kShatriya-s
- “The brAhmaNas (brahmins) and the kShatriyas are in essense the descendents of the aristocracy or elite families of the invading Aryans. Overtime the kShatriya fold adopted other Indo-Aryan tribes outside of the pa~nchajana-ikShvAku orthodoxy, and various “honorary” kShatriyas of diverse ethnic backgrounds. These newcomers displaced or supplemented the original kShatriyas to a significant degree.” [MT1]
brAhmaNa-s
- “However, in the case of the brahmin the displacement was less significant, though there was a noticeable ethnic diversification through the process of anuloma marriage and the 7 generation rule of ascent to brahmin-hood. Nevertheless the brahmins and kshatriyas do seem to maintain a significant component of their ancestral Indo-Aryan ethnicity as supported by recent genetic studies.” [MT1]
- “From genetic data we can now confidently say that while a major component of v1 male lines in several parts of India is from the old Arya settlers there have been Harappan and tribal male lineages who have been absorbed. So the gotra is not a perfect correlate of deep ancestry. … The (shaiva tantra) system also served as a conduit for fast-tracking the cream from individuals with high HG ancestry into higher varNa-s. Their incorporation into V2s is relatively well-known but now we can say that probably up to 10-15% of V1s in south India emerged via this mechanism coeval with the flowering of the shaiva traditions in the south.” {MT}
vaishays
- “The vaishyas- these were in chief the descendents of the Indo-Aryan laity. However, they eventually included a diverse group of individuals.” [MT1]
shUdras
- shUdras- these seem to represent a mixture of individuals, namely: