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THE

HISTORY OF CASTEIN INDIA

Evidence of the Laws of Manu on the SocialConditions in India During the Third

Century A. D., Interpretedand Examined

WITH AN APPENDIX ON

RADICAL DEFECTS OF ETHNOLOGYBY

SHRIDHAR V. KETKAR, A. M. (Cornell)Formerly the Senior Editor ofMaharashtra Vagvilasa Magazine, Bombay, India

VOLUME ONE

MESSRS. TAYLOR & CARPENTERBOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS

ITHACA, N. Y.1909


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Copyright 1909BYSHRIDHAR V. KETKAR.

JAMES B. LYON COMPANY,PRINTERS, ELECTROTYPERS, BINDERS,ALBANY, N. Y.


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PREFACE.I have said regarding the scope of the 'book in the in-

troductory chapter and here I make only such remarks,which I could not include in the book itself.The second and seventh chapters of this book were

reported to the general seminary of the Department ofHistory and Political Science at Cornell University dur-ing the year 1907-8. I am indebted to the professorsand students for their valuable criticisms made on theoccasion. The second chapter formed part of the dis-sertation which was submitted as a partial fulfillment ofthe requirements of master's degree. The radical defectsof ethnology which I have discussed in the appendixhave appeared already in the quarterly American Anthro-pologist, Vol. XLDuring the compilation of the book, I had availed

myself of the material in the Boston Public Library andthe libraries at Cornell, Columbia, Yale, and Harvard.I found the library of Harvard best suited for my work ;the oriental collection there, is undoubtedly the bestin the country. Professor Lanman at Harvard hadallowed me the privilege of using his own excellent andextensive collection.

In the preparation of the index besides those of ageneral reader, the special needs of the students of soci-ety, antiquity, Sanskrit literature and Indian history havebeen considered and I hope the index would be of someservice to them.


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iv PREFACE.

While adapting the Roman alphabet to representIndian words, I have distinguished long vowels by amacron, italised, t, d, n to represent the non-dentalsounds, and re to represent the peculiar Sanskrit vowel.The letters j n denotes the peculiar pelatal compound offrequent occurrence in Sanskrit words. I have avoidedall other niceties. In the case of some words which havealready become English I have given the currentEnglish spelling.

My sincere thanks are due to Professor Lanman ofHarvard and Professor Hopkins of Yale, for theirperusal of the manuscript and for * some very valuablesuggestions. I should also thank Messrs. J. B. Lyon& Co. for their careful typography, and Mr. Henry C.Hasbrouck of Troy, N. Y., for going over the proofs.September ''09.


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CONTENTS.CHAPTER I.INTRODUCTORY.

Page.Beliefs and attitude of Western people toward caste IAttitude of Western philosophers 2Proper attitude for the Hindus toward the subject 2They need not be pessimistic 2Intention of study; academic and of a practical reformer... 3The class of readers I am writing for 3Western scholars should not look upon Indian caste as if

they are not directly concerned in the matter, for caste isbecoming a world problem ..,.;' '.4'Attitude desirable in the United States 4Difficulties in the way of a reformer: various complexities ofthe society and great magnitude of the work 5And lack of force to break caste '. 6Knowledge of the correct history of caste, the only availablesource of strength. . ._ .--* 7The project: to write history of caste; method of presenta-

tion, other than strict narration of facts in order of time. . 7Different monographs each covering some special topic wouldbe written. The present monograph represents the condi-tions in the third century in the Gangetic valley 8Justification of presenting a monograph on the third centuryat the very start : 9

* Inadequacy of the previous work on the laws of Manu makesanother search into them necessary 9Arrangement adopted in the book 10Motive in making references to caste in U. S n

CHAPTER II.THE CASTE SYSTEM.i. Definition of Caste.

Etymology and history of the word caste 12Definitions of a caste by Senart, Nesfield and Risley 13My own definition of a caste. A group with two characteris-tics : i. Membership confined to those who are born ofthe members and includes all persons so born ; 2. Mem-bers forbidden by an inexorable social law to marry out-side the group 15

[v]


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VI CONTENTS.Page.

Distinction between caste and subcaste relative and not ab-solute. Social structure 15Caste patriotism 16All castes did not split out of one united body. Principlesof division in those cases when such splitting up tookplace 16

Castes, a hierarchy 17Internal structure of a caste, exogamy and hypergamy . . . . 17Caste and class 17Meaning of the word " caste " when used as an abstractnoun 18"Origin of caste ;

" a meaningless expressionCaste and tribe ; caste and occupation2. Theory of Caste.

Hindu belief regarding, the universality of four castes,priests, warriors, common people, and servants ; perma-nance of differences between these castes, and oblitera-tion of caste among casteless people by intermixture. . 19Beliefs regarding, causes of caste and precedence, loweringof caste, graduations of occupations and animals.... 20

Examples of causes which bring about degradation of acaste 21The customs differ according to locality 21Method of Pundits in deciding disputes 21Nature of questions referred to them 22Nature of questions which a caste decides for itself 22Actual precedence of a caste depends on its ability toexact it 22Meaning of the precedence 22The method of manifesting the precedence ; importance ofknowing it, theory of purity and pollution at its bases. Pro-vincial customs regarding pollution 23Rules to discover the precedence 24Explanation of some rules 25

3. Psychology of Caste.Psychology of endogamy; quotation from Westermark 27Present causes of endogamy in India, their primitive char-acter 28Endogamy outside India 29Hierarchy, a cause or a result of endogamy 29Supremacy of the priest ; its universality 30Some causes of permanance of caste in India, early marriage,and nature of the people 31Why early marriage is considered holier 32(Descriptive literature on caste) 33


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CONTENTS. Vll

CHAPTER III.HISTORY OF INDIA, 250 B. .-250 A. D. Page.

Knowledge of conditions and events between 250 B. C. and250 A. D. is necessary to understand the text 34Events after the death of Ashoka. Maurya dynasty over-thrown. Shunga and Kawva dynasties rose and fell, An-dhras rose to power and took control of Pafaliputra. TheMagadha empire lost Punjab. Andhra dynasty ceased toexist in 236 A. D 34Anarchy in the land. (Rise of Modern Vernaculars) 34Causes "of the lack of more information regarding Magadha. 35

Contrast between the conditions in Punjab and Magadha... 35Death of Seleukos Nikator. The revolt and independenceof Bactrians and Parthians 35

Bactrians (Bactrian Greeks) independent for a time, butbecame divided into various principalities, which foughtfor mastery of N. W. India and Bactria 36Rise of Shakas. Extinction of Bactrian Greek principalitiesby the Shakas. Shaka settlements in India. Shakas heardof in India till 360 A. D. (Race of the Shakas) 36Greeks heard of in India until after 126 A. D 37

The period characterized by close. contact with the foreigners -and by close relations between the North and the South.. 38Buddhism was becoming an independent religion. (Differ-ences with the advocates of Buddhism) 38Economic history of this period is still unknown 39Economic history of the period that preceded 39

Philosophy of the period. The different schools of philosophyin the process of development 40

Intellectual activities in grammar, and astronomy. Epics,Puranas, Jain and Buddhistic literature 42

(Materials for the history of the period) 42-^CHAPTER IV.

THE BOOK MANAVA-DHARMA-SHASTRA.Textual criticism. The text adopted by Kulluka and the text

independent of Kulluka represented by Jolly's edition.Jolly's edition is a result of far-reaching studies 44Contents of the book ; 45The method of presentation. The poetical elements in thebook illustrated 46

Method of interpreting the book. The interpretation of thecommentators illustrated. Their attitude and defects. Theiraim was not to produce a commentary for academic pur-poses, but to interpret the text with reference to the needsof their time and place 47


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Vlll CONTENTS.Page.

Condition of literature and thought at the period of ourwriter. The new social problems 52Motives of the author, i. Respect for tradition. 2. A senseof inadequacy of past injunctions. 3. A desire for system-atic arrangement . . 53The weakness of political institutions and its effect ondharma literature. Brahmawas, their burden and means.. 53Education of the masses and its relation to the mode ofstatement 54Knowledge of the motives of the dharma writers and of themethod of interpreting their works necessary to guardagainst doing injustice to the author and to the priesthood. 54Place of our text in dharma literature. Buhler has shownthat our text is a conversion of Manava-dharma-sutra.All dharma-sutras were sectarian, of local validity, un-systematic and incomplete. Our text attempts to be awork free from all these defects. The recast of the bookwas clone at once 55Nature of dharma. Consideration of the nature of dharmais indispensable for the proper understanding of the work. 56Place of dharma in sciences. Dharma had various shadesof meanings; the principal one is duty. Dharma hada different meaning in Buddhistic literature 57Dharma kept its. meaning in Brahmanical literature. Theultimate formation of the three divisions of dharma 57

History of the word shows the vanity of its translation bythe word law 57Dharma never meant a command. Brahma^a was expounderof dharma, not the king 57Idea in the text regarding dharma 58Inadequacy of the explanation in the text to modern readers . 58Explanation of dharma. Expounder of dharma was pri-marily a teacher and not a jurisprudent 59Characteristics of dharma which make the above fact clear :the law of preference, the language of the book 59Maintenance of dharma. Ceremonial part easily maintainedas the decision lay with the Brahmawas. The king alsowas supposed to maintain dharma at the instruction ofBrahmanas. Masses obeyed dharma through the terrorsof future life 60Penances and their use in maintaining dharma 6l

Austerities of service in maintaining dharma as their meritsare lost in case a dharma injunction is violated 6lExcommunication and its value in maintaining dharma 6lDate of the author. Two opinions. Buhler places him be-tween 200 B. C and 200 A. D. I am inclined to place himbetween 227 A. D. and 320 A. D 62


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CONTENTS. IXPage.

Arguments of Biihler. i. Priority of our text to Narada.ii. Our author separated by a considerable period fromMedhatithi, who lived in the ninth century, iii. Smnti ofBHhaspati, which existed in 600 A. D., is a commentary(vartika) on Manava text 63

Biihler's arguments do not offer any serious objection to mythesis, but rather strongly support it 63Greater possibility for research to-day than at the time whenDr. Biihler wrote 64My argument. Our text refers to Andhras, Yavanas, Shakas,Pahlavas, Lichchivis, Chinas, etc. These references arenot interpolations 64

i. Andhras spoken as a low caste; such a mention waspossible only after the close of second century, whenAndhras ceased to be a ruling caste (226 A. D.) 64

ii. Probability of the mention of Shakas, Yavanas andPahlavas together falls between 113-350 A. D 65(Confusion regarding Shakas and Pahlavas offers no

difficulty for our purposes) ... ^r. 66iii. Probability of the mention of Lichchivis as Vratyasexisted only before 320 A. D 66A period when all what our text wrote was possible liesbetween 226 A. D. and 320 A. D 66

(Literature on the date) 66Author's home. He was very likely a Brahmaf/a of Magadha.He shows greater acquaintance with the tribes aroundMagadha than with those of other parts 66(Differences with Professor Jolly regarding the readings) . . 66Mention of Shakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas explained 67Mention of Chinas, and its relation to the place of ourauthor 68Knowledge of the people of India of geography was verypoor 69Knowledge of Brahmanas in this subject was specially bad. 69Opinion of our author regarding the sacredness of different

places. His treatment of this question points to the sameconclusion regarding his home 69Personal character of the author. He was a learned man.His philosophical beliefs are carefully concealed. He wasa man of good intentions. He was a progressive man. . . . 72(Burmese Pali literature on Manu) 75CHAPTER V.

TREATMENT OF CASTE BY THE BOOK.i. Meaning of Words.

Knowledge of some theories and of some terms like varwaand jati necessary .to interpret the text 76


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X CONTENTS. *Page.

By varwa our writer did not mean race or color. Thesewords should not be translated with Vedic vocabulary... 77(The effect of misinterpretation of the words arya andvarwa, in India) 77Our writer does not define arya. From the time when lastverse of Rigveda. was written down to 1800 the word arya 'never meant a race. The notion of race is entirely foreignto the text 78(Mischief produced in India by words Aryan and Dra-vidian) 78

Meaning of arya: A man who is not a Mlechcha or aDasyu or a Vratya or a Vahya or a Shudra is an arya.Explanation of terms like " Dasyu " 80The word arya carried a meaning entirely different fromthe philological term Aryan 81The question whether a certain family was arya or not wassettled by precedence and not by complexion of the per-sons or by ascertaining their descent from the invadingtribe 81

(Attitude of the epic regarding arya) 822. Types of Castes.We are interested not in particular castes, but in the growthof caste system 83Six kinds of castes mentioned in the text 83The sources of the doctrines which our author expresses... 84(Phenomena of the rise of new theories regarding particular

castes) 85Important verses giving a list of fallen Kshatriyas and causesof their fall (x, 43, 44) 86Wrong attitude of critics toward those verses. These versesfurnish us a key to the solution of many problems 87Those verses do not pretend to explain the origin of thevarious castes like Yavanas, but only explain why they lost

status. Ideas of the text regarding Kshatriya varna 87Dependence of status on sacraments. Indian belief regardingthe universality of the four varwas, admission of foreignersto Hindu society 88Sacraments and their importance in determining the statusof the family 89

Hindu notions regarding unity, universality and eternity oftheir religion made formal conversion unnecessary 893. Constitution of Four Varnas.Brahmawas had taken a very great latitude in their occu-

pations 90All Brahmawas were not equal in purity 90


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CONTENTS. XIPage.

The status of a son of a Brahmawa by a Kshatriya womanwas indefinite QiKshatriyas. Royal families of a nation or a tribe or allmembers of a dominant tribe both called Kshatriyas. Nosharp lines existed between Kshatriyas and masses.Kshatriyas were no jati 93

Vaishyas. The agriculturists, traders and keepers of cowsconstituted Vaishya varwa. Persons engaged in varioustrades were considered Shudras 95Shudras. Constitution of Shudra varwa. Shudras were notaryas. They were no caste. Princes and ruling tribeswere also among Shudras 96

Apart from princes and ruling tribes, the rest of the Shudraswere not uniform in economic life. Many Shudras werewealthy; the rule regarding accumulation of wealth by aShudra 97The main difference between Vaishya and Shudra wasdifference of sacraments. Economic difference was notsharp 98The society of the period did not differ much from thepresent society 99Shudras not democratic amongst themselves. (Similar con-ditions in U. S. ) 99

4. Occupational Castes.Inquiry into the existence of occupational castes not properlymade 101If association of an occupation to a caste would be con-sidered as occupational caste, such a phenomena is uni-versal and existed in the author's times 102(Occupational castes in U. S.).. 102The meeting of high and low civilizations and division ofoccupations on racial lines 102Evidence in our text of occupational castes 103The statements of the text are faithful and dependable 105Whether guilds were converted into castes cannot be defi-nitely said 105

5. Possibility of Changing One's Caste.Doubt regarding the possibility of changing from one caste

to another; verses vii, 42, and x, 42, 64, interpreted; thatthey do not provide rules for changing caste shown 106Fall from the castes was possible 108Rules regarding excommunication existed 109Rule regarding the degradation from a pure to a mixedcaste criticised 109


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Xll CONTENTSTCHAPTER VI.

PHILOSOPHY OF CASTE (VARNA ORDER.)I. The Philosophical Theories. Page.

Importance of understanding the underlying philosophicalbeliefs to do justice to the Hindus inFour vamas due to the nature originally assigned by theCreator, and their fusion would lead to social dissolutionand to hell inThe people had no idea of a condition arising after a con-fusion of castes 112Theories of transmigration of soul, of Karma and of threeguwas justified the rule of caste 113

\2. Theory of PurityCaste system not only*"] Uglified by llieological doctrines, but

also by ideas of purity and pollution 116The various phases of the doctrine 116Food question most important, purity of the food dependedon the status of the giver of the food 117Food impure and polluted 117What articles should be consumed and what not 118Penances for eating impure food 118Sacredness and impurity of spots and places 118Purity and impurity of some other entities 119(Purity of Brahmaa mere than physical or ethnical purity) . 119Sacraments and their place in the code of purity 121Purpose of going into details regarding purity and pollution. 121Every entity graded on this principle 121Summary . . \ 123

CHAPTER VIII.DISCRIMINATION ON ACCOUNT OF VARNA.

i. Materials for Investigation.Dharma writers advised discrimination on the lines of varwaand not on the lines of jati . . 124Value of the evidence of dharma rules for getting factsabout the period considered with reference to the method

of legal procedure. Dharma rules on the privileges anddisabilities of varwas deserve treatment with greatest sus-picion 124The material helpful to decide the truth regarding the state-ments of the text 125Value of the evidence of Purawas and of dramas 126


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CONTENTS. XlllPage.

(Caution to be observed while interpreting Indian literaryworks for historical purposes ; the question consideredwith reference to the relation of modern literatures topresent manners and facts) 126Niti literature. The difference between dharma and niti wasthat the former was founded on Vedas while the latterwas not. Analogous literatures among ancient Hebrews.. 128

(Difference between dharma and niti in the later litera-tures) 128(Academic distinction between dharma and niti and theirplaces in two classifications of sciences) 128

Niti as a check to the extravagant claims of dharma 129A doctrine advocated both by dharma and niti is more likelyto be followed 129Value of inscriptions 129Value of parallel passages in earlier and later dharma works. 130The evidence of foreign travelers and its value 130Common valuable feature among all these different sourcesof evidence is their priority to Mohammedan conquest... 130

2. Religious and Ceremonial Discriminations.The first three varwas were twice born, but Shudra was not.The different varwas were differently treated in a numberof details regarding the ceremony of initiation 130Differences in other ceremonies 131It is probable that the rules were adhered to 132

3. Treatment of Different Varnas at Court.Lower the varwa of the witness longer the formula of ad-vice 133Motives of such a practice 133Formula for making oaths differed according to the varwa.. 134Varwas and their eligibility to give evidence in the court.. 134Eligibility of different varwas for the office of a judge asdetermined from the rules in the text and Shukra niti 134Eligibility for the office of assessor 135Difference between the advice of dharma and niti on one

side and the facts as presented in the drama of Toy-carton the other 136(Differences with Wilson on the interpretation of the plotof the Toy-cart) 1364. Economic Privileges and Disabilities.

Occupations de jure and de facto of various varnas 136Varwa distinctions in the rules on inheritance 138


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XIV CONTENTS.Page.

Rules regarding the disposition of treasures found by aBrahmawa and by men of other varwas 140Varwa and the rules on taxation 1415. Varna and Marriage.Phenomena resembling caste are always attended by thedesire to maintain a strong barrier between women of

higher group and men of lower group... 143Our text approves of a marriage with a woman of equalvarna, does not entirely forbid a marriage outside thevarwa, severely condemns a Brahmawa marrying a Shudrawoman 144

It forbids the marriage of a man of lower varwa to awoman of higher varwa, but cases of this kind must havebeen very rare 144Different forms of marriage for different varwas recom-mended, permitted and forbidden 145Ceremony for marriage" differed according to the varwaof the wife 145Seniority of the wives according to their varwa 146Wife of unequal varwa forbidden to help her husband in

religious duties 146Whether free marriage existed between different Shudracastes is doubtful 146

6. Varna and Illicit Intercourse.Severe condemnation of adultery as it causes the fusionof varwas 147Fusion of varnas dreaded because it would lead to thedisappearance of persons properly qualified for sacrifice. Ifsacrifices would be stopped the world would be destroyed. . 147Contradiction in our text regarding the punishment foradultery 148Dharma writers in general prescribe two punishments, onemonstrously severe and the other much milder. Thesevere punishment had simply an educative value 148

(Differences with other writers regarding the interpretationof punishments stated in various Scriptures) 148Quotations from the text distinguishing between adulterywith a man of equal varwa and that with a man of lowervarna 15Quotations from the text on adultery and fornication be-tween sexes of different varwas interpreted 152

(Differences with commentators and with Western scholars .regarding the meaning of words "Gupta" and "Agupta"in the above quotation) 154Rules on making love between sexes of different vamas 155


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CONTENTS. XV7. Varna and the Criminal Law. Page.

Verses regarding the punishment for arrogance and assaultby a man of lowest tribe to people of high varwas 155

(Differences with commentators and their followers on thetranslation of the word "antyaja ") 156The punishments given in the rules above were nothing butthreats 156Rules regarding defamation quoted and interpreted 157Brahmawas and their claim to exemption from the punish-ment of death. That their claim was heeded is doubtful.. 158Brahmawa should be banished with his property while othervarwas should be deprived of their property when banished. 159Rules regarding condemnation to labor for debts Brah-mawa exempted from forced labor 160Severity of dharma writers toward Brahmana in cases oftheft 160

BrahmanaBrahmawas' boastfuPclaiufl!! to dlivinliy. .". .T7. 160Brahmawa was not happy with all his privileges and prestige. 162Shudras treated with contempt 163Shudras and Brahmawas contrasted. The period when thetwo varnas, Kishatriya and Vaishya, disappeared was ap-proaching 164

APPENDIXCaste and ethnology 165Radical defects of ethnology 165Races in India. Differences with Sir H. Risely 167Caste and race 170Index , 171Index to the passage from Manava text referred to orquoted - 191


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HISTORY OF CASTE.CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.The Problem. The mystery of caste is a hard

problem for a foreigner to understand. I doubtwhether a man who has not stayed a long time inIndia would be able to understand this problem evenif he reads my book. Even the man who stays inIndia for a long time does not understand what casteis. He thinks that this strange people who are calledHindus must have some Very peculiar constitution ofmind which a stranger should not pretend to under-stand. Some feel that the unscrupulous priesthoodhave led their countrymen into this snare of folly tomaintain their own supremacy.Whatever may be the case, an Englishman says thatcaste in India is an interesting institution. It is quitenatural that no other feeling than that of amusementshould occur to the English mind. He can afford tolaugh at the absurdities and contradictions in such anantiquated and complicated institution. The greaterthe folly in the institutions of the strangers, thegreater is the enjoyment felt. The Englishman framesa nice little table-talk, with caste as his topic. AnAmerican missionary finds the subject very useful toinduce his countrymen to subscribe nioney to save thesouls of two hundred millions of people fromheathenism.


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2 HISTORY OF CASTE.The European and American people who write o*

caste do not necessarily do so to bring the folly tothe attention of their countrymen for the purpose ofridicule. There are some strangers who look on thisquestion with philosophic interest, but it is very littledifferent from the interest felt by an entomologistobserving the habits of ants.But the sons of India would have to think on castewith quite a different feeling. They cannot afford toenjoy the absurdities as an Englishman would. Theyhave to be serious. A scientific investigator who is nota Hindu would look at this Hindu society without anyfeeling, as a medical man would examine a dead body.But a Hindu cannot be so unmoved. The more hethinks on the caste system, the better he understandshis own burden. As one looking at a cancer wouldlike to turn away his eyes, so a Hindu would like todiscontinue his thoughts. But such dislike he must notentertain even for a moment. However pleasing mightbe the bliss of ignorance, the price which is to be paidwould make us drop the idea of tasting such bliss.Investigation in this problem must be carried on with-out any feeling. It is a critical moment, a question oflife and death, and we ought to consider it, and thereis no way to escape.Those who look at the caste distinctions and the evil

consequences may even feel that this ship of caste hasgone out of control. All that I can say is that we haveno reason to despair. Methods of investigation whichenable us to ascertain causes and extent of an evil, andto adopt proper remedies therefor, are making morerapid progress to-day than ever before, and the work


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INTRODUCTORY. 3which the great men of the past have done is before us,and we can avoid their mistakes. All the attemptsmade b the previous workers to break this caste sys-tem have failed, but it should not be thought that allthe possible remedies have been exhausted.We ought to investigate what the condition to-day is,how it came to be, whether it is desirable, and, if notdesirable, what methods, if any there be, can beadopted to get out of such a condition.My intention in this study of caste may here bestated. It is not only to lay down a method for thestudy of caste and to find out the general principlesof the present formation, but also to find how andwhen this snare came to-be woven and to see whetherits history suggests any methods to remodel it.

People of superior intelligence and authority havemade several attempts to do what I am proposing todo, and have failed. I am not quite sure whether theremedies which I shall suggest would be crowned withsuccess, but I shall lay before the readers the resultsof my investigations.

This book is especially for the Hindus, but I do notat all expect that it will be acceptable to all. I do notpretend to write for those who believe that the castesystem must be good because it was introduced by ourforefathers and because our forefathers were wiser thanwe are and that we are in the wrong if we think itbad. Nor do I write for those who believe that thegreat sages who gave the law in the past ages wereomniscient and that a frail mortal of to-day ought not tocriticise their writings. 1 But I write this book for those

1 Such attitude is shown by some very prominent orthodoxBrahmins. See for example the sentiment expressed in thepreface of Arvachina Kosha by Godbole,


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4 HISTORY OF CASTE.who, with best respect for those sages, are prepared toadmit that those sages were men, and that they wereliable as men to err, and that, if they have erred, it isneither a sin nor an impossibility to correct them.The European scholars who study this question con-centrate their attention on understanding the present.Some of them see the need of considering how thisinstitution came into existence ;- but they rarely care toconsider what a thoughtful Hindu thinks about, namely,the future of caste and the possibilities of modifying it.Whether they consider this or not, it cannot be deemedunnecessary for them to think. As long as caste inIndia does exist, Hindus will hardly intermarry or haveany social intercourse with outsiders; and if Hindusmigrate to other regions on earth, Indian caste wouldbecome a world problem. An outsider going to Indiaand staying there for centuries would remain an outsiderand could never be assimilated. To the gradual unifica-tion of the world, one-fifth part of which is entangled bythe caste system, there is no other single obstacle ofequal magnitude. How great the problem before theHindus is, is hard for the European to understand. Thepeople of the United States, where two castes prevail,would be able to understand the magnitude of this prob-lem to a slight degree. It would be a good thing for thfsrepublic if the scholars here would take a little more ofscientific attitude toward the situation in India insteadof joining with the European writers in censuringus for this institution, when we ourselves well under-stand it to be defective but do not know how to im-prove it.


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INTRODUCTORY. 5To state the difficulties in our way, suffice it to say

that caste^ is a development of at least three thousandyears, and all the social manners and customs of theHindus are so modeled and interrelated as to fit the castesystem. The more highly organized a system, the harderit is to change, and the caste system is no exception tothis rule. We find revolts against this system from thevery earliest period up to to-day, and most of them suc-ceeded only in multiplying the evils. Principles antago-nistic to the system were forced into society by theswords of the Mohammedans, by the bayonets of thePortuguese, and by the organized missions of Europeansand Americans of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,but they all failed to make any impression.The extent of the work which we have to do is also amatter to be seriously considered. Of the three hundredmillions of people in India, two hundred millions areHindus, and eighty millions are Mohammedans. Thetwo hundred million Hindus are made up of diverseracial elements, speak about nineteen developed lan-guages, and over one hundred dialects. They are againdivided into over three thousand castes, most of themhaving subcastes. One of these castes, i. e., that of theBrahmins (Brahmanas),2 is divided into over eight hun-dred subcastes. None of them intermarry and most ofthem do not dine together.The extent of the prejudices which we have to over-come is by no means a negligible factor. The socialdistance between man and man is too great for a West-erner easily to imagine. A Brahmin is a holy man, while

2 The correct Sanskrit word is Brahmawa. Brahmin is apopular English corruption of that word.


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HISTORY OF CASTE. \a Mahar is foul and untouchable. Between them wefind a series of castes of countless gradations. Thewords " foul and untouchable " need some explanation.If a Mahar touches, or even if his shadow falls on aHindu of a good caste, the latter is supposed to be pol-luted and is himself unfit to be touched or to enter ahouse unless he takes a bath. How to simplify thesesocial relations is the problem for us to solve.To effect any change in a society so complex and sohighly organized, a tremendous force is needed, andwhere is it? It might be thought that individuals mightget over these notions of their own accord and removethe evil, but that idea would prove fallacious. Individ-uals, especially of the higher castes, do not suffer verygreat inconvenience in their actual dealings, though so-ciety as a whole is weakened by the system. As theydo not find any inconvenience by letting the things go onas they are going now, they have no inclination to workin the opposite direction and get into trouble. Whenindividuals cannot remove an evil it is the duty of thecommunity or government to do it. The government ofIndia does not care to reform society, because it is afraidthat its intentions may be misunderstood. It has deter-mined on a policy of letting society alone.3 The taskwill fall upon some disinterested people who look to the

3 It is very sad that the government of India denies the na-tives of the country any share in the government, when it isunfit to make any social reforms itself. It is vain for an Eng-lishman to blame the Hindu for his caste when the former hasso resolutely kept the instrument of progress and reform awayfrom the Hindu. It is an irony of fate that the Englishmenwho push a bill in the House of Commons on most triflingquestions expect the natives of India to do all the social re-form without the aid of government and the legislature.


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INTRODUCTORY. 7future with alarm and would do something toward re-moving the evil. They have the whole orthodoxy toface and might get unpopularity and even excommuni-cation into the bargain. The greatest source of strengthwhich we have to rely on is the knowledge of the correcthistory of caste, which is yet unknown and which isvery likely to undermine the numerous prejudices cur-rent in the land. Yet this is an assumption. How farit will prove to be true is a matter for speculation, butit inspires hope in the investigator.The project and the method of presentation. I ampresenting in this volume the evidence of the so-calledLaws of Manu on the subject of caste with my owninterpretations and comments on that evidence. In or-der that the reader may understand the place of thismonograph in the entire history of caste in India, whichI have undertaken, it is necessary for me to acquainthim with my project and the method of presentation.Though at the beginning of my studies in the history

of caste I was very diffident regarding the possibility ofwriting a systematic history of this institution for theentire period stretching over thirty or forty centuries,with regard to the success of that project I am muchmore hopeful to-day. With the progress of the work, -Iam coming more and more to realize that the materialfor the successful completion of such a task is notwanting.

For an historical work the most approved method ofpresentation is to narrate facts, as far as possible, inthe order of time ; but the present defective character ofthe knowledge on the subject and to a certain extentthe peculiarities of the study itself forbid rigorous


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8 HISTORY OF CASTE.observance of that method. That method becomes advis-able only when the proportion of facts which a writermay incorporate in the work without going into demon-stration is sufficiently large. Unfortunately such is notthe case. The number of positive misconceptions on thesubject among the general readers as well as amongscholars is great; and controversies are inevitable atevery step. Moreover, caste is an institution extremelycomplex, having component elements with a long history.From the standpoints of both convenience to the writerand justice to the subject those elements deserve inde-pendent treatment. There are also questions like therelation of Buddhism to caste, which are important mthe eyes of the public and demand laborious researchand special treatment. Again, works like Manavadharma-shastra, or the so-called Laws of Manu,claim our special attention, not only because they giveus some important data for the study of the period inwhich they were written, but also because they repre-sent the attitude of an important class toward the ques-tion of caste.Under these conditions I find it advisable to writedifferent monographs treating different topics. Each of

these works would still represent a certain definite periodin the history of caste. One of them would illustratethe rise of the priesthood, and it would represent moreor less the Vedic period. The work on Buddhism wouldrepresent a period posterior to the Vedic but prior tothat period which produced the Laws of Manu. Thestudy of the Laws of Manu which I am now presentingto the public represents the conditions in the valley ofthe Ganges during the third century A. D. The work


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INTRODUCTORY. 9on occupational castes would probably represent aperiod still later. It may also become necessary to writetwo monographs on the same period in order to showtwo different developments.

I am presenting herein one part of the history of caste.It may seem strange to the reader that I should choosesuch an odd period as the third century A. D. to presentat the very start. The consideration which influencedme is not the intrinsic importance of the period but thevery great significance of the document selected forcriticism. The laws^ ql_Mami are well known to theWestern World They enjoy a great prestige in Indiaand are regarded as authoritative on the matter of caste.These laws again are constantly referred to by soci-ologist and anthropologist, and as I shall show' furtheron, constantly misunderstood by them. Again, I believethat the method of taking the reader along in the in-vestigation is preferable to dogmatic narration, whenthe things to be presented are not completely established.To follow this method properly one should select forpresentation at the outset that evidence the inferencesfrom which one intends to use in further investigation.

Professor Hopkins has gone over the same material,namely, the Laws of Manu, about twenty-five years ago.He has published also another monograph on the condi-tion of Kshatriyas according to Mahabharata. The workof Hopkins was no doubt excellent for the period whenhe wrote, but unfortunately the ideas of the WesternWorld on the matter of caste were very defective ; again,his attitude toward the question was considerably differ-ent from what I have. These facts made it necessaryfor me to go over the material again. There is no need


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10 HISTORY OF CASTE.of making any further apology for undertaking a re-search of the Laws of Manu.

In order that the reader may be able to follow whatI say on the history of caste, I have made a few remarksin the second chapter explaining 'the nature of caste.But there I do not claim to be very original. In thatchapter I have explained the use of the word, and havegiven what I consider a logical definition of a caste andthe theory of caste system. I have also made a few-remarks to show that however peculiar this institutionof caste may be, it is based on tendencies of mind whichare found among all peoples on the globe.

In the third chapter I have narrated some facts thatare now known regarding the period two hundred andfifty years before and after the beginning of the Chris-tian era. This chapter is intended to give to the readera picture of the conditions of the period approachingthe date of our book and to enable him to understandmy argument regarding its date.

I have devoted the fourth chapter to the mentionof some facts regarding our document and to the methodof interpreting it historically, and to the investigationof the date and place of the author. In the next chap-ter I have proceeded to treat the matter of primary in-terest, viz., the treatment of caste by the book. I havehere given what the writer has directly said on the sub-ject, as well as my inferences from the statements hehas made.

I have devoted the sixth chapter to the philosophy ofcaste. I would advise the reader to compare this chap-ter, which is based on the statements in the text, withthe theory of caste in the second chapter, based on theobservation of present-day society.


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INTRODUCTORY. 1 1I have given in the seventh or last chapter the dis-

crimination on the lines of vama as advised by the text.Here I have tried. to ascertain the actual facts of theperiod, using the text as a material, and have taken itstestimony with all due limitations. I have tried to findout how fiar varwa of the party was considered in thequestions of treatment at the court, taxation, inheritance,marriage, and the criminal law.

While discussing the caste system in India, I have in-cidentally made a few references to the caste system inthe United States. These references should not in anyway be construed as an attempt on my part to find faultwith the Americans and their civilization. I have madethese references primarily to make the Indian conditionsclearer with the aid of phenomena which are moreknown and likely to be more easily observed by the West-ern World. I also trust that these illustrations willpoint out how a people even with the noblest idealsbefore them and making huge efforts to maintain thoseideals, cannot entirely escape the consequences of eventssomewhat beyond their control. It may also happenthat the mention of these similarities may enable thepeople of this republic to understand the Hindus a littlebetter.


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12 HISTORY OF CASTE.

CHAPTER II.THE CASTE SYSTEM.i. Definition of Caste.

The word "caste." This is of Spanish and Portu-) guese origin. Casta means lineage or race. It is derived- from the Latin word Castus, which means pure. TheSpaniards were the first to use it, but its Indian appli-cation is from the Portuguese, who had so applied it inthe middle of the fifteenth century. The current spellingof the word is after the French word " Caste," whichappears in 1740 in the " academies/' and is hardly foundbefore 1800. Before that time it was spelt as

" cast."Jn the sense of race or breed of man it was used asearly as 1555 A. D. 1 The Spanish word "Casta" wasapplied to the mixed breed between Europeans, Indians(American) and negroes.2 But "caste" was not used inits Indian sense till the seventeenth century. 3 The In-dian use is the leading one now, and it has influencedall other uses. As the Indian idea of caste was butvaguely understood, this word was loosely applied to thehereditary classes4 of Europe resembling the castes of

3 Their (of the Nabatheens) caste is wittye in winning ofsubstance Fardle Facions, II, i, 118.2 Faun & Ulloa's Voyages to South America. (1772) I, i,iv, 29.3 Examples of use in this sense are The Banians kill noth-ing and there are thirtie and odd severall casts of these." Pur-chas Pilgr. i, 485 (Y). (1613 A. D.). The common Brahminshave eighty-two casts or tribes, Lord Banian, 1630 A. D.

4 Her manners had not that reposeWhich stamps the caste of Vere de Vere.[Tennyson's Lady Clara Vere de Vere.}


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 13India, who keep themselves socially distinct. Darwin 5has applied this word to different classes of social in-sects. The Portuguese used this word to denote theIndian institution, as they thought such a system wasintended to keep purity of blood. We thus se~e thatderivation of the word does not help us to understandwhat caste is.

Definitions of a caste by other writers. Beforegiving my own definition of a caste, I shall give the defini-tions by other writers. They may be found in thevarious volumes of the Report of the Census of Indiafor 1901. M. Senart has written an admirable book inFrench. In his book, " after reminding his readers thatno statement that can be made on the subject can be con-sidered as absolutely true, that the apparent relations ofthe facts admit of numerous shades of distinction, andthat only the most general characteristics cover the wholeof the subject, he goes on to describe a caste as a close cor-poration, in theory at any rate rigorously hereditary;equipped with a certain traditional and independent or-ganization including a chief and a council, meeting onoccasion in assemblies of more or less plenary authorityand joining together at certain festivals ; bound togetherby common occupations, which relate more particularlyto marriage and to food and to questions of ceremonialpollution, and ruling its members by the exercise ofjurisdiction the extent of which varies, but which suc-ceeds in making the authority of the community morefelt by the sanction of certain penalties and, above all.

5 The castes are connected together by finely graduated varie-ties. Darwin's Origin of Species, ii, 36 (1836 A. D.).


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14 HISTORY OF CASTE.by final irrevocable exclusion from the group." 6 All thatmay be said in favor of the above cited words is thatthey are not a bad description of a caste, though the useof some of the principal words, like " close corporation,''might be questioned. Again, all castes do not havecouncils.

Nesfield defines a caste as " a class of the communitywhich disowns any connection with any other class andcan neither intermarry nor eat nor drink with any butpersons of their own community." Here Nesfield hasgiven only one essential of a caste.

Sir H. Risley defines a caste as follows : "A caste maybe defined as a collection of families or groups of fam-ilies bearing a common name which usually denotes oris associated with specific occupation, claiming commondescent from a mythical ancestor, human or divine, pro-fessing to follow the same professional callings and areregarded by those who are competent to give an opinionas forming a single homogeneous community."There are some statements farther on which may be

regarded as a part of his definition of a caste, and whichmay be summarized as follows : A caste is almost in-variably endogamous in the sense that a member of alarge circle denoted by a common name may not marryoutside the circle ; but within the circle there are smallercircles, each of which is also endogamous. What Ihave said about the ^definition of Senart may be saidabout this definition.

6 Report of the census of India for 1901, vol. i. To my knowl-edge Senart in his book, Les Castes dans I' Inde, publishedat Paris, has brought for the first time to the attention of theEuropean world the fact that a caste and a varwa are notidentical.


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 15v f ^~~My own definition o a caste. A caste is a socialgroup having two characteristics: (i) membership isconfined to those who are born of members and includesall persons so born; (2) the members are fobidden byan inexorable social law to marry outside the group. Each rone of such groups has a special name by which it is .called. Several of such small aggregates are groupedtogether under a common name, while these largergroups are but subdivisions of groups still larger whichhave independent names.Thus we see that there are several stages of groupsand that the word " caste " is applied to groups at anystage. The words " caste " and " subcaste " are not abso-.^^lute but comparative in signification. The larger groupwill be called a caste, while the smaller group will becalled a subcaste. A group is a caste or a subcaste incomparison with smaller or larger. When we talk ofMaratha Brahmin and Konkan Brahmin, the first onewould be called a caste while the latter would be called asubcaste; but in a general way both of them might becalled castes. Maratha Brahmins in their turn would becalled a subcaste of the southern or Dravidian Brahmins.

These divisions and subdivisions are introduced ondifferent principles. In this way two hundred millionHindus are so much divided and subdivided that thereare castes who cannot marry outside fifteen families.On the other hand, there are some castes in which theprocess of division and subdivision has not been carriedto its logical extent which can boast of five million. _^^

These three thousand castes with their subcastes put Htogether make Hindu society. There is no intermar-riage, and very little of social intercourse in its proper^


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l6 HISTORY OF CASTE.sense. The only uniting tie between these sharply dif-ferentiated bodies is a certain amount of common tradi-tion, and common language for a number of them, andfor all a common religion which consists in being dis-ciples of the Brahmins.There is a very strong feeling of caste-patriotism

amongst all; castes, even where patriotism in its largersense exists. A Maratha Brahmin feels as strong apride in being a Brahmin as he feels in being a Maratha ;while in other parts of India a Brahmin feels pride inbeing a Brahmin, and in nothing else.When I say that Hindu society is divided into so manycastes it should not be understood that so many thou-sand castes have split out of one united body. A unitedbody of people large enough to produce so many castesby subdivision never existed in India. Numerous tribeswhich were living in different parts of India existed asdifferent units, and after the custom of endogamy wasintroduced they did not fuse, though scattered all overthe country.

In Europe the tribes were as numerous as in India,but they have fused together. European nations andthe white Americans might be compared to a chemicalcompound, while the people of India may be said to bea mechanical mixture. Reasons for this assertion willbe evident from the history of caste later on.

But it should not be understood that castes are madeonly out of tribes. Originally united bodies were alsodivided into many castes. The principles of divisionwere class, occupation, religious denomination or brother-hood, nationality, locality, allegiance to a trade-guild,schools of Vedic literature, and many others.


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 1 7I have already said that these castes are a hierarchy.]Brahmins are at the top, while there are some casteswhich are untouchable and are at the bottom. Though

there are castes of innumerable gradations, it should beremembered that it is practically impossible for individ-juals to change their caste.The internal structure of a caste is not quite simple.Castes are again divided into several groups called got-ras. These gotras are exogamous. They are somethinglike the Roman Gens. All persons who belong to a cer-tain gotra, like Kaushika or Garga, are supposed to bepersons descended from the mythical ancestor Kaushikaor Garga. No family may marry with a family of thesame gotra. In general all the gotras or exogamousgroups have the same status in the castes. But thereare some castes where such is not the case. In someparts of India there is^hypergamy. Certain groups offamilies in a caste are considered higher than the rest,and it is customary that women in the inferior groupsshould seek to marry with men in the superior groups,but not vice versa. This kind of custom is confinedmostly to Northern India, and is found in its worst formin Bengal.

Castes are to be distinguished in one point from thehereditary classes, like those of Europe who marryamong themselves, that the people who are not born inthose classes could rise to that class by their ability,while nobody can go into a higher caste. Among classeswho marry among themselves, mamage outside the classis prevented by sentiment and not by hard and fast rules.Marriage outside the class in Europe might be rare orinvalid, but in India if it is contracted outside the casteit is a sacrilege.


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18 HISTORY OF CASTE.When the word "caste" is used as an abstract noun it

means either the caste system or any of its supposedpeculiarities, like exclusiveness, hierarchy, fixed order ofthings, greater regard to the ancestry of a person thanto his indivicIuaT merits, pretensions of the purity ofblood, feeling of superiority and inferiority or custom-ary manifestations thereof. I have also noticed thatmany popular writers when they wish to express them-selves strongly use this word to denote classes or re-.strictions of any kind." Origin of caste." This phrase has no meaning.As long as we use the abstract noun " caste " in a vari-ety of senses and the words " caste system " as one'expression to denote a group of phenomena, the expres-sion " origin of caste " can have no meaning. Thetheory of four classes (varnas) in society has its origin;sharp lines between various layers of society have theirorigin ; ascendency of the priests and their exclusivenesshave their origin; association of purity and impurity tovarious objects also has its origin. We can even con-ceive of the origin of endogamy. If historical psychol-ogy should ever be worked out it may give us the originof pride and of feelings of superiority and inferiority.Though each of these various phenomena can have anorigin, the origin or genesis of caste or caste systemcannot be conceived of as long as these words remain acollective expression. If we cannot control our fondnessfor the word " origin," we should better use the pluralform, viz., " origins of caste ;" this expression would havesome meaning. It is the duty of the historian of casteto take into account all the complexities which makethe caste system, and to go into the origin and. the his-tory of every one of them.


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 19Caste and tribe. When a wild tribe of India got

itself adopted into Hindu society by becoming endoga-mous and by accepting Brahmins as its priests and byworshipping Hindu gods, then it became a caste. Whenthe tribe is in process of transition the rule of endogamyis very lax.

Caste and occupation. To-day a man can take toany occupation without changing his caste. The onlyexceptions are that nobody of a good caste would like totake to the occupation of shoemaker or scavenger, andno man who is not born a Brahmin would be acceptedas a priest in the community.

2. Theory of Caste.I have used this expression so as to include not only

the principles on which precedence is based, and whichare observed by Hindu society when questions of casteare decided, but also the axioms which are regarded astrue. In this chapter I shall try to state those principlesand to explain them if necessary, but shall refrain fromany comment or criticism.Hindus believe that all men in the world are divided

into four castes: Brahmanas (priests), Kshatriyas(warriors), Vaishyas (common people), and Shudras(servants). The precedence of these castes is in theorder of enumeration. All other castes are produced byintermarriage either with pure or the mixed. These dif-ferences in the castes are innate and can not be obliter--ated or concealed.

If there are any tribes or communities or nations likethe old Greeks and English people where caste is notfound, it is because those people neglected the rules of


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2O HISTORY OF CASTE.marriage and conduct, and have consequently mergedinto barbarism, and caste among them is destroyed byindiscreet intermixture (fusion of varnas)." The caste system does not decide the position of theHindus only; it decides the position of non-Hindus insociety, e. g., the Mohammedans and Christians have acertain definite status according to Hindu social theory.

Caste is due to the occupation which a man's fore-fathers were in.Nobody can raise his caste in the Kali age, the age

of discord, while it was possible to do this in the goodold Knta age, the age of virtue.The precedence given to a caste is not given by man ;

il is absolute, and the order is supposed to be knownand fixed, and it ought not to be otherwise.Though no man can raise his caste, he can degrade itby neglect of the ceremonials or by connection with the" low and barbarous." In such case he may eitherdegrade himself completely or hold an intermediateposition.As a man may lose his position in the caste, so a castemay lose its position in the society. Taking to lowtrades is one of the things which may cause such adegradation.

There are certain occupations considered higher thanothers. Among the occupations assigned to the people,the occupation of a writer is superior to that of a mer-chant; that of a goldsmith superior to that of a copper-smith, and so on.

Certain animals also have several degrees of. status,varying from sacred and clean to unclean and foul. And


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 21'the castes which serve these animals are graded ac-cordingly.A caste is again degraded by giving up or not havingthe traditional rules of purity of the surrounding dom-inant castes and by irregular conduct from their stand-ard. In Western India, some castes are degraded by theuse of wine and meat and even by that of tobacco. ManyBrahmin castes in certain localities have lost in statusby using meat, which is used in those localities only bynon-Brahmins. Though the use of meat is generally notapproved, yet the eating of beef and of pork and ofvermin is considered most degrading. Many castes have jbeen lowered in the social scale by the custom of poVyg*amy, and by the custom prevailing among- them of thepurchasing the bride. They also gain or lose statusaccordmg~fo~trie" higher or lower form7 of marriage whichthey usjT~^Mpeover, if at thlTtimeof the marjiage^thebride is already ofjage, that fact is considered as degrad-ing to the caste. It is preferred that a girl should marrybefore she conies of age. The reasons for such a beliefwill be given later on.These examples of the ceremonial law of purity, whichtend to raise or lower the caste, are neither complete

nor universal. The law differs according to the locality.The principles of ceremonial purity which in some partsform a hard and fast rule may be simply a sentimentelsewhere. When a question of precedence between twocastes came before the colleges of Pundits in Benares,or Poona, it was decided, not by the observation of'actual social conditions, but by the authority of old books.

7 The Hindu Scriptures distinguish eight forms of licit mar-riage.


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22 HISTORY OF CASTE.When they did not find any reference to the caste inthe old book, they would either identify it with someold caste, or might invent some explanation regarding itsorigin. When they admitted the pretensions to a higherstatus of a few castes, they depended not on the actualconditions, but on some fiction which was supposed tobe misunderstood till then.The underlying theory was that the laws which define

caste status are fixed and known. They are given bythe gods. It is the duty of the Pundits to explain thelaws.The question referred to the colleges of Pundits was

usually this: Is the claim of a certain caste to beingBrahmawa or Kshatriya a true claim or a false one?But every caste decides for itself whether certainmembers who have been guilty of irregular conduct

should be allowed to remain in the caste, and alsowhether another caste is fit for intercourse with themand to what extent it is. Consequently, whatever opin-ion the colleges of the Pundits may give, the actualprecedence depends on what a caste can exact. TheSarasvat Brahmins in Maharashtra, however, succeededin proving their claims to Brahminship in the Peshwa'scourt; but since public opinion was against them, theydid not get the status equal to that of other Brahmincastes.But what does the precedence amount to? This pre-

cedence means simply a public opinion that one caste isbetter than another. It is this public opinion which isfought for even to-day. At present this caste precedencemeans very little tangible good. But under native rulersit may have been a tangible good. The country is now


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 23fallen into the hands of " casteless barbarians," and onlyformal precedence has remained.The ways in which this precedence is manifested areworthy of notice, especially because, if we want to un-derstand de facto and not de jure precedence, these waysare the only means to understand it.r How is the precedence manifested? As Brahmin isat the head of society holiness is the standard. A casteis pure or impure as much as it is high or low. Thispurity is not the outside purity, which is apparent to the" bodily eye," but it is some mystic, innate purity. Ifthe pure and impure are brought together, the pure be-come impure. For this reason the holy and pure castesshould keep as little connection with impure castespossible. The purer the substance, the more easily it issoiled. So a caste should define its relation with anothercaste, in so far as the latter is pure or impure.

It should be remembered that there is a wide rangeof substances which are polluted by the touch of lowcastes. The higher caste may not take them when pol-luted. What substances are pure and what are impure,what substances are easily polluted and what are not.depends on the local customs. In the Maratha country,a Brahmin will regard water touched by any other castebut his own as polluted. In Gujarath and Bengal, aBrahmin may take water touched by a Shudra. In theMaratha country, it is only the touch of the lower casteswhich pollutes food. But soldiers from many northerncastes are known to throw away their food simply be-cause the shadow of an English officer falls on it. Thepretensions of Madras Brahmins go farther than that:their food is polluted if a man of low caste looks at it.


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24 HISTORY OF CASTE.The theory of purity and pollution would require a

whole volume to treat at length ; but what I have alreadysaid will enable the reader to understand the justice ofsome of the rules which can be inferred, in order tounderstand the status of the caste. The rules are asfollows :

(a) Where a certain caste cannot eat food cooked byanother caste, while the latter permits food to be eatenwhich was cooked by the first caste, then the first casteis superior to the second.

(b) If a Brahmin or other high-caste Hindu keepsmore connection with one caste than another, then theformer is superior to the latter. For example :

i. If a Brahmin accepts water from another caste,that caste is considered as clean in Bengal.

ii. If he accepts food cooked in oil, then the casteis better.

iii. If he accepts food cooked in water, then thecaste is still better.

(c) The amount of pollution that a caste carries withit makes the caste low or high. If a caste pollutes somesubstances, but not the rest, that caste is better than onewhich pollutes all substances. All three classes of castesstated under (b) are clean castes, which do not pollutewater ; but below them are castes who pollute water, andbelow them there are the following castes in the descend- -ing order of status :

i. Castes which pollute an earthen vessel.ii. Castes which pollute a brass vessel.iii. Castes which pollute the courtyard of the

temple if they enter.iv. The castes which pollute the town if they live

in it, and are consequently required to live outside.


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 25There is another shade of distinction regarding the

grades of castes whom a Brahmin can touch or fromwhom he may, as in some parts, accept water withoutpollution.

(1) If a caste can give water to a Brahmin or touchhim, that caste is pretty good.

(2) If a caste can give water to a Brahmin lady ortouch without polluting her, that caste is better still.

(3,) A caste from whom a Brahmin widow may ac-cept water, or one whose members she can touch withoutbeing polluted, is the best of all.

I know that what I say looks very ridiculous; but ifI explain the reason for these shades of distinction, thenI think it will not look so ridiculous.The harder the rules of ceremonial purity, the more

easily they are broken. The more extravagant the no-tions of purity are, the more easily is the purity defiled.The castes are good in proportion to the hardness of theceremonial rules of purity of the people they can touchwithout polluting them. The ceremonial rules of purityof a Brahmin lady are harder than those of men, andof widows harder than the ordinary women ; and castescould be graded accordingly.The Indian method of excommunicating a man also

must be understood in order to understand the proprietyof some rules regarding the treatment of the low classes.

If a man is excommunicated by his caste-fellows, no-body in the caste will marry with him or will acceptwater from his hands, or will invite him to dinner.Sometimes, if the offense is very bad, as the killing ofa cow, the whole village will outcaste him. The priestswill not attend any ceremonial in his house. The bar-bers will not shave him, and the washerman will not


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Lwashhis clothes. These are the methods of bringing

pressure on the man.These ideas have their influence in manifesting the

status of a caste. With these principles in view, thecastes in some parts may be graded as follows: Thecastes served by good priests are superior to the castesserved by degraded priests. Again, the castes served bya barber and a washerman are superior to those whoare not. Even among the castes served by a barber, adistinction may be drawn based on the question whetherthe barber pares the nails or not; among the latter,whether he pares the toe nails or not. Nonperformanceof service on the part of this powerful class impliesinferiority in every case.

3. Psychology of Caste.What human feelings lie at the basis of the mysterydeserve to be considered. These social differences ofcaste have become so firm in the mind of the Hindu thathe regards it as a very natural institution. An outsiderregards it as foolish, harmful, unjust, and artificial. Hethinks that the constitution of the Hindu's mind is differ-ent from that of all other people in the world.How this caste distinction came into existence will bedealt with in the History of Caste. At present Iconfine myself to making a few remarks on whetherthere are any passions common to all human beings atthe root of the caste system, or whether it is due to cer-tain abnormal traits of character peculiar to a strangeand unspeakable people, the Hindus.

I do not care to inquire into the reason of all thephenomena that are supposed to be a part or result of


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 2?the Indian caste system. I make a few remarks regard-ing those that I consider most important. There are twoimportant elements in the Hindu caste system; for ex-ample, endogamy and hierarchy. The classes, races, andoccupations exclude themselves from other groups whilethere is an understanding that one group is superior tothe other. Of these two let endogamy be singled forconsideration.

I think that I should begin the discussion regarding thepsychology of endogamy by quoting Westermark. Hesays: "Affection depends in a very high degree uponsympathy. Though distinct aptitudes, these two classesof emotions are most intimately connected: Affection isstrengthened by sympathy, and sympathy is strengthenedby affection. Community of interest, opinions, senti-ment, culture, mode of life, as being essential to closesympathy, is therefore favorable to warm affection. Iflove is excited by contrasts it is so only within certainlimits. The contrast cannot be so great as to excludesympathy." 8Human affection is generally restricted to those whoare similar to them in these respects. People differingin race, religion, civilization and customs are also differ-ent in those essentials of close sympathy, and humanaffection is always guided by race and religion, customsor social position.

It is not true that these factors always restrict man'schoice. Marriages do take place where these factors arenot considered. But they are so rare as to be regarded

8 Westermark's History of Human Marriage (1891), chap,xvi, 362.


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28 HISTORY OF CASTE.as a romance, and people feel like writing a novel oran invective when such a case may occur.The greatest number of castes which do not marrywith each other are simply tribes converted into castes.The tribes when they were converted into castes wereoften fighting with each other in the early days, whenthe seed of caste distinction was sown. At present thevarious tribes and castes feel strong repulsion againstone another, and this fact is a clear manifestation of ourpresent savagery. What I say is very humiliating butit is nevertheless true. One subdivision of a caste feelsstrong repulsion to another subdivision, because amongthe latter the use of tobacco is customary; two sectionsof one caste do not intermarry and feel strong repulsionfor each other because they use different kinds of shoes ;two castes refuse to marry with each other to-daybecause their forefathers at one time quarreled over theboundaries of the village or over certain other ques-tions, important or foolish. The primitive nations alwayshave a very strong dislike for one another. " Savagenations are subdivided into an infinity of tribes which,bearing a cruel hatred toward each other, form no inter-marriages, even when their language springs from thesame root and only a small arm of a river, or a groupof hills, separates their habitations." 9The castes are not simply developed tribes. Classesare converted into castes by becoming endogamous.Sometimes a section of the society becoming a hereditaryclass like the Brahmins and desiring to become ex-clusive does not deign to marry outside the class.

9 Hnmboldt Person?! Narrative, vol. iii, 26, as quoted byWestermark, chap, xvi, 365.


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 29Endogamy in this case is due to vanity and want ofaffection between the different layers of the society.This feeling is coupled with the desire for keeping theblood pure when the pretensions of the upper layersufficiently increase.Nowhere are the different orders of society moredistinctly separated from each other than in the SouthSea Islands. In the Mariami group it was the commonbelief that only the nobles were endowed with an im-mortal soul and a nobleman who married a girl of thepeople was punished with death. In. Polynesia the com-moners were looked upon by the nobility as a differentspecies of being. Hence in the higher ranks the mar-riage was concluded only with persons of correspond-ing positions; and if in Tahiti, a woman of conditionchose an inferior person as a husband the children hehad by her were killed.But let us not take all the instances from barbarous

times and barbarous peoples. Let us take the case ofcivilized nations in Europe. In Sweden in the seven-teenth century marriages outside the class were pun-iehed. According to the German civil law the marriageof a man belonging to the high nobility with a womanof inferior birth is still regarded as disparaging and thewoman is not entitled to the rank of her husband nor isthe full right of inheritance possessed by her or herchildren.

Another characteristic of the caste system is hierarchy.The feeling of superiority and inferiority either is acause of endogamy or even a result thereof. A race ofpeople which regards itself as superior to another willnot intermarry with one that is thought inferior. Con-


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3O HISTORY OF CASTE.versely if two races of people come together and do notintermarry, one would have to assume inferiority to theother. When the Chinese first came to the United Statesthey were filled with prejudice against the white peopleand therefore did not intermarry; the whites and theyellows are two mutually exclusive communities, andthe yellows are compelled to assume an inferior position.In South Africa, when the Hindus migrated there, anden account of their caste notions did not intermarry withthe English settlers, a feeling of superiority and in-feriority of race which did not exist before that timecame into existence. When two people come together 1and do not intermarry freely, a feeling of superiorityand inferiority is sure to come into existence.One interesting feature in the hierarchy of caste isthe preeminent position which the priests hold. I intend

to write a special treatise on the question as to how theBrahmins attained such a high position in Hindu societyand managed to maintain it for so long a time. Atpresent I only remind the readers that this supremacy ofthe priest is not confined to India. The extravagantclaims which the priest makes are always coexistent withthe primitive character of the people. In ancient Persia,as well as ancient Egypt, the priest was always at the top.In Europe, till the nations were emancipated from thetemporal control of the Pope the clergy was alwayssuperior to temporal authority. Even to-day I haveknown of Christian missionaries in India who are notmuch behind the Brahmins of olden times in makingpretenses to occult superiority and omniscience and ex-alted position over the ignorant masses that came incontact with them. The scholar holds the highest posi- /


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 3!> Vtion in the society of China, and this is probably due/to the same feeling of respect for learning.The sectarian castes in India owe their existence tothe same mental attitude which people of different re-ligions have regarding intermarriage. Mohammedansand Christians do not intermarry. Even the adherentsof different churches have been prohibited from inter-marrying. In the Roman Catholic Church the prohibi-tion of marriage with heathens and Jews was soon fol-lowed by the prohibition of marriage with Protestants.Protestants also originally forbade such unions.

If the psychological reasons for caste are the samefor the Hindus as for other peoples, why is it, wemay ask, that the people of India have so tenaciouslyheld to those customs and other people have droppedthem?) We must remember that India, unlike other countries, 'has kept the custom of early marriage still in vogue.There is no choice in the marriage arrangements. Ifyoung men and young women were to marry for them-selves, the caste restrictions would become much shaken.The feeling of love would have become an incentive to- A ffbreak the rules. But as the marriages are arranged bythe parents, the force of this feeling is not available. \The feelings, notions, and calculations of the parentsbeing the controlling factors in the Indian marriages,the custom of marrying within the caste is retained.

Something must be due to the nature of the peoplethemselves. The people of India were for many cen-turies unprogressive and trying to live up to the idealpast. For their guidance they do not depend on theirown intelligence but on the intelligence of the people


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32 HISTORY OF CASTE.who are dead and gone. They will not break a custombecause they see no sense in it as an Englishman or anAmerican of strong individuality will do, but will blametheir own frail intelligence that they do not see thesense in it. They have almost the same respect for whatis old as Christians might have for the words of Jesus.

In the theory of caste the reason why certain occupa-tions should be considered as pure and certain others asimpure is very easy to understand; but why certain

-^castes which have early marriage should be preferred tothe castes with late marriages is a matter not so veryeasy.The question of the causes of early marriages is quite

different from the question why is the custom of earlymarriage so much honored. Early marriage itselfdepends on several factors. The fact that early mar-riage is considered sacred is simply one of the factors.That the earlier marriage should be considered holierthan the late marriage is due to the hyperbolic notionsof the Brahmins regarding purity. Their theory regard-ing early marriage may be stated as follows :A really faithful man or woman ought not to feelaffection for a woman or a man other than the one withwhom he or she is united. Such purity is compulsorynot only after marriage, but even before marriage, forthat is the only correct ideal of chastity. No maidencould be considered pure if she feels love for a manother than the one to whom she might get married. Asshe does not know whom she is going to get married to,she must not feel affection for any man at all, beforemarriage. If she does so, it is a sin. So it is better for


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THE CASTE SYSTEM. 33a girl to know whom she has to love, before any sexualconsciousness has been awakened in her.10

10 History of the word "caste" is well treated in the Mur-ray's Dictionary on Historical Principles. The information onvarious castes can be found in the different provincial gazetteersand census reports. There are also various private publica-tions which give important information on various subjects.Discussion regarding theory of caste is made by different offi-cers in India in the census volumes, and the method to gradecaste by the manifestations of theory of purity and pollutionis discussed by Gait in his report on Bengal castes. The ques-tion of endogamy has been well discussed by Westermark inhis standard work on the History of Human Marriage.

3


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CHAPTER III.HISTORY OF INDIA.(250 B. C.-250 A. D.)

In order to understand the text before us, it is ad-visable to review the course of events for the five cen-turies within which the work must have been written.The political events and other great changes in Indiawhich were taking place two hundred and fifty yearsbefore arid after the beginning of the Christian eradeserve our attention.The great emperor Ashoka was dead by 230 B. C.

"Within fifty years of his death the Maurya dynasty wasoverthrown. The dynasties of Shungas and Kanvas, ofwhom very little more than a list of kings is known,appeared and disappeared within the next hundred andfifty years. During the rule of these two dynasties, thekingdom or the empire of which Paialiputra was thecapital dwindled into insignificance. The empire hadlost its hold in the Punjab, and the mastery of the prov-ince was left to be contested for by rival Greek poten-tates. The Andhras of the south, who had once paidtribute to the Mauryas of Pa/aiiputra now raised theirheads. They followed a career of conquest, pushingthemselves farther and farther to the north, overthrewthe Kanvas and annexed their territory. The exact du-ration of the Andhra's authority in the north is a mattervery uncertain. This dynasty terminated its existenceabout 236 A. D. according to the statements of theMatsya and Vayu Purawas, as interpreted by Vincent


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HISTORY OF INDIA. 35Smith. The history of the northern as well as the south-ern divisions of India for one century is almost unknown.The country appears to have been given to anarchy inthe third century. 1More information than this can hardly be given about

the Magadha empire, and it is to be greatly regretted,because this empire was the most important part ofIndia from the standpoint of the growth of dharma, mwhich we are specially interested. " For while in thewestern part of India, the coins have preserved thenames of the kings, x in Magadha the people continuedto use the coinage bearing only private mark or marksof the individual or the guild that issued them. Noneof the ancient sites there, Savatthi or Vesali or Mithila,Pafalip'utra or Rajagaha, have been excavated, andthirdly the literature of Magadha mostly Jain or laterBuddhist lies also still buried in the MSS." 2During the same period the province of Punjab by

no means enjoyed any peace. Magadha was under-going a change of dynasties and was suffering from theattack and rule of another power at home, but thePunjab was suffering from foreign invasion.

Seleukos Nikator, the great general of Alexander,who had become the emperor of a large part of WesternAsia after the conqueror's death, was also dead. WhileAntiochus his grandson, a worthless man, was occupy-

1 To this anarchy during the third and fourth centuries insouthern India, Rajavade attributes the corruption of theMaharashtri language, which led to the disappearance thereof,and to the rise of the present Marathi. (Vishva Vn'ttaMagazine, Kolhapur. India, No. 3.) It is not improbable thata similar process was going on all over India and here may befound the origin of the present vernaculars.2 Rhys Davids, " Buddhist India," xvi.


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36 HISTORY OF CASTE.ing the throne, the empire was split into pieces, by therevolt of the Bactrians and the Parthians, both of whichpeoples had virtually become independent by 250 B. C.The Bactrians had adopted Greek civilization, andwere probably fused with the Greeks. They were conse-quently called Greeks (Yavanas). The hero of theBactrian revolution, Diodatus, conquered some parts ofIndia, namely, Kabul, Punjab, and Sindh. Thoughvictorious in India, he lost his control over Bactria,which was wrested from him by his general Eukratides.Soon after this event, Eukratides was murdered andBactria fell to pieces and into a number of small prin-cipalities. Menander was the chief of one of them andhis invasion is probably referred to by Patanjali. Thisking was Buddhist and he is identified with KingMilinda, so well known in Buddhistic literature. TheseGreek princes were fighting amongst themselves inBactria as well as in the northwestern part of India forthe mastery of the soil." While the Greek princes and princelings were strug-gling in obscure wars which history has not condescendedto record, a great deluge was preparing in the steppesof Mongolia which was destined to sweep them all intonothingness." 3 The Shakas or the Scythians, who "werea horde of nomads, broke loose on Bactria in the periodbetween 140 and 130 B. C., and extinguished the Greekmonarchies north of Hindu Kush. Some of these tribesentered India and made settlements at Taxila and

3 This quotation from Vincent Smith's should not be con-strued as a commitment, at least on my part, that I believe theShakas or the Scythians to be of Mongolian race. See Pro-ceedings of the Berlin Academy for 1908.


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HISTORY OF INDIA. 37Mathura, and ruled there for more than a century seem-ingly in subordination to the Parthian power. Anothersection of the Shaka horde or the Parthians themselvesoccupied the peninsula of Surashfra or Kathiawar, andestablished a dynasty of satraps there, which lasted forcenturies. Another tribe of Scythians, cognate withShakas and called Kushans, entered India by the begin-ning of the Christian era, and conquered Punjab andKabul. King Kanishka of this tribe is well known. Itappears that the Kushan dynasty held its own for a longtime, as we hear of them as late as 360 A. D.The Bactrian Greeks were not gone. Some of theirtribes remained in India as a fighting element till verylate. If theydid not remain there, some other warlikeforeign tribe which passed by their name " Yavanas "did remain. We find references to them along withShakas and Pahlavas, in the Andhra inscription of126 A. D. of the Chaitya cave at Nasik.The narration of these few facts will make it suffi-ciently clear that during these five centuries the countrywas infested by foreigners. It should also be notedthat some of these foreigners were Buddhists, someBrahminists, while some were observing outlandishbeliefs and practices. Again for a considerable periodthe foreigners were dominant, and probably stayed inIndia permanently. Their relation with the Hindusociety, or their position in the Hindu social system,must have been in the process of adjustment duringthis period. Hindu society, as it appears ultimately, hadto assimilate this element.Another peculiarity of this period was closer relations

between the North and the South. It is true that some


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$0 HISTORY OF CASTE.intercourse did exist between the two parts of the coun-try before this period. Some adventurous princes likeRama of Kosala, and those of the Maurya dynasty,had ventured to the south to Vindhya. Brahmanas hadalready migrated and carried their civilization andinfluence along with them, but the intercourse was notgreat enough to make the Northerners adopt a definitesentiment toward " people and customs of ihe South.During the period under consideration, Andhras invadedand conquered a part of the North. This probably wasthe first attempt of the Southerners to rule the North,since the Rig Vedic immigration. Andhras were wagingwars with Kathiawar, and thus exerted a considerableinfluence in India. They made their language Ma-harashfri a literary tongue and brought it among literarycircles, to an importance second to Sanskrit alone. Asentiment in the North regarding the South was in thestate of formation, and was to find its expression in theircode of dharma doctrines.

Before the beginning of this period Buddhism hadalready passed the stage of mere theological doctrineand had grown up to a stage of heresy. During theperiod under consideration it probably was in the wayof becoming an independent religion. The inherentweaknesses of the system, which was fated to disappearand deserved to disappear4 from the land, were becom-ing apparent during this period. Still it was a factor

4 I am stating here rather frankly the position I hold. I havein many places noticed some sentiments and opinions, rathertimidly expressed, but which amount to something like this :" Buddhism was a very noble religion, which the Brahmanascoundrels selfishly drove out from their land, and the peoplewere big fools to let this good, noble religion disappear."

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