taken with Knsh#apa«<fita, as ' the ocean,' because in the latter sense sindhu is a masculine. It must be a boundary-river, pro- bably the Sarasvati. By suryasyodana, 'the region where the sun rises/ the udayagiri or ' mountain of the east ' may possibly be meant.
1 6. This verse, too, is marked as a quotation by the concluding word iti, though it is not necessary that it should be taken as a quotation from the Niddna. Here, and in the sequel verses ending in iti are marked as quotations by hyphens.
17. Manu VII, 203 ; VIII, 4 1 ; Gautama XI, 20. G3ti, ' castes/ which sometimes, and perhaps as appropriately, has been translated by ' tribes/ denotes in my opinion those numerous subdivisions of the four great var«as, which we now find all over India, and which can be shown to have existed for a very long time. Usually the word ' caste ' is also applied to them.
1 8. Kr/'shwapa«^ita explains viraha1, 'he who extinguishes the sacred fires/ by ' the destroyer of his sons or of his spiritual clients '
I, 24. General Rules. 5
19. They state that there are five mortal sins (mahapataka),
20. (Viz. violating) a Guru's bed, drinking (the
spirituous liquor called) surd, slaying a learned
Brahmawa, stealing the gold of a Brahmawa, and
associating with outcasts,
21. Either by (entering into) spiritual or matri- monial (connexion with them).
2 2. Now they quote also (the following verse) : ' He
who during a year associates with an outcast becomes
(likewise) an outcast ; not by sacrificing for him, by
teaching him or by (forming) a matrimonial (alliance
with him), but by using the same carriage or seat.'
23. A minor offence causing loss of caste (upa-
p&taka, is committed by him) who (after beginning
an Agnihotra sacrifice) forsakes the sacred fires, and
by him who offends a Guru, by an atheist, by him
who takes his livelihood from atheists, and by him
who sells the Soma (plant).
24. Three wives (are permitted) to a Brahma^a
according to the order of the castes, two to a
Kshatriya, one to a Vaitya and to a -Sttdra.
(yagama'na) ; but the rules given below, XX, 1 1, and XXI, 27, in the section on penances, confirm the explanation given above.
20. Vishmi XXXV, 1-2. Guru means here the father, see below, XX, 15.
21. Visrwu XXXV, 3-5. Spiritual connexion, i.e. becoming
the teacher or priest of an outcast, or his pupil or spiritual client
(ya^amana).
22. Identical with Manu XI, 181. It must be understood that spiritual or matrimonial connexion with an outcast causes immediate degradation, as Vishmi states expressly.
23. Vishmi XXXVII, 6,31; Gautama XXI, r i. Regarding the precise meaning of prati^ahnuyat, ' offends/ see below, XXI, 27.
24-25. Manu III,i3; Ya^fiavalkya I, 57; PaVaskara Gnhya- sutra I, 4, 8-11.
VASISH77TA. I, 25.
25. Some declare (that twice-born men may
marry) even a female of the -Sttdra caste, like
those (other wives), without (the recitation of)
Vedic texts.
26. Let him not act thus.
2 7. For in consequence of such (a marriage) the
degradation of the family certainly ensues, and after
death the loss of heaven.
28. There are six marriage-rites,
29. (Viz.) that of Brahman (brahma), that of the
gods (daiva), that of the /^'shis (arsha), that of the
Gandharvas (gandharva), that of the Kshatriyas
(kshatra), and that of men (manusha).
30. If the father, pouring out a libation of water,
gives his (daughter) to a suitor, that (is called) the
Brahma-rite.
31. If (the father) gives his daughter, decking her
with ornaments, to an officiating priest, whilst a sacri-
fice is being performed, that is called the Daiva-rite.
32. And (if the father gives his daughter) for a cow and a bull, (that is called) the Arsha-rite.
33. If a lover takes a loving female of equal caste, that (is called) the Gandharva-rite.
34. If they forcibly abduct (a damsel), destroying
(her relatives) by strength (of arms), that (is called)
the Kshatra-rite.
35. If, after making a bargain (with the father, a
26-27. ManuIII, 14-19. 28. Apastamba II, 5, u, 17-20.
30. Vishmi XXIV, 19; Asvalayana Grzliya-sfitra I, 6, i.
31. Vish/m XXIV, 20; A^valayana Gnhya-stitra I, 6, 2.
32. Vishnu XXIV, 21; Arvalayana Gr/hya-sfitra I, 6, 3.
33. Vish«u XXIV, 23 ; Ajvalayana Grj'hya-sfitra I, 6, 5.
34. Vishmi XXIV, 25 ; A-yvalayana Grz'hya-sfitra I, 6, 8.
35. Vishwu XXIV, 24 ; Asvalayana Grz'hya-sdtra I, 6, 6.
I. 39. GENERAL RULES.
suitor) marries (a damsel) purchased for money, that (is called) the Manusha-rite.
36. The purchase (of a wife) is mentioned in the
following passage of the Veda, ' Therefore one
hundred (cows) besides a chariot should be given
to the father of the bride.'
37. (It is stated) in (the following passage of) the
jfifaturmisyas, 'She (forsooth) who has been bought
by her husband (commits sin, as) afterwards she
unites herself with strangers.'
38. Now they quote also (the following verse):
' Lost learning comes back ; when the family is lost
all is lost. Even a horse becomes estimable on
account of its pedigree ; therefore men marry wives
descended from an (unblemished) family.
39. The three (lower) castes shall live according to the teaching of the Brahma«a.
36. .Sahkhayana Gr/hya-sutra I, 14; Paraskara Gr*hya-sutra 1, 8, 1 8 ; Apastamba II, 6, 13, 12. Though VasishMa's quotation is less complete than Apastamba's, still the following Sutras show that he knew the conclusion of the passage, and does not take it as an authority for the sale of a daughter.
37. Krzsh«apa«</Ua makes a mistake by connecting the word ' Hturmasyeshu ' with the next Sutra. He is right in saying that ' the A'&turmasyas ' is the name of a book. It is, however, not a separate work, but the ka«</a or section of a Vedic work treating of the .Saturmasya sacrifices (see Max Miiller, Hist. Anc. Sansk. Lit., p. 355). The particular work from which our quotation has been taken, is either the Maitraya^iya Sawhita, or the Ka/Aaka. For, as Dr. von Schroeder informs me, Maitray£«iya Sawzhita' I, 10, ii reads 'anrz'taw va esha karoti yd patyuA krita satyathanyau /fcarati,' and the title of the ka«</a is A'aturma'sya'ni. Professor Weber, Ind. Stud. V, 407, has found the same words in the ^Tatur- mdsya section of the Ka/Aaka XXXVI, 5. In the translation I have added the beginning of the passage which Vasish/Aa omits, accord- ing to the Maitrayawiya SawhitS.
39-41. Gautama XI, 25-27.
8 VASISH7V7A. I, 40.
40. The Brahmawa shall declare their duties,
41. And the king shall govern them accordingly.
42. But a king who rules in accordance with the
sacred law, may take the sixth part of the wealth (of
his subjects),
43. Except from Brahmawas.
44. It has been declared in the Veda, ' But he
obtains the sixth part of (the merit which Br^hmanas
gain by) sacrifices and charitable works/
45. (It is further stated in the Veda), ' The Brah-
mawa makes the Veda rich ; the Brahmawa saves
from misfortune ; therefore the Brahmawa shall not
be made a source of subsistence. Soma is his king.'
46. Further (another passage says), * After death
bliss (awaits the king who does not oppress Brah-
mawas).'
42. Vishmi III, 22-25. Though the ambiguous word dhana, 1 wealth/ is used in the text, it seems not doubtful that VasishJfta alludes to the land-tax, which generally consists of one sixth of the produce.
43. Vishnu III, 26.
44. Vishmi III, 27-38. Purta, 'the merit gained by charitable works,' i. e. by planting trees, digging wells, and so forth. The words ' iti ha,' placed at the end of the Sutra, indicate that it is a quotation, and that vi^fiayate, ' it is declared in the Veda,' has to be understood from Sutra 46. Gautama XI, n, too, alleges that the rule is based on a Vedic passage.
45. «Satapatha-brahma«a V, 4, 2, 3. Kr/sh»apa«</ita's division of the quotation into several Sutras is unnecessary. His explana- tion of anadya, which he takes to mean ' the first of all,' is wrong. He asserts that the Brahmawa is said 'to make the Veda rich,' because by sacrificing and so forth he fulfils its object and protects it. But the phrase is probably corrupt. If it is said that Soma is the king of the Brahmawas, the object is to indicate that an earthly king is not their master, see Gautama XI, i.
II, 5. THE FOUR CASTES.
CHAPTER II.
1. There are four castes (var«a), Brdhmawas, Kshatriyas, VaLryas, and .Sudras.
2. Three castes, Brahma^as, Kshatriyas, and Vai^yas, (are called) twice-born.
3. Their first birth is from their mother; the
second from the investiture with the sacred girdle.
In that (second birth) the Savitrl is the mother, but
the teacher is said to be the father.
4. They call the teacher father, because he gives instruction in the Veda.
5. They quote also (the following passage from
the Veda) to the same (effect) : ' Of two kinds,
forsooth, is the virile energy of a man learned in
the Vedas, that which (resides) above the navel and
the other which below (the navel) descends down-
wards. Through that which (resides) above the
navel, his offspring is produced, when he initiates
Brahmawas, when he teaches them, when he causes
them to offer oblations, when he makes them holy.
By that which resides below the navel the children
of his body are produced. Therefore they never
say to a .Srotriya, who teaches the Veda, "Thou art
destitute of offspring." '
II. 1-2. Vishmi II, 1-2 ; Manu X, 4.
3. Identical with Manu II, 169*, 170"*, and Vishmi XXVIII, 37- 38. The S&vitri or the verse addressed to Savitr* is found Rig-veda III, 62, 10.
4. Gautama 1, 10 ; Manu II, 171.
5. The reading tathapyud&haranti, which several of rny MSS. give, seems to me preferable to KrzshnapaWita's udaharati. KnsrmapaWita explains sadhu karoti, 'makes them holy/ by adhyltmam upadi-rati, 'teaches them transcendental knowledge.'
IO VASISHTTf A. II, 6.
6. Hartta also quotes (the following verse): ' No
religious rite can be performed by a (child) before
he has been girt with the sacred girdle, since he is
on a level with a .Sudra before his (new) birth from
the Veda.'
7. (The above prohibition refers to all rites) except
those connected with libations of water, (the excla-
mation) Svadha, and the manes.
8. Sacred learning approached a Brahmawa (and
said to him), ' Preserve me, I am thy treasure, reveal
me not to a scorner, nor to a wicked man, nor to one
of uncontrolled passions : so (preserved) I shall be-
come strong/
9. ' Reveal me, O Brahma/za, as to the keeper of
thy treasure, to him whom thou shalt know to be
pure, attentive, intelligent, and chaste, who will not
offend thee nor revile thee/
10. '(That man) who fills his ears with truth, who
frees him from pain and confers immortality upon
him, (the pupil) shall consider as his father and mother;
him he must never grieve nor revile.' .
11. 'As those Brahmawas who, after receiving in-
struction, do not honour their teacher by their speech,
in their hearts or by their acts, will not be profitable
to their teacher, even so that sacred learning (which
they acquired) will not profit them/
6. Vish«u XXVIII, 40. Instead of Kr/sh«apa«<£ita's'yavadvedo na ^-ayate,' 'yavadvede na ^ayate,' which occurs in several MSS. and in the parallel passages of Manu II, 172 and other Smrrtis, must be read.
7, Gautama II, 5. The rites referred to are the funeral rites. 8-9. Visfom XXIX, 9-10, and introduction, p. xxiii ; Nirukta
II,4.
10. Vishnu XXX, 47.
11,21. THE FOUR CASTES; LAWFUL OCCUPATIONS, n
12. 'As fire consumes dry grass, even so the
Veda, asked for, (but) not honoured, (destroys the en-
quirer). Let him not proclaim the Veda to that man,
who does not show him honour according to his
ability/
1 3. The (lawful) occupations of a Brahma#a are six,
14. Studying the Veda, teaching, sacrificing for
himself, sacrificing for others, giving alms, and ac-
cepting gifts.
15. (The lawful occupations) of a Kshatriya are three,
1 6. Studying, sacrificing for himself, and bestow- ing gifts ;
1 7. And his peculiar duty is to protect the people with his weapons ; let him gain his livelihood thereby.
1 8. (The lawful occupations) of a Vai-rya are the same (as those mentioned above, Sutra 16),
1 9. Besides, agriculture, trading, tending cattle, and lending money at interest,
20. To serve those (superior castes) has been fixed as the means of livelihood for a -5udra.
21. (Men of) all (castes) may wear their hair
arranged according to the customs fixed (for their
family), or allow it to hang down excepting the lock
on the crown of the head.
13. Kn'sh«apatf<fita wrongly connects the word brahmawasya with the next Sutra. For this and the next seven Sutras, compare Visrmu 11,4-14.
