The following tradition is related by the Pasis themselves in Mirzapur
and the Central Provinces: One day a man was going to kill a number
of cows. Parasurama was at that time practising austerities in the
jungles. Hearing the cries of the sacred animals he rushed to their
assistance, but the cow-killer was aided by his friends. So Parasurama
made five men out of _kusha_ grass and brought them to life by letting
drops of his perspiration fall upon them. Hence arose the name Pasi,
from the Hindi _pasina_, sweat. The men thus created rescued the
cows. Then they returned to Parasurama and asked him to provide
them with a wife. Just at that moment a Kayasth girl was passing
by, and her Parasurama seized and made over to the Pasis. From them
sprang the Kaithwas subcaste. Another legend related by Mr. Crooke
tells that during the time Parasurama was incarnate there was an
austere devotee called Kuphal who was asked by Brahma to demand of
him a boon, whereupon he requested that he might be perfected in the
art of thieving. His request was granted, and there is a well-known
verse regarding the devotions of Kuphal, the pith of which is that
the mention of the name of Kuphal, who received a boon from Brahma,
removes all fear of thieves; and the mention of his three wives--Maya
(illusion), Nidra (sleep), and Mohani (enchantment)--deprives thieves
of success in their attempts against the property of those who repeat
these names. Kuphal is apparently the progenitor of the caste, and
the legend is intended to show how the position of the Pasis in the
Hindu cosmos or order of society according to the caste system has
been divinely ordained and sanctioned, even to the recognition of
theft as their hereditary pursuit.