The origins and functions of the Hindu Caste System
The origins and functions of the Hindu Caste System:
A Sense of Duty That Stands The Test of Time
Abstract
This essay explores the origins and functions of the Hindu caste system, its correlation to the Hindu religion, and its impact on the Hindu society and culture. My research concludes with a progression of expanding world views, which are changing the way most Indians view themselves in relation to the world around them.
The origins and functions of the Hindu Caste System:
A Sense of Duty That Stands The Test of Time The division of social strata among mankind is as old as time itself and as prolific among human cultures as sand on the seashore. In Indian society a division of four basic social ranks called Varnas, or colors has endured to the present day. This social system persists for economic as much as religious reasons, but a slow progression away from a strict caste tradition is evident in modern day India. According to an ancient Hindu sacred text known as the Rigveda, a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, this division "was based on Brahma 's divine manifestation of four groups. Priests and teachers were cast from his mouth, rulers and warriors from his arms, merchants and traders from his thighs, and workers and peasants from his feet." (http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8b.asp) These four categories made up the full segmentation of human society in India, each with a traditional hereditary occupation and purpose. The class system defined occupational roles in Indian society, and had ethnic groups of people, or hereditary castes known as Jatis assigned to them. Thus, individuals were " born into, worked, married, ate, and died within those groups." (http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8b.asp). Social mobility between classes was not permitted, as outlined in the Manusmriti, or Laws of Manu "A man who fulfills a religious duty, shall not seek intercourse with them; their [Kandala] transactions shall be among themselves, and
A Sense of Duty That Stands The Test of Time
Abstract
This essay explores the origins and functions of the Hindu caste system, its correlation to the Hindu religion, and its impact on the Hindu society and culture. My research concludes with a progression of expanding world views, which are changing the way most Indians view themselves in relation to the world around them.
The origins and functions of the Hindu Caste System:
A Sense of Duty That Stands The Test of Time The division of social strata among mankind is as old as time itself and as prolific among human cultures as sand on the seashore. In Indian society a division of four basic social ranks called Varnas, or colors has endured to the present day. This social system persists for economic as much as religious reasons, but a slow progression away from a strict caste tradition is evident in modern day India. According to an ancient Hindu sacred text known as the Rigveda, a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, this division "was based on Brahma 's divine manifestation of four groups. Priests and teachers were cast from his mouth, rulers and warriors from his arms, merchants and traders from his thighs, and workers and peasants from his feet." (http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8b.asp) These four categories made up the full segmentation of human society in India, each with a traditional hereditary occupation and purpose. The class system defined occupational roles in Indian society, and had ethnic groups of people, or hereditary castes known as Jatis assigned to them. Thus, individuals were " born into, worked, married, ate, and died within those groups." (http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8b.asp). Social mobility between classes was not permitted, as outlined in the Manusmriti, or Laws of Manu "A man who fulfills a religious duty, shall not seek intercourse with them; their [Kandala] transactions shall be among themselves, and
References: Gershevitch, I. (1968). The cambridge history of iran. (Vol. 1). p.651. Trivedi, B Malhotra, R. (2011, June 14). Dharma is not the same as religion. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rajiv-malhotra/dharma-religion_b_875314.html Mayell, H