About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Varnas

Encyclopedia : V : VA : VAR : Varnas

 This page contains Indic text. Without rendering support, you may see irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. [Enabling complex text support for Indic scriptsMore...]
The Sanskrit term varna is derived from the root vrn meaning "to choose (from a group)." This is contrary to the assumption that 'varna' denotes color and hence signifies qualities of someone, just as Shaguna Brahman is "with color" but means "with qualities." In the context of social hierarchies, it means "arrangement". When humans first settled down into agrarian and trading societies, many changes occurred in social relationships. People got organised into structures that could be stable and accommodating diverse individuals in diverse occupations. Societies are organic wholes self-sustained by diverse groups with differing occupations that optimise that society's well-being and growth.

The varna system is a functional hierarchy system proposed by the Brahmin texts to describe their society. It is an ideal system that did not exist anywhere in reality, as the Indian society was organised according to [Jatis], since time immemorial. The oldest mention of the varna system is in the Purusha sukta of Rigveda 10.90 -

मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते ॥
ब्राह्मणो अस्य मुखमासीद बाहू राजन्यः कर्तः ।
ऊरूतदस्य यद वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत ॥
The hymn claims "Brahmana is the mouth of the purusha, rajanya his arms, vaishya is his thighs and shudra arose from his feet" - an obvious reference to the organic (purusha) nature of the society, sustained by the harmonious integration of functional groups (organs) working in unison.

In such organic hierarchies, it is recognised that proper functioning of each part is necessary for the stability of the whole. This led to the importance given to kartavya or "duties" (deontology). Each one is obligated to perform their duties relevant to their position in the system. Proper functioning is of utmost necessity for the stability of the whole structure.

Contents

What sustained the varna system

Any social hierarchy needs a strong central authority to sustain itself, just like military hierarchy or business hierarchy. Hinduism lacked such a central authority. Considerable controversy exists regarding the role and the level of authority of law-books like Manu smriti before the British rule in India. Since the society was based on social interdependence, social expulsion was effectively used a punishing tool.

The varna was replicated by making the membership in the varna group based on birth by default. The most necessary and important element of the whole system was the active involvement of individuals through obligatory duties. This is also its biggest drawback, when individuals do not perform the obligatory functions and still hold their place, the varna system crumbles.

The four-varna system

The terms Varna and caste (Jati) are actually two distinct concepts.

Varna ( वर्ण From Sanskrit, literally "arrangement") is a supposed unification of all the Hindu sub-castes or jatis into either four groups: Kshatriya, Brahmin , Vaishya, Shudra, or into one of several varna-sankaras वर्ण संकर.

Caste (Sanskrit: Gyati ज्ञाति , Hindi: Biradari बिरादरी, samaj समाज, jati जाति etc , Urdu Zat ज़ात ) is an endogamous group. Generally a sub-caste is divided into exogamus groups based on same gotras गोत्र.

Many of the Hindus could be classified into a specific varna. But not all. During the British rule, several cases went to court to settle the "varna" of a sub-caste. For example, the farmers are sometimes given Kshatriya status because many ruling Chieftains may have risen from them. On the other hand some classified them as Vaisya, based on an older occupation of artisans. Orthodox Brahmins may classify them as Shudras, because they do not have a tradition of undergoing through the thread ceremony, that would make them dvija द्विज .

Several varna assignment schemes exist that attempt to assign a varna to a sub-caste.

  1. Based on traditional occupation (see Indian caste system).
  2. Based on orthodox texts like Brahmnotpatti Martanda.
  3. There is an orthodox view, that considers Kshatriyas and Vaisyas to be nearly extinct.
It is practically impossible to identify a "merchant" or trader in modern sense, that belonged to the Vaisya varna in ancient times. They were artisans and crafts people.

Four varnas

Traditional Last Names by Varna

  • Brahmin --- Sharma; Deva
  • Kshatriya --- Varma; Trata
  • Vaisya --- Gupta; Bhuti
  • Sudra --- Datta; Dasa

The caste system, although not currently officially sanctioned by their governments, is used by Hindus, particularly in India, Bali and Nepal for reasons of determining lineage and is passed down through patrilineal descent. It is based on four [varnas]:Sometimes mlechha are referred to as fifth varna.

Twice born

The first three castes are seen as 'twice born'. They are allowed to study vedas. In India and Nepal the sub-castes within a Varna are called Jat or Jati (The caste is also used instead of Jat). Traditionally, each Jati members are allowed to marry only with their Jati members. People are born into their Jati and it cannot be changed. Once someone is born to certain sub-caste or Jati he or she cannot be changed to another Jati although some groups throughout history have risen or fallen according to their deeds. Caste is a permanent attribute among the Hindus.

The occupations of the Vaishya are those connected with trade, the cultivation of the land and the breeding of cattle; while those of a Kshatriya consist in ruling and defending the people, administering justice, and the duties, of the military profession generally and ruling by Dharma. Both share with the Brahman the privilege of reading the Vedas. To the Brahman belongs the right of teaching and expounding the sacred texts vedas. Shudras were the serfs, and performed agricultural labour.

Intermarriage between jatis was not encouraged. [Jatis] are sub-castes. Thus each varna has to be subdivided into thousands of jatis which are endogamous groups with a particular occupational specilization all having same or similar social ranking. Each jati has its appropriate rules of conduct and duties or "dharma", including rules regarding marriage, eating, and ritual purity.

Religiously anyone who does not belong to the four Varnas is an outcast. Muluki Ain has incorporated the entire ethnic group of Nepal into Caste hierarchy.

Division of labor

The varna system is based on division of labor.

The Purusha-sukta is a Hindu creation story. It's about the four Varnas, or castes (although the term Varna does not occur in the Purusha Sukta). It tells how Brahma (Ultimate Reality) created a giant called 'Primal Man' from clay and how the giant was sacrificed. Out of the body of the Primal Man came four groups of people. Each group had a different role to play in life, and society. They all had very different tasks. The first group was the Brahmins (priests). They came from the mouth. They were to provide the intellectual and spiritual needs of the community. The second group was called Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers). They were created from the arms, and they were needed to rule and to protect the others. Vaishyas (landowners and merchants) sprang from the thighs. This group was needed to trade and to care for agriculture. Shudras (artisans and servants) were from the feet. They had to do all the manual work.

Etymology details

Varna is a Sanskrit term (वर्ण varṇa meaning type, order, colour or faith (faithless), preference, religious affiliation, conviction, or "to choose", or lustre.

Varna (not Caste) in Hindu texts

The Rig-Veda refers in the Purusha Sukta to the four principal varnas described in Manu's code, viz. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The term Varna is not associated with Brahmins or Kshatriyas in the Rig Veda, and the term Varna does not occur in the Purusha Sukta. It affirmed that varnashram dharma needs to be strictly followed as every soul has been given a specific duty by God. A soul is born into a varna as punishment/reward for its karmic influences—actions in past lives (Hindus generally believe in reincarnation).

However, varna was later ditched for the preservation of caste boundaries was considered to be conducive to social harmony and order.

The effect of the system was to bind certain castes to sources of influence, power and economy while locking out others and thus create more affluence for higher castes and severe poverty for lower castes and the outcast Dalit. In the last 150 years Indian movements arose to throw off the economic and political yoke of the caste system.

The Purusha Sukta hymn (Rig Veda 10:90) mentions the varnas and compares them to the body of a man: "The Brâhmana was his mouth, of both his arms was the Râjanya made. His thighs became the Vaishya, from his feet the Sûdra was produced." (RV 10:90:12) In the Purusha Sukta hymn the word Varna is not used, and it is the only hymn of the Rig Veda where the words Vaishya and Sudra are used. The Purusha Sukta hymn is considered to be one of the youngest parts of the Rig Veda.

This is the "Divine" justification of the varna system: that since Brahmins emerged from the Creator's mouth, they are the purest; that since Kshatriyas emerged from His arms, they were strong and meant to be soldiers; that because Vaishyas emerged from his abdomen/thighs, they were meant for craft, commerce, responsible for keeping Society's stomach full; and because shudras emerged from the feet, they were meant, by Divine Will, to be labor workers.

There is an Upanishadic story of a boy who went to a guru to study the various holy Hindu scriptures. His guru asked him what his varna was. Consulting his mother, who was actually a prostitute who didn't really know what her caste was, the boy returned to the guru and told him that he was all castes. He worshipped the Gods, thus fulfilling the duties that are ordinarily a Brahmin's, he earned his keep like a Vaishya, took care of cleaning the house, like a Shudra, and protected his family's interest like a Kshatriya. The guru was pleased and told the boy he was fit to be taught and initiated into the Brahmin's life.

The Dharmashastras (a collection of collections of Hindu codes and laws) say that caste is not just determined by birth, but by action in life according to the dharma of varna-ashram as well.

The Brahmins (priests), The Kshatriyas (warriors, nobility), the Vaishyas (the craftsmen and men of commerce), and the Shudras (agriculture workers; menial workers) were the four varnas. A person of each varna was said to possess certain set of characteristics: the Shudras, they believed, were of the tamasic nature; the Vaishyas were either tamasic or rajasic; the Kshatriyas were believed to be noble, learned and selfless, his or her duty being the administration of the people and fighting of battles against intruders, often very spiritually inclined; and that the Brahmins were religious, pure, Society's bank of knowledge and wisdom for their memory of holy scriptures, the performers of rituals, the most spiritually-advanced caste of Hindu society.

This view is supported by various readings of the Bhagavad Gita that hold that caste is required for practice of dharma in society. However, whatever varna one is born all human beings can attain salvation by practicing ones dharma. It is worthy to note that all three acharayas, Sankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva all subscribed to this view. The lives of Vaishnavite saints like Kanaka Dasa and Tukaram demonstrated that single-minded devotion to God is enough for attaining Moksha.

Hindu tantrics are a part of Hinduism whose scriptural texts, the Agamic texts known collectively as the Tantras, assert their descent from the Vedas, especially the Atharva-Veda. Claiming that the Vedic rituals no longer necessary in Kali Yuga, that the fourth and final epoch of humanity in Hinduism shall see morality ebb to complete dissolution until the end of the earth, the Tantrics see themselves as natural continuations of the Vedas through Hindu yogic practices--and not of any particular caste, yet not Untouchables.

Many Hindu yogis and sages have, over the centuries, constantly commented about caste. The non-dualist, Vedantic jnana-yogin (yogi of discrimination) Shri Adi Shankaracharya (8th century), denounced caste as but one more indication of one's weak, Ego-driven self and the flouting of Brahman (the impersonal, ultimate monist basis of Hindu belief). Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (15th century), the powerful bhakti of Krishna also denounced caste. He famously distributed the Hare Krishna mantra to non-brahmins all around India, claiming this was the True path to moksha.

Kanakadasa of the 15th century also denounced Casteism. He believed that Life in every human being is Divine, and that only the ignorant wrought injustice against their own brethren by practising the caste system.

\"Varnas\" in Rigveda and Manu Smriti

In Sanskrit, Varṇa means color, as in quality (just as the term "Shaguna Brahman.") One of the hymns of the Rig Veda, one of the holiest Hindu scriptures, gives the following enumeration in the famous Purusha Sukta (RV 10.90):

मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते ॥
ब्राह्मणो अस्य मुखमासीद बाहू राजन्यः कर्तः ।
ऊरूतदस्य यद वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत ॥
Its rough translation is : "What became of his (the Cosmic Spirit's) face or mouth? What became of his two arms? What became of His two thighs? What were (the products of) the two feet called? From His face (or the mouth) came the brahmanas. From His two arms came the rajanya (the kshatriyas). From His two thighs came the vaishyas. From His two feet came the shudras."

This hymn is the sole reference to the four Varnas in the Rig Veda, and it occurs in the Xth book, which many historians claim to be a later addition to the existing nine books. In the Purusha Sukta hymn the word Varna is not used, and it is the only hymn of the Rig Veda where the words Vaishya and Sudra are used. The Purusha Sukta hymn is considered to be one of the youngest parts of the Rig Veda. The other three Vedas and Upanishads very rarely mention the Varnas. In later Hinduism, people interpreted this hymn such that the society is to be divided into four Varnas or castes, which are:

Note that the original hymn does not explicitly define these groups.

Manu Smriti is often quoted in reference to the Varna-caste system. The Manu Smriti is a later work that does not form a part of Hindu Scriptures, so it is of questionable relevance. Use of the Manu Smriti by the British colonialists has led to claims that it is used by politicians and sociologists to denigrate those of the Hindu faith.[this article].

The Manu Smriti claims that by the time it was written, Hinduism included another class (untouchables) of people without a position in any of the four Varnas and therefore associated with the lowest of the jobs. The upper castes, who were supposed to maintain ritual and corporal purity, came to regard them as untouchables. The people of this "fifth varna" are now called Dalits (the oppressed) or Harijans; they were formerly known as "untouchables" or "pariahs".

It is very clear that in the early Vedic times, the Varna system (if at all it existed) meant classes with free mobility of jobs and intermarriage. One hymn of the Rig Veda states:

कारुरहं ततो भिषगुपलप्रक्षिणी नना । (RV 9.112.3)
"I am a bard, my father is a physician, my mother's job is to grind the corn......"
While intermarriage between Brahmana bridegrooms and Kshatriya princesses was extremely common (even sanctioned by the later Manu Smriti), in many instances, marriages between Kshatriya princes and Brahmana brides was also observed (severely condemned by Manu Smriti). One of such instances is marriage of Dushyanata, a Kshatriya prince, with Shakuntala, a daughter of the sage Vishvamitra and adopted daughter of sage Kanva.

In later times, with the elaboration of ritualism, the caste system became absolutely hereditary (the historians disagree as to when) and the Shudras were not even allowed to hear the sacred word of the Vedas.

"If the shudra intentionally listens for committing to memory the veda, then his ears should be filled with (molten) lead and lac; if he utters the veda, then his tongue should be cut off; if he has mastered the veda his body should be cut to pieces." (Manu Smriti XII. 4)

A stark contrast to this is a mantra from the White Yajur Veda itself:

यथेमां वाचं कल्याणीमावदानि जनेभ्यः ।
ब्रह्मराजन्याभ्याँ शूद्राय चार्याय च स्वाय चारणाय ।
प्रियो देवानां दक्षिणायै दातुरिह भूयासमयं मे कामः समृध्यतामुप मादो नमतु ॥ (White Yajur Veda 26.2)
"I do hereby address this salutary (Vedic) speech for the benefit of humanity – for the Brahmanas, the Kshatriyas, the Shudras, the Vaishas, the kinsfolk and the men of lowest position in society. May I be dear to the learned in this world."

Famous Opponents of the Varna system

See detailed article Is the four-varna system applicable today?

In the religious epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira, is questioned by Yama in the form of a Yaksha, about what makes one a Brahmin. Yudhisthira, without hesitation, said that it is conduct alone that makes one a Brahmin.

Adi Shankara, the famous 8th century Advaita philosopher and renunciate denounced caste. Mirabai, the 15th century mystical poet and Queen of Chittor is known to have ignored caste distinctions and elected the potter, Sant Rohidas, as her guru. Annamacharya, a 15th century telugu poet's famous Bramhamokkada song, preaches equality of all in the eyes of God and condemns the caste system. RamaKrishna Paramahamsa, the 19th century Hindu religious leader, also did not recognise caste distinctions and took his first alms as a twice-born Brahmin from a Shudra woman.

The late Swami Krishnananda, the successor to Swami Sivananda and former head of Divine Life Society, noted the following about caste in his autobiography:

"While the caste system was originally evolved for the necessary classification of human duty in order to preserve the organic stability of society, its original meaning and its philosophical foundation was forgotten through the passage of time, and bigotry and fanaticism took its place through the preponderance of egoism, greed and hatred, contrary to the practice of true religion as a social expression of inner spiritual aspiration for a gradual ascent, by stages, to God Almighty. Vidura, famous in the Mahabharata, was born of a Shudra woman. But he had the power to summon the son of Brahma, from Brahmaloka, by mere thought. Which orthodox Brahmin can achieve this astounding feat? It is, therefore, necessary for everyone to have consideration for the facts of world-unity and goodwill, Sarvabhuta-hita, as the great Lord mentions in the Bhagavad Gita. Justice is more than law. No one's body is by itself a Brahmin, because it is constituted of the five gross elements,- earth, water, fire, air and ether. Else, it would be a sin on the part of a son to consign to flames the lifeless body of a Brahmin father. It is, therefore, not proper to victimise a colleague by an action plan of any religious community wedded to fundamentalist doctrines."[link]
Paramahansa Yogananda also opposed what he called the 'tyranny' of the caste system as we know it today. He taught that the caste system originated in a higher age, but became degraded through ignorance and self-interest. Yogananda said:
"These were (originally) symbolic designations of the stages of spiritual refinement. They were not intended as social categories. And they were not intended to be hereditary. Things changed as the yugas [cycles of time] descended toward mental darkness. People in the higher castes wanted to make sure their children were accepted as members of their own caste. Thus, ego-identification caused them to freeze the ancient classifications into what is called the ‘caste system.’ Such was not the original intention. In obvious fact, however, the offspring of a brahmin may be a sudra by nature. And a peasant, sometimes, is a real saint.”"
—from Conversations with Yogananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2003.

Notes

References

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: