When modern minds hear the word “caste,” they imagine a rigid, oppressive structure where people were judged by birth and denied dignity. Words like “untouchable” have been projected back onto India’s antiquity, as if the Vedas, Upanishads, and epics described such cruelty. Yet the more one reads the original Sanskrit texts, the clearer it becomes: ancient India never knew untouchability. People were categorized not by parentage but by guna (qualities) and karma (actions, professions). The rigid caste-by-birth and the practice of untouchability were later distortions, becoming prominent only in medieval India and hardened under colonial manipulation.
The Foundation: Varna as Guna and Karma
The Bhagavad Gita (4.13) gives us the foundation:
“Chāturvarṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ”
— “The fourfold order was created by Me, according to division of qualities (guna) and work (karma).”
This verse is crucial because it clearly separates varna from birth. The classification was psychological and functional, not hereditary. Each varna represented a natural orientation:
●Brahmana (sattva-dominant): seekers of knowledge, teachers, priests.
●Kshatriya (rajas with sattva): protectors, rulers, warriors.
●Vaishya (rajas with tamas): wealth creators, farmers, merchants.
●Shudra (tamas with rajas): artisans, laborers, service providers.
The system was no different from how modern society distinguishes doctors, engineers, farmers, artists, and administrators. It was a division of labor ensuring harmony, not hierarchy.
Even the Manusmṛti, much maligned in modern discussions, admits fluidity of varna:
●Manusmṛti 10.64: “Śūdro brāhmaṇatām eti brāhmaṇaḥ śūdratāṁ vrajet” — “A Shudra may attain Brahmanahood, and a Brahmana may fall to the state of a Shudra.”
●Manusmṛti 10.65: “Sarveṣām eva varṇānām brāhmaṇo gurur ucyate” — yet elsewhere it records that people can move between varnas through guna and karma.
Thus, in theory and in practice, varna was never frozen by heredity.
Upanishadic Examples: Purity Beyond Birth
One of the most celebrated stories in the Chandogya Upanishad (4.4) is that of Satyakama Jabala. When he sought to become a student of Rishi Gautama, he confessed he did not know his father; his mother had served many people. Gautama replied: “You speak the truth. None but a Brahmana can be so truthful. I shall initiate you.” Satyakama became a great seer and teacher.
Here, the test was truthfulness — a guna. Not lineage, not ritual purity. This shows that ancient India valued virtue over birth, rejecting any notion of untouchability.
Epics as Living Proof:->
Shabari and Rama (Ramayana, Aranya Kanda)
The Ramayana contains the famous story of Shabari, a tribal woman who awaited Rama. She tasted berries before offering them, fearing they may be sour. Rama ate them with love. If untouchability existed, a Kshatriya prince — later revered as Vishnu Himself — would never have accepted food already tasted by a so-called “low-born” woman. This is living proof that the concept of food-pollution and “low birth” was absent in the Ramayana age.
Vidura and Krishna (Mahabharata)
Vidura, born to sage Vyasa and a Shudra maid, was the wisest minister of Hastinapura. When Krishna came as an emissary, Duryodhana offered Him a royal feast. Krishna declined it and instead ate at Vidura’s home — simple food prepared with devotion. The Supreme God in human form preferred the hospitality of a man considered “low-born” by later society. This story was preserved to demonstrate devotion above caste.
Draupadi and the Food of the Poor
In the Mahabharata, when Draupadi invoked Krishna for help, He satisfied Himself with a single grain of rice left over in her vessel, and through it the Pandavas were protected. The vessel was filled with food cooked by ordinary servants. If food touched by a Shudra were considered “impure,” the story would have been impossible.
Great Rishis and Saints from Humble Origins
*Valmiki: Originally a hunter, later became a sage and composed the Ramayana. He is revered as Adi Kavi (the first poet), the inventor of the śloka meter.
*Vyasa: Son of sage Parashara and Satyavati, a fisherwoman. He compiled the Vedas, wrote the Mahabharata, and authored the Puranas.
*Nandanar: A Shaivite saint from the Pulaya community, became one of the 63 Nayanmars of Tamil Nadu. His songs are still sung in temples.
*Thiruppaan Alvar: From a community considered “untouchable” in later centuries, but revered as one of the 12 Alvars. He was carried on the shoulders of a Brahmana into the Srirangam temple — showing bhakti transcended social boundaries.
These figures prove that genius and saintliness could arise from any background. Society honored them not for lineage but for guna and karma.
Shared Food and Ritual Inclusion
The Shatapatha Brahmana (1.1.4.10) records yajnas where food offerings were distributed to all present. The act of eating yajna-prasada was not restricted by caste in early Vedic ritual. Later texts introducing exclusions belong to a much later stage of social rigidity.
The Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva, 165.38) records Bhishma telling Yudhishthira: “If a Shudra serves with devotion, the gods accept his offerings as well.” Devotion sanctified food, not birth.
The Vishnu Purana (2.16.19) confirms: “Whatever is offered with devotion, even by a Chandala, becomes holy.”
Kings of Low Origin Who Became Emperors
*Mahapadma Nanda (4th century BCE): Described in the Puranas as of “low birth,” perhaps from a barber community, yet founded the Nanda dynasty of Magadha.
*Chandragupta Maurya (3rd century BCE): Described in Buddhist texts as from a Moriya clan of peacock-tamers, not from a Kshatriya royal family, yet became emperor with Chanakya’s guidance.
*Shivaji Maharaj (17th century): Though later orthodoxy tried to deny him Kshatriya status, his leadership and courage established the Maratha empire.
These examples show that varna was not fixed by birth even in rulership. A person of courage and guna could become Kshatriya and king.
The Necessity of Guna-Based Division
Why was this guna-based division necessary? The ancients understood that society needs specialization. If everyone tries to do everything, society collapses. Some people are naturally inclined towards contemplation (sattva), some towards leadership (rajas), some towards trade (rajas-tamas), and some towards craft and service (tamas-rajas).
This was never about superiority but about functional harmony. Just as today a society cannot function if all are soldiers and none are doctors, ancient India required different varnas to balance civilization. The system was dynamic — a person could rise or fall depending on guna and karma.
The Historical Rise of Untouchability
Untouchability, as a rigid system of exclusion, does not appear in Vedas, Upanishads, or even the core of the epics. Its origins are much later:
Post-Gupta Era (c. 6th–10th century): Smritis and Puranic texts began adding more rules about purity and food. These may have been responses to social stresses of invasions and cultural mixing.
Late 16th Century (North India): Under Mughal feudalism, as political instability grew, Brahmanical groups began tightening social codes to preserve authority. The seeds of birth-based immobility strengthened here.
18th Century (South India): Under Nayaka rulers and later colonial intervention, rigid caste and untouchability spread in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Colonial censuses froze jatis into castes, making hereditary identity permanent.
British Reinforcement (19th Century): The British codified “caste” in administration and law, deepening divisions that were earlier flexible.
Thus, untouchability is not a Vedic institution but a late distortion, solidified by power struggles and colonial policies.
Innovation Through Mixed Gunas
Because varna was originally open, India produced extraordinary figures from diverse backgrounds:
*Valmiki (hunter → sage) invented poetry.
Vyasa (fisherwoman’s son → rishi) gave us the Mahabharata.
*Satyakama (unknown parentage → teacher) embodied truth.
*Shabari (tribal woman) offered fruits to Rama.
*Vidura (Shudra-born) became Krishna’s beloved host.
Each of these stands as a testimony that when society honored guna and karma, creativity flourished.