695 



HIGH CONSTABLE. 



HINDU CASTES. 



658 



Fines were levied which often ruined the offender, and he might b 

 imprisoned for any length of time at the discretion of the court. Th 

 great object for which the court was established was more especially 

 to punish any departure from the Act of Uniformity in matters of 

 religion or in the services atid ceremonies of the Established Church. 

 Elizabeth, in a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, said she was 

 resolved " that no man should be suffered to decline, either on the left 

 hand or on the right hand, from the drawn line limited by authority 

 and by her laws and injunctions." The Commons remonstrated feebly 

 against the tyranny of the Court of High Commission, and by way of 

 answer she granted towards the close of her reign a new patent in 

 which the powers of the court were in some respects extended. 



In the reign of James I. the sentences of the Court of High Com- 

 mission were most generally confined to deprivation ; but when the 

 Commons remonstrated on account of its proceedings he refused to 

 interfere. In 1610, by virtue of the royal prerogative, he established 

 a Court of High Commission in Scotland, the authority of which was 

 readily acknowledged by the bishops and some of the clergy. 



In 1641, the Court of High Commission and the Star Chamber were 

 both abolished, and a clause was introduced into the act which pro- 

 hibited the revival of the former court or any other of a like nature. 

 James II., however, issued a new commission, and appointed seven 

 commissioners to exercise full and unlimited authority over the Church 

 of England, and with the full powers of the former courts. Sancroft, 

 archbishop of Canterbury, refused to be a member. Four of the 

 commissioners were bishops, and the three laymen were the Karl of 

 Rochester, Chancellor Jeffries, and Lord Chief Justice Herbert. The 

 Revolution swept away this arbitrary institution. 



HIGH CONSTABLE. [CONSTABLE.] 



HIGH STEWARD. [STEWARD, LORD HIGH.] 



HIGH TREASON. [TREASON.] 



HIGHWAY. [WAY.] 



HINDU ARCHITECTURE. [INDIA, ARCHITECTURE OF.] 



HINDU CASTES. The division of the Hindus into classes or 

 castes, with fixed occupations, existed from the earliest times : the 

 word caste is derived from the Portuguese word caitn, "race," or 

 " lineage ; " in Sanskrit they are called varna, that is, " colours." The 

 most ancient portion of the Vedas alludes to such a division ; and 

 in the fern "t Manu, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and all the 

 other Sanskrit works of the greatest antiquity, we find the system of 

 castes fully developed. The Greeks who visited the country describe 

 its inhabit ilmtol into certain classes. (Arrian, ' Indie.,' 



c. 11, 12; Diodor. Sic., ii., c. lu, 41; S'trabo, xv., c. 1, pp. 4^5-6, 

 Casaubon ; Pliny, ' Hist. Nat,' vi., c. 19.) We have no means of 

 ascertaining the origin of this institution. Ilecren supposes that it 

 was founded upon conquest ; the first three tribes being a foreign race, 

 who subdued the aborigines of the country and reduced them to an 

 inferior caste : while others trace it " as the result of that fondness of 

 perpetuating, like heir-looms, by descent from father to son, certain 

 offices or the exercise of certain arts and professions, which is so 

 peculiarly characteristic of almost all nations of the Indo-Gennanic 

 race." 



All the Hindu writings recognise only four pure castes : Brahmans, 

 Kshatriyas. Vaisyas, and Sudras. Pliny ('Nat. Hist.,' vi. l!t) appears 

 to have heard of the same number ; but Megasthenes, from whom 

 Arrian, Strabo, and Diodorus Siculus derive their account, mentions 

 seven classes : 1 , philosophers ; 2, agriculturists ; 3, herdsmen and 

 hunters; 4, handicraftsmen and artizans; 5, warriors; 6, public in- 

 spectors ; 7, royal councillors. But Megaathenes has evidently sepa- 

 rated into distinct classes individuals belonging to the same class ; the 

 public inspectors and royal councillors belonged without doubt to 

 the Brahmanical class, as well as the philosophers ; the agriculturist's, 

 herdsmen, and hunters to the Vaisyas; and the handicraftsmen and 

 artizans to the Sudras. 



The following extract from the ' Jatimala,' a Sanskrit work on Hindu 

 castes, gives the common Hindu tradition respecting the origin of 

 each caste. " In the first creation by Brahma, Brahmanas proceeded, 

 with the Veda, from the mouth of Brahma. From his arms Kshatriyas 

 sprung; so from hi* thigh Vaisyas, from his foot Sudras, were pro- 

 duced : all with their females. The Lord of Creation viewing them, 

 said, ' What shall be your occupations ? ' They replied, ' We are not 

 ovir own masters ; oh, God, command us what to undertake.' Viewing 

 and comparing their labours, he made the first tribe superior over the 

 rest. As the first had great inclination for the divine sciences ( liralime 

 retla), therefore he was Brahmana. The protector from ill (Kshayate) 

 was Kshatriya. Him whose profession ( V'twt) consists in commerce, 

 which promotes the success of wars for the protection of himself and 

 mankind, and in husbandry and attendance on cattle, he called Vaisya. 

 The other should voluntarily serve the three tribes, and therefore he 

 became a Sudra ; he should humble himself at their feet." 



A strong line of demarcation is drawn between the first three castes 

 and the Sudras. The former are allowed to receive instruction frmn 

 the Vedas, and are considered to have been born again in a spiritual 

 sense, whence they are called regenerate. The emblem of this second- 

 birth is a peculiar kind of girdle or cord, which differs according to 

 the caste ; and with which a Brahman may be invested from his eighth 

 to his sixteenth year, a Kshatriya from his eleventh to his twenty- 

 second year, and a Vaiaya from his twelfth to his twenty-fourth year ; 



hough in certain cases the investiture may be made hi the fifth, sixth, 

 or eighth year respectively. (' Mauu,' ii., 36-38.) A Sudra on the 

 contrary is not reckoned among the regenerate ; and would, according 

 to the ancient Hindu law, be put to death for reading the Vedas. 



The Brahmans possess the exclusive privilege of teaching the Vedas, 

 and were in former times in the exclusive possession of all knowledge. 

 Though the sovereign of the country was chosen from the Kshatriya 

 class, the Brahmans possessed the real power, and were the royal 

 councillors, the judges, and magistrates of the country. (' Manu,' 

 viii. 1, 9, 11.) Their persons and property were inviolable; and 

 though they committed the greatest crimes, they could only be 

 banished from the kingdom. (' Manu,' viii. 380.) They were to be 

 treated by sovereigns with the greatest respect; for "a Brahman, 

 whether learned' or ignorant, is a powerful divinity." (' Mauu,' ix. 

 313-317.) The curse of a Brahman could consign even the gods to 

 misery ; and the Ramayana and Mahabharata contain numerous 

 instances of the withering effects of such a curse. 



The proper duty of a Brahman is to teach the Vedas, to perform 

 sacrifices to the gods, and to meditate upon divine and holy objects. 

 At an early age he is placed under the instruction of a Brahman, called 

 a Iruru, whose commands he is bound to obey, and whom he must 

 reverence as a spiritual parent. When he arrives at years of maturity 

 it becomes his duty to marry, and to lead a life of religious contempla 

 tion. He ought to be supported by the contributions of the rich, and 

 not .to be obliged to gam his subsistence by any laborious or useful 

 occupation. But as all the Brahmans could not be maintained by the 

 working classes of the community, it was found necessary to allow them 

 to engage in other occupations ; and it is accordingly provided in the 

 laws of Manu, that a Brahman, unable to subsist by his religious duties, 

 " may live by the duty of a soldier, and if unable to get a subsistence 

 by this employment, may subsist as a mercantile man, applying himself 

 to tillage and attendance on cattle." (' Manu,' x., 81, 82.) In seasons 

 of distress a further latitude is given. The practice of medicine and 

 other learned professions, painting and other arts, work for wages, 

 menial service, alms and usury, are among the modes of subsistence 

 allowed to Brahmans. (Colebrooke, ' On Indian Classes,' in ' As. Res." 

 vol. v. ; ' Miscell. Essays,' vol. ii., pp. 186-7.) 



The Brahmans still hold the first rank in Hindu society and are 

 treated with great respect in all parts of Hindustan. But in con- 

 sequence of the conquest of the country by foreign rulers, and the 

 prevalence of many secte that have rejected their authority, they no 

 longer possess the power they once enjoyed. The increasing acquaint- 

 ance of the Hindus with the English language and literature, and the 

 establishment of public schools, are tending still further to diminish 

 then- influence. 



The Brahmans are separated into two great classes, one of which 

 occupies the countries towards the north, and the other the countries 

 towards the south. The southern Brahmans " hold in great contempt 

 those from Kasi or Benares, as being men from the north ; and would 

 not even admit them to the honour of eating in their houses. The 

 northern Brahmans are however at least as proud as those from the 

 south, and allege several reasons for holding them hi contempt; 'among 

 which the most urgent is, that the women of the southern Brahman,! 

 are allowed to appear in public." (Buchanan's ' .Journey from Madras 

 through Mysore," &c. In the Deccan the Brahmans are also divided 

 into Vaidikas, who subsist by charity, and dedicate their lives to study 

 and devotion ; Lokikas, who follow worldly pursuits ; and Numbis, 

 who officiate in temples and perform menial duties to the idols. 



The Kshatriya, or military class, is said by the Brahmans to be 

 extinct. The decay of the Kshatriya class may have been owing to the 

 peaceful habits of the people and their freedom from foreign invasion, 

 and the consequent want of employment for a military class. But 

 according to an ancient tradition the Kshatriya caste was destroyed by 

 P.irasu Rama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu, and their laml K'.-t..\vr,l 

 upon the Brahmans. The laws of Manu appear to refer to the same 

 tradition in a passage where a list of Kshatriyas is given who, " by the 

 omission of holy rites and by seeing no Brahmans, have gradually 

 sunk among men to the lowest of the four classes." (x. 43, 44.) 



The duty of the Sudra is servile attendance upon the higher classes, 

 and especially the Brahmans, but he may also follow mechanical 

 occupations, as joinery and masonry, and practical arts, as painting and 

 writing ; and although a man of a lower tribe is in general restricted 

 from the arts of a higher class, the Sudra is expressly permitted 

 to become a trader or a husbandman. (Colebrooke, ' On j Indian 

 Classes ' ' Miscell. Essays,' vol. ii., p. 187.) The statements of 

 Robertson, Mill, and many other writers, respecting the strictly 

 hereditary nature of all trades and occupations in India, are con- 

 siderably exaggerated. The liberty which is given to the Brahmans, 

 even by the laws of Manu, has already been remarked ; and a similar 

 latitude is allowed to the Kshatriya and Vaisya classes. Mr. Cole- 

 brooke, whose opinion, from his extensive acquaintance with Hindu 

 literature, and from his long residence in India, is entitled to the 

 greatest respect, remarks, " that almost every occupation, though 

 regularly it be the profession of a particular class, is open to most 

 other tribes ; and that the limitations, far from being rigorous, reserve 

 only one peculiar profession, that of the Brahmana, which consists in 

 teaching the Veda, and assisting at religious ceremonies." It is the 

 opinion of some Europeans who have acquired an accurate knowledge 



