“How Varna of Vedic era has been corrupted into vote-bank and caste-wars in modern times. Evolution of ‘caste’ though ages”, Opindia, July 09, 2024:
“During the early Rig Veda period we come across artisans, farmers, priests, and warriors. Society was basically egalitarian. We do not have evidence of a deep-seated, institutionalized, and hierarchical classification of people.
Women and Shudras were also composing Vedic hymns and other seminal works. Even during the later Vedic and Itihasic period, the idea of varna was in its nascent form and not rigidly dependent on birth. Artisans such as metalworkers, chariot-makers and carpenters were not necessarily birth-based occupational jatis.
The Mahabharata states that one does not become a Brahmin by birth alone but also by conduct. It declares that a Brahmin could be born of a Kshatriya or a Vaishya mother. There was also some ambiguity regarding the relative position of the varnas and these were related to each other in a fluid way…….”
Read the full article at Opindia.com
