ABSTRACT
The Hindus of Bengal claim to be pure Aryans, but the Hindus of Upper India repudiate any relationship with them. The Aryan immigration extended gradually throughout Bengal, and the tie which bound the settlers to their faith and peculiar usages was relaxed by residence among aliens. The example of races untrammelled by caste, or religious scruples, also led them to shake off all bonds, and assert greater freedom of action. The priesthood formed illegal connections, and neglected their religious duties; while the mixed offspring observed none of the Bráhmanícal ordinances. In the tenth century corruption and irreligion being universal, Ádisúra introduced priests, trained in the orthodox school of Kanauj, to reform and educate the people. But the arrival of a small body of religious teachers did little towards elevating the Bráhmans, or laity, and in the twelfth century Ballál Sen found only nineteen families of the Rá _rhí Bráhmans living in strict obedience to all that their religion demanded. These families were raised to the highest rank, but those who had forfeited all respect, and formed illegal marriages, were reduced to secondary, or even lower grades. The innovations made by this monarch only affected the Rá_rhí and Varendra `Sre]ní, or orders, for the Vaidika and Bhát, refusing to be classified by a Vaidyá, retired into the hill countries of Silhet and Orissa; and the other tribes, who had become hopelessly demoralized, were left untouched.
