Conditions Of Child And Society In The Ramayana And Mahabharata

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At this point, it is useful to pause and look at the general conditions of children in India, in particular with regard to all inflicted on them by their parents and society in general treatment. Historically, we all know that the primary caregiver of a child was the mother, immediate or as much family, the common family (castes) secondary Jati relations. Kakar (1978, 1982, 1989, 1996, 2008), who made a detailed analysis of Indian child and society in his book “Inner World - A psychoanalytical study of childhood and society in India” was much stopped in the mother-child relationship and discussed how deeply this relationship affects the "quality" and "dynamic" of society throughout their life. According to the belief that life begins at conception …show more content…

However, this “childcenteredness”, was found to be limited to children. Indian tradition has always been indifferent, if not openly hostile, girls develop destination. The Indian tradition adheres to an ideology that reduces the role of the environment and included in the development of a child, and instead emphasizes a deterministic conception of mystical heritage. This mystical heritage in the Mahabharata was reduced to karmas of the previous life and the father of attributes (including caste) transmitted by his "seed" (Kakar, 1981: 199-200). These epics also reported on how children, especially young males, were placed under the supervision and guidance of respected gurus in which the moral precepts set forth in the shastras are taught in a one-to-one basis. But that, too, was limited to children breeds more …show more content…

And this indulgence protection is best reflected in the issues that concern mostly the children - namely, their punishment. The children were only to be beaten with a rope or a split bamboo at the end. The split bamboo, as we may remember from circus clowns’ mock fights, which made a loud noise, but does not inflict much pain. Moreover, even this punishment should be brought back and never in the head or chest. All those who have views on regressive discipline of children, the beating of children may not seem "indulgence of protection." However, the magnitude of this indulgence becomes startlingly clear when comparing the Laws of Manu with the legal texts of other ancient societies which existed as brutal forms of abuse and ill-treatment of children. As mentioned at the beginning, there is evidence in the codes and compendia of ancient Rome right to suggest that the brutal forms of child abuse were common evil, that the most enlightened emperors tried to mitigate. And it was not until as late as 374 AD that infanticide was declared a capital crime in the Roman world. In short, despite the laws of Manu modern standards have been severely condemned as a reservoir of evil, his attitude towards children - one of protection nurturance- is undeniable, at least in the premises of the patriarchal society that

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