2902.] S. C. Vidyabhtisana—Vratya and Samkara Theories of Caste » 149 
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The Vratya and Samkara Theories of Caste.—By Satis Chandra Vidta- 
bhusana, M.A., M.R.A.S. 
No institution has exercised a greater influence upon the interests 
of mankind than that of caste. There was caste among the Egyptians, 
Colchians, Iberians, Medes, Persians and Etrureans; and in the New 
World it was found among the Peruvians and Mexicans. It existed 
among the earliest Attic tribes and Spartans whose trades and occupa¬ 
tions were almost all hereditary. The laws of caste also prevailed 
among the Saxons. It is, however, in India that the caste system has 
reached its highest development, while in most other countries it 
has gradually ceased to exist. In India there is a permanent separa¬ 
tion of classes with hereditary professions assigned to each, and the 
most ancient documents regarding the origin of caste are to be found 
here. As the subject is being scientifically investigated by the 
Director of Indian Ethnography, I shall in the following pages give only 
a very brief outline of Vratya and Saipkara castes making only an 
incidental mention of the original castes. 
I. Original Castes. 
According the Hindu Q^stras, castes may be classified as (1) mula 
(original), (2) vratya (fallen), and (3) saipkara (mixed). In India 
there are four original castes, viz.: Brahmana, Ksatriya, Vai^ya, and 
(Judra. Manu # says :— 
“The Brahmana, the Ksatriya, and the Vai$ya castes are the 
twice-born ones, but the fourth, the (Judra, has one birth only ; there is 
no fifth caste.” 
The duties enjoined on the four castes are thus stated by 
Va^isthat:— 
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