Manu’s Code of Law will Help Create Ideal Individuals

547 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Old indian caste system

Manu’s Code of Law is a post-Vedic authoritative text that describes the customs and appropriate conduct for the people within the Hindu caste system, and is essentially viewed as the laws that will help create ideal individuals. In the text, Manu rigidly defines the caste system into four distinct groups: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The manner of the narration makes it clear that the main actors being addressed in each caste are male, and although the Laws of Manu discuss the duties of each caste, the narration is predominately focused on the Brahmin caste, which is the top of the hierarchy of these ideal models of male action. A masculine ideal of orthodox Brahmin males is created through Manu’s laws—the perfect Brahmin male becomes characterized as someone who yearns spiritual knowledge, holds their power humbly, masters renunciation, and is well-disciplined. This characterization leads to the normalization of asceticism and following traditional customs as being the definition of “manliness” for Manu, which contrasts more contemporary definitions of manliness that ...

Show More
Related

  • Obedience to Authority as Showcases in A Few Good Men

    1927 Words  | 4 Pages

    Obedience may be a simple word, yet it has a powerful impact on the daily lives of millions. Obedience is simply when one follows the orders or directions of another figure, presumably in an authoritative position. This is something nearly everyone bows to everyday without even realizing it - and it can drastically change our lives as we know it. Obedience is, for example, how the holocaust happened. The Germans were ordinary people turned into murderers because they followed the orders of one man - their dictator, Adolf Hitler. Of course, obedience does not always result in horrid results such as the holocaust or result in such a large catastrophe. Obedience can have drastic effects on the lives of only a few men as well; this is showcased in the movie A Few Good Men.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of the Values of Classical India, China, and Persia

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    In India, the religion of Hinduism in particular, provides two sources of support in regards to the social structure of the era. These sources are the Vedas and the Upanishads. According to The Rig Veda when Purusha’s body was divided “his mouth became the brāhman; his two arms were made into the rajanya; his two thighs the vaishyas; from his two feet the shūdra was born (Reilly, 92).” By splitting up the body in this way, there was a justification for the creation of the varna or caste system. The highest class or Brahmin’s were the priest class, who were also known as the most pure. In this role, they were the connecting figures between Purusha and his people, which is reflective of them being his mouth. The next upper division class was the Ksatriya or warrior/leader class. In the class, the role was to do the fighting which was reflective of them being Purusha’s arms. The artisan/farmer or middle class was known as the vaisyas. In this class, members represented the role of the thighs of Purusha, who were responsible for doing the brunt or tougher jobs in society. The nethermost social class was the sudra, who were serfs and servants. They represented the feet of Pursha, which is reflective of their status as the lowest class. Along with the Vedas, the Upanishads served as a written guideline for the varna. These works urged the concept of doin...

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Epic Of Sunjata

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    Indian society was patriarchal, centered on villages and extended families dominated by males (Connections, Pg. 4). The villages, in which most people lived, were admini...

    Read More

  • Patriarchy in India, China, Greece and Rome

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most classical society’s political and social organization revolved around the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated social system. This system exacerbated the inherit difference between men and woman and assigned gender roles based on these observations. Men were generally regarded as superior to woman therefore given greater religious and political roles as well as more legal rights. As the natural inverse, women were subordinated and seen as week; their main roles reproductive and domestic. Information about patriarchy in the classical era, though abundant, was, for the most part, written by men, therefore history does not give us an accurate depiction of women’s viewpoints. Four societies of the classical era, India, China, Greece, and Rome, adopted a patriarchal system, however, due to many factors, each developed identifiable characteristics.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Michael Kimmel's 'Masculinity As Homophobia'

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    Manhood had not always existed; it was created through culture. Depending on the era, masculinity claimed a different meaning. But in all of its wandering definitions, it consistently contains opposition to a set of “others,” meaning racial and sexual minorities. (pp.45) One of the first definitions was the Marketplace Man, where capitalism revolved around his success in power, wealth, and status. A man devoted himself to his work and family came second. Although this is one of the first standing definitions, it still finds its spot in today’s definition, where masculinity consists of having a high paying job, an attractive young wife, and

    Read More

  • Martha Stewart Gender Roles

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the biblical days, society was very structural with the role of the “Man” and the “Woman.” This concept came to be known as the term gender roles, referring to the significant differences between men and women due to an established role and expectation created by society itself. Society’s expectations of the man’s character were assertiveness, analytical, and unemotional. These characteristics, collectively, coin the term masculine for men. And society’s expectations of the woman’s character were sensitivity, nurturing, and emotional, which together coined the term feminine. Along with the standards of feminine and masculine came responsibilities both the man and the woman. The male had economic responsibilities and the female had domestic

    Read More

  • Culture In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    Indian gender roles were well defined, and men’s and women’s responsibilities were equally crucial to

    Read More

  • South Asian Women

    2220 Words  | 5 Pages

    South Asian women engage in patriarchal values and normative structure established more than two thousands years ago, continue to be oppressed by a dominant group of men. These women suffer further oppression through the strict adherence to cultural garb. Still today, media and educational system portray South Asian women as self-sacrificing, faithful to the family, and submissive to men.

    Read More

  • Religion and Sexuality in Mexico and India

    3100 Words  | 7 Pages

    Verma, K and Mahendra, S, V. Construction of Masculinity in India: A gender and Sexual

    Read More

  • The Laws Of Manu

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Laws of Manu the caste system is described in great detail. It explains everything one must do to be a part of their caste. In Hinduism each social class (varna) has its own dharma, or social law. The concept of dharma regulates all parts of life for Hindu’s and outlines their duties. However, there are different levels of dharma for people in the twice-born varnas, which includes the Brahmin, Ksatriya, and Vaisya. The different levels of dharma are based on the stage of life that an individual is at. The four stages an individual can be at are a student, a householder, a forest-dweller, or a sannyasin. A sannyasin is the lowest stage one can be in and one reaches that stage when they have cut all of their ties to society. In the text from The Laws of Manu it is stated that a householder may “never, for the sake of subsistence, follow the ways of the world: let him live the pure straightforward, honest life of a Brahmin” (Smart & Hecht 214). The Hindus believed in living a very simple life and being very honorable. The Laws of Manu states that no Brahmin should “attach himself to any sensual pleasures” (214) and also to “avoid all (means of acquiring) wealth which impede the study of the Veda” (214). In The Laws of Manu the idea of final liberation is brought up very frequently. Final liberation is the goal of all Brahmins. A Brahmin lives his whole life striving to reach final liberation and he does so by following dharma. He does not challenge dharma at all and believes that if he follows it, he will reach final liberation.

    Read More

  • Impact Of British Colonialism on the Indian Caste System

    2707 Words  | 6 Pages

    The current manifestations of the caste system are now far more generalized across the Indian subcontinent than was the case in former times. Caste as we now recognize has been endangered, shaped and perpetuated by comparatively recent political and social developments. This is evident even i...

    Read More

  • Law In Society

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    Law is a tool in society as it helps to maintain social control, promoting social justice. The way law functions in society and its social institution provide a mechanism for solutions. There are many different theories of the function of law in relation to society in considering the insight they bring to different socio-legal and criminological problems. In the discussion of law’s role in social theory, Leon Petrażycki and Eugen Ehrlich share similar beliefs in the jurisprudence of society. They focused their work on the experience of individuals in establishing meaning in their legal relations with others based on the question of what it means to be a participant in law. Jürgen Habermas presents a relationship between law and morality. From a certain standpoint, law is a key steering mechanism in society as it plays an educational role in promoting conducts, a mean of communication and it

    Read More

  • Communal Conflict In Manto's Stories Summary

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many of Manto’s stories derive conflict from one source- the partition of India. In his stories, Manto explores the theme of communal conflict and many of his characters face extreme situations of ruthlessness, which are generally expressed through murder, rape or other forms of violent conduct. Women are most of the times the victims of the onslaught of communalist madness that Manto brings to the fore but there are times when they rise up against the hypocrisy of gender beliefs and show defiance in different forms. They at times are righteous and not easily dominated. Today in my presentation I will examine the defiant positions that women take up in different ways in stories of Manto in times of conflict.

    Read More

  • Rape Of Dominance Essay

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    Humans weren’t always patriarchal in nature. In prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies, human societies were relatively egalitarian. Male and females held equal status and power in society. Patriarchal society developed much later, and is thought to have been developed in a series of events during humans’ ...

    Read More

  • misconceptions of gender and masculinity

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    There have been many scholars who have pondered the question of what masculinity really is and how do we define it as a society. Often the question is gender something we really do, do we each shape the course for ourselves or are we molded into a predominate shape? To even begin the long debate to answer questions such as these, one needs to look at the individual role and at the role that institutions have on us.

    Read More

More about Manu’s Code of Law will Help Create Ideal Individuals

Open Document