Although the lawgivers of the traditional Hindu codes (Dharma-shastras) themselves tend to treat jati s as varna s (social classes) and try to account on other occasions for jati s as products of alliances between the four varna s (Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras) and their descendants, a sharp distinction should be made between jati as a limited regional endogamous group of families and varna as a universal all-Indian model of social class.
