Caste System and Social Hierarchies in India – Historical and Cultural context in Samskara

With the cultural and historical prism of U. R. Ananthamurthy’s pioneering work Samskara, in this research paper, the author examines the intricacies of caste and social hierarchies of India. The writer explores how the system of caste functions as a socio-religious system, controlling individual identity, social mobility, and communal concordance. Using historical analysis, literary criticism, and cultural studies approach, this essay positions Samskara against the backdrop of the Brahminical traditions of South Indian village life and analyzes the internal conflicts of its hero, Praneshacharya. The research demonstrates that Samskara not only condemns the dogmatism of the caste system but also emphasizes the need for spiritual and social change. Throughout the course of this research paper, India’s highly rooted caste system and social hierarchies are analyzed through critical examination of U.R. Ananthamurthy’s trail-blazing novel Samskara. Situated in historical and cultural perspectives, the present research seeks to analyze how the novel questions Brahmanical orthodoxy and social stagnation and the inherent contradictions of the caste ideology in Indian society. Samskara, which appeared in 1965 and was situated in an imaginary Karnataka agrahara (village of Brahmins),is an insightful