Note 132 — K (continued 4)

Khatri.—The Khatris are described by Mr. Lewis Rice132 as “silk weavers, who in manners, customs, and language are akin to Patvēgars, but they do not intermarry with them, although the two castes eat together. The Katris claim to be Kshatriyas, and quote Rēnuka Purāna as their authority. The legend is that, during the general massacre of the Kshatriyas by Parasu Rāma, five women, each of whom was big with child, escaped, and took refuge in a temple dedicated to Kāli. When the children came of age, their marriages were celebrated, and their mothers prayed to Kāli to point out some means of livelihood. In answer to their supplications, the goddess gave them looms, and taught them weaving and dyeing. The Katris claim descent from these refugees, and follow the same trades.”