedin the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of theContent. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon andshould be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable forany losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoeveror howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use ofthe Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: A revised view of ‘traditional’ India: Caste, status, and social mobility in medieval Andhra

South Asia, Vol. XV, no. 1 (1992), pp. 17-52

A REVISED VIEW OF 'TRADITIONAL'INDIA: CASTE, STATUS, AND SOCIALMOBILITY IN MEDIEVAL ANDHRA

Cynthia TalbotNorthern Arizona University

I Introduction

Much of our understanding of precolonial Hindu society has beenderived from two types of sources: the brahmanical literature (especiallythe dharmasastras or law books) and modern ethnographic studies. Thefact that brahmanical literature presents only the normative views ofone segment of society has long been recognised; yet, because of thepresumed centrality of the brahmin in 'traditional' Hindu India, scholarshave continued to rely heavily on such works. Similarly, the projectionof present-day ethnographic realities back into the precolonial periodhas been justified on the grounds of the alleged continuity of Indiansociety. Recent research on the early colonial period has, however,increasingly called into question the accuracy of the images of'traditional' South Asia obtained from such material. Indeed, ourconceptions of 'traditional' India appear to be applicable primarily tonineteenth century India, a society transformed by colonial rule.1

In the revisionist view, colonial policies of the nineteenth centurywere in large part responsible for consolidating the cultural hegemony ofthe brahmin, most directly through the invention of a legal system —applied to all Hindu communities — based on the brahmanical normsexpressed in the dharmasastras or law books. The legal validation ofbrahmin authority, accentuated by British employment of large numbersof brahmins as clerks and assistants in their administration, extended theinfluence of the caste-system into areas where it had not previouslyintruded. The British suppression of the alternative life-styles andvalues of pastoralist and martial communities was a further contributingcause to the elevation of the brahmin during the nineteenth century(Washbrook 1981:653).

1 Bayly 1984:180-181; Dirks 1987:8; Fuller 1977:107; Pederson 1986:30, Raheja 1989:79;Washbrook 1988:79.

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If these assertions are correct, it follows that the modern caste-dominated social system does not reflect the precolonial situation butinstead is a colonial product. A further implication is that neitherbrahmanical literature nor modern ethnography can be accepted astotally reliable guides in reconstructing India's precolonial past. In thisarticle, I rely on a third type of source material — inscriptions — inexamining the social system of thirteenth century Andhra Pradesh. Onegreat advantage of inscriptions is that they document the activities of awider range of people than does most literature of the period. Fromapproximately the eleventh century onward in South India, a variety ofsocial groups — merchants, landed peasants, herders, and warriorchiefs, along with their wives and daughters — become visible to usthrough epigraphic sources. Most inscriptions of the medieval periodrecord the granting of land or other valuable property to a Hindu templeand were situated in highly public places — on the walls of buildings oron stone pillars and slabs within the precincts of a temple complex.Inscriptions thus not only enable us to hear the authentic voices of actualindividuals, but also reveal how they chose to represent themselves tothe larger society.

The corpus of approximately one thousand inscriptions datingbetween 1175 and 1325 A.D. I have collected from Andhra Pradeshilluminates certain aspects of medieval social structure, althoughunfortunately not all.2 The most useful information is contained in thesegments that provide details on the identity of the donor of the gift andon his/her family background. In this article, I focus on the kinds of socialallegiances expressed by people in order to determine what the prevalentmethods of classifying social groups were (or, to put it another way, touncover the significant levels of social organisation) and to assess thedegree to which these resembled brahmanical social theory and/ormodern ethnographic observation. I end with a section on the issue ofsocial mobility during this time period. The results of this case studylargely corroborate the findings of research into the early colonialperiod in suggesting that the society of 'traditional' India was far morefluid and dynamic than is commonly depicted.

2 The inscriptions originate from fourteen districts of the modern state of AndhraPradesh: Cuddapah, East Godavari, Guntur, Karimnagar, Khammam, Krishna,Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nellore, Prakasam, Warangal and WestGodavari. These districts cover much of modern Andhra's territory, excluding thenortheastern corner and southwestern peripheries. The reasons for limiting theterritorial extent of this study and for choosing the time period between 1175 to 1325A.D. have to do with the nature of my previous research, which centered on theKakatiya dynasty of Warangal. In essence, this is the region and timespan duringwhich the Kakatiya kingdom flourished.

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II. Varna, Jati, and Clan in Medieval Andhra

The typical portrayal of Hindu society recognises two major levels in thesocial structure: the four varnas and the myriad subcastes or jatis. Thevarna system described in classical Sanskrit literature — with its orderlydivision of society into the four ranks of the brahmin (priest and scholar),kshatriya (king and warrior), vaisya (herder, trader, or cultivator), andsudra (menial servant) — bears little resemblance to the complexrealities of modern society. Whether the theory of the four varnas wasever an accurate description of social divisions is a moot point; at anyrate, it is evident that the identification of specific groups as kshatriya,vaisya, or even sudra has been ambiguous for over a millennium (Thapar1974:103,117, and 120). Hence, many modern-day commentators regardthe varna scheme as an idealised paradigm of societal functions. Incontrast, the subcaste or jati is largely ignored in ancient social theoryand appears to be a comparatively late phenomenon (Basham 1959:148).This social grouping— whose boundaries are demarcated on the basis ofendogamy, commensality, and hereditary occupation — is seen as thetrue operative unit of the Hindu social system in more recent times.

If varna and jati were indeed the two most significant aspects ofsocial organisation in traditional India, we would expect to findnumerous references to them in medieval Andhra inscriptions. Yet, fewof the donors of the endowments recorded in these documents chose todescribe themselves in these terms. Instead, persons figuring ininscriptions commonly only gave their names and those of their parents,although they also often mentioned their overlord. The composer of thefollowing record allocated more space to praising the overlord than thedonor himself.

Svasti Sri! For the sake of the religious benefit of theillustrious Mahamandalesvara Kakatiya GanapatidevaMaharaja, who is endowed with all praiseworthy titlessuch as: he who has acquired the honours known asthe five great sounds, the Mahamandalesvara, thehuman lord of the city of Hanumakonda, exceedinglydevoted to Siva, he whose actions are for the good ofhis overlord, one for whom modesty is an ornament.To the great god Ramesvara of Velpuru, in the year1169 of the Saka era [1248 A.D.], the cyclic yearPlavanga, on the 15th day of the dark fortnight of thelunar month Magha, a Sunday.

The son of Docena Pregada, Ganapaya — who isforemost in carrying out his appointed duties [?] and iscomparable to (the author of the Arthasastra) Canakyain his understanding of policy — gave as a religiousendowment the fees assessed on the following items

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purchased within the limits of the licensed marketplace of Velpuru where he has recently beenappointed: when a horse is purchased, when an ox ispurchased, when a cart is purchased, when a rope ispurchased, when a varu [unclear] is purchased, whensheep are purchased or sold, when a marriage isperformed, when sesame is purchased, when grain ispurchased or fetched from afar and sold, as well as theregistration fee and periodic tax on oil presses. I havepledged (the Kakatiya king) Ganapatideva Maharajathat these terms will be met. (SII 10.314)3

In the relatively rare instances when varna status was mentioned inthe inscriptions, the individual involved was usually claiming to be abrahmin. Brahmin rank was generally indicated through reference tomembership in a gotra (clan) recognised throughout India to bebrahmanical, sometimes along with further mention of the Vedic school(sakha) and scripture (sutra) in which the person was trained4. Farfewer people made claims in these records to royal kshatriya ormercantile vaisya rank. In only a couple of cases did people say theywere vaisyas (SII 10.357 and 446). Genealogical links with the ancientlunar and solar dynasties of kings described in the Puranas and otherSanskrit literature were the means by which kshatriya rank was mostoften asserted. The alleged kshatriyas were usually members of minorprincely lineages in Andhra, with names derived from the great imperialfamilies of South India such as the Calukyas, the Pallavas, and theColas.5

One peculiarity of Andhra society in this period is that many of theleading warrior families made no pretensions to kshatriya status butinstead proudly proclaimed their descent from the creator Brahma's feet,in an allusion to the famous origin myth first found in the Rig Vedawherein the four varnas are said to have originated from differentportions of the primordial man's body (e.g., SII 6.95, SII 10.281 and 327).Explicit references to membership in the fourth order of society, the

3 All translations are mine. Here, as elsewhere in the article, I have attempted tocapture the spirit of the text rather than provide a word-by-word literal rendering.

* Among the most common pan-Indic brahmanical gotras are Bharadvaja, Sri Vatsa, andKasyapa (e.g., HAS 19 Km.9, IAP-W.69, NDI Kavali 43, SII 4.715 , SII 5.146, SII10.422). The Vedic sakhas and sutras are mentioned by several recipients ofagraharams (brahmin villages), in order to demonstrate their scholarship and highritual ranking (e.g., SII 10.248). Brahmin varna claims may also be indirectlyexpressed by phrases such as 'born of the mouth of Brahma (the Creator)' occurring inSII 10.318.

5 Families claiming descent from the Eastern Calukyas of Vengi traced their ancestry tothe lunar grouping (e.g., SII 4.735, SII 5.61, SII 6.96), while minor Telugu branches of thePallava and Cola dynasties belonged to the solar division of the ksatriya order (e.g.,IAP-C.137, APAS 31.15, HAS 19 Mn.26).

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sudra, are not unusual (e.g., APRE No. 133 of 1966, HAS 19 Mn.46, SII4.1053, SII 5.32, SII 10.202). Despite their relatively humble ancestry, itwas families in this lowest category who possessed the greatest degreeof political power in medieval Andhra, and not the kshatriya lineages. Agood example is the Kakatiya dynasty who during the thirteenth centurycontrolled the bulk of the territory encompassed in modern Andhra fromtheir base at Warangal in the inland Telangana region. The majority ofthe inscriptions in which the Kakatiya genealogy is presented do notspecify their varna affiliation (Parabrahma Sastry 1978:27). When avarna ranking is assigned, in most cases the Kakatiyas are said to havebeen born in the fourth class, that which emanated from Brahma's feet,as can be seen from the excerpt below from a long Sanskrit inscription:

The four-faced Brahma, having sprung from the centerof Vishnu's navel-lotus, created the celestial beings.Then from his own mouth, arms, thighs and lotus-feet, he produced the brahmin, the king, the vaisya,and the sudra, respectively. The Kakatiya dynasty,praised by the entire world and belonging to the fourthvarna, then came into existence. In it was born theking named Prola, who was renowned for beingexceedingly judicious.

(vv. 3 & 4, HAS 13.34)

Only a handful of records, almost all inscribed on copper-plates, attemptto provide this ruling family with a more illustrious ancestry.6 In theserecords the Kakatiyas are linked with the solar dynasty of the ancientkshatriyas, stemming from Iksvaku through Dasaratha and Rama, inwhat seems to be an imitation of the genealogy of the imperial Colarulers (see Spencer 1982).

The lack of consistency regarding the varna rank of the Kakatiyadynasty is noteworthy, as is the fact that their kshatriya claims were putforth primarily in documents associated with gifts to brahmins. Otherrecords of the thirteenth century produced by families possessingpolitical power similarly reveal little interest in asserting high varnarank. Had varna rank been crucial to social recognition and prestigeduring that time, we would observe a greater number of royal andchiefly lineages advancing claims to kshatriya status. The fact that theydid not do so is an indication of the relative insignificance of varna fornon-brahmins in the thirteenth century. In other words, the classical

6 E.g., CPIHM 1.10, EA 1.7, El 5.17, El 12.22, El 18.41, HAS 4, HAS 13.25, SH 10.395.Copper-plate inscriptions are usually longer and stylistically more elaborate thanstone inscriptions. Since the language used in them is typically Sanskrit, it is notsurprising that they should contain references to pan-Indic concepts and status claims.Copper-plates most often record land grants to brahmins, although this is not alwaysthe case in thirteenth century Andhra.

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varna scheme was a paradigm that was meaningful primarily to thoseindividuals who considered themselves brahmins. Current researchsuggests that consciousness of varna became stronger during thecolonial period, partially as a result of the listing of castes according tovarna affiliation in the Census of India (Cohn 1984, Pederson 1986).

Jati is, if anything, even less visible in thirteenth century recordsthan varna. In modern South Asia, the term jati is employed in a widerange of applications. Besides designating an endogamous group, jatialso refers to categories of persons differentiated by language, regionalorigin, and religion (Beteille 1969, quoted in Kolenda 1978:10; Inden1976:12-13). In effect, jati simply means a kind, category, or sort ofperson. We also find this broad usage of the word in thirteenth centuryAndhra. On the rare occasions when the term jati figures in theepigraphical sources, it has this very general meaning. The phrase'padunenmidi jatula praja', literally meaning 'the people of the eighteenjatis ' is equated with the more frequently occurring 'ashtadasa praja' or'the eighteen (kinds of) people' (e.g., HAS 19 Km.6 and 7). There are afew lists in contemporary literary sources which name the unitscomprising the collective of eighteen, but the lists do not agree with eachother (Somasekhara Sarma 1948:276). Eighteen thus appears to be aformulaic number, indicating either a variety of (unspecified)communities or the totality of social groups in a locality.7

In the general scholarship on South Asia, jati is depicted as a socialgroup with a definite character, clear-cut boundaries, and an immutablequality. However, the accuracy of the common Western perception ofjati and the caste system (in the sense of a ranked social order composedof a number of jatis) is called into question, even for the modern period,by specialised works on caste. While a closed marriage-circle may indeedexist as the outcome of a succession of discrete marriage choices, the jatias such may have little concrete reality in the eyes of its participants(Kolenda 1978:18 and 20). Speaking about the situation in the Tanjavurregion of the Tamil country, Kathleen Gough states (1981:21):

Among Brahmans and in some of the other castes, theendogamous subcaste was a clearly designated groupwith a name and sharp boundaries ... In other cases theendogamous subcaste was unnamed and was a rathervaguely bounded category.

In her work on the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, Brenda E. F. Beck hasnoted the manner in which lower ranking subcastes, particularly those inservice occupations, lack any clear organisation of their own (1972:72, 87,

7 The notion of eighteen varnas is widespread in Telugu popular literature of themedieval period (Narayana Rao 1990:304 n. 3). The number eighteen is also found inTamil traditions relating to the Vellalars (Dirks 1987:140).

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and 90). Instead, they merely replicate the divisions of the dominantcaste with which they are associated. The same pattern prevailed in thePudukkottai area of Tamil Nadu during the early colonial period,according to Nicholas B. Dirks. Dirks has argued that strong subcasteorganisation was most probably the consequence of political dominance.Groups without political dominance had less territorial unity and lessdefined forms of endogamy because of their dependent status (1987:267-69).

Not only is the word jati rarely found in thirteenth centuryinscriptions from Andhra, but there are also no references to specificsubcastes by name. Given a situation today where the subcaste unit maybe amorphous in form, therefore, it is quite possible that well-articulatedsocial organisation on the subcaste level had not yet developed inthirteenth century Andhra, even among higher-ranking communities. Tobe sure, the lack of references to specific jatis in thirteenth centuryinscriptions does not prove the absence of distinct endogamous subcasteunits in this period. But it shows us that subcaste membership was not anoutstanding or memorable feature of an individual's identity in his/hertransactions with the larger society. The negative evidence of theinscriptions can thus be interpreted as indicating the irrelevance ofsubcaste affiliation for the purpose of enhancing prestige in publiclydisplayed records.

There are other social units besides the varna and the jati — clans,lineages, and regional groupings of homologous castes — whose studyhas languished because of the academic preoccupation with jati. Someof these other social categories may prove to be of greater significance incertain localities than the jati. For example, Dennis McGilvray'sresearch among the so-called Ceylon Tamils of eastern Sri Lanka revealsthe centrality of the matriclan in their social system. The exogamousmatriclan was formerly clearly delineated through its corporatepossession of political office, management of temples, and sponsorshipof festivals. Although the various matriclans have distinct identities inthe minds of the people, their subcaste affiliation is not alwaysconsistent. That is, the same matriclan might be assigned to differentsubcastes in different localities. Instances of high-status individualsmarrying across putative subcaste boundaries are also encountered(McGilvray 1982:47-48, 61, 70-72). In other words, jati identity is not thedeterminant factor in Ceylon Tamil social relations.

The clan is also an important level of the social structure elsewherein South Asia. Variously known as gotra, kula, or vamsa, the clangenerally includes a number of patrilineages which are believed to sharedescent from a common ancestor. Either the lineage or the clan in itsentirety serve as the basic exogamous unit, depending on the community.The lineages comprising a clan may be dispersed over a wide area, but in

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parts of North India the clan is an organised body of people living in thesame territory (Kolenda 1978:14, 15, 18). Such is the case with thebiradari of Uttar Pradesh, who form a discrete and well defined socialunit, a concrete .group with a known membership (Cohn 1971:116). Inother parts of India, it is not unusual to find hierarchically rankedlineages, resulting in considerable divergence in status within the largerclan (Inden 1976:41, Dirks 1987:72).

Numerous references to clans occur in Andhra inscriptions of thethirteenth century. Kula membership is most frequently cited, with atleast seven different kulas named in the records.8 These kulas appear tobe broad groupings of lineages with alleged kinship ties stemming from ashared eponymous progenitor. Thus, Durjaya is cited as an ancestor bymany chiefly lineages from Telangana — including the Kakatiyas (IAP-W.29), Malyalas (HAS 13.8), Viryalas (IAP-W.27) — as well as by lineagesfrom coastal Andhra such as the Konakandravadis (SII 4.780), the IvaniKandravadis (SII 10.253), the Kondapadumatis (ARIE No. 346 of 1937-38), the Paricchedis (SII 10.430), and the Cagis (SII 4.748). Kula may alsodenote a social unit far larger than a clan, as when it is used inconnection with the solar and lunar divisions of the ancient North Indiankshatriya varna (SII 5.61, IAP-C.137). So claims to membership in aparticular kula may simply reflect status aspirations, rather than anyactual belief in ancestry.

Some individuals in this period cite their vamsa name, in addition tothat of their kula, implying that these two words denoted distinct levelsof kinship or group affiliation (SII 6.588; SII 10.265,278, and 442). Vamsais sometimes glossed as 'race' in English and is the word most closelyassociated with the solar/lunar distinction among kshatriyas. Butoccasionally kula and vamsa are used interchangeably to refer to thesame named group. In SII 10.398, for instance, the Calukya dynasty iscalled both a vamsa and a kula. No systematic differentiation betweenkula and vamsa can therefore be made; that is, these terms do notconsistently apply to different units of social organisation.

Some overlap of meaning is also witnessed with a third term forclan, gotra (e.g., SII 5.55, SII 10.197 and 312). On the whole, however,gotra affiliation is more straightforward, with a few princely families ofkshatriya rank using the names of brahmanical gotras like Bharadvaja,Kasyapa and Manavyasa. Nonbrahmanical gotras are cited by anumber of individuals who were merchants, some with the title 'Lord of

8 We get references to a Manma kula (e.g., HAS 13.27, IAP-W.53, SII 6.602), Ayya kula(El 3.15), Matturu kula (APAS 38.15), Durjaya kula (e.g., SII 4.743 and 1333, SII 10.269),Matsya kula (SII 4.1368), Kayastha kula (SII 10.346), and Karikala kula (SII 10.409and 417).

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Penugonda'.9 This community of merchants, residing in the coastalterritory, considered themselves vaisyas and were the precursors of themodern Komati community of Andhra (Sundaram 1968:57-64). Gotrasare cited by fewer people than is the case with kulas, perhaps becausethey were associated with twice-born (i.e., brahmin, kshatriya, or vaisya)varna status. The use of a gotra to determine the boundaries ofexogamy is limited in modern Andhra to higher ranking groups (Hiebert1971:17, Tapper 1987:35).

Donors in the inscriptions who cite clan names, with the exceptionof the few merchants noted above, are in most cases members of lineagespossessing political and military power. Their political prominenceplaces them in a position homologous to the dominant castes of modernethnography, among whom strong clan and lineage organisation ischaracteristic (Kolenda 1978:18, Fox 1971:17). As in more recent times,the people in medieval Andhra who were most likely to have a clearsense of their identity as members of a clan or lineage were the ones withthe greatest control over land and landed income. This comes as nosurprise since, in Laurence W. Preston's words, 'while anyone canconstruct his biological genealogy (given, of course, adequate historicalrecords or traditions), only with a shared descent of property does thishave a social relevance' (Preston 1989:69). It was precisely the politicalresponsibilities of a group that to a large extent shaped the boundariesand organisational structure of the kin network, what Dirks calls the'inflection of the kinship system by the political order' (1982:661, n.5; seealso Fox 1971:25).

Examination of the histories of specific lineages suggests that thegrowth in the scale and complexity of social organisation is related to theincreasing possession of political power and correspondingly greatercontrol over property. Richard G. Fox's study of Rajput lineages inNorth India has shown that kinship ties are less significant in the initialstages of power building. Often, the founder of a lineage would havemigrated to a new territory with a small number of kinsmen. Only in thelater stages of the developmental cycle of a Rajput lineage, when it hassucceeded in dominating a sizeable area of land, does a large body ofkinsmen organised into stratified and distinct tiers appear (Fox 1971:70and 75). The same phenomenon was observed by Dirks in thePudukkottai region of the Tamil country. Separate kin groups whomigrated into Pudukkottai gradually began to form larger affinalnetworks, because of their territorial proximity. Through these

9 Brahmanical gotras are cited by chiefly lineages in APAS 31.15, ARIE No. 26 of 1953-54, SII 6.588 and SII 10.278. Nonbrahmanical gotras are mentioned in ARIE No. 349 of1937-38; NDI Rapur 20; SII 5.183, 216 and 217; SII 6.99; SII 10.264, 293, 299, 357,446 and456.

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marriage ties, what had originally been separate groups of familiesgradually developed into a subcaste unit (Dirks 1987:222 and 244).

The absence of well-articulated social units above the lineage orclan level in the inscriptional records of thirteenth century Andhra maythus very well be a consequence of the unstable conditions during thisperiod. Much of inland Andhra was newly settled and therefore hadlocal societies still in the process of emerging, as was true of other inlandareas of South India during this time period (Stein 1984:283 and 1989:21).The physical movements of people migrating to frontier areas wouldnaturally have led to a great degree of social fluidity in the hinterland.This is probably why political affiliations are so prominent in inscriptionsfrom inland Andhra, as contrasted to the coastal areas. In an earlierstudy of this period, I found that donors to small local temples outsidethe old deltaic core region in Andhra were four times more likely to citethe name of an overlord than donors to large temples of the delta. Andwhereas almost half of the delta donors dedicated the religious meritaccruing from their gift to relatives, only slightly under a quarter of theinland donors did so (Talbot 1991:332-333). But even the local societies ofthe delta region were affected by the changing balance of power and theintrusion of warrior lineages associated with the Kakatiya overlordswho were brought in to administer these newly conquered territories.Because of the shift in political dominance to the interior region, as wellas the large degree of physical movement and new settlement occurringin this era, it is possible that elaborate networks of kin relations had yetto fully develop.

The way people appearing in the epigraphical records identifiedthemselves tells us much about what social categories were consideredimportant at the time. Analysis of thirteenth century inscriptions fromAndhra has shown that the most frequently cited social affiliation had todo with clan and lineage. Although they have not received extensivescholarly scrutiny, lineages have an 'enduring social significance' inIndian society, according to Preston (1989:9). Preston's study of the Devsof Cincvad between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuriesdemonstrates the marginal importance of caste in the affairs of thislineage. Indeed, the subcaste of Deshastha brahmins to which the Devlineage belonged was 'really only a collection of exogamous lineagesthat are together endogamous' (Preston 1989:18). Burton Stein has alsonoted how sources from medieval India rarely allude to caste:

Caste was surely one of the principles of socialorganisation in sixteenth-century South India, butthere were other kinds of affinities that were moreimportant. Certainly, political and religiousaffiliations and their interrelationship duringVijayanagara times was of the first importance if on no

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other basis than the evidence of that time speaks muchmore about chieftaincy and sect than about caste (Stein1989:102).

m Male Names and Titles in Telugu Inscriptions

In the previous section, I argued that neither varna nor jati wereprominent elements in the public identity of individuals figuring inreligious endowments from medieval Andhra. That is, membership inone of the four varnas of classical Indian literature is seldom alluded toin Telugu inscriptions while the term jati appears in a very broad sense,as a synonym for the word category or community. The only markersthat are consistently found, the only items that would situate a person ina social context, are sometimes a lineage but most often just theindividual's name and those of his/her parents. Admittedly, names cannot tell us a great deal. Yet they are the most direct form of identificationavailable, a label or signifier invariably possessed by every person. Whilenames do not yield much information on social relations between groupsor individuals, unlike the observation of transactional behaviour, namesconstituted a significant means by which people represented themselvesto the society at large. Because male names generally containedcomponents beyond the merely personal (i.e., what we would consider a'first' name), their analysis gives us some insight into the socialclassifications that were meaningful in medieval Andhra.

Names possessed by men varied considerably in length and instructure. The following inscription (SII 5.131) provides three examples,each somewhat different:

In the year 1218 of the Saka era [1296 A.D.], on the fifthday of the dark fortnight of the lunar month Caitra, aSunday, at the time of the winter solstice [uttarayanasankranti ].

For his own religious merit, Tammili BhimayaRaddingaru's son Codaya Raddingaru gave land to theglorious lord Kshiraramesvara for a midday service.Fields in the lands of the village Pallavadapalli werepurchased from Hanungi Kucenangaru (to wit): a plotof 1 khanduga in the fallow land to the south of thevillage and 2 khandugas to the east of Udukula canal.Another khanduga in the lands of Peddavipara nearthe village Modalikudulu was purchased fromHanungi Kucenangaru. Out of this total of 4khandugas of land, I [Codaya Raddingaru] will supply 1tumu of paddy grain for the food offering and 3 gunas1 sola of butter daily to the temple of the lord, for aslong as the moon and sun endure.

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Also given by Codaya Raddingaru for this middayservice:

a metal plate weighing 3 visa 14 palamu, a large censer(weighing) 2 visa 2 palamu, a plate for burningcamphor (weighing) 10 palamu, a bell (weighing) 1visa 4 palamu, and a conch shell (weighing) 1 visa 10palamu.

According to this inscription, a man called Codaya Raddi (garu is aTelugu honourific) purchased land from Hanungi Kucena, ostensibly togive to the Kshiraramesvara temple at Palakol in West GodavariDistrict. In reality, however, the terms of the endowment indicate thatCodaya Raddi would retain the land and in return supply a stipulatedamount of foodstuffs to the temple. He also gave a number of ritualimplements for use in the worship of the deity. Codaya Raddi's father issaid to be Tammili Bhimaya Raddi.

The father and son pair, Tammili Bhimaya Raddi and CodayaRaddi, share a common last component to their names — Raddi, avariant of the better-known Reddi. This component is known as thegaurava-vacakamu in modern Andhra, a term I will translate as statustitle.10 Immediately preceding the status title are the men's personalnames, Bhimaya and Codaya. In the case of the father Bhimaya we alsofind an extra prefix, Tammili. This was an inti-peru or house-name,derived from the place-name of the family's ancestral village or from anillustrious predecessor (Somasekhara Sarma 1948:260). The third manalso had an inti-peru (Hanungi) and a personal name (Kucena), but nostatus title as a suffix. The individuals figuring in this record thus had upto three components to their names: inti-peru, personal name, and statustitle.

Eminent personages often had an additional administrative titleindicating possession of an official position such as that of general orminister. The administrative title preceded all others, as we see in thecase of Mahapradhani Puravari Mahadeva Nayankulu (HAS 13.54).This man had the official or administrative title mahapradhani whichshowed that he was a minister, the inti-peru or house-name puravariand the personal name mahadeva. The last part of his name was theplural form of the status title nayaka. The length of the name was notalways an indicator of prominence, for some important subordinatechiefs under the Kakatiya rulers of Telangana lacked administrativetitles. Ceraku Bolla Reddi is one such instance (APRE No.133 of 1966 andSS:169-70).

Personal communication from Malathi Rao.10

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Of the four components of male names in medieval Andhra, the lastelement — the status title — is the most useful in establishing a socialtypology. Personal names are numerous in quantity and, with a fewexceptions (the suffix manci, for example, appears to indicate brahminvarna rank), seem to bear no status connotations.11 The house-namemay have been used to regulate marriages, for nowadays lower rankingAndhra subcastes (who lack clan organisation) prohibit marriagebetween families with the same inti-peru (Tapper 1987:30, Thurston1975:3.314). Except in the case of a few powerful lineages, however, forwhom it functioned as a dynastic label, the house-name was of limitedsignificance. Administrative titles are fairly rare in Andhra inscriptionsand their exact meanings unclear. Status titles, on the other hand, areboth widespread and limited in number, making it possible to conductstatistical analyses and attempt categorisation of them. Of the 715individual male donors represented in the body of data from the period1175 to 1325 A. D., 524 men (73 percent) have this component to theirnames. Twenty-three different titles are represented amongst this groupof men (status titles are never possessed by women), as illustrated intable one.

Particular sets of status titles appear to have been adopted by menfollowing roughly the same type of occupation. This becomes especiallyevident when we examine the titles used by medieval Andhra brahmins,who differentiated themselves according to the means of theirlivelihood. One set of titles, the Sanskrit terms pandita and bhatta, werereserved for individuals knowledgeable in religious matters.Carakurikardi Narayana Bhatta is one of these brahmin religiousspecialists who is said to have performed the Vajapeya sacrifice (SII6.205). Another example is Mahadeva Bhattopadhyalu whose brahminrank is alluded to by his claim to belong to the Bharadvaja gotra (SII10.452). A second set of status titles seems to have been used forbrahmins of a more secular bent. Amatya, mantri and pregada all hadadministrative or clerical connotations and thus suggest the possessionof literary skills. There is considerable indirect evidence indicating thatthese three titles were restricted in their social range, for in numerousinstances men with these titles claim brahmin varna rank or cite theirmembership in brahmin gotras.12 It seems likely, for this reason, that thestatus titles amatya, mantri, and pregada could only be borne bybrahmins with non-religious means of livelihood.

1 1 The suffix 'peddi' on a personal name also appears to mark brahmins, personalcommunication from Prof. S. S. Ramachandra Murthy.

12 Brahmin amatyas appear in SII 10.325 and 337; brahmin mantris are found in APRE No.408 of 1967, IAP-W.69, SII 4.1366, and SII 10.406; and pregadas who are definitelybrahmin are donors in HAS 19 Mn.46, SII 4.715, SII 5.146, SII 10.318 and 453. Brahminvarna status has been ascribed only when membership in pan-Indic brahmin gotras isspecified or when the donor explicitly states that he is a brahmin.

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We also find a number of individuals claiming to be brahmins whobear the status title raju (ARIE Nos. 324 of 1930-31 and 293 of 1932-33;SII 4.718 and 728). Raju is the Telugu equivalent of the Sanskrit raja andis most often a title used by members of noble or princely lineages. It notonly meant a prince or lord, however, but also an individual employed bya lord. Of the 82 men called raju in the body of data, 46 can be identifiedas having royal or noble descent (whom I label royal rajus ), while theremaining 36 are ministerial or clerical (and almost certainly brahmin)rajus. The distinction made in modern Andhra between brahminsengaged in secular occupations, known as niyogis, and those who arereligious specialists, called vaidiki or Vedic brahmins, is reflected in thetwo sets of status titles possessed by medieval Andhra brahmins. Thereligious specialists were known as bhatta or pandita, while the secularbrahmins were variously called amatya,mantri,pregada or raju. Theinterchangeable character of titles within a given set is shown in the caseof the man Induluri Annaya, who bears the status title pregada in oneinscription (SII 5.110) and mantri in another (EA 4.12).

Similarly, there are a number of titles associated with royalty. Themost well-known, maharaja,was used by the Kakatiya dynasty of thethirteenth century and by several other noble lineages located south ofthe Krishna River or in the interior portion of Andhra.13 The Teluguvariant raju was the preferred appellation among royal families of thenorthern coastal territory.14 The more elegant Sanskrit word cakravartior universal emperor was adopted by minor lineages descended from theimperial Eastern Calukya kings who still flourished in East Godavariand West Godavari Districts during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries(e.g., SII 5.111,112, and 141; HAS 13.25; and El 4.33).

A last set of titles have military connotations. Camupati, sahini,senapati, and rautu all point to command of armed forces of some type.Lenka also refers to a warrior, although it seems to mean a member of alord's own private troops rather than a commander. The lenka lived,fought, and died with the lord to whom he had sworn his services(Venkataramanayya and Somasekhara Sarma 1960:670). The mostprevalent status title of all — nayaka, literally meaning leader — is part

1 3 E.g., the Telugu Pallava lineage of Guntur and Prakasam Districts (NDI Darsi 69,Kanigiri 24, Kandukur 61; SII 6.588; SII 10.278 and 362); the Yadavas of Addanki inPrakasam District (NDI copper-plate 17, Darsi 72, and Ongole 28); several Telugu Codalineages in Prakasam, Nellore, and Cuddapah Districts (ARIE Nos. 285 of 1949-50 and18 of 1968-69; IAP-C.159; NDI Atmakur 7, Darsi 28, Kandukur 60 ,and Ongole 17-B); andthe Kanduri Codas of Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar Districts (APAS 31.15; ARIE No. 224of 1935-36; HAS 19 Mn.17 and 34; SS:162-63 and 167-68).

1 4 Among the dynasties which preferred this status title are the Paricchedis of Krishnaand Guntur Districts (SII 4.969 and 985; SII 6.120; SII 10.269, 282, and 426), the Cagis ofKrishna District, the Kolani princes of West Godavari District, and the Kota dynastyof Guntur District.

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of this military set. One individual in our sample was known both asJaya Senapati (SII 6.214) and as Jaya Nayaka (El 5.17). Nayaka is anambiguous term, however, that also encompassed local notables as wellas military leaders (Stein 1980:407). The majority of the nayaka men inthe corpus of inscriptions mentioned the name of their royal overlordsand roughly one-third of them possessed administrative titles such asmahapradhani (minister), samanta (allied subordinate or feudatory),and senapati (general). Nayakas hence ranked below kings and princes,by whom they were usually employed. Because the title nayaka wasadopted by a wide range of important persons, variant versions of it —nayudu, naidu, naik etc. — are employed today in the names of diversecastes in South India and Orissa (Thurston 1975:5,38-40).

The fact that a man called a nayaka was a warrior is often apparentnot through explicit reference to a military position but in the types ofepithets (birudas) he had the right to proclaim, as we can see from thefollowing record (SII 6.602):

Svasti Sri! In year 1176 of the Saka era [1254-55 A.D.],the illustrious Kalapa Nayaka, who possesses all thepraiseworthy titles such as: upholder of the kingdomof the Codas, ornament of the Manma clan, he whosemighty right arm is formidably skilled with the bow,the husband of the goddess of victory in fierce battles,ruler of the Vengi territory, cekolu ganda [meaningunclear], like the sun in sincerity, worshipper of theglorious divine lotus feet of the god Mallisvara ofBejavada, subduer of the power (or armies) of the foes,rescuer of Kulottunga Rajendra Coda of Velanadu,lord of the excellent city Manyapura in Kandavadi andof Bejvada, like a Ravana in courage;

having consecrated the deity Cenna Kesava inInumella and having had a temple built, gave (non-irrigated) land to the extent of 5 khandugas in order toprovide for the food offering and perfumed ointmentof the Lord Kesava. For the ritual worship outside thesanctum, he gave (non-irrigated) land to the extent of10 khandugas and 1 marturu (of irrigated land) behindCintala tank to the east of that village and a flowergarden ...[several letters missing] the land given byKessava Gopaladasi.

(The donation was made) for the religious benefit ofthe (donor's) master Virayadeva and of (the king

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Kakatiya) Ganapatideva Maharaja. Whether given byoneself or by another ...[remainder damaged]15

Up to this point, I have been describing sets of status titles thatcirculated within certain specific social classes — Vedic brahmins, secularbrahmins, royalty, and the military elite. The status titles themselves areobviously not the names of distinct castes since they have overlappingreferents. For instance, the terms pregada and mantri have been appliedto the same person, as have the titles nayaka and senapati to anotherman. Even if the status titles are not the actual labels of specific castes,however, they could be taken as indicators of caste allegiance. That is,one could argue that the various social types signified by status titlesrepresented different castes. This argument is strengthened by thenature of the three remaining widespread titles found in medievalAndhra inscriptions — reddi, setti, and boya.16 None of these three areinterchangeable with other titles and both reddi and setti are widelyregarded as caste names today. In modern Andhra Pradesh, reddi is aname associated with a powerful landowning cluster of subcastes, whilesetti forms part of the caste name of many South Indian merchantcommunities. Additionally, although the term boya is no longer in use,one of the synonyms for boya in the inscriptions is golla, the name of awidespread caste of modern Andhra pastoralists.

Whether the interpretation of status titles as signifying casteaffiliation is accepted or not depends a great deal on how one definescaste, a notoriously vague term. In contrast,varna is set forth in classicalSanskrit literature and the ethnographic jati has been described innumerous monographs. The distinction between varna and jati is hencequite clear-cut. The jati system is said to differ from the varna systemthrough the importance it places on the ideology of purity and pollution,which led to a corresponding emphasis on endogamy (Tyler 1973:151).Therefore, Louis Dumont believes, the 'stress laid on function ratherthan birth' is the major feature of varna that differentiates it from thecaste system (Dumont 1970:69). The varna system operated through amode of classification which was based on an individual's function oroccupation, in other words, whereas the caste system classified peopleon the basis of heredity. One was born into a jati and, by extension, intothe larger caste category to which it belonged, but varna affiliation couldbe and was altered by individuals in ancient India (Kolenda 1978:32).When Dumont uses the phrase 'caste system', however, he is referring to

1 5 Because the last phrase is from a widely used imprecatory verse, the damaged portioncan be reconstructed as follows: He who steals land, whether given by himself oranother, will be reborn and forced to live as a maggot in excreta for 60,000 years.

16 Other miscellaneous status titles are dasa (indicating Vaisnava sectarian allegiance),bhakta (Saiva sectarian allegiance), desati (possibly referring to a segment of thereddi community), oju (from the Sanskrit word upadhyaya and used by masterartisans), and vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor).

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the diverse vertical hierarchies of jatis found in various villages ratherthan to caste as a horizontal unit encompassing several subcastes. Howcaste differs from jati is rarely specified in detail by scholars.

A caste is a level of social organisation at least one step above thatof the subcaste, that much seems to be agreed upon. Some castes aresaid to be aggregrations of just a few subcastes, who know about eachother and sometimes act in concert (Mandelbaum 1970:20). Members ofthis type of caste have substantial social interaction, in forms like thesharing of food or possibly even the exchanging of daughters, becausethey reside in a fairly compact territory. In this restricted definition ofcaste, there would commonly be a sense of shared origin — that is, abelief that the constituent subcastes were somehow related. It is evidentthat the status titles do not refer to communities of such limited characterbecause of the diversity of people using any given title.

The breadth of social groups encompassed by a status title isparticularly well-illustrated in the case of the term setti. In medievaltimes this title was used by the Teliki community of oil-mongers inAndhra and by various artisan groups throughout South India, as well asby purely mercantile communities (Sundaram 1968:39). Even today wefind that setti and its Tamil equivalent chetti are utilised by a wholeseries of merchant, money-lending and trading groups (Rudner 1987:372,n.ll). For instance, Gough reports the presence of the Telugu KomatiChettiars in Tanjavur, along with the Nattukkottai Chettiar caste ofMadurai (Gough 1981:30). Because this title is used by communities ofdifferent geographical origin and linguistic background, setti cannot beinterpreted as specifying a caste. It should be understood instead as thelabel of an entire social class, designating any person involved in theproduction and sale of commercial goods. Similarly, reddi was a titleoriginally held by village headmen regardless of their hereditarybackground (Thurston 1975:6,230; Somasekhara Sarma 1948:75). Hence,although it had associations with agriculture, reddi did not signify aspecific hereditary group of peasants in medieval times. And the factthat the words gopa (the Sanskrit word for cattle herder) and golla (theTelugu equivalent of gopa) are used as synonyms of boya highlights theterm's significance.17 Boya was a title that referred to the occupation ofherding, rather than to a particular community.

Status titles thus indicated membership in an overall occupationalclass rather than a localised community; yet some scholars might stillassert that these status classes represented castes. According to thisbroader definition of caste, it is not an organised body or operationalunit but rather a socio-cultural category. The various endbgamous

17 Certain boyas are referred to by the Sanskrit term gopa in SII 4.1370, SII10.284 and 333; boya and golla are equated in SII 5.197.

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subcastes which are grouped together typically share no more than acommon name and occupation, and perhaps some common customs(Kolenda 1978:20, Cohn 1971:116). The reality of a caste exists more inthe mind of the outside observer than in actuality, even though membersof similar subcastes will usually accept the assertion of common casteaffiliation (Dumont 1970:63, Cohn 1971:126). Since there are generallyno attributions of kinship ties nor even any social interaction between theseveral subcastes in the larger caste unit, the main factor that causesthem to be identified by others as a single social group is their sharedoccupation. In the words of Louis Dumont, 'One may conclude thatprofession is one of the differences, perhaps the most indicativedifference, whereby a group seen from the outside, a caste, is designated'(Dumont 1970:95).

If a similar occupation is the primary criterion for the inclusion ofjatis in a caste, the second, broader, definition of caste would seem togreatly resemble that of varna. Since the various subcastes that arecombined under a common caste name might have no hereditary or kinlink, surely an emphasis on birth can not be considered the definingfeature of caste. The entire system may be predicated on the principle ofmembership by birth in the constituent subcaste units, but caste identityderives from perceived similarities between subcastes primarily becauseof a shared societal function or occupational identity (such as potter,weaver, merchant, etc.). The four varnas of Sanskrit literature are alsosocial classes based on occupational function. If caste merely denotes agrouping of social units that share a similar profession and status, then acaste resembles a varna in being a functional classification rather than agenealogical one.

The lack of clarity in our conception of caste may be due to the factthat it collapses what are in reality several levels of classification. Foxclaims that there are a whole series of intermediary social rankingsfalling between the extremes of the local endogamous jati at the bottomend and the four-fold varna system of Sanskrit literature at the top level.One example he describes come from Tezibazar, a small town in easternUttar Pradesh. The Tezibazar social typology consisted of six mainstatuses: Brahmin, Thakur, Baniya, Kisan, Sudra, and Muslim. TheThakurs were the local nobility of that region of U. P. The Baniyasincluded artisans as well as merchant-traders. Cultivators, herders,barbers and blacksmiths were all united in the category of Kisan, a veryheterogeneous group (Fox 1969:38-39). Sudra is the term applied to theuntouchable communities of the area. Both the Brahmin and Thakurclassifications of Tezibazar each refer primarily to a single caste; incontrast, the Baniya and Kisan groupings included thirteen and elevencastes, respectively. Fox calls the social ranks comprising the Tezibazarclassificatory scheme 'sub-regional varnas.'. In his view, the vaious

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groups in a sub-regional varna unit are diverse and unrelated except fortheir claim to a common status, unlike a caste or caste cluster in whichsocial interaction occurs between the associated subcastes.

In her discussion of the caste system of Tanjavur, Gough has alsodescribed multiple layers of social organisation. She distinguishes aminimum of four levels: local subcaste community, endogamoussubcaste, regional subcaste, and caste (Gough 1981:20-24). While Foxand Gough are agreed in their view of Indian social organisation asbeing multi-layered, Gough persists in using the label "caste" for thehighest classificatory level. She runs into problems, however, in heranalysis of Tanjavur brahmins, whom she considers one caste. In theircase, there are an additional number of structural levels, for Tanjavurbrahmins can be differentiated into Telugu or Tamil and as Smartha(Ayyar) or Srivaisnava (Ayyangar). The advantage of Fox's scheme is itsconceptual clarity, with different terms assigned to each hierarchicallevel of social classification.

Fox believes that the sub-regional schemes have been overlooked byWestern scholars because many of the localised varna names are also thenames of specific jatis. Yet unrelated subcastes may be jointly groupedand called by the name of the one jati which is best-known or mostrepresentative of that type (Fox 1969:33). Dirks points out that titlesassociated with specific caste groups in Tamil Nadu were often adoptedby other castes with similar occupations because of their prestige(1987:174, n. 17 and 248). The Vellalar title 'Pillai' was usurped by othercaste groups in Tanjavur including the Kallars, Maravars, andAgambadiyars (Gough 1981:300). Likewise, in North India there aremany instances of unrelated castes who have adopted the names or titlesof locally prominent groups. Hence, no common ethnic identity, kinrelation, or social interaction necessarily underlaid the use of the sametitle, which essentially identified a social category formed through thecoming together of diverse groups which perceived commonalitiesbetween themselves or aspired to the prestige of an already establishedgroup (Fox 1971:16-22 and 44-46).

It is my belief that the groupings demarcated by the use of certainstatus titles in medieval Andhra are categories resembling the sub-regional varnas described by Fox rather than castes per se. Thepossession of a title signified inclusion in a status classification,determined mainly by the occupation followed. The status category wasnot equivalent to a set caste affiliation since it was possible for membersof more than one caste to hold identical titles. (The Tezibazartypological scheme was mixed in this regard, with some statusesincluding multiple castes while others were comprised of only one caste.)In the end, how we label the social types designated by status titles is notof crucial importance. If we understand caste to be a unit of people

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distinguished mainly by the possession of a common name and similaroccupation, it differs from a varna merely in scale rather than in type.Both castes and localised varnas are then essentially cultural categoriesof classification. The most significant point for our discussion here is thecentrality of occupation in determining how people were classified,whether we are talking about caste or other levels of social organisation.

In summary, an analysis of male names in medieval Andhra revealsthe existence of a social typology based on the use of twenty-three titlesas surnames. Various sets of these titles differentiated distinct socialclasses within which people shared a common status derived from theirsimilar occupations. The inscriptional status titles can be grouped intothe following seven categories:

bhatta/ pandita = Vedic brahminamatya/ mantri/ pregada/ raju = secular brahmincakravarti/ maharaja/ raju = royalty or nobilitysetti = merchant, trader, artisanboya = herderreddi = village headman, landed

peasantnayaka/ camupati/ sahini/senapati/ rautu/ lenka = military chief, local magnate

Social groups of inferior status and occupation do not appear in thisscheme, for the simple reason that almost all medieval inscriptionsdocument transfers of property to Hindu temples and hence only recordthe names of persons who owned something of value. We can assumethat other classes besides those enumerated above existed. But we neednot be able to describe every existent social group in order to note thesalient fact that the medieval Telugu social universe was conceptuallydivided into discrete functional orders or estates.

IV Occupational Change and Social Mobility

If a social typology based on function and occupation did indeed underliethe use of status titles as surnames in medieval Andhra, the implication isthat what people actually did played a significant role in determiningtheir social position. In other words, the sorts of names possessed bypeople figuring in inscriptions suggest that their identity was derivedfrom the activities they engaged in. Persons with a common source oflivelihood were grouped together in the social class associated with thatoccupational function. The paucity of references to varna and jati inthirteenth century inscriptions that was noted earlier in this article maytherefore be a consequence of the relative unimportance of hereditarilyascribed rank in formulating social identity when compared to earned

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status. This thesis can be tested through examination of the extent towhich titles were passed on from father to son, for if achievement wascrucial to social prestige we would expect to find fluctuations in rank.

Although the inscripitional data does not enable us to trace manyfamilies over a number of generations, half of the donors in the sampleunder study do provide the names of their fathers. We know the namesof two generations of men in 358 instances, fifty percent of the total of715. Table two shows that the same status title was borne by both fatherand son in the majority of cases (column "Equal F"). Close to two-thirdsof the men shared a title with their father — 217 instances or 61 percentof all individuals whose father's name is known. Additionally, in twelvepercent of all cases (43 instances), the son and father were alike in thefact that neither of them possessed a title. Consequently, approximatelythree-quarters (73 percent) of all men in this body of data resembled theirfathers in name. The corollary is that in 27 percent of the cases, sons didnot resemble their fathers (column "Unequal F"). We can conclude thatwhile titles were commonly handed down from father to son this was notan automatic procedure.

A closer look at the instances where there was variance between thetwo generations, displayed in table three, reveals that the greatestdifference had to do with whether any status title was possessed at all.Fourteen percent of the men whose father's names are known — 51instances — did not themselves bear any status titles, despite the factthat their fathers held them (column "F Titled" of table three).18

Conversely, 16 titled men (four percent) who are counted in the "STitled" column had untitled fathers.19 Thus, titles were not an inherentpart of a family's name. If it did not indicate a hereditary attribute, thestatus title must have been connected to the individual's ownachievements. We can view it as an honorific appellation, assumed onlyby those of sufficient eminence. It is precisely because of the title'shonorific nature that I have used the word "status" in describing it, forpossession of a title demonstrated relatively high standing.

1 8 Their inscriptions are: APRE No. 244 of 1966; ARIE Nos. 47 of 1929-30, 307 of 1934-35,295 of 1936-37, 321 of 1937-38, 22 of 1942, 285 of 1949-50, 61 of 1963-64; CPIHM 1.10; EA4.14; EI 18.41; HAS 3.2; HAS 4; HAS 13.31 and 41; HAS 19 Mn.17, Mn.46, Ng.3; IAP-W.84; NDI Kandukur 55 and 63, Kavali 26, Ongole 70 and 98; SII 4.952 and 1110; SII5.132, 177, 180, and 182; SII 6.622 and 652; SII 10.304, 307, 314, 323, 324, 325, 347, 403, 414,422, 439, 466, 486, 499, and 518.

1 9 Their inscriptions are: ARIE Nos. 289 and 332 of 1930-31, 50 of 1941-42, 28 of 1961-62, 55of 1970-71; EI 3.15, 5.17 , 6.5; HAS 13.18; IAP-C.139 and 142; IAP-W.85; NDI Darsi 10,Kandukur 62, Kavali 23; SII 4.715 and 1019; SII 5.131; SII 6.214; SII 10.277, 288, 293, 321,and 370.

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Table One: Status Titles & Their Frequency

TITLE

nayakareddirajuboyamaharajasettipregadalenkacakravartidasabhattamantri

untitled

NO. OF MEN

126858253535118109554

191

TITLE

rautubhaktasahiniamatyadesatiojupanditasenapaticamupatipanguvaidya

SUB-TOTAL (titled)

TOTAL (all men)

NO. OF MEN

43322222111

524

715

Table

TYPEF

nayakareddirajusettiboyamaharajapregadamisc. titlesuntitled

TOTALa Numberb Number

that typec Number

that type

Two: Similarity of Titles Possessed by Fathers & I

NUMBER OF MEN (PERCENTAGE OFNAMED3 EQUAL Fb

564840353021122294

358

whose father's

47 (84%)43 (90%)32 (80%)32 (91%)25 (83%)11 (52%)9 (75%)

18 (82%)43 (46%)

260 (73%)

name is known.

MEN)

>ons

UNEQUAL Fc

95835

1034

51

98

(16%)(10%)(20%)(9%)(17%)(48%)(25%)(18%)(54%)

(27%)

with same status title as fatherXpercentage among men ofwhose father'swith differentwhose father's

> name is known).status than father, (percentage among men of»name is known).

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Table Three: Divergences in Status Title Possession

TYPE

boyama ha rajanayakapregadarajureddiroyal rajusettimisc

TOTAL

F TITLEDa

23

1269

12142

51

a Number of cases whereNumber of cases where

c Numbervaried.

STITLEDb

_ _

33141

--31

16

father possessed

son possessed a

DIFF TITLES0

5762

--44

--3

31

a title but son didtitle but father did

TOTAL

71321

91317576

98

not.

not.

of cases where both son and father had titles but the titles

Even stronger evidence proving that the title was not a hereditarymarker comes from the instances when both father and son had statustitles, but the titles differed (column "Diff Titles" of table three). BhimaReddi, for instance, was the son of Malli Nayaka, while KalariPinnamari Nayaka was the son of Prole Boya (SII 4.1178 and SII 10.319).Altogether, there are 31 occurrences of this sort of switch in status titlesbetween father and son out of a total of 358 individuals (nine percent).20

Because the status title was not always inherited, we can say withconfidence that it was an earned status derived from what an individualhad accomplished. While it may have been easier for sons whose fatherswere eminent to attain a similar stature, not all of them managed to doso. Some sons were more successful than their fathers and acquiredtitles even though their fathers were without them. Other menpresumably changed their occupation and thus used titles unlike those oftheir fathers.

Although levels of prestige varied between father and son, andseparate occupations were sometimes followed, there were parameters

2 0 Their inscriptions are: APRE No. 184 of 1966; ARIE Nos. 26 of 1929-30,251 of 1935-36, 130of 1951-52, 131 of 1951-52, and 15 of 1969-70; HAS 19 Mn.34; IAP-C.156 and 159; NDIKanigiri 24, Kandukur 61, Kandukur 64, Kandukur 65, and Kandukur 66; SII 4.712, 756,765, 1178 ,and 1367; SII 6.161; SII 10.231, 263, 271, 291, 300, 319, 322, 331, 355, 444, 451,452, 483, 487, and 536.

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to the degree of change that could occur. Going back to the instances inwhich fathers and sons held differing status titles, we see that the rangeof possible shifts was limited. Inscriptions contain the followingexamples:

SON FATHER

pregada mantri, rajumaharaja rajuraju maharaja, nayakareddi nayaka, lenkaboya nayaka, setti, reddinayaka boya, reddi, rautu,

camupati

The left-hand column lists the titles of sons, whereas the right-handcolumn portrays the various statuses associated with their fathers. Forexample, the top line shows that some pregada men had fathers withthe titles mantri or raju . Sons of boyas did not become maharajas,however, nor did sons of mantris become reddis.

An analysis of the variations confirms the existence of distinct socialclasses within which specific sets of titles circulated. The three titlespregada, mantri, and raju are interchangeable, but form an exclusivetriad — no non-brahmin, or person bearing another status title, appearsto have penetrated into this circle. A distinct royal or noble class can alsobe distinguished, in which the titles maharaja and raju rotated. Thisclassification was not as restricted as that of the secular brahmins, forthere are two men with the title raju and clearly of royal rank who citetheir father's title as nayaka (SII 10.331 and 444). Settis or merchant-artisans were another self-contained social class. There are no examplesof a setti man whose father did not also possess that title, although wedo have three cases of a setti father with a boya son (ARIE Nos. 130 and131 of 1951, SII 6.161). The settis were the most stable social category,for they had the highest frequency of the retention of this title fromfather to son (see percentages in column "Equal F" of table two). Thissuggests that the opportunity of switching from a commercial career toone connected with agricultural or military functions was quite restrictedin medieval society.

The most fluid of all the classifications were reddi, boya, andnayaka. The figures in table two show that reddis, boyas, and nayakashad high rates of title retention from one generation to another. Butwhen changes in titles did occur, the field of possible alternatives was fargreater for men in these three groups than it was for other men. Nayakaand lenka fathers could have offspring with the title reddi, while nayaka,setti, and reddi men could produce boya sons. Nayaka men could comefrom either reddi or boya families, as well as from those of rautus and

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camupatis (both military titles). This type of cross-over between statuscategories is also found when we investigate the background of womendonors in the inscriptions. We have one example of a woman, SuramaRedisani, whose father was a nayaka but who was married to a reddi(SII 5.153). Another woman, Prolasani, was the daughter of a boya buthad a nayaka husband (SII 10.311). In a third instance, a woman namedErakasani claimed to be the sister of a nayaka and the wife of a reddi(HAS 13.42). Several daughters of nayakas married men with otherstatus titles such as raju, maharaja, and rautu (IAP-K.37, SII 10.260 and290). The demarcations between the three statuses of reddi, boya, andnayaka s were particularly ambiguous and permeable.

We can conclude that movement between the seven general classesof peoples differentiated by the possession of certain status titles —secular brahmin, Vedic brahmin, royalty or nobility, merchant-artisan,herder, elite peasant and military chiefs — had some restrictions,although individual examples of occupational change and mobility canbe found for all classes except brahmins. But in general, we find that thetwo kinds of brahmins, the merchant-artisans, and royalty were discretesocial classes, in which membership was primarily acquired throughhereditary means. The situation is quite different among the last threesocial classes, who comprise a large portion of the population studied.Reddis, boyas, and nayakas constitute 37 percent (264 individuals) of allmen in the sample and 50 percent of the men in the sample with titles. Inother words, a considerable degree of mobility was observed among halfof the titled men. While many members of these three social typesretained the title borne by their fathers, it was not at all unusual for themto acquire one of the other two titles instead (or, alternatively, a militarytitle such as lenka, camupati, and rautu). Some of them, especiallynayakas, also moved upward into the ranks of the nobility.

This data, which demonstrates that individuals quite often changedtheir occupations and status rankings, contradicts the scholarlyconsensus that social mobility was essentially a group phenomenon in'traditional' India (Silverberg 1968). A major influence in formulatingthis consensus has been M. N. Srinivas' model of Sanskritisation,according to which upward movement in the social scale was possibleonly when an entire corporate group (generally, the subcaste) adopted amore Sanskritised or brahmanical lifestyle (Srinivas 1971). S. C. Malik'sjudgment quoted below is a typical example of this stance.

Large-scale individual mobility — irrespective of caste— is indeed a modern phenomena. But, earlier,individual mobility was possible, especially in the caseof commercial, literary, military and other activities,albeit the individual functioned within the group, and

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his mobility was mostly achieved within thefunctional sub-unit — the jati (Malik 1986:3).

The few significant exceptions to the overall rule of jati or subcastemobility were the royal families of dubious origin who successfullyclaimed kshatriya varna. Such radical escalations in rank, withoutcorresponding alterations in behavior, could be legitimated solelythrough military conquest and territorial acquisition. The only scholarwho has argued that a significant degree of individual social mobilityexisted in medieval India is Burton Stein. In the article 'Social Mobilityand Medieval South Indian Hindu Sects', Stein illustrates his thesisthrough citing examples of sudra families who held important ritualpositions in temples, as a result of the egalitarianism of the bhaktidevotional movement (1984:283-301).

The insistence that social mobility was a group phenomenon is alogical corroUary of the paradigm of Indian society as a fixed hierarchyordered on the principle of purity and impurity. Because rank would beascribed primarily by birth in such a system, individual attainments couldhave only an ephemeral impact on social status. Unless the marriage-circle to which the person belonged revised its customs and laid claim toa more pure status, any improvement in social position would not belasting. Yet ample evidence of fluidity in the social system can be found;how to reconcile this with the notion of a set hereditary hierarchy hasbeen a recurrent problem in South Asian scholarship. While continuingto insist on the primacy of ritual purity in establishing social ranking,many anthropologists have conceded that possession of political powerand/or wealth affect the prestige of a group (e.g., Srinivas 1971:5, Tyler1973:136). Louis Dumont, who draws a sharp line between ritual andsecular spheres and claims that the latter was encompassed by theformer, is the best-known proponent of the concept of a hierarchy basedon purity and impurity. The inability to account for political or secularpower is the major weakness of Dumont's theory, as he himselfacknowledges: 'Anticipating the study of actual observable statusrankings, we admit in advance that they give power a place which is notallowed for by the theoretical hierarchy of the pure and the impure'(Dumont 1970:77).

The assertion that the principle of purity-impurity is of overridingimportance in shaping social relations is currently being challenged by anumber of scholars. Frederique A. Marglin believes that the anomalousposition of devadasi women in Puri — impure in their sexual activitiesbut performing essential duties in the temple — is due to a secondordering principle, that of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, whichdiffers from purity-impurity in being non-hierarchical in nature (Marglin1985:300-303). Gloria G. Raheja's study of a North Indian village has ledher to the view that 'mutuality' among castes and the ritual centrality of

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the dominant caste outweigh the hierarchical pre-eminence of thebrahmin in social significance (Raheja 1989:82). Dennis B. McGilvraynotes the markedly political ideology pervading the regional castesystem of the Ceylon Tamils, molded by the martial values and emphasison honour of the dominant Mukkuvar caste (McGilvray 1982:35 and 95).Nicholas B. Dirks argues that 'caste was embedded in a political contextof kingship' and hence concern with royal authority, honour, and powerwas far more characteristic of Pudukkottai ideology than notions ofpurity-impurity (1987:7).

While no one would deny the existence of the hierarchical principleof purity-impurity nor its importance in certain social contexts, thedegree to which it informs all social relations is at question. Models ofthe caste system based on the notion of a ritual rank derived from birthare helpful in understanding the position of the brahmin and theuntouchable. But although the opposite ends of the continuum of purityand impurity may be clearcut, the middle range comprising the vastmajority of persons is not. How can we explain the high status ofritually intermediate groups, especially those who do not observe thedietary customs and non-violent mores of the allegedly superior andpurer brahmin? Theories that instead give primacy to other principles,and especially those which focus on political and economic power, canbetter explain the observable rankings of the bulk of the population. Acase in point is the prestige and influence of the so-called dominantcastes of modern India, homologous in their social position toprecolonial royalty.

Furthermore, if we discard the belief in purity-impurity as thepredominant ordering principle of the Indian social system, we are betterable to account for the dynamism that is reflected in actual data from theprecolonial period. It is precisely because possession of power is atransient phenomenon that we witness fluidity in the social system.Once we acknowledge that political and economic power were central toits ideology, we can accept social change as an integral feature ofprecolonial Indian society, as elsewhere in the world. To be sure,rampant social movement was not typical of medieval Andhra and onecan not deny the strength of hereditary privilege and kinship bonds.Alterations of occupation and status tended to take place within certainlimits and the majority of men followed in the footsteps of their fathers.But, in this sense, precolonial India was not unlike any otherpreindustrial society, all of which are characterised by socialconservatism and the use of heredity to determine status (Crone1989:108). The ways in which people described themselves in medievalinscriptions, however, reveal that individual achievements werehonoured and could alter social position.

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A focus on accomplishments, rather than on prestige derived frombirth, is evident in the ways many men were praised in inscriptions. Astriking example of this is provided in a record dating from 1290 A.D.composed on behalf of Ambadeva II of the Kayastha lineage. TheKayasthas had migrated to Andhra a couple of generations earlier andhad served as subordinate warriors, first of the Telugu Coda kings ofNellore and later of the Kakatiya rulers. Ambadeva II, however, rejectedKakatiya assertions of overlordship and spent much of his life fightingagainst the armies of the Kakatiyas and their allies. The explicitobjective of his 1290 A.D. inscription was to grant tax exemptions to allthe lands possessed by the renowned Tripurantaka temple (now inPrakasam District). But because of Ambadeva's assumption of a royalprerogative and the lengthy eulogy found in this record, it can beinterpreted as a public declaration of his independence.

The inscription begins with several forumalaic opening versespraising the gods. The next few verses deal with Ambadeva's ancestry:

From the body [kaya] of the lotus-born god Brahma wasborn the clan of certain kings called 'Kayastha'. Fromthat clan arose the great lord Gangaya, the subduer ofhorses, like the celestial tree Parijata from the ocean.

After him, the two-armed Janardana, the child of thatking's sister, came into existence like an embodimentof great glory appearing, with the royal fly-whiskclearly displayed, resembling an ornament (on thetrunks) of the elephants who were guardians of all thecardinal directions.

His brother was Tripurarideva, who with the heat ofthe vigor of his arms, which surpass Mt. Meru instrength, turned back the course of the sun fromtraversing the entire earth whose girdle is the ocean.

Like Upendra, the younger brother of the lord of thegods Indra, his younger brother [Ambadeva] obeyed theinjunction to be charitable even going to the extent offetching the wish-fulfilling tree.21 Ambadeva, whosearms were skilled at wielding a sword, protected theearth which had been brought under the control of hiscommands in all directions, with righteousness.

(vv. 4-7, SII 10.465)

2 1 I.e., just as Upendra stole the wish-fulfilling tree to give to another, so did Ambadevaseize the treasures of enemy kings for the purpose of making gifts.

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Ambadeva's successes in battle are then narrated in the succeeding nineverses. Although mythological allusions are abundant, each verserelates victories over specific historical figures, as shown in thefollowing selections:

Ambadeva, who having defeated king Sripati Ganapatiin battle by displaying his ferocious abilities, has takenaway from him the honour symbolized by possessionof the epithet Rayasahasramalla ['champion over athousand kings'].

Because of Ambadeva's arms, king Eruva Mallidevafell from a moving horse in battle along with his prideand the host of his allied troops. Having cut offMallideva's head, Ambadeva then cast down his ownweapon and through repeatedly knocking the headaround the ground with his feet, as if kicking a playingball, he who was never tired finally grew weary.

Ambadeva, having made king Kesava fleeaccompanied by Somideva and Allu Ganga, has seizedall their horses as the reward for his valour, (vv. 8, 10,13; SII 10.465)

A final two verses asking for the god Siva's benediction end the Sanskritverse portion of the inscription.

The praising of Ambadeva's greatness is not over, however, for therecord continues with a list of approximately fifty Telugu and Sanskritepithets (birudas) that he possessed, many of them earned in battle.Some epithets, such as 'the hero who has taken the head of EruvaMallideva' (Eruva-mallidevani tala-gondu-ganda), refer to eventsnarrated in the Sanskrit verses. Others refer to differentaccomplishments, like the getting of tribute from distant kings ('he who isadorned with shining ornaments of gold and gems sent as gifts by theking of Devagiri', Devagiri-raya-prasthapita-prabhrita-mani-kanaka-bhusana). Although Ambadeva's inscription is unusual in its length, itshighlighting of a warrior's own achievements rather than his inheritedprestige and legitimacy is quite representative of the period.

The secondary literature on India exaggerates the rigidity of itssocial structure in relation to comparable societies, in my opinion, andignores the fact that opportunities for social advancement did indeedexist. The dominant paradigm of 'traditional' Indian society as ahereditary hierarchy based on ritual purity has obscured the influence ofpolitical power and the concomitant flexibility of the social system.There was scope in the Andhra social system for changes of status, asdemonstrated by the considerable proportion of the male donors

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appearing in extant inscriptions (27 percent of the sample of men whosefather's name is known) whose status was not identical to that of theirparent. Analysis of Andhra inscriptions from the late twelfth throughearly fourteenth centuries hence refutes the widespread depiction ofprecolonial India as a static and closed society in which peopleunderwent little change in rank, status, or occupation.

V. Conclusion

In the many debates regarding the true nature of precolonial Indiansociety, information drawn from inscriptional sources has beenconspicuously lacking. I have here attempted to remedy this oversightthrough examination of a body of inscriptions from medieval AndhraPradesh. The way people appearing in the epigraphical recordsidentified themselves tells us much about the prevalent socialconceptions and important units of social organisation. Contrary toexpectations, varna and jati rarely figure in the inscriptions, with clanmembership the only social affiliation claimed by large numbers ofpeople. Clans were cited primarily by individuals belonging to politicallydominant families, however, and were not a universal feature ofmedieval social identity. The absence of well-articulated social units inthe data may well be a consequence of unsettled conditions withinAndhra during this period. Because of the shift in political dominance tothe interior region, as well as the large degree of physical movement andnew settlement occurring in this era, complex networks of kin relationshad still to fully develop.

Although the inscriptions do not yield any overt scheme of socialclassification, I have suggested that the status titles which constitutedthe last component of many male names acted in fact as a form of socialtypology. While most of these titles are in use today as caste labels, theyhad not yet acquired that restricted character in the medieval period andrepresented earned statuses, rather than ascribed ranks. Each of thetitles had a broad occupational or functional affiliation, but there wasmuch overlap between certain titles in their associations. Theoccupations denoted by separate sets of titles fall into seven maincategories: secular brahmin, religious or Vedic brahmin, nobility,merchant-artisans, elite peasants, herders, and military chiefs. Theconcept of a social universe organised into discrete functional orders orestates revealed by these seven classes is broadly similar to that found invarious varna schemes (both classical and modern regional) in that socialclassification derives primarily from occupation.

The most important finding of this investigation is the degree offluctuation in the possession of status titles between members ofdifferent generations. One-fourth of the men in the sample had a name

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which differed significantly from that of their father. Such differenceswere of three basic types: due to the son's possession of a title when hisfather lacked one, or because the son had no title even though his fatherdid, or through the possession of a status title unlike the father's. Thesedivergences indicate that the level of eminence attained by individualmen varied substantially and was not automatically derived from thefather's position or rank. What we find in thirteenth century Andhra is asociety vastly different from the rigid, tradition-bound society implied bythe common model of a social system composed of hierarchically rankedand hereditary jatis .

Indeed, the whole notion that the caste system was the centralfeature of 'traditional' India is seriously challenged by this examinationof medieval Andhra inscriptions. In that sense, the present study joins agrowing body of evidence which argues to the contrary. A number ofscholars now believe that the indigenous social system was depoliticisedduring the colonial period through elimination of the pivotal role of theHindu king. Far from being a hierarchical system based on rigid rankingaccording to levels of ritual purity — in which the brahmin occupied themost important position — precolonial society was in actuality centeredaround the king, in their view.22 British intervention truncated the toplevels of what had been an extensive redistributive system thatintegrated the various sectors of society, and thereby forcibly separatedthe hitherto joint economic, political, and social hierarchies. In theeconomic sphere, British rule thus resulted in the emergence of the self-sufficient village with its jajmani division of labor — this was all thatwas left of the original redistributive network, but it was not an inherentfeature of 'traditional' India itself (Fuller 1977:105-108; Dirks 1989:65-72). Similarly, in the newly autonomous social sphere, the dislocationscaused by colonialism led to the 'substantialisation' of caste as thedominant organisational principle and the substitution of brahmins asthe arbiters of social order in place of the king (Inden 1986:402 and 440;Dirks 1987:10).

The present study also disputes the depiction of 'traditional' Indiansociety as a world defined by its constituent social units, rather than byan assortment of active and effectual individual beings. The generalinsistence on the group character of social mobility is part of thisIndological representation — what Ronald B. Inden calls 'societalism'.He describes it as an attitude 'in which Indian actions are attributed to

2 2 Fuller 1985:168; Dirks 1987:7; Inden 1986:440. Peter Claus has used oral traditions fromthe Tulu area of South India to argue that the Hocartian model of a caste systemrevolving around the king reflected the early stratum of Dravidian society (1978:21).The other scholars mentioned above agree with Claus in preferring A. M. Hocart'sideas on caste to those of Louis Dumont, who asserted that ritual power encompassedsecular power in India. For other critiques of Dumont, see also McGilvray 1982:88-89and Appadurai 1988.

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social groups — caste, village, linguistic region, religion and joint family— because there are no individuals in India' (1986:403). Due to theassumption in Indological discourse that the individual was insignificant,and even non-existent sociologically, scholars have not looked for orrecognised evidence to the contrary (Mines and Gourishankar 1990:761-765). That individuals did indeed change their status rankings (andoccupations) is amply demonstrated in medieval Andhra inscriptions,proving that precolonial Hindu society was much more fluid thannormally supposed.

While we will never totally discard our reliance on literary sourcesand modern ethnographic observations in the study of the Indian past,we can and should depend more heavily on inscriptional data in thefuture. Inscriptions have previously been studied chiefly in order toestablish the chronological framework of Indian dynastic history. Theyare admirably suited to this purpose, because they are located in specificplaces and are usually dated; that is, inscriptions can be pinpointed on atime-and-space grid, unlike many literary sources. They are also ourmain source of information on the actual activities of individuals and,therefore, serve the important function of acting as a corrective fortheories derived from other types of material. I believe further study ofinscriptions from the perspective of social history will refute manyerroneous constructions of India which continue to be disseminated.

ABBREVIATIONS

APRE Andhra Pradesh Report on EpigraphyARIE Annual Report on (Indian) EpigraphyAPAS31 Select Epigraphs of Andhra Pradesh(Andhra

Pradesh Archaeological Series No. 31)CPIHM Copper-Plate Inscriptions at the Hyderabad

MuseumEA Epigraphia AndhricaEl Epigraphia IndicaHAS 13 Corpus of Telingana Inscriptions, Pt. 2. (Hyderabad

Archaeological Series No. 13)HAS 19 Corpus of Telingana Inscriptions, Pt. 3. (Hyderabad

Archaeological Series No. 19)IAP-C Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh: Cuddapah DistrictIAP-K Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh: Karimnagar

DistrictIAP-W Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh: Warangal DistrictNDI Nellore District InscriptionsSII South Indian InscriptionsSS Sasana Samputi

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