Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/346

* CASTE. 294 CASTE. In the priestly codes, by which he shall preserve hii sanctity. (2) The Wahriob Class. Tliis is the Ksha- triya, Kscttri, Chuttrec, or military class, cor- responding especially to tile Rajputs of Kaj- putana in recent times. The name is derived from Sanskrit kshutra, signifying rule, power, and the Ksliatriyas are said to have sprung from the arms of Brahma. Their duty is to tight and to protect the other classes. The relation be- tween them and the priestly caste is a mutual one. The sacerdotal order cannot prosper with- out the military, nor the military without the sacerdotal: and the prosperity of lioth, in this world as well as in the next, is made to depend upon their cordial union. The priests allowed the Kshatriyas the cherished privilege of hav- ing the Veda imparted to them, in return the latter granted protection and support to the Brahmans. From necessity a warrior occasion- ally might assume the calling or duties of a man of the lower caste, but in only the most exceptional instances is there a record of a soldier or king rising to the dignity of the priestly class. (3) The Vaista OB Husbandman Class. The third caste in the Hindu system is known as the Vaisya (later Bnifi, Bice) order, which forms the great industrial class of India. The mem- bers of this class make up the body of the people (Skt. vdiiya, from vis, folk) and they were first pastoral, then agricultural, and finally commer- cial — the third estate of the Aryans. They are described as being sprung from the belly and the thighs of Braluna, at the time of creation. As an .ryan, the member of the Vaisya class shared with his warrior brother the privilege of having a knowledge of the Veda and of wit- nessing the sacrificial rites accorded to the rul- ing order. Upon his gains, won by imlustrial pursuits, the warrior largely depended for sup- port. Cattle-keeping, agriculture, trade, and business were his duties- — in fact, the various branches of practical business life. Though superior to the Sudra or servile class, he was often closer in reality to this order than he was to the two higher castes. (4) The Si'DRA OH Simvile Class. The fourth or lowest caste of Hindu society is the class of Sudras, Sooder (Skt. hidra) — a name of un- certain origin, but synon^nious with 'degrada- tion.' Sprung from the feet of Brahma, accord- ing to the dictum of Manti, their duty was to serve the three superior classes, especially the Brah- mans. Their condition from the earliest time was one of subjection. They were not even al- lowed to hear the Veda, as that would be a defilement of the sacred text: they never could be invested with the sacred cord which brought regeneration to the other three classes when they were admitted into religion and thus became 'twice-born.' As originally non-.ryans or bar- barians, they were allowed to come into contact with the upper classes only as menials, whose touch was equivalent to pollution, and whose slightest ofTcnsc was punishable with death. The}- form to-day the basis of the lower classes of Hindu society, those that perform the most degrading services, but many have been able to rise by degrees to a position of respect, eoinoi- dently with a greater growth of laxity in ob- sen'ing caste restrictions. The subdivisions and mutual relations of these four castes in early days, as in modem times, was quite complex. (See Hopkins, The Mutual Relations of the Four Castes According to the Miinai<uiharma.iastram, 1881 ; and Jogendra Xath BliatUicharya, Hindu Custes <nul Sects, 1890.) Mi.xed classes arose through forbidden marriages between the classes, and the utterly vile I'ariahs or outcasts arose from their expulsion from the classes into which the}' were born. The additional castes and sub-castes are likewise to be accounted for in various ways. Uegarding the castes as originally ethnic or tribal, and recalling the devices of primitive peoples for maintaining tribal purity, it is of interest to note the provisions of the Jlanava- dharmasastram (or code of ilani) respecting marriage: (1) "The vow (of studying) the three Vedas under a teacher must be kept for thirty-si.x years, or for half that time, or for a quarter, or until the (student) has perfectly learnt them. (2) (A student) who has studied in due order the three Ve<las, or two, or even one only, without breaking the (rules of) stu- dentship, shall enter tile order of h(mseholders. . . . (4) llav'iig bathed, with the jicrmission of his teacher, and performed according to the rule the Saniavartana (tile rite on returning home), a twice-born man shall marry a woman of equal caste who is endowed with auspicious (bodily) marks. (5) A (damsel) who is neither a Sapinda on the mother's side, nor belongs to the same family on the father's side, is recom- mended to twice-born men for wedlock and con- jugal union. (0) In connecting himself wjth a wife, let him carefully avoid the ten following families, be they ever so gii'at, or rich in kine, horses, sheep, grain, or (other) property (viz.). (7) One which neglects the sacred rites, one in which no male children (are born), one in which the Veda is not studied, one (the members of) which have thick hair on the body, those which are subject to h.TPmorrhoids, phthisis, weakness of digestion, epileps}', or white or black leprosy. (8) Let him not marry a maiden (with) reddish (hair), nor one who is sickly, nor (me either with no hair (on the body) or too much, nor one who is garrulous or has red (eyes). (0) Nor one named after a constellation, a tree, or a river, nor one named after a bird, a snake, or a slave, nor one whose name inspires terror. ( 10) Let him wed a female free from bodily defects, who has an agreeable name, the (graceful) gait of a Hamsa or of an elephant, a moderate (quan- titv of) hair on the l)odv and on the head, small teeth, and soft limbs." . . . (12) For the first marriage of twice-born men (wives) of equal caste are rpcoiiiniendcd: but for those who through desire proceed (to marry again) the following females (chosen) according to the (direct) order (of the castes), are most ap- proved. (13) It is declared that a Sudra woman alone (can be) the wife of a Sudni. she and one of his own caste (the wives) of a Vaisya, those two and one of his own caste (the wives) of a Kshatriya, those three and one of bis own caste (the wives) of a l!ratiMiaii:i." ("The Laws of ilanu," translated by Biihier, in The Sacred Books of the /■>.•^^ edited bv F. Max Muller. Vol. XXV.. 1880. pp. 74-77.) There follow various other prohibitive and permissive provisions, with descriptiims of the "eight marriage-rites used by the four castes (varna) which partly secure benefits and partly