History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s1.55.1

v7.c96.s1.55.1

The mixture of castes (varṇasaṁkara)²⁶¹⁸ had gone so far even in the early ages that in the Vanaparva (180. 31-33) Yudhiṣṭhira is made to say that 'It is difficult to ascertain the caste of a person on account of the confusing mixture of *Varnas*, all men raise progeny from all sorts of women; therefore, those who are wise regard character as the principal and desirable matter' (q. in H. of Dh. vol II. p. 61 n. 149). The original scheme of varnas was natural and based on the work that men put in for the community as a whole. It was not based on birth. The ideas underlying the original varna system made the nearest approach towards a society in which there was no attempt to secure a competitive equality but in which the interest of all groups were regarded as identical. In Vedic times there were only classes and not castes in the modern sense. Even in the smrtis when many castes had arisen the greatest emphasis was laid on duties rather than on privileges and on high moral character and the value of the effort made by a man. It is therefore stated in the Gītā (IV. 13) that the system of four varnas was created on the basis of quality (or on the basis of *sattva*, *rajas* and *tamas*) and actions and (in XVIII 42-44) it specifies the qualities and actions required in the four varnas as an ideal, viz.