Mysuru: “The term Varna or class division is a vedic concept that did not exist earlier. There was no religion or caste classification before the Vedic period,” said Sri Basavalinga Murthy Swamiji of Rammanahalli Basava Dhyana Mandira Bhavaikya Peetha.
He was delivering the keynote address at the Dalita Vachanakara Jayanti, jointly organised by the District Administration, Kannada and Culture Department and Dalita Vachanakara Jagriti Samiti at Maneyangala, in Kalamandira premises, here yesterday morning and said, “Before the vedic period there were no literates or illiterates. It is only later that the four divisions (Chaturvarna) came into prominence. Veda means knowledge but it did not become public. What gained prominence was class division which led to exploitation.”
