History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.878

v4.c63.t2.878

23. 'Association with those that are guilty of intercourse with women who are not of the same varṇa, even though the former may have undergone proper expiation for the lapse' (l. 18). There was great divergence of views as regards the prāyaścitta for adultery by a male with a female of the same class, of a higher class or of a lower class. Further the ancient sūtras were rather hard on the guilty parties, the harsh rules being relaxed by later smṛti writers. For example, Gaut. 23. 14-15 and Vas. 21. 1-3 prescribe for a male of a lower caste having intercourse with a woman of a higher caste death in various ways. If a brāhmaṇa had sexual intercourse with a cāṇḍāla or śvapāka woman Parāśara (X. 5-7) prescribes that he has to undergo a fast for three days, tonsure of the head together with the top knot, three Prājāpatyas, Brahmakūrca, feeding brāhmaṇas, constant recital of the Gāyatrī, gift of two pairs of cows and then he becomes pure, while a śūdra doing the same had to undergo the expiation of one Prājāpatya and had to make a gift of two cows. If a person of a low caste has intercourse with a woman of a higher caste (e. g. a śūdra has intercourse with a brāhmaṇa woman) Saṁvarta (verses 166-167) prescribes the expiation of subsisting for a month on cow's urine and *yāvaka* (barley gruel) for him. If a brāhmaṇa commits adultery with a śūdra or caṇḍāla woman Saṁvarta (verses 169-170) prescribes the expiation of cāndrāyaṇa, while Parāśara (X. 17-20) prescribes a far more severe expiation. The present text prescribes that, even after undergoing expiation, men guilty of intercourse with women of castes other than their own cannot be allowed to have social intercourse with their castemen. The Dharmasindhu¹⁸³⁶ says that śūdras that have intercourse with brāhmaṇa or other women of a higher caste are hereby declared to be unfit for social intercourse even after they undergo expiation. This no doubt made for strictness in morals, but it also led to the preservation of caste exclusiveness.