FROM HASA TO DRA ?

It is believed by some that in the beginning there was only one vara called hasa who got degraded to the vara of dras when the single vara became divided as 4 varas. This is a wrong premise. The relevant verses from rmad Bhgavatam (11.17.10-13) are given below: dau kta-yuge varon hasa iti smta kta-kty praj jtytasmt kta-yuga vidu In the beginning, in Kta-yuga, there was only one vara of humans called hasa. The age was called kta-yuga because, people were kta-ktya (spiritually accomplished) by their birth. veda praava evgre dharmo'ha va-rpa-dhk | upsate tapo-nih hasa m mukta-kilbi || In the beginning, the Veda is only expressed by the syllable O. I, the personification of dharma take the form of a bull. The inhabitants of Ktayuga, fixed in austerity and free from all sins, worship Me as Lord Hasa through their minds. tret-mukhe mah-bhgaprn me hdayt tray vidy prdurabht tasyaham sa tri-vn makha O one with great fortune, in the beginning of Tret-yuga from My heart manifested the three Vidys (Vedas) which are like My life-airs. Then from those three Vidys I appeared as threefold sacrifice. vipra-katriya-vi-drmukha-bhru-pda-j vairjt puruj jtya tmcra-laka The brhmaas, katriyas, vaiyas and dras appeared from the face, arms, thighs and legs of the the Vir-Purua. They all had their inherent duties and qualities. (rmad Bhgavatam 11.17.10-13) From the above verses, even though there is no scope, it concluded by some that the one vara of kta-yuga degraded into 4 varas gradually and then the varrama system of 4 varas was born. This is not correct as is apparent from the commentary by r-Jva gosvmi:

The commentary by r-Jva gosvmi for the above verses is as follows: tatra dviparrdhdau brhma-kalpe yat kta-tretayor varramcr pravtti-kramas tam hadv iti pacabhi | yato y tu sy-dita eva cturvarydi-pravttir varit s kalpntarev eva jey ||11.17.10|| There, in the brahma-kalpa, that comes in the beginning of the 51st year of Lord Brahma, the sequential manifestation of conduct as per varrama amongst kta and reta yugas is being said through the five verses beginning with du... Where the manifestation of the four varas is described right from the beginning of the creation itself must certainly be understood to be in other Kalpas. (In other words, it is only in one specific kalpa where there was one vara in the beginning. In other kalpas, the four varas were present right from the beginning.) tadn k nih vidhi-krybhvn nnye ved pravartit, kintu mukhya eka evety haveda iti ||11.17.11|| What was the nature of nih then? Since there was absence of vidhikryas. Other Vedas had not come forth. Rather there was principally only one Veda (Praava). This is said by the verse starting with veda. kramea te muktau saty tn anyn vedn pravartynye'dhikria pravartit ity hatreteti dvbhym | ||11.17.12|| After the attainment of mukti by them one by one (because already they are said to be kata-ktya from their very birth) in that satya yuga, on bringing forth the other Vedas, the adhikris for following the Vedas were brought forth. This is said by the two verses beginning with treta.. Therefore it is very clear that only after the liberation of all the hasas did the Lord create the four Vedas first then followed by the four Varas. Therefore, the hasas, being perfect just from birth did not become dras but were liberated. The creation of the four varas in Treta-yuga is an entirely different phenomenon and has no relation to the hasas of that particular Kta-yuga. To even think that the hasas became dras in ktayuga is an offense against the hasas who were perfect right from birth.