1

Handout #1 The Birth of Buddha Birth of the prince India, before the time of the Buddha, was divided into many kingdoms. One of the many small kingdoms was Sakya kingdom with the a!ital at "a!ilavastu # $. The ruler of this kingdom was "ing Suddhodana # $. His family name was %autama # $ and his &ueen was alled 'aya #$. (hen the &ueen be ame !regnant, she asked to return to her home ity of )evadaha # $ to give birth to their hild. *t the +un tion of "a!ilavastu and the ity of )evadaha was a !la e alled ,umbini -ark # $. .nder the shade of the sala trees, the &ueen gave birth to a !rin e amidst the songs of birds and humming bees. * ording to legend, an as eti named *sita # $, who ommanded great res!e t from the !eo!le and king, rushed to the !ala e to read the !hysiognomy of the !rin e. *sita at first smiled and then was sad. /uestioned as to his mi0ed feelings, he re!lied that he smiled be ause the !rin e would eventually be ome a Buddha1 he was sad be ause he was too old to benefit by the su!erior wisdom of the enlightened one. The naming ceremony On the fifth day after the !rin e2s birth, he was named Siddhartha # $, whi h means 3reali4ation of all aims5. 'any s holars were invited for the eremony. *mong them were eight distinguished men. *fter e0amining the hara teristi s of the !rin e, seven of them raised two fingers and gave a double inter!retation, saying that he would either be ome a universal monar h or a Buddha. But the youngest, "aundinya # $, raised only one finger and firmly de lared that the !rin e would definitely retire from the world and be ome a Buddha. /ueen 'aya died of illness two days after the !rin e was named. 'aha -ra+a!ati #$, her younger sister, who was also married to "ing Suddhodana, be ame his foster6mother. She took are of the !rin e and brought him u! with as mu h devotions as she would have shown to her own son. .nder the areful eye of his aunt, 'aha -ra+a!ati, the !rin e gradually grew u!. He was very handsome and healthy, a !erfe t darling to everyone. (hen the !rin e was seven years old, the king began to invite all kinds of masters to the !ala e to edu ate him in the skills of reading, om!osition, mathemati s, ar hery and other arts1. Sin e every one of his tea hers was an e0!ert in his field, -rin e Siddhartha om!leted all his studies with ease and thoroughness. -eo!le were really sur!rised to see that -rin e Siddhartha really had no diffi ulty at all in learning anything. 7ven though -rin e Siddhartha was su h a lever !u!il, and at the same time, he never negle ted to treat his tea hers with manners and all due res!e t. 8or the !rin e believed that only through the instru tion from tea hers ould men a &uire knowledge

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of every great value. The nature of the !rin e was su h that he treated everyone with e&ual geniality and !oliteness. Besides being genial and !olite, the !rin e was also very ourageous. He never feared or hesitated when om!eting with other boys in various skills. The !rin e had been trained to be a kind and brave knight, and he was also able to drive a hariot very skillfully. The !rin e was gentle, not only to his own horse, but he was kind also to all other animals. Being a rown !rin e, he had never en ountered suffering and misery in his life. But his sym!atheti nature made him aware that all reatures, whether !eo!le or animals, e&ually desire ha!!iness and detest suffering and !ain. The most striking e0am!le of this was the e!isode of the wounded swan. (hen he and his ousin )evadatta were roaming in the !ark surrounding the !ala e when )evadatta shot down a swan with his bow and arrow. Both boys ran towards the s!ot where the swan had fallen, Siddhartha being the fastest runner ame to the !la e where the wounded bird lay. %athering the bird in his arms, he nursed the bird and this brought about a rea tion from )evadatta who insisted that the bird ought to be his sin e he was the one who shot it down. The boys brought this dis!ute to the wise man of the ourt who de ided that life belonged rightly to the one who !reserved it, not to one who destroyed it. The plowing festival *s an en ouragement to agri ulture the king arranged for a !lowing festival. *t the age of seven the !rin e saw the king, the offi ials, and the farmers ha!!ily feasting, but the o0en did not seem to be ha!!y at all. They had to e0ert a for e greater then their !hysi al strength to !ull the !lows and o asionally got harsh and mer iless whi!s. The !rin e noti ed a worm that has been unearthed by the !low devoured by a bird. He also noti ed the a tivities of various other reatures around him. He saw a li4ard at hing and eating working ants. Shortly after, a snake a!!roa hed, killed the li4ard and swallowed it. Then a hawk suddenly des ended from the sky and sei4ed the snake. .nder the shade of a 9ambu tree, the !rin e sat ross6legged, went into dee! thought, and began to &uestion himself thus: 5If things are like that, then is it not the ase that, that whi h is said to be beautiful in life will also ertainly hide ugliness behind its ba k; # !"#$%&'()*)+,-.)/01(2345 6 7 8 9 : ; $5 1< *t last the !rin e ame to reali4e that although he was very ha!!y now, there was, however, a kind of most great suffering that was always overing mankind and all beings #= >?@1AB(CD $. He was filled 9EF with om!assion !G- for all reatures #H G 1 $, I J be ause every single reature in the ourse of kee!ing itself alive, has to !

struggle onstantly against !ain and suffering. He was able to have !rofound thoughts and to attain the state of non6differentiation regarding all things #KK1LM(NHO

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R $ and enter into the first )hyana #STUV1WX$. Princes youth "nowing that the !rin e had thoughts of seeking ultimate truth troubled the king. He feared that, if su h thoughts were not eliminated, the !rin e !robably would soon leave him and abandon the ountry. He felt that the only way to hange the !rin e2s mind was to double the +oy and !leasure available to him. The king built three s!lendid new !ala es for him. *ll the material !leasures the king had bestowed on him turned out to be valueless to the ontem!lative !rin e. The king summoned his ministers to find out other means to !revent the !rin e from abandoning his !osition, as !otential leader of the ountry, to be ome a religious tea her as the old *sita had !redi ted. The offi ials suggested to seek out the most beautiful girl and have the !rin e get married to her. On e the !rin e had e0!erien ed the sweetness of married life, he would hoose nothing else. *t the early age of si0teen, he married the girl named =asodhara # Y $, the daughter of "ing Su!!abuddha #Z[ $. Renunciation The wedding of -rin ess =asodhada to -rin e Siddhartha was an event in whi h the whole ountry re+oi ed. The king began to feel rela0ed, feeling that the !rin e would no longer think of leaving home. The king ordered that no one should ever mention in front of the !rin e anything having to do with misery or unha!!iness, su h as old age, si kness, and death. The attendants of the !rin e were ordered to onstantly !rovide dan es, songs, and musi , and never to a!!ear tired before him. However, the !rin e was not as ha!!y as his father had ho!ed. The !rin e eagerly desired to see other things of the world and wanted to know about the life of the !eo!le. .nable to refuse the !ersistent demand of the !rin e to travel outside the !ala e, the king finally onsented. *s the !rin e went out of the !ala e to see the world outside, he ame into dire t onta t with the realities of life. His eyes met the strange sight of a de re!it old man, a diseased !erson, a or!se, and a dignified hermit. The first three sights onvin ed him of the ine0orable nature of life and the universal si kness of humanity. The fourth signified the means to over ome the ills of life and attain alm and !ea e. This famous e!isode of the four sights whi h lead the !rin e to develo! a sense of deta hment from !leasure, and to seek the truth by way of renun iation. >eali4ing the worthlessness of sensual !leasures highly !ri4ed by ordinary men and the value of renun iation in whi h the wise seek delight, he de ided to leave home in sear h of truth and !ea e. (hen this final de ision was made, after mu h deliberation, the seemingly ha!!y news of the birth of a son was onveyed to him. ?ontrary to e0!e tation, he was not over+oyed, but regarded the first and only offs!ring as an im!ediment. *s he e0 laimed, 3*n im!ediment 6 rahu, has been born1 a fetter has

arisen5. The infant son was a ordingly named >ahula #$ by his grandfather. Sin e the day of >ahula2s birth, the !rin e had hanged entirely. He was more solemn and ontem!lative. In the silen e of the night, -rin e Siddhartha ordered his favorite harioteer, ?handaka #\ $, to saddle his horse, "anthaka, and left the !ala e without awaking anyone. He arrived at the banks of the *noma >iver by dawn. Here he shaved his head and handed over his garments and ornaments to ?handaka with instru tions to return to the !ala e. -rin e Siddhartha had left his ountry and family to be ome Sramana< , in order to on&uer all the !ain and suffering of mankind. Siddhartha +ourneyed southward and ame to >a+agraha #]$ , the a!ital of the ountry of 'agadha #^$. The king was named Bimbisara #_` a $. Bimbisara invited Siddhartha to stay in his a!ital, but Siddhartha gra iously de lined the invitation saying, 3I annot remain in one !la e before reali4ing my goal.5 So "ing Bimbisara made an agreement with Siddhartha that, when his as!iration of !erfe t enlightenment was reali4ed, he would ome first to the ity of >a+agraha to instru t and enlighten the king and his !eo!le. The search ,eaving >a+agraha, Siddhartha +ourneyed to the !la e where *lara "alama # $ lived. *lara "alama taught Siddhartha the knowledge of mediation, the way to make the mind very tran&uil in order to eliminate all ons iousness about e0isten e in any realm, and then how to remain in the +oy of samadhi@. This kind of knowledge did not !rovide an answer to the !roblem of life and death, old age and si kness that had onstantly o u!ied his mind. ,ater, Siddhartha a!!roa hed .draka >ama!utta #b $. -ra ti ing with >ama!utta enabled him to attained the final stage of mental on entration1 the realm of neither !er e!tion nor non6!er e!tion #cdccde6 $. Still Siddhartha felt that his &uest of life was not a hieved. He was seeking Airvana. He de ided to sear h for the ultimate truth by means of his own wisdom and effort instead. His struggle for enlightenment Siddhartha thought that, if he in reased his hardshi! to a ertain degree, he would most ertainly be ome enlightened. So, when he ame to .ruvilva # fg _ h $ on his way to 'agadha, he found a ni e &uite !la e to !ra ti e as eti ism. Hearing of his renun iation, "aundinya, the one who !redi ted his future, and four sons of the other sages 1 Bhadrik #i $, )asabala6kasya!a #jk l $, 'ahanama6kulika #m$ and *sva+it #no$, also renoun ed the world and +oined his om!any. * ordingly, for si0 long years he made a su!erhuman struggle !ra ti ing all forms of severe austerity. *s a result, his deli ate body was redu ed almost to a skeleton. One day, while he was mediating alone, he fainted be ause of e0haustion. * she!herd

girl hel!ed to re over him by offering him goat2s milk. 8inally, he on luded that without the goat2s milk he would have died before ever attaining enlightenment. *t dusk, he heard a grou! of girls singing on their way to the ity: 3(ith the string too loose, the lute does not sound. Tightening the strings too mu h, they will break a!art. Aot too loose, not too tight, the lute sounds so ni e.5 Siddhartha was so moved by the girls2 song. He had tightened his string of life too mu h. Thus, he de ided to sto! !ra ti ing as eti ism and only to ontinue his mental diligen e in his sear h for ultimate enlightenment. The five as eti s, who attended him, were disa!!ointed at this hange of method. They deserted him and went to 'rgadava # pq r $ Siddhartha a e!ted a deli ious ri e !orridge milk offered by Su+ata #st$. That same day, he went for a bath in the Aairan+ana >iver,and rossed the river and ame to .ruvila, and sat down under a sala tree, and on entrated himself in mediation. *t dusk, he left the sala tree and walked to a large -i!!ala tree. Sin e the Buddha attained 7nlightenment under the shade of this tree, it was named the Bodhi6tree. He made a seat fa ing eastward with the straw offered by Sottiya #su$. He made a firm resolve not to rise from his seat until he attained Buddhahood. 8rom that time on, Siddhartha on entrated his will and aroused his mind to ward off the disturban es oming from nature #vwx(yz{|X1 $ and to ast away !}~ the memory of the illusory +oys of the !ast #G*11d $. He om!letely deta hed himself from all worldly thoughts #X1 $ and !x devoted his whole mind to sear h for the ultimate truth # 1 $. In his sear hing and refle tion, he asked: 3How does all suffering arise; How an one deta h himself from suffering;5 The !hantoms distra ted Siddhartha2s mind, enti ing him to linger on the !leasure of the !ast and even arousing his desire to return to the royal !ala e and to en+oy the sensual life of former days. But, be ause of his resolute vow, Siddhartha resisted these tem!tations with for eful mental effort. 8inally, he su eeded in om!letely dis!ersing all the illusory thoughts that were disturbing him. His mind be ame alm and tran&uil like !ond water on a bree4eless day. He was in dee! samadhi. In the tran&uillity of samadhi, Siddhartha sear hed and observed mentally trying to find the sour e of his own life. Thus, he a &uired the !ower of being aware of all his !revious lives #.1 -urvenivasanusmrti$. Through further insight, he also a &uired the divine vision # )ivya aksus$, the !ower of unlimited vision and to know the destiny of all beings in the future rebirths. He thus ame to reali4e that the un easing y le of death and rebirth of all beings is solely a manifestation of one2s karma 1 that is one2s thoughts and deeds. Some !eo!le ould be born to a better life than they !resently en+oyed, en ountering all sorts of ha!!iness, be ause they had done good deeds. Some, on the other hand, ould be born to a ondition worse than their !resent ones and suffer very mu h, be ause they had done bad deeds.

8inally, he observed that the ultimate ause of the turning round of birth and death in the vast sea of worldly suffering that mankind and all other sentient beings are involved in, is ignoran e #*vi++a$ and the atta hment to transient and illusory !leasures #91$. *nd for those who are unwilling to remain in the y le of death and rebirth, there is only one way to es a!e 1 that is by the om!lete destru tion or elimination of all lustful desires # !1$. Siddhartha thus a &uired *sravaksaya, the e0tin tion of outflows #$, the su!ernatural insight into the ending of the stream of transmigration. He knew that he had delivered himself from all !assions and delusions # !$, and that he had dis overed for himself the ause of and the method of elimination of all suffering # !AB)'PF'$. He had attained enlightenment # [ $. Having attained su!reme enlightenment and freed himself from all worldly suffering, the Buddha remained ontented in the ha!!iness of nirvana. The Buddha s!ent seven more weeks in meditation in seven different !la es around the 'aha Bodhi Tree. The Da+rasana or the )iamond Throne # ) is the seat of 7nlightenment whi h was made in the @rd entury B.?. by "ing *shoka the %reat #$, it lies between the 'ahabodhi Tem!le #@[$ in Buddhagaya and the 'aha Bodhi Tree. This Seat is made of red sand stone that is E feet F in hes long, B feet 1G in hes broad and three feet of height where -rin e Siddhartha sat to be ome the Buddha and whi h is the Holiest of Holy !la es to the Buddhist world. . The Buddha s!ent se ond week in the standing !osture ga4ing at the 'aha Bodhi Tree with motionless eyes for whole week. There is one shrine, it is lo ated north6eastern of the 'ahabodhi Tem!le. The Buddha s!ent the third week here walking u! and down in meditation. The ?hankraman # e $, it is lo ated ad+a ent to the north of the 'ahabodhi Stu!a where a long !latform has been onstru ted to ommemorate the great event. The lotuses on the !latform indi ate the !la es the Buddha2s feet rested while walking. There is a small roofless shrine measuring 1B feet that is situated in the Aorth 6 (est orner of the 'ahabodhi Tem!le and is known as >atanaghar. The Buddha s!ent the fourth week here in meditation refle ting on the -atthana or the ?ausal ,aw. (hile he sat here in dee! ontem!lation the si0 rays of blue, yellow, red, white, orange and a ombination of all these olors together emanated from his body. The Buddhist flag used in all Buddhist ountries is designed with these olors. The Buddha s!ent the fifth week in meditation under the *+a!ala Aigrodha tree. The site is situated in front of the 'ahabodhi Tem!le, +ust a little away from the last ste! of the eastern gate. Here the Buddha re!lied to a Brahamana that only by oneHs deeds one be omes a !erfe t Brahmana, and not by birth. The Buddha s!ent the si0th week in meditation near the 'u halinda -ond.

This !la e is situated to the South of the 'ahabodhi Tem!le. (hile the Buddha was meditating near the lake, there broke out a severe thunderstorm. Seeing that the ,ord was getting dren hed the snake "ing of the lake alled H'u halindaH ame out of his abode and en ir ling the body of the ,ord several times, held his hood over Him as a !rote tion against the violent wind and rain. The Buddha began !ondering what he should do for the future. *t first he thought: 3The dharma I have om!rehended is diffi ult and !rofound, and it an hardly be a e!ted by most !eo!le whose desire6 nature is very strong.5 But with great om!assion and unsur!assed wisdom, the Buddha then on luded: 3Some !eo!le have little !assion and few ve0ation. Su h !eo!le may be able to a e!t this dharma mu h as the lotus e0tends its stalk from the bottom of the !ond u! into the air to re eive sunshine. I, therefore, should not hold se ret the radiant truth, but shall make it known everywhere so that all !eo!le an benefit from it e&ually.5 Thus, he de ided to !ro!agate the dharma. .nder the >a+ayatana tree the Buddha s!ent the seventh week. (hile the Buddha was resting, two mer hants from Burma named Ta!ussa #`$ and Bhallika #`$ !assed by. They found the Buddha sitting e0traordinarily alm and +oyous. So, they reverently offered the Buddha the e0&uisite food they had brought with them and re&uested that the Buddha a e!ted them as dis i!les. Be ause both of them took refuge in the Buddha, they be ame the Buddha2s first two dis i!les. They took some hairs from the Buddha to be worshi! in their ountry. * ording to the Burmese tradition the hairs are !reserved in the famous Shwedagon -agoda #@$ of Burma and they worshi! that -agoda with great devotion. Having in his @Cth year attained Buddhahood, that su!reme state of !erfe tion, he devoted the remainder of that !re ious life to serve humanity both by e0am!le and !re e!t dominated by no !ersonal motive. The Buddha was a human being. *s a man he was born, as a man he lived, and as a man his life ame to an end. The Buddha laid stress on this fa t and left no room for anyone to fall into the error of thinking that he was an immortal being. There is no deifi ation in the ase of the Buddha. Aor does the Buddha laim to be an in arnation of DishnuB, nor does he all himself a 3Savior5 who freely saves others by his !ersonal salvation. The Buddha e0horts his dis i!les to de!end on themselves for their salvation, for both defilement and !urity. 3=ou, yourselves, should make the e0ertion. The TathagatasC are only tea hers,5 says the Buddha. The Buddha !oints out the !ath, and it is left for us to follow that !ath to save ourselves. 3To de!end on others for salvation is negative, but to de!end on oneself is !ositive.5 )e!enden e on others means a surrender of one2s effort. 8urthermore, the Buddha does not laim a mono!oly on Buddhahood, whi h as

matter of fa t, is not the !rerogative of any s!e ially gra ed hosen !ersonF. He rea hed the highest !ossible state of !erfe tion any !erson ould as!ire to without the losed fist of a tea her. He revealed the only straight !ath that leads thereto. * ording to the tea hings of the Buddha, anybody may as!ire to that su!reme state of !erfe tion, if he makes the ne essary as!iring determination and ne essary e0ertion. *s a man he attained Buddhahood and !ro laimed to the world the latent !ossibilities and the reative !ower of man. Instead of !la ing an unseen almighty %od over man, and making man subservient to su h a belief, he raised the worth of mankind. It was he who taught that man ould obtain his deliveran e from sorrow by his own e0ertion, without de!ending on a %od and mediating !riests, or on sa rifi es and !rayers. It was he who revolted against the degrading aste system and taught the e&uality of mankind. He de lared that the gates of su ess and !ros!erity were o!en to all, in every ondition of life, high and low, saint and sinner, who would are to turn over a new leaf and as!ire to !erfe tion. The time following Buddha Shakyamuni2s demise has been divided into three !eriods : 1$ the -erfe t *ge of the )harma #$#!eriod strong in liberation and !eriod strong in dhyana samadhi V6$, lasting 1GGG years, when the Buddha2s tea hing was orre tly !ra ti ed and enlightenment often attained1 <$ The )harma Semblan e *ge #% $#!eriod strong in learning and !eriod strong in stu!as and tem!le $, lasting about 1GGG years, when a form of the tea hing was !ra ti ed but enlightenment seldom attained1 @$ The )harma67nding *ge # $ #!eriod strong in fighting $, lasting some ten thousand years, when a diluted form of the tea hing e0ists and enlightenment is rarely attained. A quotation from Albert Einstein The religion of the future will be a osmi religion. It should trans end a !ersonal god and avoid dogmas and theology. ?overing both the natural and the s!iritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the e0!erien e of all things, natural and s!iritual, as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this des ri!tion. In his autobiogra!hy, he remarked that he was not a religious man, but if he were one, he would be a Buddhist. He ited for the following three reasons. 1. Buddhism is not ulture6bound. It em!hasi4e on internal !ra ti e rather than on e0ternal !ra ti e1 the way you develo! your mind. <. The !ra ti ality of Buddhism1 the Buddha deals with !roblems !er se. It has a lot to say about the &uestion of !riorities and !roblem solving. @. The im!ortan e of verifi ation through e0!erien e1 not to a e!t anything be ause it ha!!ens to be written down1 not to a e!t anything out of reveren e for their tea her1 or out of hearsay1 or be ause it sounds reasonable, but to verify.

De ication of !erit 'ay the merit and virtue a rued from this work adorn the Buddha2s -ure ,and, re!ay the four great kindnesses above, and relieve the suffering of those on the three !aths below. 'ay those who see or hear of these efforts generate Bodhi6mind, s!end their lives devoted to the Buddha )harma, and finally be reborn together in the ,and of .ltimate Bliss. B = - JJJJJ 1 -an avidya # $, the five s ien es or studies of India : 1$ Sabdavidya # $, linguisti s #grammar and om!osition$, <$ Sil!a # $, the arts and mathemati s, @$ ?ikitsa ( $, medi ine, B$ Hetu # $, logi and e!istemology, and C$ *dhyatuma # $, !hiloso!hy, whi h is the knowledge of the su!reme s!irit, the basis of four Dedas. 8our Dedas of Brahmins #$: 1$ >ig Dedas # $, S ien e of !oetry #religious hymn $, 1 <$ Sama Dedas # $, S ien e of a!horisms #verse used in worshi! servi e or ritual 1 $, @$ =a+ur # $, S ien e of sa rifi e #lyri s or words of a song 1$, and B$ *tharva #` $, S ien e of administration #im!re ations of e0or ise !assed down from generation to generation 1 $. < Sramana # $, is a Sankrit word whi h means 3diligent and !utting to rest # $.5 That is, diligently ultivating !re e!ts, samadhi, and wisdom, and !utting greed, hatred, and stu!idity to rest. The Buddha is also alled a Sramana. @ Aine su essive stage of samadhi #6 $: B stages of dhyana #V6$: 8irst dhyana: 9oyous %round of Se!aration from -rodu tion #- $ *t this state, one2s !ulse sto!s. Se ond dhyana: 9oyous %round of -rodu ing Samadhi #6 $ *t this state, one2s breath sto!s #the outer breath eases and an Inner breath omes to life$ Third dhyana: (onderful Blissful %round of Se!arating from 9oy # $. *t this state, ons ious thought eases. 8ourth dhyana: -ure %round of >enoun ing Thought #x$ *t this state, all thoughts are abandoned. B !la es of em!tiness #e6$ 1$ the !la e of the heaven of boundless em!tiness #e$: the mind be omes void and vast like s!a e # $.

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<$ the !la e of the heaven of boundless ons iousness #e$: the !ower of !er e!tion and understanding are unlimited #$. @$ the !la e of the heaven of nothing whatsoever #+=e$: the dis riminative !owers of mind are subdued #d+= $. B$ the !la e of the heaven of neither !er e!tion nor no !er e!tion #cd c c de6$: the realm of ons iousness #or knowledge$ without thought is rea hed #x*(|2$. These four are onsidered both as states of dhyana, and as heavens into whi h one who !ra ti es these forms of dhyana may be born. *nd the samadhi of the e0tin tion of feeling and thought #d6$
B

Dishnu, The !reserver god of the Hindu sa red triad. C Tathagata, LOne who has found the truth2, synonym for Buddha, a term generally used by the Buddha referring to himself or to other Buddhas. Tatha #truth$ !lus agata # ome, arrived$. There were ten names normally used to refer to Buddha: #1$. Tathagata #$, #<$. (orthy of Offerings # $, #@$. One of -ro!er and .niversal "nowledge #$, #B$. One whose understanding and !ra ti e are om!lete # $, #C$. (ell6gone ,iberator of the (orld #Z$, #F$. .nsur!assed ,ord #$, #E$. %reat >egulator # $,@ #I$. 'aster of %ods and -eo!le #$, #K$. Buddha # $, and #1G$ (orld6honored One #$.
F

?aste system in India Brahmana #` $: Brahmans #-riest lass$ whi h ontrolled so iety "satriya #G $: >uling lass Daisya # ] $: 8armers, herders, mer hants Sudra #! $: Slaves lass.