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There is an Upanishad named Vajra-sūcika, which contains details about the nature of Brahmin Varna. It discusses the qualities of a Brahmin. I came to know about the existence of this Upanishad through this answer.

There is no universal agreement on the authorship of the scripture. The author can be either Shankaracharya or Aśvaghosa.

The Upanishad is often ascribed to the Brahmin Buddhist scholar Aśvaghosa, the celebrated author of the 'Buddha-charita' — a biography on Lord Buddha. Sometimes, it is also ascribed to Bhagavatpāda Shankaracharya, the great Advaitin teacher. These ascriptions are impossible to prove.

There are many writings about Adi Shankaracharya by some elite people in the lineage of Adi Shankaracharya. Does anyone attribute this scripture to the Adi Shankaracharya in their writings?

hanugm
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    Only the 10 main upanishads have bhashyas, whether by Shankara or Ramanja or Madhwa-acharyas. Vajrasuchika is not one of those. for all i know, this whole upanishad could be made up. These Vajra stuff are usually propagated by liberals/shudras to denigrate true brahmins and/or equate themselves to brahmins. I agree that both birth and character are necessary for brahmin varna, but these guys think only character is necessary. – ram Jul 24 '22 at 22:50
  • @mar I got the doubt as Valmiki, who is Brahmin by birth is taken as an example for varna upliftment. I felt difficulty understanding it. – hanugm Jul 24 '22 at 22:55
  • @mar So, there are more chances that it is not a work of Shankaracharya. – hanugm Jul 24 '22 at 22:57
  • here is a simple rule - if you read something on an atheist/liberal/feminist blog about Hinduism, you can safely believe it is wrong. Always listen to traditional pravachan/upanyas - https://www.pravachanam.com is a good starting place. – ram Jul 24 '22 at 22:59
  • @ram yes orthodoxy is supreme!!! – Haridasa Mar 20 '24 at 16:06
  • Vajrasūcī by Aśvaghoṣa and Vajrasūcikā Upaniṣad aren't exactly the same. The former is more bigger and there's difference in the contents too. Actually, the former is based on the latter. In Advaitic tradition, Vajrasūcikā Upaniṣad is considered a prāmāṇya Upaniṣad i.e. it's accepted as a part of Veda, being within the 108 Upaniṣads of Muktikā canon. And so, this isn't authored by anyone exactly, for the Veda is aupauruṣeya, as per Bhāṭṭa Mīmāṁsā & Advaita Vedānta. – Bingming Mar 20 '24 at 16:34

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There is no fixed position in the scriptures on these matters. If you want to take a liberal position, then this Upanishad should be in your personal canon. If on the other hand you want to take a conventional, hyper orthodox position, then you can ignore it. The choice is yours. Don't let others dictate your position.

GSMD
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