Dvija

Dvija (Sanskrit: द्विज) means "twice-born". The concept is premised on the belief that a person is first born physically and at a later date is born for a second time spiritually, usually when he undergoes the ritual of passage that initiates him into a school for Vedic studies.[1][2] The term also refers to members of the three varnas in the traditional Hindu social system, or social classes — the Brahmins (priests and teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors), and Vaishyas (farmers, herders and merchants) — whose Sanskara of Upanayana initiation was regarded as a second or spiritual birth.[1][2]

The word Dvija is neither found in any Vedas and Upanishads, nor is it found in any Vedanga literature such as the Shrauta-sutras or Grihya-sutras.[3] The word scarcely appears in Dharmasutras literature.[3] Increasing mentions of it appear in Dharmasastras text of mid to late 1st-millennium CE texts. The presence of the word Dvija is a marker that the text is likely a medieval era Indian text.[3]

The meaning of the two births
The Upanayanam thread ceremony marking initiation as a Dvija.

"Dvija" means "twice-born": the first birth is physical, while the second birth is a 'spiritual' one.[4] The second 'birth' occurs when one takes up fulfilling a role in society, at the time of Upanayana initiation ceremony. For example, a Brahmin is initiated into school to study and pursue Brahmopadesha (preach, counsel) in the matter of the nature of Brahman, the ultimate reality. Traditionally, a Kshatriya would start learning the use of arms, while a Vaishya would start a trade apprenticeship.[4]

The premise of the Dvija concept was that a person is born physically through his parents at home, spiritually through his teacher at school (gurukul) who helps the student form the mind and realize the self.[5][6]

Literature

The word Dvija, and its equivalent such as Dvijati, is neither found in any Vedas, any Upanishad, nor in any Vedanga literature such as the Vyakarana, Shiksha, Nirukta, Chandas, Shrauta-sutras or Grihya-sutras.[7] Words such as Dvijanman appear in chapter 1.60 of Rigveda, but the context is not human beings, but "fire" once born in the heaven and then brought and born again on the earth.[7]

The term is missing in all theological and rituals-related text preceding the 2nd-century BCE, as well as the earliest Dharmasutras texts. It makes the first appearance in Gautama Dharmasutra but not in the context later understood.[3]

The first significant appearance of the word Dvija occurs in the Manu Smriti (166 mentions) composed between 2nd to 3rd century CE. The Yajnavalkya Smriti, composed in 4th or 5th-century CE mentions the word less often (40 times). The massive Hindu epics, the Valmiki Ramayana and the Mahabharata mention the word Dvija 214 and 1535 times respectively.[7][note 1] This, states Patrick Olivelle, suggest that Dvija is not a Vedic or ancient tradition of Hinduism, but an innovation that appeared sometime in the 1st millennium CE.[7] This word is a significant scholarly marker to identify a text as likely from medieval India.[3]

Implications

Dvija, in medieval Indian texts, refers to a member of the first three varnas – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas. The Asvalayana sutra indicates that a non-dvija child may also be inducted into the Dvija category, if he wishes to pursue the duties associated with these varnas.[4]

The initiation ceremony (upanayana) invests the male initiates with a sacred thread, a loop worn next to the skin over the left shoulder and across the right hip. This Dvija-ceremony was recommended in medieval era texts for the Brahmins (priests and teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors), and Vaishyas (merchants) before they began their schools. In contrast, the Shudras were considered ineligible for Dvija-ceremony and formal schooling in these texts.[8]

Some Sanskrit texts present a different view. The Mahabharata, for example, states that a Shudra who is self-restrained and pure conduct is like a Dvija, and suggests that Shudras can possess Vedic knowledge.[8] Since the 19th century, the concept of Dvija has been increasingly questioned. Women have become students of Sanskrit and Vedic subjects, notably in India’s public institutions of higher learning, have chanted Vedic verses, and have even offered their services as specialists in Brahmanical rituals.

The Hindu texts offer a conflicting view of whether access to guru and education was limited to men and to certain varna (social classes or castes).[9][10] The Vedas and the Upanishads never mention any restrictions based either on gender or on varna.[9] The Upanishads assert that one's birth does not determine one's eligibility for spiritual knowledge, only one's effort and sincerity matters.[10] Some Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras, such as Paraskara Grhyasutra, Gautama Smriti and Yajnavalkya Smriti, state all four varnas are eligible to all fields of knowledge; while verses of Manusmriti state that Vedic study is available only to men of three varnas, unavailable to Shudra and women.[9][10]

The Brahmanical centres of learning were open to all the Dvija castes, states Romila Thapar, and they "appear to have attracted mainly the Brahmin students".[11] The Dvija restrictions may be theoretical, because most students learnt their economically useful skills through apprenticeship within their family or at guilds.[11] Other scholars also treat the Dvija concept as theory, because in reality ancient and medieval India had artisan schools where all social classes including Shudras learnt skills, and these artisans and workers built sophisticated artwork, products and large temples.[12][13][14]

In practice, state Stella Kramrisch and others, the guru tradition and availability of education extended to all segments of ancient and medieval society.[15][16][17] Lise McKean states the guru concept has been prevalent over the range of class and caste backgrounds, and the disciples a guru attracts come from both genders and a range of classes and castes.[18] During the bhakti movement of Hinduism, which started in about mid 1st millennium CE, the gurus included women and members of all varna.[19][20][21]

See also

Notes
  1. The Mahabharata has about 1.8 million words. The word Dvija appears at an average frequency of once every 1170 words.

References
  1. Dvija, Encyclopedia Britannica (2014)
  2. Manilal Bose (1998). Social and Cultural History of Ancient India. Concept. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-81-7022-598-0.
  3. Patric Olivelle (2012). Silvia D'Intino, Caterina Guenzi (ed.). Aux abords de la clairière: études indiennes et comparées en l'honneur de Charles Malamoud. Volume 7 of Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études, Sciences Religieuses: Série Histoire et prosopographie. Brepols, Belgium. pp. 117–132. ISBN 978-2-503-54472-4.
  4. Julia Leslie (2003). Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Vālmīki. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-7546-3431-7. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  5. Radha Kumud Mookerji (1989). Ancient Indian Education. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 67–68, 133. ISBN 978-81-208-0423-4.
  6. Joel Mlecko (1982), The Guru in Hindu Tradition, Numen, Volume 29, Fasc. 1, pages 33-61
  7. Patric Olivelle (2012). Silvia D'Intino, Caterina Guenzi (ed.). Aux abords de la clairière: études indiennes et comparées en l'honneur de Charles Malamoud. Volume 7 of Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études, Sciences Religieuses: Série Histoire et prosopographie. Brepols, Belgium. pp. 124–126. ISBN 978-2-503-54472-4.
  8. Sures Chandra Banerji (1999). A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra. Abhinav. pp. 176–178. ISBN 978-81-7017-370-0.
  9. KS Murthy (1993), Vedic Hermeneutics, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120811058, pages 14-17
  10. Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195644418, pages 147-158
  11. Romila Thapar (1978). Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations. Orient Blackswan. p. 126. ISBN 978-81-250-0808-8. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  12. Stella Kramrisch (1958), Traditions of the Indian Craftsman, The Journal of American Folklore, Volume 71, Number 281, pages 224-230
  13. Samuel Parker (1987), Artistic practice and education in India: A historical overview, Journal of Aesthetic Education, pages 123-141
  14. RN Misra (2011), Silpis in Ancient India: Beyond their Ascribed Locus in Ancient Society, Social Scientist, Vol. 39, No. 7/8, pages 43-54
  15. Stella Kramrisch (1994), Exploring India's Sacred Art (Editor: Barbara Miller), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120812086, pages 59-66
  16. Hartmut Scharfe (2007), Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004125568, pages 75-79, 102-103, 197-198, 263-276
  17. Radha Mookerji (2011), Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120804234, pages 174-175, 270-271
  18. Lise McKean (1996), Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226560106, pages 14-22, 57-58
  19. John Stratton Hawley (2015), A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0674187467, pages 304-310
  20. Richard Kieckhefer and George Bond (1990), Sainthood: Its Manifestations in World Religions, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520071896, pages 116-122
  21. Sheldon Pollock (2009), The Language of the Gods in the World of Men, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520260030, pages 423-431
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