Hindu Media WikiProof of hereditary caste system in Vedas OR Ramayana and Mahabharata Mahabharata Ramayana Varna
Their is a claim that initially in Vedic Hindu society caste was not hereditary and it was based on the characteristics and gunas and professions etc. And it was only stratified to being hereditary since 1000 BC or so by Brahmanical forces to oppress society. They say Smritis are products of this and therefore are not authority on caste being hereditary. And they say the caste description of Purusha Sukta is only metaphorical of various parts of society functioning in harmony. This is the "neo Hindu" narrative.
But tradition seems to disagree. Tradition holds that caste always has been hereditary. Even though there's a saying, Janmaat jayate Shudraha, the traditional take is that, this is said to impress upon the importance of rightful living and rituals without which a person falls off his caste. The traditional claim is caste is not completely hereditary but there is a necessary hereditary component for caste.
The fact that Hindus have a Gotra system which is hereditary itself is an implicit proof for caste being hereditary. But I'm more interested in references of caste being hereditary in Vedas and Ramayana and Mahabharata as these epics must have happened before 1000 BC where the claim is made by modernizers that caste was made hereditary.
So my question is what are references and proofs in Vedas and Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata) of caste being hereditary?
2Answers
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Short answer to your question is yes caste is hereditary as per Hindu scriptures whether Veidic or itihasas.
I) FROM VEIDIC LITERATURE:
Chhandogya Upanishad 5.10.7 - Those whose conduct has been good here will shortly get birth such as a Brahmana (brahmana yonim), a kshatriya, or a vaishya. But those whose conduct has been evil will be born in evil births shortly such as the birth of a dog (shva yonim), or as a pig, or a chandala.
The word used is "yonim", and it means birth or womb, and is used to refer to birth as a dog (shva), and pig, and since it's also used along with the names of castes, it must be taken to mean that one is born into those castes just like animals, so it doesn't merely mean being born as a person with Brahmanical qualities. It means being born into the womb (yoni) of a Brahmin, and a person born into such a womb naturally acquires Brahminical qualities due to gene transfer.
Maitrayani Samhita 1.4.1 - We know not if we are brahmins or non-Brahmins. ...Therefore, when recounting our gotra-pravaras, say that the devas are our fathers.
This verse from the Maitrayani shakha of the Krishna Yajur Veda is referred to in Jaimini's Mimamsa Sutras, and commented on by Shabara swami. The sutra reads:
On account of the failings of women, (there can be no certainty regarding one's caste); specially as the son belongs to the progenitor.
This sutra is based on the Maitrayani samhita verse. Shabara comments on the sutra as follows:
The meaning of the eulogistic passage is that even a non-Brahmana would become a Brahmana by the recounting of his pravaras [meaning a non-Brahmana can claim he is a Brahmana by recounting Brahmanical gotra pravaras, and hence it is necessary for the Brahmana to also recount his pravaras, as one can never be sure of one's Brahmanahood]. It is difficult to know if one is really a Brahmana; - and this is what is figuratively spoken of as 'we do not know'; and the difficulty in knowing it for certain is due to the 'failings of women'.
This vedic verse shows that caste is determined by gotra pravaras (ancestral lineages), and hence caste is inherited and based on birth. Before I begin my next point it must be noted that in the Krishna Yajur Veda Taitreya Samhita Khand 2 Prapatakha 10 Anuvak slok 2 states clearly whatever is stated in Manusmriti must be strictly followed.
II) FROM SMRITI AND ITIHASAS:
The Bhagvad Gita is a part of the Mahabharata Bhisma Parva, in the very first chapter of the Bhagvad Gita in verse 41 Arjun talks about Varnasankar and states they are born when women become immoral (the concept of Varnasankar has been ordained in the Manusmriti Chapter 10 clearly as children born out of union between parents belonging to different castes and here castes have been clearly stated to be Bramhan Kshatriya Vaishya and Shudra).
Shri Ramanujacharya while commenting on Bhagvad Gita 18 Chapter verse 41 states clearly that Varna is birth based. It is also stated in Mahabharata Adi Parva Chapter 296 that children born to rishis always take up Varna of their father alone.
The most distinct example of caste being hereditary is in the Bhagvad Gita Chapter 9 verse 32 which clearly states those who are born in pap yoni such as the Vaishya and Shudra can be purified through worship of the lord which clearly implies caste or Varna is birth based.
Suta group referred to children of Brahmin mothers and Vaishya fathers.
Shravana Kumara killed by Dasharatha was a rishi born of an intercaste marriage.
The Vedic sage Satyakama is known after his mother because she didn't know who the father was...