Identify the epic, whose central story reinforced the idea that patriliny was valuable?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Mahabharata
Patriliny means tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on. The Mahabharata tells of a feud over land and power between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas of the Kuru family. The Pandavas won the battle, and after that patrilineal succession was proclaimed. Patriliny existed before the epic was composed, but its central story reinforced the idea that patriliny was valuable.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.2 The ideal of patriliny … Can we identify points when kinship relations changed? At one level, the Mahabharata is a story about this. It describes a feud over land and power between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, who belonged to a single ruling family, that of the Kurus, a lineage dominating one of the janapadas (Chapter 2, Map 1). Ultimately, the conflict ended in a battle, in which the Pandavas emerged victorious. After that, patrilineal succession was proclaimed. While patriliny had existed prior to the composition of the epic, the central story of the Mahabharata reinforced the idea that it was valuable. Under patriliny, sons could claim the resources (including the throne in the case of kings) of their fathers when the latter died.…” |