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O Yudhishthira, led by lust, acts in a different way, he shall come to be regarded as a Chandala among Brahmanas.[296] The |
son born of the Kshatriya wife has been said to be equal in status to the son born of the Brahmana wife. For all that, a |
distinction attaches to the son of the Brahmana wife in consequence of the superiority of the Brahmana to the Kshatriya in |
respect of the order of birth. The Kshatriya cannot be regarded as equal to the Brahmana woman in point of birth. Hence, O |
best of kings, the son born of the Brahmana wife must be regarded as the first in rank and superior to the son born of the |
Kshatriya wife. Because, again the Kshatriya is not equal in point of birth to the Brahmana wife, hence the son of the |
Brahmana wife takes one after another, all the best things, O Yudhishthira, among his father's possessions. Similarly, the |
Vaisya cannot be regarded as the equal of the Kshatriya in point of birth. Prosperity, kingdom, and treasury, O Yudhishthira, |
belong to the Kshatriya. All these have been ordained for the Kshatriya. The whole earth, O king, with her belt of seas, is seen |
to belong to him. By following the duties of his own order, the Kshatriya acquires an extensive affluence. The sceptre of |
royalty is held by him. Without the Kshatriya, O king, there can be no protection. The Brahmanas are highly blessed, for they |
are the deities of the very deities. Following the ordinances laid down by the Rishis, the Kshatriyas should worship the |
Brahmanas according to due rites. Even this is the eternal usage. Coveted by thieves and others, the possessions of all men are |
protected by Kshatriyas in the observance of the duties assigned to their order. Indeed, wealth and spouses and every other |
possession owned by people would have been forcibly taken away but for this protection that the Kshatriyas afford. The |
Kshatriya, as the king, becomes the protector or rescuer of all the others. Hence, the son of the Kshatriya wife shall, without |
doubt, be held to be superior to him that is born of the Vaisya wife. The son of the Kshatriya wife, for this, takes a larger share |
of the paternal property than the son of the Vaisya mother.' |
"Yudhishthira said, 'Thou hast duly said what the rules are that apply to Brahmanas. What, however, are the rules that apply to |
the others?' |
"Bhishma said, 'For the Kshatriya, O delighter of the Kurus, two wives have been ordained. The Kshatriya may take a third |
wife from the Sudra order. Such practice prevails, it is true, but it is not sanctioned by the scriptures. Even this should be the |
order, O Yudhisthira, of the spouses of a Kshatriya. The property of a Kshatriya should, O king, be divided into eight shares. |
The son of the Kshatriya wife shall take four of such shares of the paternal property. The son of the Vaisya wife shall take three |
of such shares. The remaining one or the eighth share shall be taken by the son of the Sudra wife. The son of the Sudra wife, |
however, shall take only when the father gives but not otherwise. For the Vaisya only one wife has been ordained. A second |
wife is taken from the Sudra order. The practice prevails, it is true, but it is not sanctioned by the scriptures. If a Vaisya has two |
wives, one of whom is a Vaisya and the other a Sudra, there is a difference between them in respect of status. The wealth of a |
Vaisya, O chief of Bharata's race, should be divided Into five portions. I shall now speak of the sons of a Vaisya by a wife of |
his own order and by one belonging to the inferior order, as also of the manner in which, O king his wealth is to be distributed |
among those children. The son born of the Vaisya wife shall take four of such shares of his father's wealth. The fifth share, O |
Bharata, has been said to belong to the son born of the Sudra wife. Such a son, however, shall take when the father gives. He |
should not take anything unless the father gives it to him. The son that is begotten on a Sudra wife by persons of the three |
higher orders should always be regarded as disentitled to any share of the sire's wealth. The Sudra should have only one wife |
taken from his own order. He can under no circumstances, take any other spouse. Even if he happens to have a century of sons |
by such a spouse, all of them share equally the wealth that he may leave behind. As regards all the orders, the children born of |
the spouse taken from the husband's own order shall, it has been laid down, share equally the father's wealth. The eldest son's |
share shall be greater than that of every other son, for he shall take one share more than each of his brothers, consisting of the |
best things of his father. Even this is the law of inheritance, O son of Pritha, as declared by the Self-born himself. Amongst |
children all born of the spouse taken from the husband's own order, there is another distinction, O king! In marrying, the elder |
ones should always precede the younger ones. The spouses being all equal in respect of their order of birth, and the children |
also being all equal in respect of the status of their mothers, the son that is first-born shall take one share more than each of his |
other brothers. The son that comes next in point of age shall take a share that is next in value, while the son that is youngest |
shall take the share that belongs to the youngest.[297] Thus among spouses of all orders, they that belong to the same order |
with the husband are regarded as the first. Even this is what was declared by the great Rishi Kasyapa the son of Marichi.' |
SECTION XLVIII |
"Yudhishthira said, 'Through inducements offered by wealth, or through mere lust, or through ignorance of the true order of |
birth (of both males and females), or through folly, intermixture happens of the several order What, O grandsire, are the duties |
of persons that are born in the mixed classes and what are the acts laid down for them? Do thou discourse to me on this!' |
"Bhishma said, 'In the beginning, the Lord of all creatures created the four orders and laid down their respective acts or duties, |
for the sake of sacrifice.[298] The Brahmana may take four wives, one from each of the four orders. In two of them (viz., the |
wife taken from his own order and that taken from the one next below), he takes birth himself (the children begotten upon them |
being regarded as invested with the same status as his own). Those sons, however, that are begotten by him on the two spouses |
that belong to the next two orders (viz., Vaisya and Sudra), are inferior, their status being determined not by that of their father |
but by that of their mothers. The son that is begotten by a Brahmana upon a Sudra wife is called Parasara, implying one born of |
a corpse, for the Sudra woman's body is as inauspicious as a corpse. He should serve the persons of his (father's) race. Indeed, |
it is not proper for him to give up the duty of service that has been laid down for him. Adopting all means in his power, he |
should uphold the burden of his family. Even if he happens to be elder in age, he should still dutifully serve the other children |
of his father who may be younger to him in years, and bestow upon them whatever he may succeed in earning. A Kshatriya |
may take three wives. In two of them (viz., the one taken from his own order and the other that is taken from the order |
immediately below), he takes birth himself (so that those children are invested with the status of his own order). His third wife |
being of the Sudra order is regarded as very inferior. The son that he begets upon her comes to be called as an Ugra. The |
Vaisya may take two spouses. In both of them (viz., the one taken from his own order, and the other from the lowest of the four |
pure orders), he takes birth himself (so that those children become invested with the status of his own order). The Sudra can |
take only one wife, viz., she that is taken from his own order. The son begotten by him upon her becomes a Sudra. A son that |
takes birth under circumstances other than those mentioned above, comes to be looked upon as a very inferior one If a person |
of a lower order begets a son upon a woman of a superior order, such a son is regarded as outside the pale of the four pure |
orders. Indeed, such a son becomes on object of censure with the four principal orders. If a Kshatriya begets a son upon a |
Brahmana woman, such a son, without being included in any of the four pure orders, comes to be regarded as a Suta The duties |
of a Suta are all connected with the reciting of eulogies and encomiums of kings and other great men. The son begotten by a |
Vaisya upon a woman of the Brahmana order comes to be regarded as a Vaidehaka. The duties assigned to him are the charge |
of bars and bolts for protecting the privacy of women of respectable households. Such sons have no cleansing rites laid down |
for them.[299] If a Sudra unites with a woman belonging to the foremost of the four orders, the son that is begotten is called a |
Chandala. Endued with a fierce disposition, he must live in the outskirts of cities and towns and the duty assigned to him is that |
of the public executioner. Such sons are always regarded as wretches of their race. These, O foremost of intelligent persons, are |
the offspring of intermixed orders. The son begotten by a Vaisya upon a Kshatriya woman becomes a Vandi or Magadha. The |
duties assigned to him are eloquent recitations of praise. The son begotten through transgression, by a Sudra upon a Kshatriya |
women, becomes a Nishada and the duties assigned to him have reference to the catching of fish. If a Sudra happens to have |
intercourse with a Vaisya woman, the son begotten upon her comes to be called Ayogava. The duty assigned to such a person |
are those of a Takshan (carpenter). They that are Brahmanas should never accept gifts from such a person. They are not entitled |
to possess any kind of wealth. Persons belonging to the mixed castes beget upon spouses taken from their own castes children |
invested with the status that is their own. When they beget children in women taken from castes that are inferior to theirs, such |
children become inferior to their fathers, for they become invested with the status that belongs to their mothers Thus as regards |
the four pure orders, persons beget children invested with their own status upon spouses taken from their own orders as also |
upon them that are taken from the orders immediately below their own. When, however, offspring are begotten upon other |
spouses, they come to be regarded as invested with a status that is, principally, outside the pale of the four pure orders. When |
such children beget sons in women taken from their own classes, those sons take the status of their sires. It is only when they |
take spouse from castes other than their own, that the children they beget become invested with inferior status. As an example |
of this it may be said that a Sudra begets upon a woman belonging to the most superior order a son that is outside the pale of |
the four orders (for such a son comes to be regarded as a Chandala who is much inferior). The son that is outside the pale of the |
four orders by uniting with women belonging to the four principal orders, begets offspring that are further degraded in point of |
status. From those outside the pale of the four orders and those again that are further outside that pale, children multiply in |
consequence of the union of persons with women of classes superior to their own. In this way, from persons of inferior status |
classes spring up, altogether fifteen in number, that are equally low or still lower in status. It is only from sexual union of |
women with persons who should not have such union with them that mixed classes spring up. Among the classes that are thus |
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