Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c21.s1.t3.2

v2.c21.s1.t3.2

Manu has laid down specific regulations dealing with the question of excommunication from the caste.² "A Brāhmaṇa who unintentionally approaches a woman of the Chāṇḍāla or of (any other) very low caste, who eats (the food of such persons) and accepts (presents from them) becomes an outcaste; but (if he does it intentionally), he becomes their equal."³ Then again: "He who associates with an outcaste, himself becomes an outcaste after a year, not by sacrificing for him, teaching him, or forming a matrimonial alliance with him, but using the same carriage or seat, or by eating with him."⁴