The Beginning of the caste system

The origins of India’s caste system have been explained through different lenses — religious-mystical theories, biological theories, and socio-historical theories.

1. Religious Theories

Religious explanations often describe how the four Varnas (broad caste categories) were created but rarely address the origins of sub-castes (Jatis) or the “untouchables.”
According to the Rig Veda, the ancient Hindu scripture, the cosmic being (Purusha) sacrificed himself to create human society. From different parts of his body emerged the four Varnas:

  • Brahmins (priests and scholars) from his head

  • Kshatriyas (warriors) from his arms

  • Vaishyas (farmers and merchants) from his thighs

  • Shudras (laborers) from his feet

The hierarchy was based on the perceived purity of the body part from which each Varna originated. Another religious account states that the Varnas came from the body of Brahma, the creator god.

2. Biological Theory

The biological theory suggests that all beings — living and non-living — possess three inherent qualities (gunas) in varying proportions:

  • Sattva – wisdom, intelligence, honesty, goodness

  • Rajas – passion, pride, valor, ambition

  • Tamas – ignorance, laziness, lack of creativity

According to this theory:

  • Brahmins possessed primarily Sattva qualities.

  • Kshatriyas and Vaishyas were dominated by Rajas.

  • Shudras had a predominance of Tamas.

Diet was also thought to influence these qualities. Brahmins and many Vaishyas followed a Sattvic diet — fruits, milk, honey, roots, and vegetables. Meat was generally considered Tamasic, though certain meats, such as deer, were classified as Rajasic and consumed by Kshatriyas. However, the theory has inconsistencies: Brahmins in some regions ate meat despite its Tamasic classification.

3. Socio-Historical Theory

The socio-historical theory traces the caste system to the arrival of the Aryans around 1500 BCE from South Europe and North Asia. Before their arrival, India was inhabited by diverse ethnic groups:

  • Negrito – features similar to Africans

  • Mongoloid – East Asian features

  • Austroloid – similar to Aboriginal Australians

  • Dravidian – Mediterranean origin, the largest group in pre-Aryan India

The Aryans primarily encountered Dravidians and Austroloids. They dismissed local cultures, conquered territories in northern India, and pushed indigenous communities to the south, forests, or mountains.

Among themselves, Aryans organized into three groups:

  • Rajanyas (warriors), later called Kshatriyas

  • Brahmins (priests), who eventually emerged as political leaders

  • Vaishyas (farmers and craftsmen), who became landlords and traders

The local populations were subjugated, serving as laborers and craftsmen under Aryan dominance. Strict social and religious rules restricted priesthood, warfare, and commerce to Aryans. Over time, these rules solidified into a rigid caste structure.

The term Varna originally meant “color,” indicating that skin tone played a role in social ranking. In places like Maharashtra, the name is sometimes linked to the Mahar community — considered the original inhabitants and treated as outcasts due to their darker complexion.

The Shudras and the Outcastes

Shudras occupied the lowest Varna and included:

  1. Local people subdued by the Aryans

  2. Descendants of Aryans and locals

Many Hindu myths depict battles between light-skinned “noble” Aryans and dark-skinned demons or devils, possibly symbolic of conflicts between Aryans and indigenous peoples. These stories also mention marriages between Aryan heroes and demon women — perhaps reflecting historical intermixing.

As in many societies, professions were inherited. Over generations, families specializing in a trade formed communities (Jatis), with those in similar trades forming larger networks. This reinforced occupational segregation.

Foreign invaders like the Greeks, Huns, and Scythians were sometimes incorporated into the Kshatriya Varna. However, original Indian warrior and aristocratic groups predating the Aryans were largely excluded. Communities performing “clean” occupations were placed in the Shudra Varna, while those in “polluting” professions became untouchables.

Untouchability was enforced by strict rules of physical and even spatial separation, partly due to ancient beliefs about disease transmission through air as well as touch.

Popular posts from this blog

Haryana’s Women: Breaking Stereotypes While Others Are Busy Making Them

 For years, Haryana has been the punching bag of social commentary in India. If there’s ever a conversation about patriarchy, honor killings, or skewed sex ratios, you’ll hear “Haryana ka naam aa gaya” . But what if I told you that while others are busy making memes and stereotypes, Haryana’s women are quietly changing the narrative—not in theory, but on the ground ? It’s time we talk about this with honesty—not just to defend Haryana, but to ask: Shouldn’t other states be learning something here instead of pointing fingers? ⚔️ The Reality Behind the Headlines Let’s get one thing straight—yes, Haryana has struggled with issues like female foeticide and regressive marriage customs in the past. No hiding that. But how long will we ignore what’s happening right now just because we’re stuck with old headlines? Women wrestlers, boxers, shooters —the medal counts from Haryana in Olympics and Commonwealth Games don’t lie. Female police officers, bus conductors, village-level ...
Read more

The Decline of Service Accountability in Indian Metro Cities — And the Urgent Need for a Consumer-Led Rating System

 Over the past several years, a troubling trend has taken hold in India's urban service landscape — particularly in metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. The quality of service across sectors — from home improvement and electronics repairs to real estate and retail — has eroded to the point of becoming nearly farcical. Vendors now routinely demand full advance payment , make grand promises during the pre-sale phase, and then — quite conveniently — disappear when it comes time to fulfill those promises. This behavior has become so normalized that many customers have resigned themselves to it, often feeling helpless and frustrated. 🔁 The Post-Payment Power Shift The core issue lies in the fundamentally broken transaction dynamic . Once a service provider has received payment — particularly in full — they no longer have any skin in the game . Their incentives are front-loaded. There is little motivation left to deliver quality or even to complete the work on ...
Read more

The Forgotten Legends: A Story of Time and Memory

The First Dawn In the beginning, there was the First Kind . They awoke on the First Dawn, their eyes opening to a world vast and untouched. Their lives were brief—only three days long —but to them, it was an eternity. They walked under trees so tall they seemed to touch the sky, drank from rivers that roared like gods, and spoke in voices that echoed beyond their short existence. As the First Kind reached the end of their days, they whispered to the ones who came after them. "We were here before you. Remember us." On the Second Dawn , the Second Kind was born. They lived for four days , and they found the footprints and the stories left behind by the First Kind. But they never saw them, only their echoes in the rustling trees and the murmuring rivers. "The giants came before us," the Second Kind said, for they had never met the First Kind as equals. "They lived in a world larger than ours. They moved like the wind and vanished before we could understand t...
Read more