"In that connection, the reading of varna, ‘colour, social class’, as referring to skin colour, was upheld as proof of the racial basis of caste. To put this false trail of 19th -century race theory to rest, let us observe here that neither the Rg-Veda nor the Manu Smrti connects varna to skin colour. The term varna, ‘colour’, is used here in the sense of ‘one in a spectrum’, just as the alphabet is called varna-mâla, ‘rosary of colours’, metaphor for ‘spectrum (of sounds)’. So, the varna-vyavasthâ is the ‘colour system’, i.e. the ‘spectrum’ of social functions, the role division in society. Just as the existence of social classes in our society doesn’t imply their endogamous separateness, the Vedic varna-s were not defined as endogamous castes."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Varna (Hinduism)
13 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Varna (Hinduism) →
Related Quotes
"This evidence from the Zenda Avesta as to the meaning of the word Varna leaves no doubt that it originally meant a cl…"
"The true conclusion to be drawn from the Rig Veda is not that the Varna system did not exist, but that there were onl…"
"What is the difference between Caste and Varna as understood by the Mahatma? I find none. As defined by the Mahatma, …"
"It has, at any rate, been an extremely consequential mistake. That white Aryan invaders defeated black aboriginal res…"
"In my opinion, the semantic development has passed through varna, "colour", in the sense of "one in a spectrum", with…"
"[Trautmann likewise points out that there is no contextual evidence supporting the nontraditional interpretation of v…"
"G.C. Pande, the noted Sanskrit scholar, says that only the Dharmashastra in the post-Vedic period started to pervert …"
"Discussing the early Vedic period, V.M. Apte says that the Rig Veda refers to the varnas in a way that cannot be cons…"
"The case for color as a dominant factor in the development of caste was not supported by the evidence of historical l…"
"The idea is that all varnas are contained in every individual, instead of every individual being comprised within one…"