Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s2.13.4

c48.s2.13.4

The Caṇḍāl or Nāmaśūdra, is the largest caste in eastern Bengal, and, as its name suggests, stands very low in the social scale. It is much subdivided, and eight of its main subdivisions are functional, and never eat and seldom intermarry with each other. The agricultural section stands out from the rest in rank, and next to it comes the boating division. Fishing, however, except for the domestic larder, is strictly prohibited. The Nāmas'ūdra employ a special class of degraded Brāhman of its own, and its barbers and washermen are also members of the caste. The Census was made the occasion of an attempted severance of the caste into S'ūdra, the superior body, and Nāma, the Bengali for "low", to include the rest. It failed.