History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c19.147

v2.c19.147

On account of the great emphasis laid on the prevention of *varṇasaṁkara* the smṛtis ordain that it is one of the principal duties of the king to punish people if they transgress the rules prescribed for varṇas and to punish men and women if guilty of *varṇasaṁkara*. Gautama (XI. 9-10) says 'the king should protect the varṇas and āśramas according to the śāstras and he should make them conform to their duties when they swerve from them;' Vasiṣṭha (19. 7-8) 'the king paying attention to all these viz. the observances of countries, castes and families should make the four varṇas conform to their duties and should punish them when they go astray'; Viṣṇu Dh. S. III. 3 and Yāj. I. 361, Mārkaṇḍeyapuārṇa 27, Matsyapurāṇa 215. 63 say the same. Nārada (strīpuṁsa 113)¹⁴⁸ says 'when a brāhmaṇa woman goes astray a cāṇḍāla is born from a śūdra male (and the brāhmaṇa woman); therefore the king should specially protect women from saṁkara'. It is on account of this that so early as in the first centuries of the Christian era we see that king Vāsiṭhīputa Siri Puḷumāyi is extolled as having prevented the mixture of the four varṇas (E. I. vol. VIII pp. 60-61, 'vinivatitacātuvaṇa-sakarasa).' That varṇasaṁkara had gone too far in the opinion of the author of the Mahābhārata (Vanaparva 180. 31-33) follows from the following words which are despairingly put in the mouth of Yudhiṣṭhira¹⁴⁹ "It appears to me that it is very difficult to ascertain the caste of human beings on account of the confusion of all varṇas; all sorts of men are always begetting offspring from all sorts of women; speech, sexual intercourse, being born and death-these are common to all human beings; and there is scriptural authority (for this view) in the words 'We, whoever we are, offer the sacrifice'. Hence those who have seen the truth regard character as the principal thing desired." Śaṁkarācārya in his bhāṣya on Vedāntasūtra I. 3. 33 remarks that, though in his day varṇas and āśramas had become disorganised and unstable as to their dharmas, that was not the case in other ages, since otherwise the śāstras laying down regulations for them would have to be deemed purposeless or futile.¹⁵⁰