Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follows:

"The varna system had become rigid. Transformation from one varna to another had become difficult. Community lunch and inter-marriages had ceased to exist."

(a) Give the names of the four 'Varnas'.

(b) How did the varna system change during the Later Vedic period?

(a) Four varnas are — Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras.

(b) During the Later Vedic Period, the Varna system became rigid, making movement between these difficult. Community meals disappeared, and a rigid varna system appeared. Only the three higher varnas were permitted to undergo upanayana (the sacred thread ceremony) as per Vedic traditions. Inter-varna marriages were not practised, further solidifying social divisions.