Chapter 15 : caste question
Once the fish were fried, I handed five of them to Vrishali and served the remaining five for myself.
"Ah, food tastes so much better after hard work."
Vrishali picked up a roasted fish and took her first bite, only to scream loudly. "Oh! It's too hot! My mouth is burning!"
She quickly dropped the food back onto the plate and gulped down the water from her glass, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
"You were so impatient to eat that you forgot food is hot right after cooking. You're supposed to blow on it before taking a bite."
Vrishali stuck her tongue out playfully. "Yes, I forgot. I am admitting my mistake only this one time, and that is just because the taste of your fish is so incredible that I couldn't find a reason to blame you."
Vrishali had admitted her fault, but I had never seen a person accept their mistake in such a peculiar manner.
I didn't pay much attention to it and focused on my meal. I reached out, picked up a roasted fish, brought it close to my mouth, and took a bite.
Hmm, for a first attempt, the taste isn't bad. However, it falls short compared to the food and spices of my past life.
I evaluated the meal silently in my mind.
"Karna, what is your caste?" Vrishali asked out of curiosity while eating.
As soon as I heard the word "caste," I felt a specific kind of revulsion rise within me.
In this era, unlike the modern world with its myriad divisions, society is primarily divided into four Varnas.
First come the Brahmins. They sit at the very top of the hierarchy. Among them are the priests who perform rituals—even they are divided by rank into high and low priests.
Then there are the teachers, who specifically teach students from two castes: their own kind and the Kshatriyas.
Perhaps there are teachers who accept students from other castes, but I have never heard of them. If they existed, they would likely have been eliminated long ago by their own community.
However, they have certain limitations whether ordained by God or self-imposed, I do not know. For instance, the prohibition against manual labor.
This rule brings me a strange sense of satisfaction, yet it also fuels my disdain for the Brahmin caste.
Take Guru Dronacharya, for example. He is an exceptional teacher, proficient in all forms of knowledge, yet he is destitute.
It is as if Fate is mocking him; he has the immense blessings of Goddess Saraswati , but Goddess Lakshmi seems to have turned her back on him.
His poverty stems from the rigid rules of his caste: never to engage in manual labor or trade.
He must survive by begging for alms, performing rituals for others to earn money, or receiving Guru Dakshina after teaching students.
Because of this, Dronacharya lived in abject poverty and could not provide properly for his wife and child.
But the main reasons for his state are his obsession with revenge and the arrogance inherited from his Brahmin lineage.
I will speak of his revenge later, but as for his arrogance he is willing to go door-to-door begging for alms, but he absolutely refuses to work for a living.
If he wanted to, he could have swallowed his pride for the sake of his wife and son, but he did no such thing. To him, his pride is more precious than anything else.
"Like Dronacharya, this arrogance is ingrained in all Brahmins. It is fine for the wealthy Brahmins; they do not have to worry about survival.
There are some who secure wealth by flattering the King in his court, while others remain destitute, spending their lives begging for alms. Dronacharya falls into the latter category—the poor."
"Among these destitute Brahmins, there are some who curse God for their miserable existence, asking,
'Why didn't You give me this? Why didn't You give me that? Why did You make me poor?'"
"To this type of Brahmin, I have but one answer: You fools! God has given you two hands and two legs. He never decreed that being a Brahmin forbids you from working.
If you live alone, perhaps there is no need to work, but if you choose to raise a family, then either work or find yourself a wealthy disciple."
"Now, let us speak of the second caste: the Kshatriyas. Indirectly, I descend from this very lineage. This caste comprises kings, their kin, and warriors."
"Their ranks include both the virtuous and the vile. There are some 'good' ones who commit evil indirectly, yet in their own eyes, their actions are righteous."
"If I were to list their vices, years would pass, and I would still run out of words before I ran out of examples.
Still, I will name a few: oppression of the weak, extracting exorbitant taxes from the subjects at their whim, and remaining engrossed in hedonistic pleasures."
"Next come the Vaishyas. People of this caste engage in agriculture or trade. And it is from them that the highest amount of tax is extracted."
"Finally, there are the Shudras. Everyone else falls into this category; their designated role is service—to serve the others."
"The original Karna was adopted into this caste, and because of it, he had to endure countless harsh words from society. That is precisely why I refused to be adopted by parents belonging to this caste."
"Karna, what thoughts are you lost in? I asked you something; give me an answer."
Vrishali waved her hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention.
I snapped back to reality and replied, "I was just lost in some thoughts. As for your question about caste—I do not belong to any caste."
"Without a caste? What kind of answer is that? Everyone belongs to some caste or the other. Just look at me—my caste is Shudra, and I come from a family of charioteers."
Vrishali shook her head in confusion and stared at me, puzzled.
"What I mean is... as you know, I am an orphan. Because I am an orphan, I do not know what my caste is. Therefore, I belong to no caste, nor do I intend to adopt one."
I gave Vrishali this answer, though it was a mixture of truth and lies.
Hearing my explanation, Vrishali nodded in understanding. "Oh, is that so?"
To be continued...