TRADITIONAL ORIGIN OF CASTE 47
country will journey hundreds of leagues to their native land in search of wives for their sons . Again , as to the caste system , Moses , as is well known ,
established it amongst the Hebrews in accordance with the commands of God . This holy lawgiver had , during
his long sojourn in Egypt , observed the system as established in that country , and had doubtless recognized the good that resulted from it . Apparently , in executing the divine order with respect to it he simply adapted and perfected the system which was in force in Egypt .
The Indian caste system is of still older origin . The
Hindu sacred writings record that the author of it was the
God Brahma , to whom they attribute the creation of the world , and who is said to have established this system when he peopled the earth . The Brahmins were the product of his brain ; the Kshatriyas or Rajahs issued from his shoulders ; the Vaisyas from his belly ; and the Sudras from his feet .
It is easy to understand the allegorical signification of this legend , in which one can distinctly trace the relative
degrees of subordination of the different castes . The Brahmins , destined to fulfil the high functions of spiritual priesthood and to show the way of salvation to their fellowmen , issue from the head of the Creator ; the Kshatriyas , endowed with physical force and destined to undergo the
fatigues of war , have their origin in the shoulders and arms of Brahma ; the Vaisyas , whose duty it is to provide the
food , the clothing , and other bodily necessities of man , are born in the belly of the god ; and the Sudras , whose lot is servitude and rude labour in the fields , issue from his feet .
Besides this traditional origin of the different castes , known to all Hindus , there is another to be found in their books , which traces the institution back to the time of the Flood . For , it should be noted , this terrible world-renovat - ing disaster is as well known to the Hindus as it was to Moses . On this important subject , however , I shall have more to say subsequently ; suffice it to remark that a celebrated personage , reverenced by the Hindus , and known to them as Mahanuvu , escaped the calamity in an ark , in which were also the seven famous Penitents of India . After the Flood , according to Hindu writers , this