VARṆA AND JĀTI. The two separable but intertwined concepts of varṇa and jāti may be regarded as different levels of analysis of the Indian system of social structure called caste. While some scholars regard varṇa and jāti as reflecting quite separate dimensions of Indian social and religious thought, others insist, following the native traditions of Hinduism, that the two are inextricably linked. In any event, whereas the term caste is sometimes applied to social formations in places other than India, the terms varṇa and jāti are invariably applied exclusively to the Indian social (and religious) contexts.

The caste system has occasionally been regarded as so intrinsic, so enduring, and so distinctive to India and its long history that it is thought to be both the kernel...