Caturvarnya, Caturvanrya, Cāturvarṇya: 15 definitions
Introduction:
Caturvarnya means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Chaturvarnya.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य) refers to the “four castes” (born of Brahmā), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.5 (“The Tripuras are fascinated).—Accordingly, as Arihan said to the Lord of the Three Cities: “[...] It is unnecessary to divide the people into different castes. When all are men who is superior and who is inferior? [...] Some of the ancestors thought that the four castes (cāturvarṇya) are born of mouth, arms, thighs etc. of Brahmā. But when we consider, this does not fit in properly. How can sons born of the same body or from the same body be of four different castes? Hence the divisions of castes and outcastes do not appear to be sound. Hence no difference between man and man should be entertained. [...]”.
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य) refers to the “four castes”, according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 3, “on unfavorable marks”]: “4. One that has lost an ear on the right side destroys the four castes (cāturvarṇya-vināśana); on the left side, he destroys craftsmen, and the king also becomes afflicted with disease”.
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य).—n (S) The four original castes, viz. brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra.
cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य).—n The four original castes.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य).—a. [caturvarṇa-ṣyañ] Suited to the four tribes, or belonging to them.
-rṇyam 1 The aggregate of the four original castes of the Hindus; एवं सामासिकं धर्मं चातु- र्वर्ण्येऽब्रवीन्मनुः (evaṃ sāmāsikaṃ dharmaṃ cātu- rvarṇye'bravīnmanuḥ) Manusmṛti 1.63; चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः (cāturvarṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 4.13.
2) The duties of these four castes.
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य).—mfn.
(-rṇyaḥ-rṇyā-rṇyaṃ) Suited to the four tribes, belonging to them &c. n.
(-rṇyaṃ) The aggregate of the four orginal castes, the Brahman, Kshetriya, Vaisya and Sudra. E. catur four, and varṇa a class, ṣyañ aff.
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य).—i. e. catur -varṇa + ya, n. The four castes, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 10, 30.
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य).—[neuter] the four castes.
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य):—[from cātura] n. ([gana] caturvarṇādi) the four castes, [Manu-smṛti; x; xii, 1 and 97; Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa i, 1, 92 and 27, 16.]
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य):—[cātur-varṇya] (rṇyaḥ) 1. m. The aggregate of the four original casts, brāhman, kshetriya, vaishya and sudra.
[Sanskrit to German]
Cāturvarṇya (चातुर्वर्ण्य) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Cāuvanna, Cāuvvaṇṇa.
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
Cāturvaṇrya (चातुर्वण्र्य):—(a) pertaining to the four castes as prescribed under the ancient Indian social system (viz. [brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra]); —[vyavasthā] the (four) caste-system (as practised in the Indian tradition.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Cāturvaṇrya (ಚಾತುರ್ವಣ್ರ್ಯ):—[noun] = ಚಾತುರ್ವರ್ಣ [caturvarna].
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Varṇya, Catur.
Starts with: Caturvarnyadharmasamgraha, Caturvarnyadi, Caturvarnyam, Caturvarnyavicara, Caturvarnyavivarana, Caturvarnyavivecana, Caturvarnyavyavastha.
Full-text (+2): Caturvarnyam, Caturvarnyavicara, Shudra, Ayogava, Pulkasa, Cauvanna, Cauvvanna, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Akartri, Jati, Candala, Caturvarnyadi, Adhivasa, Pravartayitar, Varna, Taca, Vinashana, Prabheda, Pravritti.
Relevant text
Search found 34 books and stories containing Caturvarnya, Catur-varnya, Cātur-varṇya, Caturvanrya, Cāturvaṇrya, Cāturvarṇya; (plurals include: Caturvarnyas, varnyas, varṇyas, Caturvanryas, Cāturvaṇryas, Cāturvarṇyas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Amarakoshodghatana of Kshirasvamin (study) (by A. Yamuna Devi)
Cāturvarṇya System < [Chapter 3 - Social Aspects]
Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)
Vyavaharamala: a text on Indian jurisprudence (by P. V. Rajee)
5. Legal proceedings—The origin and development of Vyavahara < [Chapter 5 - Vyavaharamala—General features based on text]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 651 < [Hindi-Gujarati-English Volume 1]
Page 865 < [Marathi-Hindi-English, Volume 2]
Page 630 < [Hindi-Kashmiri-English Volume 1]
Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts (by Rajendralala Mitra)
Page 131 < [Volume 14 (1904)]
Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi (by Ganganatha Jha)
Verse 12.97 < [Section XI - Supremacy of the Veda]