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A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NISITHA CURNI
human beings were classified by the Jaina philosophers”. I From the various references in the text it can be easily judged. that agriculture was the principal occupation of the people especially in the villages. The karisagas2 and the kodunbiyas or Kudumbiss were the peasants and cultivating householders following the occupation of agriculture. The term kuțumbin has been variously explained by different scholars.* In the NC., however, kudumbis are seen as cultivating householders who not only cultivated the fields themselves but were also in a position to employ servants and agricultural labourers (kammakara) for the purpose of cultivation.5 They seem to have belonged to quite well-off families and very often they provided shelter to the Jaina monks. The contemporary inscriptions also show kuțumbins to be agriculturist-labourers, and fields belonging to them are described as kuțumbikşetras.
1. Prajna panosutra. For cultivation see also--Ganguli, "Cultivation in
Ancient India'', IHQ. (1930-31 ), p. 136 and the Bhasya of Tattuārthadhigama-sūtra (published by Sheth D. L. P. Jaina Pustakoddhāra Fund Series, III. 15, p. 265 ). Vide--Hiralal Kapadia's article, “Some Reference Pertaining to Agriculture in Jain Literature”, IHQ,
Vol. X, p. 799 2. NC. 1, p. 115. 3. NC. 2, p. 9; NC. 3, pp. 160, 227, 4. The term kuļuřbin frequently occurring in the contemporary inscrip
tions has been taken in the sense of the cultivators ( CII, III, 314 ) or the housc-slaves (Kielhorn, EI. III, 314). According to D. R, Bhandarkar, they were the heads of the families of the cultivators ( videJinist Studies, pp. 79-82 ). According to another view, kuturbins belonged to professional artisan classes who cultivated land as subsidi. ary means of livelihood ( Pran Nath, Economic Condition in Ancient India, p. 157 ). However, the view that they were agriculturist householders appears to be more reliable.--Gopal, L., Economic Life of
Northern India, p. 24. 5. NC. 3, p. 519. 6. NC. 2, p. 9; NC. 3, p. 519. 7. CII. IV, Nos. 11, 20, 22, 24; EI. XXII, 115-20.
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