________________
Vol. XXII, No. 4
193
community lingered in memory and life throughout the course of Indian history down to the present age. The Yajna took a ceremonial and occasional shape instead of the way of living which prevaded the whole existence of the community in a continuous fashion. Even so, when the Yajnas were performed, they revived the communitarian aspect of living in all respects Every body contributed his mite to the organisation of the Yajna and everybody received the benefits thereof.
Later Yajna ritual, the performing people are divided into various categories of Ritvijas who are then engaged by a private householder, called the Yajmāna, who pays for the Yajna ceremony. lo the Aryan society now there was a division of lobour in the seventeen categories of Ritvijas. But the Satras' persist even at this stage, in the form of 'sacrificial sessions', lasting for a year or longer, where the entire post of officiating priests are themselves the sacrificers.
When common property broke down, when war became the function of the king and his class of kshatras, when wealth accumu. lated in private households of these kshatras, when proceeds of war, instead of being considered communal as of old, began to be considered the property of the king and the ruling class, then Däna-distribution of the common-conquered wealth, instead of being a compulsory social-function and duty of the warchief, Ganapati, became a private duty of the king and the ruling class. If they did it, it was virtue. In people's minds it was so much attached with the warchiet that if the king in later periods did not do Dāna, he was considered a bad king. But if he failed, there was no communal right and force to compel him to do it because the commonalty had been disarmed and suppressed; it was now a class rule. Dåna became now a voluntary virtue and charity of the kings and kshatras. It also lost the character of an equal and general distribution. It remained within the discretion of the private donor to select his donee. Hence arose differences of good Däna and bad Dāna, and followed the moral discussions (viz. Geeta) regarding the Desh, Kala, Pátra for a Dāna (Place, time and object of Dāna decide as to whether it is good or bad type of charity and would bring virtue or sin to the donor). Such a discussion or question just had no place in the old days. Dāna then was a protection, as of right, against starvation, for the sick, the aged, the maimed and the weak, who had the first claim on social property. But when private property and class rule arose, Däna was converted from an instrument of social insurance to a privilege of the ruling class.
The Gana distribution of the Hutashesha also underwent the samo
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
