with him to brush out his footsteps, and when a
Brahman came by had to lie at a distance on his face lest his shadow
might fall on the Brahman. In Gujarat [134] they were not allowed
to tuck up the loin-cloth but had to trail it along the ground. Even
quite recently in Bombay a Mahar was not allowed to talk loudly in the
street while a well-to-do Brahman or his wife was dining in one of the
houses. In the reign of Sidhraj, the great Solanki Raja of Gujarat,
the Dheras were for a time at any rate freed from such disabilities
by the sacrifice of one of their number. [135] The great tank at
Anhilvada Patan in Gujarat had been built by the Ods (navvies),
but Sidhraj desired Jusma Odni, one of their wives, and sought to
possess her. But the Ods fled with her and when he pursued her she
plunged a dagger into her stomach, cursing Sidhraj and saying that
his tank should never hold water. The Raja, returning to Anhilvada,
found the tank dry, and asked his minister what should be done that
water might remain in the tank. The Pardhan, after consulting the
astrologers, said that if a man's life were sacrificed the curse might
be removed. At that time the Dhers or outcastes were compelled to
live at a distance from the towns; they wore untwisted cotton round
their heads and a stag's horn as a mark hanging from their waists so
that people might be able to avoid touching them. The Raja commanded
that a Dher named Mayo should be beheaded in the tank that water might
remain. Mayo died, singing the praises of Vishnu, and the water after
that began to remain in the tank. At the time of his death Mayo had
begged as a reward for his sacrifice that the Dhers should not in
future be compelled to live at a distance from the towns nor wear
a distinctive dress. The Raja assented and these privileges were
afterwards permitted to the Dhers for the sake of Mayo.

14. Their position improving

From the painful state of degradation described above the Mahars are
gradually being rescued by the levelling and liberalising tendency
of British rule, which must be to these depressed classes an untold
blessing. With the right of acquiring property they have begun to
assert themselves, and the extension of railways more especially
has a great effect in abolishing caste distinctions. The Brahman who
cannot afford a second-class fare must either not travel or take the
risk of rubbing shoulders with a Mahar in a third-class carriage,
and if he chooses t