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Hinduism: Religious Life and Moral Principles

Varnashramadharma: the four varnas and four ashramas

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

Term Varnashramadharma, four varnas and state the work traditionally assigned to each and brahmacharya ashrama.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Name the four varnas and state the work traditionally assigned to each.

Key term

Which varnas are called twice-born, and what makes them so?

Key term

Distinguish varna from jati.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What account of the origin of the four varnas is given in the Purusha Sukta at Rig Veda 10:90 11-12?

    Model answer

    The hymn describes the sacrifice of the cosmic person, from whose mouth came the brahmana, from whose arms the kshatriya, from whose thighs the vaishya and from whose feet the sudra.

  2. 2

    What does the term Varnashramadharma mean?

    Model answer

    It means the duty that belongs to a person according to their varna and their stage of life; it is sometimes given as Caturvarnashramadharma, since catur means four.

  3. 3

    Name the four varnas and state the work traditionally assigned to each.

    Model answer

    Brahmanas study and teach the sacred texts and perform ritual, kshatriyas rule and protect, vaishyas trade, farm and keep cattle, and sudras serve and labour for the other three.

  4. 4

    Which varnas are called twice-born, and what makes them so?

    Model answer

    Brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas are called twice-born, because the boys of these varnas traditionally receive the sacred thread at the upanayana ceremony, which counts as a second birth into religious study.

  5. 5

    Distinguish varna from jati.

    Model answer

    Varna is the fourfold scheme set out in the texts, while jati is the lived reality of several thousand birth communities, each with its own occupation, customs and marriage rules, and it is jati rather than varna that governs everyday social life.

  6. 6

    Describe the brahmacharya ashrama.

    Model answer

    It is the student stage, in which a young person lives celibately with a teacher, studies the sacred texts and learns self-discipline.

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