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 "A king who wishes to examine the cases should enter the assembly with learned Brāhmana assessors (iv, sec. 5, 43).

We have in Mrichchakatika a scene of trial (Act ix), where the judge is assisted by Shreshthīs. The word "Shreshthīs" implies that the assessors were chiefs of guilds, and they are again represented as men speaking vernacular which implies that they were not Brāhmanas. The case in the Toy-Cart (Mrichchakatika) may simply be local or belonging to a period different than that of our writer, but it may at the same time suggest that the claims of Brāhmanas revealed by Mānavadharma-shāstra were not always admitted.

Let us now consider the economic privileges and disabilities of different varnas as our text implies.

Let us first consider the occupational privileges. The occupations open to Brāhmana were various. He could become a priest, an occupation which was considered proper for his caste, or he could become a soldier, an officer of the state, a money-lender, or even a farmer. But he was not to become a domestic servant. The upper castes always had the privilege of following the