The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c16.s1.t4.6

c16.s1.t4.6

Now, communally speaking, the *prakriti* or members of a society naturally fall into economic and professional groups, classes or orders, the so-called castes of India. The alleged classification of a society into four occupational groups, e. g. Brâhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, etc., is however a conventional myth, at best, a legal fiction. Students of *Realpolitik* like Śukra² are aware that the actual number of these orders or castes is "unlimited". The reason, as may be guessed, is stated in the *Śukra-nîti* to be the “intermixture of blood through marriages”. These orders of *prajâ* or classes of members of the state are known as *varṇas*¹ i. e. colors, probably designated after some typical (or hypothetical?) ethnic complexion. Further, from the standpoint of the individual, we have to notice that people pass through well-marked physiological stages, e. g. infancy, adolescence, etc. These stages or periods of life in every person are called the *âśramas*.² They are arbitrarily known to be four in the span of human existence.