The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II Part 32

14. Funeral rites and mourning.

The bodies of children dying before they are named, or before the tonsure ceremony is performed on them, are buried, and those of other persons are burnt. In the grave of a small child some of its mother's milk, or, if this is not available, cow's milk in a leaf-cup or earthen vessel, is placed. Before a body is burnt cakes of wheat-flour are put on the face, breast and both shoulders, and a coin is always deposited for the purchase of the site. Mourning or impurity is observed for varying periods, according to the nearness of relations.h.i.+p. For a child, relatives other than the parents have only to take a bath to remove the impurity caused by the death. In a small town or village all Brahmans of the same subcaste living in the place are impure from the time of the death until cremation has taken place. After the funeral the chief mourner performs the _shraddh_ ceremony, offering _pindas_ or cakes of rice, with libations of water, to the dead. Presents are made to Brahmans for the use of the dead man in the other world, and these are sometimes very valuable, as it is thought that the spirit will thereby be profited. Such presents are taken by the Maha-Brahman, who is much despised. When a late zamindar of Khariar died, Rs. 2000 were given to the Maha-Brahman for the use of his soul in the next world. The funeral rites are performed by an ordinary Brahman, known as Malai, who may receive presents after the period of impurity has expired. Formerly a calf was let loose in the name of the deceased after being branded with the mark of a trident to dedicate it to Siva, and allowed to wander free thenceforth. Sometimes it was formally married to three or four female calves, and these latter were presented to Brahmans. Sometimes the calf was brought to stand over the dying man and water poured down its tail into his mouth. The practice of letting loose a male calf is now declining, as these animals are a great nuisance to the crops, and cultivators put them in the pound. The calf is therefore also presented to a Brahman. It is believed that the _shraddh_ ceremony is necessary to unite the dead man's spirit with the Pitris or ancestors, and without this it wanders homeless. Some think that the ancestors dwell on the under or dark side of the moon. Those descendants who can offer the _pindas_ or funeral cakes to the same ancestor are called Sapindas or relatives, and the man who fills the office of chief mourner thereby becomes the dead man's heir. Persons who have died a violent death or have been executed are not ent.i.tled to the ordinary funeral oblations, and cannot at once be united with the ancestors. But one year after the death an effigy of the deceased person is made in _kusha_ gra.s.s and burnt, with all the ordinary funeral rites, and offerings are made to his spirit as if he had died on this occasion. If the death was caused by snake-bite a gold snake is made and presented to a Brahman before this ceremony is begun. This is held to be the proper funeral ceremony which unites his spirit with the ancestors. Formerly in Madras if a man died during the last five days of the waning of the moon it was considered very unlucky. In order to escape evil effects to the relatives a special opening was made in the wall of the house, through which the body was carried, and the house itself was afterwards abandoned for three to six months. [412] A similar superst.i.tion prevails in the Central Provinces about a man dying in the Mul Nakshatra or lunar asterism, which is perhaps the same or some similar period. In this case it is thought that the deaths of four other members of the household are portended, and to avert this four human figures are made of flour or gra.s.s and burnt with the corpse. According to the Abbe Dubois if a man died on a Sat.u.r.day it was thought that another death would occur in the family, and to avert this a living animal, such as a ram, goat or fowl, was offered with the corpse. [413]

15. Religion.

The religion of the Brahmans is Hinduism, of which they are the priests and exponents. Formerly the Brahman considered himself as a part of Brahma, and hence a G.o.d. This belief has decayed, but the G.o.ds are still held to reside in the body; Siva in the crown of the head, Vishnu in the chest, Brahma in the navel, Indra in the genitals and Ganesh in the r.e.c.t.u.m. Most Brahmans belong to a sect wors.h.i.+pping especially Siva or Vishnu, or Rama and Krishna, the incarnations of the latter G.o.d, or Sakti, the female principle of energy of Siva. But as a rule Brahmans, whether of the Sivite or Vishnuite sects, abstain from flesh meat and are averse to the killing of any living thing. The following account of the daily ritual prayers of a Benares Brahman may be reproduced from M. Andre Chevrillon's _Romantic India_, [414]

as, though possibly not altogether accurate in points of detail, it gives an excellent idea of their infinitely complicated nature:

16. Daily ritual.

"Here is the daily life of one of the twenty-five thousand Brahmans of Benares. He rises before the dawn, and his first care is to look at an object of good omen. If he sees a crow at his left, a kite, a snake, a cat, a hare, a jackal, an empty jar, a smoking fire, a wood-pile, a widow, a man blind of one eye, he is threatened with great dangers during the day. If he intended to make a journey, he puts it off. But if he sees a cow, a horse, an elephant, a parrot, a lizard, a clear-burning fire, a virgin, all will go well. If he should sneeze once, he may count upon some special good fortune; but if twice some disaster will happen to him. If he yawns some demon may enter his body. Having avoided all objects of evil omen, the Brahman drops into the endless routine of his religious rites. Under penalty of rendering all the day's acts worthless, he must wash his teeth at the bank of a sacred stream or lake, reciting a special _mantra_, which ends in this ascription: 'O Ganges, daughter of Vishnu, thou springest from Vishnu's foot, thou art beloved by him! Remove from us the stains of sin and birth, and until death protect us thy servants!' He then rubs his body with ashes, saying: 'Homage to Siva, homage to the source of all birth! May he protect me during all births!' He traces the sacred signs upon his forehead--the three vertical lines representing the foot of Vishnu, or the three horizontal lines which symbolise the trident of Siva--and twists into a knot the hair left by the razor on the top of his head, that no impurity may fall from it to pollute the sacred river.

"He is now ready to begin the ceremonies of the morning (_sandhya_), those which I have just observed on the banks of the river. Minutely and mechanically each Brahman performs by himself these rites of prescribed acts and gestures. First the internal ablution: the wors.h.i.+pper takes water in the hollow of his hand, and, letting it fall from above into his mouth, cleanses his body and soul. Meanwhile he mentally invokes the names of Vishnu, saying, 'Glory to Keshava, to Narayana, to Madhava, to Govinda,' and so on.

"The second rite is the exercise or 'discipline' of the respiration (_prajayama_). Here there are three acts: first, the wors.h.i.+pper compresses the right nostril with the thumb, and drives the breath through the left; second, he inhales through the left nostril, then compresses it, and inhales through the other; third, he stops the nose completely with thumb and forefinger, and holds his breath as long as possible. All these acts must be done before sunrise, and prepare for what is to follow. Standing on the water's edge, he utters solemnly the famous syllable OM, p.r.o.nouncing it _aum_, with a length equalling that of three letters. It recalls to him the three persons of the Hindu trinity: Brahma, who creates; Vishnu, who preserves; Siva, who destroys. More n.o.ble than any other word, imperishable, says Manu, it is eternal as Brahma himself. It is not a sign, but a being, a force; a force which constrains the G.o.ds, superior to them, the very essence of all things. Mysterious operations of the mind, strange a.s.sociations of ideas, from which spring conceptions like these! Having uttered this ancient and formidable syllable, the man calls by their names the three worlds: earth, air, sky; and the four superior heavens. He then turns towards the east, and repeats the verse [415] from the Rig-Veda: 'Let us meditate upon the resplendent glory of the divine vivifier, that it may enlighten our minds.' As he says the last words he takes water in the palm of his hand and pours it upon the top of his head. 'Waters,' he says, 'give me strength and vigour that I may rejoice. Like loving mothers, bless us, penetrate us with your sacred essence. We come to wash ourselves from the pollution of sins: make us fruitful and prosperous.' Then follow other ablutions, other _mantras_, verses from the Rig-Veda, and this hymn, which relates the origin of all things: 'From the burning heat came out all things. Yes, the complete order of the world; Night, the throbbing Ocean, and after the throbbing Ocean, Time, which separates Light from Darkness. All mortals are its subjects. It is this which disposes of all things, and has made, one after another, the sun, the sky, the earth, the intermediate air.' This hymn, says Manu, thrice repeated, effaces the gravest sins.

"About this time, beyond the sands of the opposite sh.o.r.e of the Ganges, the sun appears. As soon as its brilliant disc becomes visible the mult.i.tude welcome it, and salute it with 'the offering of water.' This is thrown into the air, either from a vase or from the hand. Thrice the wors.h.i.+pper, standing in the river up to his waist, flings the water towards the sun. The farther and wider he flings it, the greater the virtue attributed to this act. Then the Brahman, seated upon his heels, fulfils the most sacred of his religious duties: he meditates upon his fingers. For the fingers are sacred, inhabited by different manifestations of Vishnu; the thumb by Govinda, the index-finger by Madhava, the middle finger by Hrikesa, the third by Trivikama and the little finger by Vishnu himself. 'Homage to the two thumbs,' says the Brahman, 'to the two index-fingers, to the two middle fingers, to the two "unnamed fingers," to the two little fingers, to the two palms, to the two backs of the hands.' Then he touches the various parts of the body, and lastly, the right ear, the most sacred of all, where reside fire, water, the sun and the moon. He then takes a red bag (_gomukhi_), into which he plunges his hand, and by contortions of the fingers rapidly represents the chief incarnations of Vishnu: a fish, a tortoise, a wild boar, a lion, a slip-knot, a garland. [416]

"The second part of the service is no less rich than the first in ablutions and _mantras_. The Brahman invokes the sun, 'Mitra, who regards all creatures with unchanging gaze,' and the Dawns, 'brilliant children of the sky,' the earliest divinities of our Aryan race. He extols the world of Brahma, that of Siva, that of Vishnu; recites pa.s.sages from the Mahabharata, the Puranas, all the first hymn of the Rig-Veda, the first lines of the second, the first words of the princ.i.p.al Vedas, of the Yajur, the Sama, and the Atharva, then fragments of grammar, inspired prosodies, and, in conclusion, the first words of the book of the Laws of Yajnavalkya, the philosophic Sutras: and finally ends the ceremony with three kinds of ablutions, which are called the refres.h.i.+ng of the G.o.ds, of the sages and of the ancestors.

"First, placing his sacred cord upon the left shoulder, the Brahman takes up water in the right hand, and lets it run off his extended fingers. To refresh the sages, the cord must hang about the neck, and the water run over the side of the hand between the thumb and the forefinger, which is bent back. For the ancestors, the cord pa.s.ses over the right shoulder, and the water falls from the hand in the same way as for the sages. 'Let the fathers be refreshed,' says the prayer, 'may this water serve all those who inhabit the seven worlds, as far as to Brahma's dwelling, even though their number be greater than thousands of millions of families. May this water, consecrated by my cord, be accepted by the men of my race who have left no sons.'

"With this prayer the morning service ends. Now, remember that this wors.h.i.+p is daily, that these formulas must be p.r.o.nounced, these movements of the hands made with mechanical precision; that if the wors.h.i.+pper forgets one of the incarnations of Vishnu which he is to figure with his fingers, if he stop his left nostril when it should be the right, the entire ceremony loses its efficacy; that, not to go astray amid this mult.i.tude of words and gestures required for each rite, he is obliged to use mnemotechnic methods; that there are five of these for each series of formulas; that his attention always strained and always directed toward the externals of the cult, does not leave his mind a moment in which to reflect upon the profound meaning of some of these prayers, and you will comprehend the extraordinary scene that the banks of the Ganges at Benares present every morning; this anxious and demented mult.i.tude, these gestures, eager and yet methodical, this rapid movement of the lips, the fixed gaze of these men and women who, standing in the water, seem not even to see their neighbours, and count mentally like men in the delirium of a fever. Remember that there are ceremonies like these in the afternoon and also in the evening, and that in the intervals, in the street, in the house at meals, when going to bed, similar rites no less minute pursue the Brahman, all preceded by the exercises of respiration, the enunciation of the syllable OM, and the invocation of the princ.i.p.al G.o.ds. It is estimated that between daybreak and noon he has scarcely an hour of rest from the performance of these rites. After the great powers of nature, the Ganges, the Dawn, and the Sun, he goes to wors.h.i.+p in their temples the representations of divinity, the sacred trees, finally the cows, to whom he offers flowers. In his own dwelling other divinities await him, five black stones, [417] representing Siva, Ganesa, Surya, Devi and Vishnu, arranged according to the cardinal points: one towards the north, a second to the south-east, a third to the south-west, a fourth to the north-west, and one in the centre, this order changing according as the wors.h.i.+pper regards one G.o.d or another as most important; then there is a sh.e.l.l, a bell--to which, kneeling, he offers flowers--and, lastly, a vase, whose mouth contains Vishnu, the neck Rudra, the paunch Brahma, while at the bottom repose the three divine mothers, the Ganges, the Indus, and the Jumna.

"This is the daily cult of the Brahman of Benares, and on holidays it is still further complicated. Since the great epoch of Brahmanism it has remained the same. Some details may alter, but as a whole it has always been thus tyrannical and thus extravagant. As far back as the Upanishads appears the same faith in the power of articulate speech, the same imperative and innumerable prescriptions, the same singular formulas, the same enumeration of grotesque gestures. Every day, for more than twenty-five hundred years, since Buddhism was a protest against the tyranny and absurdity of rites, has this race mechanically pa.s.sed through this machinery, resulting in what mental malformations, what habitual att.i.tudes of mind and will, the race is now too different from ourselves for us to be able to conceive."

Secular Brahmans now, however, greatly abridge the length of their prayers, and an hour or an hour and a half in the morning suffices for the daily bath and purification, the wors.h.i.+p of the household deities and the morning meal.

17. The sacred thread.

Brahman boys are invested with the sacred thread between the ages of five and nine. The ceremony is called Upanayana or the introduction to knowledge, since by it the boy acquires the right to read the sacred books. Until this ceremony he is not really a Brahman, and is not bound to observe the caste rules and restrictions. By its performance he becomes Dvija or twice-born, and the highest importance is attached to the change or initiation. He may then begin to acquire divine knowledge, and perhaps in past times it was thought that he obtained the divine character belonging to a Brahman. The sacred thread is made of three strands of cotton, which should be obtained from the cotton tree growing wild. Sometimes a tree is grown in the yard of the house for the provision of the threads. It has several knots in it, to which great importance is attached, the number of knots being different for a Brahman, a Kshatriya and a Vaishya, the three twice-born castes. The thread hangs from the left shoulder, falling on to the right hip. Sometimes, when a man is married, he wears a double thread of six strands, the second being for his wife; and after his father dies a treble one of nine strands. At the invest.i.ture the boy's nails are cut and his hair is shaved, and he performs the _hom_ or fire sacrifice for the first time. He then acquires the status of a Brahmachari or disciple, and in former times he would proceed to some religious centre and begin to study the sacred books. The idea of this is preserved by a symbolic ritual. Some Brahmans shave the boy's head completely, make a girdle of _kusha_ or _munj_ gra.s.s round his waist, provide him with a begging-bowl and tongs and the skin of an antelope to sit on and make him go and beg from four houses. Among others the boy gets on to a wooden horse and announces his intention of going off to Benares to study. His mother then sits on the edge of a well and threatens to throw herself in if he will not change his mind, or the maternal uncle promises to give the boy his daughter in marriage. Then the boy relinquishes his intention and agrees to stay at home. The sacred thread must always be pa.s.sed through the hand before saying the Gayatri text in praise of the sun, the most sacred Brahmanical text. The sacred thread is changed once a year on the day of Rakshabandhan; the Brahman and all his family change it together. The word Rakshabandhan means binding or tying up the devils, and it would thus appear that the sacred thread and the knots in it may have been originally intended to some extent to be a protection against evil spirits. It is also changed on the occasion of a birth or death in the family, or of an eclipse, or if it breaks. The old threads are torn up or sewn into clothes by the very poor in the Maratha districts. It is said that the Brahmans are afraid that the Kunbis will get hold of their old threads, and if they do get one they will fold it into four strings, holding a lamp in the middle, and wave it over any one who is sick. The Brahmans think that if this is done all the acc.u.mulated virtue which they have obtained by many repet.i.tions of the Gayatri or sacred prayer will be transferred to the sick Kunbi. Many castes now wear the sacred thread who have no proper claim to do so, especially those who have become landholders and aspire to the status of Rajputs.

18. Social position.

The Brahman is of course supreme in Hindu society. He never bows his head in salutation to any one who is not a Brahman, and acknowledges with a benediction the greetings of all other cla.s.ses. No member of another caste, Dr. Bhattacharya states, can, consistently with Hindu etiquette and religious beliefs, refuse altogether to bow to a Brahman. "The more orthodox Sudras carry their veneration for the priestly caste to such an extent that they will not cross the shadow of a Brahman, and it is not unusual for them to be under a vow not to eat any food in the morning before drinking Brahman nectar, [418]

or water in which the toe of a Brahman has been dipped. On the other hand, the pride of the Brahman is such that he does not bow even to the images of the G.o.ds in a Sudra's house. When a Brahman invites a Sudra the latter is usually asked to partake of the host's _prasada_ or favour in the shape of the leavings of his plate. Orthodox Sudras actually take offence if invited by the use of any other formula. No Sudra is allowed to eat in the same room or at the same time with Brahmans." [419]

A man of low caste meeting a Brahman says 'Pailagi' or 'I fall at your feet,' and touches the Brahman's foot with his hand, which he then carries to his own forehead to signify this. A man wis.h.i.+ng to ask a favour in a humble manner stands on one leg and folds his cloth round his neck to show that his head is at his benefactor's disposal; and he takes a piece of gra.s.s in his mouth by which he means to say, 'I am your cow.' Brahmans greeting each other clasp the hands and say 'Salaam,' this method of greeting being known as Namaskar. Since most Brahmans have abandoned the priestly calling and are engaged in Government service and the professions, this exaggerated display of reverence is tending to disappear, nor do the educated members of the caste set any great store by it, preferring the social estimation attaching to such a prominent secular position as they often attain for themselves.

19. t.i.tles.

Any Brahman is, however, commonly addressed by other castes as Maharaj, great king, or else as Pandit, a learned man. I had a Brahman chupra.s.sie, or orderly, who was regularly addressed by the rest of the household as Pandit, and on inquiring as to the literary attainments of this learned man, I found he had read the first two cla.s.s-books in a primary school. Other t.i.tles of Brahmans are Dvija, or twice-born, that is, one who has had the thread ceremony performed; Bipra, applied to a Brahman learned in the Shastras or scriptures; and Srotriya, a learned Brahman who is engaged in the performance of Vedic rites.

20. Caste _panchayat_ and offences.

The Brahmans have a caste _panchayat_, but among the educated cla.s.ses the tendency is to drop the _panchayat_ procedure and to refer matters of caste rules and etiquette to the informal decision of a few of the most respected local members. In northern India there is no supreme authority for the caste, but the five southern divisions acknowledge the successor of the great reformer Shankar Acharya as their spiritual head, and important caste questions are referred to him. His headquarters are at the monastery of Sringeri on the Cauvery river in Mysore. Mr. Jos.h.i.+ gives four offences as punishable with permanent exclusion from caste: killing a Brahman, drinking prohibited wine or spirits, committing incest with a mother or step-mother or with the wife of one's spiritual preceptor, and stealing gold from a priest. Some very important offences, therefore, such as murder of any person other than a Brahman, adultery with a woman of impure caste and taking food from her, and all offences against property, except those mentioned, do not involve permanent expulsion. Temporary exclusion is inflicted for a variety of offences, among which are teaching the Vedas for hire, receiving gifts from a Sudra for performing fire-wors.h.i.+p, falsely accusing a spiritual preceptor, subsisting by the harlotry of a wife, and defiling a damsel. It is possible that some of the offences against morality are comparatively recent additions. Brahmans who cross the sea to be educated in England are readmitted into caste on going through various rites of purification; the princ.i.p.al of these is to swallow the five products of the sacred cow, milk, _ghi_ or preserved b.u.t.ter, curds, dung and urine. But the small minority who have introduced widow-marriage are still banned by the orthodox.

21. Rules about food.

Brahmans as a rule should not eat meat nor drink intoxicating liquor. But it is said that the following indulgences have been recognised: for residents in eastern India the eating of flesh and drinking liquor; for those of northern India the eating of flesh; for those in the west the use of water out of leather buckets; and in the south marriage with a first cousin on the mother's side. Hindustani Brahmans eat meat, according to Mr. Jos.h.i.+, and others are now also adopting this custom. The kinds of meat permitted are mutton and venison, scaly, but not scaleless, fish, hares, and even the tortoise, wild boar, wild buffalo and rhinoceros. Brahmans are said even to eat domestic fowls, though not openly, and wild jungle fowls are preferred, but are seldom obtainable. Maratha Brahmans will not eat meat openly. Formerly only the flesh of animals offered in sacrifice could be eaten, but this rule is being disregarded and some Brahmans buy mutton from the butchers. A Brahman should not eat even _pakki rasoi_ or food cooked without water, such as sweetmeats and cakes fried in b.u.t.ter or oil, except when cooked by his own family and in his own home. But these are now partaken of abroad, and also purchased from the Halwai or confectioner on the a.s.sumption that he is a Brahman. A Brahman should take food cooked with water only from his own relations and in his own home after the place has been purified and spread with cowdung. He bathes before eating, and wears only a yellow silk or woollen cloth round his waist, which is kept specially for this purpose, cotton being regarded as impure. But these rules are tending to become obsolete, as educated Brahmans recognise more and more what a hindrance they cause to any social enjoyment. Boys especially who receive an English education in high schools and universities are rapidly becoming more liberal. They will drink soda-water or lemonade of which they are very fond, and eat European sweets and sometimes biscuits. The social intercourse of boys of all castes and religions in school and games, and in the latter the frequent a.s.sociation with Europeans, are having a remarkable effect in breaking down caste prejudice, the results of which should become very apparent in a few years. A Brahman also should not smoke, but many now do so, and when they go to see a friend will take their own huqqa with them as they cannot smoke out of his. Maratha and Khedawal Brahmans, however, as a rule do not smoke, but only chew tobacco.

22. Dress.

A Brahman's dress should be white, and he can have a coloured turban, preferably red. Maratha Brahmans were very particular about the securing of their _dhoti_ or loin-cloth, which always had to have five tucks, three into the waistband at the two sides and in front, while the loose ends were tucked in in front and behind. b.u.t.tons had to be avoided as they were made of bone, and shoes were considered to be impure as being of leather. Formerly a Brahman never entered a house with his shoes on, as he would consider the house to be defiled. According to the old rule, if a Brahman touches a man of an impure caste, as a Chamar (tanner) or Basor (basket-maker), he should bathe and change his loin-cloth, and if he touches a sweeper he should change his sacred thread. Now, however, educated Brahmans usually wear white cotton trousers and black or brown coats of cloth, alpaca or silk with the normal allowance of b.u.t.tons, and European shoes and boots which they keep on indoors. Boys are even discarding the _choti_ or scalp-lock and simply cut their hair short in imitation of the English. For the head small felt caps have become fas.h.i.+onable in lieu of turbans.

23. Tattooing.

Men are never tattooed, but women are freely tattooed on the face and body. One dot is made in the centre of the forehead and three on the left nostril in the form of a triangle. All the limbs and the fingers and toes may also be tattooed, the most common patterns being a peac.o.c.k with spread wings, a fish, cuckoo, scorpion, a child's doll, a sieve, a pattern of Sita's cookroom and representations of all female ornaments. Some women think that they will be able to sell the ornaments tattooed on their bodies in the next world and subsist on the proceeds.

24. Occupation.

In former times the Brahman was supposed to confine himself to priestly duties, learning the Vedas and giving instruction to the laity. His subsistence was to be obtained from gleaning the fields after the crop had been cut and from unsolicited alms, as it was disgraceful for him to beg. But if he could not make a living in this manner he was at liberty to adopt a trade or profession. The majority of Brahmans have followed the latter course with much success. They were the ministers of Hindu kings, and as these were usually illiterate, most of the power fell into the Brahmans' hands. In Poona the Maratha Brahmans became the actual rulers of the State. They have profited much from gifts and bequests of land for charitable purposes and are one of the largest landholding castes. In Mewar it was recorded that a fifth of the State revenue from land was a.s.signed in religious grants, [420] and in the deeds of gift, drawn up no doubt by the Brahmans themselves, the most terrible penalties were invoked on any one who should interfere with the grant. One of these was that such an impious person would be a caterpillar in h.e.l.l for sixty thousand years. [421]

Plots of land and mango groves are also frequently given to Brahmans by village proprietors. A Brahman is forbidden to touch the plough with his own hands, but this rule is falling into abeyance and many Brahman cultivators plough themselves. Brahmans are also prohibited from selling a large number of articles, as milk, b.u.t.ter, cows, salt and so on. Formerly a Brahman village proprietor refused payment for the supplies of milk and b.u.t.ter given to travellers, and some would expend the whole produce of their cattle in feeding religious mendicants and poor Brahmans. But these scruples, which tended to multiply the number of beggars indefinitely, have happily vanished, and Brahmans will even sell cows to a butcher. Mr. Jos.h.i.+ relates that a suit was brought by a Brahman in his court for the hide of a cow sold by him for slaughter. A number of Brahmans are employed as personal servants, and these are usually cooks, a Brahman cook being very useful, since all Hindus can eat the food which he prepares. Nor has this calling hitherto been considered derogatory, as food is held to be sacred, and he who prepares it is respected. Many live on charitable contributions, and it is a rule among Hindus that a Brahman coming into the house and asking for a present must be given something or his curse will ruin the family. Liberality is encouraged by the recitation of legends, such as that of the good king Harischandra who gave away his whole kingdom to the great Brahman saint Visvamitra, and retired to Benares with a loin-cloth which the recipient allowed him to retain from his possessions. But Brahmans who take gifts at the time of a death, and those who take them from pilgrims at the sacred shrines, are despised and considered as out of caste, though not the priests in charge of temples. The rapacity of all these cla.s.ses is proverbial, and an instance may be given of the conduct of the Pandas or temple-priests of Benares. These men were so haughty that they never appeared in the temple unless some very important visitor was expected, who would be able to pay largely. It is related that when the ex-Peshwa of Poona came to Benares after the death of his father he solicited the Panda of the great temple of Viseshwar to a.s.sist him in the performance of the ceremonies necessary for the repose of his father's soul. But the priest refused to do so until the Maharaja had filled with coined silver the _hauz_ or font of the temple. The demand was acceded to and Rs. 125,000 were required to fill the font. [422]

Those who are very poor adopt the profession of a Maha-Brahman or Mahapatra, who takes gifts for the dead. Respectable Brahmans will not accept gifts at all, but when asked to a feast the host usually gives them one to four annas or pence with betel-leaf at the time of their departure, and there is no shame in accepting this. A very rich man may give a gold mohar (guinea) to each Brahman. Other Brahmans act as astrologers and foretell events. They pretend to be able to produce rain in a drought or stop excessive rainfall when it is injuring the crops. They interpret dreams and omens. In the case of a theft the loser will go to a Brahman astrologer, and after learning the circ.u.mstances the latter will tell him what sort of person stole the property and in what direction the property is concealed. But the large majority of Brahmans have abandoned all priestly functions, and are employed in all grades of Government service, the professions and agriculture. In 1911 about fifty-three per cent of Brahmans in the Central Provinces were supported by agriculture as landowners, cultivators and labourers. About twenty-two per cent were engaged in the arts and professions, seven per cent in Government service, including the police which contains many Brahman constables, and only nineteen per cent were returned under all occupations connected with religion.