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Varṇa

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Introduction

Varna (not to be confused with jati “caste”), an ancient Indian system also known as Varna Vyavastha, classifies people in the Indian society; and it has various implications: social, political, ethical, and economical [15]. Etymologically, this Sanskrit word has been derived from the verbal root vr, which means “to cover, and to envelop,” and further derivation suggests meanings such as “kind, character, sort, and quality [7, 11].” The Rig Veda also provides some associative meanings, e.g., “tribe, class of men” that refers to the division between Dasa and Arya [10]. In Sanskrit, Varna is an ambiguous word: the literal meaning is “color,” and the contextual meaning here is “attributes.” Unlike European countries and the United States, this classification has nothing to do with color of the human skin or races; therefore, one shall not be misguided and confused it with “racism [22].”

Some Indian scholars and historians believe that this system has a scientific basis so...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Humanities & Social Sciences – Languages & Literature, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi

Authors
  1. Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi
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Correspondence to Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Dwivedi, A.V. (2018). Varṇa. In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_103-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_103-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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