How do some Hindus interpret Rig Veda 10.90 as teaching equality and interdependence?

All four varnas come from one body, so each is needed and none can live without the others. Society is one living whole.

How has Rig Veda 10.90 been used to justify inequality?

Some have used the verse to rank people by birth, placing Shudras lowest. The caste system that grew from this denied many people dignity.

What is caste, and how does it cause inequality?

Caste (jati) is a hereditary social group into which a person is born. Caste discrimination has limited people's jobs, marriages, education and worship.

Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B 1RB0

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Hinduism: Equality

Hindu attitudes to equality and caste

3 things to know
Paper 3

Overview

The Purusha Sukta of Rig Veda 10.90 read for interdependence and for inequality, caste and the Dalits, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Gandhi and untouchability, remedies for inequality, and the British debate over caste law.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What do Hindus teach about equality?

Key term

What does Rig Veda 10.90, the Purusha Sukta, describe?

Key term

Which varna came from which part of Purusha in Rig Veda 10.90.12?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What do Hindus teach about equality?
Model answer
Hindus teach that all beings share the same divine atman and so have equal spiritual worth. Differences of birth, sex or wealth do not change this.
2
What does Rig Veda 10.90, the Purusha Sukta, describe?
Model answer
Rig Veda 10.90 describes the gods sacrificing Purusha, the cosmic person, to create the world. The four varnas came from different parts of Purusha's body.
3
Which varna came from which part of Purusha in Rig Veda 10.90.12?
Model answer
Brahmins came from the mouth, and Kshatriyas from the arms. Vaishyas came from the thighs, and Shudras from the feet.
4
How do some Hindus interpret Rig Veda 10.90 as teaching equality and interdependence?
Model answer
All four varnas come from one body, so each is needed and none can live without the others. Society is one living whole.
5
How has Rig Veda 10.90 been used to justify inequality?
Model answer
Some have used the verse to rank people by birth, placing Shudras lowest. The caste system that grew from this denied many people dignity.
6
What is caste, and how does it cause inequality?
Model answer
Caste (jati) is a hereditary social group into which a person is born. Caste discrimination has limited people's jobs, marriages, education and worship.

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