Varna aur jati vyavastha kya thi?

Samaj samooh kyun banaata hai

Jaise-jaise koi sabhyata badhti hai, uska samaj jatil hota jaata hai, aur vo varg, pesha ya doosre aadhaaron pe samoohon mein sangathit hone lagta hai. 1st millennium BCE ke shehar ko shaasan aur prashaasan, dharm aur shiksha, vyapaar aur shehar ki yojana, kheti, shilp aur kalaaon ke liye log chahiye the. Har hunar seekhna kisi ek ke bas ki baat nahi, aur kai hunar seekhne mein saalon lagte hain, isliye alag-alag log alag kaamon mein maahir hote hain, aur ek hunar waale log ek samooh ban jaate hain jo agli peedhi ko sikhaata hai.

Mel ya asamaanta?

Aadarsh samaj mein ye saare samooh ek doosre ka saath dete aur mel se kaam karte. Asal mein, bantwaare aksar asamaanta laate hain: kuch samoohon ke paas doosron se zyaada daulat, taakat ya prabhaav aa jaata hai. Samaanta ek aadarsh hai jiski chaah insaani samaj lambe samay se rakhte aaye hain, par bahut kam, agar koi, use poori tarah paa sake hain.

Jati: samudaay aur pesha

Bharat mein samaj do-tarfa vyavastha mein sangathit tha. Pehla hissa jati tha, yaani ek samooh ya samudaay jiske sadasya kisi khaas pesha se jude the, jo unki rozi-roti se gehraai se juda tha. Jati ki pehchaan banaane waala hunar, chahe kheti, dhaatu ka kaam, vyapaar ya koi shilp ho, aam taur pe ek peedhi se agli peedhi tak jaata tha. Aksar ek jati aage sub-jatiyon mein bant jaati thi, aur har sub-jati ke apne reeti-rivaaz aur paramparaayein ban jaati thin, jaise shaadi, rasmon ya khaane ki aadaton ke baare mein.

Varna: Vedic granthon ke chaar samooh

Doosra hissa varna tha, ek vichaar jo Vedic granthon se nikla. Ismein chaar varna bataaye gaye. Brahmins gyaan ko sambhaalne aur phailaane, aur rasmein karne mein lage the. Kshatriyas se samaj aur zameen ki raksha karne, aur zaroorat pade to yuddh karne ki ummeed thi. Vaishyas ka kaam vyapaar, business ya kheti se samaj ki daulat badhaana tha. Shudras kaarigar, shilpkaar, kaamgaar ya sevak the.

‘Caste’ shabd kahan se aaya

Angrezi shabd caste Portuguese shabd casta se aaya hai. 16th century CE mein Bharat aaye Portuguese yaatriyon ne Bharatiya samaj ko samajhne ki koshish mein iska istemaal kiya. Scholars aaj bhi ise alag-alag tarah use karte hain: kuch ise varnon pe laagu karte hain, zyaadatar jatiyon pe, aur kuch poori varna-jati vyavastha pe.

Pehle lacheeli, baad mein sakht

Granthon aur shilaalekhon, dono se mile aitihaasik saboot dikhate hain ki shuruaati daur mein vyakti aur poore samudaay zaroorat padne pe pesha badal lete the. Lamba sookha ya koi praakritik aapda kisaanon ke samudaay ko shehar jaakar doosra kaam apnaane pe majboor kar sakti thi, aur kuch Brahmins ne vyapaar ya sainik kaam bhi apnaaya. Is jatil vyavastha ne samaj ko dhaancha diya aur uske kaamon, aarthik kaamon samet, ko sangathit kiya, jisse samaj ko kuch sthirta mili.

Par samay ke saath ye vyavastha sakht ho gayi. Isse asamaanta aayi, aur neechi jatiyon aur varna-jati vyavastha se baahar rakhe gaye samudaayon ke saath bhedbhaav hua; ye prakriya oonchi kakshaon mein padhi jaayegi. Scholars mote taur pe sahmat hain ki pehle ke daur mein ye vyavastha zyaada lacheeli thi aur samay ke saath, khaaskar British raaj mein, sakht hoti gayi. Ye Bharatiya samaj ka ek zaroori tantra raha, par akela nahi; doosre tantra aage ke chapters mein aayenge.

Ye kyun zaroori hai

Varna-jati vyavastha ne Bharatiya samaj pe gehra asar daala hai, aur ye samajhna ki ye kaise shuru hui aur kaise badli, hamein aaj samaanta ke baare mein sochne mein madad karta hai. Is daur ke shehar aur rajya mahajanapada kya the aur Second Urbanisation kya hai mein hain. Peshon waale Let’s Explore samet har sawaal ke jawaab Chapter 4 ke NCERT solutions mein hain; poore Chapter 4 ke notes bhi dekho.