[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v1.c3.s1.212 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s1.212 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s1.212 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c3.s1.212](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s1.212) Ārya is the normal designation in the Vedic literature from the Rigveda¹ onwards of an Āryan, a member of the three upper classes, Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, or Vaiśya, as the formal division is given in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa.² The Ārya stands in opposition to the Dāsa,³ but also to the Śūdra. Sometimes⁴ the expression is restricted to the Vaiśya caste, the Brāhmaṇa and the Kṣatriya receiving special designations; but this use is not common, and it is often uncertain also whether Ārya is not meant. The phrase Śūdrāryau⁵ is especially ambiguous, but appears to have denoted originally the Śūdra and the Āryan, for in the Mahāvrata ceremony the fight between a Śūdra and an Ārya is represented in the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa as one between a Brāhmaṇa and a Śūdra, though the Sūtra treats it as a fight between a Vaiśya and a Śūdra. - [Previous: v1.c3.s1.211](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s1.211) - [Next: v1.c3.s1.213](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s1.213) - [Up: v1.c3.s1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s1) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s1.212](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s1.212) · Pramāṇa