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This chapter continues the discussion of the structure of the Dharmaranya Purana. It is mostly concerned with the myths that are connected to the differentiation among the Vanikas and Brahmas. The chapter begins by discussing jatis, where it shows that the jatis is found within the conceptual order of Hinduism. Here, it notes that jatis references a set of relations among the sanyasi, Brahman, and king, and explains that a jati can be classified by three principles of organization. It then looks at the primary divisions among the Brahmans and the reasons—as stated in the Purana—why these divisions occurred. It also discusses the differences that arose between the Chaturvedi Brahmans and the Trivedi Brahmans, the Modh Brahmans' code of conduct, the Puranic thinkers, and the theory of the kalivarjya. The final part of the chapter discusses the conception of caste fission within the Dharmaranya Purana.

This introductory chapter discusses Hindu caste and ritual. It examines the religious texts in Sanskrit, which serve as relevant sources of information on Indian society. It takes a look at anthropological research and the formation of a positivist approach, as well as the consequences of defining social reality based on concreteness. It introduces Louis Dumont's writings, where he rejects the dichotomy between behaviour and thought, and insists that an explanatory model cannot be limited to copying observed reality. It then pinpoints the two Sanskrit texts that will be analyzed in detail, namely the Dharmaranya Purana and the Grihya Sutra of Gobhila. The chapter also studies the caste Puranas, who are defined as a class of Sanskrit language that is concerned with the five main themes of creation.

This chapter presents an analysis of the Dharmaranya Purana. The analysis selects certain myths that are connected to the meaning of the sanyasi, Brahman, and king categories. It demonstrates that Hinduism's conceptual order is featured in these myths through a categorical partition of the three categories. It first discusses and analyses the myths of the creation of Dharmaranya, the creation of the Vanikas, the austerities of Dharmaraja, the story of the Jayadeva, the sorrows of Shrimata, and the story of King Aama. It then tries to show that when the myths are combined, they would help define a complete universe of discourse, based on the connections between the categories that represent the social and asocial. The chapter also studies the meaning of the Vanika/Shudra, Brahman, king, and sanyasi categories.