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X, 31.
MIXED CASTES.
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creates with (females of) the four castes (varna, sons) more (worthy of being) excluded (than he himself).
31. But men excluded (by the Åryans, vâhya), who approach females of higher rank, beget races (varna) still more worthy to be excluded, low men (hîna) still lower races, even fifteen (in number).
31. In order to show that fifteen lower castes are produced, the commentators propose various interpretations of the verse, among which those of Kull., Nâr., and Râgh. alone deserve to be mentioned. Kull. thinks that the terms vâhya and hina may either refer to two sets of men or to one only. Under the former supposition, the Vâhyas must be understood to be the Pratiloma offspring of a Sadra, i.
vas, Kshattris, and Kandâlas; and the Hînas, the Pratiloma offspring of Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, i. e. Sätas, Magadhas, and Vaidehas. Each of these two sets produce fifteen lower races by unions with women of the four chief castes and of their own (verse 27), i.e. Âyogavas beget five, with Brâhmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Sadra, and Âyogava women; Kshattris likewise five, with Brâhmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Sadra, and Kshattri women, and so forth. But if the two terms vahya and hîna are referred to one set of males only, they must be understood to denote the six Pratilomas, Kandalas, Kshattris, Âyogavas, Vaidehas, Mâgadhas, and Satas; and it must be assumed that the verse refers to unions between these six Pratiloma races alone. Then the lowest among them, the Kandâla, may produce with females of the five higher Pratiloma tribes five more degraded races; the Kshattri, with the four above him, four; the Ayogava, the three above him, three ; the Vaideha, two; and the Mâgadha, one. The total of 5+4+3+2+1 is thus 15. Ragh. agrees with this interpretation. Nâr., on the other hand, refers the terms vahya and hîna to one set of males, the three Pratilomas sprung from the Sadra, and assumes that the verse refers to unions of these three with females of the four principal castes and of their own. According to the calculation given under Kull.'s first explanation, the total of more degraded races which may be thus produced, is thirty. It seems to me that Kull.'s second explanation is the best, though I am not prepared to deny that his first explanation, and even Nâr.'s version, may be defended. The commentators point out that varna is used here in a figurative sense, because it has been declared above, verse 4, that there are only four real varnas.
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