The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c8.s13.48

v1.c8.s13.48

The Vākāṭaka records throw very little light on contemporary social life. The caste system existed in Hindu society, but it was not yet very rigid. There was considerable freedom in the choice of professions. The Vākāṭakas were themselves actually Brāhmans, but were still following the Kṣattriya profession of kingship. The percentage of Brāhmans among their officers was probably fairly large. Intercaste marriages were also permitted in our period. The Vākāṭakas, though Brāhmans, had no hesitation in accepting a Gupta princess in marriage, belonging to the Vaiśya caste. Soma, the ancestor of one of their ministers, though a Brāhman by caste, had also married a bride of the Kṣattriya caste, and his descendant Hastibhoja insists on pointing out that it was a procedure fully approved both by the Śrutis and the Smritis. At a time when intercaste marriages evoked no opposition, interdining must naturally have also been fairly common. The Upanayana ritual was gradually getting unpopular among both the Kṣattriyas and the Vaiśyas in this period.³