To realise the interrelation between ideal and reality one needs to appreciate the difference between what is achievable and what is achieved, the aspiration of a society vis-à-vis its achievements and also by the values cherished and the methods recommended to attain it. To overcome this difference between ideal and reality and to moralise the society many injunctions and prohibitions were propagated by various Dharmashastras which were duly supplemented, time and again, by the traditional practices. In the light of new archaeological evidences a dispassionate revaluation of many such injunctions and prohibitions not only enunciate the true nature and relative difference between ideal and reality but also explain the transgression of Varna principles which find their expression in ancient India. The present book, which includes the research papers of many distinguished scholars, throws light on the dialectical relation between ideal and reality and also underlines the historical evolution of various attempts to realize the much hallowed ideals in ancient Indian society. One common recurrent theme in this book is the view point that the peculiarities of time and space on the one hand and the intricacies of social formation on the other have been mutually interdependent and have influenced each other through ancient Indian history.
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