11-06-2007, 06:24 PM
Husky,
varNa = individual's tendencies, not heriditary
jAti = community, creed, 'caste', derived heriditarily/matrimonially
The context of Acharya Hajari Prasad's research is about jAti, and their evolution, development, relationships, and dynamics.
As you rightly said, varNa is individual and not related to birth as per the shAstra-s. so, <i><b>ideally</b></i>, someone from any jAti can have, or even attain over time, any varNa based upon individual's attributes. This is the point which so many of the instances go to show, some of which you have pointed above.
Difference of varNa and jAti are important to understand. This is because western and even largely prevailing present outlook confuses and mixes the two. Concept of jAti is almost universal, but not the concept of varNa.
Acharya Hajari Prasad wrote that in 1940-50s. vAngmaya kosha is collection of essays. He was trying to trace the memory about the origins and progress of jAti-s and what ancients (writers of purAna-s) thought about different jAti-s.
Also you are right, mlechchha was a community, with a language of their own. No derogatory sense in original context of the term - though subsequently it attained a derogatory meaning.
varNa = individual's tendencies, not heriditary
jAti = community, creed, 'caste', derived heriditarily/matrimonially
The context of Acharya Hajari Prasad's research is about jAti, and their evolution, development, relationships, and dynamics.
As you rightly said, varNa is individual and not related to birth as per the shAstra-s. so, <i><b>ideally</b></i>, someone from any jAti can have, or even attain over time, any varNa based upon individual's attributes. This is the point which so many of the instances go to show, some of which you have pointed above.
Difference of varNa and jAti are important to understand. This is because western and even largely prevailing present outlook confuses and mixes the two. Concept of jAti is almost universal, but not the concept of varNa.
Acharya Hajari Prasad wrote that in 1940-50s. vAngmaya kosha is collection of essays. He was trying to trace the memory about the origins and progress of jAti-s and what ancients (writers of purAna-s) thought about different jAti-s.
Also you are right, mlechchha was a community, with a language of their own. No derogatory sense in original context of the term - though subsequently it attained a derogatory meaning.