===========+==========+==========+======+=======+======
District. |Kaithwâns.|Pârasrâmi.| Pâsi.|Others.|Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
Cawnpur | 2,990| 6,831| 4,739| 3,591|18,151
Fatehpur | 985| 232| 349| 86| 1,652
Hamîrpur | ... | ... | ... | 2| 2
Hardoi | ... | ... | 7,031| 69| 7,100
Bahrâich | ... | ... | ... | 4| 4
+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
Total | 3,975| 7,063|12,119| 3,752|26,909
===========+==========+==========+======+=======+======
Brâhman. [150]—The levite class of the Hindu caste system. The word
Brâhmana is derived from Brâhman (root brih, vrih,) “religious devotion
regarded as an impulse or feeling gradually growing up and expanding so
as to fill the soul.” To quote one of the latest and best authorities
[151]—“The common term used in the Veda for the officiating priest is
Brâhman (masculine, nominative singular, Brahma) originally denoting,
it would seem, ‘one who prays,’ ‘worshipper,’ or ‘the composer or
reciter of a hymn.’ In some passages the word also signifies a special
class of priests who officiated as superintendents during sacrificial
ceremonies, the complicated nature of which required the co-operation
of several priests. The fact that the terms Brâhmana and Brahmaputra,
both denoting the son of a Brâhman, are used in certain hymns as
synonymous of Brâhman, seems to justify the assumption that the
profession had already to a certain degree become hereditary at the
time when the hymns were composed.” The term Brâhman, as Dr. Muir [152]
remarks, must have been originally applied to the same persons who are
elsewhere in the Vedic hymns spoken of as Rishi, Kavi, etc., and have
denoted devout worshippers and contemplative sages who composed prayers
and hymns which they themselves recited in praise of the gods.
Afterwards when the ceremonial gradually became more complicated and a
division of sacred functions took place, the word was more ordinarily
employed for a minister of public worship, and at length came to
signify one particular kind of priest with special duties. The original
Aryan priest was the house father, and we still find among the lower
Dravidian races that the family worship is done either by the head of
the household or by the son-in-law or brother-in-law; and it was only
when the service of the gods became a more complicated and difficult
function that a special class of officiants was created for this
purpose. This differentiation of function took place, of course, at an
early date in the history of the development of Hinduism. Dr. Haug
[153] believes that the differentiation of the functions of the classes
of priests, Hotris, or repeaters of the Rik verses, the Udgâtris, the
chanters of the Rik verses, and the Adhvaryus, or manual labourers and
sacred cooks must have been at an early date, certainly not posterior
to the collection of the Mantras, and the dicta of the Brâhman priests
into separate works.
2. But, as Dr. Muir goes on to say: [154]—“Though towards the close of
the Vedic period the priesthood probably became a profession, the texts
do not contain anything which necessarily implies that the priests
formed an exclusive caste or at least a caste separated from of all
others by insurmountable barriers as in later times. There is a wide
difference between a profession and even a hereditary order in caste in
the fully developed Brâhmanical sense. There is, therefore, no
difficulty in supposing that in the Vedic era the Indian priesthood,
even if we admit its members to have been for the most part sprung from
priestly families, may have often admitted aspirants to the sacerdotal
character from other classes of their countrymen.” This theory, then,
that even the Brâhmans themselves are probably of mixed origin, and
that the caste, as we find it now, is in a great measure occupational
in origin, goes to the very root of the Brâhmanical caste system of
modern India, and deserves to be established by some examples from the
immense mass of evidence which might be adduced in support of it.
[Composite origin of Brâhmans.] 3. In the first place it may be noted
that under the general head of Brâhman are included various classes
which are almost generally admitted to be of distinct origin, such are
the Mahâbrâhman or funeral priest who, on account of his functions, is
detested by all Hindus who pretend to purity; the various kinds of
beggars and astrologers, such as the Joshi, Dakaut, and his brethren,
and the Ojha or devil priest, who is almost certainly the Baiga or
ghost-finder of the Dravidian races, who has been imported into
Hinduism. Next, the supposition that the early so-called Brâhmans were
strictly endogamous, is contradicted by much evidence. Dr. Muir [155]
on the evidence of the early texts, shows that they not only
intermarried with women of their own order or even with women who had
previously remained single, but were in the habit of forming
connections with the widows of Rajanyas or Vaisyas, if they did not
even take possession of the wives of such men while they were still
alive.
4. Secondly, we have a mass of facts pointing to the creation of
certain classes of Brâhmans in comparatively modern times. Thus in
Partâbgarh [156] there is a current legend that the celebrated Oudh
chieftain, Mânik Chand, created Brâhmans wholesale out of various
Kurmis, Ahîrs, and Bhars. A similar case occurred in Fatehpur. [157] In
Unâo, again, a story is told of Râja Tilok Chand, that one day while
hunting he was very thirsty, and having no attendant he asked a Lodha,
who was present there, to fetch him some water, which he brought in his
own drinking vessel. The Râja after drinking the water discovered that
the owner of the vessel was a low caste man, so he asked him to call
himself a Brâhman under the title of Pâthak of Amtara, as he was
watching the mango (âm) trees. This title still remains with his
descendants, who are acknowledged as Brâhmans. [158] Sir J. Malcolm
[159] in Central India found many low caste female slaves in Brâhman
houses, the owners of which had treated them as belonging to their own
caste. Under the head of Dusâdh a reference has been made to the
curious Bihâr story of the clever Dusâdh girl who married a Brâhman.
[160]
5. Thirdly, this intermixture of castes comes out very clearly in the
earlier legends of the race. Thus we find that the Angirasas, or sons
of Angiras, were Brâhmans as well as Kshatriyas. So the descendants of
Garga, although Kshatriyas by birth, became Brâhmans. [161] In the
Mahâbhârata Bhîma is married by his brother Yudhishthira to the Asura
woman Hidimbi, and the marriage rites were regularly performed, and
Draupadi, a Kshatriya girl, accepts as a husband in the Swayamvara
Arjuna, who pretends to be a Brâhman. [162] According to a passage in
the Mahâbhârata [163] all castes become Brâhmans when once they have
crossed the Gomati on a visit to the hermitage of Vasishtha. The
Brâhman Drona acts the part of a Kshatriya in the great war. Kakshîvat
was the son of Dirghatamas by Usij, a female servant of the Queen of
the Kalinga Râja, whom her husband had desired to submit to the
embraces of the sage in order that he might beget a son. The Queen
substituted her bondmaid Usij. The sage, cognisant of the deception,
consecrated Usij, and begot by her a son named Kakshîvat, who through
his affiliation to the Râja was a Kshatriya; but as the son of
Dirghatamas was a Brâhman. [164] So Visvâmitra, a Kshatriya, by the
force of his austerities, compelled Brahma to admit him into the
Brâhmanical order in order that he might be on a level with Vasishtha,
with whom he had quarrelled. [165] Even up to the time that Vasishtha
wrote the legality of a twice-born man marrying a Sûdra woman seems to
have been at least arguable. [166] Numerous instances of similar
mutability of caste in comparatively modern times might easily be
given. [167]
[Legendary origin of Brâhmans.] 6. The legends throw little light on
the origin of Brâhmans as a caste except to establish the substantial
unity of the Aryan peoples. By one account the Brâhman was produced
from the mouth of the Supreme Being, the Kshatriya from his arms, the
Vaisya from his thigh, and the Sûdra from his foot. In the Purusha
Sukta hymn of the Rig Veda the primæval man is hewed by the gods into
four parts, which form the four great divisions of the race. A later
legend bases the division on purely moral grounds, and degraded those
Brâhmans who gave themselves up to anger and pride into Kshatriyas;
those who lived by agriculture and flock tending, the yellow Vaisyas;
and those who gave way to lying and immorality, the black Sûdras.
[Division of Brâhmans.] 7. The usual division of Brâhmans is into ten
great orders. First the five Drâvidas south of the Vindhyan range,
consisting of the Mahârâshtras who dwell in the country where Marâthi
is spoken; the Andras or Tailangas of the Telugu country; the Karnâtas
of the Canarese country; and the Gurjaras of Gurjarâshtra or Gujarât.
Secondly, the five Gauda or Gaur, north of the Vindhyas, consisting of
the Sarasvatas, who take their name from the Sarasvati river; the
Kanyakubjas or Kanaujiyas, from Kanyakubja or Kanauj; the Gaudas or
Gaurs who are said to take their name either from Gaur in Bengal or
Gonda in Oudh; the Utkalas of Orissa, and the Maithilas of Mithila, the
modern Bihâr and its neighbourhood.
8. At the last Census the Brâhmans of these Provinces were recorded
under twenty-one main sub-castes,—Bangâli, Chaubê, Drâvira, Gangaputra,
Gaur, Gujarâti, Jhijhautiya, Kanaujiya, Karnâtak, Kashmîri, Khandelwâl,
Mahârâshtra, Maithila, Ojha, Palliwâl, Sakaldîpi, Sanâdh, Saraswata,
Sarwariya, and Utkal. Besides these divisions, which are in a large
degree territorial, there are others, such as Achârya, Hotri, etc.,
which are occupational. The Brâhmanic sub-castes will, for the sake of
convenience, be discussed in separate articles. The complete lists give
no less than nine hundred and two Brâhmanical divisions, but here
tribes and gotras are inextricably compounded.
9. Among the sub-divisions of local importance, we find in Dehra Dûn
the Gangâri; in Muzaffarnagar, the Achârya, Dakaut, and Taga; in
Meerut, the Achârya, Bohra, Chaurasiya, Dakaut, Dasa, and Gautam; in
Aligarh, the Abhinâshi, Agnihotri, Barwâna, Gautam, Parâsara, Pâthak,
and Upâdhya; in Mathura, the Gautam and Nâgar; in Agra, the Chaurasiya
and Gautam; in Farrukhâbâd, the Mahâbrâhman; in Etah, the Dichhit,
Gautam, Rajauriya, and Upâdhya; in Budâun, the Parâsara, Pâthak,
Tiwâri, and Upâdhya; in Morâdâbâd, the Gautam and Mahâbrâhman; in
Hamîrpur, the Bhagorê and Sanaurhiya; in Allahâbâd, the Mâlawi and
Râthi; in Jhânsi, the Bhagorê, Dakkhini, Karâri, and Sagarmodi; in
Jâlaun, the Aiwâsi; in Lalitpur, the Bhagor and Singirekh or
Sringirishi; in Benares, the Audich, Bhâradwâja, Nâgar, and Vedi; in
Mirzapur, the Sândil; in Jaunpur, the Kantil and Rajbhât; in Ghâzipur,
the Bhâradwâja, Chhatri, Gautam, Pachhaiyân, Parâsaragotra, Sândil,
Vedi, and Yajurvedi; in Ballia, the Gautam; in Basti, the Sândil; in
Bahrâich, the Belwâr; and in the Hills, the Bais, Bhal, Bhât, Gangâri,
Joshi, Khas, Lakhpâl, Lohni, Pânrê, Panth, Pâthak, Sarola, Tripâthi,
Tiwâri, Upâdhya, Upreti. Of many of these some account will be found in
other articles.
[Brâhmanic exogamy.] 10. The great sub-castes already named are for the
most part endogamous; but the rule appears to be occasionally relaxed
when the scantiness of brides in the small local group is an obstacle
to marriage. Thus there seems to be no doubt that in parts of the
country at least the Gaur and Saraswata sub-castes intermarry.
According to Manu persons are forbidden to marry who stand in the
relationship of sapindas, that is, who are within five degrees of
affinity on the side of the mother, and seven on that of the father.
The person himself constitutes one of these degrees; that is to say,
two persons stand to each other in the sapinda relationship if their
common ancestor, being a male, is not further removed from either of
them than six degrees, or four degrees when the common ancestor is a
female. This rule reinforces the principle that the gotra is an
exogamous unit. It is needless to say that this gotra system has been
developed to an extraordinary extent, and they have become so numerous
that it is practically impossible to procure any well established list
of the gotras of any of the chief tribes. The word gotra means
primarily a “cow-pen,” and has hence been extended to the descendants
of a common ancestor. Most of them are what has been called eponymous,
that is to say, they claim to be descended from and to derive their
names from some Rishi, or saint, who is supposed to have been their
first ancestor. All the Brâhmanical gotras have eight great ancestors
only—Visvamitra, Jamadagni, Bharadwâja, Gautama, Atri, Vasishtha,
Kasyapa, and Agastya. [168] These occupy with the Brâhmans about the
same position as the twelve sons of Jacob with the Jews, and only he
whose descent from one of these great Rishis was beyond doubt could
become the founder of a gotra. The Brâhmanical system of gotras has,
again, by a fiction been extended to other tribes, such as the Râjput,
Banya, Khatri, or Kâyasth, but among them the institution is exotic,
and naturally much less vigorous than among the tribe from whom it was
derived.
11. There is again another Brâhmanical division, that of the charana or
sâkha and the pravara. The sâkha or charana is usually applied to the
body of persons who follow one of the various schools of Vedic
teaching, which are said to be as many as 1,130, of which there are
1,000 for the Sama Veda, 100 for the Yajur Veda, 21 for the Rig Veda,
and 9 for the Atharva Veda. The institution of the pravara is, again,
purely religious. The pravara or arsheya, which are generally regarded
as synonymous terms are those sacrificial fires which several gotras
had in common. It was left to their own choice to which they wished to
repair.
[Domestic ceremonies.] 12. Under the articles dealing with the separate
Brâhmanical tribes an account of some of the domestic ceremonies has
been given. A few points may here be noticed, principally derived from
the customs of the Sarwariya Brâhmans of the Eastern Districts of the
Province.
[The Rajodarsan: garbhadâna.] 13. What is commonly known as the
rajodarsan (rajas, “pollution,” darsana, “seeing”) is the time during
which women remain impure for four days after the menstrual period, and
while in this state do not touch the drinking water or cook for the
household. This is, it is hardly necessary to say, consistent with the
common practice of the most primitive tribes. [169] The pollution is
removed by the rajasnân or ceremonial bathing on the fourth day.
Immediately on marriage follows the “impregnation rite,” garbhadâna. In
ancient times no bridegroom approached the bride till the fourth night
after the completion of the marriage ceremony. This interval is
prescribed by Gobhila. The present interval of two, three, or four
years in the case of child-marriages is quite unsupported by the
authority of ancient lawyers. Dhanvantari (in the Susruta) declares
that the Garbhadâna should not take place till a girl is sixteen. Dr.
Bühler has shown from the Vivaha Mantras that, in olden times girls
were married long after they had reached the age of puberty, and infant
marriages were unknown; moreover that the human husband is the fourth
husband, the three gods, Soma, Visvavasu, and Agni, being the first
three at the period of a girl’s becoming marriageable. As it should
take place on the fourth day, the consummation rite was sometimes
called Chaturthi karma. During the previous day the young married woman
was made to look towards the sun, or in some way exposed to the rays.
In the evening she was required to bathe. Her husband also performed
his ablution and went through other prescribed forms. Before
approaching his wife he was careful to secure the solemn imprimatur of
religion on an act which might lead to the introduction of another
human being into the world. He therefore repeated two mantras or texts
of the Rig Veda (X, 184), the first of which may be thus
translated,—“Let (all-pervading) Vishnu prepare her womb; let the
Creator shape its forms; let Prajapati be the Impregnator; let the
Creator give the embryo.” [170] At present, in Bengal, the girl is
subjected to a period of isolation which exactly corresponds to that
described by Mr. Frazer in the case of various primitive races, the
idea being that at this period of her life dangerous influences emanate
from the girl which it is necessary to counteract. In Upper India the
rite appears to consist in the worship of the kula devata or family
god, and if the head of the family is rich or illiterate, a Brâhman is
employed to read the Durgapâtha or songs in honour of the goddess
Durga. This rite is intended to obviate the danger of a miscarriage.
[Sîmanta pum savana.] 14. Next follows, in the sixth month of
pregnancy, the sîmanta pum savana, or the rite of male production, done
with the object of securing a male heir, the desire of every Hindu
mother. The expectant mother is bathed, dressed in red clothes which
are sent from her father’s house, and some fruit, the emblem of
prolificacy, is placed in her lap. She then goes to the family shrine
and worships the household god.
[Nandimukh srâddha.] 15. When the child is born, and before the cord is
cut, the head of the family does the nandimukh srâddha. He lays some
kusa grass on the ground and offers a pinda over it. After this the
cord is cut and it is buried in the room in which the delivery took
place. Over it a fire (pasanghi) is lighted, and wood of the tendu tree
is burnt. For twelve days the lamp is fed with nîm oil. During this
time the mother is fed with cakes (pûri, halwa), caudle (achhwâni), and
ginger (sonth). Bread and pulse cannot be given to her, because during
the period of pollution only substances cooked with ghi, milk, or
parched grain, can be taken from the family cookhouse. The members of
the family are impure for twelve days after a confinement in the house;
during this time no Deota can be worshipped, nor can any one drink
water from their hands. After the sixth day the Chamâr midwife is
dismissed, the mother and child are bathed, and after that the Nâin or
barber’s wife attends on her. But it is not absolutely necessary that
this rite should take place on the sixth day in case the omens are
adverse. In that case it is postponed for one or two days. At this rite
one of the women of the house waves some barley in a sieve or basket
over the mother and child, and this grain is given to the midwife. If
the first child die, the next born is usually put in a sieve, or it is
weighed in a scale against barley, which is given to the midwife. The
general rule appears to be that if a child die within six days after
birth the corpse is buried; if it die between that time and the
investiture with the sacred cord (janeû) it is thrown into a river (jal
pravâh); after investiture the dead are cremated. The corpses of girls
up to the age of seven are thrown into running water; if over that age
or married they are cremated.
[Barahi.] 16. On the twelfth day after birth is the barahi, when the
mother and child are bathed and the baby is shown to its male
relations, who are expected to put a money present in its hand. The
maternal grandmother sends a yellow sheet (pîari dhoti) for the mother,
and for the child a little coat (jhola), and a cap (topi). On that day
all the women friends collect and have their nails cut, while a barber
woman rubs them with a mixture of oil and turmeric (ubtan). If the baby
be a boy, the lady friends give the wife’s mother, or in her absence
the father, two annas each; in the case of a girl, the contribution is
half that amount. This is known as “the nail cutting” (nakh katiya,
nakh tarâshi). A list of these donations is made at the time, so that
the receiver may reciprocate them when a similar occasion occurs in the
family of the donor. The women also give a pice or two to the barber’s
wife, who does the anointing. All the women then sit down and sing the
birth song (sohar, Sans.: sobha). This is the only song (râg) which can
be sung at any time of the day; for the others appropriate times are
fixed.
[Mûla sânti.] 17. If the child be born in the asterism of Mûla, the
mûla sânti rite is performed to obviate the ill-luck attaching to this
period. In this case the woman and child are kept in the delivery room
for twenty-seven days from the date of birth, and during that period
the father is not allowed to see the face of the baby; he is also not
allowed to shave or change his clothes. There are two kinds of the Mûla
asterism, “the light” (halka, lâg); the other “heavy” (bhâri, drik). If
the birth occur in the latter, he must not see his child for twelve
years, and in that interval can neither shave nor change his clothes.
Many persons, under such unfortunate circumstances, become Jogis. On
the day of the mûla sânti rite everything follows the number
twenty-seven, the number of the asterisms (Nakshatra); water is drawn
from twenty-seven wells, the wood of twenty-seven varieties of trees,
sieves made with twenty-seven kinds of knots, blankets of twenty-seven
breadths, earth from both banks of the Ganges, clay that has been
pressed by the foot of a horse or elephant, and from the King’s
gateway, which at Chunâr is the main gate of the fort, are collected.
The child’s father bathes and goes into the courtyard. There a barber
woman makes a square of flour, and in it places a stool for him to sit
on. Near him is placed a jar (kalsa) filled with Ganges water. The
Purohit or family priest then worships Gauri and Ganesa. The earth and
blankets are put into the sieves and laid on the father’s head, while
over him is poured the water drawn from twenty-seven wells. After this
the barber’s wife receives the blankets as her perquisite, and a small
money present. This done, the father is considered pure, and he is
allowed to come out, shave, and bathe. Then he returns to the square,
where he worships a small brass or gold image of Vishnu. Near him is
placed a brass saucer (katori) which is filled with ghi from a black
cow. The ghi is melted until it becomes quite thin. The saucer is
placed before the father, who keeps his eyes fixed upon it. The mother
comes up from behind with the child in her arms, and she holds the baby
so that the father may see its image reflected in the ghi. After this
the child is seated in his lap, and he makes it a present in money. In
case the child is born in Mûl, the twelfth day rite is postponed, and
carried out with the observance on the twenty-seventh day. The ceremony
ends with the feeding of twenty-seven Brâhmans, and the presenting of
gifts to the friends and relatives who have attended the ceremony.
[Dolarohana.] 18. In the families of learned Brâhmans, such as Pandits,
when the child is two months old it is dressed in a new cap and coat
and placed in a swing (hindola). Up to that time it remains on a bed.
This rite is known as dola rohana. On that day the family god is
worshipped, and rich food (pûri, bakhîr) is cooked for the household.
[Vâhir nisarana.] 19. Pandits have also another rite known as “the
bringing out,” vâhirnisarana. The usual custom is that the child is not
brought out of the house until “the grain feeding,” annaprâsana. But if
it is desired to bring the child out before it is fed on grain, he
performs this rite. The baby is dressed in a new coat and cap of blue
cloth, the colour of the sky. These clothes are first dedicated at the
house shrine (diukari), and then the child’s forehead is marked with
lamp-black (kâjal) and a necklace of holy seeds (bajarbatta) and
tiger’s claws (baghnaha) tied round its throat. All these are devices
to repel the Evil Eye. It is then brought out; but as an additional
precaution a black piece of cloth, a colour which frightens evil
spirits, is hung round its neck, or at any rate the coat is bound with
black braid. In former times this bringing of the child into the open
air was known as the nishkramana.
[The Annaprâsana.] 20. According to the early ritual the “food-giving”
rite or annaprâsana was performed in the sixth month after birth. “The
child was carried in the arms of its father and placed in the midst of
a party of friends, including the family priest, who offered prayers
for its welfare and presented it gifts. A little food (generally rice)
was then for the first time placed in its mouth, and various qualities
were supposed to be imparted, according to the nature of the food
given, whether rice, butter, honey, milk, or the flesh of partridges or
goats.” [171] Now-a-days in the sixth month a lucky day is selected.
Rich food (pûri, bakhîr) is cooked; the waist string of some old member
of the family is broken and tied round the waist of the baby to ensure
its long life. Then a tray containing rich food is laid before the
oldest man in the family. He takes a little out, and after making a
holy circle round it with water, offers it to Vishnu. The reason of
this is that there was once a foolish Brâhman whose children used to
die one after the other, so he made a vow that if his child lived, he
would eat its ordure. The child did live, and he was fain to avoid
performing his rash vow; so he went to a learned Pandit at Benares, who
directed him to take out a little of his food that day in this manner,
and so his vow would be satisfied. Hence Brâhmans before eating always
take out a little food in this way, and offer it to the Thâkur. After
this has been done the old man before whom the food has been placed
takes up a little of the food on one of the silver coins of the ancient
kings or on a gold mohur of the Emperor Akbar, and puts it into the
child’s mouth. No English coin will answer the purpose. After this, if
the family can afford it, a few Brâhmans are fed. If they are poor they
consume the food which has been prepared for the rite, and give a
Brâhman some raw grain. Until the annaprâsana is done the child is
never left alone lest the witch Jamhua, who is really the impersonation
of the infant lock-jaw, which is so fatal to children owing to the
cutting of the cord with a blunt instrument and the neglect of all
antiseptic treatment, should carry off the baby. Hence a woman or child
is always left in charge. As an additional precaution, they also place
near the bed an iron lamp-black box (kajrauta), and anoint the child
four or five times with a mixture of oil and turmeric (ubtan) in the
belief that as it is rubbed its strength will increase.
[The Mûnran and kanchhedan.] 21. In the fifth year the rites of
head-shaving (mûnran) and ear-piercing (kanchhedan) are performed. The
regular ritual prescribes that the tonsure, shaving and cutting off the
hair should be done separately. They were known as chaula, chûdakarma,
kesanta, and kshaur. “When performed for the first time they were held
to have a purificatory effect on the whole character. In the case of a
Brâhman the ceremony of tonsure was performed in the third year, but
was often delayed, and sometimes did not take place till the seventh or
eighth year. According to Asvalayana the child was to be placed on the
lap of its mother to the west of the sacred fire. The father was to
take up his station to the south of the mother, holding in his hands
twenty-one stalks of kusa grass. He was to sprinkle the head of the
child three times with a mixture of warm water, butter, and curds. He
was to insert three stalks of kusa grass into the child’s hair on the
right side, saying,—‘O divine grass! protect him.’ Then he was to cut
off a portion of the hair and give it to the mother with the recitation
of various texts, leaving one lock (sikha, chuda) on the top of the
head, or occasionally three or five locks, according to the custom of
the family.” [172] At present it is usual for the Eastern Brâhmans to
have this rite performed at some shrine, such as that of Devi of
Bindhâchal. For three days before the shaving rite a song is sung in
honour of Devi, and many Brâhmans who have lost children, vow that if
the life of the last is spared, the mother will carry the whole way to
the shrine a clay pot (bursi) full of fire, and will eat nothing on the
road but parched grain. When they reach the courtyard of Devi’s temple,
they place the fire pot before the Panda, whose parishioners they may
happen to be. Next day, after bathing the child in the Ganges, the
parents take it to the temple, and the Panda instructs them how to
perform the usual circumambulation (parikrama). After this the baby is
seated in its father’s lap near the shrine, and a barber shaves its
head. A few sweets (laddu) are given to the child, and then a Sunâr
comes up from behind and pierces both its ears. They take home with
them a striped handkerchief (chundari) which they tie round their necks
for good luck, and some sweetmeats, which they distribute among their
friends as the holy food (prasâd) of the goddess.
[The Pâthana rite.] 22. The rites of childhood close usually with the
Pâthana or commencement of learning. A lucky day is selected, and with
earth and water from the Ganges a little platform (chabûtra) is made.
When it is ready some dry earth is sprinkled over it. Below the
platform the child is seated facing east, while the family priest faces
west. Ganesa, the deity of good luck, is first worshipped. Then a cowry
shell is placed on the platform and worshipped. Next the priest puts
the shell in the boy’s hand and makes him write with it five times the
words Sri Ganesa namah. This he has to obliterate with his right hand.
Some Brâhmans are fed if the family can afford it; and from that day
the boy’s education begins.
[The Upanayana rite.] 23. After this comes the important rite of
initiation known as upanayana. A Brâhman should be initiated when he
comes to be eight years old, dating from the time of conception. A time
should be selected when the stars are auspicious, and it should not be
performed in the evening or during a thunder-storm. First of all a shed
(mânro) is erected with bamboo supports. In the centre a ploughshare is
placed, and near it a jar (kalsa) filled with water. Under the thatch a
square (chauk) is marked out with flour, and on this two leaf mats
(patari) are laid, and under them some grains of barley are sprinkled.
On these mats the parents of the boy sit with the corners of their
garments knotted together and facing the east. The father wears a
yellow loin-cloth, and has a handkerchief (angochha) over his left
shoulder. The mother wears a yellow sheet. Then the officiating Purohit
places in the father’s right hand some holy rice (achhat) and flowers,
repeating at the same time some texts and directing him to pour the
contents of his hand on the ground. Next the Purohit puts some gold or
copper coins in his hands, and reads the sankalpa or formula of
dedication. Then he invokes Dharitri Mâta or Mother Earth, and the
father puts the money on the ground, which he touches reverently. He
then sprinkles the earth with water from a bunch of kusa grass, and
offers Malayagir or Malabar sandal-wood and incense to Mother Earth.
Then Ganesa is worshipped in the form of a representation of an
elephant which is made on the water jar (kalsa). The picture is drawn
with red lead or turmeric. Then an image of Gauri is made of cow-dung
and placed near the water jar. Some make seven images of cow-dung to
represent Gauri and her sisters.
24. Next the jar is filled with water by the father of the boy, and
over the mouth is placed a saucer containing some of the sacred grains,
the sâwân millet, unhusked rice or barley. This is followed by the
worship of the nine planets (navagraha). To the north-east of the jar
is made an altar (vedi), and on it a square is marked out with flour,
in which images of the planets are made in various ways. That of the
Sun is made of flour; Mangal or Mars of red lead; that of the Moon of
rice-flour; that of Vrihaspati or Jupiter of turmeric; that of Budha or
Mercury of turmeric; that of Venus or Sukra of rice-flour; that of
Sanischara or Saturn and Râhu and Ketu, the ascending and descending
nodes, of til or sesamum. Then with the recital of appropriate texts
offerings are made to each,—to the Sun, a cow, copper, wheat, red
sandal, and red cloth; to the Moon, a conch shell, Malabar sandal,
white cloth, a white cow, and rice; to Mangal, a red ox, red cloth,
copper, treacle, and rice; to Budha, camphor, mûng pulse, green cloth,
a black cow, and gold; to Vrihaspati, a yellow cow, yellow cloth, gram,
and turmeric; to Sukra, Malabar sandal, white cloth, rice, and a white
horse; to Sanischara, oil, sesamum, black cloth, a black cow, and iron;
to Râhu, a buffalo, or goat, a blanket, cotton and its seed, urad
pulse, and sesamum; to Ketu, cloth of various colours, grain, iron,
sesamum, and urad pulse.
25. All these offerings, except those made to the last three deities,
are taken by ordinary Brâhmans; those to Sanischara by the Bhanderiya
or Dakaut.
26. When the offerings are complete, the parents are dismissed, and the
boy who desires initiation is called. All his hair is shaved, and he is
invested with a waist-string (kardhana) of mûnj fibre, a small loin
cloth (kopin), and he is given a dand or bamboo stick, to the end of
which is tied a cloth containing some rice and pulse. This signifies
that he has adopted the role of the Sannyâsi. The Purohit repeats
texts, and five other Brâhmans sprinkle the eight parts of his body
with a mixture of rice and turmeric. Then another square is made, and
seven lamps and twigs of mango are tied together and placed within it.
Beside them are laid seven images of Gauri made of cow-dung, and he
worships the lights and the images of the goddess. Next he worships the
water jar, and goes to the house door, on each side of which seven
images of Gauri are made. These he worships with an offering of cakes
(pûri), red lead, sacred grass, incense, lamps and naivedya or a
mixture of treacle, curds, ghi, honey, and water. After this he returns
to the house, and in the inner room (kohabar) worships ten images of
Gauri in the same way. Next he pours ghi on the images of all the
deities whom he has up to this time worshipped. Then his parents are
recalled, the corners of their garments are knotted together, and they
are made to sit in a square facing the south. All the ancestors are
invited to appear and sit on leaf mats placed close by for their
reception. When their spirits are supposed to have taken their places,
some rice, ber fruit, treacle, ghi, honey, and sesamum are mixed
together and formed into a lump. This is offered to the sainted dead,
and afterwards placed in the shed. Again the parents are dismissed, and
the boy is called in. Eight Brâhmans are called in and fed on pakki
under the shed. The boy sits in the midst of them, and each Brâhman
gives him a morsel of his food, which he eats. On this occasion the boy
is not allowed to eat salt. When the meal is finished, the floor is
again plastered.
27. Next three altars are made in the shed. Each altar should be the
length of the distance of the point of the thumb from that of the ring
finger. The father entrusts his son to a priest of the Achârya grade,
and humbly requests him to instruct the lad and make him a full
Brâhman. The Achârya signifies his consent by taking the boy by the
arm, and the lad has to make an offering of eight Brâhmanical threads
(janeû). One is offered to the sacred water jar, one to Ganesa, five to
five Brâhmans, and one the lad keeps himself. Further, the lad presents
a full suit of clothes to the Purohit, Guru and Achârya, and one to
another Brâhman, who is regarded as the representation of Brahma. Then
beginning from the north-east he spreads kusa grass evenly on the three
altars, and the Achârya calls for fire, which is brought in a vessel
made of bell metal (kânsa). Upon this is heaped up wood of the madâr
(asclepias gigantea), palâsa (butea frondosa), khair (acacia catechu),
chirchiri (achyranthus aspera), pîpal, gûlar, sami, and some dûb grass.
This collection of wood is technically known as samidh. When this is
ready the lad makes a present to the Brâhman who represents Brahma, and
asks him to watch over the sacrifice and prevent any interruption of
it. Then the Achârya repeats the appropriate text one hundred and eight
times, and all the time keeps pouring ghi on the wood. This oblation of
ghi is known as ahuti, and is done with a leaf or twig of mango. Pieces
of dry cow-dung (goitha) and three sticks of palâsa wood are also
thrown on the fire, and so with all the kusa grass which had been
spread on the altars. On the top are placed some betel and cocoanuts.
On this five Brâhmans hold a Brâhmanical thread and invest the lad with
it, repeating the appropriate text.
28. After this the lad is bathed with water from eight jars, and he
puts on another sacred thread. He is dressed in yellow garments and
golden ornaments and wears wooden sandals (kharaun) stained with
turmeric. He next begs from all present.
29. He then runs out in the guise of a Brahmachâri with the object of
attaining religious knowledge, and is dissuaded by his parents from
adopting the life of a recluse. When he consents to return the women of
the house put treacle and washed rice in his hands, and kiss the eight
parts of his body. The deities and sainted ancestors who have graced
the rite with their presence are humbly requested to return to their
own abodes, and the rite is complete.
30. The ceremony, though disguised by an elaborate Brâhmanical ritual,
is obviously based on the same general principles of which an elaborate
account, derived from the usages of various primitive races, has been
given by Mr. Frazer. [173]
[Other domestic ceremonies.] 31. Some account of the other domestic
ceremonies of Brâhmans has been given in connection with the
Brâhmanical tribes, and need not be repeated here.
[The functions of the Brâhmans.] 32. The religious functions of the
Brâhman are various. If the word is, as Professor Schrader [174]
suggests, philologically the same as the Flamen of Rome, we have a link
with the religious practices of two branches of the great Aryan race.
We have first, the Upâdhyâya or Pâdha, who is the officiating priest,
with whom may be classed the Achârya, Hotri, and similar functionaries
whose business it is to superintend the more elaborate and mysterious
rites of the faith which can be performed by none but those deeply
conversant with the Vedic ritual. Next comes the Parohit or Purohit,
“one placed in front,” the prepositus or praeses of the Roman world.
The institution of the Purohita, who was not only a mere house priest,
but a political functionary, goes back to the early Aryan times. In
Vedic times he was regarded as a confidential and virtuous minister of
state; but by the time of Manu [175] he had fallen to a lower status,
and was regarded as inferior to other Brâhmans. His duties consist in
superintending the domestic rites at birth, initiation, and marriage.
He must be acquainted with the appropriate mantras or texts which are
used on these occasions, and he generally knows a modicum of astrology
(jyotish) by which he is enabled to cast horoscopes and announce the
lucky and unlucky days for the performance of the various family rites,
the commencement of agricultural operations, and the like. The ordinary
village Purohit is, it is hardly necessary to say, very seldom
proficient in Sanskrit or religious learning. He is able to mumble a
few texts without understanding them; but he rarely makes any attempt
to inculcate morality or improve the lives of his parishioners. This
duty, so far as it is done at all, he leaves to the Guru, who may or
may not be a Brâhman. The lowest class of semi-religious Brâhman is
that which, as Mr. Ibbetson [176] says, “exist only to be fed. They
consist of the younger members of the Purohit families, and of Brâhmans
who have settled as cultivators or otherwise in villages where they
have no hereditary clients. These men are always ready to tender their
services as recipients of a dinner, thus enabling the peasant to
entertain the desired number of Brâhmans on occasions of rejoicing, as
a propitiatory offering, in token of thanksgiving, for the repose of
his deceased father’s spirit, and so forth. The veneration for Brâhmans
runs through the whole social as well as religious life of the Hindu
peasant, and takes the practical form of either offerings or food. No
child is born, named, betrothed, or married; nobody dies or is burnt;
no journey is undertaken or auspicious day selected; no house is built,
no agricultural operation of importance begun, or harvest gathered in,
without the Brâhmans being fed; a portion of the produce is set apart
for their use; they are consulted in sickness and in health; they are
feasted in sorrow and in joy; and though I believe them to possess but
little real influence with the people, a considerable portion of the
wealth of the Province is diverted into their useless pockets.” This is
pretty much the state of the Brâhmans further east. As Mr. Sherring
[177] says of the Benares Brâhman:—“Light in complexion in comparison
with the rest of the people, frequently tall in stature, with the marks
of a clear penetrating intelligence depicted plainly, and sometimes in
a striking manner, upon his countenance, erect, proud, self-conscious,
the Brâhman walks along with the air of a man unlike any I have ever
seen, in which self-sufficiency, a sense of superiority and a
conviction of inherent purity and sanctity are combined.”
33. Besides these sacerdotal Brâhmans there are, it is needless to say,
numbers who have no religious functions whatever, who serve as soldiers
or messengers, clerks in our offices, and the like. There is also a
large body of Brâhman agriculturists, though most of them will not
themselves touch the plough.