Yashpal peruses history to trace the roots of slavery in order to offer some solution. He succeeds, with beauty of language and craft, in Divya.

The first century BC was the period in Indian history when Buddhism was confronting the old Brahminical social order and was being widely accepted by a large section of the masses. It did not intend to disturb the monarchical system of state polity and therefore became the religion of a number of independent states. This was also a time of various socio-political conflicts. Reincarnation stories were created by the followers of Gautama Buddha through a series of Jataka tales to glorify him. The idea of rebirth in Brahminical philosophy had been rejected by the Buddha, but after his death his followers preached the same beliefs. The Greek emperor, Alexander, invaded India during the time of Chandragupta Maurya and these attacks continued up to 200 BC. A considerably large area in the north-west region remained under these Indo-Greek rulers for about two hundred years. Some of them embraced Buddhism and some were also attracted towards Vaishnavism and the Krishna cult because, when compared to the Brahminical Hindu order, these were more liberal and social in nature. Buddhism advocated an egalitarian social order and rejected the theory of dividing human beings on the basis of birth and heredity. It was a path of salvation for the oppressed and downtrodden. Buddhist philosophy delivered a message of love, equality and fraternity. Thus it was also a period of serious conflict between the supporters of the Brahminical order and the followers of Buddhism. There was great discontent among the Brahmins and Kshatriyas belonging to the nobility and they wasted no opportunity in attacking Buddhism and its followers. The last king of the Maurya dynasty was assassinated by his Brahmin chief commander Pushya Mitra Shung, who ultimately made all efforts to wipe out the Buddhist monks and re-establish the Brahminical social order of varnashram. Yashpal uses these incidents from history to construct the foundation of his narrative, voicing contemporary concerns in a historical setting.

What was the status of women during all these conflicts? The Brahminical social order refers to Hindu scriptures to establish that a woman must remain veiled and that her place is within four walls. She is ruled by her master, who may be her father, husband, son or anybody else, and can never be independent. She may be called Rajmata, Queen Mother, or Kuldevi, Divine Goddess, but cannot enjoy her freedom or be treated equal to the man in actual practice.

Buddhism revolutionized Indian society as it rejected the supremacy of a certain class and opposed the varnashram system which was based upon unequal social laws. However, it does not accept the independent status of woman. Buddhist philosophy says, ‘Brahmin not by birth but by his deeds,’ but accepts that a woman must have a guardian in a father, husband, son, or, in the case of a slave, her master, whom she belongs to. In fact Buddhism did not touch the basic structure of the feudal social system and could not give any revolutionary verdict regarding the status of women or slaves. The same phenomenon occurs in the medieval period. The Mughals never intended to disturb the basic social structure of Hindu society and thus the plight of women and slaves remained unchanged.