‘That would mean that in the Gurukul or in the rest of the empire, nobody would know who
the child’s birth parents are,’ reasoned Shiva, as he worked out the implications of what he was
hearing. ‘So every child, whether born to a Brahmin or a Shudra, would get exacdy the same
treatment at the Gurukul?’
‘Yes,’ smiled Parvateshwar. He was clearly proud of the system. ‘As the children enter the
age of adolescence, they are all given the Somras. Thus every child has exactly the same
opportunity to succeed. At the age of fifteen, when they have reached adulthood, all the
children are given a comprehensive examination. The results of this examination decide which
varna or caste the child will be allocated to — Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya or Shudra.’
Kanakhala cut in. ‘And then the children are given one more year ’s caste-specific training.
They wear their varna colour bands — white for Brahmins, red for Kshatriyas, green for
Vaishyas and black for Shudras — and retreat to the respective caste schools to complete
their education.’
‘So that’s why your caste system is called the varna system,’ said Shiva. ‘Varna means
colour, right?’
‘Yes my Lord,’ smiled Kanakhala. You are very observant.’
With a withering look at Kanakhala, Parvateshwar added sarcastically, ‘Yes, that was a very
difficult conclusion to draw.’
Ignoring the barb, Shiva asked, ‘So what happens after that?’
‘When the children turn sixteen, they are allocated to applicant parents from their caste. For
example, if some Brahmin parents had applied to adopt a child, one randomly chosen student
from Maika, who had won the Brahmin caste in the examination, will be allotted to them. Then
the child grows up with these adopted parents as their own child.’
‘And society is perfect,’ marvelled Shiva, as the simple brilliance of the system enveloped his
mind. ‘Each person is given a position in society based only on his own abilities. The efficiency
and fairness of this system is astounding!’
‘Over time my Lord,’ interjected Daksha, ‘we found the percentage of higher castes actually
going up in the population. Which means that everybody in the world has the ability to excel. All
it takes is for a child to be given a fair chance to succeed.’
‘Then the lower castes must have loved Lord Ram for this?’ asked Shiva. ‘He gave them an
actual chance to succeed.’
‘Yes they did love him,’ answered Parvateshwar. ‘They were his most loyal followers. Jai
Shri Ram!’
‘But I guess not too many mothers would have been happy with this. I can’t imagine a
woman willingly giving up her child as soon as he is born with no chance of meeting him ever
again.’
‘But it’s for the larger good,’ said Parvateshwar, scowling at the seemingly stupid question.
‘And in any case, every mother who wants an offspring can apply for one and be allocated a
child who suits her position and dreams. Nothing can be worse for a mother than having a child
who does not measure up to her expectations.’
Shiva frowned at Parvateshwar ’s explanation, but let the argument pass. ‘I can also imagine
that many of the upper castes like the Brahmins would have been unhappy with Lord Ram.
After all, they lost their stranglehold on power.’
‘Yes,’ added Daksha. ‘Many upper castes did oppose Lord Ram’s reforms. Not just
Brahmins, but even Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Lord Ram fought a great battle to defeat them.
singke
(singke)
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