Vol. 4 · pages 196–200

185 APPENDIX V (left) to the very tips of his nails 1: (such is the case with him) who, knowing this, studies. Wherefore etc. 5. Rig-veda-verses are honey, Sama-verses butter, Yajus-verses nectar ( amrita). When a man reads dialogues ( vakovakya) and legends these two sorts of composition are respectively oblations of cooked milk and cooked flesh. 6. He who, knowing this, daily reads Rig-veda verses, satisfies the gods with honey; and they, when satisfied, satisfy him with all objects of desire, and with all enjoyments. 7. He who, knowing this, daily reads Sama-verses, satisfies the gods with butter; and they, when satisfied, etc. (as before). 8. He who, knowing this, daily reads Yajus-verses, satisfies the gods with nectar; and they, etc. (as before). 9. He who, knowing this, daily studies dialogues and the different classes of ancient stories, satisfies the gods with milk—and flesh-oblations; and they, etc. (as before). 10. The waters move. The Sun moves. The Moon moves. The constellations move. The Brahman who on any day does not study the Veda, is on that day like what these moving bodies would be if they ceased to move or act. Wherefore such study is to be practised. Let a man therefore present as his offering a verse of the Rig-veda, or the Saman, or the Yajush, or a Gatha, or a Kumvya, in order that the course of his observances may not be interrupted.” Manu also supports the Satapatha Brahmana. He says: “The Veda is the eternal eye of the fathers, of Gods, and of men; it is beyond human power and comprehension; this is a certain conclusion. Whatever traditions are apart from the Veda, and all heretical views, are fruitless in the next world, for they are declared to be founded on darkness. All other (books) external to the Veda, which arise and pass away, are worthless and false from their recentness of date. The system of the four castes, the three worlds, the four states of life, all that has been, now is, or shall be, is made manifest by the Veda. The objects of touch and taste, sound, form, and odour, as the fifth, are made known by the Veda, together with their products, qualities, and the character of their action. The eternal Veda supports all beings; hence I regard it as the principle instrument of well-being to this creature, man. Command of armies, royal authority, the administration of criminal justice, and the sovereignty of all worlds, he alone deserves who knows the 1 This sentence is differently rendered by Professor Weber, Ind. Stud. x. p. 112, as follows: “He burns (with sacred fire) to the very tips of his nails.” In a later page of the same Essay we are told that according to the doctrine of a teacher called Naka Maudgaly as stated in the Taittiriya Aranyaka, the study and teaching of the Veda are the real tapas svadhyaya-pravachane eva tad hi tapah). In the text of the Aranyaka itself, vii. 8, it is declared that study and teaching should always accompany such spiritual or ritual acts as satyam, tapas, dama, sama the agnihotra sacrifice, etc. See Indische Studien, ii. 214, and x. 113.

186 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Veda. As fire, when it has acquired force, burns up even green trees, so he who knows the Veda consumes the taint of his soul which has been contracted from works. He who comprehends the essential meaning of the Veda, in whatever order of life he may be, is prepared for absorption into Brahma, even while abiding in this lower world.” Manu however is not satisfied with this. He goes much beyond and enunciates the following new doctrine— “By Sruti is meant the Veda, and by Smriti the institutes of law: the contents of these are not to be questioned by reason, since from them (a knowledge of) duty has shone forth. The Brahman who, relying on rationalistic treatises1, shall contemn these two primary sources of knowledge, must be excommunicated by the virtuous as a sceptic and reviler of the Vedas . . . . . 13. To those who are seeking a knowledge of duty, the sruti is the supreme authority.” zz 1 This, however, must be read in conjunction with the precept in xii. 106, which declares arsham dharmopadesam cha veda-sastravirodhina yas tarkenanusandhatte sa dharman veda naparah “He, and he only is acquainted with duty, who investigates the injunctions of the rishis, and the precepts of the smriti, by reasonings which do not contradict the Veda.”

PART II Social According to the original Table of Contents by the author Part I and Part III are classified as Religious and Political respectively while Part II is not given any classification. However, this part is classified as ‘Social’ on one of the pages from Riddle No. 21. This Part contained six riddles including ‘The Riddle of Women’ entitled ‘Why did the Brahmins degrade the Indian Women ?’. This chapter has already been included in Vol. No. 3 of this series under the title ‘Revolution and Counter-Revolution’ vide Ch. 17. Hence it is excluded from this volume.

RIDDLE NO. 16 THE FOUR VARNAS—ARE THE BRAHMINS SURE OF THEIR ORIGIN? It is the cardinal faith of every Hindu that the Hindu Social Order is a Divine Order. The prescriptions of this Divine Order are three. First Society is permanently divided into four classes namely (1) Brahmins, (2) Kshatriyas, (3) Vaishyas and (4) Shudras. Second the four classes in point of their mutual status are linked together in an order of graded inequality. The Brahmins are at the head and above all others. The Kshatriyas below the Brahmins but above the Vaishyas and the Shudras. The Vaishyas below the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas but above the Shudras and the Shudras below all. Third the occupations of the four classes are fixed. The occupation of the Brahmins is to acquire learning and to teach. The occupation of the Kshatriyas is to fight, that of the Vaishyas to trade and that of the Shudras to serve as menials to the other three classes above him. This is called by the Hindus the Varna Vevastha. It is the very soul of Hinduism. Without Varna Vevastha there is nothing else in Hinduism to distinguish it from other religions. That being so it is only proper that an enquiry should be made into the origin of this Varna system. For an explanation of its origin we must have recourse to what the ancient Hindu literature has to say on the subject. I It would be better to collect together in the first place the views expressed in the Vedas. This is a 33-page typed script having all necessary corrections and additions incorporated by the author. There are two concluding pages written by the author himself. All the pages of the chapter are loose sheets tagged together with a title page in the handwriting of the author.—Ed.