Hello dear listeners, and welcome to episode 5 of the Religions of the World podcast. I’m your host Yuguan Xing, and today we’re gonna talk about the Hindu caste system. A Preliminary form of the caste system, as a way in which the society is structured, can already be seen in the vedas, and it still has far-reaching influence today, in the 21th century. The caste system is not central to the Hindu contemplation and worship of the divine, but like I said in an earlier episode, there is no clear division between the sacred and the secular in the Hindu worldview. To be a Hindu is to live in a Hindu society, and at least for a very long time, that has meant to live within the caste system. Therefore, understanding the caste system is crucial to understanding Hinduism. One thing that I shall point out in the beginning is that the organization of society into castes is not unique to India and Hinduism. Throughout history, social stratifications with characteristics similar to the Hindu caste system have been seen in many, many cultures, and I’ll introduce a few of them later in this episode. However, for simplicity, I’m going to just use the term caste to refer to caste as seen in Hinduism. Alright, with that out of the way, let’s dive right into it.

“Caste” is another one of those concepts that don’t have a clear counterpart in Indian languages. It’s a concept that’s applied to the Indian society from the outside as a framework for analyzing its social division and stratification. It encapsulates two related but separate concepts: Varna, and Jaati. We’ll go over them both, starting with Varna, which is what most people outside India think caste is all about. It defines four social divisions, or varnas: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, ranked from highest to lowest in that order.?

Brahmins, the priest class, have the highest prestige and privileges. After them comes the Kshatriyas, who are the rulers and warriors. Remember Arjuna from the Bhagavad Gita? He would be a member of this varna. The distinction between the two lower varnas, Vaishyas and Shudras is not as well-defined. Conceptually, farmers, and merchants would be categorized as Vaishyas, while Shudras consist of artisans and servants. However, in reality it is not as clear cut and there is some overlap between Vaishyas and Shudras.

The earliest mention of the four varnas is in the Rigveda. It goes like this:

The Purusha who was got ready to be sacrificed, had Brahmin as his mouth, the Rajanya as his arms, the Vaishya as his thighs; and the Shudra was born from his feet.

The Purusha mentioned in these verses is a rather complex concept that can mean different things in different contexts. But for our purpose here, we can just think of it as the supreme being. The Rajanya class mentioned in these verses is another name for Kshatriya. Culturally, the upper body is usually associated with functions that are considered more noble, like thoughts with the head, speech with the mouth, and creation with hands. The lower body, on the other hand, is associated with menial tasks, namely walking and supporting the upper body with the legs and feet. Similarly, the Vaishya and Shudra varnas are considered lower than Brahmin and Kshatriya, and are also expected to support them with service and labor.

There is an important body of text called the Dharmashastras, which, as the name suggests, contain comments on dharma. It contains the most detailed descriptions on the duties and expected behaviors of the four varnas. Let’s take probably the oldest of these texts, the Gautama Dharmasutra as an example, to look at how dharma is defined on the four varnas.

The three higher varnas are collectively called the “twice-born”, because they are supposed to go through a rite of initiation at a certain age, before they begin their study of the vedas, and that initiation is considered a second birth, a spiritual one in addition to the physical one when one leaves their mother’s womb. The age at which the initiation shall occur is different with each varna. For Brahmins this happens when they are 8 years old; For Kshatriyas, it happens at 11; for Vaishyas, at 12, which seems to indicate that a member of a higher varna inherently has more spiritual talent than someone from a lower varna. The Shudras on the other hand, are strictly forbidden from studying the vedas. Quoting the original verses in the Gautama Dharmasutra, if a Shudra listens intentionally to a recitation of the Veda, his ears shall be filled with molten tin or lac. If he recites Vedic texts, his tongue shall be cut out. If he remembers them, his body shall be split in two.?

The Gautama Dharmasutra describes occupations that each varna shall take up. We already went over these at the beginning of this episode, so we won’t reiterate them all, but the case with the Brahmins is rather notable. The text states that Brahmins should ideally support themselves by teaching, by performing ritual sacrifices for others, or by receiving alms. These are not very surprising, and fit the common conception of a Brahmin. However, the Gautama Dharmasutra also states that if a Brahmin fails to sustain themselves with these preferred occupations, they are allowed to live by occupations of Kshatriyas. They may also partake in money lending, agriculture, commerce, and all kinds of occupations traditionally associated with Vaishyas. In times of distress, they may even do a Shudra’s work! The caveat is that they should never involve themselves with work considered impure, such as those related to animal slaughter, and that they should never mix with someone from a lower caste.?

This sounds awfully convenient for the Brahmins, doesn’t it? It is hypothesized that originally the Brahmins as a class were closely related to an ethnic group invading the land that became modern day India, called the Aryans, and that the varna system was institutionalized to establish their superiority over the indigenous people. In the Gautama Dharmasutra, the brahmins are associated with all kinds of virtuous qualities. They are supposed to be compassionate, truthful, and gentle. All the other varnas should worship them. Therefore, they are above even the kings in social status. They are not subject to taxes, and kings should feel honored to be able to give them gifts. This is why Brahmins usually have high economic status as well, even though their typical occupations don’t seem to be especially lucrative.

Next in the ladder are the Katriyas, who are often rulers. It is expected that they should protect their subjects, and inflict punishments to those who are unlawful. They should learn how to fight in a war, and take measures to ensure victory against invading enemies.

Compared to the two top varnas, not a lot of text is dedicated to the duties specific to Vaishyas or Shudras. In exchange for greater privileges, Brahmins and Kshatriyas are assigned greater responsibilities. They are considered upholders of the Dharma, while Vaishyas and Shudras are almost looked upon as being somewhat less human.?

If a Shudra steals property from others, they are required to repay eight times the value of that property as a fine. For Vaishya, sixteen times the value is fined. For a Kshatriya, that number becomes 32. For Brahmins, 64. This kind of apparent leniency towards lower varnas seems to presuppose a lower moral standard in them.?

This reminds us of Plato’s vision of an ideal state in his Republic. He thinks the state should be ruled by philosopher kings, whose souls are made up of gold. They shall be supported by a soldier class, who are selected from people having souls of silver. And at the bottom there are the common people, whose souls are made up of either bronze or iron. The rulers and the soldiers are forbidden to own property, in order to prevent them from making decisions out of self interest. The common people, however, are allowed to gather wealth. They have fewer restrictions on their conduct because their dispositions are inferior, making them incapable of taking on more demanding positions. Granted that rights of people in the lower class are defined very differently in the Hindu caste system and in Plato’s republic, we can still see the notion that certain people are born superior than others, and should take on nobler occupations, is rather common in different cultures.

Next we’re going to look at what’s probably the most defining feature of the caste system, that of endogamy, meaning, the rule or custom for people from the same varna to marry each other. Without endogamy, people of different varnas would inevitably mix with each other, and the whole system would eventually disintegrate. However, by only forming families and producing offspring with people of the same varna, the separation between different classes would be maintained. It is notable that in Gautama Dharmasutra, endogamy is strongly encouraged, but not an obligation. It is not ideal, but acceptable, for a male of a higher varna to marry a female of a lower varna. Their offspring, however, will fall under a caste that’s neither the father’s or the mother’s. Let’s say a Brahmin male has a child with a Kshatriya female. This child would not be a Brahmin or a Kshatriya. Instead, they would be categorized into a class called Savarna, which literally means “within the varnas”, even though it’s different from all four we previously mentioned. If a savarna marries a Brahmin, and their child marries a Brahmin after that, for seven generations in a row, then the initial savarna’s great-great-great-great-great grandchild can finally become a Brahmin. Needless to say, this rarely occurs in real life, so it would be very uncommon for someone to move up the varna ladder.

There are, in fact, people who have an even lower status than the Shudras. They are considered to be outside the varna system. They have many different names. You might know them by the term Dalit, which means “broken”, or “scattered” in Sanskrit. Gandhi gave them the name Harijan, which means “person of God”. Today, they are officially called the scheduled castes, and that name was originally introduced in the Government of India Act in 1935, passed by the British parliament, which was ruling India back then. They were called the scheduled castes because the act contained a list, or schedule, of castes that the British considered to have been oppresed under the caste system. Notice that I’m using plural here. The scheduled castes is a term describing many racially, geographically, linguistically, and occupationally diverse groups of people. The only commonality is that they are all considered pariahs by the Hindu orthodox. The Gautama Dharmasutra mentioned several of these groups, one of which is called Chandala. It says that a child resulting from the union of a Shudra male and a Brahmin female would be a Chandala. It’s impossible, however, for an entire caste to arise from this kind of union, since it must have been fairly uncommon, considering how strongly it is discouraged against. It is more likely that Chandala, and other scheduled castes were already well established by then, and the Gautama Dharmasutra was merely using this unfavorable societal placement as a deterrent against supposedly illicit sexual relationships.?

A key feature to the varna system is the concept of purity and pollution. It is believed that a member of a higher varna, especially a Brahmin, should avoid certain interactions with a person from a lower varna, in order to prevent themselves from being polluted by that person. Purity is considered incredibly important, since Brahmins often officiate religious rituals, and it would be an insult to the Gods if they are polluted. Early Dharmashastra texts described how an individual can maintain purity by avoiding certain activities, but did not really speak that much about how pollution can be transmitted from one person to another. These are likely concepts that developed later.?

The specific rules regarding purity are different from region to region, but just as an example, a Brahmin might refrain from accepting water from someone from a lower varna, since he would be defiled simply by drinking the water that has been touched by someone less pure. People from different varnas would also avoid dining together. Occupations such as handling corpses, working with animal skin, or sweeping the ground, are traditionally considered impure, and are often done by a member of the scheduled castes. A dalit is considered impure because they handle these jobs, and in turn, they themselves, and their offspring, handle these jobs because they are considered impure. It’s really a vicious cycle. The scheduled castes are often forced to settle outside the villages, and are forbidden from entering except when it’s necessary for them to do their jobs. The scheduled castes are considered so unclean, it is believed that a Brahmin would be polluted simply by standing inside their shadow. As a result, they are often required to wear a bell with them wherever they go, in order to alert people from higher castes to avoid being in proximity to them. It’s not very well-known that the phenomenon of labeling certain people as untouchable is not unique to India. For example, in 17th and 18th century Japan, there are two groups of people called Eta and Hinin respectively. Eta literally means “full of filth”, and is used to call people in professions considered vile, such as butcher, executioner, funeral director, animal hide tanner, etc. Hinin simply means “non-human”, which refers to people born from incests, people who don’t pay taxes, or someone who survives in an attempted double suicide. Eta and Hinin were also considered to be outside the social hierarchy, and were generally avoided.

OK, let’s shift our focus back to India. We have discussed what varna is. Now let’s take a look at the other concept within the caste system, that of Jati. While there are four varnas, there are thousands of Jatis. A Jati is a group of people that are linked to each other by ethnicity, region of origin, language, or most commonly, occupation. An etymological analysis of the name of a jati often gives us a good sense of how it is distinguished from other jatis. A lot of people who engage in trade or commerce belong to a Jati called Vani, which is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning trader. A Jati whose members are often engaged in cattle-breeding is called Gauli, which can be traced to a Sanskrit word meaning cow. The names of some Jatis, like Gujar, Ahir, or Munda, have a tribal or ethnic origin. Some level of mapping from a Jati to a varna is possible, but it’s by no means well-defined. Of the four varnas, only the Brahmin can be considered also a Jati, and in fact it contains the largest number of people grouped under the same name. Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra are not Jatis. Instead, they can each be subdivided into many, many groups. The British colonial government used ancient texts such as the Gautama Dharmasutra, and a famous law book called Manusmriti as references when they first arrived, in an attempt to understand this massive and mysterious civilization, and they learned about the four varnas from those books. As a result, when they conducted census of India, they wanted to map every Jati to one of the varnas. This was not always feasible, so in the end what varna a person belongs to was largely a decision made by the administration.

Earlier in this episode, we talked about the custom of endogamy within each varna. In reality, it is common for a person to not only marry someone from their varna, but also their own Jati. Actually it might go even beyond that. Each Jati can often be further divided into sub-Jatis. For example, there is a potter Jati in the Maratha region called the Kumbhar. It is subdivided into three groups, according to the method employed to make the pottery. People who do it by hand, without a wheel are called Hatghades, those who use a big wheel are called Thorchake, and those who use a small wheel are called Lahanchake. The range within which a person can marry is often not the varna, not the Jati, but the sub-Jati. In pre-modern India, it was very common for a village to be divided up into multiple quarters, each occupied by a Jati. They would avoid interaction with each other as much as possible. It was also often the case that a Jati would have a governing committee that presided over all aspects of its castemen’s lives. It was not uncommon for a criminal case to be tried twice: once in the larger society, and once within the Jati. Members from the same Jati often have a strong sentiment of kinship, and would be willing to help each other out in times of hardship. In this way, a Jati is almost like a mini-state.

People use the word “caste” quite liberally. It can refer to a varna or a Jati, or even a sub-Jati. Personally, however, I like to think of a Jati as a caste, a varna as a supercaste, and a sub-Jati as a subcaste.

Now, let’s talk about some more recent history. When urbanization progressed in India, the caste system showed some signs of dissolution. A large number of people from mixed origins flock into cities, constituting a breakaway from their kins, and consequently with old customs. In an urban setting, it was also much harder to avoid interactions with people from outside your caste. The caste system, however, was of course not gone for good. The British colonial government played a very complicated role in shaping the modern sentiment towards caste. They wanted to improve the conditions of the scheduled castes, and they did that with affirmative action. They laid down rules that reserved some posts in public office and some seats in the legislative body specifically for members that they identified as having been traditionally oppressed, to guarantee their representation in decision making. They did the same with educational resources, making it mandatory for schools to enroll a certain number of scheduled caste students. This was beneficial for raising the socio-economic status of the scheduled caste, but it also engendered a very divisive scene of caste politics. Each caste was keen to strive for maximal benefits for themselves, often at the cost of other castes. Some castes would also make a lot of efforts to ensure that they continue to be recognized as one of the scheduled castes, in order to continue to enjoy special treatment with respect to political rights, even after their economic conditions hugely improved. The sense of caste patriotism became too strong for a real national recognition to be formed. With the spread of modern education to people from all backgrounds, the influence of caste on Indian politics has gradually declined, but hasn’t disappeared completely.

A few months ago, the state of California in the United States sued the silicon valley company Cisco, a giant in computer networking and telecommunications, for a discrimination case against an employee, who is an Indian immigrant. Like many other companies in the silicon valley, Cisco has thousands of Indian immigrants in its workforce, most of which are from higher castes. The employee, who is a member of a scheduled caste, stated that his manager, also an Indian immigrant, but from a high caste, exposed his identity as a Dalit to a lot of people in the company. He felt insulted, and reported the case to company HR, but he suffered from retaliation from his manager, and got isolated and denied opportunities for promotion as a result. From this story, we can see how caste-based thinking still persists after thousands of years, in a land on the other side of the planet, and among the most highly educated people.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. In the next episode, we’re going to talk about the three prominent sects of Hinduism: Vaishnavism, which is the worship of Vishnu, Shaivism, the worship of Shiva, and Shaktism, worship of the great Goddess. Thank you for listening, and I’ll see you next time. Goodbye!