Ambedkar - Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India

 Part III

Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India

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Contents

PART III

Chapter 8: The Morals of the House

Chapter 9: Krishna and His Gita

Chapter 10: Analytical Notes of Virat Parva and Udyog Parva

Chapter 11: Brahmins Versus Kshatriyas

Chapter 12: Shudras and the Counter-Revolution

Chapter 13: The Woman and the Counter-Revolution

CHAPTER 8

The Morals of the House

This is 61 page typed manuscript. This is a second copy hut it is having corrections

and modifications by Dr. Ambedkar himself. It is reproduced here taking all the

corrections into account. There is one separate file entitled 'Manu Smriti or the

Gospel of Counter-Revolution '. In that copy notes on Manu Smriti under various

categories have been drawn. However, all these notes have been found to be

incorporated in this essay, 'Morals of the House.' It is felt that the printing of these

notes would be a mere repetition of this essay. Hence, the said copy is not

separately printed:

I

The morals of the Hindus and their religious creed are prescribed by the Smritis

which form a part of the Sacred literature of the Hindus. It is to the Smritis that one

must go to understand the Ethics and the Religion of the Hindus. The Smritis are by

no means few in number. A conservative estimate gives the total number of Smritis

to be 108. The large number of Smritis cannot however make our problem difficult.

For though the Smritis are numerous they do not differ in essentials. Indeed they

repeat one another so closely that reading the Smritis creates a most monotonous

task. They are all derived from one common source. That source is the Smriti of

Manu otherwise known as Manava Dharma Shastra. The other Smritis are faithful

repetitions of the Manu Smriti. A study of the Manu Smriti is therefore quite sufficient

to obtain an adequate conception of the moral standards and Religious notions of

the Hindus.

It may be said that Manu Smriti—and the same is true of the other Smritis—-is a

Code of Laws. It is not a book of Ethics nor is it a book of Religion and to take a

book of Laws and to treat it as though it is a book of Ethics and Religion is to

confound Ethics, Religion and Law.

In the first place it is only in modern times that Law has been separated from

Religion. In all ancient Society, Law and Religion were one. As Prof. Max Muller[f1]

points out that though :—

"Law seems naturally to be the foundation of society, and the bond that binds a

nation together. Those who look below the surface have quickly perceived that law

itself, at least ancient law, derives its authority, its force, its very life from religion. . .

.. The belief that the lawgiver enjoyed some closer intimacy with the Deity than

ordinary mortals, pervades the ancient traditions of many nations. According to a

well known passage in Diodorus Siculus, the Egyptians believed their laws to have

been communicated to Menvis by Hermes; the Cretaus held that Minos received his

laws from Zeus, the Lacedaemonians that Lykurgus received his laws from Apollon.

According to the Arians, their lawgiver Zarathustras had received his Laws from the 

Good Spirit; According to the Stoe, Zamolixis received his laws from the goddess

Hestia; and according to the Jews, Moses received his laws from the God las. "

No one has pointed out more forcibly than Sir Henry Mains[f2] that in ancient times

religion as a divine influence was underlying and supporting every relation of life and

every social institution when he says of Religion as :

"A supernatural presidency (which) is supposed to consecrate and keep together

all the cardinal institutions of those times, the state, the Race, and the Family ".

From this superntural presidency of Reigion, Law had not succeded in finding an

escape until at a later time when law finally breaks away from religion but not without

leaving many traces to show the link it had with Religion at the very beginning of

human history.

Again it is only in modern times that a difference is being made between Religion

and Ethics. Religion and Ethics are inextricably and indissolubly bound together.

Morality and Ethics are essentially practical. As Prof. Jacks insists[f3] that the

problem of Ethics is not merely getting the Good understood but realised, not merely

getting the Right placed on scientific basis but done. Morality is a mere matter of

defining what is good and what is right. Prof. Jacks: rightly says :

"Whenver we embark on the study of morality without interest in its application I

cannot but think that it is not morality we are studying. Morality does not arise till the

point of application is reached. The effect of a moral theory launched upon the world

is next to nothing unless the application of it can be reinforced by powerful motives.

The good life, as Aristotle pointed out is a very difficult affair; difficult even when it

goes no further than conformity to existing conventions. But when the good life

demands that existing standards must be transcended how can this be effected

without an immense liberation of power? Mere information as to why men should do

right has no effect against their natural tendencies to do wrong-it is no match for the

difficulties that beset good life. "

Unless some motive force comes to its aid morality remains inert. There can be no

doubt that what gives motive force to morality is Religion. It is a propelling force

which creates, to use again the language of Principal Jacks :

"Motives which are strong enough to overcome the enormous difficulties involved

in living the good life, even in its simpler forms, and adequate to maintain that

continuous improvement of the moral ideal."

Religion as a motive force reinforces the moral will in various ways. Sometimes it

takes the form of sanctions by laying down a scheme of rewards and punishments

after death; some times it makes rules of morality as the commandments of God;

some times it invests these rules with sanctity which evokes willing obedience. But

these are only different ways in which motive power generated by Religion helps to

sustain moral life in action. Religion is the dynamics which moves the wheels of

morality. 

If Ethics and Morality are duties then there can be no doubt that Manu Smriti is a

book of Ethics. Any one who takes the trouble to read the Smriti of Manu will have to

admit that if there is any subject which figures prominently in the book it is that of

duties. Manu was the first to syatematise and codify the duties to which a Hindu was

bound. He distinguishes between Varnashramadharmas and Sadharandharmas.

The Varnashramdharmas are the specific duties relating to one's station in life i.e.

one's station as determined by one's Varna or caste and one's Ashram or particular

stage of life. The Sadharandharmas are duties irrespective of one's age, caste or

creed i.e. duties obligatory on man as man and not as a member of a particular

community or social class or as being at a particular stage or period of life. The

whole book deals with duties and with nothing else.

Manu Smriti is thus a book of Law, Religion and Ethics rolled into one. It is Ethics

because it deals with duties of men. It is religion because it deals with Caste which is

the soul of Hinduism. It is Law because it prescribes penalties for breach of duties.

In this view there is nothing wrong in going to Manu Smriti to ascertain the moral

standards and religious notions of the Hindus.

That Manu Smriti is a book of Religion may not be quite obvious. That is because

Hinduism is a very illusive term. Different writers have defined it in various ways. Sir

D. lbbetson[f4] defines Hinduism as :

"A hereditary sacerdotalism with Brahmins for its devices, the vitality of which is

preserved by the social institution of caste and which include all shades and

diversities of religion native to India, as distinct from foreign importations of

Christianity and Islam, and from the later outgrowths of Buddhism, more doubtfully of

Sikhism and still more doubtfully of Jainism ". Sir J. A. Baines[f5] defined Hinduism as

:—

"The large residium that is not Sikh, or Jain, or Buddhist or professedly Animistic,

or included in one of the foreign religions such as Islam, Mazdaism, Christianity, or

Hebraism." To Sir Edward Gait[f6] Hinduism :—

"is a complex congenies of creeds and doctrines. It shelters within its portals

monotheists, polytheists, and pantheists; Worshippers of the great God Siva and

Vishnu, or of their female counterparts, as well as worshippers of the divine mothers,

of the spirits of trees,rocks and streams and of the tutelary village deities; persons

who propitate their deity by all matter of bloody sacrifices, and persons who will not

only kill no living creature, but who must not even use the word "cut"; those whose

ritual consists mainly of prayers and hymns, and those who indulge in unspeakable

orgies in the name of religion".

This discription of complexity is full but is still incomplete. To the list must be added

those who revere the cow and those who eat it, those who worship natural forces,

and those who worship a single God; those who are worshippers of idols, demons,

ghosts, ancestors, saints and heroes. 

Such are the answers given by the three Census Commissioners to the simple

question what is Hinduism. Others have not found it less difficult to answer the

question. Consider how Sir A. Lyall has fared in answering the question. In his

"Rede Lecture" delivered at Cambridge in 1891 he said[f7]:

"And if I were asked for a definition of Hinduism I could give no precise answer, I

could not define it concisely by giving its central doctrines and its essential articles of

faith; as I might do in describing of the great historical Religions. For the word Hindu

is not exclusively a religious denomination; it denotes also a country, and to certain

degree a race. When we speak of Christian, a Mahomedan, or a Buddhist, we mean

a particular religious community, in the widest sense, without distinction of race or

place. When we talk of a Russian or a Persian, we indicate country or parentage

without distinction of creed. But when a person tells me that he is a Hindu, I know

that he means all three things together— Religion. Parentage and Country."

Speaking of Hinduism as a Religion Sir Alfred Lyall said that:

"Hindism was a tangled mugle of disorderly superstitions, the collection of rights,

worships, beliefs, traditions and mythologies, that are sanctioned by the sacred

books and ordinances of the Brahmins and are propogated by Brahmanic

teachings." Lastly I will quote the defintion given by a Hindu Mr. G. P. Sen who not

merely a Hindu but is a student of Hinduism. In his book called 'Introduction to the

study of Hinduism' Mr. Sen says :—

"Hinduism is what the Hindus, or a major portion of them in a Hindu Community

do."

Is there then no principle in Hinduism which all Hindus no matter what their other

differences are, feel bound to render willing obedience? It seems to me there is and

that principle is the principle of Caste. There may be a difference of opinion as to

which matters constitute matters of essence so far as Hinduism is concerned. But

there can be no doubt that Caste is one and an essential and integral part of

Hinduism. Every Hindu—if he is not merely a statutory Hindu-believes in Caste and

every Hindu-even one who prides himself on being a statutory Hindu—has a Caste.

A Hindu is as much born into caste as he is born in Hinduism. Indeed a person

connot be born in Hinduism unless he is born in a Caste. Caste and Hinduism are

inseparable. As Prof. Max Muller[f8] observes :

"Modern Hinduism rests on the system of Caste as on a rock which no arguments

can shake."

It therefore follows that in so far as Manu lays down the creed of the Caste and in

so far as Hinduism at its core is the creed of Caste the Manu Smriti must be

accepted as the Book of Religion.

II

What are the Ethical and Religious norms prescribed by Manu for Hindus to

observe and follow? 

To begin with, Manu divides Hindus into four varnas or social orders. He not only

divides Hindus into four orders he also grades them. The dollowing is his scheme of

gradation.

X. 3. On account of his pre-eminence, on account of the superiority of his origin, on

account of his observance of(particular) restrictive rules, and on account of his

particular sanctification the Brahman is the Lord of (all) Varnas.

He procceds to amplify his reasons and does so in the following characteristic

manner :—

1. 93. As the Brahmana sprang from (Prajapati's i.e.Gods) mouth, as he was firstborn, and as he possesses the Veda, he is by right the lord of this whole creation.

1. 94. For the self existent (Svayambhu i.e. God), having performed austerities,

produced him first from his own mouth, in order that the offerings might be conveyed

to the Gods and Manes and that this universe might be preserved.

1. 95. What created being can surpass him, through whose mouth the Gods

continually consume the sacrificial viands and the manes the offerings to the dead.

1. 96. Of created beings the most excellent are said to be those which are

animated; of the animated, those who subsist by intelligence: of the inteligent,

mankind; and of the men, the Brahmans.

Besides the reason given by Manu the Brahmin is first in rank because he was

produced by God from his mouth, in order that the offerings might be conveyed to

the Gods and manes. Manu gives another reason for the supremacy of the

Brahmins. He says :—

1. 98. The very birth of a Brahmana is an eternal incarnation of the sacred Law

(Veda); for he is born to (fulfil) the sacred law, and become one with Brahman (God).

1. 99. A Brahamana, coming into existence, is born as the highest on earth, the

lord of all created beings, for the protection of the treasury of the Law. Manu

concludes by saying that :

1. 101. The Brahmana eats but his own food, wears but his own apparel, bestows

but his own alms; other mortals subsist through the benevolence of the Brahmana."

Because according to Manu :

1. 100. Whatever exists in the world is the property of the Brahmana; on account of

the excellence of his origin the Brahmana is, indeed, entitled to it all.

It is really an understatement to say that according to Manu the Brahman is a lord

of all creation. For Manu gives a warning to the effect that :-

IX. 317. A Brahmana, be he ignorant or learned, is a great divinity, just as the fire,

whether carried forth (for the performance of a burnt oblation) or not carried forth, is

a great divinity.

IX. 319. Thus, though the Brahmans employ themselves in all (sorts) of mean

occupations, they must be honoured in every way; (for each of) them is a very great

deity. 

Being a deity the Brahmin is above law and above the King. Manu directs :-

VII. 37. Let the King, after rising early in the morning, worship Brahmans who are

well versed in the threefold sacred science and learned (in polity), and follow their

advice VII. 38. Let him daily worship aged Brahmans who know the Veda and are

pure...... Finally Manu says :

XI. 35. The Brahman is (hereby) declared (to be) the creator (of the world), the

punisher, the teacher, (and hence) a benefactor (of all created beings); to him let no

man say anything unpropitions, nor use any harsh words.

In the Code of Manu there are rules regarding the different occupations which the

different orders are required to follow:

I. 88. To Brahmens he (Swayambhu Manu) assigned the duties of reading the

Veda, of teaching it, of sacrificing, of assisting others to sacrifice, of giving alms, if

they the rich, and if indiquent, of receiving of gifts.

I. 89. To defend the people, to give alms, to sacrifice, to read the Veda, to shun the

allurements of sensual gratifiction, are, in a few words, the duties of a Kshatriya.

I. 90. To keep herds of cattle, to bestow largeness, to sacrifice, to read the

scriptures, to carry on trade, to lend at interest, and to cultivate land are prescribed

or permitted to a Vaisya.

1. 91. One principal duty the supreme Ruler assigns to a Sudra; namely, to serve

the before mentioned classes, without depreciating their worth.

X. 74. Let such Brahmans as are intent on the means of attaining the supreme

Godhead, and firm in their own duties, completely perform, in order, the six following

acts:

X. 75. Reading the Vedas, the teaching others to read them, sacrificing, and

assisting others, to sacrifice, giving to the poor if themselves have enough, and

accepting gifts from the virtuous if themselves are poor, are the six prescribed acts

of the first born class;

X. 76. But, among those six acts of a Brahmin, three are his means of

susbsistence; assisting to sacrifice, teaching the Vedas, and receiving gifts from a

pure handed giver.

X. 77. Three acts of duty cease with the Brahman, and belong not to the Kshatriya;

teaching the Vedas, officiating at a sacrifice, and, thirdly, receiving presents.

X. 78. Those three are also (by the fixed rule of law) forbidden to the Vaisya; since

Manu, the Lord of all men, prescribed not those acts to the two classes, military and

commercial.

X. 79. The means of subsistence, peculiar to the Kshatriya, are bearing arms,

either held for striking or missile, to the Vaisya, merchandize, attending on cattle,

and agriculture but with a view to the next life, the duties of both are almsgiving,

reading, sacrificing." Besides prescribing rank and occupation Manu grants 

privileges to certain orders and imposes penalties on certain orders. As to privileges

those relating to marriage may be referred to first. Manu says :

III. 12. For the first marriage of the twice born classes, a woman of the same class

is recommended but for such as are impelled by inclination to marry again, women

in the direct order of the classes are to be preferred :

III. 13. A Sudra woman only must be the wife of a Sudra; she and a Vaisya, of a

Vaisya; they two and a Kshatriya, of a Kshatriya; those three and a Brahmani of a

Brahman. Then there are privileges relating to occupations. These privileges stand

out quite prominently when Manu deals with the question as to what a person is to

do when he is in distress :

X. 81. Yet a Brahmen, unable to subsist by his duties just mentioned, may live by

the duty of a soldier; for that is the next in rank.

X. 82. If it be asked, how he must live, should he be unable to get a subsistence by

either of those employments; the answer is, he may subsist as a mercantile man,

applying himself in person to tillage and attendance on cattle.

X. 83. But a Brahman and a Kshatriya, obliged to subsist by the acts of a Vaisya,

must avoid with care, if they can live by keeping herds, the business of tillage, which

gives great pain to sentient creatures, and is dependent on the labour of others, as

bulls and so forth.

X. 84. Some are of opinion, that agriculture is excellent, but it is a mode of

subsistence which the benevolent greatly blame, for the iron mouthed pieces of

wood not only wound the earth, but the creatures dwelling in it.

85. If through want of a virtuous livelihood, they cannot follow laudable

occupations,they may then gain a competence of wealth by selling commodities

usually sold by merchants, avoiding what ought to be avoided.

X. 86. They must avoid selling liquids of all sorts, dressed grain, seeds of tila,

stones, salt, cattle, and human creatures.

X. 87. All woven cloth dyed red, cloth made of sana, of cshuma-bark, and of wool,

even though not red; fruit, roots, and medicinal plants.

X. 88. Water, iron, poison, flesh-meat, the moon-plant, and perfumes of any sort;

milk, honey, butter milk, clarified butter, oil of tila, wax sugar, and blades of cusa

grass;

X. 89. All beasts of the forest, as deer and the like, ravenous beasts, birds, and

fish; spirituous liquors, nili, or indigo, and lascha, or lac; and all beasts with uncloven

hoofs.

X. 90. But the brahmen-husbandman may at pleasure sell pure tila-seeds for the

purpose of holy rites, if he keep them not long with a hope of more gain, and shall

have produced them by his own culture.; 

X. 91. If he apply seeds of tila to any purpose but food, anoiting, and sacred

oblations, he shall be plunged, in the shape of a worm, together with his parents,

into the ordure of dogs.

X. 92. By selling flesh-meat, lac or salt, a Brahmen immediately sinks low; by

selling milk three days, he falls to a level with a Sudra.

X. 93. And by selling the other forbidden commodities with his own free will, he

assumes in this world, after seven nights, the nature of a mere Vaisya.

X. 94. Fluid things may, however, be bartered for other fluids, but not salt for

anything liquid; so may dressed grain for grain undressed, and tila-seeds for grain in

the husk, equal weights or measures being given and taken.

X. 102. The Brahmen having fallen into distress, may receive gifts from any person

whatever; for by no sacred rule can it be shown, that absolute purity can be sullied.

X. 103. From interpreting the Veda, from officiating at sacrifices, or from taking

presents, though in modes generally disapproved, no sin is committed by priests in

distress; lor they are as pure as fire or water.

Compare with this what Manu has to say with regard, to what the other Varnas can

do in an emergency, Manu says :

X. 96. A man of lowest class, who, through covetousness, lives by the acts of the

highest, let the king strip of all his wealth and instantly banish.

X. 97. His own office, though defectively performed, is preferable to that of another,

though performed completely; for he, who without necessity discharges the duties of

another class, immediately forfeits his own.

X. 98. A mercantile man, unable to subsist by his own duties, may descend even to

the servile acts of a Sudra, taking care never to do what ought never to be done; but,

when he has gained a competence, let him depart from service.

X. 99. A man of fourth class, not finding employment by waiting on the twice born,

while his wife and son are tormented with hunger, may subsist by handicrafts.

X. 121. If a Sudra want a subsistence and cannot attend priest, he may serve a

Kshatriya; or, if he cannot wait on a soldier by birth, he may gain his livelihood by

serving an opulent Vaisya.

X. 122. To him, who serves Brahmens, with a view to a heavenly reward, or even

with view to both this life and the next, the union of the word Brahmen with his name

of servant will assuredly bring success.

X. 123. Attendance on Brahmens is pronounced the best work of Sudra; whatever

else he may perform will comparatively avail him nothing.

X. 124. They must allot him a fit maintenance according to their own

circumstances, after considering his ability, his exertions, and the number of those,

whom he must provide with nourishment. 

X. 125. What remains of their dressed rice must be given to him, and apparel

which they have worn, and the refuse of their grain, and their old household

furniture.

X. 126. There is no guilt in a man of the servile class who eats leeks and other

forbidden vegetables; he must not have the sacred investiture; he has no business

with the duty of making oblations to fire and the like, but there is no prohibition

against his offering dressed grain as a sacrifice, by way of discharging his own duty.

X. 127. Even Sudras, who were anxious to perform their entire duty, and, knowing

what they should perform, imitate the practice of good men in the household

sacraments, but without any holy text, except those containing praise and

salutations, are so far from sinning, that they acquire just applause.

X. 128. As a Sudra, without injuring another man, performs the lawful acts of the

twice-born, even thus, without being censured, he gains exaltation in this world and

in the next.

X. 129. No superfluous collection of wealth must be made by a Sudra, even though

he has power to make it, since a servile man,

who has amassed riches, becomes proud, and, by his insolence or neglect, gives

pain even to Brahmens. He concludes :—

X. 130. Such, as have been fully declared, are the several duties of the four

classes in distress for subsistence, and, if they perform them exactly, they shall

attain the highest beatitude. The privileges to some were not merely social they were

also financial, Says Manu :—

VIII. 35. From the man, who shall say with truth, 'This property, which has been

kept, belongs to me', the king may take a sixth or twelfth part, for having secured it.

VIII. 36. But he, who shall say so falsely, may be fined either an eighth part of his

own property, or else in some small proportion to the value of the goods falsely

claimed, a just calcultion having been made.

VIII. 37. A learned Brahmen, having found a treasure formerly hidden, may take it

without any deduction; since he is the lord of all.

VIII. 38. But of a treasure anciently deposited under ground, which any other

subject or the king has discovered, the king may lay up half in his treasury having

given half to the Brahmens.

IX. 323. Should the king be near his end through some incurable disease, he must

bestow on the priests all his riches, accumulated his kingdom to his son, let him

seek death in battle, or if there be no war, by abstaining from food.

VII. 127. Having ascertained the rates of purchase and sale, the length of the way,

the expenses of food and of condiments the charges of securing the goods carried,

and the net profits of trade, let the king oblige traders to pay taxes on their saleable

commodities. 

VII. 128. After full consideration, let a king so levy those taxes continually in his

dominions, that both he and the merchant may receive a just compensation for their

several acts.

VII. 129. As the leech, the suckling calf, and the bee, take their natural food by little

and little, thus must a king draw from his dominions an annual revenue.

VII. 130. Of cattle, of gems, of gold and silver, added each year to the capital

stock, a fiftieth part may be taken by the king; of grain, an eighth part, a sixth, or a

twelfth, according to the difference of the soil, and the labour necessary to cultivate

it. VII. 131. He may also take a sixth part of the clear annual increase of trees,

fleshmeat, honey, clarified butter, perfumes, medical substances, liquids, flowers,

roots, and fruit.

VII. 132. Of gathered leaves, pot-herbs, grass, utencils made with leather or cane,

earthen pots, and all things made of stone.

VII. 132. A king, even though dying with want, must not receive any tax from a

Brahman learned in the Vedas, nor suffer such a Brahmen, residing in his territories,

to be afflicted with hunger.

VII. 134. Of that king, in whose dominion a learned Brahmen is afflicted with

hunger, the whole kingdom will in a short time be afflicted with famine.

VII. 137. Let the king order a mere trifle to be paid, in the name of the annual tax,

by the meaner inhabitants of his realm, who subsist by petty traffic.

VII. 138. By low handicraftsmen, artificers, and servile men, who support

themselves by labour, the king may cause work to be done for a day in each month.

VIII. 394. Neither a blind man, nor an idiot, nor a cripple, nor a man full seventy

years old, nor one who confers great benefits on priests of eminent learning, shall be

compelled by any king to pay taxes.

X. 118. A military king, who takes even a fourth part of the crops of his realm at a

time of urgent necessity, as of war or invasion, and protects his people to the utmost

of his power, commits no sin :

X. 119. His peculiar duty is conquest, and he must not recede from battle; so that,

while he defends by his arms the merchant and husbandman, he may levy the legal

tax as the price of protection.

X. 120. The tax on the mercantile class, which in times of prosperity must be only a

twelfth part of their crops, and a fiftieth of their personal profits, may be an eighth of

their crops in a time of distress, or a sixth, which is the medium, or even a fourth in

great public adversity ; but a twentieth of their gains on money, and other

moveables, is the highest tax ; serving men, artisans, and mechanics. must assist by

their labour, but at no time pay taxes.

X. 187. To the nearest sapinda, male or female, after him in the third degree, the

inheritance next belongs ; then, on failure of sapindas and of their issue the 

samanodaca, or distant kinsman, shall be the heir ; or the spiritual preceptor, or the

pupil, or the fellow student, of the deceased.

IX. 188. On failure of all those, the lawful heirs are such Brahmens, as have read

the three Vedas, as are pure in body and mind, as have subdued their passions ;

and they must consequently offer the cake; thus the rites of obsequies cannot fail.

IX. 189. The property of a Brahmen shall never be taken as an escheat by the

king; this is a fixed law; but the wealth of the other classes, on failure of all heirs, the

king may take. The terms on which the different social orders should carry on their

associated life has been defined by Manu in a set of rules which form a very

important part of the morals of the Hindu House. Manu ordains that :

X. 3. From priority of birth, from superiority of origin, from a more exact knowledge

of scripture, and from a distinction in the sacrificial thread, the Brahmen is the lord of

all classes.

IX. 317. A Brahmen, whether learned or ignorant, is a powerful divinity ; even as

fire is powerful divinity, whether consecrated or popular.

IX. 319. Thus, although Brahmens employ themselves in all sorts of mean

occupations, they must invariably be honoured ; for they are something

transcendently divine.

VII. 35. A king was created as the protector of all those classes and orders, who,

from the first to the last, discharge their several duties.

VII. 36. And all, that must be done by him, for the protection of his people, with the

assistance of good ministers, I will declare to you, as the law directs, in due order.

VII. 37. Let the king, having risen at early dawn, respectfully attend to Brahmen,

learned in the three Vedas, and in the science of ethics, and by their decision let him

abide.

VII. 38. Constantly must he show respect to Brahmens, who have grown old, both

in years and in piety, who know the scriptures, who in body and mind are pure ; for

he, who honours the aged, will perpetually be honoured even by cruel demons :

IX. 313. Let him not, although in the greatest distress for money, provoke

Brahmens to anger by taking their prosperty ; for they, once enraged, could

immediately by sacrifices and imprecations destroy him with his troops, elephants,

horses and cars.

Such was to be the relationship in the field of political life. For ordinary social

intercourse between the different Varnas Manu lays down the following rules :—

III. 68. A house-keeper has five places of slaughter, or where small living creatures

may be slain ; his kitchen-hearth, his grindstone, his broom, his pestle and mortar,

his water-pot ; by using which, he becomes in bondage to sin :

III. 69. For the sake of expiating offences committed ignorantly in those places

mentioned in order, the five great sacraments were appointed by eminent sages to

be performed each day by such as keep house. 

III. 70. Teaching and studying the scripture is the sacrament of the Veda ; offering

cakes and water, the sacrament of the Manes, an oblation to fire, the sacrament of

the Deities ; giving rice or other food to living creatures, the sacrament of spirits ;

receiving guests with honour, the sacrament of men.

III. 71. Whoever omits not those five great ceremonies, if he have ability to perform

them, is untainted by the sons of the five slaughtering places, even though he

constantly reside at home ;

111.84. In his domestic fire for dressing the food of all the Gods, after the

prescribed ceremony, let a Brahmen make an oblation each day to these following

divinities. After it is offered to the deities Manu directs :—

III. 92. The share of dogs, of outcasts, of dog-feeders, of sinful men, punished with

elephantiasis or consumption, of crows, and of reptiles, let him drop on the ground

by little and little. With regard to the rules of hospitality Manu directs the

householder:

III. 102. A Brahmen, staying but one night as a guest, is called an atithi, since

continuing so short a time, he is not even a sojourner for a whole tithi, or day of the

moon.

III. 98. But an offering in the fire of a sacerdotal mouth, which richly blazes with

true knowledge and piety, will release the giver from distress and even from deadly

sin.

III. 107. To the highest guests in the best form, to the lowest in the worst, to the

equal equally, let him offer seats, resting places, couches; giving them

proportionable attendance when they depart; and honour, as long as they stay.

III. 110. A military man is not denominated a guest in the house of a Brahman; nor

a man of the commercial or servile class ; nor his familiar friend, nor his paternal

kinsmen ; nor his preceptor.

III. 111. But if a warrior come to his house in the form of a guest, let food be

prepared for him, according to his desire, after the beforementioned Brahmens have

eaten.

III. 112. Even to a merchant or a labourer, approaching his house in the manner of

guests, let him give food, showing marks of benevolence at the same time with his

domestics. On social bearing of one class towards another Manu has laid down

some very interesting ordinances. He has an equation for social status :

II. 135. The student must consider a Brahmen, though but ten years old, and a

Kshatriya, though aged a hundred years, as father and son ; as between those two,

the young Brahmen is to be respected as the father.

II. 136. Wealth, kindred, age, moral conduct, and, fifthly divine knowledge, entitle

men to respect ; but that which is last mentioned in order, is the most respectable. 

II. 137. Whatever man of the three highest classes possesses the most of those

five, both in number and degree that man is entitled to most respect ; even a Sudra,

if he have entered the tenth decade of his age.

II. 138. Way must be made for a man in a wheeled carriage, or above ninety years

old, or afflicted with disease, or carrying a burthen ; for a woman ; for a priest just

returned from the mansion of his preceptor; for a prince, and for a bridegroom.

II. 139. Among all those, if they be met at one time, the priest just returned home

and the prince are most to be honoured ; and of those two, the priest just returned,

should be treated with more respect than the prince.

As illustrating the rules of social bearing a reference may be made to rules

regarding salutation:

II. 121. A youth who habitually greets and constantly reverses the aged, obtains an

increase of four things; life, knowledge, fame, strength.

II. 122. After the word of salutation, a Brahman must address an elder; saying, "I

am such an one," pronouncing his own name.

II. 123. If any persons, through ignorance of the Sanskrit language, understand not

the import of his name, to them should a learned man say, " It is I "; and in that

manner he should address all classes of women.

II. 124. In the salutation he should pronounce, after his own name, the vocative

particle `bhoh'; for the particle 'bhoh' is held by the wise to have the same property

with names fully expressed.

II. 125. A Brahmen should thus be saluted in return; "May'st thou live long,

excellent man", and at the end of his name, the vowel and preceding consonant

should be lengthened, with an acute accent, to three syllabic moments or short

vowels.

II. 126. That Brahmen, who knows not the form of returning a salutation, must not

be saluted by a man of learning; as a Shudra, even so is he.

II. 127. Let a learned man ask a priest, when he meets him, if his devotion

prospers, a warrior, if he is unhurt; a merchant, if his wealth is secure; and one of the

servile classes, if he enjoys good health; using respectively the words, cusalam,

anamayam, ksheman and anarogyam.

The provisions laid down by Manu in relation to Religion and Religious Sacraments

and Sacrifice are worthy of note.

The ordinances of Manu relating to Sacraments and sacrifices are as follows :

III. 68. A house-keeper has five places of slaughter, or where small living creatures

may be slain; his kitchen-hearth, his grindstone, his broom, his pastle and mortar,

his water-pot; by using which, he become in bondage to sin.

III. 69. For the sake of expiating offences committed ignorantly in those places

mentioned in order, the five great sacraments were appointed by eminent sages to

be performed each day by such as keep house. 

III. 70. Teaching and studying the scriptures is the sacrament of the Veda; offering

cakes and water, the sacrament of the Manes, an oblation to fire, the sacrament of

the Deities; giving rice or other food to living creatures, the sacraments of spirits;

receiving guests with honour, the sacrament of men.

III. 71. Whoever omits not those five great ceremonies, if he have ability to perform

them, is untainted by the sons of the five slaughtering places, even though he

constantly reside at home. Manu then proceeds to lay down that all are not entitled

to the benefit of the sacraments and all have not the same right to perform the

sacrifices.

He defines the position of women and Shudras in the matter of Sacraments and

sacrifices. As to women Manu says :—

II. 66. The same ceremonies, except that of the sacrificial thread, must be duly

performed for women at the same age and in the same order, that the body may be

made perfect; but without any text from the Veda." As to Shudras, Manu says:—

X. 127. Even Shudras, who were anxious to perform their entire duty, and, knowing

what they should perform initate the practice of good men in the household

sacraments, but without any holy text, except those containing praise and salutation,

are so far from sinning, that they acquire just applause.

The investiture of a person with the sacred thread is a very important sacrament.

II. 36. In the eighth year from the conception of a Brahman., in the eleventh from

that of a Kshatriya, and in the twelfth from that of a Vaisya, let the father invest the

child with the mark of his class.

II. 37. Should a Brahman, or his father for him, be desirous of his advancement in

sacred knowledge; a Kshatriya, of extending his power; or a Vaisya of engaging in

mercantile business; the investiture may be made in the fifth, sixth, or eighth years

respectively.

II. 38. The ceremony of investiture hallowed by the Gayatri must not be delayed, in

the case of a priest, beyond the sixteenth year; nor in that of a soldier, beyond the

twenty second; nor in that of a merchant, beyond the twenty fourth.

II. 39. After that, all youths of these three classes, who have not been invested at

the proper time, become vratyas, or outcasts, degraded from the Gayatri, and

condemned by the virtuous. As to the Gayatri it is a mantra and this is how Manu

explains its importance :—

II. 76. Brahma milked out, as it were, from the three Vedas, the letter A, the letter

U, and the letter M which form by their coalition the triliteral monosyllable, together

with three mysterious words bhur, bhuvah, svah or earth, sky, heaven.

II. 77. From the three Vedas, also, the Lord of creatures, incomprehensibly exalted,

successively milked out the three measures of that ineffable text,beginning with the

word tad, and entitled Savitri or Gayatri. 

II. 78. A priest who shall know the Veda, and shall pronounce to himself, both

morning and evening, that syllable, and that holy text preceded by the three words,

shall attain the sanctity which the Veda confers :

II. 79. And a twice born man, who shall a thousand times repeat those three (om,

the vyahritis, and the gayatri), apart from the multitude, shall be released in a month

even from a great offence, as a snake from his slough.

II. 80. The priest, the soldier, and the merchant, who shall neglect this mysterious

text, and fail to perform in due season his peculiar acts of piety, shall meet with

contempt among the virtuous.

II. 81. The great immutable words, preceded by the triliteral syllable, and followed

by the gayatri which consists of three measures, must be considered as the mouth,

or principal part of the Veda;

II. 82. Whoever shall repeat, day by day, for three years, without negligence, that

sacred text, shall hereafter approach the divine essence, move as freely as air, and

assume an ethereal form. II. 83. The triliteral monosyllable is an emblem of the

Supreme, the suppressions of breath with a mind fixed on God are the highest

devotion; but nothing is more exalted than theGayatri; a declaration of truth is more

excellant than silence.

II. 84. All rites ordained in the Veda, oblations to fire, and solemn sacrifices pass

away ; but that which passes not away, is declared to be the syllable om, thence

called acshara ; since it is a symbol of God, the Lord of created beings.

II. 85. The act of repeating his Holy Name is ten times better than the appointed

sacrifice; an hundred times better when it is heard by no man ; and a thousand times

better when it is purely mental.

II. 86. The four domestic sacraments which are accompanied with the appointed

sacrifice, are not equal though all be united, to a sixteenth part of the sacrifice

performed by a repetition of the gayatri. This investiture is equivalent to a new birth.

II. 147. Let a man consider that as a mere human birth, which his parents gave him

for their mutual gratification, and which he receives after lying in the womb.

II. 148. But that birth which his principal acharya, who knows the whole Veda,

procures for him by his divine mother the gayatri, is a true birth ; that birth is exempt

from age and from death.

II. 169. The first birth is from a natural mother: the second, from the ligation of the

zone ; the third from the due performance of the sacrifice ; such are the births of him

who is usually called twice-born, according to a text of the Veda.

II. 170. Among them his divine birth is that, which is distinguished by the ligation of

the zone, and sacrificial cord ; and in that birth the Gayatri is his mother, and the

Acharya, his father. This sacrament is not permitted by Manu to Shudras and to

women. 

II. 103. But he who stands not repeating it in the morning and sits not repeating it in

the evening, must be precluded, like a Sudra, from every sacred observance of the

twice born class. Manu has not forgotten to mention rules relating to education and

learning. Manu has nothing to say about mass education. He does not see the utility

of it and he does not see the necessity of imposing any obligation upon the king or

the state. He was merely concerned with the learning of the sacred and Religious

literature namely the Vedas.

Veda must be learned from a preceptor and with his assent. No one can read and

study the Vedas by himself. He will be guilty of theft if he did it.

II. 116. He who shall acquire knowledge of the Veda without the assent of his

preceptor, incurs the guilt of stealing the scripture and shall sink to the region of

torment. But others cannot study at all.

IX. 18. Women have no business with the texts of the Veda; thus is the law fully

settled ; having, therefore, no evidence of law, and no knowledge of expiatory texts,

sinful women must be as foul as falsehood itself; and this is a fixed rule.

IV. 99. He must never read the Veda without accents and letters well pronounced ;

nor even in the presence of Sudras ; nor, having begun to read it in the last watch of

the night, must he, though fatigued, sleep again.

This prohibition applies to Vratyas or outcasts from the three higher classes. For

Manu says :

II. 40. With such impure men, let no Brahmen, even in distress for subsistence,

ever form a connexion in law, either by the study of the Veda, or by affinity.

Teaching Veda or performing of sacrifices for disqualified persons was prohibited

by Manu.

IV. 205. Never let a priest eat part of a sacrifice not begun with texts of the Veda,

nor of one performed by a common sacrificer, by a woman, or by an eunuch :

IV. 206. When those persons offer the clarified butter, it brings misfortune to good

men, and raises aversion in the deities, such oblations, therefore, he must carefully

shun.

XI. 198. He, who has officiated at a sacrifice for outcasts, or burned the corpse of a

stranger, or performed rites to destroy the innocent, or made the impure sacrifice,

called Ahimsa, may expiate his guilt by three prajapatya penances. Take equality

before Law.

When they come as witnesses—according to Manu they are to be sworn as follows

:

VIII. 87. In the forenoon let the judge, being purified, severally call on the twiceborn, being purified also, to declare the truth, in the presence of some image, a

symbol of the divinity, and of Brahmens, while the witnesses turn their faces either to

the north or to the east. 

VIII. 88. To a Brahmen he must begin with saying, "Declare;" to a Kshatriya, with

saying, " Declare the truth"; to a Vaisya, with comparing perjury to the crime of

stealing kine, grain, or gold; to a Sudra, with comparing it in some or all of the

following sentences, to every crime that men can commit.

VIII. 1 13. Let the judge cause a priest to swear by his veracity ; a soldier, by his

horse, or elephant, and his weapons; a merchant, by his kine, grain, and gold; a

mechanic or servile man, by imprecating on his own head, if he speak falsely, all

possible crime; Manu also deals with cases of witnesses giving false evidence.

According to Manu giving false evidence is a crime. Says Manu:

VIII. 122. Learned men have specified these punishments, which were ordained by

sage legislators for perjured witnesses, with a view to prevent a failure of justice and

to restrain iniquity.

VIII. 123. Let a just prince banish men of the three lower classes, if they give false

evidence having first levied the fine ; but a Brahmen let him only banish." But Manu

made one exception:

VIII. 1 12. To women, however, at a time of dalliance, or on a proposal of marriage,

in the case of grass or fruit eaten by a cow, of wood taken for a sacrifice, or of a

promise made for the preservation of a Brahmen, it is deadly sin to take a light oath.

As parties to proceedings—Their position can be illustrated by quoting the

ordinances of Manu relating to a few of the importa.nt criminal offences dealt with by

Manu. Take the offence of Defamation. Manu says :

VIII. 267. A soldier, defaming a priest, shall be fined ahundred panas a merchant,

thus offending, an hundred and fifty, or two hundred : but, for such an offence, a

mechanic or servile man shall be whipped.

VIII. 268. A priest shall be fined fifty, if he slander a soldier; twenty five, if a

merchant ; and twelve, if he slander a man of the servile class. Take the offence of

Insult—Manu says:

VIII. 270. A once-born man, who insults the twice-born with gross invectives, ought

to have his tongue slit ; for he sprang from the lowest part of Brahma.

VIII. 271. If he mention their names and classes with contumely as, if he say, "Oh

Devadatta, thou refuse of Brahmen", an iron style, ten fingers long, shall be thrust

red into his mouth.

VIII. 272. Should he, through pride, give instruction to priests concerning their duty,

let the king order some hot oil to be dropped into his mouth and his ear. Take the

offence of Abuse—Manu says:

VIII. 276. For mutual abuse by a priest and a soldier, this fine must be imposed by

a learned king; the lowest amercement on the priest, and the middle-most on the

soldier.

VIII. 277. Such exactly, as before mentioned, must be the punishment for a

merchant and a mechanic, in respect of their several classes, except the slitting of 

the tongue; this is a fixed rule of punishment. Take the offence of Assault—Manu

propounds:

VIII. 279. With whatever member of a low-born man shall assault or hurt a

superior, even that member of his must be slit, or cut more or less in proportion to

the injury; this an ordinance of Manu.

VIII. 280. He who raises his hand or a staff against another, shall have his hand cut

; and he, who kicks another in wrath, shall have an incision made in his foot. Take

the offence of Arrogance—According to Manu :

VIII. 281. A man of the lowest class, who shall insolently place himself on the same

seat with one of the highest, shall either be banished with a mark on his hinder parts,

or the king shall cause a gash to be made on his buttock.

VIII. 282. Should he spit on him through pride, the king shall order both his lips to

be gashed; should he urine on him, his penis; should he break wind against him, his

anus.

VIII. 283. If he seize the Brahmen by the locks, or by the feet, or by the beard, or

by the throat, or by the scrotum, let the king without hesitation cause incisions to be

made in his hands. Take the offence of Adultery. Says Manu:

VIII. 359. A man of the servile class, who commits actual adultery with the wife of a

priest, ought to suffer death ; the wives, indeed, of all the four classes must ever be

most especially guarded.

VIII. 366. A low man, who makes love to a damsel of high birth, ought to be

punished corporally; but he who addresses a maid of equal rank, shall give the

nuptial present and marry her, if her father please.

VIII. 374. A mechanic or servile man, having an adulterious connection with a

woman of a twice-born class, whether guarded at home or unguarded, shall thus be

punished ; if she was unguarded, he shall lose the part offending, and his whole

substance ; if guarded, and a priestless, every thing, even his life.

VIII. 375. For adultery with a guarded priestess, a merchant shall forfeit all his

wealth after imprisonment for a year; a soldier shall be fined a thousand panas, and

be shaved with the urine of an ass.

VIII. 376. But, if a merchant or soldier commit adultery with a woman of the

sacerdotal class, whom her husband guards not at home, the king shall only fine the

merchant five hundred, and the soldier a thousand ;

VIII. 377. Both of them, however, if they commit that offence with a priestess not

only guarded but eminent for good qualities, shall be punished like men of the servile

class, or be burned in a fire of dry grass or reeds.

VIII. 382. If a merchant converse criminally with a guarded woman of the military,

or a soldier with one of the mercantile class, they both deserve the same

punishment as in the case of a priestess unguarded. 

VIII. 383. But a Brahmen, who shall commit dultery with a guarded woman of those

two classes, must be fined a thousand panas ; and for the like offence with a

guarded woman of the servile class, the fine of a soldier or a merchant shall be also

one thousand.

VIII. 384. For adultery with a woman of the military class, if unguarded, the fine of a

merchant is five hundred ; but a soldier, for the converse of that offence, must be

shaved with urine, or pay the fine just mentioned.

VIII. 385. A priest shall pay five hundred panas if he connect himself criminally with

an unguarded woman of the military, commercial, or servile class, and a thousand,

for such a connexion with a woman of vile mixed breed.

Turning to the system of punishment for offences Manu's Scheme throws an

interesting light on the subject. Consider the following ordinances :

VIII. 379. Ignominious tonsure is ordained, instead of capital punishment, for an

adulterer of the priestly class, where the punishment of other classes may extend to

loss of life.

VIII. 380. Never shall the king slay a Brahmen, though convicted of all possible

crimes: let him banish the offender from his realm, but with all his property secure,

and his body unhurt.

XI. 127. For killing intentionally a virtuous man of the military class, the penance

must a fourth part of that ordained for killing a priest ; for killing a Vaisya, only an

eighth ; for killing a Sudra, who had been constant in discharging his duties, a

sixteenth part.

XI. 128. But, if a Brahmen kill a Kshatriya without malice, he must, after a full

performance of his religious rites, give the priests one bull together with a thousand

cows.

XI. 129. Or he may perform for three years the penance for slaying a Brahmen,

mortifying his organs of sensation and action, letting his hair grow long, and living

remote from the town, with the root of a tree for his mansion.

XI. 130. If he kill without malice a Vaisya, who had a good moral character, he may

perform the same penance for one year, or give the priests a hundred cows and a

bull.

XI. 131. For six months must he perform this whole penance, if without intention he

kill a Sudra ; or he may give ten white cows and a bull to the priests.

VIII. 381. No greater crime is known on earth than slaying a Brahmen ; and the

king, therefore, must not even form in his mind an idea of killing a priest.

VIII. 126. Let the king having considered and ascertained the frequency of a similar

offence, the place and time, the ability of the criminal to pay or suffer and the crime

itself, cause punishment to fall on those alone, who deserve it. 

VIII. 124. Manu, son of the Self-existent, has named ten places of punishment,

which are appropriate to the three lower classes, but a Brahmen must depart from

the realm unhurt in any one f them.

VIII. 125. The part of generation, the belly, the tongue, the two hands, and, fifthly,

the two feet, the eye, the nose, both ears, the property, and, in a capital case, the

whole body. On the point of rights and duties relating to religious Sacraments and

Sacrifices the views of Manu are noteworthy :

II. 28. By studying the Veda, by religious observances, by oblations to fire, by the

ceremony of Traividya, by offering to the Gods and Manes, by the procreation of

children, by the five great sacraments, and by solemn sacrifices, this human body is

rendered fit for a divine state.

III. 69. For the sake of expiating offences committed ignorantly in those places

mentioned in order, the five great sacrements were appointed by eminent sages to

be performed each day by such as keep house.

III. 70. Teaching and studying the scripture is the sacrament of the Veda; offering

cakes and water, the sacrament of the Manes; an oblation to fire, the sacrament of

the Deities ; giving rice or other food to living creatures, the sacrament of spirits ;

receiving guests with honour, the sacrament of men.

III. 71. Whoever omits not those five great ceremonies, if he have ability to perform

them, is untained by the sins of the five slaughtering places, even though he

constantly reside at home. Such are the ordinances of Manu. Laws are never

complete enough to cover every point. There are always moot questions. Manu was

conscious of this and provides for such contingencies.

XII. 108. If it be asked, how the law shall be ascertained, when particular cases are

not comprised under any of the general rules, the answer is this : "That which well

instructed Brahmens propound, shall be held incontestible law."

XII. 109. Well instructed Brahmens are they, who can adduce occular proof from

the scripture itself, having studied, as the law ordains, the Vedas and their extended

branches, or Vedangas, Mimansa, Nyaya, Dharma, Shastra, Puranas.

XII. 113. Even the decision of one priest, if more cannot be assembled, who

perfectly knows the principles of the Vedas, must be considered as law of the

highest authority ; not the opinion of myriads, who have no sacred knowledge.

The Laws of Manu are eternal. Therefore there is no question of considering how

changes could be effected in them. The only question Manu had to consider was the

upholding and maintaining the system. Manu has laid down several provisions with

this purpose in view.

As to the preservation of the Social Code, Manu has made it the duty of the King to

uphold and maintain: 

VIII. 410. The king should order each man of the mercantile class to practice trade,

or money lending, or agriculture and attendance on cattle ; and each man of the

servile class to act in the service of the twice-born.

VIII. 418. With vigilant care should the king exert himself in compelling merchants

and mechanics to perform their respective duties ; for, when such men swerve from

their duty, they throw this world into confusion.

Failure to maintain was made an offence in the King punishable at Law.

VIII. 335. Neither a father, nor a preceptor, nor a friend, nor a mother, nor a wife,

nor a son, nor a domestic priest must be left unpunished by the king, if they adhere

not with firmness to their duty.

VIII. 336. Where another man of lower birth would be fined one pana, the king shall

be fined a thousand, and he shall give the fine to the priests, or cast it into the river,

this is a sacred rule.

Failure to uphold and maintain the system on the part of the king involved a

forfeiture of his right to rule. For Manu allows a right to rebel against such a King.

VIII. 348. The twice-born may take arms, when their duty is obstructed by force:

and when, in some evil time. a disaster has befallen the twice-born classes.

The right of rebellion is given to the three higher classes and not to the Shudra.

This is very natural. Because it is only the three upper classes who would benefit by

the maintenance of this system. But supposing the Kshatriyas joined the King in

destroying the system what is to be done? Manu gives the authority to the Brahmins

to punish all and particularly the Kshatriyas.

XI. 31. A priest, who well knows the laws, need not complain to the king of any

grievious injury; since, even by his own power, he may chastise those, who injure

him.

XI. 32. His own power, which depends on himself alone, is mightier than the royal

power, which depends on other men ; by his own might, therefore, may a Brahman

coerce his foes.

XI. 33. He may use, without hesitation, the powerful charms revealed to Atharvan,

and by him to Angiras ; for speech is the weapon of a Brahmen ; with that he may

destroy his oppressors.

IX. 320. Of a military man, who raises his arm violently on all occasions against the

priestly class, the priest himself shall be the chastiser; since the soldier originally

proceeded from the Brahmen." How can the Brahmins punish the Kshatriyas unless

they can take arms? Manu knows this and therefore allows the Brahmins to arm

themselves to punish the Kshatriyas.

XII. 100. Command of armies, royal authority, power of inflicting punishment, and

sovereign dominion over all nations, he only well deserves, who perfectly

understands the Veda Shastra. So intent is Manu on the maintenance of the system

of Chaturvarna that he did not hesitate to make this fundamental change in it. For to 

ask a Brahman to take up arms is a fundamental change as compared with the rule

that was prevalent before Manu. The prohibition against Brahmin handling arms was

very strict. In the Apastamba Dharma Sutras which is prior to Manu the rule is laid

down in the following terms :

1.10, 29,6. A Brahmin shall not take up a weapon in his hand though he be only

desirous of examining it." Successor of Manu—Baudhayana—improved upon him,

and laid down in his Code of Laws :

II. 24, 18. For the protection of the Cows, Brahmins, or in the case of the confusion

of Varnas, Brahmins and Vaisyas (also) should take up arms, out of consideration

for the Dharma. and maintain the system at any cost.