Chapter 48

“Yudhishthira said, ‘Through inducements offered by wealth, or throughmere lust, or through ignorance of the true order of birth (of both malesand females), or through folly, intermixture happens of the several orderWhat, O grandsire, are the duties of persons that are born in the mixedclasses and what are the acts laid down for them? Do thou discourse to meon this!’

“Bhishma said, ‘In the beginning, the Lord of all creatures created thefour orders and laid down their respective acts or duties, for the sakeof sacrifice.[298] The Brahmana may take four wives, one from each of thefour orders. In two of them (viz., the wife taken from his own order andthat taken from the one next below), he takes birth himself (the childrenbegotten upon them being regarded as invested with the same status as hisown). Those sons, however, that are begotten by him on the two spousesthat belong to the next two orders (viz., Vaisya and Sudra), areinferior, their status being determined not by that of their father butby that of their mothers. The son that is begotten by a Brahmana upon aSudra wife is called Parasara, implying one born of a corpse, for theSudra woman’s body is as inauspicious as a corpse. He should serve thepersons of his (father’s) race. Indeed, it is not proper for him to giveup the duty of service that has been laid down for him. Adopting allmeans in his power, he should uphold the burden of his family. Even if hehappens to be elder in age, he should still dutifully serve the otherchildren of his father who may be younger to him in years, and bestowupon them whatever he may succeed in earning. A Kshatriya may take threewives. In two of them (viz., the one taken from his own order and theother that is taken from the order immediately below), he takes birthhimself (so that those children are invested with the status of his ownorder). His third wife being of the Sudra order is regarded as veryinferior. The son that he begets upon her comes to be called as an Ugra.The Vaisya may take two spouses. In both of them (viz., the one takenfrom his own order, and the other from the lowest of the four pureorders), he takes birth himself (so that those children become investedwith the status of his own order). The Sudra can take only one wife,viz., she that is taken from his own order. The son begotten by him uponher becomes a Sudra. A son that takes birth under circumstances otherthan those mentioned above, comes to be looked upon as a very inferiorone If a person of a lower order begets a son upon a woman of a superiororder, such a son is regarded as outside the pale of the four pureorders. Indeed, such a son becomes on object of censure with the fourprincipal orders. If a Kshatriya begets a son upon a Brahmana woman, sucha son, without being included in any of the four pure orders, comes to beregarded as a Suta The duties of a Suta are all connected with thereciting of eulogies and encomiums of kings and other great men. The sonbegotten by a Vaisya upon a woman of the Brahmana order comes to beregarded as a Vaidehaka. The duties assigned to him are the charge ofbars and bolts for protecting the privacy of women of respectablehouseholds. Such sons have no cleansing rites laid down for them.[299] Ifa Sudra unites with a woman belonging to the foremost of the four orders,the son that is begotten is called a Chandala. Endued with a fiercedisposition, he must live in the outskirts of cities and towns and theduty assigned to him is that of the public executioner. Such sons arealways regarded as wretches of their race. These, O foremost ofintelligent persons, are the offspring of intermixed orders. The sonbegotten by a Vaisya upon a Kshatriya woman becomes a Vandi or Magadha.The duties assigned to him are eloquent recitations of praise. The sonbegotten through transgression, by a Sudra upon a Kshatriya women,becomes a Nishada and the duties assigned to him have reference to thecatching of fish. If a Sudra happens to have intercourse with a Vaisyawoman, the son begotten upon her comes to be called Ayogava. The dutyassigned to such a person are those of a Takshan (carpenter). They thatare Brahmanas should never accept gifts from such a person. They are notentitled to possess any kind of wealth. Persons belonging to the mixedcastes beget upon spouses taken from their own castes children investedwith the status that is their own. When they beget children in womentaken from castes that are inferior to theirs, such children becomeinferior to their fathers, for they become invested with the status thatbelongs to their mothers Thus as regards the four pure orders, personsbeget children invested with their own status upon spouses taken fromtheir own orders as also upon them that are taken from the ordersimmediately below their own. When, however, offspring are begotten uponother spouses, they come to be regarded as invested with a status thatis, principally, outside the pale of the four pure orders. When suchchildren beget sons in women taken from their own classes, those sonstake the status of their sires. It is only when they take spouse fromcastes other than their own, that the children they beget become investedwith inferior status. As an example of this it may be said that a Sudrabegets upon a woman belonging to the most superior order a son that isoutside the pale of the four orders (for such a son comes to be regardedas a Chandala who is much inferior). The son that is outside the pale ofthe four orders by uniting with women belonging to the four principalorders, begets offspring that are further degraded in point of status.From those outside the pale of the four orders and those again that arefurther outside that pale, children multiply in consequence of the unionof persons with women of classes superior to their own. In this way, frompersons of inferior status classes spring up, altogether fifteen innumber, that are equally low or still lower in status. It is only fromsexual union of women with persons who should not have such union withthem that mixed classes spring up. Among the classes that are thusoutside the pale of the four principal or pure orders, children arebegotten upon women belonging to the class called Sairindhri by men ofthe class called Magadha. The occupation of such offspring is theadornment of the bodies of kinds and others. They are well-acquaintedwith the preparation of unguents, the making of wreaths, and themanufacture of articles used for the decoration of the person. Thoughfree by the status that attaches to them by birth, they should yet lead alife of service. From the union of Magadhas of a certain class with womenof the caste called Sairindhri, there springs up another caste calledAyogava. Their occupation consists in the making of nets (for catchingfish and fowl and animals of the chase). Vaidehas, by uniting themselveswith women of the Sairindhri caste, beget children called Maireyakaswhose occupation consists in the manufacture of wines and spirits. Fromthe Nishadas spring a caste called Madgura and another known by the nameof Dasas whose occupation consists in plying boats. From the Chandalasprings a race called Swapaka whose occupation consists in keeping guardover the dead. The women of the Magadhi caste, by union with these fourcastes of wicked dispositions produce four others who live by practisingdeceit. These are Mansa, Swadukara, Kshaudra, and Saugandha. From theVaideha springs up a cruel and sinful caste that lives by practisingdeception. From the Nishadas again springs up the Madranabha caste whosemembers are seen to ride on cars drawn by asses. From the Chandalassprings up the caste called Pukkasa whose members are seen to eat theflesh of asses, horses and elephants. These cover themselves with thegarments obtained by stripping human corpses. They are again seen to eatfrom broken earthenware[300]. These three castes of very low status areborn of women of the Ayogava caste (by fathers taken from differentcastes). The caste called Kshudra springs from the Vaidehaka. The castecalled Andhra which takes up its residence in the outskirts of towns andcities, also springs up (from the Vaidehakas). Then again the Charmakara,uniting himself with a woman of Nishada caste, begets the class calledKaravara. From the Chandala again springs up the caste known by the nameof Pandusaupaka whose occupation consists in making baskets and otherthings with cleft bamboos. From the union of the Nishada with a woman ofthe Vaidehi caste springs one who is called by the name of Ahindaka. TheChandala begets upon a Saupaka woman, a son that does not differ from theChandala in status or occupation. A Nishada woman, by union with aChandala, brings forth a son who lives in the outskirts of villages andtowns. Indeed, the members of such a caste live in crematoria and areregarded by the very lowest orders as incapable of being numbered amongthem. Thus to these mixed castes spring up from improper and sinful unionof fathers and mothers belonging to different castes. Whether they livein concealment or openly, they should be known by their occupations. Theduties have been laid down in the scriptures for only the four principalorders. As regards the others the scriptures are entirely silent. Amongall the orders, the members of those castes that have no duties assignedto them by the scriptures, need have no fears as to what they do (to earntheir livelihood). Persons unaccustomed to the performance or for whomsacrifices have not been laid down, and who are deprived of the companyand the instructions of the righteous whether numbered among the fourprincipal orders or out of their pale, by uniting themselves with womenof other castes, led not by considerations of righteousness but byuncontrolled lust, cause numerous mixed castes to come into existencewhose occupations and abodes depend on the circumstances connected withthe irregular unions to which they owe their origin. Having recourse tospots where four roads meet, or crematoria, or hills and mountains, orforests and trees, they build their habitations there. The ornaments theywear are made of iron. Living in such places openly, they betakethemselves to their own occupations to earn their livelihood. They may beseen to live in this way, adorning their persons with ornaments andemployed in the task of manufacturing diverse kinds of domestic and otherutensils. Without doubt, by assisting kine and Brahmanas, and practisingthe virtues of abstention from cruelty, compassion, truthfulness ofspeech, and forgiveness, and, if need be, by preserving others by layingdown their very lives, persons of the mixed castes may achieve success. Ihave no doubt, O chief of men, that these virtues become the causes oftheir success. He that is possessed of intelligence, should, takingeverything into consideration, beget offspring according to theordinances of the scriptures, upon woman that have been declared properor fit for him. A son begotten upon a women belonging to a degradedcaste, instead of rescuing the sire, brings him to grief even as a heavyweight brings to grief a swimmer desirous of crossing water. Whether aman happens to be possessed of learning or not, lust and wrath arenatural attributes of humanity in this world. Women, therefore, mayalways be seen to drag men into the wrong path. This natural dispositionof women is such that man’s contact with her is productive of misery tohim. Hence, men possessed of wisdom do not suffer themselves to beexcessively attached to women.’

“Yudhishthira said, ‘There are men who belong to the mixed castes, andwho are of very impure birth. Though presenting the features ofrespectability, they are in reality disrespectable. In consequence ofthese external aspects we may not be able to know the truth about theirbirth. Are there any signs, O grandsire, by which the truth may be knownabout the origin of such men?”