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the arch忙ological remains are necessarily silent on such
subjects.
Then we come to the epic age, viz., the period of
the Mahabharata and the R膩m膩ya峁嘺. Though the
epics came to be written at a comparatively late period,
the age of the actual events described in the epics goes
back to the later phases of the Vedic period. Indian
opinion considers the bulk of the epics to have been already
written in the pre-Christian epoch. At any rate, it will be
generally acceptable, it is hoped, that the social conditions
portrayed in the epics relate to a long period embracing
some centuries before and after the Buddhist age. We
have mainly utilized Mr. Vaidya's Epic India" and
Upasamh膩ra" for the social life of the age."
66 2
66 Then comes the Buddhist age of which the J膩takas
have been taken as the representative literature.
Whatever be the age of the individual J膩takas, it will
have to be admitted that many J膩takas were vastly
popular before the third century B. C. as would appear
from the bas-reliefs on the st奴pas at Barhut and Sanchi,
where a number of scenes from the J膩takas are carved
on the railings round these st奴pas. According to Fick,
B眉hler, Fausb枚ll, Rhys Davids and other Buddhist scholars
the social conditions of the J膩takas refer at least to the
time of Buddha himself and the political conditions
show the period before the rise of the Nandas and the
Mauryas. In spite of the scepticism of Dr. Winternitz
to assign the antiquity claimed by these scholars for the
J膩takas, we think we are not far from right in stating
that the J膩takas may be taken to relate the political and
social conditions of North India in and before Buddha's
time. The kernel of the J膩taka stories goes back to the
earliest Hindu literature; there was nothing peculiarly
Buddhist about them. Verses were added later on to the
original stories when they were adapted into the Buddhist
scheme of J膩takas. The J膩takas and other Buddhist
writings no doubt show a distinct Ksatriya bias and look
down upon the Br膩hma峁嘺s in contrast to the Brahmanical
1 Mah膩bh膩rat膩c膩 Upasa峁僪膩ra, Poona, 1918; Epic India (First Reprint),
Bombay, 1983. 2 Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, pp. 190-194. 3 Fick, Die
Sociale Gilderung in Nordostlichen Indien Zu Buddhas Zeit, pp. vi, vii; G. B眉hler,
Indian Studies, No. 5, (Vienna, 1895); Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, pp. 202 n2,
204 n1, 205, 206. 4 HIL, II, pp. 121-123. 5 Rhys Davids, Buddhist India,
pp. 189, 205-206.