The Hindu caste system, or social order, consists of four categories: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. The outcaste, or untouchables, exist outside of (and below) the caste system.
Caste System Quotes in The Bhagavad Gita
The The Bhagavad Gita quotes below are all either spoken by Caste System or refer to Caste System. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Discourse 1
Quotes
The dharma of caste, and the eternal dharma of family, are uprooted by these wrongful acts of family-destroyers, since they create a blending of caste.
Related Characters:Arjuna (speaker), Krishna
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
14
Explanation and Analysis:
As Arjuna explains his anguish to Krishna, he begins to couch his opposition to the war in terms of dharma: he worries that he will violate his family’s dharma by killing his cousins (although it is unclear why that dharma was not violated long ago, when the family first splintered). In turn, he fears that this will destroy the dharma of caste, which fighting his family would wrongly “blend.” This is because caste is inherited through family, so destroying the integrity of one’s family and its traditions would presumably also destroy one’s caste identity. This passage demonstrates that, while Arjuna Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusam
Get the entire The Bhagavad Gita LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
The timeline below shows where the term Caste System appears in The Bhagavad Gita. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Discourse 1
...battle, which would destroy his family and its dharma forever, defiling their women, corrupting the caste system, and leading their ancestors to fall into hell. Lamenting the family’s eagerness to kill...
(full context)
Discourse 4
...his efforts to those who first dedicate themselves to him through sacrifice. He created the castes, meting out the gunas through his act of creation, although he is nevertheless “the Imperishable...
(full context)
Discourse 18
No being is free from the three gunas, regardless of caste, which reflects people’s inner nature—brahmins act from an inner purity, discipline, wisdom, and restraint; kshatriyas...
(full context)