DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31218#0312
THE CASTE SYSTEM OF NORTHERN INDIA
‘Worship’ is, perhaps, too strong a term to apply to the
relation of most Hindus to this deity. The Bhuiya, the
Chamar, the Gandhila, the Gorchha, and the Nat make
offerings to him ; and some Hindu Banjaras are taught
by their Brahman gurus to pray only to him. But the
worship of most Hindus is restricted to an occasional recit-
ation of the Sat Narayan Katha1 in his honour, or the
repetition of his name in the morning and evening.
They reserve their prayers and offerings for deities more
accessible than Parameshwar.1 2
The three ‘twice born’ (dvija) divisions of the old Arya
nations, Brahmans, Kshatriyas, and
26 The Brah- Vaisyas, though unequal to each other in
man’s reiation social rank, yet shared certain sacrament-
t° rehgion al rites (sa nskclra)3 connected with all the
principal occasions of a man’s life, from
his birth to his death. Of these, the most important was
the upanayana ceremony, when the youth was initiated
into the study of the Vedas, and invested with the sacred
thread (janeo) : for it was this ceremony that constituted
his second birth, and made him dvija. The Sudra had
no part in these ceremonies; just as he was kept out of
all social intercourse with the Aryan twice born, so was
lie kept out of the Aryan religion’s doctrines and practi-
ces. And these were the rites which it was the Brahman’s
especial duty to perform. But the circumstances of the
Aryans’ environment put an end to this exclusiveness.
The twice born were forced into intermarriage with the
Dravidian Sudras, and an Aryo-Dravidian race arose. In
later centuries, there was further mixture of blood as the
result of fresh invasions, and the mixed castes—vrisala,
vratya, and varnasankara—took the place of the old
varnas. In theory, none of these were, or could rightfully
demand to be regarded as, twice born. But many castes
still hoid the title. Most are those who trace direct descent
1 An account of the manifestation of God to certain of his
worshippers.
2 The universality of the belief in Parameshwar has been officially
recognized by the use of his name in the oath administered to Hindus
in the law courts : ‘so help me God’ becomes ‘so help me Parameshwar’.
3 A full list is given in the appendix to this chapter.
298
‘Worship’ is, perhaps, too strong a term to apply to the
relation of most Hindus to this deity. The Bhuiya, the
Chamar, the Gandhila, the Gorchha, and the Nat make
offerings to him ; and some Hindu Banjaras are taught
by their Brahman gurus to pray only to him. But the
worship of most Hindus is restricted to an occasional recit-
ation of the Sat Narayan Katha1 in his honour, or the
repetition of his name in the morning and evening.
They reserve their prayers and offerings for deities more
accessible than Parameshwar.1 2
The three ‘twice born’ (dvija) divisions of the old Arya
nations, Brahmans, Kshatriyas, and
26 The Brah- Vaisyas, though unequal to each other in
man’s reiation social rank, yet shared certain sacrament-
t° rehgion al rites (sa nskclra)3 connected with all the
principal occasions of a man’s life, from
his birth to his death. Of these, the most important was
the upanayana ceremony, when the youth was initiated
into the study of the Vedas, and invested with the sacred
thread (janeo) : for it was this ceremony that constituted
his second birth, and made him dvija. The Sudra had
no part in these ceremonies; just as he was kept out of
all social intercourse with the Aryan twice born, so was
lie kept out of the Aryan religion’s doctrines and practi-
ces. And these were the rites which it was the Brahman’s
especial duty to perform. But the circumstances of the
Aryans’ environment put an end to this exclusiveness.
The twice born were forced into intermarriage with the
Dravidian Sudras, and an Aryo-Dravidian race arose. In
later centuries, there was further mixture of blood as the
result of fresh invasions, and the mixed castes—vrisala,
vratya, and varnasankara—took the place of the old
varnas. In theory, none of these were, or could rightfully
demand to be regarded as, twice born. But many castes
still hoid the title. Most are those who trace direct descent
1 An account of the manifestation of God to certain of his
worshippers.
2 The universality of the belief in Parameshwar has been officially
recognized by the use of his name in the oath administered to Hindus
in the law courts : ‘so help me God’ becomes ‘so help me Parameshwar’.
3 A full list is given in the appendix to this chapter.
298