Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 217

BRAHMIN PRIVILEGES
1
i
i
have committed some atrocious crimes to be condemned
Alas
in your present life to eat such disgusting food.'
it is only what I deserve.
replied the fox with a groan,
Once upon a time I was a man, and I then promised a
Brahmin a present, and failed to keep my word that is
why I was born again in my present condition, which you
'
'
!
'
;
find so revolting.'
Brahmins declare that he who fails to keep faith with
them, or who injures them in any way, will be condemned
after death to be born again as a devil.
Such a person
could live neither on the earth nor yet in the air, but would
be reduced to dwelling in a thick forest, for ever hidden
amongst the foliage of a leafy tree. Day and night he
would groan and bewail his unhappy fate. His only food
would be the filthy juice of the palm tree, mixed with the
saliva of dogs
and he would have to use a human skull
as a cup.
Brahmins, as a rule, are exempt from all taxes on houses
and other personal property. In many districts they pay
no customs duty l
They are, again, not liable to be
impressed into compulsory service, or called upon for those
requisitions which fall so heavily on the other inhabitants,
who are obliged to labour at public works, such as the
;
.
making and mending of the high-roads, the repairing of
temples, tanks, canals, &c, and who also have to carry
provisions for the troops when on the march, or for magis-
trates and other public servants, more often than not
without any payment for their labour, or even sufficient
food, and with no compensation for the losses which these
requisitions cause them.
Such general servants of the
public as carpenters, blacksmiths, barbers, and washer-
men are often obliged, at least in many districts, to work
gratuitously for the Brahmins 2
In countries governed by native princes Brahmins are
rarely condemned to any serious corporal punishment
and however heinous their crimes may be, they are never
liable to the penalty of death.
The murder of a Brahmin,
.
1
This, of course, is no longer the ease under British rule.
Ed.
This, however, is not due to any actual pressure, but to the fact that
these public servants enjoy grants of land (maniams), and they work
2
gratuitously for the whole village.
Ed.