Indian castes. Castes in ancient India

22.04.2019

Sometimes it seems that we are so accustomed to the 21st century with its equality, civil society, and the development of modern technologies that the existence of strict social strata in society is perceived with surprise.

But in India, people live like this, belonging to a certain caste (which determines the scope of rights and obligations), since the times that existed before our era.

Varna

Initially, the Indian people were divided into four estates, which were called "varnas"; and this division appeared as a result of the decomposition of the primitive communal stratum and the development of property inequality.

Belonging to each of the estates was determined solely by birth. Even in the Indian Laws of Manu, one can find mention of the following Indian varnas, which exist to this day:

. The Brahmins have always been the highest stratum in the caste system, the honorary caste; now these people are mostly spiritual dignitaries, officials, teachers;
Kshatriyas are warriors. The main task of the Kshatriyas was to protect the country. Now, in addition to serving in the army, representatives of this caste can hold various administrative positions;
Vaishyas are farmers. They were engaged in cattle breeding and trade. Basically, these are finances, banking, since the Vaishyas preferred not to participate in the cultivation of the land directly;
Shudras are disadvantaged members of society who do not have full rights; the peasant layer, which was originally subordinate to other higher castes.

State administration was concentrated in the hands of the first two varnas. It was strictly forbidden to move from one varna to another; there were also restrictions on intermarriage. You can learn more about this from the article "".

castes

Gradually, a caste system is being formed in India. Varnas begin to be divided into castes, and each caste is characterized by a certain profession. Thus, the caste division reflected the social division of labor. Until now, India has a very strong belief that, observing all the rules of the caste and not violating the prohibitions, a person in the next life will move to a higher caste (and those who violate the requirements will be demoted on the social ladder).

Castes in modern India

Caste, as a social organization in society, exists throughout India, but in each region it can be different. Moreover, each caste contains many podcasts (jatis), which makes them
the number is truly countless.

All this even led to the fact that in the population censuses they no longer take into account belonging to the caste, because every year their number is increasing more and more.

For example, there are castes of tailors (Darzi), water carriers (Jhinwar), scavengers (Bhangi), and even a caste of brahmins who live on charity (Bhatra).

Of course, the caste system in modern India has long ceased to have the importance that it was given in ancient times. Now there is a tendency to reduce the influence of castes, social strata on the life of the country's inhabitants.

If earlier almost everything was determined by social origin, now, for example, promotion in the service is possible due to individual characteristics, skills and abilities of a person, and not just because of birth.

Untouchables

- this is a special name for some castes that occupy the lowest position in modern India (moreover, this is as much as 16% of the total population of the country).

The untouchables are not included in the four Indian varnas, but are, as it were, outside this system, and even outside society as a whole. They do the dirtiest jobs - cleaning toilets, dead animals, etc.

It is believed that representatives of this caste group are able to offend other varnas, especially brahmins. For a long time, even temples remained closed to the untouchables.

Bhakti Maya
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Portal "Hinduism"

castes(port. casta, from lat. castus - pure; Skt. jati)

In the broadest sense of the word, they are closed groups (clans) of people that have become isolated due to the performance of specific social functions, hereditary occupations, professions, wealth levels, cultural traditions, and so on. For example, - officer castes (separated from soldiers within military units), members of political parties (separated from members of competing political parties), religious and non-integrated national minorities (separated due to adherence to another culture), football fan castes (separated from fans of other clubs), patients with leprosy (isolated from healthy people due to the disease).

According to some experts, a union of tribes and a race can be considered a caste. Trade, priestly, religious, corporate and other castes are known.

The phenomenon of caste society is observed everywhere to one degree or another, but, as a rule, the term "castes" is erroneously applied primarily to the oldest division of living beings on the Indian subcontinent into varnas. Such a confusion of the term "castes" and the term "varnas" is wrong, since there are only four varnas, and castes ( jati), even within each varna, there can be many.

The hierarchy of castes in medieval India: the highest - priestly and military-agricultural castes - constituted the class of large and medium feudal lords; below - commercial and usurious castes; further landowning castes of petty feudal lords and farmers - full-fledged community members; even lower - a huge number of castes of landless and incomplete farmers, artisans and servants; among the latter, the lowest stratum is the disenfranchised and the most oppressed castes of the untouchables.

The Indian leader M. K. Gandhi fought against caste discrimination, which is reflected in the religious-philosophical and socio-political doctrine of Gandhism. Even more radical egalitarian ideas were advocated by Ambedkar, who sharply criticized Gandhi for moderation in the caste issue.

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Varna

From the earliest works of Sanskrit literature, it is known that the peoples who spoke the Aryan dialects during the period of the initial settlement of India (approximately from 1500 to 1200 BC) were already divided into four main classes, later called "varnas" (Skt. "color") : brahmins (priests), kshatriyas (warriors), vaishyas (traders, cattle breeders and farmers) and shudras (servants and laborers).

In the period of the early Middle Ages, the varnas, although preserved, fell into numerous castes (jati), which even more firmly fixed the class affiliation.

Hindus believe in reincarnation and believe that those who follow the rules of their caste will rise to a higher caste by birth in a future life, while those who violate these rules will lose their social status.

Researchers at the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Utah took blood samples from various castes and compared them to a genetic database of Africans, Europeans and Asians. A comparative genetic analysis of the maternal and paternal lines, made according to five hereditary traits, made it possible to reasonably assert that people of higher castes are clearly closer to Europeans, and lower castes to Asians. Among the lower castes, those peoples of India who inhabited it before the invasion of the Aryans are mainly represented - speakers of Dravidian languages, Munda languages, Andaman languages. Genetic mixing between castes is due to the fact that sexual abuse of lower castes, as well as the use of prostitutes from lower castes, were not considered violations of caste purity.

Cast stability

Throughout Indian history, the caste structure has shown remarkable stability before change. Even the flourishing of Buddhism and its adoption as the state religion by Emperor Ashoka (269-232 BC) did not affect the system of hereditary groups. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism as a doctrine does not support caste division, but at the same time it does not insist on the complete elimination of caste distinctions.

During the rise of Hinduism, which followed the decline of Buddhism, a very complex multi-layered system grew out of a simple, uncomplicated system of four varnas, building a strict order of alternation and correlation of different social groups. Each varna, in the course of this process, outlined the framework for a multitude of independent endogamous castes (jati). Neither the Muslim invasion, which ended with the formation of the Mughal empire, nor the establishment of British domination, shook the fundamental foundations of the caste organization of society.

The nature of castes

As the organizing basis of society, caste is characteristic of all Hindu India, but there are very few castes that are found everywhere. Each geographical area has developed its own, separate and independent ladder of strictly ranked castes, for many of them there is no equivalent in neighboring territories. The exception to this regional rule is a number of castes of Brahmins, who are represented in vast areas and everywhere occupy the highest position in the caste system. In ancient times, the meaning of castes was reduced to the concepts of different degrees of enlightenment, that is, at what stage the enlightened one is, what was not inherited. In fact, transitions from castes to castes took place only under the supervision of the elders (other enlightened ones from the highest caste), and marriages were also concluded. The concept of castes referred only to the spiritual side and therefore it was not allowed for the higher to converge with the lower, in order to avoid a transition to a lower stage.

Castes in modern India

Indian castes literally have no number. Since each denominated caste is divided into many sub-castes, it is impossible to even roughly calculate the number of social units that have the minimum necessary features of jati. The official tendency to downplay the importance of the caste system has led to the fact that the corresponding column has disappeared from the once a decade censuses of the population. The last time information about the number of castes was published in 1931 (3000 castes). But this figure does not necessarily include all local podcasts that function as social groups in their own right.

It is widely believed that castes have lost their former importance in the modern Indian state. However, developments have shown that this is far from the case. The position taken by the INC and the Government of India after Gandhi's death is controversial. Moreover, universal suffrage and the need of politicians for the support of the electorate have given new importance to the corporate spirit and the internal cohesion of the castes. As a result, caste interests became an important factor during election campaigns.

Preservation of the caste system in other religions of India

Social inertia has led to the fact that stratification into castes exists among Indian Christians and Muslims, although it is an anomaly from the point of view of the Bible and the Koran. Christian and Muslim castes have a number of differences from the classical Indian system, they even have some social mobility, that is, the ability to move from one caste to another. In Buddhism, castes do not exist (which is why Indian “untouchables” are especially willing to convert to Buddhism), but it can be considered a relic of Indian traditions that in Buddhist society the social identification of the interlocutor is of great importance. In addition, although Buddhists themselves do not recognize castes, however, speakers of other religions in India can often easily determine from which caste their Buddhist interlocutor comes from, and treat him accordingly. Indian legislation provides for a number of social guarantees for the "infringed castes" among Sikhs, Muslims and Buddhists, but does not provide such guarantees for Christians - representatives of the same castes.

The emergence of castes in ancient India

There are many reasons for the emergence of varnas or the so-called Indian castes. For example, the Aryans (not to be confused with the pseudo-scientific "Aryans"), having conquered Indian land, decided to divide the local people according to skin color, origin and financial situation. This simplified social relationships and created a winning environment for government. The Aryans raised themselves, obviously, to the higher caste, and took only Brahmin girls as wives.

More detailed table of Indian castes with rights and duties

Casta, varna and jati - what's the difference?

Most people confuse the concept of "caste" and "varna", many consider them synonyms. But this is not the case, and this should be dealt with.

Every Indian, without the right to choose, was born in a closed group - in Varna. Sometimes they are called the Indian caste. However, the caste in India is a subgroup, a stratification in each varna, so there are countless castes today. Only in 1931, according to the census, data on 3,000 Indian castes were published. And the varn is always 4.

In fact, there are more than 3000 castes in India, and there are always four varnas.

Jati is the second name of the caste and podcast, and every inhabitant of India has a jati. Jati - belonging to a particular profession, to a religious community, it is also closed and endogamous. Each varna has its own jati.

You can draw a primitive analogue with our society. For example, there are children of rich parents. This is varna. They study in separate kindergartens, schools and universities, communicate mainly with each other. These children, growing up into teenagers, are divided into subcultures. Someone becomes a hipster, someone becomes an “elite” entrepreneur, others become a creative intelligentsia, and someone becomes a free traveler. This is jati or caste.

Castes in India can be divided by religion, profession and even interests.

They can be divided by, by interests, by chosen professions. However, oddly enough, people of this varna rarely “mix” with others, lower varnas and even castes, and always strive to communicate with those who are above them.

Four Indian varnas

Brahmins- the highest varna or caste in India. It included priests, clerics, sages, teachers, spiritual mentors and those people who connected other people with God. The Brahmins were vegetarians and could only eat food prepared by the people of their castes.

Brahmins are the highest and most respected caste in India.

Kshatriyas- this is an Indian caste or varna of warriors, defenders of their country, warriors, soldiers and, surprisingly, kings and rulers. The kshatriyas were the protectors of the brahmins, women, old people, children and cows. They were allowed to kill those who did not observe the dharma.

The most prominent representatives of the Kshatriya warrior caste are the Sikhs.

Vaishya- these are free community members, merchants, artisans, farmers, the working class. They did not like to engage in hard physical labor and were extremely scrupulous about food. Among them could be very prosperous and wealthy people - owners of enterprises and lands.

The vaishya caste are often wealthy merchants and landowners who do not like hard menial work.

Shudra- the lowest varna or caste of India. It included servants, laborers and laborers. All those who had neither a house nor land, and did the hardest physical work. The Shudras had no right to pray to the gods and become "twice-born".

Sudras are the lowest caste in India. They live in poverty and work very hard

The religious rite, which was held by the three upper varnas or castes of India, was called "upanayana". During the process of initiation, a consecrated thread was put on the boy's neck, corresponding to his varna, and from then on he became “dvija” or “twice-born”. He received a new name and was considered a brahmachari - a student.

Each caste has its own rites and initiations.

Hindus believe that a righteous life allows one to be born into a higher caste in the next life. And vice versa. And the Brahmins, who have already gone through a large cycle of rebirths on Earth, are waiting for incarnation on other, divine planets.

Untouchable caste - myth and reality

Special attention should be paid to the untouchables. The existence of 5 Indian castes is a myth. In fact, the untouchables are those people who did not fall into 4 varnas for some reason. According to Hinduism, they led an impious life in a past rebirth. The “caste” of untouchables in India is most often homeless, impoverished people who carry out the most humiliating and dirty work. They beg and steal. By their presence they defile the Indian Brahmin caste.

This is how the untouchable caste lives in India today

The Government of India protects the untouchables to some extent. It is criminally punishable to call such people untouchable or even non-caste. Social discrimination is prohibited.

Varnas and castes in India today

What are the castes in India today? - you ask. And there are thousands of castes in India. Some of them are not numerous, but there are also castes known throughout the country. For example, hijras. This is the Indian caste of untouchables, in India it includes transgenders, transsexuals, bisexuals, hermaphrodites, intersex and homosexuals. Their processions can be found on the streets of cities and towns, where they make offerings to the Mother Goddess. Thanks to multiple protests, the Indian Hijri caste has achieved official recognition of itself as a “third gender”.

People with non-traditional sexual orientation (Hijri) in India also belong to the untouchable caste

Varnas and castes in India in our time are considered some relic of the past, but in vain - the system remains. In large cities, the borders are somewhat erased, but in the villages the old way of life is still preserved. According to the Constitution of India, it is forbidden to discriminate people on the basis of varna or caste. There is even a Constitutional Table of Castes, in which, by the way, the term “community” is used instead of “Indian caste”. It states that every citizen of India has the right to receive an appropriate document that indicates belonging to a caste.

In India, anyone can get a document on belonging to a caste

So, the caste system in India has not only been preserved and has come down to our days, it works to this day. Moreover, other peoples are also divided into varnas and castes, they simply do not give this social division a name.

Ancient India is one of the first civilizations of the world, which brought to the world culture the largest number of various spiritual values. Ancient India is quite the richest subcontinent with a turbulent and complex history. It was here that the greatest religions were once born, empires appeared and collapsed, but from century to century the “enduring” identity of the Indy culture was preserved. This civilization built large and very well-planned cities with bricks with running water and built a pictographic script, which to this day cannot be deciphered.

India got its name from the name of the Indus River, in the valley of which it is located. "Indus" in the lane. means "river". With a length of 3180 kilometers, the Indus originates in Tibet, flows through the Indo-Gangetic lowland, the Himalayas, flows into the Arabian Sea. Various finds of archaeologists indicate that in Ancient India there was a human society already during the Stone Age, and it was then that the first social relations arose, art was born, permanent settlements appeared, prerequisites arose for the development of one of the ancient world civilizations - the Indian Civilization, which appeared in Northwest India (today almost the entire territory of Pakistan).

It dates back approximately to the XXIII-XVIII centuries BC and is considered the 3rd civilization of the Ancient East in time of appearance. Its development, like the first two in Egypt and Mesopotamia, was directly connected with the organization of high yields of irrigated agriculture. The first archaeological finds of terracotta figurines and pottery date back to the 5th millennium BC, they were made in Mehrgarh. From this it follows that Mehrgarh can already be considered a real city - this is the first city in Ancient India, which we became aware of from the excavations of archaeologists. The primordial deity of the indigenous population of ancient India - the Dravidians, was Shiva. He is one of the 3 main deities of Hinduism - Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. All 3 gods are considered a manifestation of a single divine essence, but each is assigned a specific “field of activity”.

So, Brahma is considered the creator of the world, Vishnu was his keeper, Shiva was his destroyer, but it is he who recreates it. Shiva among the indigenous people of Ancient India was considered the main god, was considered a model who had achieved his spiritual self-realization, the ruler of the world, the demiurge. The Indus Valley extends to the NW of the subcontinent in the neighborhood of ancient Sumer. Between these civilizations, of course, there were trade relations, and it is quite possible that it was Sumer who had a huge impact on Indian civilization. Throughout Indian history, the northwest has remained the main route for the invasion of new ideas. All other routes to India were so closed by the seas, forests and mountains that, for example, the great ancient Chinese civilization left almost no traces in it.

Formation of slave states.

The development of agriculture and crafts, as well as aggressive wars, led to the appearance of property inequality among the Aryans. The rajas who led the predatory campaigns accumulate a lot of wealth. With the help of warriors, they strengthen their power, make it hereditary. The Rajas and their warriors turn the captives into slaves. From the peasants and artisans they demand the payment of taxes and work for themselves. Rajas are gradually turning into kings of small states. During wars, these small states are united into one, and then the ruler becomes a maharaja (“big king”). Over time, the council of elders loses its significance. From the tribal nobility, military leaders and officials are recruited who are in charge of collecting "taxes, organizing deforestation and draining swamps. Brahmin priests begin to play a significant role in the emerging state apparatus .. They taught that the king is higher than other people, that he is "like the sun , burns eyes and heart and no one on earth can even look at him.

Castes and their role.

In the slave-owning states of India in the first millennium BC. e. The population was divided into four groups, called castes. The first caste consisted of Brahmins. Brahmins did not engage in physical labor and lived on income from sacrifices. The second caste - kshatriyas - was represented by warriors; they also controlled the administration of the state. Power struggles often took place between Brahmins and Kshatriyas. The third caste - vaishyas - included farmers, shepherds and merchants. All the local population conquered by the Aryans made up the fourth caste - the Shudras. Shudras were servants and did the hardest and dirtiest work. Slaves were not included in any caste. The division into castes broke the old tribal unity and opened up the possibility of uniting people who came from different tribes within the same state. Caste was hereditary. The son of a brahmin was born a brahmin, the son of a sudra was born a sudra. To perpetuate castes and caste inequality, the Brahmins created laws. They say that the god Brahma himself established inequality between people. Brahma, according to the priests, created Brahmins from his mouth, warriors from his hands, Vaishyas from his thighs, and Shudras from his feet, which were covered with dust and dirt. Caste division doomed the lower castes to hard, humiliating work. It closed the way for capable people to knowledge and state activity. Caste division hindered the development of society; it played a reactionary role.

We are already living in the 21st century and we think that many secrets of science and technology have already been revealed, many social issues have been resolved, etc. Despite all these achievements, there are still places where, to this day, social society is divided into different layers - castes. What is the cast system? Castes (from the Portuguese casta - genus, generation and descent) or Varna (translated from Sanskrit - color), a term applied primarily to the main division of Hindu society in the Indian subcontinent. According to Hindu belief, there are four main Varnas (castes) - Brahmins (officials), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants) and Shudras (peasants, workers, servants). It is known from the earliest works of Sanskrit literature that the Aryan-speaking peoples during the period of the initial settlement of India (approximately from 1500 to 1200 BC) were already divided into four main estates, later called Varnas. Modern castes are divided into a large number of podcasts - jati. Hindus believe in reincarnation and believe that those who follow the rules of their caste will rise to a higher caste by birth in a future life, while those who violate these rules will lose their social status. Brahmins Brahmins are the highest layer of this system. Brahmins serve as spiritual mentors, work as accountants and accountants, officials, teachers, and take possession of the lands. They are not supposed to walk behind a plow or perform certain types of work related to manual labor; women from their midst can serve in the house, and landowners can cultivate allotments, but only not plow. Members of each Brahmin caste marry only within their circle, although it is possible to marry a bride from a family belonging to a similar sub-caste from a neighboring area. In choosing food, a Brahmin observes many prohibitions. He is not entitled to eat food prepared outside his caste, but members of all other castes may eat food from the hands of the Brahmins. Some Brahmin podcasts may consume meat. Kshatriyas Kshatriyas stand right behind the brahmins in ritual terms and their task is mainly to fight, to protect their homeland. To date, the occupations of kshatriyas are the work of managers in estates and service in various administrative positions and in the army. Most kshatriyas eat meat and although they allow marriage to a girl from a lower sub-caste, a woman cannot under any circumstances marry a man of a sub-caste lower than her own. Vaishyas Vaishyas are layers that are engaged in trade. Vaishyas are more strict about the rules regarding food, and are even more careful to avoid ritual pollution. The traditional occupation of the Vaishyas is trade and banking, they tend to stay away from physical labor, but sometimes they are included in the management of the farms of landlords and village entrepreneurs, not directly participating in the cultivation of the land. Shudras "Pure" Shudras are a peasant caste. They, due to their numbers and ownership of a significant part of the local land, play an important role in solving the social and political issues of some areas. Shudras eat meat, marriage of widows and divorced women is allowed. The lower sudras are numerous podcasts whose profession is of a highly specialized nature. These are castes of potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, carpenters, weavers, butter makers, distillers, masons, barbers, musicians, tanners, butchers, scavengers and many others. The Untouchables The Untouchables are employed in the dirtiest jobs and are in many ways outside of Hindu society. They are engaged in cleaning dead animals from the streets and fields, toilets, dressing skins, etc. Members of these castes are forbidden to visit the houses of "pure" castes and take water from their wells, they are even forbidden to step on the shadows of other castes. Until recently, most Hindu temples were closed to the untouchables, there was even a ban on approaching people from higher castes closer than the set number of steps. The nature of caste barriers is such that they are believed to continue to defile members of "pure" castes, even if they have long since abandoned their caste occupation and are engaged in ritually neutral activities such as farming. Although in other social settings and situations, such as being in an industrial city or on a train, an untouchable may have physical contact with members of higher castes and not defile them, in his native village, untouchability is inseparable from him, no matter what he does. Throughout Indian history, the caste structure has shown remarkable stability before change. Neither Buddhism, nor the Muslim invasion that ended with the formation of the Mughal empire, nor the establishment of British domination shook the fundamental foundations of the caste organization of society.