Varnas Classification

Front

Varnas

Back

Social "classification"

Front

Did 'varnas' mean 'race'?

Back

No, it did not mean 'race'.

Front

1st varnas: Brahmins

What were they?

Back

Priests

Front

2nd varnas: Kshatriyas
(Pronounced KSHA-tree-uhz)

What were they?

Back

Warrior-administrators

(Go ahead and call Ms. Quinlan a Kshatriya when you see her!)

Front

3rd varna: Vaisya
(Pronounced VYSH-yuhz)

What were they?

Back

Regular people:
Workers, farmers, herdsmen
The majority of the population

Front

4th varna: Sudras
(Pronounced: SOO-druhz)

What were they?

Back

People who served the top three varnas:
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaisyas

Front

What was the caste system in Ancient India?

Back

What class you were born into (jati) also meant:

What jobs you could have
Who you could marry
Who you could be friends with

Front

What was the lowest caste - so impure that it was thought that they polluted the upper castes?

Back

Dalit

("Untouchables")

Front

What is Hinduism?

Back

The major Indian religious system, that started with the Aryans who settled in India after 1500 BCE.

Front

What is the Hindu practice that means "union"?

Back

Yoga