Varnas in Hinduism

thumb|Brahmins worshipping river Ganges, The Land of Temples (India), 1882 Brahmin (; ) is a varna (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the Kshatriya (rulers and warriors), Vaishya (traders, merchants, and farmers), and Shudra (labourers). The traditional occupation of Brahmins is that of priesthood (purohit, pandit, or pujari) at Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies, and the performing of rite of passage rituals, such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers.

thumb|Bhishma, a kshatriya of the [[Lunar dynasty in Hindu literature.]] Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit kṣatra, "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders, coming called castes) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term kṣatriyaḥ is used in the context of later Vedic society wherein members were organised into four classes: brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra.

a social class within a hierarchical traditional Hindu society described in texts such as Manusmriti

Shudra or Shoodra (Sanskrit: '''') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like workers.

Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, vaiśya) is one of the four varnas of the Vedic Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of Varna hierarchy.

Sūta (Sanskrit: सूत) refers both to the bards of Hindu Puranic stories and to a mixed caste. According to Manu Smriti (10.11.17), the sūta caste are children of a Kshatriya father and a Brahmin mother. And the narrator of several of the Puranas, Ugrasrava Sauti, son of Romaharshana, was also called Sūta. Authorities are divided on whether the bards were members of the sūta caste. Ludo Rocher points out that the use of sūta as a caste may have been separate from the earlier use of sūta to describe Romaharshana and his son Ugrasrava Sauti. R. N. Dandekar states that the sūta caste is different f