Caste and Race in India c7.30

c7.30

It is not only the variety of occupations that is striking, but also the fact that one and the same occupation bore different names. The husbandman and potter have each more than one appellation. We shall see later that two groups, following the same occupation, have different names and are recognized as independent castes or sub-castes. Naming is the first step towards distinction. We should, therefore, attach due significance to the fact of one and the same occupation being given different names, either through individual or provincial peculiarities, in the Vedic literature.