History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c19.248

v2.c19.248

*Carmakāra.* Vide under antyaja (p. 70) above. He is mentioned in many smṛtis like Viṣṇu Dh. S. (51.8), Āpastamba (in verse 9. 32), Parāśara (VI. 44). According to Uśanas (4), he is the offspring of a śūdra from a kṣatriya girl, while verse 21 says that those sprung from a vaidehaka and a brāhmaṇa girl subsist by working on hides. Vaik. (X. 15) agrees with this latter. Manu IV. 218 speaks of him as carmāvakartin (cutter of hides). According to several smṛtis he is one of the seven antyajas. According to the Sūtasaṁhitā he is the offspring of an āyogava from a brāhmaṇa female. This name persists to this day as cāmbhār (in Western India) or cāmār in all other Indian provinces. This caste is often spoken of as Mochi (shoe-maker). Often the mochis are Moslems. This is an untouchable caste and the population of carmakāras in India is very large. In the Bombay Presidency alone they are about two hundred and ninety thousand (in 1931).