Page:The history of caste in India.pdf/109

 Whenever Hindus and foreigners came into contact, if the foreigners accepted the religious ideas of the Hindus, the foreigners probably found no difficulty in entering Hindu society. If the foreigners did not accept the Hindu religious ideas they were treated as Mlechchhas. When the foreigners accepted the social and religious usages of the Hindus and thus found their way into the Hindu society, their jāti received the status which it could exact, as it always does. The Yavanas and Kirātas could not but be recognized as fighting tribes, but as they did not care to adopt all the ceremonial, they failed to get the status afterward which was connected with the ceremonial.

Whenever a family claimed to be of Kshatriya origin one of the easiest ways of determining the truth of such a claim was to find out whether Brāhmanas performed ceremonies in the family proper for a Kshatriya. This evidence was of a very high value because the conservative Brāhmanas went always by precedent. In the earlier days inducing Brāhmana to perform such ceremonies was not difficult; but it became more and more difficult as time went on. Those who neglected the ceremonial once found it more difficult to establish it again. Thus the negligence of ceremonial on the part of Kirātas and Yavanas did them a perpetual harm by lowering their caste in the eyes of the public.

Formal conversion to Hinduism was unnecessary. They took it for granted that every man belonged to their religion, which is the only one and is eternal. The initiation or sacraments gave him only status. If a man neglected ceremonies or accepted heresies he fell.