Current affairs – The Varna confusion and the archaka argument - Part 2 - jāti

 

What is jāti?

yājnavalkya smriti, in sākshi prakaranam (witness statement/production), states:

यथाजाति यथावर्णं सर्वे सर्वेषु वा स्मृताः|

yathājāti yathāvarnam sarve sarveshu vā smrtā: |

Reiterating the point from previous blog that varna is different to jāti as Sri Yājnavalkya smriti clearly makes a distinction calling out those belonging to varna separately to those in the jāti in sākshi prakaranam.

Varna was explained in the previous blog, so what is jāti in this social context?

 

Etymology:

Jāti has its root in jāta (to come into existence / to be born)

Jāta has its root in jan (जन्) which mean to generate or beget or to produce or to come into existence

Jan (जन्) is also the root for words such as ājāna (spring forth) , ajāya/ajāyata (to be born from), etc.

Therefore, jāti is associated with your birth NOT varna. Varna is your chosen/selected way of life whereas jāti is where you are born into. Jāti is the Sanskrit word that could be used as caste. Caste and jāti are by definition are related to birth unlike Varna.

Repeating here that the Varna system (which is the occupational structure in any given society) is not to be confused with jāti (a caste of the child as a result of birth). 

 

Jāti within Varna:

Jāti is a system that was developed and used mainly for marriages, socialising, communal living and co-dining. While the Varna could be the same, jāti could be different for example: there are hundreds of brāhmana jāti within the brāhmana varna which is dependent on the parents and the family (kulam). While there are references to jāti within Dharma shastra due to inter-varna and later  inter-varna-jāti marriages, in the Veda itself it has no reference as far as I am aware (happy to be corrected). What this shows is that the jāti system was developed later to meet social needs of the society.

The jāti or the varna systems, at least in theory, were not meant for discrimination but for protection and propagation of the unique diversity developed within Bharatam (India). To remove these systems would also be removal of diversity and uniqueness that thrives within India. There are external forces developing and propagating negative narratives of the system without appreciating its diversity. 

There is no system in the world that is perfect without causing harm and discrimination. While we should stand for removal of discrimination that is harmful to our fellow beings through our attitudes and actions, we should, as far as practicable and relevant, recognise the advantages of the system as well.

 

Purusha suktam:

There are several references to being born (marked in bold in column 1) – jana or jāta or ajāyata or ajāyatā, etc:

 

tasmād virād ajāyata	This virat (universe) came into being from that potential
purusham jātam agrata:	The Yagya Purusha came forward (born) from a previous potential
Rca: sāmāni jajnire | chandāgumsi jajnire tasmāt | yajustasmāt ajāyata	The various sounds, meters and their combinations heard in the universe arose (or were born) from potentials
tasmātashvā ajāyanta | ye ke cobhayAdataH | gāvo ha jajnire tasmāt | tasmājjātā ajāvaya:|	Different forms of animals then were born including such as cows, horses, goats, sheep, etc. Important to note agains reference to jāta / jana as being born from potentials
padbhyāgum shudro ajāyata	Note here that the other three varna has no reference to jāta or jana, since, to become a brahmin, kshatriya or Vaishya is not by birth which is acknowledged by Purusha sūktam itself. The only reference to birth is shudra. Explained further below.
candramā manaso jāta: | caksho sūryo ajāyata | mukhādindrascāgnisca | prānāt vāyurajāyata	Again, the sun, moon, planetary systems, fire, and other natural forces are born from potentials

 

A common misunderstanding and explanation by even the (portrayed) learned that purusha sūktam itself is a hymn of discrimination promoting caste based on birth, unfortunately, arises out of ignorance of the entirety of Veda with a combination of a lack of grip in Sanskrit. Let me set the record straight:

The contended hymn in purusha sūktam (where required, I have broken down the verses into individual words further for your understanding):

brāhmano'sya mukham āsīt | bāhū rājanya: krta: |

ūrū tad asya yad Vaishya: | padbhyāgum shudro ajāyata ||

 

Doubt:

ajāyata is only used for shudra. āsīt, krta: and asya are used others. Why?

The word ajāyata is used in multiple places (table above) in purusha sūkta but why is it NOT specifically used for the other three varna?

 

Incorrect View - Common translation found online or in other books:

Brahmins are born from the face of Brahman (The Supreme), Kshatriya from the arms, Vaishya from the thighs, and shudras from the feet. This is both inaccurate and incorrect. It is probably translated in this way to pursue a religious and political agenda/narrative or that the translator is ignorant and incompetent. Let me purge your ignorance with the fire of knowledge using Nighantu and Nirukta shastra - the origin and science of words - etymology.

 

As per etymology:

Taking the three words from the verse above:

Āsīt (for Brahmana) – root is as (अस्) – to be casted or made (using effort)

Krta (for Kshatriya) has its root in kr (कृ) – to be made or to be produced (through external actions in this context)

Asya (for Vaishya) – again has root in (अस्) as above with āsīt

Given that the three Varna are made and NOT born [reference to birth (ajāyata) only for shudra], the following is the corrected view.

Association with different parts of that Supreme Brahman is only metaphorical (figurative) not literal. Training program for brahmins is very difficult and rigorous requiring significant intellectual capacity and a lot of sacrifices towards bodily comforts, hence, figurative association with face. 

For example (āpastamba dharma sutram prashna 1 patala 1):

Eating food once a day, only eating food offered to Gods, no sleeping during the day, sleeping only on the floor, no engagement in sexual activities, no use of perfumes, no embellishing oneself, bathing only in cold water, no playing in water/swimming, tie the hair, eating food obtained through bhiksha, no dancing, no enjoyment, no watching of dancing or any form of entertainment, no gossipping, never to do anything for self pleasure, talk to women only as necessary, refrain from unsuitable pursuits such as passions/hobbies, tirelessly pursue one's duties and vows, free from anger, self-controlled, self cleaning - not depending on others to clean, avoiding foods that are not approved such as meat, garlic, onions, carrots, potatoes, beans, even sugar, sweets and honey, etc to name a few. The list goes on....

The Corrected view:

Purusha sūktam HAS NOT intended to say that the three Varna (Brahmana, kshatriya and Vaishya) are born. Shudra is the assigned Varna at birth as per Purusha Suktam.

The only word for ‘to be born’ is for shudra (padbhyāgum shudro ajāyata). Rightly so, all are born as shudra. Even if parents are brahmins the child is considered as shudra for those, of course, who accept the word of Veda – the Purusha Suktam.

It is through further conditioning (rituals – samskāra - upanayana samskāra, Veda ārambha, etc) and arduous (military-like) training that a child changes from a Shudra to become eligible to practice the Varna (way of life and employment) of the family. Once the training program is complete, as per previous blog duties of Varna must be practiced within one's best capacity/ability (yathā shaktita kriyā) to remain in that Varna. The requirements are similar to continuous professional development/training required to be done by a Chartered Accountant or a Practicing Lawyer or an Engineer as a Chartered Professional Engineer today.

The concluding view of Veda is that all are born in Shudra Varna and are then made into a brahmana, kshatriya or vaishya through rituals (depending on the family practice, the dad initiates the child into their kula (family) varna) which contain in them taking respective vows and then a training program corresponding to that Varna.

Definition of a shudra:

Why are all, at birth, shudra? It goes back to the definition of shudra. The intentions of our ancestors was (probably) that all humans should have the quality of shudra (shudratva) before taking up our duties. Shudratva is arguably the basic quality of humanity.

shocāt drāvayati iti shūdra: - it means that a shudra is one whose heart melts at the sight of suffering of others. This is a sāmānya guna (universal quality) and hence applicable to all beings at birth (jāti) regardless of any varna (employment / adopted way of life) or religion or gender or nationality or age or ethnicity. This is shudratva.

Without (an element of) shudratva, can you expect a King (Kshatriya) to work for the welfare of the nation / address the concerns of citizens?

The same goes for Brahmana and Vaishya in context. 

 

Practical questions:

Now that the theory is behind us, in the next blogs, I will attempt to answer - application of the theory portion to practice. Are there provisions within shastra to answer  practical questions such as interchangeability of Varna? What are some limitations if any? These will be taken up in next blogs including - can a shudra become an archaka?…. happy reading