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ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
dasas, bhaya gas (bhṛtakas ),2 kammakārass and sevagapurisas1 whose services were regularly requisitioned by the higher section. of society for all sorts of hard manual work. The classification of the different types of dasas and bhayagas given in the NC. clearly reveals a difference between the status of the two and shows that while the former were the domestic servants or slaves in a family, the latter worked as hired labourers.
1. NC. 3, p. 263.
2. NC. 3, p. 273.
3. NC. 3, p. 519.
Slaves and Servants-Slavery was largely in vogue and the slaves (dasa, kharaga, duakkhara)5 were usually employed by the house-holders for their domestic work. Six classes of slaves (dasa) have been mentioned in the NC.-(i) slaves by birth or slaves born in family (gabbha), (ii) slaves by purchase (kita), (iii) those reduced to slavery for non-payment of debts (anaya), (iv) those who accepted slavery during famine (dubbhikkha), (v) those made slaves by the king as a punishment for certain crime (savaraha) and (vi) the slaves formed out of the prisoners of war (ruddha ).6 These different classes. of slaves have also been mentioned by the Brahmanic" as well. as the Buddhists authorities, although with minor variations.
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4. NC. 4, p. 350.
5. NC. 2, pp. 263, 265. For the institution of slavery see-"The Ideological Aspect of Slavery in Ancient India', Journal of Oriental Institute, Baroda, Vol. VIII, pp. 389-98; see also- Banerjee, N.C., "Slavery in. Ancient India", Calcutta Review, August 1930, pp. 249-65.
6. NC. 3, p. 263.
7. Seven types of slaves are mentioned by Manu ( Manusmrti, VIII. 415). Eighteen kinds of slaves are mentioned by Narada ( Naradasmṛti, V. 26-28), while Yajnavalkya enumerates fourteen kinds of slaves (Yajnavalkyasmṛti, p. 249 ).
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8. The Buddhist account of slaves includes prisoners of war, the voluntary slaves, those born in the family of slaves and those reduced to slavery as a result of the judicial decision.- Law, B. C., India as Described in Early Texts of Buddhism and Jainism, p. 192. See also-Basu, S. N., "Slavery in the Jātakas", JBORS., Vol. IX, Pts. 3-4, pp. 249-65.
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