INDIAN SOCIETY DIVIDES There were four main groups, called varnas.
The Brahmins (BRAH-muhns)
were priests and were the highest ranking varna. The Kshatriyas (KSHA-tree-uhs) were rulers or warriors. The Vaisyas (VYSH-yuhs) were commoners, including farmers, craftspeople, and traders.
Who was known as the priestly class?
The Hebrew Bible distinguishes among three groups:
the kohanim
, the top priestly class; the levites, who assisted the priests in the temple; and the general population, the Israelites.
The caste system divides Hindus into four main categories –
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras
. Many believe that the groups originated from Brahma, the Hindu God of creation.
Which is the highest or priestly caste in Indian society?
The highest of all the castes, and traditionally priests or teachers,
Brahmins
make up a small part of the Indian population. The British colonial authorities gave Brahmins influential clerical jobs. They now dominate the key positions in science, business and government.
Are Brahmins pure?
These two tribes or castes of the Hindus, namely that of the Brahmins and that of the warriors, are
considered pure descendants of the Caucasian lineage of the human species
.
What is the religion of Brahmin?
A Brahmin is a member of the highest caste or varna in
Hinduism
. The Brahmins are the caste from which Hindu priests are drawn, and are responsible for teaching and maintaining sacred knowledge.
Which caste is powerful in India?
Kshatriyas
:
Next to Brahmans are the Kshatriyas in varna ranking. They comprise very powerful castes as they are traditionally warriors and play a major role in defence.
Which caste is smallest?
The lowest caste was
the Dalits, the untouchables
, who handled meat and waste, though there is some debate over whether this class existed in antiquity.
What are the 5 castes in India?
- Brahmins: the priestly caste. After their religious role decreased they became the caste of officialdom.
- Kshatriya: warrior caste. …
- Vaisya: the commoner caste. …
- Sudras: represented the great bulk of the Indian population. …
- Untouchables: descendants of slaves or prisoners.
Which caste is richest in India?
- Sikh. …
- Kayasth. …
- Brahmin. …
- Banias. …
- Punjabi Khatri. …
- Sindhi. …
- Rajput. The Rajput group is typical of India’s ancient warrior or Kshatriya category. …
- Christians. Christianity is the country’s wealthiest faith.
Which caste is largest in India?
Share of caste demographics India 2019
The formation of these groups is a result of the historical social structure of the country. As of 2019,
Other Backward Class (OBC)
constituted the largest part of the Indian population accounting for more than 40 percent.
Which is the lowest caste in India?
Dalit
(from Sanskrit: दलित, romanized: dalita meaning “broken/scattered”, Hindi: दलित, romanized: dalit, same meaning) is a name for people belonging to the lowest caste in India, previously characterised as “untouchable”.
What race is Brahmin?
This usage of Drâvida did not refer to race since the southern Brahmins were also presumably Aryans, but rather identified the southern Brahmins as a
sub-branch of the Indo-Aryans
, who were called Drâvida due to their geographical location.
Who are pure Brahmins?
A TRUE Brahmin is one who has acquired brahminhood not by birth but through his noble actions.
He who has gained Supreme Self-knowledge
is a Brahmin. … People dedicated to such vocations were technically classified as Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras, possessing equal status in society.
Who are the top Brahmins?
The seven major Brahmin Gotras take the names of the saints whose lineages they represent:
Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Bhradwaja, Gautama, Atri, Vasishta and Kashyapa
.
Is Sharma a Brahmin?
Sharma is
a Brahmin Hindu surname in India
and Nepal. The Sanskrit stem ṣárman- (nom. sarma) can mean ‘joyfulness’, ‘comfort’, ‘happiness’. … According to Vabisya Purana, Sensharma or Sharma is the first Brahmin surname.
