"But to whatever course of action the Lord at first appointed each (kind of beings), that alone it has spontaneously adopted in each succeeding creation."
"Whatever he assigned to each at the first creation, noxiousness or harmlessness, gentleness or ferocity, virtue or sin, truth or falsehood, that clung (afterward) spontaneously to it," (i, 28-29).
Our writer probably did not know what great disaster would follow if the fusion of varnas should take place, but he knew that some great disaster would follow.[1] Probably the fusion of varnas itself began to be looked upon as a great disaster. He had knowledge of a legend
- ↑ Some idea regarding the probable dangers of varna intermixture may be gathered from the treatment of adulterers in the text and from what Arjuna said to Krishna (Bhagavdgitā, chap. i). "In consequence of the predominance of impiety, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt O, descendant of Vrishni, intermingling of Varnas results; that intermingling necessarily leads the family and the destroyers of family to hell, for when the ceremonies of offering the cakes of food and water (to them) fail, their ancestors fall to hell." Compare with this the abjection of Aristotle to communal marriage as advocated by Plato. It was this: Unholy acts done against fathers and mothers are more likely to be committed if the relationship is unknown and who would make atonement for them (Aristotle's Politics, ii., c. 4).
nature (vii, 414), which nobody could take away from him, and this is the reason why servitude is his duty. These ideas have not entirely disappeared to-day. When the present ruler of one Maratha state was chosen for Gadi (the throne), he was chosen for adoption on the principle of innate royalty among the different little boys who were the candidates. Some holes were made in the trousers of different boys without their knowledge. When the boys noticed the holes, all of them, excepting one, wanted their trousers repaired, while the boy who was the exception wanted a new pair of trousers. Thus he displayed his innate kingly quality.
