Guest guest Posted October 7, 2002 Report Share Posted October 7, 2002 There is a difference between varna division and jnati (nyat or biradari) division. Varna division has ceased to exist in any meaningful sense. However the jnatis exist and are important. Unfortunately the terms "caste" and "jati" have been used for both. A jnati is an endogamous group, usually composed of some exogamous groups (often termed gotras). Examples of a jnati are Agrawal Deshastha brahmins Jats Srivastava kayasthas etc. Jnatis appear to be static over a short period of time, but long term observations show that they can sometimes divide into sub-jnatis, or coalesce into super-jnatis. In the past there has been extensive debate on the varna kayasthas belong to. A few cases had gone to court during the british period. They apparently did not fit any of the four varnas (like quite a few other groups as well), and thus were considered varna-sankaras. Several dharma-shastras give the origin of specific varna-sankaras, however the explanations often differ. The supposed origin of varna- sankaras appears to be largely speculation. The four-fold division, even when it did describe the society, did not work perfectly. It is my guess that kayasthas were occupational groups, in some cases even brahmins served as kayasthas. Yashwant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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