Summary Of Anantha Murthy's Samskara

In the novel Samskara, Anantha Murthy exposes the conservative life style of the Kannada Brahmins. The novelist presents various ‘traditions’ within Hindu philosophy. There are caste hierarchies among the Brahmins apart from the lower castes. The Madhvas and the Smartas are two predominant sects of the village Durvashapura. The Madhvas show their sophistication over the Smartas Brahmins. The irony is that one lane agrahara itself lingers on the margins in the context of urban growth around it. This urban growth does not prevent creating sub layers among various castes including marginalized groups such as the lower castes. In Dalit Personal Narratives: Reading Caste, Nation And Identity (2010), Raj Kumar observes:

With the charturvarnic order, the Indian caste society gradually came to be established in between 500Bc-AD500

Naranappa is ostracized the community as he lives with a low caste woman named Chandri. Chandri also faces gender discrimination. Despite being a low-caste woman she possesses many good qualities. She manages the cremation of her lover Naranappa with the help of Abdul Bari. The people of agrahara accuse Chandri for mis leading Naranappa. The Brahmin woman Anasuya curses Chandri, “May tigers trample her at midnight, may snakes bite her, this whore, this seducing witch” (7). The Brahmins of agrahara blame her for defiling Naranappa. The low caste women like Chandri and Belli are exploited sexually. These subaltern women have the same belief in some matters but give the Brahmins their due respect and place in the society. They remain silent victims and are unaware of their predicament in a caste dominated society where these women are treated as inferiors and thus remain helpless. Through the novel there s contrast between the law of the Indian constitution and that of the religious or societal