of a village, a county, a country, or even a continent depending on the interpre-
tation given to what the questioner is seeking.
Scholars approaching caste through the study of Hinduism and comparative
religion may be less acquainted with sociological and anthropological studies of
caste on the ground and are more likely to be familiar with the Vedic concept of
varn.awhich is also used to translate the word “caste.” The referent of this
concept is rather different from that ofja ̄tisince the fundamental idea is less
“belonging to a group by virtue of common birth” than “functions which must
be performed if cosmic harmony and social harmony are to prevail” – it being
understood that cosmic harmony and social harmony are dependent on each
other. What the varn.aandja ̄ticoncepts share is an idea of “keeping apart” and
it is this which allows them to become conflated in the concept of caste.
In fact the original idea ofvarn.adoes seem to imply differences of origins
between the “Vedic Indians, who called themselves “noble ones” (a ̄ryas), [and]
the other peoples they encountered (chiefly the Harappans to begin with)”
(Lipner 1994: 88). But the idea of separating conquerors from indigenes seems
to quickly become subordinate to an idea of protecting nobility which is inde-
pendent of any consideration of ethnic origins. It has been mentioned that
rituals performed by priests on behalf of members of patron (noble, kingly)
castes are paradigmatically sacrifices. It is no accident that the concept ofvarn.a
is inextricably tied to a sacrificial theory of human society. The famous verse
from Rgveda x, 90 speaks of four varn.as: Bra ̄hman.a,ra ̄janya(later convention-
ally referred to as the ks.atriya),vais ́ya, and s ́u ̄dra, each of which springs from a
different part of the body of Purus.a – the lord of beings – who is portrayed as
having been sacrificed at the beginning of time.
Note that there is nothing here about lineage or pedigree, and neither is there
in the later law book known as the Code of Manu (ca. 200 bcetoce200). In this
text each varn.ais portrayed as having a quintessentially different function. These
functions revolve around sacrifice: just as the world and the four varn.as were
created through an initial sacrifice, repetitions of this primal act are necessary
if order and harmony are to be maintained. To achieve this, each varn.ahas a
specific function:
Manu lays down that the duty of the Bra ̄hman.a is to study and to teach, to
sacrifice, and to give and receive gifts; the ks.atriya must protect the people, sacrifice
and study; the vais ́ya also sacrifices and studies, but his chief function is to breed
cattle, to till the earth, to pursue trade and to lend money; the s ́u ̄ dra’s duty is only
to serve the three higher classes... for each man there was a place in society and
a function to fulfil, with its own duties and rights. (Basham 1971: 139)Note again that there is no mention of any idea that a person performing any
specific function must be born into a particular group. Yet there is a common
idea that people who belong to a particular ja ̄timust automatically have a cor-
respondingvarn.aor belong to the residual category of Untouchables who are
not mentioned in the Vedic schema. Unfortunately reality is not so simple.
on the relationship between caste and hinduism 503