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Sanskritization or Sanskritisation is a particular form of social change found in India. It denotes the process by which castes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the upper or dominant castes. It is a process similar to passing in sociological terms. This term was made popular by Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas in the 1950s,〔Charsley, S. (1998) "Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory" ''Contributions to Indian Sociology'' 32(2): p. 527 citing Srinivas, M.N. (1952) ''Religion and Society Amongst the Coorgs of South India'' Clarendon Press, Oxford. See also, Srinivas, M. N.; Shah, A. M.; Baviskar, B. S.; and Ramaswamy, E. A. (1996) ''Theory and method: Evaluation of the work of M.N. Srinivas'' Sage, New Delhi, ISBN 81-7036-494-9〕 although earlier references to this process can be found in ''Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development'' by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.〔, pp. 33, notes that "Ambedkar advanced the basis of one of the most heuristic of concepts in modern Indian Studies—the Sanskritization process—that M. N. Srinivas was to introduce 40 years later."〕 ==Definition== M.N. Srinivas defined sanskritization as a process by which "a ''low'' or ''middle'' Hindu caste, or tribal or other group, changes its customs, ritual ideology, and way of life in the direction of a high and frequently ''twice-born'' caste. Generally such changes are followed by a claim to a higher position in the caste hierarchy than that traditionally conceded to the claimant class by the local community ... ." One clear example of sanskritization is the adoption, in emulation of the practice of twice-born castes, of vegetarianism by people belonging to the so-called "low castes" who are traditionally not averse to non-vegetarian food. Vishwakarma Caste claim to Brahmin status is not generally accepted outside the community, despite their assumption of some high-caste traits, such as wearing the sacred thread, and the Brahminisation of their rituals. For example, the sociologist M. N. Srinivas, who developed the concept of sanskritisation, juxtaposed the success of the Lingayat caste in achieving advancement within Karnataka society by such means with the failure of the Vishwakarma to achieve the same. Their position as a left-hand caste has not aided their ambition. According to M.N. Srinivas, Sanskritization is not just the adoption of new customs and habits, but also includes exposure to new ideas and values appearing in Sanskrit literature. He says the words ''Karma, dharma, paap, maya, samsara and moksha'' are the most common Sanskritic theological ideas which become common in the talk of people who are sanskritized.〔Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962) ''Caste in Modern India: And other essays'' Asia Publishing House, Bombay, page 48, 〕 This phenomenon has also been observed in Nepal among Khas, Magar, Newar and Tharu people. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sanskritization」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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