Varna-sankara

[Guest guest]

Dear scholars,

 

A translator of the Gita into Dutch has been

criticized for following a number of English

translators who give "unwanted children" or "unwanted

progeny" as the translation for varNa-saGkara in 1.41,

43. The critic states that the literal meaning of

"mixing of castes" must be preserved.

 

I think that a modern-day Gita could arguable use

"unwanted children" as an equivalent for "mixing of

castes." But perhaps not all unwanted children would

theoretically fit into the category of varna-sankara,

as the bastard son of an unmarried Brahmin couple

might still be considered a Brahmin (or perhaps

"brahma-bandhu"). Such offspring could lead to the

same kinds of negative social effects delineated by

Arjuna in his argument.

 

So I suppose my question is, "Can a brahma-bandhu or

other same caste bastards be considered varna-sankara?

And would this make "unwanted children" a legitimate

equivalent translation for "varna-sankara"?

 

Thanks,

 

Jan

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, "rkk" <rkk@N...> wrote:

>In fact it is very likely that transformation from

>varna system to caste system came about to a large extent

>because of inter-varna alliances. Look up a Sanskrit

>dictionary for words such as Kayastha, Modak , etc.

> Rajesh Kochhar

 

Dear Prof. Kochhar,

 

The formation of jAti (caste) is also based on the

concepts of purity and pollution. In the south

India, jAti hierarchy is founded along these lines.

 

G. L. Hart, Early Evidence for Caste in South India,

p. 467-492 in Dimensions of Social Life: Essays in honor of

David G. Mandelbaum, Edited by Paul Hockings

Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin, New York, Amsterdam, 1987.

http://tamil.berkeley.edu/Research/Articles/Caste2.pdf

 

Almost 100 years ago, a pioneering Tamil scholar

gave the reason why priests in the south left out meat consumption.

Meat consumption is seen among many Brahmins of the north.

http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9703&L=indology&P=R423

 

Regards,

N. Ganesan