Tales of Ancient India

The book Tales of Ancient India, translated from the Sanskrit by J.A.B. van Buitenen, provides much information about the world in which these stories are set. The translator notes some of the social dimensions of these stories in his Introduction, where he notes the growth of the importance of commerce and profit as seen in these stories, the particular place of the sea in the Indian imagination, the social roles of the Indian woman, the importance of travel, and the special place accorded the merchant in these stories, along with a great number of social types reflecting the realities of Indian society of the time:

The merchant's part in the culture which these tales embroider has been emphasized here because he is the forgotten man of India. But he is not the only hero. You will find a parade of hermits, harlots, and kings carrying a goodly number corpses and skulls about (9).

The translator further notes that he has deliberately reduced the number of religious stories and morality tales because so many have already been disseminated and has also left out the large number of animal tales for the same reason. What remains gives a picture of the development of various societal attitudes and beliefs.

The society depicted is clearly a hierarchical one, and what social mobility there is in this time occurs with merchants increasing their wealth and their social position. At the same time, these stories show a mixture of social types such as would not occur in a society

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to that name. It is stated that in that city "the demarcations of caste were never trespassed upon" (43). The brahmins are the highest caste, but they are not necessarily of royal blood, which is a separate issue. Some brahmins are wealthy, but not all--the brahmin Lohajangha in one story tells the courtesan who desires him that he has no money, while brahmins in other stories are clearly wealthy. The brahmins have special powers because of their superior knowledge and their righteousness--a wealthy merchant wanted a son and asked the brahmins to help; they are identified here as priests and tell him that "the brahmins can bring about everything on earth by means of the scriptural sacrifices" (107). Brahmins are said to know "the higher and the lower wisdom" (55). Family ties are part of the hierarchical structure and are important in a number of ways. There are rules governing family interactions and legal issues regarding inheritance and other family-related matters. When a merchant is lost at sea, the king tells the assembled merchants that the rules of inheritance will decide what happens to the fortune left behind (112). Many of the stories told by the Vampire in the first section relate to family issues, and the V

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