Page:The history of caste in India.pdf/151

 But it should not be supposed that the rules regarding the sacraments of all twice-born varnas were the same. The method in which persons of different varnas received sacraments differed greatly, according to their varna. Our text gives manifold directions regarding sacraments. It tells what kind of name should be given to a child, what the first and second half of the name should mean, what the proper age for initiation should be, how early the initiation may be performed, and how long it may be postponed. It also gives detailed rules of what color the garment of the student should be, of what material the upper and the lower garments should be made, of what grass the girdle around the waist should be made, of what material the sacred string (Yajñopavita) should be, of what wood the student (Brāhmachārin) should make his staff, of what height the staff should be, and what formula should be used for begging. I do not care to give the detailed injunctions regarding the different varnas in these matters; I only say that the rules differed in each and every matter, as above enumerated, according to the varna (ii, 31-49).

But the difference in the ceremonial did not end here, For the ceremony of clipping the hair different ages were prescribed for different varnas (ii, 65). Our text refers to a belief that for the sake of purification, the higher the varna the farther should the sacred water reach when sipped; e. g., "a Brāhmana is purified by water that reaches his heart, a Kshatriya by water reaching his throat, a Vaishya by water taken into the mouth, and a Shūdra by water touched with the extremity of his lips" (ii, 62).