Consider the following statements about Al-Biruni's account of the sy…

Consider the following statements about Al-Biruni's account of the system of varnas:

(A) The Brahmana were created from the head of Brahman.
(B) The Kshatriya were created from the thigh of Brahman.
(C) The degree of the Kshatriya is not much below that of the Brahmana.
(D) Between the Kshatriya and the Vaishya there is no very great distance.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → A and C only

(A) The Brahmana were created from the head of Brahman. — Correct. Al-Biruni wrote that the Brahmana were created from the head of Brahman, the highest part of the body, so they were seen as the best of mankind.

(B) The Kshatriya were created from the thigh of Brahman. — Incorrect. The Kshatriya were created from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. The thigh belongs to the Vaishya.

(C) The degree of the Kshatriya is not much below that of the Brahmana. — Correct. He wrote that the degree of the Kshatriya was not much below that of the Brahmana.

(D) Between the Kshatriya and the Vaishya there is no very great distance. — Incorrect. The 'no very great distance' was between the latter two classes, that is, the Vaishya and the Shudra.

NCERT (2026-27): “4.2 Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system …
This is Al-Biruni’s account of the system of varnas: The highest caste are the Brahmana, of whom the books of the Hindus tell us that they were created from the head of Brahman. And as the Brahman is only another name for the force called nature, and the head is the highest part of the … body, the Brahmana are the choice part of the whole genus. Therefore the Hindus consider them as the very best of mankind. The next caste are the Kshatriya, who were created, as they say, from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. Their degree is not much below that of the Brahmana. After them follow the Vaishya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. The Shudra, who were created from his feet . . . Between the latter two classes there is no very great distance. …”