z:\ ambedkar\vol 04\vol4 05.indd MK SJ DK YS 23 9 2013/YS 8 11 2013 215
RIDDLE NO. 18
MANU’S MADNESS OR THE BRAHMANIC EXPLANATION OF THE ORIGIN OF THE MIXED CASTES
A reader of the Manu Smriti will find that Manu for the purposes of his discussion groups the various castes under certain specific heads namely (1) Aryan Castes, (2) Non-Aryan Castes, (3) Vratya Castes,
(4) Fallen Castes and (5) Sankara Castes.
By Aryan Castes he means the four varnas namely Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. In other words, Manu regards the system of Chaturvarna to be the essence of Aryanism. By Non-Aryan Castes he means those communities who do not accept the creed of Chaturvarna and he, cites the community called Dasyu as an illustration of those whom he regards as a Non-Aryan community [1] . By Vratyas he means those castes who were once believers in the Chaturvarna but who had rebelled against it.
The list of Vratyas given by Manu includes the following castes:
Vratya Brahmanas Vratya Kshatriyas Vratya Vaishyas
Bhrigga Kantaka 1. Jhalla 1. Sudhanvana
Avantya 2. Malla 2. Acharya
Vatadhana 3. Lacchavi 3. Karusha
Phushpada 4. Nata 4. Vijanman
Saikha 5. Karana 5. Maitra
Khasa 6. Satvata
Dravida.
1 Manu X. 45. This verse is of great significance for two reasons. In the first place, it shows Shudra as different from Dasyu. In the second place, it shows that a Shudra is an Arya.
This is about 20-page MS on ‘the origin of the mixed castes’. Through the original typed MS several handwritten pages are inserted by the author and the text has been modified with several amendments pasted on the pages.—Ed.