Varnashrama Dharma Research Paper

The Varnashrama Dharma is central to the understanding of the Manusmriti. One of the meanings of Varna is colour and it was used to denote groups having different skin colouration. Aryans were fair-skinned while the Dravidians were dark-skinned. Those who had white or a fair complexion were considered to be part of the Brahmins, red belonged to Kshatriyas, yellow to Vaishyas and black to Shudras. Other aspects of varna were species, kind, character, nature, solidarity of the race, tribe and family. It was also believed that the divisions could have been on the basis of religious beliefs, cult practices or even eating habits. The primary theory is that the varnas were based on the Purushasukta in distributing mankind into four socially separate …show more content…
The observation that the varna system created harsh inequalities and vertical class hierarchies is obvious without discussing the Manusmriti in detail and by simply talking about the system of Dwija or twice-born which was a basic fact of the varna system. Except the Shudras, the other three varnas were twice-born which means that after a birth, the other three varnas are born again with the investiture with the sacred thread which was the symbol of a child’s admittance to membership in his …show more content…
It’s a classic case of institutionalisation of the oppression of who were considered to be the lower castes by the higher castes. In the case of defamation of a Brahmin, the Kshatriya and Vaishya will have to pay monetary fines while the Shudra will receive corporal punishment. If a verbal offence is committed by a twice-born man against another, the fine will be monetary. However, a Shudra may have his tongue cut out or red-hot iron nails thrust into his mouth or hot oil poured into his mouth and ears depending on the specifics of the verbal assault and the person to whom he was