Varna System: The Four Main Castes

Dalits are considered to be outside the Varna system and are often referred to as "untouchables".

Brahmins are the highest-ranking Varna and are traditionally associated with religious and intellectual pursuits.

Kshatriyas are the second-highest-ranking Varna and are traditionally associated with military and political power.

Vaishyas are the third-highest-ranking Varna and are traditionally associated with trade and commerce.

Shudras are the lowest-ranking Varna and are traditionally associated with manual labor and service occupations.

Brahmins are considered to be the most pure and sacred Varna because they are traditionally associated with religious and intellectual pursuits.

Shudras are considered to be the most impure and polluting Varna because they are traditionally associated with manual labor and service occupations.

Brahmins are traditionally associated with the color white, which is considered to be a symbol of purity and sacredness.

Kshatriyas are traditionally associated with the color red, which is considered to be a symbol of strength and power.

Vaishyas are traditionally associated with the color yellow, which is considered to be a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

Shudras are traditionally associated with the color black, which is considered to be a symbol of impurity and pollution.

Brahmins are traditionally associated with the sacred thread, which is a symbol of their high status and purity.

Shudras are traditionally associated with the practice of untouchability, which is the social segregation and discrimination of people based on their caste.

Brahmins are traditionally associated with the practice of sati, which is the ritual suicide of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre.

Brahmins are traditionally associated with the practice of child marriage, which is the marriage of a young girl to an older man.