History of the Evolution of The Varna System
The varna system came into prevalence in India with the coming of the Aryans around 1500 BC. They were a group of immigrants who migrated from the Central Asia region into India. They were white skinned people and in an attempt to maintain their racial superiority, they distinguished themselves from the original inhabitants of the country, i.e., black skinned people.
The coming of the Aryans invited protests from the original inhabitants of the land which were termed Dasas. This conflict led to the division of the group into two with an intention to enslave the Dasas. During the Rig Vedic time itself, society got divided. A group of Aryans separated themselves from the community and made claims for intellectual leadership. This group was termed the priest.
Simultaneously another group separated itself and made claims to protect the society which was termed Rajanya. Thus the society got divided into three groups: the priest, Rajanya, and the common people. The occupation was based on this social division.
In the later Vedic period there was emergence of a new Verna termed Shudra. Information about it can be obtained from the 10th mandala of the Rig Veda. Thus the four-fold Varna system started during the Later Vedic period. Brahmins, Kshatriya, and Vaishyas were given the dwija status while the Shudras were outside the purview of dwija status and were made to serve the upper three Varnas.
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