The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c15.12

c15.12

But this hereditary character of the position, combined with a special value attached to purity of blood do not in my opinion suffice to make the *gahapatis* appear as a caste; in our eyes they can only be regarded as a special class, as a special rank and not as a caste, the characteristic marks of which are lacking: apart from marriage within the limits of the class, we don't see any common customs, not to speak of any judicial powers, which would punish any transgression of caste-rules by exclusion from society.