History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c41.s3.1

v3.c41.s3.1

It is needless to say that the Śudras must also have subdivided at this time into innumerable sections not only on the basis of the province of residence, but also of their innumerable employments; each profession or employment consolidating itself into a sub-caste restricting marriage to itself. Indeed at this time the practice of Anuloma marriage entirely ceased, as we shall presently show, and every caste and sub-caste from the Brahmins downwards restricted marriage to itself. This together with ideas of purity and peculiarities of food and customs was a great incentive to the formation of sub-castes all over the society. The formation of all the innumerable sub-castes in every varṇa or chief caste and intermediate caste into which Hindu society is divided at present took place, according to our view, during this sub-period (1000-1200), whereas in the preceding sub-periods the main castes and intermediate castes were one and undivided throughout India. Although, therefore, Al-Beruni mentions only four varṇas following the Smṛitis, the tendency to the development of sub-castes had arisen even in his time; but the actual division took place after him.