读书笔记5——摘抄一段剑桥印度史对苏多地位从高到低的变化分析
摘抄一段剑桥印度史对苏多地位从高到低的变化分析，原文主要是讲往世书，而苏多是往世书的传颂者。
苏多/诗人是御者charioteers，作为一种特殊的子种姓住在宫廷，其前身应该是herald（使者）和minstrel（吟游诗人），而且 inviolability，是神圣不可侵犯的，用史诗开头的歌人毛喜和厉声是婆罗门为例。往世书应源自刹帝利阶级，而非婆罗门的传统，维护者是苏多，一个混合种姓，并被皇室委以各种重要的职责。
梵书里的苏多，不仅仅是皇室的传令官和诗人，而且还是马的主人。是国王的“珠宝”之一，并与军队总司令和其他高级官员列为一列。而当苏多作为传令官时，他是不可冒犯的。在一本法典中，苏多被婆罗门的女儿描述为刹帝利之子。往世书里说苏多生来就是为赞美王子，并被委任照顾历史传说。但他们并不关心吠陀。在晚期苏多作为国王的御者，依然保持着崇高地位。在一些戏剧中他们使用梵语“说明有着较高的出身或教育”，而不是地位较低者用的俗语。而古老职能被剥夺的苏多反映的是印度社会和往世书的特性变化。
He is one of the king's ‘jewels ’ and ranks with the commander-in-chief of the army and other high officers of state; and in his character as herald he was inviolable.
In the law-books he is described as the son of a Kshatriya by the daughter of a Brahman.
The Puranas say that he was born to sing the praises of princes and that he was entrusted with the care of the historical and legendary traditions ; but they state definitely that he had no concern with Vedas ( Vayu Pur.1.1,.26 -28).
In later times he appears as the king's charioteer; but he still retains his exalted rank, and in the dramas he speaks Sanskrit— the sign of high birth or education— while the inferior characters speak some Prakrit dialect.
In the interval between the Brahmanas and the dramas the Suta had evidently been deprived of some of the most important of his ancient functions ; and this change in his fortunes reflects a change which had taken place in Indian society and in the character of the Puranas.
从奥义书、早期的佛教、耆那教的经典中可以看出，苏多担任国王御者的英雄时期，知识上刹帝利不仅独立，还占据了大部分。然而没有维持多久，印度就像中世纪的欧洲，祭司最终站到了至高无上的位置，所有刹帝利文学被婆罗门化。和王室有关的记载渐渐消失，被圣地传说所取代。随着往世书从刹帝利落入到婆罗门手里，苏多从皇室诗人降低至摩奴法典里的车夫，一个被祭司蔑视的低阶级。尽管发生了变化，但一些存在于旧文学文献里的片段为这已消逝的事物做出了证明。
But, in spite of this transference and the radical changes which it involved, some of the old terms and some fragments of the old literature still remained to testify to a state of things which had passed away.
以前在浅谈2也说过一点。苏多以前地位不低是学界比较通行的观点（并非我瞎胡说）。有些粉觉得“苏多贵族论”很可笑，这只能说明自己的浅薄。从家族冲突可能发生的时间来说（公元前8.9世纪），迦尔纳所处在苏多社会地位并没有多糟的时期，兼具婆罗门和刹帝利职能。说他出身低的描述应是很晚期的笔触了。
（比如往世书的歌人毛喜和厉声虽然是苏多，却是婆罗门种姓，这些痕迹都说明早期苏多地位本来是不低的。）
