Question 1
Define the term patriliny. Give one example.
Solution
Patriliny means tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on. In ancient India (C. 600 BCE-600CE) patriliny might have been particularly important among elite families because most of the texts (religious and other books) refer mostly about elite families and they do not describe about the ordinary family.
For example, we can take Mahabharata. This epic 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.
