On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c8.s8: The Castes of India

On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c8.s8

Language: English

The Castes of India

v1.c8.s8.1

Our author passes on to give a few particulars about the division of the people of India into castes. His statements may be loosely rendered as follows—

There are four orders of hereditary clan distinctions. The first is that of the Brāhmins or "purely living"; these keep their principles and live continently, strictly observing ceremonial purity. The second order is that of the Kshatriyas, the race of kings; this order has held sovereignty for many generations, and its aims are benevolence and mercy. The third order is that of the Vaiśyas or class of traders, who barter commodities and pursue gain far and near. The fourth class is that of the Śūdras or agriculturists; these toil at cultivating the soil and are industrious at sowing and reaping. These four castes form classes of various degrees of ceremonial purity. The members of a caste marry within the caste, the great and the obscure keeping apart. Relations whether by the father's or the mother's side do not intermarry, and a woman never contracts a second marriage. There are also the mixed castes; numerous clans formed by groups of people according to their kinds, and these cannot be described.

v1.c8.s8.3

It will be seen from this passage that Yuan-chuang, like other Chinese writers on India, understood the term *Brāhman* as meaning those who had *brahman* in the sense of a *chaste continent habit of life*. The Kshatriyas were the hereditary rulers, and as such their minds were to be bent on benevolence and mercy. This is in accordance with Manu who lays it down that the king should be a protector to his people.¹ Yuan-chuang here puts the castes in the order given in brahmin books, but in the Buddhist scriptures the Kshatriyas are usually placed above the Brāhmins. The phrase which he applies to the Vaiśyas, whom he calls the trading caste, viz. "they barter what they have not" is one of some interest. The words are *mao-ch'ien-yu-wu* (貿遷有無), and they are to be found in the Shu-ching with the substitution of 貿 for 懋, the two characters having the same sound but very different meanings.² Our pilgrim, it will be noticed, makes the Śūdras to be farmers. But in Manu, and in some Buddhist works, the Vaiśyas are farmers, and the business of the Śūdras is to serve the three castes above them.³

v1.c8.s8.4

¹ *Ch.* 1. 89 et al.

v1.c8.s8.5

² L. C. C. Vol. iii, p. 78, Shu-Ching, *ch.* 2.

v1.c8.s8.6

³ Ch'êng-shih-lun, *ch.* 7 (No. 1274); Manu 1, 91.

v1.c8.s8.7

The sentence here rendered "The members of a caste marry within the caste, the great and the obscure keeping apart" is in the original *hun-chü-t'ung-ch'in-fei-fu-yi-lu* (婚娶通親飛伏異路), lit. "marriages go through the kindred, flying and prostrate different ways". Julien translates the words—"Quand les hommes ou les femmes se marient, ils prennent un rang élevé ou restent dans une condition obscure, suivant la difference de leur origine." This rendering seems to be absurd and it does violence to the text leaving out the two words *t'ung-ch'in* and mistranslating *yi-lu*. What our author states seems to be clear and simple. Marriages take place within a caste, and a Vaiśya man, for example, may marry any Vaiśya maid. And he will marry no other. To Yuan-chuang a caste was a *gens* or a clan denoted by one surname (姓) and all who belonged to the *gens* were kindred, they were of one *jāti*. So members of the caste might intermarry provided they were not already related by marriage. But though a man might espouse any maid of his caste, the rich and great married among themselves, and the poor and obscure kept to themselves in their marriages. The words *fei*, "flying" and *fu* "prostrate", used for prosperous and *obscure* have a reference to the first chapter of the Yih-ching. With what Yuan-chuang tells us here we may compare Manu who lays down the law that "a father ought to give his daughter in marriage to a distinguished young man of an agreeable exterior and of the same class", and of the lady he says—"let her choose a husband of the same rank as herself."[1]

v1.c8.s8.8

The "mixed castes (*tsa-hsing* 雜姓)" are properly not "castes", but guilds and groups of low craftsmen and workmen. These include weavers, shoemakers, hunters, fishermen, and also water-carriers and scavengers. Alberuni's account of these and his description of the four castes may be used as a commentary to the short account given by our pilgrim.[2]

Linked texts (1)

Mānava Dharmaśāstra — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit