Chap. I.J THE BKAIIMIN CASTE. 9
treasury. Even where no formal service is rendered or expected, mere liberality ad. — to Brahmins is held so meritorious as to expiate the guilt of many offences, and large sums annually expended in feasting and otherwise entertaining them are Extravagant thought to be amply recompensed by the honour which the presence of such to the guests confers, or the blessings temporal and spiritual which they have it in caurte"'" their power to bestow on those who befriend them. This extravagant deference to the Brahminical caste is sometimes manifested in ludicrous forms, and the water in which a Brahmin has dipped his toe, or the dust which has been gathered from his foot is not unfrequently set aside, and carefully preserved, under the idea that by such contact valuable properties have been conferred upon it.
Originally all Brahmins were, in accordance with their common origin, equal ^"^'^^^^ ^^ in privilege and dignity. Their superiority to the other classes was determined Brahmins, by the pre-eminence of that part of Brahma which produced them ; but in regard to each other there were no primeval diversities on which claims of precedence could be founded. In course of time, however, this equality disappeared. Some individuals surpassing others in the qualities which were held in highest estima- tion were naturally looked up to as leaders, and became the founders of families, which boasting of their descent, considered themselves entitled to stand above the common level of their class. In this way -all the usual distinctions of rank have been introduced, and the Brahmins, instead of continuing to form a single liomogeneous class, have been broken up into numerous sections, which, if not actually hostile, differ so widely from each other, that they have no social inter- course. The first great distinction between Brahmins is of a religious natm-e. They are all under obligation to maintain a perpetual fire, but the great majority of them disregard the obligation, while the minority who perform it, pluming themselves on their superior sanctity, are distinguished by the name of Agniho- tras. The next distinction is genealogical, and classes all Brahmins under the
two great heads of Gaura and Dravira, each of them composed of five distinct Present dis- cs -^ tinotions.
races, and located respectively in Hindoostan and the Deccan. The five Gaura races, arranged according to the territories presmned to have been their original seats, stand thus: — 1. Kanyakubja, or Canouje ; 2. Saraswat, or the North-west of India; 3. Gaur, or Bengal; 4. Mithila, or North Behar; and, 5. Utkala, or Orissa. Among the Draviras, in like manner, the whole of the Deccan, together with Gujerat, is parcelled out. Each of these races is again subdivided, and forms numerous ramifications, which it would be vain to attempt to trace. As a specimen it may suffice to mention that the Brahmins of Canouje alone count 150 distinct families.
In practice, the most important of all the distinctions at present subsisting
among Brahmins is that of rank, which, in so far as regards those of Bengal,
has the following fabulous origin ascribed to it: — A king of the name of
Balal Sen, who reigned about six centuries ago, observing the strict fidelity of
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