Caste in India: The Facts and the System c7.s3.31

c7.s3.31

The millions of persons in India who lay claim to the title of Brahman, and who are, in a sense, united by that name, are in reality divided into a multitude of perfectly distinct sections, each one of which possesses the attributes and features that characterize this caste. Ordinarily we speak of the Brahmanic caste; we should say the *Brahmanic castes*. We include in a single generic term a multiplicity of castes, each one of which has its own individuality. Manu’s admissions on the subject of the degraded Brahmans prove that he did exactly the same. Then, as now, the name Brahman included them all only as a general honorific title. The Mahābhārata mentions in one place¹ that the son of a Brahman is a Brahman whatever his mother’s origin may have been. This contradiction of Manu’s rules is not necessarily so absolute as it first appears; no matter what theory may say, it is quite possible for an individual to remain a Brahman although he suffers a change of caste.