[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v2.c4.s7.345 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s7.345 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s7.345 - **Language:** English ### [v2.c4.s7.345](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.345) More generally the possibility of the occurrence of change of caste may be seen in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,¹³⁸ where Śyāparṇa Sāyakāyana is represented as speaking of his offspring as if they could have become the nobles, priests, and commons of the Śalvas; and in the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa,¹³⁹ where Viśvantara is told that if the wrong offering were made his children would be of the three other castes. A drunken Ṛṣi of the Rigveda¹⁴⁰ talks as if he could be converted into a king. On the other hand, certain kings, such as Para Āṭṇāra, are spoken of as performers of Sattras, ‘sacrificial sessions.’¹⁴¹ As evidence for caste exchange all this amounts to little; later a Brahmin might become a king, while the Ṛṣi in the Rigveda is represented as speaking in a state of intoxication; the great kings could be called sacrificers if, for the nonce, they were consecrated (dīkṣita), and so temporarily became Brahmins.¹⁴² The hypothetical passages, too, do not help much. It would be unwise to deny the possibility of caste exchange, but it is not clearly indicated by any record. Even cases like that of Satyakāma Jābāla do not go far; for ex hypothesi that teacher did not know who his father was, and the latter could quite well have been a Brahmin. - [Previous: v2.c4.s7.344](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.344) - [Next: v2.c4.s7.346](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.346) - [Up: v2.c4.s7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.345](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.345) · Pramāṇa