6 Haraprasad Shastri — Caste system by Ballala Sen. [January, 



Vallala's time. He degraded the Bauias and raised the Kaivartltas. The 

 castes below ^udras were called Autyajas. If they offered a glass of 

 water to a good Brahmana he is bound to reject it. They were semi-Bud- 

 dhists. The Buddhist monks, however, claimed them as theirs, as they do 

 everywhere. The Brahmanas claimed as theirs. But these Kai- 

 varttas were very influential. I read a paper some time ago, in which I 

 tried to show that about fifty years before Vallala, about the year 1080 

 A,D. they drove away the Pala kings from North Bengal and set up 

 Bhima Divoka as their king. They killed a Pala king, and imprisoned 

 another. But at last Ramapala defeated them, and broke their power. 

 They were smarting under this discomfiture when Yallala from 

 "Western Bengal invaded North Bengal and conquered it from the Palas. 

 East Bengal too fell into his hands with its capital Ramapala. From 

 the terms in which Vallala speaks of these Kaivarttas he seems to have 

 derived much benefit, from them. He was anxious that they should 

 get some recognized position in Hindu society. They helped him in 

 finding out his son Laksmana, when that Prince fled away before the 

 anger of a stepmother, and he told them " Gacchadhvam Vyavaharyya- 

 tam" that is be a clean caste among the Hindus and at the same time he 

 changed their occupation. They were fishermen and boatswains, but he 

 made them agriculturists also. Their anxiety to serve the Brahmanas 

 and others has already been adverted to. 



By inducing them to accept domestic service, and by inducing their 

 leaders to accept high State appointments in a quarter away from the 

 centre of their influence, Vallala freed North Bengal from the turbulence 

 of these restless people. Daksinaghata of Vallala is the same asMandala- 

 ghata of the present day, where Kaivarttas form the bulk of the popula- 

 tion and the majority of the npper classes. The name seems to have 

 changed from Daksinaghata to Mandalaghata, because the Kaivartta 

 chief, Mahe^a was created a Mahamandalika, the great Mandala. 



The other castes made clean by Vallala, as mentioned by ^arana 

 were Malakara, Kumbhakara and Karmara. These are never regarded as 

 Antyajas, so their incorporation means a re-conversion into Brahmanism. 

 Vallala gave high ofiices of State even to low-caste men. He made a 

 Kaivartta a Mahamandalika. A Napifca a Mahattara, or noble man. 



So far the information is received from Vallala's contemporary, 

 parana. At the end of the book, however, Ananda Bhatta on his own 

 authority gives a few verses of what is termed the Appendix to the 

 Vallalacarita. These, when translated, run thus : — 



" From Brahmana in Ksatriya girls were born Chetri, who 

 arc also called Rajaputra. The Sonar bauias have become Vratya or 

 degraded for loss of the holy thread. Gopa (cowherd), mali (makers of 



