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The Indo-European Sodalities in Ancient India
whereas elsewhere in Buddhist literature majority is attained at sixteen.115
The age of twenty as a landmark, when adolescents become active soldiers, occurs also among the Spartans who possessed a well-developed bfotherhood system with several specially designated age groups. CHRIMES116 established three social levels in the classes of youthful bands (ayéλat): (1) sons of privileged families from whom the leaders, Bo(u)ayol were elected; (2) a middle class, and (3) an élite from unprivileged ramilies. This élite was called xáoɛv, a collective which Hesychius describes as 'brothers or cousins belonging to the same άyéλ' and defines ἡλικιώται ‘equals in age ac. in the ἀγέλαι'. The κάσεν apparently were clients of the boys of the first families, adoptive brothers but not in the legal sense , as against the xaolyvnto: which means 'bodily or blood brothers'.
A similar system has been inferred by WIDENGREN in Iran11o and may have existed in India, too, since the Rgveda says of the Maruts that they were 'born at the same time, 120 of the same age',121 'grown up together'122 and that 'none of them is the eldest, the youngest or the middle one'.12 Subsequently, in a victory charm in TS, men are referred to: 'By Agni [...] I trample under foot my foes born before me [...]. By Indra [...] (I trample under foot my foes) born along (with me) etc. By the All-gods [...] (I trample...) born after (me) etc.'14 (Keith). Indra, the leader of the Maruts, is implicitly made a celestial equal in age. 125 The reference to birth at the same time, the significance of which for the persons or things in question is never definitely stated but must have had a meaning, expresses a particularly close bond implicit in common education,
115 See PED s.v. vayoppatta and solasavassa (references are from secondary Pali only).
116 Op. cit. (n. 73), p. 116.
117 Οἱ ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς ἀγέλης ἀδελφοί τε καὶ ἀνεψιοί.
118 CHRIMES, op. cit., p. 110. Beside the xάoev there are found ouvéonẞot, whose "patrons" were the Bo(u)ayol and who, therefore, were a much smaller group than the κάσεν.
119 Der Feudalismus im alten Iran, Ch. II (esp. p. 53ff.) and III.
120 Sākam jātāḥ (RV 5,55,3). 121 Savayasah (RV 1,165,1).
122 Samukeitäh (RV 5,56,5). 123 RV 5,59,6.
14 TS 3,5,3 Agnina devena pṛtana jayāmi [...] pūrvajän bhrätrvyān [...] Indrena devena prtana jayami [...] sahajan Viavebhir Devebhiḥ priană jayāmi [...] aparajān [...].
125 According to Ramayana 3,5,17 Indra and all other gods are 25 years of age.
