Sūta (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
:
सूत) refers both to the bards of Puranic stories and to a mixed caste. According to ''
Manu Smriti
The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote thei ...
'' (10.11.17), the sūta caste are children of a
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
father and a
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...
mother. And the narrator of several of the Puranas,
Ugrasrava Sauti
Ugrashravas Sauti (Sanskrit: उग्रश्रवस् सौती, also Ugraśravas, Sauti, Sūta, Śri Sūta, Suta Gosvāmī) is a character in Hindu literature, featured as the narrator of the Mahābhārata and several Puranas includin ...
, son of Lomaharshana, was also called Sūta. Authorities are divided on whether the bards were members of the sūta caste. Ludo Rocher points out that the use of sūta as a caste may have been separate from the earlier use of sūta to describe Lomaharshana and his son Ugrasrava Sauti. R. N. Dandekar states that the sūta caste is different from the narrator of the Puranas.
"Brāhmaṇyāṁ kṣatriyātsūtō prātilōmyēna jāyatē. Gajabandhanamaśvānāṁ vāhanaṁ karma sārathēḥ.29. Vaiśyadharmēṣu sūtasya adhikāraḥ kvacidbhavēt. Jātivi0 - kṣatriyāṇāmasau dharma kartumar'hatyaśēṣataḥ. Kin̄cica kṣatrajātibhyō n'yūnatā tasya jāyatē ॥ ३० ॥"
"In brahmin women, suta caste is born out of pratilomata marriage by kshatriyas. Elephant keeping and charioteer is their livelihood, they has no right in Vaishyadharma. It is written in "Jati Vivek" that they can do all duties of Kshatriyas, but it is a little less than the Kshatriya caste, it is the twelfth".॥ 29 ॥ 30 ॥ Jatibhaskara
Sūta is also mentioned as a class of people in the epic ''
Mahābhārata'', often charioteers. The foster-parents of
Karna
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...
, a character of
Kurukshetra War, were Sūtas. Hence, Karna too was considered as a Sūta.
Kichaka
In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Kichaka or Keechaka is the commander-in-chief of Matsya kingdom, the country ruled by King Virata. He was the 1st Younger Brother of Sudeshna, the queen of Virata. Kichaka was a very powerful man and had immen ...
, the commander of
Matsya
Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya ...
army, was a Sūta.
The two main occupations of Sūtas as per epic ''
Mahābhārata'' were:
#
story telling
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...
#
chariot-driving
Notes
Varnas in Hinduism
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