Chap. I.J EARLY HINDOO HISTORY, 3
That they were real human beings, and not mere creatures of the imagination, a.d.
may easily be admitted ; but in all the details respecting them the supernatural predominates so much over the historical, and is so interwoven with it, that the EariyMstory attempt to separate them is fruitless. To the vague information furnished by nmdoos. tlie Institutes of Menu scarcely anything is added, and we must be contented to know, as a general but unexplained fact, that Hindoo supremacy, after being maintained by dynasties, the most important of which reigned in Ayodah or Oude, situated near the centre of Brahmarshi, was gradually extended over the wliole length and breadth of the Indian peninsula, and even beyond it, into the island of Ceylon.
While it is impossible, in the absence of genuine annals, to trace the leading Division into
T • 1 ^ • ^ c o classes or
events in the early history of the Hindoos, and present them in the form of a castes. continuous narrative, there is another important branch of inquiry, as to which a similar complaint cannot be made. In several ancient works, and more especially in the Institutes of Menu, we obtain an intimate acquaintance vdX their internal condition, and are introduced to a state of society of a very extraordinary character. As its distinguishing features mvist now be passed in review, we begin with the one which lies at the foundation of all the social ar- rangements of the Hindoos, From a very early date they have existed, not as one people, derived from a common origin and possessed of equal rights, but as distinct classes, separated from each other by impassable barriers, and destined to occupy very different social positions. This classification, to which Europeans, »
borrowing a synonymous term from the Portuguese, generally give the name of caste, appears to have had its origin in a mythological fiction. According to Hindoo theology, mankind are not the descendants of a single primeval pair, but were at first produced by Brahma, their imaginary creator, from four different parts of his body. From his mouth proceeded the Brahmin, from his arm the Cshatriya, from his thigh the Vaisya, and from his foot the Sudra. Each of these creations furnished the progenitors of a distinct class, whose social position and occupation were thus indelibly fixed in accordance with its origin. According to Menu, the Brahmin, since he sprang from the mouth, the most excellent part, "is by right the chief of this whole creation." Next in order, but at an immeasurable distance, stands the Cshatriya. His descent marks him out as a soldier, and his principal employment should be "to defend the people." The Vaisya represents the industrial class, and his proper duty therefore is to keep herds of cattle, to carry on trade, to lend at interest, and to cultivate land. To the Sudra, it is said, the supreme ruler assigns one principal duty, "namely, to serve the before mentioned classes without depreciating their worth."
In ewory description of the duties of the different classes, the elevation of the Brahmin is never overlooked. Though the Cshatriya and Vaisya are enjoined or permitted to read the Veda or Hindoo scripture, the Brahmin alone is
