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57-632: The earliest extant Hindu text to mention the Magas is Samba Purana (c. 7th-8th century CE); the legend made its way into the Bhavishya Purana and even a twelfth century inscription in Eastern India. After being cursed into a leper, Samba urged Krishna to restore his youth who expressed his inability and deferred to the Sun-God. So, acting upon the advice of Narada, Samba left for the forests of Mitravan on

114-450: A Brahmin?" Sonadanda initially lists five qualities as, "he is of pure descent on both the mother's and the father's side, he is well versed in mantras, he is of fair color handsome and pleasing, he is virtuous learned and wise, and he is the first or second to hold the sacrificial ladle". Buddha then asks the Brahmin, "If we omit one of these qualities you just listed, could not one be still

171-535: A hostile relation with Buddhists. In the Brahminical corpus all Mlechhas (lit. foreigners) are routinely referred to in the most disagreeable terms and are either held to be below Sudras or avarna . Saura literature is very scarce in the Hindu cannon and in all probabilities, Magas failed to ever exert considerable influence on any royal power. Consequently, why were the Magas allowed the Brahmin status in society remains

228-567: A pertinent locus of enquiry. R. C. Hazra—a preeminent scholar of Puranic literature—believes the Magas and their particular brand of Sun-worship to have gained immense popularity under Scythian patronage; hence, the Brahmins were compelled to draft the Samba Purana, infuse aspects of their cult into prevalent, and accommodate them in the elites. Stietencron, on a comparative assessment of Samba Purana with other texts, disagrees: little foreign influence

285-504: A sage named Bhrigu , "Brahmins Varna was white, Kshtriyas was red, Vaishyas was yellow, and the Shudras' black". This description is questioned by another prominent sage Bharadwaja who says that colours are seen among all the Varnas, that desire, anger, fear, greed, grief, anxiety, hunger and toil prevails over all human beings, that bile and blood flow from all human bodies, so what distinguishes

342-444: A true Brahmin?" Sonadanda, one by one, eliminates fair colour and looks, then eliminates Varna in which one was born, and then eliminates the ability to recite mantra and do sacrifices as a requirement of being a Brahmin. Sonadanda asserts that just two qualities are necessary to truthfully and without falling into falsehood identify a Brahmin; these two qualities are "being virtuous and being learned and wise". Sonadanda adds that it

399-627: Is a form of social stratification, quite different from the more nuanced system of Jātis , which correspond to the European term "caste" . The varna system is discussed in Hindu texts, and understood as idealised human callings. The concept is generally traced to the Purusha Sukta verse of the Rig Veda. In the post-Vedic period, the varna division is described in the Mahabharata , Puranas and in

456-663: Is a late 15th-century religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent . Sikh texts mention Varna as Varan , and Jati as Zat or Zat-biradari . Eleanor Nesbitt, a professor of Religion and specialising in Christian, Hindu and Sikh studies, states that the Varan is described as a class system in 18th- to 20th-century Sikh literature, while Zat reflected the endogamous occupational groups (caste). The Sikh texts authored by

513-528: Is discussed in the Dharma-shastra texts, but only in the context of the individual's moral, ritual and biological pollution (eating certain kinds of food such as meat, urination and defecation). In his review of Dharma-shastras, Olivelle writes, "we see no instance when a term of pure/impure is used with reference to a group of individuals or a varna or caste". The only mention of impurity in the Shastra texts from

570-472: Is important to recognize, in theory, Varna is nongenealogical. The four Varnas are not lineages, but categories." The Bhagavad Gita describes the professions, duties and qualities of members of different varnas. There is no entity on earth, or again in heaven among the Devas, that is devoid of these three Gunas, born of Prakriti. Of Brâhmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, as also of Sudras, O scorcher of foes,

627-492: Is impossible to reduce the requirement for being a Brahmin any further, because "for wisdom is purified by morality, and morality is clarified by wisdom; where one is, the other is, the moral man has wisdom and the wise man has morality, and the combination of morality and wisdom is called the highest thing in the world". Brian Black and Dean Patton state Sonadanda admits after this, "we [Brahmins] only know this much Gotama; it would be well if Reverend Gotama would explain meaning of

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684-463: Is one of the Saura Upapuranas . This text is dedicated to Surya . The recension of the text found in the printed editions has 84 chapters. Chapters 53-68 of this text are also divided into 15 Paṭala s. Samba Purana is a text dedicated to the worship of Surya, the god of the sun. This text comprises a number of narratives dealing with creation, details of solar system, eclipses, geography of

741-689: Is the earliest mention of Varna and Jati in Jainism literature. Jinasena does not trace the origin of Varna system to Rigveda or to Purusha Sukta, instead traces varna to the Bharata legend. According to this legend, Bharata performed an " ahimsa -test" (test of non-violence), and those members of his community who refused to harm or hurt any living being were called as the priestly varna in ancient India, and Bharata called them dvija , twice born. Jinasena states that those who are committed to ahimsa are deva-Brāhmaṇas , divine Brahmins. The text Adi purana also discusses

798-670: Is untouched by [pride and egoism], he only is the Brahmana. Such is the opinion of the Vedas, the smritis, the Itihasa and the Puranas. Otherwise one cannot obtain the status of a Brahmana." The Mahabharata , estimated to have been completed by about the 4th century CE, discusses the Varna system in section 12.181. The Epic offers two models on Varna. The first model describes Varna as colour-coded system, through

855-566: The Dharmashastra literatures . The commentary on the Varna system in the Manusmriti is often cited. Counter to these textual classifications, many Hindu texts and doctrines question and disagree with the Varna system of social classification. In India, communities that belong to one of the four varnas or classes are called savarna Hindus. The Dalits and tribals who do not belong to any varna were called avarna . The word appears in

912-466: The Rigveda , where it means "colour, outward appearance, exterior, form, figure or shape". The word means "color, tint, dye or pigment" in the Mahabharata . Varna contextually means "colour, race, tribe, species, kind, sort, nature, character, quality, property" of an object or people in some Vedic and medieval texts. Varna refers to four social classes in the Manusmriti . The earliest application to

969-478: The Guru Granth Sahib in their Gurdwaras with the texts of Ravidas. The terms varna (theoretical classification based on occupation) and jāti (caste) are two distinct concepts. Jāti (community) refers to the thousands of endogamous groups prevalent across the subcontinent. A jati may be divided into exogamous groups based on the same gotras . The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than

1026-616: The Kali Yuga , the age of immorality and decline. The varna system is extensively discussed in the Dharma-shastras. The Varna system in Dharma-shastras divides society into four varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishya and Shudras). Those who fall out of this system because of their grievous sins are ostracised as outcastes (untouchables) and considered outside the varna system. Barbarians and those who are unrighteous or unethical are also considered outcastes. Recent scholarship suggests that

1083-631: The Khalsa Dharam Sastar in 1914 argued that the entry of certain Sikh castes into major Sikh shrines should be barred. Similarly, in practice and its texts, the Gurus of Sikhism did not condemn or break with the convention of marrying (and marrying off their children) within the jati , and all the Sikh Gurus were Khatri, had Khatri wives and practiced arranged marriages within their zat . According to Dhavan,

1140-477: The 1st millennium is about people who commit grievous sins and thereby fall out of their varna. These, writes Olivelle, are called "fallen people" and impure, declaring that they be ostracised. Olivelle adds that the overwhelming focus in matters relating to purity/impurity in the Dharma-sastra texts concerns "individuals irrespective of their varna affiliation" and all four varnas could attain purity or impurity by

1197-555: The Dharma literature is concerned with the individual and not with groups, with purification and not with purity, and lends little support to a theory which makes relative purity the foundation of social stratification. The first three varnas are described in the Dharmashastras as " twice born " and they are allowed to study the Vedas . Such a restriction of who can study Vedas is not found in

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1254-597: The Kshatriyas, born of (their own) nature. Agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade are the duties of the Vaishyas, born of (their own) nature; and action consisting of service is the duty of the Sudras, born of (their own) nature. The Brahma Purana states that acting against both varna and ashrama (stage) , which together guide one's dharma, leads to hell. The Brahmanda Purana calls associations between low and high varnas signs of

1311-444: The Magas to be Mlechhas (lit. barbarians?) for not seeing anything objectionable in pursuing sexual relations within one's own family. Karma Prajnapti , dated to around the same time, repeats the observations of incest; Magas apparently held women as property of the commons — like cooked rice and pestle, roads and river banks, and fruits and flowers — whose sexuality was accessible to all. In Tarkajvālā (6th century CE), Bhāviveka notes

1368-592: The Magas to be perverted people from Persia: their religious doctrines exhibited similarities with Vedas, in that agamyā-gamana — illicit sex — was supported. Never were they held to be Brahmins. Bronkhorst sees no reason to doubt that the Buddhist texts were referring to the Magas. However, that the Magas are always held to be in the West of India proper, Jonathan Silk doubts that the Magas might not have followed such practices and they were merely — but reasonably — confused with

1425-576: The Persians. Varāhamihira 's (6th century CE) Bṛhat Saṃhitā mention the Magas; he himself might have been a Maga. In his Pañcasiddhāntikā, one "Year of Magas" mention 30 names of the "lords of degree of signs" — they are since understood to be a Saivite rendering of the list of Yazatas . Ptolemy's Geography (2nd century CE) noted a particular town to be inhabited by Maga Brahmins. Al-Biruni , an 11th-century Persian polymath, noted some Zoroastrians to have migrated to India where they were known as Magas and in

1482-525: The Rahit-namas and other prescriptive Sikh texts from mid-18th century onwards accommodate and affirm the "natal and marriage traditions of different caste groups within the Sikh community". Ravidassi Sikhs and Ramgarhia Sikhs follow their own textual and festive traditions, gather in their own places of worship. These are varan-based (caste-based) religious congregations that emerged from Sikhism, states Nesbitt. The Ravidassia group, for example, emphasizes

1539-503: The Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality". Ram Sharan Sharma states that "the Rig Vedic society was neither organized on the basis of social division of labour nor on that of differences in wealth ... [it] was primarily organised on the basis of kin, tribe and lineage." The Chandogya Upanishad indicates that a person's varna is determined on

1596-449: The Sikh Gurus and by non-Sikh Bhagats such as the Namdev , Ravidas and Kabir , states Nesbitt, declared the irrelevance of varan or zat of one's birth to one's spiritual destiny. They taught that "all of humanity had a single refuge" and that the divine teaching is for everyone. Sikhism teaches a society without any varan . In practice, states Harjot Oberoi, secondary Sikh texts such as

1653-523: The Varnas, he asks? The Mahabharata then declares, according to Alf Hiltebeitel , a professor of religion, "There is no distinction of Varnas. This whole universe is Brahman. It was created formerly by Brahma, came to be classified by acts." The Mahabharata thereafter recites a behavioural model for Varna, that those who were inclined to anger, pleasures and boldness attained the Kshatriya Varna; those who were inclined to cattle rearing and living off

1710-622: The Vedic era literature. Manusmriti assigns cattle rearing as Vaishya occupation but historical evidence shows that Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Shudras also owned and reared cattle and that cattle-wealth was mainstay of their households. Ramnarayan Rawat, a professor of History and specialising in social exclusion in the Indian subcontinent, states that 19th century British records show that Chamars , listed as untouchables, also owned land and cattle and were active agriculturalists. The emperors of Kosala and

1767-575: The back of Garuda and thus, the first Sun-temple was established in Sambapura. No further details about the Magas are provided in the Samba Purana but Bhavishya Purana continues to chronicle their afterlifein India, often in self-contradictory ways. Samba apparently arranged for the women of Bhojas (id. uncertain; might be the eponymous Kings of early medieval India) to be married to the Maga migrants; this went against

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1824-518: The banks of Chandrabhaga, where the Sun-God resided. There, he propitiated the Sun-God into appearing before himself and secured a cure but, in return, had to accept setting up a solar temple. While the temple was set up using an image received from the Sun-God himself, securing a priest for the temple proved difficult — Brahmins could not be recruited since such worshippers took the offerings for themselves and had to ran afoul of Manusmriti . At this juncture, Narada and Gauramukha suggested that Magas were

1881-410: The basis of their actions in their previous life. Among them, those who did good work in this world [in their past life] attain a good birth accordingly. They are born as a brāhmin, a kṣatriya, or a vaiśya. But those who did bad work in this world [in their past life] attain a bad birth accordingly, being born as a dog, a pig, or as a casteless person. The Vajrasuchi Upanishad , however, states that

1938-443: The content of their character, ethical intent, actions, innocence or ignorance, stipulations, and ritualistic behaviours. Olivelle states: Dumont is correct in his assessment that the ideology of varna is not based on purity. If it were we should expect to find at least some comment on the relative purity and impurity of the different vamas. What is even more important is that the ideology of purity and impurity that emerges from

1995-456: The discussion of varna as well as untouchable outcastes in these texts does not resemble the modern era caste system in India. Patrick Olivelle , a professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions and credited with modern translations of Vedic literature, Dharma-sutras and Dharma-shastras, states that ancient and medieval Indian texts do not support the ritual pollution, purity-impurity as the basis for varna system. According to Olivelle, purity-impurity

2052-614: The divine bird Garuda . The image of Surya explained that it was crafted in Shakadvipa itself, and eventually arrived at Mitravan. Much of the text is devoted to rituals associated with Sun worship. R.C. Hazra in his Studies in the Upapuranas dates Samba Purana between 650-850 CE. The text in Brāhmaparvan of the Bhavishya Purana is largely taken from the Samba Purana which is regarded to be older. An inscription of Saka 1059 (1137-38 CE)

2109-506: The duties are distributed according to the Gunas born of their own nature. The control of the mind and the senses, austerity, purity, forbearance, and also uprightness, knowledge, realisation, belief in a hereafter– these are the duties of the Brâhmanas, born of (their own) nature. Prowess, boldness, fortitude, dexterity, and also not flying from battle, generosity and sovereignty are the duties of

2166-404: The earlier narrative of bringing eighteen Maga "families". Later, it is claimed that eight of the migrant Magas were actually born of Mandagas and hence had to marry Dasas; their progenies were not Brahmins unlike those from the union with Bhojas. On the basis of terminological similarities in relevant Puranic verses with proto-Iranian roots and a common tradition of Sun worship, most scholars deem

2223-477: The earth, description of Surya and his attendants, construction of images of these deities, details of yoga , manners and customs, rites and rituals, recitations of mantras , and dāna (generosity). After the customary beginning in Chapter 1, the text consists the narrative of Krishna 's son Samba being infected by leprosy after being cursed by sage Durvasa , and subsequently being cured by worshipping Surya in

2280-472: The exogamous divisions of their community. Avarna Traditional ' Varṇa' ( Sanskrit : वर्ण , Hindi pronunciation: ['ʋəɾɳə] ), in the context of Hinduism , refers to a social class within a hierarchical traditional Hindu society. The ideology is epitomized in texts like Manusmriti , which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes their occupations, requirements and duties, or Dharma . This quadruple division

2337-540: The formal division into four social classes (without using the term varna ) appears in the late Rigvedic Purusha Sukta ( RV 10 .90.11–12), which has the Brahman, Rajanya (instead of Kshatriya), Vaishya and Shudra classes forming the mouth, arms, thighs and feet at the sacrifice of the primordial Purusha , respectively: 11. When they divided Purusa how many portions did they make? What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet? 12. The Brahman

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2394-438: The legend to reflect the migration of Magis of Persia — or some region under the influence of Persian cosmopolis — in multiple waves to India across years. Sambapura has been traditionally identified with Multan — and the temple with the eponymous institution — but there exists little evidence in support and Heinrich von Stietencron rejects the idea. Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra , a Buddhist text from Kashmir c. 2nd century C.E. notes

2451-406: The only classes fit for the task but neither knew about their location except to be far away from Dwarka. The Sun-God was consulted, who confirmed what Narada said and noted that the Magas, fluent in Vedas and His ideal worshippers, were to be found among the inhabitants of Sakdwipa, an entire creation of His own mirroring Jammudwipa. Subsequently, eighteen Maga families would travel across an ocean on

2508-644: The phenomenon of caste" in India. Ancient Buddhist texts mention Varna system in South Asia, but the details suggest that it was non-rigid, flexible, non-hierarchal, and with characteristics devoid of features of a social stratification system. Digha Nikaya provides a discussion between Gotama Buddha and a Hindu Brahmin named Sonadanda who was very learned in the Vedas . Gotama Buddha asks, "By how many qualities do Brahmins recognize another Brahmin? How would one declare truthfully and without falling into falsehood, "I am

2565-504: The plough attained the Vaishyas; those who were fond of violence, covetousness and impurity attained the Shudras. The Brahmin class is modelled in the epic, as the archetype default state of man dedicated to truth, austerity and pure conduct. Indeed, it goes on to assert that all men are children of Brahmins, which does not make sense, unless understood this way.In the Mahabharata and pre-medieval era Hindu texts, according to Hiltebeitel, "it

2622-507: The priestly function, and that the Brahmin took food from anyone, suggesting that strictures of commensality were as yet unknown. The Nikaya texts also imply that endogamy was not mandated in ancient India. Masefield concludes, "if any form of caste system was known during the Nikaya period - and it is doubtful that it was - this was in all probability restricted to certain non-Aryan groups". Ādi purāṇa , an 8th-century text of Jainism by Jinasena,

2679-429: The prince of Kasi are other examples. Tim Ingold , an anthropologist, writes that the Manusmriti is a highly schematic commentary on the varna system, but it too provides "models rather than descriptions". Susan Bayly states that Manusmriti and other scriptures helped elevate Brahmin in the social hierarchy and these were a factor in the making of the varna system, but the ancient texts did not in some way "create

2736-551: The relationship between varna and jati. According to Padmanabh Jaini , a professor of Indic studies, Jainism and Buddhism, the Adi purana text states "there is only one jati called manusyajati or the human caste, but divisions arise account of their different professions". The varna of Kshatriya arose when Rishabh procured weapons to serve the society and assumed the powers of a king, while Vaishya and Shudra varna arose from different means of livelihood in which they specialised. Sikhism

2793-412: The status of brahman is not based on birth, knowledge, or karma, but on the direct realisation of one's own Atman (inner self, soul). "Who indeed then is a Brahmana? He who has directly realized his Atman is without a second, devoid of class and actions[…] that exists penetrating all things that pervade everything. [He who] is devoid of the faults of thirst after worldly objects and passions… Whose mind

2850-719: The story of bringing the eighteen Maga Brahmins from Śākadvīpa by Samba and appointing them as the priests of the Surya temple in Mitravana. He is then told in chapter 27 that only the Maga Brahmins in Shakadvipa are capable of worshiping the idol of Surya. Samba then went to Shakadvipa and fetched Maga Brahmins to worship Surya. The Maga are described as reciting the Vedas in a mysterious way, they wear avayanga . They drink homa juice. Samba brought 18 families from Shakadvipa, flying on

2907-568: The teachings of Bhagat Ravidas – a poet-saint born in a family whose traditional untouchable occupation related to dead animals and leather. They consider the teachings of living Gurus and the texts of Ravidass Dera as sacred and spiritually as important as the historic Sikh Gurus. This is rejected by Khalsa Sikhs. The disagreements have led the Ravidassia Sikhs to launch the Ravidassia religion movement which, amongst other things seeks to replace

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2964-782: The temple constructed by him in Mitravana on the banks of the Chandrabhaga at what was Multan Sun Temple . This whole narrative is presented as a conversation between the king Brihadbala of Ikshvaku dynasty and the sage Vashishtha . In Chapter two, Samba, a son of Krishna was cursed to be afflicted by leprosy. In chapter 5, Samba was then advised by Narada to worship Surya. In Chapter 14, Samba engaged himself in tapas , meditating on Surya at Mitravan (identified by scholars as Multan ) which came to be called Sambapur. In chapter 16, Samba discovered an idol of Surya midstream in Chandrabhaga ( Chinab ) river. Chapters 26-27 of this text narrate

3021-684: The two [morality, wisdom]". Peter Masefield, a Buddhism scholar and ancient Pali texts translator, states that during the Nikāya texts period of Buddhism (3rd century BC to 5th century AD), Varna as a class system is attested, but the described Varna was not a caste system. The Pali texts enumerate the four Varnas Brahmin , "Kshatriya", Vessa (Vaishya) and Sudda (Shudra). Masefield notes that people in any Varna could in principle perform any profession. The early Buddhist texts, for instance, identify some Brahmins to be farmers and in other professions. The text state that anyone, of any birth, could perform

3078-600: Was discovered by Cunningham at Govindpur in the Nawada division of the Gaya district. It gives the account of Maga Brahmins being invited by Samba. The scholarly family of Gangadhar belonged to a clan of Maga Brahmins. The inscription confirms that the tradition existed before Saka 1059, confirming the antiquity of the text of Samba Purana. The Gaya region is a major center of the Shakadwipiya Brahmins who use local village names as

3135-678: Was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rajanya made. His thighs became the Vaishya, from his feet the Shudra was produced. Some modern indologists believe the Purusha Sukta to be a later addition, possibly as a charter myth . Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, a professor of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in

3192-954: Was not Persia (or some other territory, west of India) but a "mythico-geographical region" for classical Hindu authors, wherein prevailed the Brahmanical order of society for reasons unknown. Descendants of the Magi migrants of Persia staked a claim to this Brahminic space rather than their native place. By the Common Era , their claims would be accepted and serviced in the retrospective construction of Puranic legends. The Sakaldwipiya Brahmins of Rajasthan , Bihar , Odisha , Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are Ayurvedic physicians, priests and landholders. Samba Purana Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Samba Purana ( Sanskrit : साम्ब पुराण , Sāmba Purāṇa )

3249-537: Was visible in the descriptions of the Puranic episode and if at all, the Magas had popularized a pre-existing cult of solar worship. Bronkhorst remarks that even if the Magas had claimed descent from Persian priestly traditions, the Brahminic classes of India (Jambudvīpa) won't have easily accommodated foreigners at the highest echelons of society. On a comparison with Buddhist texts and secular records, he proposes that Sakadvipa

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