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It describes the sacrifice of Daksha and the death of Sati, and proceeds to narrate that Siva carried his wife’s corpse about the world, that the different portions of the corpse were scattered in different parts of India, that - these places accordingly becamé sacred. Lingas erect- ed in these spots draw hundreds of thousands of pilgrims year after year to the present day. Such are the myths believed, and such are the religious rites practised by the descendants of those who sang the hymns of the Veda, and started the deep and earnest enquiries of the Upanishads! ~ TANTRAS, But Hindu literature in the period of the Mahom- medan rule presents us even with a stranger aberra- tion of human fancy and human credulity. The Yoga system of philosophy degenerated into various strange practices by which supernatural powers, it was believed, R.C. D., A. L—IIL . 20 306 PAURANIK PERIOD. {BOOK V. could be obtained. We have evidence of this even in Bhavabhiti who lived in the 8th century A. D.; but later on, the system was developed into monstrous forms. The works known as the Tantras—creations of the last period of Hindu degeneracy under a foreicn rule—give us elaborate accounts of dark, cruel and obscene practices for the acquisition of superna! powers. _And by an audacious myth these miserable products of a “mind diseased” were ascribed to the deity Siva himself! The number of Tantras is said to be 64; we have seen many of Hem which have been published in Calcutta, . Ignorance is credulous, and feebleness hankers after power. And when a superstitious ignorance and a senile feébleness had reached the last stage of degene- racy after centuries of foreign subjection, men saught by ~ unwholesome practices and unholy rites to acquire that ‘ power which Providence has rendered attainable only by a free and open and healthy exercise of our faculties, —mioral, intellectual and physical. To the historian, the Tantra literature represents, not a special phase of Hindu thought, but a diseased form of the human mind, which is possible only when the national life has departed, when all political consciousness has vanished, and the lamp of knowledge is extinct. . CHAPTER Vi. WE have seen in the last Book tirat the great Aryan population of India (except priests and kings) was still a united bedy in the Buddhist Period, and had not yet been disanited into the profession castes of modem times, The tendency to disintegration was preater in the Pauranik Period, and we have frequent allusions to _ different professions distinctly marked off from each ‘other. But nevertheless an impartial examination of the evidence available will convince a candid reader that the profession castes of the modern times were not completely formed even in the Pauranik Period, and that the body of the people was still ove united caste,—the Vaisya,—engaged in various professions, ‘The complete disintegration of the nation into numerous and distinct profession castes was subsequent to the Moslem conquest of India and the national death of the Hindus. Allthe Dharma Sastras of the Pauranik Period refer to the four great castes, viz. the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and the Sadras, The ‘first three castes were still entitred to the performance of religious rites and to the study of the Vedas, Their respective duties were 308 PAURANIK PERIOD, [BOOK V. to.teach the Veda, to practise arms, and to tend cattle; and their modes of livelihood were for a Brdéhman to sacrifice for others and to receive alms ; for a Kshatriya to protect the people ; and for a Vaisya, tillage, keep- ing cows, traffic, money lending and growing seeds. (Vishnu IT). To these duties of the Vaisya, Pardsara adds working in iron and in jewellery (I, 60), and the enumeration of these duties would shew that gold- ‘smiths and blacksmiths had not yet differentiated into separate castes, but still belonged to the common Vaisya community. The Sidra was not entitled to the study of the Veda, to religious learning, or to the performance of elaborate religious rites. It would appear, however, from some passages in the Dharma Sfstras that he was entitled to some Sanskadras and to some religious rites and penances. Thus the metrical Apastamba lays down (III, 2) that a Sidra living with men of impure castes _(ée., aborigines) should perform the PrAjapatya rite. Vy4sa tells us (1,6) that the Saidra was entitled to some religious rites ; and Sankha similarly informs us (II, 3) that the Sadra was also entitled to some Sanskaras, - It would ‘appear from these reluctant concessions that the great Sidra community,—the aboriginal inhabitants of India who had been Hinduized for thousands of years,—had before the Pauranik time won for themselves a position and influence which could not be gainsaid. By trade and agriculture _ CHAP, Vi.] CASTE, - 309 and by following different arts and industries they had amassed wealth and made themselves useful members of the society in which they lived ; and we even hear ~ of Sidra kings and Sddra chiefs. And although the Aryan Hindus still ungenerously called the Stdras the slaves of the other castes, and excluded them from all religious learning and most of the religious rites, yet numerous passages interspersed in the Dharma S4stras shew that for all practical purposes the Sidras had be- come Hindus, and practised some at least of the Hindu rites. ae , The duty of the Sadra was to serve the other castes, and his mode~ of livelihood was to follow different branches of art. (Vishnu I.) He could also trade (Véjnavalkya fF, 120) and no doubt followed various other professions. Pardsara informs us (1, 62) that the Sadra could sell salt or sugar, or the various prepara- tions of milk. | YAjnavalkya tells us the old story of the production of mixed castes by the union of men and women of different parent castes. His 13 mixed castes are here enumerated. father. ' Mother. Caste formed. Brahman Kshatriya Miirdhabhishikts Do. ' Vaisya Ambashta Do, Sidra NishSda or Parasava Kshatriya Vaisya M&hishya Do. Sidra Ugra Vaisya ' Sadra | ' Karana Re PAURANIK PERION [B00K v. Father: Dother. Caste forned. Kshatriya Brahman Sita Vaisya Do. Vaidehaka Stdra Do. Chandala _ Vaisya Kshatriya Magadha Stidra Do. Kshattré Sidra Vaisya Ayogava Mahisya. Karana Rathakéra ; Véinavalkya T, gt to 95. It is scarcely necessary to point out once again that ' these'so called mixed castes are net the modern pro- fession castes of India, but are, most of them, names of aboriginal tribes who weve gradually assuming Hindu rites and civilization, without however being completely merged in the recognized Sidra caste. It would almost. seem that Vajnavalkya had some notion of these tribes being gradually fused with the Hindus, for immediately after the enumeration given above, he informs us that inferior castes can rise in the seventh or even in the fifth Yuga according to works (I, 96). The so called “mixed castes” then do not reveal to ‘us the origin of the profession castes of modern India. ‘How have these modern castes originated? The Pauranik Dharma SAstras will throw some light on the subject. Ka4yasthas find no mention in Manu, because the i practice of appointing scribes for every law court and public office did not generally prevadl in the Buddhist Period. In the Pauranik Period the scribes were al- CHAP. VI.] CASTE. 311 ready a numerous and influential body, attended judges in court, attested documents, and performed all the clerical work connected with the administration of law. Not unoften they were engaged in more ambi- tious duties, and were appointed by kings to administer finances, raise taxes, keep the accounts of the State, and perform all the duties which devolve on a finance minister in the modern day. We read in a dramatic work called the Mrichchhakati (toy cart), that a Kayas- tha or record-keeper attended the judge in court; and Kalhana in his history of Kashmir frequently speaks of Kdyasthas as accountants and tax gatherers and financiers under kings. They soon incurred the wrath of thé priests, for they raised their taxes from all and exempted none; and we accordingly find that no epithets are too strong or too vile to be applied to their profession! Passing over such pardonable ebulli- tion of the priestly tax payer’s anger, we are grateful to learn from passages in the Dharma Sastras of the - Pauranik Period how the profession arose in India, “and what its original duties were. It is probable that the class was recruited mainly from the people—the Vaisyas; Bréhmans would scarcely condescend to take up such appointments, and Sfidras had not the neces- sary qualification.* After the Moslem conquest the * Here and elsewhere we have stated that KAyasthas are descended from the ancient Vaisyas. A controversy is going on since many years past, and reasons have been advanced to shew that Kayasthas are 312 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK V. profession was formed into an inviolable and distinct caste. - Yajnavalkya tells us (I, 336), that the king should protect his people from deceivers, thieves, violent men, robbers and others, and especially from Kayasthas. If we take the word in its modern sense of caste, the passage has no sense, and the necessity for protection from a particular caste is not obvious. If, on the other hand, we take the word to mean rapacioustax gatherers, we can well understand the feeling of the writer who classed them with thieves and robbers. Such compli- ments are paid to tax gatherers to the present day. Our next quotation will be from Vishnu. In his celebrated chapter on documents, he classifies them under three heads; wz.