[The Saptasati Brâhmans.] 8. “According to popular tradition, the Saptasati Brâhmans are descended from the seven hundred ignorant Brâhmans sent by Adisur to the Court of Kanauj for the purpose of learning their priestly duties. Others trace their origin to certain Brâhmans who were exiled beyond the Brahmaputra river for resisting the innovations of Ballâl Sen. It seems to be certain that they are peculiar to Bengal, and that they cannot claim connection with any of the ten standard Brâhmanical tribes. They virtually admit their inferiority to the other orders of Brâhmans. Men of education and respectability are reluctant to admit that they belong to this sub-caste, all distinctive practices are being abandoned, and the entire group seems likely to be absorbed in the Srotiya grade of Rârhi Brâhmans.” [The Madhyasreni Brâhmans.] 9. The Madhyasreni Brâhmans profess to derive their name from the fact of their original settlement being in the District of Midnapur, lying midway (Madhyadesa) between Bengal and Orissa. It is conjectured that they may be a composite group made up of members of the Rârhi, Utkal, and Saptasati sub-castes, who for some reason broke off from their own classes, settled in an outlying district, and in course of time formed a new sub-caste. 10. Further elaborate details of the Bengal Brâhmans will be found in Mr. Risley’s excellent account of them. DISTRIBUTION OF BENGÂLI BRÂHMANS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891. ==============+======== District. | Number. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~ Sahâranpur | 13 Muzaffarnagar | 3 Bulandshahr | 30 Aligarh | 8 Mathura | 505 Agra | 106 Farrukhâbâd | 11 Etâwah | 27 Etah | 3 Morâdâbâd | 26 Cawnpur | 189 Allahâbâd | 1,167 Jhânsi | 30 Lalitpur | 22 Benares | 2,362 Mirzapur | 3 Ghâzipur | 119 Ballia | 84 Gorakhpur | 108 Lucknow | 289 Râê Bareli | 16 Sîtapur | 12 Kheri | 50 Faizâbâd | 26 Gonda | 9 Bahrâich | 11 Sultânpur | 22 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~ Total | 5,251 | Males | 2,372 Females | 2,879 ==============+========