Ancient Indian Social Classes

Ancient Indian Social Classes

Citation

and thanks for

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Brahmins

1.PLATO Ancient India

2.PLATO India Project Resource

3.Textbook/workbook

4.

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~epandit/page2.html

5.http://www.mrdowling.com/612-caste.html

6.http://www.gfa.org/dalit/the-caste-system/

This was the priestly class. This was the highest ranking of the four social classes. The word Brahmin comes from the word Brahma who is the god that created the universe. Brahmins are vegetarians. Today in India Brahmins only make up 9% of the population. Most Brahmin are landowners and practice agriculture. Some might also have white collar jobs such as being in the government service or practicing astrology.

Chandalas

Kshatriyas

Introduction

The Untouchables were the lowest class, they were pretty much seen as animals. Walking in a higher caste neighborhood could mean death. There was such injustice to these people that India's government had to pass a law that you cant beat, torture, burn down their houses, abuse, and make the people eat insects and trash. These people face extreme poverty since thousands of years ago, and still face awful conditions. In India today, every hour two Untouchables are assulted, every day, two untouchables are murdered, and two untouchable homes are burned.

The caste system caused social classes. You had to follow the rules of your caste and if you lived a good life you would get good karma and after death you would be reborn into a higher caste through reincarnation. Brahma worshiped as the creator of the universe, The division of Indian society was based on Brahma's divine manifestation of four groups. Priests and teachers were cast from his mouth, rulers and warriors from his arms, merchants and traders from his thighs, and workers & peasants from his feet.

This was the warriors' class. The word Kshatryas comes from the word power or ruler. A member of the second of the four great Hindu castes, the military caste. The traditional function of the Kshatriyas is to protect society by fighting in wartime and governing in peacetime. Most have a pursuit of war, claims to leadership, and own land.

Vaishyas

Shudras

This was the merchant and peasant class. Third highest in ritual status. Helped Ancient India expand. Vaishya were wealthy and were usually well respected, they were in the lower part of the caste system. Their duty was to ensure the community's prosperity through agriculture. The word Vaishya means "to live"and the caste usually focuses on farming and trading.

This was the labor class. People in this class were unskilled workers. Examples of what they did are boot cleaning, leather tanning, floor sweeping, scavenging, and shoe making. They often worked on farms of the people of the higher castes or were servants for them. They were the lowest and largest caste. While members of this caste are not as maligned as Dalits or untouchables, they still face a great deal of discrimination from members of higher castes.