MONSOON SEMESTER PROJECT – 2020

LEGAL HISTORY - 1

THE VARNASHARMA SYSTEM IN ANCIENT INDIA

NAME - Yuvraj Tenguriya

SECTION - A
ID NO. - 219052
Table of Contents

1. Varnasharma System
2. The Origin of Varna System
3. The Origin of Ashrama System
4. The Present Day problems with the Varna System
5. Conclusion
6. Book List
Varnasharma System

The ultimate aim of human life, according to the Vedas, is moksha, which is the liberation from
sansar, the cycle of death and rebirth. From its psychological viewpoint, it is a freedom from
denial i.e. self-realization. The Principle of Brahman is described as the ultimate truth or the
most supreme level of consciousness in The Aitareya Upanishad, which kept this principle as its
core.

The Vedas have been divided in two sections:

a. Karmakanda: The earlier portion which describes the rituals for purification of the mind.
b. Jnanakanda: The latter portion which provides with the knowledge of purifying one’s
soul.

In order to attain moksha, following a path of appropriate ‘karma’ is very crucial, which is
described as conscientious devotion to the ways of ‘varnasharma’ dharma. It emphasizes on
creating a hierarchical structure both at an individual and social level where specific roles and
duties are assigned to people. The Varna system defines distinctions in society based on the
duties or occupation of an individual, meanwhile, the ashram system describes the dynamics of
an individual’s duties which ought to be followed their entire lifetime. The distinction between
the Varna and Ashram system is that the former describes society’s fourfold classification
whereas the latter defines the fourfold classification of duties in form of different stages of life.
The Origin of Varna System

The Rig Veda's ‘Purusha Suktam’ verse (10th mandala, hymn 90): "बराह्मणो.अस्य मु खमासीद बाहू
राजन्यः कर्तः | ऊरूतदस्य यद वै श्यः पद्भ्यां शूदर् ो अजायत ||” which translates in English to “The
Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rajanya made. His Thighs became the Vaisya,
from his feet the Sudra was produced.”, mentioned the Varna for the first time. In this hymn, the
universe was described as a cosmic human being, called as “Purusha”. It has been described that
he killed himself in order to establish the society and a social order was born into existence from
his limbs and various parts of the body. Through division of duties and labor amongst various
groups and their interdependence, the social order sought to establish a harmonious and
successful functioning of society.

The Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishya and Shudras were described as the four groups of Varna:

i. Brahmins: Believed to originate from Purusha’s head, it was said that they were often
immersed in Brahman's contemplation, hence called Brahmins. They were respected as
the embodiment of wisdom itself, bestowed with the sermons and principles to dispense
to all the Varna groups, they were acknowledged not only because of their birth heritage,
but also because of their abandonment from a materialistic existence and their inheritance
of divine knowledge.

ii. Kshatriyas: It has been described that the Kshatriya’s hailed from Purush’s arms, they are
the second varna group which comprised of the territorial rulers, administrators, kings,
warrior clan etc. The knowledge of a Kshatriya in warfare, weapons, penance, discipline,
government, justice and ruling was of paramount importance.
 iii. Vaishyas: Believed to originate from Purusha’s thighs, Vaishya’s are the third varna
group which are also the twice-born and go to the ashram of the Brahmins to study the
laws of a virtuous life and to refrain from deliberate or unintentional wrongdoing. They
comprise of merchants, farmers, traders, money lenders etc.

iv. Shudras: The last of the Varna groups, they are believed to originate from Purusha’s feet.
Shudras represent the servant class, labors etc. where they are known for their lifelong
dutiful conduct towards the life roles assigned for them. The scholarly views of the
Shudras are the most diverse since their actions have always been immensely restricted.
However, according to the Atharva Veda, the Shudras are allowed to learn and listen to
the Vedas and the Mahabharata advocated their learning of the Vedas in addition to their
incorporation in the ashrams.

A Varna also represents color, various shades of colors and different qualities and mental
disposition assigned to different varnas. The division of Varna in respect to different shades of
color assigned to different varnas was done in Mahabharata (12.188). The Gunas which are
essentially the virtue, quality or merit were symbolically represented through the different colors
assigned to the varnas.

The three qualities of nature represented through the gunas were:

I. Sattva: Which was reflected through the color white, represented reasoning, intellect
and wisdom.

II. Rajas: Reflected by the Red color, represented passion, bravery and pride.

III. Tamas: Associated with the color Black, represented the qualities such as dullness and
laziness.

IV.
Adi Shankaracharya laid down the following classification while reflecting on Bhagavad Gita:

An individual is a Brahmin in terms of Guna when the Sattva predominates and Rajas in one's
nature is secondary. Wheras, that individual is Kshatriya by Guna if Rajas predominates and
Sattva in one's nature is secondary. If Rajas predominates, and Tamas is the secondary guna in an
individual’s existence, that individual is a Vaishya in respect to his Guna. An individual is a
Shudra in respect of his Guna in case Tamas is the predominant guna and Rajas in is secondary.

Furthermore, Varna 's development through separation on duties and their allotment as per an
individual’s intrinsic existence has been discussed in both the Bhagavad Gita (4.13, 18.41) and
Manusmriti (1.87).

The following theory was put forward by D.N. Majumdar In his book, "Races and Culture in
India":

In the Rig Vedic society, War was observed as a means of livelihood. The King's chief revenue
used to arise from the spoils of war which had fair share for the priest as well. Wealth used to be
represented in terms of agricultural lands and cattle. In the later vedic era the society became
divided from a tribal classification to a sort of occupational apartheid where the intellectually
dominant class gradually began to claim its control over the serving class.

Meanwhile, in terms of a historical perspective, it is assumed that in 1500 BC, the Aryans began
the Varna system. India, when Aryans first came to India, it was populated by a tribe called
‘dasyus’ which are assumed to be Shudra’s ancestors. Later on, The Aryans enslaved and
oppressed the dasyus tribe, which had a dark skin complexion. Due to the theory of varna also
representing colors, it was believed that the division also focused on an individual’s skin
complexion. Historical facts and theories indicate that there was always a violent divide (also in
terms of religious practices) between Dasyus and Aryans which might be the explanation for the
Shudras being excluded from a vedic form of religious rites.
The Origin of Ashrama System

The word “Ashram’ in its literal sense means an ascetic hermitage in the forest. It represents
resting places for people who are on a journey to seek Moksh. It is said that the Ashram system
emerged in an ancient Indian society, during the 5th century BCE. It has been mentioned in the
sacred Sanskrit scriptures i.e. Asrama Upanishad, the Vaikhanasa Dharmasutra, and the
Dharmashastra. Its main purpose is to encorage people to lead a divine oriented life while
upholding the Vedic Dharma when chasing after the primary aims of life, which are:

 Dharma: Religion
 Artha: Wealth
 Kama: Pleasures
 Moksha: Salvation

In the Mahabharata, it was stated by Vyasa that the four stages of life form a ladder which lead to
the release in Brahmana.

Life is separated into four phases according to the Ashram system with each stage having its own
specific roles. The Four stages are:

I. Brahmacharya: Brahmacharya lasts until the age of 25 and has described as a stage of
formal learning and complete sexual abstinence. During this period, a student leaves his
home and lives with a guru in order to achieve both practical and spiritual understanding.
He is called a Brahmachari during this phase as he prepares for a future in terms of
family, societal, profession and religious life ahead of him.

II. Grihastha: This is the second Ashrama starts with marriage when the burden of making a
living and helping a family is to be taken on. During this phase, Dharma is practiced
primarily followed by Artha, which is a requirement for wealth or materialistic
satisfaction. Indulgence in sexual pleasure (Kama) is also practiced under various societal
norms. The Grihastha Ashrama lasts until around the age of 50 and as per the law laid
down by Manu, a person should abandon his home and materialistic pleasures and live in
the forest when his hair starts turning gray and skin wrinkles.
III. Vanaprastha: The role of this ashrama is to teach dharma to those visiting and to be
considered as an elder by the community. This stage is of materialistic and familiar
withdrawals, it begins after the role of the individual as a householder ends, when he has
grandchildren of his own and his children have grown up and have their own families. He
renounces all the materialistic pleasures to leave his home and live in a forest and spend
his time in praying. He is allowed to take along his wife but has little to no interaction
with the remaining family

IV. Sanyasa: The last ashrama is meant for renunciation of all duties, fears and desires and
getting completely devoted towards dharma. The invidual is called a Sanyasi, and has no
home or wordly attachments. At this stage, he has virtually unified with God and the only
concern remaining is to attain Moksha.
The Present Day problems with the Varna System

 The rigid transformation of Varna System

From a historical perspective, the most ancient form of prejudice against Shudras, has been the
denial to enter places of worship or temples and its explanation was specified to be the difference
in the religious practices of the Dasyus and the Aryans. As a successor to the Varna System, a
form of segregation called the Caste system was built on inflexible line briefly after the decline
of the Maurya Empire. The foundation was laid when Pushyamitra Sunga (184 BC) founded the
Sunga dynasty, which was a staunch believer of ‘Brahminism’. Brahmins again succeeded in
organizing dominance over Shudras by Manusmriti, and placed extreme restrictions on them.
The Manusmriti had a saying which read, 'A Shudra, who insults a twice-born man, will have his
tongue cut out.'

The rigidity was further solidified by the Ashrama system as it only allowed individuals from the
three upper castes to follow its structure due to religious reasons and aslo because only the upper
castes had the right to education.

 Untouchability

Although not backed by strong historical evidences, The Untouchables, as per the Hindu Law
code was an offspring of a Shudra father and Brahmin Mother. There is a very deep connection
between the establishment of untouchability and the development of an agrarian society. Their
existence dates back towards the end of later Vedic period, when an agragarian society was
established by the Aryans after they colonialized the upper and middle region of the Ganga
basin. This was also the period when the Brahmins held "their monopoly of the priesthood" and
were at the top of societal pyramid. By emphasizing on their ‘purity’, the Brahmins legitimized
their status and the Kshatriyas used this ideology of purity in order to establish Untouchability.
  What led the Caste System to thrive and continue?

The Indian culture still seems to be synonymous with the caste system in present times. When
Caste is discussed on a global level, their minds come straight to India. Even Jawaharlal Nehru
mentioned something similar in his book 'Discovery of India.’ He described the caste system
being so staunch that even the efforts of Mughals, Afghans or British were resisted. Even the
spread of Islam or Buddhism and the Hindu reformers couldn’t shake its rigid grounds. The
Census carried out in 1901 under the British rule is believed to be one of major reasons which
solidified the caste system in present times as it gathered information segregated on basis of
social class and caste.

Every religion in India, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Parsi, Hindu or Jain, carries within them
some fragment of the caste system. Caste and casteism were brought to every corner of the world
where the Indian diaspora had migrated to. In the columns of the matrimonial newspaper, where
prospective grooms and brides and of all religions are looked for conventional arrange marriage
alliances, our caste biases manifest most clearly. The most critical conditions for accepting a
strange man or especially a woman into the home, the family or inner circle have always been
caste and skin color. Even to this day, the hate crimes against Dalits almost always go
unpublished or are given the least coverage in a news broadcast.

For how much longer will these hate crimes against Dalits continue to happen on a daily basis
while being ignored by the mainstream media is a question that has been unanswered for decades
now.
Conclusion

As a theory, Varnashrama dharma has been a field of fascination for academic thinkers,
historians and philosophers. It acquired various meanings throughout the years according to
different time and place despite the enormous difficulties that emerged with regard to the concept
and the exact sense of it.

Although Mahatma Gandhi opposed untouchability and criticized the evils associated with the
caste system but he did not advocate the annihilation of Varnashrama dharma.

The presumption that there has ever been a functional implementation of the Varnas as defined
in old scriptures is pretty invalid. It is a philosophy of much less pragmatism, such as
communism, socialism etc. Any such system was likely to end up like the present caste system.
The inflexibility and staunch rigidity have always been the most problematic issues with the
caste system which leads to superiority and inferiority complexes which culminate overtime and
give rise to bigger issues. It's of crucial importance eliminate the root causes of the issues which
have come risen in the present times.
Book List

1. Caste System, Untouchability and the Depressed - Hiroyuki Kotani (1997).

2. Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction - Arvind Sharma (2000), University Oxford

Press.

3. Knowledge and Freedom in Indian Philosophy – T. Chatterjee (2003)

4. Races and Culture of India - D.N. Majumdar (1896).

5. The Bhagavad Gita, with Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya - Adi Snankaracharya.

6. The Hymns of the Rigveda - Translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896).

7. The Mahabharata – Veda Vyasa.