the caste of Vaisyas." When he takes the share of Sudras, his progeny "will have the characteristics of Sudras; they are to serve the three higher castes, to be expelled and beaten according to the pleasure of their masters." And "in the second or third degree, he is capable of entering the condition of Sudras."
In the same Brahmana we are told of Kavasha, the son of Ilusha, whom the other Rishis expelled from a sacrificial session, saying, "How should the son of a slave girl, a gamester, who is no Brahman, remain among us and become initiated!" But Kavasha knew the gods and all the gods knew him, and he was admitted as a Rishi. Similarly, in the beautiful legend of Satyakama Jabala in the Chhandogya Upanishad, is exemplified the fact that truth and learning opened out in those days a path to the highest honour and to the highest caste. The legend is so beautiful in its simplicity and its poetry, that we feel no hesitation in quoting a portion of it:—
"Satyakama, the son of Jabala, addressed his mother and said: 'I wish to become a Brahmachari (religious student), mother. Of what family am I?'
"She said to him: 'I do not know, my child, of what family thou art. In my youth, when I had to move about much as a servant, I conceived thee. I do not know of what family thou art. I am Jabala by name, thou art Satyakama; say that thou art Satyakama Jabala.'
"He, going to Gautama Haridrumata, said to him:
