<論説>グプタ朝 (西紀四-八世紀) 印度社会の一考察 (中)

Abstract

グプタ時代の村落は、主幹村落を中心とし、之に十ヶ内外の小村が附帯した村落集団を形成している。その構成員は、農民 kutumbin を中核とし、之に手工業者 karuka、隷農 kutumbika などの隷属民が加わる。農民は支族 kula を血縁的紐帯とした家族 kutumba の成員であつて、村内の耕地に持分地 pratyaya をもつ。之は村内の各処に分散した條地集団に分属した多くの條地 pattti より成り、六頭の牛に牽かれる犂一対によつて耕作され得る広さであり、之には園地・宅地・家屋が附帯しており、農民の家族が永久に伝承すべきものである。之に対し、隷属民は農民のように村内に持分地をもたず、境界地の一部を占有し、家屋と家族を持つて独立の家計を営んだが、その占有地の大いさは農民の持分地の半分程度の狹小なもので、隣接の婆羅門や農民の保有地を小作の形で耕作したようである。之等の隷属民の確保と境界地の誹作をめぐつて、王と村落共同体の対立があり、地主貴族の成長が見られるのである。

The rural community of the Gupta era was composed of some ten small settlements clustered around a capital village. Its members were of the landowners (kuṭumbin), the artisans (kāruka), the villains (kutumbika) and the dependents. The landowners, the most important actors in the communal life, constituted the several families derived from the same minor clan. It is why we can see an old blood relationship still preserved among them. They were the owners of the land (pratyaya) in the open village field, and cultivated it with a pair of spade with six oxen before it. The land consisted not of a compact property, but of the strips interspersed among those of the other landowners. This they inherited from generation to generation with other small pieces of land in and around their settlement. The villains, on the contrary, occupied some lands on the village boundary which enabled them to live an independent life with their dependents. Moreover they held the lands from the landowners and the Brahmans near by. The struggle between the king and the village community started from the concurrent desire to control these tenants and the village boundary, and led to the gradual growth to the landed aristocracy.