If there is one text from ancient India which has been condemned like hell is Manusmriti. People say it is the cause of all problems in Hinduism.

Some people even say that Manusmriti should be burnt. They chant slogans - HUM LEKE RAHENGE AAZADI, MANUWAAD SE AAZADI !

To those who scream this, and condemn Manusmriti, they haven't read it.

But wait, BR Ambedkar did read it and he burnt it !

Actually BR Ambedkar read the Manusmriti which was translated by Max Muller. And do you know what the qualifications of Max Muller were ?

He couldn't pass the 1860 election of the Boden professorship of Sanskrit. He did not have practical first hand knowledge of Indian culture and customs.

The biggest evidence found is a letter which was written by Max Muller to his wife in which he has himself mentioned that he was appointed by the Britishers to translate the Vedas and Indian texts in such a way that the Hindus lose faith in them.

This was a time when the Gurukuls of India were shut down by the British and Hindus didn't have access to the knowledge of Sanskrit, so they couldn't question Max Muller and the British on the wrong translation.

Ambedkar in his book 'Who are the Shudras ?' himself wrote that he didn't know Sanskrit and relied on Max Muller's translation of Manusmriti and other ancient texts for 15 years.

Ab jab galat translation hi padha hai toh galat dhaarna hi banegi. I don't blame him.

Now people say that Manusmriti divided ancient Indian society in the terrible hierarchy of caste and was unfair to Dalits.

First of all, Dalit is not a varna, it's a recent word. Dalit means jiska Dalan kiya gaya ho, this was true in the context of British India and post independence.

There are only 4 Varnas mentioned in Manusmriti -

The shlok means - Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishyas are twice born and Shudras are born only once. There are only 4 Varnas.

The mention of the 5th Varna, which is considered as untouchables, are not mentioned in Manusmriti because there were none. Untouchability wasn't a practice of ancient India.

Now one will say that it is unfair to Shudras as it says they are born only once.

First of all, you must know what a Dwija is, a person is born twice meaning he has obtained a set of skills and wisdom, his life changes and thus is said to be born twice.

A person obtains knowledge and starts to teach, his life is changed. This is how a Brahmin is Dwija.

A person obtains the knowledge of weapons and becomes a warrior, his life is changed. This is how a Kshatriya is Dwija.

A person obtains skills of art or buisness, his life changed and this is how a Vaishya is Dwija.

But a shudra is someone who doesn't obtain wisdom or skills. And hence his life doesn't change.

It's a basic fact, if you don't obtain knowledge and skills, you cannot change your life for better.

Now one will argue that it's because Shudras were not allowed to obtain education, because discrimination blah blah blah....

I'll end the entire caste discrimination narrative blotted upon Manusmriti by its one shlok -

Manusmriti says that a Shudra can become a Brahmin, a Brahmin can become Shudra. Similarly a Kshatriya can become Vaishya or a Vaishya can become Kshatriya.

This is only possible when all 4 Varnas get equal education. How can a Shudra become a Brahmin if he doesn't know Vedas ?

There is no textual evidence of Shudras being deprived of education. You may think that the Brahmins wouldn't write it. But dude not even Islamic scholars wrote it. Everyone got education in ancient India.

Being deprived of education and being considered untouchable happened after British rule in India. The Brits enforced this upon us. If you don't believe me just google the Criminal Tribes Act and Punjab Pre-emption act.

In Bhagwad Gita, Shri Krishna says -

चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः ।
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ॥ ४- १३ ॥

Meaning that all 4 Varnas are created by me on the basis of one's Gunas and Karmas.

It is said that a person can be a great leader but if he doesn't understand the law of the cosmos, doesn't understand the subtlety of breath or the functioning of 5 elements, he is a Shudra. Basically those who don't think or go beyond the physical limits of the body are Shudras. Which is most of us nowadays.

Now if the Varnas were flexible then are there any examples ? Vishnu Puran has many.

Prishadra was the son of Kshatriya King Manu and became a Shudra. While the son of Raja Dhrisht became Vaishya from Kshatriya.

In Ramayan, Maharishi Matang was a Chandal who became a Brahmin. Vishwamitra was a Kshatriya king who became a Brahmin.

Now, to those who say that Manusmriti is against women, and is the cause of women's degradation in Indian society, I have some shlokas to show you from Manusmriti -

I think these verses are very much in support of women. So shut your mouth up and learn not to speak if you don't have complete knowledge about something. Conjectures are a form of stupidity.

□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□
A/N

If you want to read the authentic Manusmriti without the pesky british interpolations then read - 'Vishudha Manusmriti' by Dr. Surendra Kumar published by Arsh Sahitya Prachar Trust.