Caste and Race in India c10.25

c10.25

The profession of the priest seems to have been hereditary from the earliest times when the classes began to be recognized. By the Sasanian period it was held to be the natural order to follow the occupation of one's ancestors. And if anyone wanted to try a profession other than the one of his class, he was allowed to do so only if, on examination, he proved to be a man of marked talent.⁴