BBSSES Volume 4 Issue 2 ISSN 2321 – 9726(online) Bhartiya Bhasha, Shiksha, Sahitya evam Shodh http:www. bhartiyashodh.com Page 181 Historical Interpretations of Brahmin Dominance (With Special Reference to the Theory of Origins of the Aryans and the Shudras) This paper traces the roots of Brahmin dominance that took place in Indian society. It basically focuses on the interpretation ofhistorians, philosophers and great social reformers regarding the origin of the Shudras and Aryans. It is not an attempt to write the history of the varna system or caste system in India, but rather related to the contradictions on the issues of origin of the Shudras and Aryans. „The Brahminical literature is full of legends regarding the creation which touch upon the creation of the universe, of man and of different varnas‟ 1 . To begin with the Vedas, parts of Vedas composed in India bear out the fact that the Vedic people fought many battles with the indigenous inhabitants whom they called dasa and dasyu, and succeeded in subjugating them due to their use of horses and possibly some better arms. Gradually, the original invaders settled amongst the native people, but antagonisms persisted, a fact amply attested by innumerable verses in the Rigveda. In all likelihood, the Aryans devised the system of caste in purely secular terms- primarily to retain their racial purity and impose their authority over the „low born‟ natives. But in the later Vedic period, their descendants attributed the genesis of caste to divine will so that it acquired a halo of religious sanctity. Most historians are categorical that the Purushasukta in the tenth book of the Rigveda, which gives the religio-mythical explanation for the origin of caste, is the latest addition and interpolation. Originally, the Vedas consisted only of a few hundred verses but it got inflated, due to constant additions and interpolations of history, legend, religious beliefs and ceremonies of early Aryans. This because the verses were handed down the priestly tradition by word of mouth for centuries before they were finally written down. Thus there are innumerable interpolations which the Brahmans interjected in to it from time to time according to the exigencies of secular necessities and socio-religious imperatives. 1) Ambedkar, B.R., “Who Were the Shudras”, Bombay: Thackers, 1946, pg. 22. By Anchal Tanwar (Research Scholar) Dept. of Political Science Delhi University