Varna

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Varna (वर्ण) is a Sanskrit word which means type, order, or class.[1][2] The term refers to social classes in Brahminical books like the Manusmriti.[3]

Classification

These and other Hindu literature classified the society in principle into four varnas:[4][5]

  1. Brahmins: priests, scholars and teachers.
  2. Kshatriyas: rulers, warriors and administrators.
  3. Vaishyas: merchants.[6]
  4. Shudras: laborers and service providers.

This quadruple division is a form of social stratification not to be confused with the much more nuanced Jāti or the European term "caste".[7]

The commentary on the Varna system in the Manusmriti is oft-cited.[8]

Counter to these textual classifications, many Hindu texts and doctrines question and disagree with the Varna system of social classification.[9]

Origin of name

Varna is a Sanskrit term varṇa (वर्ण). It is derived from the root vṛ, meaning "to cover, to envelop, count, classify consider, describe or choose" (compare vṛtra).[10]

The word appears in the Rigveda, where it means "colour, outward appearance, exterior, form, figure or shape". The word means "color, tint, dye or pigment" in the Mahabharata. Varna contextually means "colour, race, tribe, species, kind, sort, nature, character, quality, property" of an object or people in some Vedic and medieval texts. Varna refers to four social classes in the Manusmriti.[11]

Mention by Panini

Varna (वर्ण) is name of a place mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi under Trinadi (तृणादि) (4.2.80.2) group. [12]

Varna (वर्ण) is mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi. [13]

Varnaka (वर्णक) is mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi. [14]

Varni (वर्णी) is mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi. [15]

Varnu (वर्णु) is mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi. [16]

In Vedas

The earliest application to the formal division into four social classes (without using the term varna) appears in the late Rigvedic Purusha Sukta (RV 10.90.11–12), which has the Brahman, Rajanya (instead of Kshatriya), Vaishya and Shudra classes emerging from the mouth, arms, thighs and feet at the sacrifice of the primordial Purusha, respectively.[17]

This Purusha Sukta varna verse is now generally considered to have been inserted at a later date into the Vedic text, possibly as a charter myth. Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, a professor of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching [[caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in the Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality".[18]

Ram Sharan Sharma states that "the Rig Vedic society was neither organized on the basis of social division of labour nor on that of differences in wealth ... [it] was primarily organised on the basis of kin, tribe and lineage."[19]

In the post-Vedic period, the varna division is described in the Dharmashastra literature, the Mahabharata and in the Puranas.[20]

In Dharmasastras

Varna system is extensively discussed in Dharma-sastras.[21]

Varna system in Dharma-sastras divide the society into four varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishya and Shudras), those who fall out of this system because of their grievous sins are ostracised as outcastes (untouchables) and considered outside the Varna system.[22][23]

Barbarians and those who are unrighteous, unethical are also considered patita (outside the varna system, outcastes) in Dharma texts.[24]

Recent scholarship suggests that the discussion of varna, as well as untouchable outcastes (people outside the varna system), in these texts does not resemble the modern era caste system in India. Patrick Olivelle, a professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions and credited with modern translations of Vedic literature, Dharma-sutras and Dharma-sastras, states that ancient and medieval Indian texts do not support the ritual pollution, purity-impurity as the basis for varna system.[25]

According to Olivelle, purity-impurity is discussed in the Dharma-sastra texts, but only in the context of the individual's moral, ritual and biological pollution (eating certain kinds of food such as meat, going to bathroom).[26]

In his review of Dharma-sastras, Olivelle writes, "we see no instance when a term of pure/impure is used with reference to a group of individuals or a varna or caste".[27]

The only mention of impurity in the Shastra texts from the 1st millennium is about people who commit grievous sins and thereby fall out of their varna. These, writes Olivelle, are called "fallen people" and impure, declaring that they be ostracised.[28]

Olivelle adds that the overwhelming focus in matters relating to purity/impurity in the Dharma-sastra texts concerns "individuals irrespective of their varna affiliation" and all four varnas could attain purity or impurity by the content of their character, ethical intent, actions, innocence or ignorance, stipulations, and ritualistic behaviours.[29]

Olivelle states: Dumont is correct in his assessment that the ideology of varna is not based on purity. If it were we should expect to find at least some comment on the relative purity and impurity of the different varnas. What is even more important is that the ideology of purity and impurity that emerges from the Dharma literature is concerned with the individual and not with groups, with purification and not with purity, and lends little support to a theory which makes relative purity the foundation of social stratification.[30]

The first three[31] varnas are described in the Dharmasastras as "twice born" and they are allowed to study the Vedas. Such a restriction of who can study Vedas is not found in the Vedic era literature.

Manusmriti assigns cattle rearing as Vaishya occupation but historical evidence shows that Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Shudras also owned and reared cattle and that cattle-wealth was mainstay of their households. Ramnarayan Rawat, a professor of History and specialising in social exclusion in the Indian subcontinent, states that 19th century British records show that Chamars, listed as untouchables, also owned land and cattle and were active agriculturalists.[32] The emperors of Kosala and the prince of Kasi are other examples.[33]

Tim Ingold, an anthropologist, writes that the Manusmriti is a highly schematic commentary on the varna system, but it too provides "models rather than descriptions".[34]

Susan Bayly states that Manusmriti and other scriptures helped elevate Brahmin in the social hierarchy and these were a factor in the making of the varna system, but the ancient texts did not in some way "create the phenomenon of caste" in India.[35]

In Mahabharata

The Mahabharata, estimated to have been completed by about the 4th century CE, discusses the Varna system in section 12.181.[36]

The Epic offers two models on Varna. The first model describes Varna as colour-based system, through a character named Bhrigu, "Brahmins Varna was white, Kshatriyas was red, Vaishyas was yellow, and the Shudras' black". [37]

This description is questioned by Bharadvaja who says that colours are seen among all the Varnas, that desire, anger, fear, greed, grief, anxiety, hunger and toil prevails over all human beings, that bile and blood flow from all human bodies, so what distinguishes the Varnas, he asks? The Mahabharata then declares, according to Alf Hiltebeitel, a professor of religion, "There is no distinction of Varnas. This whole universe is Brahman. It was created formerly by Brahma, came to be classified by acts."[38]

The Mahabharata thereafter recites a behavioral model for Varna, that those who were inclined to anger, pleasures and boldness attained the Kshatriya Varna; those who were inclined to cattle rearing and living off the plough attained the Vaishyas; those who were fond of violence, covetousness and impurity attained the Shudras. The Brahmin class is modeled in the epic, as the archetype default state of man dedicated to truth, austerity and pure conduct.[39]

Indded, it goes on to assert that all men are children of Brahmins, which does not make sense, unless understood this way.In the Mahabharata and pre-medieval era Hindu texts, according to Hiltebeitel, "it is important to recognize, in theory, Varna is nongenealogical. The four Varnas are not lineages, but categories."[40]

Karna Parva/Mahabharata Book VIII Chapter 23 mentions the creation of Varna system. ...."Brahman created the Brahmanas from his mouth, and the kshatriyas from his arms. He created the Vaishyas from his thighs and the Shudras from his feet. In consequence of the intermixture of those four orders, from those four have sprung particular classes, viz., those born of men of superior classes wedding women of classes inferior to themselves, and vice versa. [41]

The term Gupta (गुप्ता) is used for Kshatriyas as protectors in verse (VIII.23.33). ...."The Kshatriyas have been described to be protectors (of the other classes) acquirers of wealth and givers of the same." [42]

The Brahmanas have been established on the Earth for the sake of favouring its people by assisting at sacrifices, by teaching and acceptance of pure gifts. [43]

Agriculture and tending of cattle and gift are the occupations of the Vaishyas according to the scriptures. Shudras have been ordained to be the servants of the brahmanas, the kshatriyas, and the vaishyas.[44]

Varna and Jāti

The terms varna (theoretical classification based on occupation) and Jāti (caste) are two distinct concepts. Jāti (community) refers to the thousands of endogamous groups prevalent across the subcontinent. A jati may be divided into exogamous groups based on the same Gotras. The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than the varnas; even Indologists sometimes confuse the two.[45]

V. S. Agrawala [46] writes about Varṇa and Jāti – Panini mentions members of the same as Savarṇa (from samāna varna, VI.3.85) . However, term Jāti is more is used more often for caste. In early Vedic texts it had only the sense of family. In Ashtadhyayi an individual member of a caste is designated bandhu in relation to his Jāti. ‘The affix chha is added (īya) is added to a word ending in the word Jāti, when it denotes a bandhu’. The term bandhu implies relationship, thus pointing to the fact that the Jāti had evolved out of the common bond of mutual kinship.

References

  1. ↑ Doniger, Wendy (1999). Merriam-Webster's encyclopedia of world religions. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
  2. ↑ Stanton, Andrea (2012). An Encyclopedia of Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. USA: SAGE Publications. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-4129-8176-7.
  3. ↑ Doniger, Wendy (1999). Merriam-Webster's encyclopedia of world religions. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
  4. ↑ Stanton, Andrea (2012). An Encyclopedia of Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. USA: SAGE Publications. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-4129-8176-7.
  5. ↑ Ingold, Tim (1994). Companion encyclopedia of anthropology. London New York: Routledge. p. 1026. ISBN 978-0-415-28604-6.
  6. ↑ Kumar, Arun (2002). Encyclopaedia of Teaching of Agriculture. Anmol Publications. p. 411. ISBN 978-81-261-1316-3.
  7. ↑ Juergensmeyer, Mark (2006). The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-19-972761-2.
  8. ↑ David Lorenzen (2006). Who invented Hinduism : essays on religion in History. Yoda Press. pp. 147–149. ISBN 978-81-902272-6-1.
  9. ↑ Bayly, Susan (2001), Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age, Cambridge University Press, p. 9, ISBN 978-0-521-26434-1
  10. ↑ Krishna Charitra by Bankim Candra V&S Publishers
  11. ↑ Monier-Williams, Monier (2005) [1899]. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages (Reprinted ed.). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 924. ISBN 978-81-208-3105-6.
  12. ↑ V. S. Agrawala: India as Known to Panini, 1953, p.504
  13. ↑ V. S. Agrawala: India as Known to Panini, 1953, p.74, 91
  14. ↑ V. S. Agrawala: India as Known to Panini, 1953, p.232
  15. ↑ V. S. Agrawala: India as Known to Panini, 1953, p.81, 280
  16. ↑ V. S. Agrawala: India as Known to Panini, 1953, p. 43, 44, 68
  17. ↑ Basham, Arthur Llewellyn (1989). The Origin and Development of Classical Hinduism (Reprinted ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-19-507349-2.
  18. ↑ Jamison, Stephanie; et al. (2014). The Rigveda : the earliest religious poetry of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-0-19-937018-4.
  19. ↑ Sharma, Ram Sharan (1990). Śūdras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa A.D. 600. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 10.
  20. ↑ Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). Dharma : its early history in law, religion, and narrative. Oxford University Press. pp. 529–531. ISBN 978-0-19-539423-8.
  21. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (1998). "Caste and Purity: A Study in the Language of the Dharma Literature". Contribution to Indian Sociology. 32 (2): 189–216.
  22. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (1998). "Caste and Purity: A Study in the Language of the Dharma Literature". Contribution to Indian Sociology. 32 (2): 199–216.
  23. ↑ Bayly, Susan (2001), Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age, Cambridge University Press, pp. 9–11, ISBN 978-0-521-26434-1
  24. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (1998). "Caste and Purity: A Study in the Language of the Dharma Literature". Contribution to Indian Sociology. 32 (2): 199–203.
  25. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (2008). Chapter 9. Caste and Purity in Collected essays. Firenze, Italy: Firenze University Press. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-88-8453-729-4.
  26. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (1998). "Caste and Purity: A Study in the Language of the Dharma Literature". Contribution to Indian Sociology. 32 (2): 189–216.
  27. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (2008). Chapter 9. Caste and Purity in Collected essays. Firenze, Italy: Firenze University Press. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-88-8453-729-4.
  28. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (2008). Chapter 9. Caste and Purity in Collected essays. Firenze, Italy: Firenze University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-88-8453-729-4.
  29. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (2008). Chapter 9. Caste and Purity in Collected essays. Firenze, Italy: Firenze University Press. pp. 240–245. ISBN 978-88-8453-729-4.
  30. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (1998). "Caste and Purity: A Study in the Language of the Dharma Literature". Contribution to Indian Sociology. 32 (2): 210.
  31. ↑ Juergensmeyer, Mark (2006). The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-19-972761-2.
  32. ↑ Rawat, Ramnarayan (2011). Reconsidering untouchability : Chamars and Dalit history in North India. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 53–63. ISBN 978-0-253-22262-6.
  33. ↑ Kumar, Arun (2002). Encyclopaedia of Teaching of Agriculture. Anmol Publications. p. 411. ISBN 978-81-261-1316-3.
  34. ↑ Ingold, Tim (1994). Companion encyclopedia of anthropology. Routledge. p. 1026. ISBN 978-0-415-28604-6.
  35. ↑ Bayly, Susan (2001), Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age, Cambridge University Press, p. 29, ISBN 978-0-521-26434-1
  36. ↑ Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). Dharma : its early history in law, religion, and narrative. Oxford University Press. pp. 529–531. ISBN 978-0-19-539423-8.
  37. ↑ Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). Dharma : its early history in law, religion, and narrative. Oxford University Press. pp. 529–531. ISBN 978-0-19-539423-8.
  38. ↑ Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). Dharma : its early history in law, religion, and narrative. Oxford University Press. pp. 529–531. ISBN 978-0-19-539423-8.
  39. ↑ Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). Dharma : its early history in law, religion, and narrative. Oxford University Press. p. 532. ISBN 978-0-19-539423-8.
  40. ↑ Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). Dharma : its early history in law, religion, and narrative. Oxford University Press. p. 594. ISBN 978-0-19-539423-8.
  41. ↑ 32 बराह्मणा बरह्मणा सृष्टा मुखात क्षत्रम अदॊरसः, ऊरुभ्याम असृजथ वैश्याञ शूथ्रान पथ्भ्याम इति शरुतिः, तेभ्यॊ वर्णविशेषाश च प्रतिलॊमानुलॊमजाः (VIII.23.33)
  42. ↑ अदान्यॊन्यस्य संयॊगाच चातुर्वर्ण्यस्य भारत, गॊप्तारः संग्रहीतारौ थातारः क्षत्रियाः समृताः (VIII.23.33)
  43. ↑ 34 याजनाध्यापनैर विप्रा विशुथ्धैश च परतिग्रहैः, लॊकस्यानुग्रहार्दाय सदापिता बरह्मणा भुवि (VIII.23.34)
  44. ↑ 5 कृषिश च पाशुपाल्यं च विशां थानं च सर्वशः, बरह्मक्षत्रविशां शूथ्रा विहिताः परिचारकाः (VIII.23.35)
  45. ↑ Dumont, Louis (1980), Homo hierarchicus: the caste system and its implications, University of Chicago Press, pp. 66–67, ISBN 0-226-16963-4
  46. ↑ India as Known to Panini, p. 91-92

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