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{{short description|13th-century dharmasastha by Ketana}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Vijnaneshvaramu
| author = [[Mulaghatika Ketana|Ketana]]
| title_orig =
| orig_lang_code = te
| country = [[Kakatiya dynasty|Kakatiya kingdom]] (present-day India)
| language = [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
| subject = [[Hindu law]]
| genre = [[Dharmashastra|Dharma-shastra]]
| pub_date = 13th century
}}
'''''Vijnaneshvaramu''''' ([[IAST]]: Vijñāneśvaramu) is a 13th-century [[Telugu language]] ''[[dharmashastra|dharma-shastra]]'' (Hindu law) text composed by [[Mulaghatika Ketana|Ketana]] in present-day southern India. It is based on the [[Sanskrit]]-language ''[[Mitakshara]]'', a legal commentary on the ''[[Yajnavalkya Smriti]]''.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=176}} Ketana made changes to the ''Mitakshara'' laws to make them consistent with the contemporary Andhra society.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Neeraj Sahay |title=Issues in the Emergence of an Agrarian Region in Andhra |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=60 |year=1999 |jstor=44144083 |page=164 }}</ref> According to scholar A. Padma, the text was "the basic source of law" during the [[Kakatiya]] rule.{{sfn|A. Padma|2016|p=210}}

== Views ==
{{Quote box |width=25em |align=right
|quote = <poem>
If a woman is found with an illegitimate lover,
and tries to claim that he is a burglar,
he should still be fined five hundred
as an illegitimate lover.
</poem>
|source = Ketana's ''Vijnaneshvaramu'', verse 129{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=181}}
}}

=== Varna and caste ===

''Vijnaneshvaramu'' is a [[social conservatism|socially conservative]] text that follows the [[Brahmin|Brahmanic]] ''[[dharmashastra|dharma-shastra]]'' tradition and considers the [[Indian caste system|caste]] hierarchy as the most important aspect of a functioning society. The author considers the king as a guarantor of this hierarchy, and states that the king's council should include Brahmin advisors.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|pp=176-180}}

Like the ''[[Manusmriti|Manu Dharma-shastra]]'', Ketana's work suggests variations in trials and punishment based on the convict's ''[[varna (Hinduism)|varna]]''. For example, according to the text:{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=177}}

* If a lower-caste man commits a crime deserving [[capital punishment]], he should be killed. If a Brahmin commits the same crime, his money should be confiscated, he should be humiliated in various ways (e.g. being made to [[parading on donkey|sit on a donkey]]), and he should be driven out of town, but not killed.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=177}}

* If a lower-caste man rapes the wife of an upper-caste man, the rapist should be killed. If the rapist and the victim are belong to the same caste, the rapist should be fined 1000 ''panas'' (silver currency unit).{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=180}}

* If a lower-caste man has sex with a higher-caste virgin, he should be killed. If a higher-caste man has sex with a lower-caste virgin, he should be fined 500 ''panas'', and if the virgin loves him, the two should be married. If a Brahmin has sex with a [[chandala]] (outcaste/untouchable) woman, he should be humiliated by inscribing the drawing of a vagina on his body, fined, and driven out of the town.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|pp=180-181}}

Similarly, Ketana lists different ways of determining if a person is telling the truth, depending on the person's varna. For example, a Brahmin is weighed against bricks once, and then again on the day of the test: if he is lighter, he is determined to be telling the truth. Compared to this soft treatment, a Kshatriya is tested by placing a hot iron ball in his hands: he is determined to be telling the truth, if his hands are not burnt. Similarly, a [[Vaishya]] is tested using water, and a [[Shudra]] by poison.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|pp=178-179}}

=== Women ===

The punishments recommended by Ketana vary by gender. For example, a high caste woman who has sex with a Shudra man is not to be killed: instead, she should undergo ritual atonement (''[[prayashchitta]]''); if she becomes pregnant, her husband should leave her.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=182}}

According to Ketana, both husband and wife should lead a virtuous life and have children. Ketana expects women to remain chaste and religious.{{sfn|B. S. Chandrababu et al.|2009|p=150}} The text suggests that women enjoyed some degree of social justice and rights.{{sfn|B. S. Chandrababu et al.|2009|p=149}} Ketana specifies punishments for a husband who takes away the ornaments of his wife by force.{{sfn|A. Padma|2016|p=212}} He also allows women to enter into contracts, although only with the consent of their husbands.{{sfn|A. Padma|2016|p=253}} He does not allow [[widow remarriage|remarriage]] for women.{{sfn|B. S. Chandrababu et al.|2009|p=150}}

Ketana does not consider prostitution a sin, and refers to laws aimed at protecting prostitutes from their greedy [[procuring (prostitution)|procurer]] mothers and their clients, as well as laws aimed at curbing the unfair earning practices of the procurers. Punishments for the greedy mothers include monetary fines in combination with other punishments such as cutting the convict's nose or ears, and shaving her head. Monetary fines are imposed on clients convicted of causing physical injuries to prostitutes.{{sfn|A. Padma|2016|p=251}}

=== Other ===

Ketana strongly defends the royal authority, and recommends severe punishments for those who challenge it. For example, if a person insults the king, Ketana mandates cutting his tongue, and driving him out of town.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=181}}

Ketana outlines various rules to maintain social harmony. For example, someone who ridicules a handicapped person should be fined three ''rukas''.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=181}} Someone who abuses people based on their country (e.g. calling people from Murikinadu stupid), language (e.g. calling Aravas, that is, [[Tamil language|Tamil]] speakers quarrelsome) or caste (e.g. calling Brahmins greedy), should be fined a 100 ''panas''.{{sfn|V.N. Rao et al.|2013|p=182}}

According to Ketana, a man who engages in [[incest]] should have his genitals cut off.{{sfn|B. S. Chandrababu et al.|2009|p=151}} However, he states that [[consanguinity|consanguinous]] marriage with one's paternal aunt or maternal uncle's daughter is an acceptable custom in southern India.{{sfn|B. S. Chandrababu et al.|2009|p=150}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

{{ref begin}}
* {{cite book |author=A. Padma |chapter=Property Rights of Women in Medieval Andhra / Women's Profession in Medieval Andhra |editor=Vijaya Ramaswamy |title=Women and Work in Precolonial India: A Reader |year=2016 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=9789351507406 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzxwDQAAQBAJ }}
* {{cite book |editor1=B. S. Chandrababu |editor2=L. Thilagavathi |title=Woman, Her History and Her Struggle for Emancipation |year=2009 |publisher=Bharathi Puthakalayam |isbn=9788189909970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZmyUpHdPWYC |ref={{harvid|B. S. Chandrababu et al.|2009}} }}
* {{cite book |author1=Velcheru Narayana Rao |author2=Sanjay Subrahmanyam |chapter=Notes on Political Thought in Medieval and Early Modern South India |editor1=Richard M. Eaton |editor2=Munis D. Faruqui |editor3=David Gilmartin |editor4=Sunil Kumar |title=Expanding Frontiers in South Asian and World History: Essays in Honour of John F. Richards |year=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=176-182 |isbn=9781107034280 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h0_xhdCScQkC |ref={{harvid|V.N. Rao et al.|2013}} }}
{{ref end}}

== Further reading ==

{{ref begin}}
* {{cite book |translator=C. Vasundhara, C |title=Vijñānēśvaramu of Mūlaghaṭika Kētana: Telugulō toli dharmaśāstra granthaṃ |year=1989 |publisher=Mānasa |oclc=29954936 }}
{{ref end}}

[[Category:Dharmaśāstra]]
[[Category:Kakatiya kingdom]]
[[Category:Telugu-language literature]]

Vijnaneshvaramu - Revision history

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