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54 Kulin of lower rank, he does not, however, utterly lose his Kulinism, but becomes degraded in proportion to the lowness of the birth of his bride. If he marries into a Bansaj or Kashta Srotriya family, he loses his Kulinism, and becomes a bhanga, or ‘broken’ Kulin. His family, however, retains a certain degree of rank for three or four generations, after which period his descendants lose all pretensions to Kulinism. The marriage of a Kulin’s daughter entails ruinous expense, as the father has to give a heavy dower to the bridegroom. On the other hand, a Kulin always receives a large sum on his own marriage, from the parents of the girl he takes as wife. The curse of Kulinism is polygamy. Such is the demand for Kulin bridegrooms, that a father, in order to secure one, does not care whether his daughter is married to a child or an old man, or whether the husband may have fifty or a hundred wives already. The Bansaj and Kashta Srotriyas give large sums for the honour of marrying their daughter to a pure Kulin; and the latter, although by doing so he becomes ‘broken,’ or loses his rank, is in many cases unable to resist the temptation of a wealthy mésalliance. A Kulin seldom takes his wives to his own house, but leaves them at the houses of their respective parents, who have to support them and their children. The Kulins have made marriage a trade. Besides the sums which they receive as dowry with their wives, they levy money from their fathers-in-law by going on rounds of visits among them, when the son-in-law is feasted and receives presents. The number of marriages a Kulin makes is sometimes so large as to compel him to keep a register of them to help him on his tour. It is by no means uncommon for a wife thus wedded to a Kulin to part from her husband immediately after her marriage, and never see him again. With the progress of civilisation, however, this practice of unlimited polygamy is disappearing from the 24 Parganás, although it is still common in Jessor, Dacca, and the backward Eastern Districts of Bengal. The enlightened natives have taken an active part in putting it down; their books and newspapers, their theatres and lectures, all preach war against it. A Bansaj Bráhman has to pay a large sum to obtain a wife; but, on the other hand, he receives a considerable sum on giving his daughter in marriage, if he thinks proper to demand it. Many Bansaj Bráhmans pass a portion of their lives in hoarding money to procure a wife; and some are unable to marry at all, in consequence of not being able to amass sufficient for the purpose. A Bansaj who gives