When castes appeared in India. All about Indian castes

05.12.2019

September 28th, 2015

Indian society is divided into estates called castes. This division took place many thousands of years ago and has survived to this day. Hindus believe that, following the rules established in their caste, in the next life you can be born as a representative of a slightly higher and revered caste, take a much better position in society.

After leaving the Indus Valley, the Indian Aryans conquered the country along the Ganges and founded many states here, whose population consisted of two estates, differing in legal and material status. The new Aryan settlers, the victors, seized for themselves land, honor, and power in India, and the defeated non-Indo-European natives were thrown into contempt and humiliation, turned into slavery or into a dependent state, or, driven into the forests and mountains, led there in inaction thoughts of a meager life without any culture. This result of the Aryan conquest gave rise to the origin of the four main Indian castes (varnas).

Over time, between the Aryan conquerors of India themselves, sharp differences in conditions and professions formed. But in relation to the lower caste - the dark-skinned, subjugated native population - they all remained a privileged class. Only the Aryans had the right to read the holy books; only they were sanctified by a solemn ceremony: a sacred thread was placed on the Aryan, making him "reborn" (or "twice born", dvija). This rite served as a symbolic difference between all Aryans from the Sudra caste and driven into the forests, despised by the native tribes. Consecration was performed by laying on a cord, which is worn when laid on right shoulder and descending obliquely across the chest. In the Brahmin caste, the cord could be placed on a boy from 8 to 15 years old, and it is made of cotton yarn; for the Kshatriya caste, who received it not earlier than 11 years old, it was made from kushi (Indian spinning plant), and among the Vaisya caste, who received it not earlier than the 12th year, it was woolen.

"Twice-born" Aryans over time were divided by differences of occupation and origin into three estates or castes, having some similarity with the three estates of medieval Europe: the clergy, the nobility and the middle urban class. The embryos of caste devices among the Aryans existed even in those days when they lived only in the Indus basin: there, from the mass of the agricultural and shepherd population, the warlike princes of the tribes, surrounded by people skilled in military affairs, as well as the priests performing the rituals of sacrifice, were already distinguished.

With the resettlement of the Aryan tribes further inland, to the country of the Ganges, warlike energy increased in bloody wars with the exterminated natives, and then in a fierce struggle between the Aryan tribes. Until the conquests were completed, the entire people were engaged in military affairs. Only when the peaceful possession of the conquered country began, it became possible to develop a variety of occupations, the possibility of choosing between different professions appeared, and a new stage in the origin of castes began. The fertility of the Indian land aroused the attraction to the peaceful acquisition of livelihoods. This quickly developed a tendency innate to the Aryans, according to which it was more pleasant for them to work calmly and enjoy the fruits of their labor than to make heavy military efforts. Therefore, a significant part of the settlers ("Vishy") turned to agriculture, which gave abundant harvests, leaving the struggle against enemies and protection of the country to the princes of the tribes and the military nobility formed during the period of conquest. This class, which was engaged in farming and partly shepherding, soon expanded so that among the Aryans, as in Western Europe, it formed a huge majority of the population. Therefore, the name Vaishya "settler", originally denoting all the Aryan inhabitants in the new regions, began to denote only the people of the third, working Indian caste, and the warriors, kshatriyas and priests, brahmanas ("praying"), who over time became privileged estates, made the names of their professions by the names of the two higher castes.

The four above-mentioned Indian estates became completely closed castes (varnas) only when brahmanism rose above the ancient service of Indra and other gods of nature - a new religious teaching about Brahma, the soul of the universe, the source of life from which all beings originated and to which all beings will return. This reformed doctrine gave religious sanctity to the division of the Indian nation into castes, especially the priestly caste. It said that in the cycle of life forms traversed by everyone on earth, a brahmana is the highest form of existence. According to the dogma of rebirth and transmigration of souls, a being born in human form, one should pass all four castes in turn: be a sudra, vaisya, ksatriya and finally a brahmana; after passing through these forms of being, it is reunited with Brahma. The only way to achieve this goal is that a person, constantly striving for the deity, exactly fulfills everything commanded by the brahmanas, honors them, pleases them with gifts and signs of respect. Offenses against the brahmanas, severely punished on earth, subject the wicked to the most terrible torments of hell and rebirth in the forms of despised animals.

The belief in the dependence of the future life on the present was the main support of the Indian caste division and the dominion of the priests. The more decisively the Brahman clergy placed the dogma of transmigration of souls as the center of all moral teaching, the more successfully it filled the people's fantasy with terrible pictures of hellish torment, the more honor and influence it acquired. Representatives of the highest caste of Brahmins are close to the gods; they know the path leading to Brahma; their prayers, sacrifices, holy deeds of their asceticism have magical power over the gods, the gods have to fulfill their will; bliss and suffering in the future life depends on them. It is not surprising that with the development of religiosity among the Indians, the power of the Brahmin caste increased, tirelessly praising in their holy teachings reverence and generosity to the Brahmins as surest ways to receive the bliss, which inspired the kings that the ruler must have his advisers and make judges of the brahmanas, must reward their service with rich content and pious gifts.

So that the lower Indian castes do not envy the privileged position of the Brahmans and do not encroach on it, the teaching was developed and intensively preached that the forms of life for all creatures are predetermined by Brahma, and that the progress along the degrees of human rebirth is accomplished only by a calm, peaceful life in a given position, true performance of duties. So, in one of the most ancient parts of the Mahabharata it is said: “When Brahma created beings, he gave them their occupations, each caste a special activity: brahmanas - the study of the high Vedas, warriors - heroism, Vaisyam - the art of labor, sudram - obedience to other flowers: therefore ignorant brahmanas, not glorious warriors, unsophisticated vaisyas and disobedient sudras are blameworthy.

This dogma, which ascribed to every caste, every profession, a divine origin, consoled the humiliated and despised in the insults and deprivations of their present life with the hope of improving their fate in their future existence. He gave religious sanctification to the Indian caste hierarchy. The division of people into four classes, unequal in their rights, was from this point of view an eternal, unchanging law, the violation of which is the most criminal sin. People have no right to overthrow the caste barriers set up between them by God himself; they can achieve improvement of their destiny only by patient obedience.

The mutual relations between the Indian castes were graphically characterized by teaching; that Brahma produced the brahmanas from his lips (or the first man Purusha), the kshatriyas from his hands, the best from the thighs, the sudras from the feet soiled with mud, therefore the essence of nature for the brahmanas is “holiness and wisdom”, for the kshatriyas “power strength ", for the Vaisyas -" wealth and profit ", for the sudras -" service and obedience. " The doctrine of the origin of castes from different parts of the highest being is set forth in one of the hymns of the latest, newest book of the Rig Veda. There are no caste concepts in the more ancient songs of the Rig Veda. The brahmanas attach great importance to this hymn, and every true believing brahmana reads it every morning after bathing. This hymn is the diploma with which the brahmanas legitimized their privileges, their dominion.

The main characteristics of castes

Each Indian caste has its own characteristics and unique characteristics, rules of existence and behavior.

Brahmanas are the highest caste

Brahmanas in India are priests and priests in temples. Their position in society has always been considered the highest, even higher than the position of the ruler. At present, representatives of the brahmana caste are also engaged in the spiritual development of the people: they teach various practices, look after the temples, and work as teachers.

Brahmanas have many prohibitions:

Men are not allowed to work in the fields and do any manual labor, but women can do various household chores.

A representative of the priestly caste can marry only on his own kind, but as an exception, a wedding on a brahmana from another community is allowed.

A brahmana cannot eat what a person of another caste has prepared; a brahmana would rather starve than take forbidden food. But he can feed a representative of absolutely any caste.

Some brahmanas are not allowed to eat meat.

Kshatriyas - the warrior caste

The kshatriya representatives have always served as soldiers, guards and policemen.

At present, nothing has changed - the kshatriyas are engaged in military affairs or go to administrative work. They can marry not only in their own caste: a man can marry a girl from a lower caste, but a woman is forbidden to marry a man from a lower caste. The kshatriyas may eat animal products, but they also avoid forbidden foods.

Vaishya

Vaisyas have always been the working class: they were engaged in agriculture, raised livestock, traded.

Now representatives of the vaisyas are engaged in economic and financial affairs, various trade, banking. Probably, this caste is the most scrupulous in matters related to food intake: the Vaishyas, like no one else, monitor the correctness of food preparation and will never take contaminated dishes.

Shudras are the lowest caste

The Sudra caste has always existed in the role of peasants or even slaves: they did the dirtiest and hardest work. Even in our time, this social stratum is the poorest and often lives beyond poverty. Even divorced women can marry Shudras.

Untouchable

The caste of untouchables stands out separately: such people are excluded from all social relations. They do the dirtiest jobs: cleaning the streets and toilets, burning dead animals, making leather.

Amazingly, representatives of this caste could not even step on the shadows of representatives of the higher classes. And only recently they were allowed to enter churches and approach people of other classes.

Unique features of castes

Having a brahmana in the neighborhood, you can give him a lot of gifts, but you should not expect a response. Brahmanas never give gifts: they accept but do not give.

In terms of land ownership, sudras can be even more influential than vaisyas.

Castes and modernity

Today the Indian castes have become even more structured with many different subgroups called jati.

During the last census of representatives of various castes, there were more than 3 thousand jati. True, this census took place over 80 years ago.

Many foreigners consider the caste system a relic of the past and are convinced that the caste system no longer works in modern India. In fact, everything is completely different. Even the Indian government could not agree on this stratification of society. Politicians actively work on dividing society into layers during elections, adding protection of the rights of a particular caste to their election promises.

In modern India, more than 20 percent of the population belongs to the untouchable caste: they have to live in their own separate ghettos or outside the village. Such people should not enter shops, government and medical institutions and even use public transport.

Another awesome Untouchables podcast is Pariah. These are people completely expelled from society - marginalized. Previously, it was possible to become a pariah even by touching such a person, but now the situation has changed a little: a pariah is either born from an inter-caste marriage, or from pariah parents.

He divided people into four classes, called varnas. The first varna, the brahmanas, designed to enlighten and rule humanity, he created from his head or mouth; the second, kshatriyas (warriors), protectors of society, from the hand; the third, the vaisyas, the nourishment of the state, from the belly; the fourth, a sudra, from the feet, giving her an eternal destiny - to serve the highest varnas. Over time, the varnas were divided into many podcasts and castes, called jati in India. The European name is caste.

So, the four ancient castes of India, their rights and duties in accordance with the ancient law of Manu *, strictly implemented in.

(* The laws of Manu are an ancient Indian collection of prescriptions for religious, moral, moral and social duty (dharma), today also called the "law of the Aryans" or "the code of honor of the Aryans").

Brahmanas

Brahman “son of the sun, descendant of Brahma, god between people” (the usual titles of this class), according to the law of Menu, is the head of all created creatures; the whole universe is subject to him; other mortals owe their lives to his intercession and prayers; his omnipotent curse can instantly destroy the formidable generals with their many hordes, chariots and war elephants. Brahman can create new worlds; may even give life to new gods. A brahmana should be honored more than a king.

The inviolability of a brahmana and his life are protected by bloody laws. If a sudra dares to verbally insult a brahmana, then the law orders to drive a red-hot iron into his throat, ten inches; and if he decides to instruct the brahmana, they pour boiling oil on the mouth and ears of the unfortunate man. On the other hand, it is permissible for anyone to take a false oath or testify before the court, if by doing this it is possible to save a brahmana from condemnation.

Brahman cannot be, under any condition, either executed or punished, neither bodily nor financially, although he would be caught in the most outrageous crimes: the only punishment to which he is subject is removal from the fatherland, or expulsion from the caste.

Brahmanas are divided into laymen and spiritual people, and are classified according to their occupation into different classes. It is noteworthy that among the spiritual brahmanas, the priests occupy the lower level, and the highest - those who devoted themselves only to the interpretation of the sacred books. The worldly brahmanas are the king's advisers, judges and other high officials.

Only a brahmana is given the right to interpret the scriptures, conduct worship and predict the future; but he is deprived of this last right if he is mistaken in predictions three times. Brahman can predominantly heal, for "illness is the punishment of the gods"; only a brahmana can be a judge, because the civil and criminal laws of the Hindus are included in their holy books.

The whole life of a brahmana is built on the observance of the whole code the strictest rules... For example, all brahmanas are prohibited from accepting gifts from unworthy persons (lower castes). Music, dancing, hunting and gamblingare also forbidden to all brahmanas. But the use of wine and all sorts of intoxicating things, such as: onions, garlic, eggs, fish, any meat, except from animals slaughtered for sacrifice to the gods, are prohibited only to the lower brahmanas.

A brahmana will defile himself if he sits at the same table even with a king, not to mention members of the lower castes or his own wives. He is obliged not to look at the sun at certain hours and to leave the house during the rain; he cannot walk over the rope to which the cow is tied, and must pass by this sacred animal or idol, only leaving them to his right.

In case of need, a brahmana is allowed to beg from the people of the three higher castes and engage in trade; but under no guise, he cannot serve anyone else.

A brahmana who wants to be awarded the honorary title of interpreter of laws and supreme guru prepares for this by various privations. He renounces marriage, devotes himself to a thorough study of the Vedas in some monastery, for 12 years, refraining in the last 5 even from talking and explaining himself only by signs; thus he finally attains the desired goal and becomes a spiritual master.

The financial support of the Brahmin caste is also provided for by law. Generosity towards the brahmanas is a religious virtue for all believers, and is the direct responsibility of the rulers. Upon the death of a rootless brahmana, his property is converted not to the treasury, but to the caste. A brahmana does not pay any taxes. Thunder would kill a king who dared to encroach on the face or property of a brahmana; the poor brahmana is being kept at public expense.

The life of a brahmana is divided into 4 stages.

First step begins even before birth, when scholars are sent to the pregnant wife of a brahmana for talks in order to "thus prepare the child for the perception of wisdom." At 12 days, the baby is given a name, at three years old, his head is shaved, leaving only a piece of hair called kudumi. Several years later, the child is placed in the arms of a spiritual mentor (guru). The upbringing of this guru usually lasts from 7-8 to 15 years. During the entire period of upbringing, which consists mainly of studying the Vedas, the student is obliged to blindly obey his mentor and all members of his family. He is often entrusted with the blackest household chores, and he must perform them unquestioningly. The will of the guru replaces his law and conscience; his smile is the best reward. At this stage, the baby is considered one-born.

Second phase begins after the ritual of initiation or rebirth, which the young man goes through after the end of the teaching. From this moment on, he is twice born. During this period, he marries, brings up his family and fulfills the duties of a brahmana.

The third stage of a brahmana's life is vanaprastra... Having reached the age of 40, a brahmana enters the third stage of his life, called vanaprastra. He must retire to desolate places and become a hermit. Here he covers his nakedness with tree bark or the skin of a black antelope; does not cut nails or hair; sleeps on a stone or on the ground; must spend days and nights "without a home, without fire, in complete silence, and eating only roots and fruits." The Brahman spends his days in prayer and mortification of the flesh.

Having thus spent 22 years in prayer and fasting, the brahmana enters the fourth division of life, called sannyas... Here only he is freed from all external rituals. The old hermit delves into perfect contemplation. The soul of a brahmana who has died in a state of sannyas immediately attains merging with the deity (nirvana); and his body in sitting position descends into the pit and sprinkles with salt all around.

The color of a brahmana's clothes depended on what spiritual order they were in. Sannyasis, monks, renounced the world wore orange clothes, family ones - white.

Kshatriyas

The second caste is made up of kshatriyas, warriors. Under Menou's law, members of this caste could offer sacrifices, and the study of the Vedas was made a special duty to princes and heroes; but later the Brahmins left them only permission to read or listen to the Vedas, without analyzing or interpreting them, and appropriated the right to explain the texts to themselves.

Kshatriyas should give charity, but not accept it, avoid vices and sense gratification, live simply, "as befits a warrior." The law states that "the priestly caste cannot exist without the warrior caste, just as the latter cannot exist without the first, and that the peace of the whole world depends on the consent of both - on the union of knowledge and the sword."

With few exceptions, all kings, princes, generals and early rulers belong to the second caste; the judicial part and the management of upbringing were from ancient times in the hands of the Brahmins (Brahmins). The kshatriyas are allowed to eat all kinds of meat except beef. This caste was previously divided into three parts: all the sovereign and non-possessive princes (rayys) and their children (rayyatras) belonged to the upper class.

The kshatriyas wore red clothes.

Vaisyas

The third caste is the Vaisyas. Previously, they also participated, both in sacrifices and in the right to read the Vedas, but later, through the efforts of the brahmanas, they lost these advantages. Although the vaisyas were much lower than the kshatriyas, they still occupied an honorable place in society. They were supposed to be engaged in trade, arable farming and cattle breeding. The Vaisya's property rights were respected and his fields were considered inviolable. He had the religiously sanctified right to let money grow.

The highest castes - Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, used all three scarf, Senar, every caste - their own, and were called twice born, in contrast to once born - Sudras.

Shudras

The duty of a sudra, says Menou briefly, is to serve the three higher castes. It is best for a sudra to serve a brahmin, for his ksatriya, and finally a vaisya. In this only case, if he does not find an opportunity to enter into the service, he is allowed to engage in a useful trade. The soul of a sudra, who has diligently and honestly served the whole life of a brahmin, is reborn as a person of the highest caste during resettlement.

The Shudra is forbidden even to look at the Vedas. A brahmana has no right not only to interpret the vedas, but he is obliged to read them silently in the presence of the latter. A Brahmin who allows himself to interpret the law to a sudra, or explain to him the ways of repentance, will be punished in the hell of Asamarita.

A sudra should eat the scraps of his masters and wear their rags. He is forbidden to acquire anything "so that he does not try to become proud of the temptation of the sacred Brahmins." If a sudra verbally insults a Veishya or a Kshatriya, then his tongue is cut out; if he dares to sit next to a brahmana, or take his place, then a red-hot iron is applied to the more guilty part of the body. The name of a sudra, says Menu's law: there is a swear word, and the penalty for killing it does not exceed the amount paid for the death of an unimportant pet, such as a dog or a cat. But killing a cow is considered a much more reprehensible thing: killing a sudra is an offense; killing a cow is a sin!

Bondage is the natural position of a sudra, and the master cannot liberate him by giving him vacation; "For, says the law: who, besides death, can free a sudra from the state of nature?"

It is rather difficult for us Europeans to understand such an alien world and we, against our will, want to bring everything under our own concepts - and this is what misleads us. So, for example, according to the concepts of Hindus, sudras constitute a class of people designated by nature for service in general, but at the same time they are not considered slaves, do not constitute the property of private individuals.

The attitude of the masters to the Shudras, despite the examples of an inhuman view of them, from a religious point of view, was determined by civil law, especially the measure and method of punishment, which in everything coincided with the patriarchal punishments allowed by popular custom in the relationship of a father to a son or an older brother to the younger, the husband to the wife, and the guru to the disciple.

Unclean castes

As practically everywhere a woman was subjected to discrimination and all kinds of restrictions, so in India the severity of caste division gravitates much more on a woman than on a man. A man, upon entering into a second marriage, is allowed to choose a wife from a lower caste other than a sudra. Thus, for example, a Brahmin can marry a woman of the second and even the third caste; children from this mixed marriage will take middle degree between the castes of father and mother. A woman, by marrying a man of a lower caste, commits a crime: she defiles herself and all her offspring. Sudras can only marry one another.

Mixing any of the castes with the sudras gives rise to impure castes, of which the most despicable is the one that comes from the mixing of a sudra with a brahmin. Members of this caste are called chandals, and are supposed to be executioners or flayers; the touch of the chandala brings about expulsion from the caste.

Untouchable

Below the unclean castes there is still a pitiful kind of pariahs. Together with the chandalas they do the lowest work. The pariahs rip off the skin from the fallen, work it out, and eat the meat; but they abstain from cow meat. Their touch defiles not only a person, but also objects. They have their own special wells; Near the cities, they are assigned a special quarter, surrounded by a moat and slingshots. In villages, they also have no right to appear, but must hide in forests, caves and swamps.

Brahmin, defiled by the shadow of a pariah, must bathe in the sacred waters of the Ganges, for only they are able to wash away such a stain of shame.

Below the pariah are the Pulai who live on the Malabar Coast. Slaves of Nairov, they are forced to hide in damp dungeons, and dare not raise their eyes to the noble Hindu. Seeing a brahmin or Nair from a distance, the pulai emit a loud roar to warn the gentlemen about their proximity, and while the “gentlemen” wait on the road, they must hide in a cave, in the thicket of the forest, or climb a tall tree. Whoever did not have time to hide, that Naira is chopped up like an unclean reptile. Pulai live in terrible untidiness, they eat carrion and all kinds of meat except cow.

But the Pulai, too, can rest for a moment from the overwhelming general contempt; there are human creatures even more pitiful, below him: these are pariar, - below because, sharing all the humiliation of the Pulai, they allow themselves to eat cow meat! .. You can imagine how the soul of an orthodox Hindu shudders at such a sacrilege, and therefore Muslims, who also do not respect the inviolability of obese Indian cows and introduce them to the location of their kitchen, all of them in his opinion, morally, completely coincide with the despicable pariar.

Castes and Varnas in India: Brahmins, Warriors, Merchants and Craftsmen of India. Division into castes. Upper and lower caste in India

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The division of Indian society into estates, called castes, originated in ancient times, survived all the turns of history and social upheavals and still exists today.

Since antiquity, the entire population of India has been divided into brahmanas - priests and scientists, warriors - kshatriyas, traders and artisans - vaisyas and servants - sudras. Each caste, in turn, is subdivided into numerous podcasts, mainly geographically and professionally. Brahmans - the Indian elite can always be distinguished - these people absorbed their mission with mother's milk: to receive knowledge and gifts and to teach others.

It is said that all Indian programmers are brahmanas.

In addition to the four castes, there are separate groups of untouchables, people engaged in the dirtiest work, including leather processing, washing, working with clay and garbage collection. Members of the untouchable castes (and this is almost 20% of the population of India) live in isolated ghettos in Indian cities and outside Indian villages. They cannot visit hospitals and shops, use public transport and enter government offices.

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Among the untouchables themselves, there is also a division into many groups. The top lines in the "table of ranks" of the marginals are occupied by barbers and laundresses, at the bottom there are sanshi who are engaged in theft of animals.

The most mysterious group of untouchables is the hijra - bisexuals, eunuchs, transvestites and hermaphrodites, who wear women's clothes and who trade in begging and prostitution. It would seem that there is something strange here? However, hijra are indispensable participants in many religious rituals, they are invited to weddings and births.

Worse than the fate of an untouchable in India, only the fate of a pariah can be. The word pariah, which evokes the image of a romantic sufferer, actually means a person who does not belong to any caste, practically excluded from all social relations. Pariahs were born from a union of people belonging to different castes, or from pariahs. By the way, before you could become a pariah just by touching him.

Castes in India - the reality of today

Indian society is divided into estates called castes. This division took place many thousands of years ago and has survived to this day. Hindus believe that, following the rules established in their caste, in the next life you can be born as a representative of a slightly higher and revered caste, take a much better position in society.

Those original inhabitants of India, who were subdued by the power of the sword, were subjected to the fate of captives and became simply slaves. The Indians, who submitted voluntarily, renounced their fatherly gods, adopted the language, laws and customs of the victors, retained personal freedom, but lost all land property and had to live as workers on the Aryan estates, servants and porters, in the homes of wealthy people. From these came the sudra caste. "Shudra" is not a Sanskrit word. Before becoming the name of one of the Indian castes, it was probably the name of some people. The Aryans considered it beneath their dignity to enter into marriage with representatives of the Shudra caste. Shudra women were only concubines among the Aryans. Over time, between the Aryan conquerors of India themselves, sharp differences in conditions and professions formed. But in relation to the lower caste - the dark-skinned, subjugated native population - they all remained a privileged class. Only the Aryans had the right to read the holy books; only they were sanctified by a solemn ceremony: a sacred thread was placed on the Aryan, making him "reborn" (or "twice born", dvija). This rite served as a symbolic difference between all Aryans from the Sudra caste and driven into the forests, despised by the native tribes. Consecration was performed by laying on a cord, which is worn placed on the right shoulder and dipping obliquely along the chest. In the Brahmin caste, the cord could be placed on a boy from 8 to 15 years old, and it is made of cotton yarn; among the Kshatriya caste, who received it not earlier than 11 years old, it was made from kushi (Indian spinning plant), and among the Vaisya caste, who received it not earlier than the 12th year, it was woolen.

"Twice-born" Aryans over time were divided by differences of occupation and origin into three estates or castes, which bear some resemblance to the three estates of medieval Europe: the clergy, the nobility, and the urban middle class. The embryos of caste devices among the Aryans existed even in those days when they lived only in the Indus basin: there, from the mass of the agricultural and shepherd population, the warlike princes of the tribes, surrounded by people skilled in military affairs, as well as the priests performing the rituals of sacrifice, were already distinguished. With the resettlement of the Aryan tribes further into the interior of India, to the country of the Ganges, the warlike energy increased in bloody wars with the exterminated natives, and then in a fierce struggle between the Aryan tribes. Until the conquests were completed, the entire people were engaged in military affairs. Only when the peaceful possession of the conquered country began, it became possible to develop a variety of occupations, the possibility of choosing between different professions appeared, and a new stage in the origin of castes began.

The fertility of the Indian land aroused the attraction to the peaceful acquisition of livelihoods. This quickly developed a tendency innate to the Aryans, according to which it was more pleasant for them to work calmly and enjoy the fruits of their labor than to make heavy military efforts. Therefore, a significant part of the settlers ("Vishy") turned to agriculture, which gave bountiful harvests, leaving the struggle against enemies and the protection of the country to the princes of the tribes and the military nobility formed during the period of conquest. This class, which was engaged in farming and partly shepherding, soon expanded so that among the Aryans, as in Western Europe, it formed a huge majority of the population. Therefore, the name Vaishya "settler", originally denoting all the Aryan inhabitants in the new regions, began to denote only the people of the third, working Indian caste, and the warriors, kshatriyas and priests, brahmanas ("praying"), who over time became privileged estates, made the names of their professions by the names of the two higher castes.

The four above-mentioned Indian estates became completely closed castes (varnas) only when brahmanism rose above the ancient service of Indra and other gods of nature - a new religious teaching about Brahma, the soul of the universe, the source of life from which all beings originated and to which all beings will return. This reformed doctrine gave religious sanctity to the division of the Indian nation into castes, especially the priestly caste. It said that in the cycle of life forms traversed by everyone on earth, a brahmana is the highest form of being. According to the dogma of rebirth and transmigration of souls, a being born in human form must pass through all four castes in turn: to be a sudra, vaisya, kshatriya and finally a brahmana; after passing through these forms of being, it reunites with Brahma. The only way to achieve this goal is that a person, constantly striving for the deity, exactly fulfills everything commanded by the brahmanas, honors them, pleases them with gifts and signs of respect. Offenses against the brahmanas, severely punished on earth, subject the wicked to the most terrible torments of hell and rebirth in the forms of despised animals.

The belief in the dependence of the future life on the present was the main support of the Indian caste division and the dominion of the priests. The more decisively the Brahman clergy placed the dogma of transmigration of souls as the center of all moral teaching, the more successfully it filled the people's fantasy with terrible pictures of hellish torment, the more honor and influence it acquired. Representatives of the highest caste of Brahmins are close to the gods; they know the path leading to Brahma; their prayers, sacrifices, holy deeds of their asceticism have magical power over the gods, the gods have to fulfill their will; bliss and suffering in the future life depends on them. It is not surprising that with the development of religiosity among the Indians, the power of the brahmana caste increased, tirelessly praising in their holy teachings reverence and generosity to the brahmanas as the surest ways to obtain bliss, which inspired the kings that the ruler must have his advisers and make brahmanas judges, is obliged to reward their service with rich content and godly gifts.

So that the lower Indian castes do not envy the privileged position of the Brahmans and do not encroach on it, the doctrine was developed and intensively preached that the forms of life for all creatures are predetermined by Brahma, and that the progress along the degrees of human rebirth is accomplished only by a calm, peaceful life in a given position, true performance of duties. Thus, in one of the most ancient parts of the Mahabharata it is said: “When Brahma created beings, he gave them their occupations, each caste a special activity: the brahmanas - the study of the high Vedas, the warriors - heroism, the Vaishyam - the art of labor, the sudram - obedience to other flowers: therefore ignorant brahmanas, not glorious warriors, unsophisticated vaisyas and disobedient sudras are blameworthy. This dogma, which ascribed to every caste, every profession, a divine origin, consoled the humiliated and despised in the insults and deprivations of their present life with the hope of improving their fate in their future existence. He gave religious sanctification to the Indian caste hierarchy.

The division of people into four classes, unequal in their rights, was from this point of view an eternal, unchanging law, the violation of which is the most criminal sin. People have no right to overthrow the caste barriers established between them by God himself; they can achieve improvement of their fate only by patient obedience. The mutual relations between the Indian castes were graphically characterized by teaching; that Brahma produced the brahmanas from his lips (or the first man Purusha), the kshatriyas from his hands, the best from the thighs, the sudras from the feet soiled in mud, therefore the essence of nature for the brahmanas is “holiness and wisdom”, for the kshatriyas it is “power and strength ", for the Vaisyas -" wealth and profit ", for the sudras -" service and obedience. " The doctrine of the origin of castes from different parts of the highest being is set forth in one of the hymns of the latest, newest book of the Rig Veda. In the more ancient songs of the Rig Veda, there are no caste concepts. The brahmanas attach great importance to this hymn, and every true believer brahmana recites it every morning after bathing. This hymn is the diploma with which the brahmanas legitimized their privileges, their dominion.

Thus, the Indian people were led by their history, their inclinations and customs to the fact that they fell under the yoke of the caste hierarchy, which turned estates and professions into tribes alien to each other, stifling all human aspirations, all the inclinations of humanity. The main characteristics of castes Each Indian caste has its own characteristics and unique characteristics, rules of existence and behavior. Brahmanas are the highest caste Brahmanas in India are priests and priests in temples. Their position in society has always been considered the highest, even higher than the position of the ruler. At present, representatives of the brahmana caste are also involved in the spiritual development of the people: they teach various practices, look after the temples, and work as teachers.

Brahmanas have very many prohibitions: Men cannot work in the field and do any manual labor, but women can do various household chores. A representative of the priestly caste can marry only on his own kind, but as an exception, a wedding on a brahmana from another community is allowed. A brahmana cannot eat what a person of another caste has prepared; a brahmana would rather starve than take forbidden food. But he can feed a representative of absolutely any caste. Some brahmanas are not allowed to eat meat.

Kshatriyas - the warrior caste

The kshatriya representatives have always served as soldiers, guards and policemen. At present, nothing has changed - the kshatriyas are engaged in military affairs or go to administrative work. They can marry not only in their own caste: a man can marry a girl from a caste of a lower level, but a woman is forbidden to marry a man from a lower caste. The kshatriyas may eat animal products, but they also avoid forbidden foods.

Vaishya Vaisyas have always been the working class: they were engaged in agriculture, raised livestock, traded. Now representatives of the vaisyas are engaged in economic and financial affairs, various trade, banking. Probably, this caste is the most scrupulous in matters related to food intake: the Vaishyas, like no one else, monitor the correctness of food preparation and will never take contaminated dishes. Shudras are the lowest caste The Sudra caste has always existed in the role of peasants or even slaves: they did the dirtiest and hardest work. Even in our time, this social stratum is the poorest and often lives beyond poverty. Even divorced women can be married to Shudras. Untouchable The caste of untouchables stands out separately: such people are excluded from all social relations. They do the dirtiest jobs: cleaning the streets and toilets, burning dead animals, making leather.

Amazingly, representatives of this caste could not even step on the shadows of representatives of the higher classes. And only very recently they were allowed to enter churches and approach people of other classes. Unique features of castes Having a brahmana in the neighborhood, you can give him a lot of gifts, but you should not expect a response. Brahmanas never give gifts: they accept but do not give. In terms of land ownership, sudras can be even more influential than vaisyas.

Shudras of the lower stratum practically do not use money: they are paid for their work with food and household utensils. You can transfer to a lower caste, but it is impossible to get a caste with a higher rank. Castes and modernity Today the Indian castes have become even more structured with many different subgroups called jati. During the last census of representatives of various castes, there were more than 3 thousand jati. True, this census took place over 80 years ago. Many foreigners consider the caste system a relic of the past and are convinced that the caste system no longer works in modern India. In fact, everything is completely different. Even the Indian government could not agree on this stratification of society. Politicians actively work on dividing society into layers during elections, adding protection of the rights of a particular caste to their election promises. In modern India, more than 20 percent of the population belongs to the untouchable caste: they have to live in their own separate ghettos or outside the village. Such people should not go to shops, government and medical institutions, and even use public transport.

The caste of the untouchables has a completely unique subgroup: the attitude of society towards it is rather contradictory. This includes homosexuals, transvestites and eunuchs who make a living by prostitution and ask tourists for coins. But what a paradox: the presence of such a person at the holiday is considered a very good sign. Another awesome Untouchables podcast is Pariah. These are people completely expelled from society - marginalized. Previously, it was possible to become a pariah even by touching such a person, but now the situation has changed a little: a pariah is either born from an inter-caste marriage, or from pariah parents.

Faced, I know many Indian travelers who live there for months, but they are not interested in castes because they are not necessary for life.
The caste system today, like a century ago, is not exotic, it is part of the complex organization of Indian society, a multifaceted phenomenon that has been studied by Indologists and ethnographers for centuries, dozens of thick books have been written about it, so I will publish only 10 here. interesting facts about the Indian castes - about the most popular questions and misconceptions.

1. What is the Indian caste?

The Indian caste is such a complex phenomenon that it is simply not possible to give an exhaustively complete definition!
Castes can only be described through a number of signs, but there will still be exceptions.
Caste in India is a system of social stratification, a separate social group related by origin and legal status its members. Castes in India are built according to the principles: 1) general (this rule is always observed); 2) one profession, usually hereditary; 3) members of castes join only among themselves, as a rule; 4) caste members generally do not eat with outsiders, with the exception of other Hindu castes of significantly higher social standing than their own; 5) caste members can be determined by who they can receive water and food from, processed and raw.

2. There are 4 castes in India

Now in India there are not 4, but about 3 thousand castes, they can be called in different parts of the country in different ways, and people with the same profession may have different castes in different states. Full list modern castes by state, see http: // socialjustice ...
What unnamed people on tourist and other near-Indian sites call 4 castes are not castes at all, these are 4 varnas - caturvarnya na - an ancient social system.

The 4 varnas (वर्ना) are the ancient Indian system of estates. Brahmins (more correctly, Brahmins) are historically ministers of worship, doctors, teachers. Varna Kshatriyas (in ancient times it was called Rajanya) are rulers and warriors. Varna vaisya are farmers and merchants, and varna sudras are workers and landless peasants who work for others.
Varna is a color (in Sanskrit again), and each Indian varna has its own color: the Brahmins have white, the Kshatriyas have red, the Vaisyas have yellow, the Shudras have black, and before, when all the representatives of the Varnas wore a sacred thread - it was just their varna.

Varnas correlate with castes, but in very different ways, sometimes there is no direct connection, and since we have already gone deep into science, I must say that Indian castes, unlike varnas, are called jati - जाति.
More about Indian castes in modern India

3. The Untouchable caste

The untouchables are not a caste. In times ancient India everyone who was not part of the 4 varnas was automatically "overboard" of the Indian society, these strangers were avoided, they were not allowed to live in the villages, therefore they are called untouchables. As a result, these untouchable aliens began to be used in the dirtiest, lowest-paid and shameful jobs, and formed their own social and professional groups, that is, castes of untouchables, in modern India there are several of them, as a rule, this is associated either with dirty work or with murder living creatures or death, so that all hunters and fishermen, as well as gravediggers and tanners, are untouchable.

4. When did the Indian castes appear?

Normally, that is, legislatively, the caste jati system in India was fixed in the Laws of Manu, which date back to the 2nd century BC.
The varna system is much older, there is no exact dating. I wrote in more detail about the history of the issue in the article Castes of India, from varnas to modern times

5. Castes in India abolished

Castes in modern India are not abolished or prohibited, as they often write.
On the contrary, all castes in India are recounted and listed in the appendix to the Indian Constitution, which is called the Table of Castes. In addition, after the population census, changes are made to this table, as a rule, additions, the point is not that new castes appear, but that they are recorded in accordance with the data indicated about themselves by the census participants.
Only discrimination on the basis of caste is prohibited, it is written in article 15 of the Indian Constitution, see the test at http: //lawmin.nic.in ...

6. Every Indian has a caste

No, this is also not true.
Indian society is very heterogeneous in its structure, and besides the division into castes, there are several others.
There are caste and non-caste, for example, representatives of Indian tribes (aborigines, adivasis), with rare exceptions, do not have castes. And the part of non-caste Indians is quite large, see the census results http: //censusindia.g ...
In addition, for some misdeeds (crimes) a person can be expelled from the caste and thus deprived of his status and position in society.

7. Castes are only in India

No, this is a delusion. There are castes in other countries, for example, in Nepal and Sri Lanka, since these countries developed in the bosom of the same huge Indian civilization, as well as on. But there are castes in other cultures, for example, in Tibet, and Tibetan castes do not correlate with Indian ones at all, since the estate structure of Tibetan society was formed from India.
For the castes of Nepal see Ethnic Mosaic of Nepal

8. Only Hindus have castes

No, this is not so now, you need to delve into history.
Historically, when the overwhelming majority of the Indian population professed - all Hindus belonged to some caste, the only exception were pariahs expelled from the castes and the indigenous tribal peoples of India who did not profess Hinduism and were not part of the Indian society. Then other religions began to spread in India, India was invaded by other peoples, and representatives of other religions and peoples began to adopt from the Hindus their caste system of varnas and the system of professional castes - jati. Now there are castes in Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Christianity, but they are different from the Hindu castes.
It is curious that in northern India, in the modern states of Pradesh, the Buddhist caste system is not Indian, but Tibetan.
It is even more curious that even Europeans - Christian missionaries-preachers - were drawn into the system of Indian castes: those who preached the teachings of Christ to high-born Brahmins ended up in the Christian "Brahmin" caste, and those who communicated with untouchable fishermen became Christian untouchables.

9. The caste of the Indian with whom you communicate, you need to know and behave accordingly

This is a common misconception, replicated by travel sites, it is not known for what, it is not based on anything.
It is impossible to determine which caste an Indian belongs to only by his appearance, and by his occupation - often too. One acquaintance worked as a waiter, although he came from a noble Rajput family (that is, he is a Kshatriya). I was able to identify an acquaintance Nepalese waiter by his behavior as an aristocrat, since we had known each other for a long time, I asked and he confirmed that it was true, and the guy does not work because of lack of money at all.
My old friend started his labor activity at the age of 9 as a handyman, cleaning up garbage in a shop ... do you think he is a sudra? no, he is a brahmin (brahmana) from a poor family and 8 children in a row ... another brahmin friend trades in a shop, he is the only son, you have to earn money ...
Another friend of mine is so religious and bright that one would think that he is the real, ideal Brahmin. But no, he was just a sudra, and he was proud of this, and those who know what seva means will understand why.
And even if an Indian says what caste he is, although such a question is not considered decent, it will still not give a tourist anything, a person who does not know India will not understand what and why is arranged in this amazing country. So you shouldn't be puzzled by the caste question, because sometimes it is difficult for India to establish even the gender of the interlocutor, and this is probably more important :)

10. Caste discrimination in our time

India is a democratic country and, in addition to prohibiting caste discrimination, has introduced benefits for representatives of lower castes and tribes, for example, there are quotas for admission to higher educational institutions, for holding positions in state and municipal bodies.
discrimination against people from the lower castes, Dalits and tribal people in India is quite serious, casteism is still the basis of the life of hundreds of millions of Indians outside of large cities, it is there that the caste structure and all the prohibitions arising from it are still preserved, for example, in some temples in India do not let Indians-sudras, it is there that almost all caste crimes occur, for example, a very typical crime

Instead of an afterword.
If you are seriously interested in the caste system in India, I can seriously recommend, in addition to the articles section on this site and publications in the Hindunet, to read the major European Indologists of the 20th century:
1. Academic 4-volume work of R.V. Russell's "and the castes of the central provinces of India"
2. Monograph by Louis Dumont "Homo hierarchicus. Experience in describing the caste system"
Besides, in last years in India, a number of books on this topic have been published, unfortunately she herself did not hold them in her hands.
If you are not ready to read scientific literature - read the novel by the very popular modern Indian writer Arundhati Roy "The God of Little Things", it can be found on the Russian Internet.