Caste in India: The Facts and the System c7.s4.41

c7.s4.41

The system manifested in Hindu tradition did not yet exist at the time of the ancient hymns, or at least it was not recognized by their authors. So much is certain, since the principal terms of the theory were derived from themes which were not yet familiar to the hymns except in their primitive state, and since the general tenor of the theory was influenced to the point of distortion by the desire to approximate it to the tradition of the hymns. This Brahmanic system has, however, from time immemorial concealed an essentially different situation. The absence of the system is not therefore enough to prove that the *de facto* situation which inspires it only arose at a later date.