ABSTRACT
The Gha_taks are Bráhmans engaged in negotiating marriages between families, and each _sre]ní, or division, of the sacred order in Bengal, has its recognized staff, upon whom rests the responsibility of arranging suitable marriages, and of preserving the pristine purity of each family belonging to it. The Varendra, Rá_rhí, and Vaidika Bráhmans possess Gha_taks distinct from those employed by the Baidyá and Káyath castes, who intermarry with, and act as agents for, the Bráhmans of their own division, but for no others.
