The existence of the caste system is history. Castes in India - how is division done? If I, as a tourist in India, touch a Dalit, will I then be able to shake hands with a Brahmin?

It will come across, I know many Indian travelers who live there for months, but 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 here only 10 interesting facts about Indian castes - about the most popular questions and misconceptions.

1. What is an Indian caste?

Indian caste is such a complex phenomenon that it is simply impossible to give an exhaustively complete definition!
Castes can only be described through a number of characteristics, but there will still be exceptions.
Caste in India - system social stratification, a separate social group related by origin and legal status its members. Castes in India are built according to the following principles: 1) general (this rule is always observed); 2) one profession, usually hereditary; 3) members of castes enter into relationships only with each other, as a rule; 4) members of the caste generally do not eat with strangers, with the exception of other Hindu castes of significantly higher social position than their own; 5) caste members can be determined by who they can accept water and food, 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 differently in different parts of the country, and people with the same profession can have different castes in different states. For a complete list of modern castes by state, see http://socialjustice...
What nameless people on tourist and other near-Indian sites call 4 castes are not castes at all, they are 4 varnas - chaturvarnya - an ancient social system.

4 Varnas (वर्ना) is an ancient Indian class system. Brahmins (more correctly a brahmin) historically are clergy, doctors, teachers. Varna Kshatriyas (in ancient times it was called Rajanya) are rulers and warriors. Varna vaishyas are farmers and traders, and varna sudras are laborers 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 Vaishyas have yellow, the Shudras have black, and before, when all representatives of the varnas wore a sacred thread - he was just their varna.

Varnas correlate with castes, but in very different ways, sometimes there is no direct connection, and since we have already delved into science, it must be said that Indian castes, unlike varnas, are called jati - जाति.
Read more about Indian castes at modern India

3. Caste Untouchables

The untouchables are not a caste. During the times of ancient India, everyone who was not part of the 4 varnas automatically found themselves “outside” of Indian society; these strangers were avoided and not allowed to live in villages, which is why they were called untouchables. Subsequently, these untouchable strangers began to be used in the dirtiest, lowest-paid and shameful jobs, and formed their own social and professional groups, that is, untouchable castes, in modern India there are several of them, as a rule this is associated either with dirty work, or with the killing of living beings or death, so all hunters and fishermen, as well as gravediggers and tanners, are untouchables.

4. When did Indian castes appear?

Normatively, that is, legislatively, the caste-jati system in India was recorded 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 have been abolished in India

Castes in modern India are not abolished or prohibited, as is often written.
On the contrary, all castes in India are counted and listed in the annex to the Indian Constitution, which is called the Table of Castes. In addition, after the population census, changes are made to this table, usually 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, this 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 (aboriginals, 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 misdemeanors (crimes) a person can be expelled from the caste and thus deprived of his status and position in society.

7. Castes exist only in India

No, this is a fallacy. 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 castes at all, since the class 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 the case now, we need to go deeper into history.
Historically, when the overwhelming majority of the Indian population professed - all Hindus belonged to some caste, the only exceptions were pariahs expelled from castes and the indigenous, tribal peoples of India who did not profess Hinduism and were not part of 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 class 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, the Buddhist caste system is not of Indian, but of Tibetan origin.
It is even more curious that even European Christian missionary preachers were drawn into the Indian caste system: 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. You need to know the caste of the Indian you are communicating with and behave accordingly.

This is a common misconception, propagated by travel sites, for no known reason and not based on anything.
It is impossible to determine which caste an Indian belongs to just by his appearance, and often by his occupation 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 a Nepalese waiter I knew by his behavior as an aristocrat, since we had known each other for a long time, I asked and he confirmed that this was true, and the guy was not working because of a lack of money at all.
My old friend He started his working career at the age of 9 as a laborer, he removed garbage from a shop... do you think he is a Shudra? no, he is a Brahmin (Brahmin) from a poor family and his 8th child... another 1 Brahmin I know sells in a shop, he is the only son, he needs to earn money...
Another friend of mine is so religious and bright that one would think that he is a real, ideal Brahmin. But no, he was just a sudra, and he was proud of it, 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 considered rude, it will still give nothing to the tourist; a person who does not know India will not understand what and why things are done in this amazing country. So there is no need to be puzzled by the caste issue, because in India it is sometimes difficult to even determine the gender of the interlocutor, and this is probably more important :)

10. Caste discrimination in modern times

India is a democratic country and in addition to the ban caste discrimination introduced benefits for representatives of lower castes and tribes, for example, there are quotas for admission to higher educational establishments, to occupy positions in state and municipal bodies.
discrimination against people from lower castes, Dalits and tribal people is quite serious in India, casteism is still the basis of life for hundreds of millions of Indians outside major cities, it is there that the caste structure and all the prohibitions arising from it are still preserved, for example, Indian Shudras are not allowed into some temples in India, 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 recommend, in addition to the articles section on this site and publications on the Hindunet, reading major European Indologists of the 20th century:
1. Academic 4-volume work by R.V. Russell "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 A number of books on this topic have been published in India, unfortunately I have not held them in my hands.
If you're not ready to read scientific literature- read the novel by the very popular modern Indian writer Arundhati Roy “The God of Small Things”, it can be found in RuNet.

The first castes appeared in India at the stage of state formation. About one and a half thousand years BC, the first settlers appeared on the territory of modern India. They were divided into four classes. Much later, called varnas, this word, literally translated from Sanskrit, means color. The word caste itself carries a semantic concept as a pure breed.

Belonging to some community of people in power has always been highly valued among all nations. It’s just that in ancient times, intertwined with Indian religion, this concept acquired the status of an unshakable law. At the very beginning, these were brahmins, priests, in their hands was the right to interpret the word of God. Thanks to this, this caste occupied the highest position. Because above them there was only a divine essence with which only they could communicate. Any word they said was law and was not subject to discussion. Next came the kshatriya warriors. Very numerous and powerful caste of India. At all times and among all peoples, professional military men have participated in government. Only on the territory of India did they become a separate group of people who passed on their skills and traditions.

How are people's lives different? various parts India, more details: .

The caste was so closed that for many centuries ordinary people could not even imagine becoming a soldier. Such heresy was punishable by death. Vaishyas included traders, farmers, and cattle breeders. This caste was also numerous, but the people who were part of it did not have any political influence, since representatives of the highest castes of India, at any moment, they could deprive them of all their property, home, family, simply by saying that it pleases the gods. Shudra servant worker. The most numerous and powerless caste, the people who belonged to it were actually equated to the level of animals. Moreover, some animals in India lived much better because they had sacred status.

Further divisions into castes in India

Later, after quite a long time has passed. The first castes began to be divided into smaller ones, with even more strict assignment of certain privileges and rights to a certain group of people. Religion played a big role in this division. In Hinduism, it is believed that after death, the soul can be reincarnated into a person more high caste india, if he strictly observes all the rules of this division during his lifetime. If not, he will be reborn into a lower caste. It was impossible to leave the caste limit; even if a person had some excellent qualities, he could not rise during his lifetime.

As time passed, this system of building society only became stronger. Neither the conquest of the people by the Mughals, who brought with them the Muslim religion, nor the later conquest by the British, could shake the very foundations of this system. The very nature of caste seems quite logical. If the family is engaged in farming, then the children will do the same. Only the Indians abolished the very possibility of making decisions in this issue, everything is decided only by birth. Where you were born is what you will do. To the main four, another one was added, the untouchables. This is the lowest caste. It is believed that communication with members of this caste can pollute anyone, especially members of the higher castes. Therefore, they never directly communicated with representatives of the untouchables.

Modern caste division

In modern India there are a huge number of castes. Priests, warriors, merchants and even untouchables have their own division. It is quite difficult to understand all these intricacies. Yes, with the advent of the possibility of leaving the country, young people are increasingly beginning to think about the appropriateness of this order of things. But in the provinces in the interior of the country these laws are treated very jealously. And at the state level, this tradition is supported by the government of the country. There is a Constitutional Table of Castes. So, this is not medieval savagery and a relic of the past, but an absolutely real, state structure. Each state has its own division into castes. No matter how visitors feel about it, this whole cumbersome mechanism works. Perfectly fulfilling its purpose.

It should be noted, since modern India is democratic state, all freedom rights associated with obtaining Caste certificates are very strictly observed, and various methods of state support are provided for the maintenance of lower castes. Even to the point of setting quotas for special seats in parliament. Currently, all peoples living in India recognize the caste division and follow this tradition. Even the Spanish and British priests who remained on the territory of the state after the departure of the colonialists created their own Indian caste system and stick to it. This emphasizes that with the right, competent approach, any system of government can work, no matter how conservative and orthodox it may look in the eyes of visitors. In modern India, a change of castes has become possible. It is enough for one or several families to change their occupation and that’s it, a new caste is ready. In modern reality, especially in large industrial cities, such changes are treated quite loyally.

Before traveling to India, you should definitely familiarize yourself with cultural characteristics countries, more details: .

The Untouchables

This is a completely separate category of people. It is considered the lowest, people whose souls sinned greatly in the previous incarnation go there. But even this last rung of India's social ladder has its divisions. At the very top there are working people or those who have some kind of craft. For example, hairdressers or garbage collectors. The bottom of this staircase is occupied by petty thieves who make their living by stealing small livestock. The most mysterious thing in this hierarchy is the group of hijras; it includes representatives of any sexual minorities. It is amazing that representatives of these seemingly dregs of society are invited to weddings and births of children. They are often felt in numerous church ceremonies. But the worst thing in India is considered to be a person without a caste, even of the lowest rank. Such people are called pariahs here. These are people born from other pariahs or as a result of inter-caste marriages and not recognized by one of the castes. More recently, you could become a pariah simply by touching one of them.

Indian castes, video:

Many Europeans, Americans, as well as our compatriots believe that Eastern culture is much more sublime and humane than the values ​​of the pragmatic Western world. However, they forget that it was in India that one of the harshest forms of social stratification arose - caste, dooming millions of people and their descendants to a lifelong vegetation in poverty and lawlessness, while a select minority is surrounded by honor and has access to all the benefits of civilization.

The division into castes (or, as they are called in India, “varnas”) arose during the era of the decomposition of the primitive communal system, when property inequality appeared. The first written mention of the caste system dates back to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The Rig Veda talks about the emergence of four varnas that exist in India to this day:

• Brahmins are a priestly caste. Nowadays, Brahmins are also engaged in the performance of religious rites, they are often officials or teachers;
• Kshatriyas are a warrior caste. Today kshatriyas not only serve in the army and police, but also occupy important positions in government administration;
• Vaishyas are farmers and traders. Many vaishyas could even surpass the representatives of the upper castes in wealth and influence. In modern India, Vaishyas continue to be involved in trade and agriculture, as well as credit and banking operations;
• Shudras are a semi-subordinate caste of peasants and workers, usually in the service of representatives of the higher castes. Despite the low prestige of this caste, many Shudras were able to accumulate substantial wealth and own large tracts of land.

There is also separate group population, including everyone who is not included in the above four castes - untouchables or Dalits. Anthropologists and historians believe that the untouchable caste arose during the Aryan conquest of India (XII-VII centuries BC). The conquerors who came to the new lands wanted to keep the local Dravidian peoples subordinate, so they came up with this social system, in which the aborigines could not normally integrate into society and occupy any significant position in it. Thus, all the Aryan invaders became members of one caste or another (depending on their occupation), and all the conquered were declared untouchable. Dalits did the dirtiest work. They tanned leather, removed dead animals from the streets, and cleaned toilets. They were strictly forbidden to enter the yards of other castes or use public wells. Although everyone despised the untouchables, these people also had a certain power. It was believed that an untouchable could defile a person from a higher caste. Such defilement was most dangerous for a brahmana. The mere touch of a Dalit to a Brahmin's clothing meant to the latter long years trying to clear your karma.

The life of a representative of each varna is clearly regulated. Caste determines what clothes a person can wear, what he can eat, and how he should communicate with others. Representatives of different castes, with rare exceptions, are prohibited from marrying each other. Children born into a certain caste can no longer change their social status. Officially, a transition from one caste to another is possible only with a decrease in status. It is impossible to move to a more prestigious caste. However, many Indians resort to tricks that allow them to go beyond the strict varna system. Firstly, since each caste has its own set of surnames, it is possible to bribe an official and take a high-caste surname. Secondly, you can abandon Hinduism and accept a religion where there is no caste division. Some Hindus then return to Hinduism again, but at the same time claim that before the change of religion they were Brahmins or Kshatriyas.

Religious explanation for human inequality

The caste system stems from the religious beliefs of the Hindus. According to the Rig Veda, the entire cosmos was created from the body of the first man Purusha. Purusha was sacrificed by the gods to create the world. From separate parts of his body arose: earth, air, wind and heavenly bodies. Moreover, Purusha gave rise to the entire human race. From his mouth emerged the Brahmins, from his arms the Kshatriyas, from his thighs the Vaishyas, and from his feet the Shudras.

The doctrine of reincarnation is also aimed at preserving the existing social inequality. According to Hindu beliefs, a person who strictly observes all the rules of his caste, after death, can be born in the body of a representative of a higher varna.

Caste divisions today

Despite the fact that to Westerners the division into castes seems cruel and undemocratic, in modern India castes not only have not disappeared, but have become more structured. Each caste today is divided into additional subgroups - jati. In total there are more than 80 different jatis. Although there are no documents that would indicate a person’s belonging to one or another varna, caste division is strictly protected by religion and traditions.

The largest caste in modern India are the untouchables - about 1/5 of the country's total population. Dalits live in special ghettos where unemployment and crime are rampant. Untouchables cannot receive proper education or quality medical care. They are not allowed to enter shops, pharmacies, hospitals, temples and public transport used by members of other castes. Just like thousands of years ago, these people do the dirtiest and hardest work.

Attempts to establish social equality were made by many Indian fighters for civil rights, including Mahatma Gandhi. They were able to ensure that the Indian Constitution recognized the equality of untouchables with representatives of other castes, however, in fact, the attitude towards Dalits in modern India remains the same as 4 thousand years ago. The courts are lenient towards criminals who commit unlawful acts against untouchables, Dalits receive lower salaries compared to members of other castes.

Despite the fact that India today is open to Western liberal ideas, the untouchables have never dared to rebel. The centuries-old habit of being submissive and the fear of karmic contamination prevent these people from starting the fight for freedom and equality.

For many hundreds of years, the people of India have remained faithful to their main religion - Hinduism. It regulates all aspects of life, prescribing what to do in a given situation. And among other things, it divides society into unique classes that practically do not mix for more than a thousand years. In our series of articles about India, we could not miss this strange modern world thing. Let us tell you in more detail the history of this phenomenon.

Traditions

According to the Vedas, a collection of ancient sacred texts of Hinduism, the god Brahma created people and immediately divided them into castes, or more precisely, varnas. Varna means "color" in Sanskrit. There were four such colors in total:

Hindus believe that behavior in one's present life influences what caste a person will end up in after rebirth. He can end up either as a brahmana or be born a sudra.

Classes are forbidden to mix. Having been born, for example, a Vaishya, a person can marry and communicate only within his community. Untouchables are forbidden to defile the higher castes with their touch.

According to scientific research, this state of affairs has persisted for at least one and a half thousand years. Geneticists at the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics in West Bengal, who examined the DNA of Indians, found that most of Members of the Varnas have been marrying only within their “flowers” ​​for 70 generations.

How did such a system come about?

Story




Historians claim that the emergence of such a division appeared at the moment when the Aryans, a group of peoples of the Indo-European family, left the Indus Valley and settled near another river - the Ganges. The local, non-Aryan population living in those places was enslaved and deprived of all rights. Some of them, who submitted voluntarily, became sudras. And the rest are untouchable.

Jati are a kind of subgroups. They are associated with hereditary professional activity. Each varna consists of many jatis. In modern India (according to the last census, which also asked about castes), there are about 3 thousand of them.

Modernity

In the 50s of the 20th century, a movement for equal rights for castes and untouchables began in India. The Constitution considers discrimination on the basis of caste a criminal offense and prohibits inquiring about a person's affiliation with a particular varna when hiring a person. Outcasts were allowed access to temples. An educated population supports this trend.

In 1997 in India there was an important event: The first president who belonged to the untouchable caste was elected - Kocheril Raman Narayanan.

But the traditions are still strong. For example, untouchables make up about 20% of society. And Mahatma Gandhi, who was one of the first to fight for the rights of these outcasts, was against the fact that his son would marry a girl from a different caste - this contradicted his religious views.

The hierarchy of varnas continues to be preserved in the religious sphere and privacy. Especially in rural areas.

And yet, Indian castes are gradually losing influence on society. IN major cities they begin to lose meaning. Perhaps everything is not happening very quickly - a thousand-year-old tradition is unlikely to disappear in one day. But I would like to think that one day this will happen.

After leaving the Indus Valley, the Indian Aryans conquered the country along the Ganges and founded many states here, whose population consisted of two classes that differed in legal and financial status.

The new Aryan settlers, the victors, seized land, honor, and power in India, and the defeated non-Indo-European natives were plunged into contempt and humiliation, forced into slavery or into a dependent state, or, driven into the forests and mountains, they lived there in inaction thoughts of a meager life without any culture. This result of the Aryan conquest gave rise to the origin four main Indian castes (varnas).

Those original inhabitants of India who were conquered by the power of the sword suffered the fate of captives and became mere slaves. The Indians, who submitted voluntarily, renounced their father's 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 estates of the Aryans, servants and porters, in the houses of rich people. From them came a caste sudra. "Sudra" 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 unions with representatives of the Shudra caste. Shudra women were only concubines among the Aryans.

Ancient India. Map

Over time, sharp differences in status and professions emerged between the Aryan conquerors of India themselves. But in relation to the lower caste - the dark-skinned, conquered native population - they all remained a privileged class. Only the Aryans had the right to read the sacred books; only they were consecrated by a solemn ceremony: a sacred cord was placed on the Aryan, making him “reborn” (or “twice born”, dvija). This ritual served as a symbolic distinction between all Aryans and the Shudra caste and the despised native tribes driven into the forests. Consecration was performed by placing a cord, which was worn placed on the right shoulder and descending diagonally across the chest. Among 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 no earlier than the 11th year, it was made from kusha (Indian spinning plant), and among the Vaishya caste, who received it no earlier than the 12th year, it was made of wool.

The "twice-born" Aryans, over time, were divided according to differences in occupation and origin into three estates or castes, which have some similarities with the three estates medieval Europe: clergy, nobility and middle, urban class. The beginnings of the caste system among the Aryans existed back in the days when they lived only in the Indus basin: there, from the mass of the agricultural and pastoral population, warlike tribal princes, surrounded by people skilled in military affairs, as well as priests who performed sacrificial rites, already stood out.

At the resettlement of Aryan tribes further into India, into the country of the Ganges, militant 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 busy with military affairs. Only when the peaceful possession of the conquered country began did it become possible for a variety of occupations to develop, the possibility of choosing between different professions, and came new stage origin of castes. The fertility of the Indian soil aroused the desire for peaceful means of subsistence. From this, the innate tendency of the Aryans quickly developed, according to which it was more pleasant for them to work quietly and enjoy the fruits of their labor than to make difficult military efforts. Therefore, a significant part of the settlers (“ Vishey") turned to agriculture, which produced abundant harvests, leaving the fight 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, engaged in arable farming and partly shepherding, soon grew so that among the Aryans, as in Western Europe, it formed the vast majority of the population. Because the name vaishya"settler", which originally meant all Aryan inhabitants in new areas, came to mean only people of the third, working Indian caste, and warriors, kshatriyas, and priests, brahmins(“prayers”), who over time became the privileged classes, made the names of their professions the names of the two highest castes.

The four Indian classes listed above became completely closed castes (varnas) only when Brahmanism rose above the ancient service to Indra and other gods of nature - a new religious doctrine about Brahma, the soul of the universe, the source of life from which all beings originated and to which they will return. This reformed creed gave religious sanctity to the division of the Indian nation into castes, and especially the priestly caste. It said that in the cycle of life forms passed through by everything existing on earth, Brahman is the most highest form being. According to the dogma of rebirth and transmigration of souls, a being born in human form, must go through all four castes in turn: to be a Shudra, Vaishya, Kshatriya and finally a Brahman; having passed through these forms of existence, it is reunited with Brahma. The only way to achieve this goal is for a person, constantly striving for deity, to exactly fulfill everything commanded by the brahmanas, to honor them, to please them with gifts and signs of respect. Offenses against Brahmanas, severely punished on earth, subject the wicked to the most terrible torments of hell and rebirth in the forms of despised animals.

Belief in addiction future life it was from the real one main support Indian caste division and priestly rule. The more decisively the Brahman clergy placed the dogma of transmigration of souls at the center of all moral teaching, the more successfully it filled the imagination of the people scary pictures 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 feats of their asceticism have magical power over the gods, the gods have to fulfill their will; bliss and suffering in the future life depend 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 its holy teachings respect and generosity towards the Brahmins as the surest ways to obtain bliss, instilling in the kings that the ruler is obliged to have Brahmins as his advisers and make judges, is obliged to reward their service to the rich contents and pious gifts.

To prevent the lower Indian castes from envying the privileged position of the Brahmans and from encroaching on it, the doctrine was developed and strenuously preached that the forms of life for all beings are predetermined by Brahma, and that the progression through the degrees of human rebirth is accomplished only by calm, peaceful life V given to the person position, faithful performance of duties. So, in one of the oldest parts Mahabharata It is said: “When Brahma created beings, he gave them their occupations, each caste a special activity: for the brahmanas - the study of the high Vedas, for the warriors - heroism, for the vaishyas - the art of work, for the sudras - humility before other flowers: therefore ignorant brahmanas, ignominious warriors, unskillful vaishyas and disobedient sudras.”

Brahma, the main deity of Brahmanism - the religion that underlies the Indian caste system

This dogma, which attributed divine origin to every caste, every profession, consoled the humiliated and despised in their insults and deprivations real life hope for a better 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, unchangeable law, the violation of which is the most criminal sin. People do not have the right to overthrow the caste barriers established between them by God himself; They can achieve improvement in their fate only through patient submission. Mutual relationship between Indian castes were clearly characterized by the teaching; that Brahma produced the Brahmanas from his mouth (or the first man Purusha), the Kshatriyas from his hands, the Vaishyas from his thighs, the Shudras from his feet dirty in mud, therefore the essence of nature for the Brahmanas is “holiness and wisdom”, for the Kshatriyas it is “power and strength”, among the Vaishyas - “wealth and profit”, among the Shudras - “service and obedience”. The doctrine of the origin of castes from different parts the highest being is set forth in one of the hymns of the latest, newest book Rigveda. There are no concepts of caste in the older songs of the Rig Veda. Brahmins attach extreme importance to this hymn, and every true believer Brahmin recites it every morning after bathing. This hymn is the diploma with which the Brahmins legitimized their privileges, their dominion.

Thus, the Indian people were led by their history, their inclinations and customs to fall under the yoke of a hierarchy of castes, which turned classes and professions into tribes alien to each other,

Shudras

After the conquest of the Ganges valley by the Aryan tribes who came from the Indus, part of its original (non-Indo-European) population was enslaved, and the rest were deprived of their lands, turning into servants and farm laborers. From these natives, alien to the Aryan invaders, the “Sudra” caste little by little formed. The word "sudra" does not come from a Sanskrit root. It may have been some kind of local Indian tribal designation.

The Aryans assumed the role of a higher class in relation to the Shudras. Only performed on arias religious rite the laying of a sacred thread, which, according to the teachings of Brahmanism, made a person “twice-born.” But even among the Aryans themselves, social division soon appeared. By type of life and occupation, they fell into three castes - Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, reminiscent of the three main classes of the medieval West: the clergy, the military aristocracy and the class of small property owners. This social stratification began to appear among the Aryans even during their life on the Indus.

After the conquest of the Ganges Valley, most of the Aryan population took up farming and cattle breeding in the new fertile country. These people formed a caste Vaishyas(“villagers”), who earned their means of living by labor, but, unlike the Shudras, consisted of legally entitled owners of land, livestock or industrial and commercial capital. There were warriors above the Vaishyas ( kshatriyas), and priests ( brahmins,"prayers") Kshatriyas and especially Brahmins were considered the highest castes.

Vaishya

Vaishyas, farmers and shepherds of Ancient India, by the very nature of their occupations, could not equal the neatness of the upper classes and were not so well dressed. Spending the day in labor, they had no leisure either for acquiring Brahmin education or for the idle pursuits of the Kshatriya military nobility. Therefore, Vaishyas soon began to be considered people unequal to priests and warriors, people of a different caste. Vaishya commoners did not have warlike neighbors who would threaten their property. The Vaishyas did not need sword and arrows; they lived quietly with their wives and children on their piece of land, leaving the military class to protect the country from external enemies and from internal unrest. In the affairs of the world, most of the recent Aryan conquerors of India soon became unaccustomed to weapons and the art of war.

When, with the development of culture, the forms and needs of life became more diverse, when the rustic simplicity of clothing and food, housing and household utensils began to not satisfy many, when trade with foreigners began to bring wealth and luxury, many Vaishyas turned to crafts, industry, trade, giving money back as interest. But this did not increase their social prestige. Just as in feudal Europe the townspeople did not belong to the upper classes by origin, but to the common people, so in the populous cities that arose in India near the royal and princely palaces, the majority of the population were Vaishyas. But they did not have room for independent development: artisans and traders in India were subject to the contempt of the upper classes. No matter how much wealth the Vaishyas acquired in large, magnificent, luxurious capitals or in commercial seaside cities, they did not receive any participation either in the honors and glory of the Kshatriyas, or in the education and authority of the Brahman priests and scholars. The highest moral benefits of life were inaccessible to vaishyas. They were given only the circle of physical and mechanical activity, the circle of material and routine; and although they were allowed, even obliged to read Veda and legal books, they remained outside the highest mental life of the nation. The hereditary chain chained the Vaishya to his father's plot of land or business; access to the military class or to the Brahman caste was forever blocked.

Kshatriyas

The position of the warrior caste (kshatriyas) was more honorable, especially in iron times Aryan conquest of India and the first generations after this conquest, when everything was decided by the sword and warlike energy, when the king was only a commander, when law and custom were maintained only by the protection of weapons. There was a time when the Kshatriyas aspired to become the foremost class, and in dark legends there were still traces of memories of the great war between warriors and Brahmins, when “unholy hands” dared to touch the sacred, divinely established greatness of the clergy. Traditions say that the Brahmins emerged victorious from this struggle with the Kshatriyas with the help of the gods and the Brahmin hero, Frames, and that the wicked were subjected to the most terrible punishments.

Education of a Kshatriya

The times of conquest were to be followed peaceful times; then the services of the kshatriyas became unnecessary, and the importance of the military class decreased. These times were favorable to the desire of the Brahmans to become the first class. But the more firmly and resolutely the warriors held on to the rank of the second most honorable class. Proud of the glory of their ancestors, whose exploits were praised in heroic songs inherited from antiquity, imbued with feeling self-esteem and the consciousness of their strength, which the military profession gives people, the kshatriyas kept themselves in strict isolation from the vaishyas, who had no noble ancestors, and looked with contempt at their working, monotonous life.

The Brahmans, having strengthened their primacy over the Kshatriyas, favored their class isolation, finding it beneficial for themselves; and the kshatriyas, along with lands and privileges, family pride and military glory, inherited respect for the clergy to their sons. Separated by their upbringing, military exercises and way of life from both the Brahmans and the Vaishyas, the Kshatriyas were a knightly aristocracy, preserving under new conditions public life the warlike customs of antiquity, which instilled in its children a proud belief in the purity of blood and tribal superiority. Protected by hereditary rights and class isolation from the invasion of alien elements, the kshatriyas formed a phalanx that did not allow commoners into their ranks.

Receiving a generous salary from the king, supplied from him with weapons and everything necessary for military affairs, the kshatriyas led a carefree life. Apart from military exercises, they had no business; therefore, in times of peace - and in the calm valley of the Ganges time passed for the most part peacefully - they had a lot of leisure to have fun and feast. In the circle of these births the memory of glorious deeds ancestors, about the hot battles of antiquity; singers of kings and noble families sang old songs to the kshatriyas at sacrificial festivals and funeral dinners, or composed new ones to glorify their patrons. From these songs Indian songs gradually grew epic poems – Mahabharata And Ramayana.

The highest and most influential caste were the priests, whose original name “purohita”, “household priests” of the king, was replaced in the country of the Ganges by a new one - brahmins. Even on the Indus there were such priests, for example, Vasishtha, Vishwamitra- about whom the people believed that their prayers and the sacrifices they performed had power, and who therefore enjoyed special respect. The benefit of the entire tribe demanded that their sacred songs, their ways of performing rituals, their teachings be preserved. The surest way to achieve this was for the most respected priests of the tribe to pass on their knowledge to their sons or students. This is how the Brahman clans arose. Forming schools or corporations, they preserved prayers, hymns, and sacred knowledge through oral tradition.

At first each Aryan tribe had its own Brahman clan; for example, the Koshalas have the family of Vasishtha, and the Angs have the family of Gautama. But when the tribes, accustomed to living in peace with each other, united into one state, their priestly families entered into partnership with each other, borrowing prayers and hymns from each other. The creeds and sacred songs of various Brahmin schools became the common property of the entire community. These songs and teachings, which at first existed only in oral tradition, were, after the introduction of written signs, recorded and collected by the Brahmins. This is how they arose Veda, that is, “knowledge”, a collection of sacred songs and invocations of the gods, called Rigveda and the following two collections of sacrificial formulas, prayers and liturgical regulations, Samaveda And Yajurveda.

The Indians placed great importance on ensuring that sacrificial offerings were performed correctly and that no mistakes were made in invoking the gods. This greatly favored the emergence of a special Brahmana corporation. When liturgical rites and prayers were written down, the condition for the sacrifices and rituals to be pleasing to the gods was the exact knowledge and observance of the prescribed rules and laws, which could only be studied under the guidance of the old priestly families. This necessarily placed the performance of sacrifices and worship under the exclusive control of the brahmans, completely ending the direct relationship of the laity to the gods: only those who were taught by the priest-mentor - the son or pupil of a brahman - could now perform the sacrifice in the proper way, making it “pleasing to the gods.” ; only he could deliver God's help.

Brahman in modern India

The knowledge of the old songs with which the ancestors in their former homeland honored the gods of nature, the knowledge of the rituals that accompanied these songs, increasingly became the exclusive property of the Brahmans, whose forefathers composed these songs and in whose clan they were passed down by inheritance. The property of the priests also remained the legends connected with the divine service, necessary for understanding it. What was brought from their homeland was clothed in the minds of the Aryan settlers in India with a mysterious sacred meaning. Thus, the hereditary singers became hereditary priests, whose importance increased as the Aryan people moved away from their old homeland (the Indus Valley) and, occupied with military affairs, forgot their old institutions.

The people began to consider the Brahmins as intermediaries between people and gods. When in new country Ganga, times of peace began, and concern for the performance of religious duties became the most important thing life, the concept established among the people about the importance of priests should have aroused in them the proud thought that the class, performing the most sacred duties, spending its life in serving the gods, has the right to occupy the first place in society and the state. The Brahman clergy became a closed corporation, access to it was closed to people of other classes. Brahmins were supposed to take wives only from their own class. They taught the whole people to recognize that the sons of a priest, born in a legal marriage, have by their very origin the right to be priests and the ability to make sacrifices and prayers pleasing to the gods.

This is how the priestly, Brahman caste arose, strictly separated from the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, placed by the strength of its class pride and the religiosity of the people at the highest level of honor, seizing science, religion, and all education into a monopoly for itself. Over time, the Brahmans became accustomed to thinking that they were as superior to the rest of the Aryans as they considered themselves to be superior to the Shudras and the remnants of the wild native Indian tribes. On the street, in the market, the difference in castes was already visible in the material and shape of clothing, in the size and shape of the cane. A brahmana, unlike a kshatriya and a vaishya, left the house with nothing less than a bamboo cane, a vessel of water for purification, and a sacred cord over his shoulder.

The Brahmins tried their best to put into practice the theory of castes. But the conditions of reality confronted their aspirations with such obstacles that they could not strictly implement the principle of division of occupations between castes. It was especially difficult for the Brahmins to find a means of living for themselves and their families, limiting themselves only to those occupations that specifically belonged to their caste. Brahmans were not monks who took into their class only as many people as needed. They led family life and multiplied; therefore it was inevitable that many Brahman families became poor; and the Brahman caste did not receive support from the state. Therefore, the impoverished Brahman families fell into poverty. The Mahabharata states that two prominent heroes of this poem, Drona and his son Ashwatthaman, there were brahmins, but due to poverty they had to take up the military craft of the kshatriyas. In later inserts they are strongly condemned for this.

True, some Brahmins led an ascetic and hermit life in the forest, in the mountains, and near sacred lakes. Others were astronomers, lawyers, administrators, judges, and received a good living from these honorable occupations. Many Brahmins were religious teachers, interpreters of sacred books, and received support from their many disciples, were priests, servants at temples, lived on gifts from those who made sacrifices and in general from pious people. But whatever the number of Brahmanas who found their means of living in these pursuits, we see from laws of Manu and from other ancient Indian sources that there were many priests who lived only on alms or supported themselves and their families with activities inappropriate for their caste. Therefore, the laws of Manu take great care to instill in kings and rich people that they have a sacred duty to be generous to the Brahmanas. The laws of Manu allow brahmanas to beg for alms and allow them to earn their living by the activities of kshatriyas and vaishyas. A Brahman can support himself by farming and shepherding; can live "by the truth and lies of trade." But in no case should he live by lending money on interest or by seductive arts, such as music and singing; should not be hired as workers, should not trade in intoxicating drinks, cow butter, milk, sesame seeds, linen or woolen fabrics. Those kshatriyas who cannot support themselves by military craft, the law of Manu also allows them to engage in the affairs of the vaishyas, and it allows the vaishyas to feed themselves by the activities of the sudras. But all these were only concessions forced by necessity.

The discrepancy between the occupations of people and their castes led over time to the disintegration of castes into smaller divisions. Actually, it is these small social groups that are castes in the proper sense of the word, and the four main classes we have listed - brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and sudras - in India itself are more often called varnas. Condescendingly allowing upper castes feed on the professions of the lower ones, the laws of Manu strictly prohibit the lower castes from taking up the professions of the higher ones: this insolence was supposed to be punished by confiscation of property and expulsion. Only a Shudra who does not find hired work can engage in a craft. But he should not acquire wealth, so as not to become arrogant against people of other castes, before whom he is obliged to humble himself.

Untouchable caste - Chandals

From the Ganges basin, this contempt for the surviving tribes of the non-Aryan population was transferred to the Deccan, where the Chandals on the Ganges were placed in the same position pariahs, whose name is not found in laws of Manu, became among Europeans the name of all classes of people despised by the Aryans, “unclean” people. The word pariah is not Sanskrit but Tamil. Tamils ​​call pariahs both the descendants of the ancient, pre-Dravidian population, and Indians excluded from castes.

Even the situation of slaves in Ancient India was less difficult than the life of the untouchable caste. Epic and dramatic works Indian poetry shows that the Aryans treated slaves meekly, that many slaves enjoyed great confidence from their masters and occupied influential positions. The slaves were: those members of the Shudra caste whose ancestors were enslaved during the conquest of the country; Indian prisoners of war from enemy states; people bought from traders; faulty debtors handed over by judges as slaves to creditors. Males and female slaves were sold on the market as goods. But no one could have as a slave a person from a caste higher than his own.

Having emerged in ancient times, the untouchable caste exists in India to this day.