Another classification may be made of the subcastes according as
they are of the Hindu or Jain religion; the important Jain subcastes
are the Oswal, Parwar, Golapurab, Saitwal and Charnagar, and one or
two smaller ones, as the Baghelwal and Samaiya. The other subcastes
are principally Hindu, but many have a Jain minority, and similarly
the Jain subcastes return a proportion of Hindus. The difference of
religion counts for very little, as practically all the non-Jain Banias
are strict Vaishnava Hindus, abstain entirely from any kind of flesh
meat, and think it a sin to take animal life; while on their side the
Jains employ Brahmans for certain purposes, worship some of the local
Hindu deities, and observe the principal Hindu festivals. The Jain and
Hindu sections of a subcaste have consequently, as a rule, no objection
to taking food together, and will sometimes intermarry. Several of the
important subcastes are subdivided into Bisa and Dasa, or twenty and
ten groups. The Bisa or twenty group is of pure descent, or twenty
carat, as it were, while the Dasas are considered to have a certain
amount of alloy in their family pedigree. They are the offspring of
remarried widows, and perhaps occasionally of still more irregular
unions. Intermarriage sometimes takes place between the two groups,
and families in the Dasa group, by living a respectable life and
marrying well, improve their status, and perhaps ultimately get
back into the Bisa group. As the Dasas become more respectable they
will not admit to their communion newly remarried widows or couples
who have married within the prohibited degrees, or otherwise made a
_mésalliance_, and hence a third inferior group, called the Pacha or
five, is brought into existence to make room for these.