Varna

Religion and law seem like they are two drastically different ideas. One is the moral code that people choose to believe in, while the other is something that they must abide by without much debate or suffer the consequences. Two drastically different concepts they may seem but are more closely related than meets the eye. When it comes down to it, throughout history, it shows to abide by the laws means to follow the morals of the religion. Laws were created to enforce religious morals. Hammurabi

with Hinduism. It recognizes two concepts known as Varna and Jati. Varna is a word in Sanskrit meaning color and includes four main groups: the Brahmans, Kshtriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The fifth group, the most segregated

The caste system is a “complex system of social divisions that pervades life in India” (The Mauryan and Gupta Empires of India). The Hindu people are spread out among four different varnas and there is also a fifth group of Hindu’s called the untouchables. The four different varnas are called the Brahmins, the Kshatriya, the Vaishya and the Sudra. These four castes all have different labels to describe them. The Brahmins are the traditional priest class, the Kshatriya group is the

Does the phrase “stay in your lane” sound familiar? Certainly it applies to driving a car, riding a bike, or moving in any kind of fast-paced setting because if one crosses lines they end up hurt, hurting someone else, or worse. The God of Small Things reveals to readers that staying in your lane can mean the difference between living and dying. The opening quote of Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things not only reveals the purpose of the novel, but it impacts the characters actions in colonial

India caste is a social stratification; historically it separated communities into thousand of endogamous hereditary groups called “Jatis”. The Jatis were grouped by Brahminical texts under four categories, known as Varnas. Certain groups known as Dalits or “Panchama” were excluded from Varna system altogether, ostracized by all other caste as “untouchables”. In a perpetual

Hinduism teaches low-caste people that the way to elevate their status in their next life is by leading an honorable life this time around and not performing any acts of wrongdoings towards the caste system and others in different castes (Deshpande & Kerbo, 2010). Since a person can climb the social ladder through reincarnation they will be able to become a priest, if they reach Moksha and yoke their Atman with Brahman. Since becoming a priest could only be achieved through rising to the top of

into a number of sub-levels, each of which is called a jati. Just as the levels provide a social hierarchy in society at large, the different jati’s provide a social hierarchy within a level. This system of varnas and jatis serves two important functions. First, it assigns occupations. The varna and jati to which one belongs is usually identified with an occupation. Within the Vaishyas, for instance, there are jatis of bakers, sheep herders, metal workers, and so

the Vedic religion. The rituals of this religion were mostly associated with offerings to deities. Although in the beginning, there was somewhat social equality between men and women, after around 1000 B.C.E, the women’s rights declined and varna appeared. Varna was the rankings within the society. Lastly, they had somewhat of a belief in reincarnation where the followers of Vedic religion believed that their actions would determine how they would come to earth the next time around. Between sixth and

India’s predominant religion is Hinduism, and though the approximate date of which it was lain down is unknown, Hinduism was established and founded by the Aryans, who arrived in India at approximately 1500 BCE. Hinduism can be said to have been inspired by and emerged from the Vedic religion; however the simple fact that the core of Hinduism comes from the Vedic period does not denote that the complex theological thought that is behind it was also developed during that period. The Vedic period goes

China and India Compared and Contrasted In Classical India and Classical China, the development of institutions and traditions were very different yet very similar in many ways. For instance, India and China both put women below men and considered merchants as a middle class. However, they differed in areas such as centralized government. Outside of the Mauryas and the Guptas, India was run by the religion-based caste system while China had a very centralized government, except for the Warring States