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Social Pyramid
Social class system is a group of terms and concepts followed to incorporate social sciences and political theories in the society centered widely for social stratification. People used to be divided and grouped into a properly managed set of hierarchies’ social categories. This system was widely spread in the world for many centuries.
Even India was immensely influenced by the social class division system. In actual practice, India once used to be referred to as a class society country. Some people were considered superior while some inferior. Ancient India social hierarchy was broadly divided in four major categories and these were:
Definitions
Brahmins – Well this group of people were categorized on the top of the ancient Indian social hierarchy. These were not the most rich or powerful people of the time but were very respectful and prestigious people. Even the kings used to listen to the Brahmins.
These people were engaged in attaining the highest spiritual knowledge and adhered to different branches of Vedas, the holy books of India. Being a Brahmin was described to be a difficult path of discipline of body, mind, and intellect.
Kshatriyas / Rajputs – The next level in the ancient Indian social hierarchy is of Kshatriyas or Rajputs. Kshatriya basically means a warrior. They were the people who used to be the king and belonged to royal families normally.
Being a Kshatriya or a Rajput was considered to be a matter of respect and proud. Bravery was the perfect word to describe these people. The Rajputs eventually came to occupy the place in society of the Kshatriyas. They possessed special rights and powers in the society. This class was the governing body of the society and protection of the society was their duty.
Vaisyas – Vaisyas are the next level in the ancient Indian social hierarchy. According to the Hindu mythology, the Vaisyas are required to rear cattle and perform the productive labor, pastoral tasks, trade and agriculture. This class includes the common people. They were provided with little rights of their own.
Shudras – This was the lowest class of the ancient Indian social hierarchy. Eating anything or talking to these people was prohibited in the society to people of other classes. These people acted and worked as servants to the other three classes. These people were provided with very little or almost no rights and power of their own.
These people were engaged in attaining the highest spiritual knowledge and adhered to different branches of Vedas, the holy books of India. Being a Brahmin was described to be a difficult path of discipline of body, mind, and intellect.
Kshatriyas / Rajputs – The next level in the ancient Indian social hierarchy is of Kshatriyas or Rajputs. Kshatriya basically means a warrior. They were the people who used to be the king and belonged to royal families normally.
Being a Kshatriya or a Rajput was considered to be a matter of respect and proud. Bravery was the perfect word to describe these people. The Rajputs eventually came to occupy the place in society of the Kshatriyas. They possessed special rights and powers in the society. This class was the governing body of the society and protection of the society was their duty.
Vaisyas – Vaisyas are the next level in the ancient Indian social hierarchy. According to the Hindu mythology, the Vaisyas are required to rear cattle and perform the productive labor, pastoral tasks, trade and agriculture. This class includes the common people. They were provided with little rights of their own.
Shudras – This was the lowest class of the ancient Indian social hierarchy. Eating anything or talking to these people was prohibited in the society to people of other classes. These people acted and worked as servants to the other three classes. These people were provided with very little or almost no rights and power of their own.
Trading
Ancient India is often called the Harappan Civilization because one of the ancient cities was called Harappa. Harappa was just one of 1500 cities in the Indus River Valley. Another well-known city is called Mohenjo-Daro. Historians estimate Ancient India to be the biggest of all four early civilizations. This civilization was not discovered until the 1920’s CE, and much of this civilization remains a mystery. One reason the Indus Valley civilization is so mysterious is because historians have not been able to translate their complicated written language called Indus Script. There are thousands of artifacts with 400-600 different written symbols. Most of these symbols were pressed into soft clay with seals. A seal is similar to a stamp that makes an impression in the soft clay. Seals are sometimes in a cylinder shape so they can be rolled on the clay. Indus Script symbols have been discovered in Mesopotamia, which suggests they maintained a regular trade.
Vedic Period
round 1500 BCE, Indo-European people migrated to India. These people came from the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea (purple on the map on the left). Between 4000 and 1000 BCE, Indo-Europeans migrated all over Europe and Asia. Some went to Europe and influenced the Romans and the Greeks; some settled in Turkey and became the Hittites, others migrated southeast instead. Some stopped in Iran, later becoming Persian, while others continued southeast to Pakistan and India. The slow migration did not arrive in northern India until about 1500 BCE. In India, the Indo-Europeans are sometimes called the Aryans.
Some people have disputed this arrival of the Indo-Europeans, however, the spoken language that these Indo-European people brought to India, recorded in Sanskrit, is very similar to other Indo-European languages such as Greek and Latin. There are many examples of similar words between the languages spoken in these areas. In addition, some DNA evidence supports the arrival of the Indo-Europeans to these regions. However, this is a theory of history that some historians don’t agree with.![Hindu religious writing called the Vedas](https://sites.google.com/site/1ancientcivilizationsforkids/_/rsrc/1353422300326/ancient-india/Screen%20Shot%202012-11-20%20at%209.36.31%20AM.png?height=198&width=400)
In addition to their spoken language, the Indo-Europeans brought their religious beliefs with them to India. The story and beliefs of Hinduism were recorded in a collection of stories and songs called the Vedas. There are many historians that believe the Hindu religion actually began in the Indus River Valley civilization. The Vedas were first written down in a language called Sanskrit. Sanskrit was a spoken language that was written down in different writing systems that developed later on such as Devanagari--the early form of Hindi (picture on right), India's main language today. Indo-Europeans also brought the domesticated horse into South Asia—this suggests the Indo-Europeans were at least semi-nomadic.
Some people have disputed this arrival of the Indo-Europeans, however, the spoken language that these Indo-European people brought to India, recorded in Sanskrit, is very similar to other Indo-European languages such as Greek and Latin. There are many examples of similar words between the languages spoken in these areas. In addition, some DNA evidence supports the arrival of the Indo-Europeans to these regions. However, this is a theory of history that some historians don’t agree with.
![Hindu religious writing called the Vedas](https://sites.google.com/site/1ancientcivilizationsforkids/_/rsrc/1353422300326/ancient-india/Screen%20Shot%202012-11-20%20at%209.36.31%20AM.png?height=198&width=400)
In addition to their spoken language, the Indo-Europeans brought their religious beliefs with them to India. The story and beliefs of Hinduism were recorded in a collection of stories and songs called the Vedas. There are many historians that believe the Hindu religion actually began in the Indus River Valley civilization. The Vedas were first written down in a language called Sanskrit. Sanskrit was a spoken language that was written down in different writing systems that developed later on such as Devanagari--the early form of Hindi (picture on right), India's main language today. Indo-Europeans also brought the domesticated horse into South Asia—this suggests the Indo-Europeans were at least semi-nomadic.