This is pretty far afield from the topics that I usually write about but after reading Rudrangshu Mukherjee’s article on “Dharma and Caste in the Mahabharata” in the India Forum I felt that perhaps a brief response was warranted. So I wrote a letter on “Caste and Skin Colour” in the Mahabharata, which appears here.
https://www.theindiaforum.in/letters/dharma-and-caste-mahabharata
One simple point that appears not to be widely appreciated (at least in some circles) about the Mahabharata is this. In the original text, many of the main heroes, and the most beautiful men and women are described as being dark or having black-colored skin. There is a lot of explicit discussion about the complexion of characters, and there is no ambiguity about this issue. I give several examples in the letter but even a cursory reading of the text will reveal this aspect.
So it is incorrect to try and link skin color and caste while analyzing the text. The relation doesn’t exist as far as I can see.
(Of course, it is absurd that in modern picturizations of the Mahabharata — whether in the Amar Chitra Katha or the Doordarshan serial — the main characters (especially the women) are all depicted as having fair skin.)
On the other hand, there are other important issues and discussions of caste in the Mahabharata. It is clear that the text is presented from a dominant-caste narrative but there are several nuggets of dissent. I tried to give some examples of those as well. I think this reflects the fact that the text is accretive and I view these episodes as a sign of dialectical currents in the society of the time and as an acknowledgments of old revolts against a hierarchical order.
My study of the Mahabharata has been superficial, at best, so I would appreciate comments and corrections.