The Brahman or Birm-Bhats form a separate subcaste, and the Rajputs
are sometimes called Rajbhat. These wear the sacred thread, which the
Brid-Bhats and Jasondhis do not. The social status of the Bhats appears
to vary greatly. Sir H. Risley states that they rank immediately below
Kayasths, and Brahmans will take water from their hands. The Charans
are treated by the Rajputs with the greatest respect; [286] the highest
ruler rises when one of this class enters or leaves an assembly,
and the Charan is invited to eat first at a Rajput feast. He smokes
from the same huqqa as Rajputs, and only caste-fellows can do this, as
the smoke passes through water on its way to the mouth. In past times
the Charan acted as a herald, and his person was inviolable. He was
addressed as Maharaj, [287] and could sit on the Singhasan or Lion's
Hide, the ancient term for a Rajput throne, as well as on the hides
of the tiger, panther and black antelope. The Rajputs held him in
equal estimation with the Brahman or perhaps even greater. [288] This
was because they looked to him to enshrine their heroic deeds in his
songs and hand them down to posterity. His sarcastic references to a
defeat in battle or any act displaying a want of courage inflamed their
passions as nothing else could do. On the other hand, the Brid-Bhats,
who serve the lower castes, occupy an inferior position. This is
because they beg at weddings and other feasts, and accept cooked
food from members of the caste who are their clients. Such an act
constitutes an admission of inferior status, and as the Bhats eat
together their position becomes equivalent to that of the lowest
group among them. Thus if other Bhats eat with the Bhats of Telis or
Kalars, who have taken cooked food from their clients, they are all
in the position of having taken food from Telis and Kalars, a thing
which only the lowest castes will do. If the Bhat of any caste, such
as the Kurmis, keeps a girl of that caste, she can be admitted into
the community, which is therefore of a very mixed character. Such a
caste as the Kurmis will not even take water from the hands of the
Bhats who serve them. This rule applies also where a special section
of the caste itself act as bards and minstrels. Thus the Pardhans
are the bards of the Gonds, but rank below ordinary Gonds, who give
them food and will not take it from them. And the Sansias, the bards
of the Jats, and the Mirasis, who are employed in this capacity by
the lower castes generally, occupy a very inferior position, and are
sometimes considered as impure.