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=== वर्गीकरणम् ॥ Classification ===

=== वर्गीकरणम् ॥ Classification ===

With guṇa and svabhava as the identifying factor, [[Bharatiya Samskrtika Parampara (भारतीयसांस्कृतिकपरम्परा)|Sanatana dharma texts]] have created four conceptual categories: brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra. [[Adi Shankaracharya (आदिशङ्कराचार्यः)|Adi Shankaracharya]], while commenting on Bhagavad Gita (4.13 & 18.41) says that brahmaṇa is a designation given to one in whom there is a predominance of sattva; kshatriya is one in whom there is both sattva and rajas, but rajas predominates; in vaishya, both rajas and tamas exist, but rajas predominates; and shudra is one in whom both rajas and tamas exist, but tamas predominates. These gunas are revealed by the natural temperaments and behavior exhibited by the person.<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>गुणकर्मविभागशः गुणविभागशः कर्मविभागशश्च। गुणाः सत्त्वरजस्तमांसि। तत्र सात्त्विकस्य सत्त्वप्रधानस्य ब्राह्मणस्य शमो दमस्तपः इत्यादीनि कर्माणि सत्त्वोपसर्जनरजः प्रधानस्य क्षत्रियस्य शौर्यतेजः प्रभृतीनि कर्माणि तमउपसर्जनरजः प्रधानस्य वैश्यस्य कृष्यादीनि कर्माणि रजउपसर्जनतमः प्रधानस्य शूद्रस्य शुश्रूषैव कर्म इत्येवं गुणकर्मविभागशः चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टम् इत्यर्थः। (भ.गी.४.१३-शाङ्करभाष्यम्)<ref name=":5" /></blockquote><blockquote>''guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ guṇavibhāgaśaḥ karmavibhāgaśaśca। guṇāḥ sattvarajastamāṁsi। tatra sāttvikasya sattvapradhānasya brāhmaṇasya śamo damastapaḥ ityādīni karmāṇi sattvopasarjanarajaḥ pradhānasya kṣatriyasya śauryatejaḥ prabhr̥tīni karmāṇi tamaupasarjanarajaḥ pradhānasya vaiśyasya kr̥ṣyādīni karmāṇi rajaupasarjanatamaḥ pradhānasya śūdrasya śuśrūṣaiva karma ityevaṁ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ cāturvarṇyaṁ mayā sr̥ṣṭam ityarthaḥ।'' </blockquote><blockquote>अथवा ब्राह्मणस्वभावस्य सत्त्वगुणः प्रभवः कारणम्, तथा क्षत्रियस्वभावस्य सत्त्वोपसर्जनं रजः प्रभवः, वैश्यस्वभावस्य तमउपसर्जनं रजः प्रभवः, शूद्रस्वभावस्य रजौपसर्जनं तमः प्रभवः, प्रशान्त्यैश्वर्येहामूढतास्वभावदर्शनात् चतुर्णाम् । (भ.गी.१८.४१-शाङ्करभाष्यम्) <ref>The Works of Sri Sankaracharya (Volume 12), The Bhagavad-Gita Bhashya ([https://archive.org/stream/BhagavadGitaBhashyaAdiSankara2/Bhagavad%20Gita%20Bhashya%20Adi%20Sankara%202#page/n245/mode/2up Volume 2]), Srirangam: Sri Vani Vilas Press.</ref></blockquote><blockquote>''athavā brāhmaṇasvabhāvasya sattvaguṇaḥ prabhavaḥ kāraṇam, tathā kṣatriyasvabhāvasya sattvopasarjanaṁ rajaḥ prabhavaḥ, vaiśyasvabhāvasya tamaupasarjanaṁ rajaḥ prabhavaḥ, śūdrasvabhāvasya rajaupasarjanaṁ tamaḥ prabhavaḥ, praśāntyaiśvaryehāmūḍhatāsvabhāvadarśanāt caturṇām ।''</blockquote>Elaborating on this, Bhagavata Purana (11.17.16-19), lists what temperaments and behavior indicates what varna designation is to be assigned to a person. It says: the control of mind and senses, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, tolerance, simple straightforwardness, devotion to the divine, mercy, and truthfulness are the natural qualities of the brahmanas; dynamic power, bodily strength, determination, heroism, forbearance, generosity, great endeavor, steadiness, devotion to the brahmanas and leadership are the natural qualities of the kshatriyas; belief in the divine and Vedas, dedication to charity, freedom from hypocrisy, service to the brahmanas and perpetually desiring to accumulate more money are the natural qualities of the vaishyas, service without duplicity to others, cows and deities and complete satisfaction with whatever income is obtained in such service, are the natural qualities of shudras.<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>शमो दमस्तपः शौचं संतोषः क्षांतिरार्जवम् । मद्‍भक्तिश्च दया सत्यं ब्रह्मप्रकृतयस्त्विमाः ॥ १६ ॥</blockquote><blockquote>तेजो बलं धृतिः शौर्यं तितिक्षौदार्यमुद्यमः । स्थैर्यं ब्रह्मण्यतैश्वर्यं क्षत्र प्रकृतयस्त्विमाः ॥ १७ ॥</blockquote><blockquote>आस्तिक्यं दाननिष्ठा च अदंभो ब्रह्मसेवनम् । अतुष्टिः अर्थोपचयैः वैश्य प्रकृतयस्त्विमाः ॥ १८ ॥</blockquote><blockquote>शुश्रूषणं द्विजगवां देवानां चापि अमायया । तत्र लब्धेन संतोषः शूद्र प्रकृतयस्त्विमाः ॥ १९ ॥<ref name=":6" /></blockquote><blockquote>''śamo damastapaḥ śaucaṁ saṁtoṣaḥ kṣāṁtirārjavam । mad‍bhaktiśca dayā satyaṁ brahmaprakr̥tayastvimāḥ ॥ 16 ॥''</blockquote><blockquote>''tejo balaṁ dhr̥tiḥ śauryaṁ titikṣaudāryamudyamaḥ । sthairyaṁ brahmaṇyataiśvaryaṁ kṣatra prakr̥tayastvimāḥ ॥ 17 ॥''</blockquote><blockquote>''āstikyaṁ dānaniṣṭhā ca adaṁbho brahmasevanam । atuṣṭiḥ arthopacayaiḥ vaiśya prakr̥tayastvimāḥ ॥ 18 ॥''</blockquote><blockquote>''śuśrūṣaṇaṁ dvijagavāṁ devānāṁ cāpi amāyayā । tatra labdhena saṁtoṣaḥ śūdra prakr̥tayastvimāḥ ॥ 19 ॥''</blockquote>Therefore, dharmic texts clearly give a wide framework by which people can be designated and classified according to their inherent temperaments. But, this four-fold classification is essentially a conceptual classification based on four ideal svabhava conditions (i.e. having a clear cut svabhava). For example, Manusmrti notes that there are only four varṇa and there is no fifth one.<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियो वैश्यस्त्रयो वर्णा द्विजातयः । चतुर्थ एकजातिस्तु शूद्रो नास्ति तु पञ्चमः । । १०.४ । ।<ref>Manusmrti, [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%83/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83 Adhyaya 10].</ref></blockquote><blockquote>''brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo vaiśyastrayo varṇā dvijātayaḥ । caturtha ekajātistu śūdro nāsti tu pañcamaḥ । । 10.4 । ।''</blockquote>Yet, it does note a number of sankara jatis with mixed svabhavas, which at a later stage became consolidated under “Pancama”. The point to note here is that these are not classifications intended to stratify the society at social level, but only an attempt at understanding different guna – svabhava of people. Thus, while the four-fold classification represents four ideal cases of clearly defined svabhavas based on interplay of gunas, people on the ground may have a svabhava which would be a combination of these four-primary svabhavas. Such combinations can be enormously huge, which would be impossible to either identify or classify, hence the Manu’s statement that there are only four varṇa-s. Therefore, the classification of varna may not always reflect a ground situation, especially in kaliyuga in general and at current times in particular, as society is stratified along caste, profession, etc. and the concept of guṇa and svadharma no longer drives the society.

With guṇa and svabhava as the identifying factor, [[Bharatiya Samskrtika Parampara (धार्मिकसांस्कृतिकपरम्परा)|Sanatana dharma texts]] have created four conceptual categories: brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra. [[Adi Shankaracharya (आदिशङ्कराचार्यः)|Adi Shankaracharya]], while commenting on Bhagavad Gita (4.13 & 18.41) says that brahmaṇa is a designation given to one in whom there is a predominance of sattva; kshatriya is one in whom there is both sattva and rajas, but rajas predominates; in vaishya, both rajas and tamas exist, but rajas predominates; and shudra is one in whom both rajas and tamas exist, but tamas predominates. These gunas are revealed by the natural temperaments and behavior exhibited by the person.<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>गुणकर्मविभागशः गुणविभागशः कर्मविभागशश्च। गुणाः सत्त्वरजस्तमांसि। तत्र सात्त्विकस्य सत्त्वप्रधानस्य ब्राह्मणस्य शमो दमस्तपः इत्यादीनि कर्माणि सत्त्वोपसर्जनरजः प्रधानस्य क्षत्रियस्य शौर्यतेजः प्रभृतीनि कर्माणि तमउपसर्जनरजः प्रधानस्य वैश्यस्य कृष्यादीनि कर्माणि रजउपसर्जनतमः प्रधानस्य शूद्रस्य शुश्रूषैव कर्म इत्येवं गुणकर्मविभागशः चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टम् इत्यर्थः। (भ.गी.४.१३-शाङ्करभाष्यम्)<ref name=":5" /></blockquote><blockquote>''guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ guṇavibhāgaśaḥ karmavibhāgaśaśca। guṇāḥ sattvarajastamāṁsi। tatra sāttvikasya sattvapradhānasya brāhmaṇasya śamo damastapaḥ ityādīni karmāṇi sattvopasarjanarajaḥ pradhānasya kṣatriyasya śauryatejaḥ prabhr̥tīni karmāṇi tamaupasarjanarajaḥ pradhānasya vaiśyasya kr̥ṣyādīni karmāṇi rajaupasarjanatamaḥ pradhānasya śūdrasya śuśrūṣaiva karma ityevaṁ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ cāturvarṇyaṁ mayā sr̥ṣṭam ityarthaḥ।'' </blockquote><blockquote>अथवा ब्राह्मणस्वभावस्य सत्त्वगुणः प्रभवः कारणम्, तथा क्षत्रियस्वभावस्य सत्त्वोपसर्जनं रजः प्रभवः, वैश्यस्वभावस्य तमउपसर्जनं रजः प्रभवः, शूद्रस्वभावस्य रजौपसर्जनं तमः प्रभवः, प्रशान्त्यैश्वर्येहामूढतास्वभावदर्शनात् चतुर्णाम् । (भ.गी.१८.४१-शाङ्करभाष्यम्) <ref>The Works of Sri Sankaracharya (Volume 12), The Bhagavad-Gita Bhashya ([https://archive.org/stream/BhagavadGitaBhashyaAdiSankara2/Bhagavad%20Gita%20Bhashya%20Adi%20Sankara%202#page/n245/mode/2up Volume 2]), Srirangam: Sri Vani Vilas Press.</ref></blockquote><blockquote>''athavā brāhmaṇasvabhāvasya sattvaguṇaḥ prabhavaḥ kāraṇam, tathā kṣatriyasvabhāvasya sattvopasarjanaṁ rajaḥ prabhavaḥ, vaiśyasvabhāvasya tamaupasarjanaṁ rajaḥ prabhavaḥ, śūdrasvabhāvasya rajaupasarjanaṁ tamaḥ prabhavaḥ, praśāntyaiśvaryehāmūḍhatāsvabhāvadarśanāt caturṇām ।''</blockquote>Elaborating on this, Bhagavata Purana (11.17.16-19), lists what temperaments and behavior indicates what varna designation is to be assigned to a person. It says: the control of mind and senses, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, tolerance, simple straightforwardness, devotion to the divine, mercy, and truthfulness are the natural qualities of the brahmanas; dynamic power, bodily strength, determination, heroism, forbearance, generosity, great endeavor, steadiness, devotion to the brahmanas and leadership are the natural qualities of the kshatriyas; belief in the divine and Vedas, dedication to charity, freedom from hypocrisy, service to the brahmanas and perpetually desiring to accumulate more money are the natural qualities of the vaishyas, service without duplicity to others, cows and deities and complete satisfaction with whatever income is obtained in such service, are the natural qualities of shudras.<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>शमो दमस्तपः शौचं संतोषः क्षांतिरार्जवम् । मद्‍भक्तिश्च दया सत्यं ब्रह्मप्रकृतयस्त्विमाः ॥ १६ ॥</blockquote><blockquote>तेजो बलं धृतिः शौर्यं तितिक्षौदार्यमुद्यमः । स्थैर्यं ब्रह्मण्यतैश्वर्यं क्षत्र प्रकृतयस्त्विमाः ॥ १७ ॥</blockquote><blockquote>आस्तिक्यं दाननिष्ठा च अदंभो ब्रह्मसेवनम् । अतुष्टिः अर्थोपचयैः वैश्य प्रकृतयस्त्विमाः ॥ १८ ॥</blockquote><blockquote>शुश्रूषणं द्विजगवां देवानां चापि अमायया । तत्र लब्धेन संतोषः शूद्र प्रकृतयस्त्विमाः ॥ १९ ॥<ref name=":6" /></blockquote><blockquote>''śamo damastapaḥ śaucaṁ saṁtoṣaḥ kṣāṁtirārjavam । mad‍bhaktiśca dayā satyaṁ brahmaprakr̥tayastvimāḥ ॥ 16 ॥''</blockquote><blockquote>''tejo balaṁ dhr̥tiḥ śauryaṁ titikṣaudāryamudyamaḥ । sthairyaṁ brahmaṇyataiśvaryaṁ kṣatra prakr̥tayastvimāḥ ॥ 17 ॥''</blockquote><blockquote>''āstikyaṁ dānaniṣṭhā ca adaṁbho brahmasevanam । atuṣṭiḥ arthopacayaiḥ vaiśya prakr̥tayastvimāḥ ॥ 18 ॥''</blockquote><blockquote>''śuśrūṣaṇaṁ dvijagavāṁ devānāṁ cāpi amāyayā । tatra labdhena saṁtoṣaḥ śūdra prakr̥tayastvimāḥ ॥ 19 ॥''</blockquote>Therefore, dharmic texts clearly give a wide framework by which people can be designated and classified according to their inherent temperaments. But, this four-fold classification is essentially a conceptual classification based on four ideal svabhava conditions (i.e. having a clear cut svabhava). For example, Manusmrti notes that there are only four varṇa and there is no fifth one.<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियो वैश्यस्त्रयो वर्णा द्विजातयः । चतुर्थ एकजातिस्तु शूद्रो नास्ति तु पञ्चमः । । १०.४ । ।<ref>Manusmrti, [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%83/%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83 Adhyaya 10].</ref></blockquote><blockquote>''brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo vaiśyastrayo varṇā dvijātayaḥ । caturtha ekajātistu śūdro nāsti tu pañcamaḥ । । 10.4 । ।''</blockquote>Yet, it does note a number of sankara jatis with mixed svabhavas, which at a later stage became consolidated under “Pancama”. The point to note here is that these are not classifications intended to stratify the society at social level, but only an attempt at understanding different guna – svabhava of people. Thus, while the four-fold classification represents four ideal cases of clearly defined svabhavas based on interplay of gunas, people on the ground may have a svabhava which would be a combination of these four-primary svabhavas. Such combinations can be enormously huge, which would be impossible to either identify or classify, hence the Manu’s statement that there are only four varṇa-s. Therefore, the classification of varna may not always reflect a ground situation, especially in kaliyuga in general and at current times in particular, as society is stratified along caste, profession, etc. and the concept of guṇa and svadharma no longer drives the society.

Nonetheless, this four-fold guṇa based varna and the assignment of ideal duties that a person with a particular svabhava must practice, will act as general guideline, which would not only help societies to evolve their own practical models according to their own unique social conditions, it will also help each individual to examine one’s own temperaments and inner leanings and compare and evaluate with respect to four-fold conceptual model and understand where he/she stands in life, such that people may choose their svadharma accordingly to attain material and adhyatmik success.<ref name=":2" />

Nonetheless, this four-fold guṇa based varna and the assignment of ideal duties that a person with a particular svabhava must practice, will act as general guideline, which would not only help societies to evolve their own practical models according to their own unique social conditions, it will also help each individual to examine one’s own temperaments and inner leanings and compare and evaluate with respect to four-fold conceptual model and understand where he/she stands in life, such that people may choose their svadharma accordingly to attain material and adhyatmik success.<ref name=":2" />