may take two spouses. In both of them (viz., the
one taken from his own order, and the other from the
lowest of the four pure orders), he takes birth himself
(so that those children become invested with the status
of his own order). The Sudra can take only one
wife, viz., she that is taken from his own order.
The son begotten by him upon her becomes a Sudra.
A son that takes birth under circumstances other than
those mentioned above, comes to be looked upon as a
very inferior one If a person of a lower order begets
a son upon a woman of a superior order, such a son
is regarded as outside the pale of the four pure orders.
Indeed, such a son becomes on object of censure with
the four principal orders. If a Kshatriya begets
a son upon a Brahmana woman, such a son, without being
included in any of the four pure orders, comes to be
regarded as a Suta The duties of a Suta are all connected
with the reciting of eulogies and encomiums of kings
and other great men. The son begotten by a Vaisya
upon a woman of the Brahmana order comes to be regarded
as a Vaidehaka. The duties assigned to him are
the charge of bars and bolts for protecting the privacy
of women of respectable households. Such sons
have no cleansing rites laid down for them.[299] If
a Sudra unites with a woman belonging to the foremost
of the four orders, the son that is begotten is called
a Chandala. Endued with a fierce disposition,
he must live in the outskirts of cities and towns and
the duty assigned to him is that of the public executioner.
Such sons are always regarded as wretches of their
race. These, O foremost of intelligent persons,
are the offspring of intermixed orders. The son
begotten by a Vaisya upon a Kshatriya woman becomes
a Vandi or Magadha. The duties assigned to him
are eloquent recitations of praise. The son begotten
through transgression, by a Sudra upon a Kshatriya
women, becomes a Nishada and the duties assigned to
him have reference to the catching of fish. If
a Sudra happens to have intercourse with a Vaisya
woman, the son begotten upon her comes to be called
Ayogava. The duty assigned to such a person are
those of a Takshan (carpenter). They that are
Brahmanas should never accept gifts from such a person.
They are not entitled to possess any kind of wealth.
Persons belonging to the mixed castes beget upon spouses
taken from their own castes children invested with
the status that is their own. When they beget
children in women taken from castes that are inferior
to theirs, such children become inferior to their
fathers, for they become invested with the status that
belongs to their mothers Thus as regards the four pure
orders, persons beget children invested with their
own status upon spouses taken from their own orders
as also upon them that are taken from the orders immediately
below their own. When, however, offspring are
begotten upon other spouses, they come to be regarded
as invested with a status that is, principally, outside
the pale of the four pure orders. When such children