In the 'History of Dharmaśastras', P.V Kane gives a definite list of varnasaṅkaras & points out to the fact that scriptures disagree on the origins of most of them. Here is the list & their profession
Name |
Occupation |
Aṭṭalikākāra |
Builder |
Andhra |
|
Ambaṣṭha |
Physician |
Avarāṭa |
|
Ayaskāra |
Blacksmith |
Abhīra |
Herdsman |
Āghasika |
Dealer of cooked food |
Āpīta |
|
Āśapa |
|
Āyogava |
Woodcutter, weaver, manufacture of bronze-made products, farmer, acting, masonry, whitewashing |
Ārdhika |
Agricultural labourer |
Āvṛta |
|
Āśvika |
Trader of horses |
Āhituṇḍika |
Snake-charmer |
Āhiṇḍika |
Guarding jails |
Ugra |
Staff-bearer, inflictor of punishments, killing animals that live underground |
Upakruṣṭa |
Carpenter |
Oḍra |
|
Aurabhra |
Manufacturer of woollen products |
Kaṁsakāra |
Manufacturer of brass-made products |
Kaṁsavaṇik |
Dealer of brass-made products |
Kaṭakāra |
Manufacturer of straw-mattresses |
Kapālin |
Manufacturer of jute-made products |
Karaṇa |
Record-keeper |
Kākavacha |
Fodder-dealer |
Kāmboja |
|
Kārāvara |
Bearer of torches & umbrellas |
Kirāta |
|
Kukunda |
|
Kukkuṭaka |
Organiser of cock-fights, sword-manufacturer |
Kuvacha |
|
Kuvinda |
Weaver |
Kulāla |
Potter |
Kuśilava |
Royal bard |
Kaivarta |
Fisherman & boatman |
Koṭika |
Thatcher |
Kolaka |
Disposer of dead bodies |
Kouali |
|
Kṣudraka |
|
Khanaka |
Digger |
Khasa |
|
Gandhika |
Dealer of spices & perfumes |
Guhaka |
|
Gopāla |
Milkman |
Ghaṭṭajivi |
Boatman |
Gholika |
Rat-catcher |
Chakrin |
Dealer of oil & salt |
Chaṇḍāla |
Maintaining śmaśānas |
Charmakāra |
Leatherwork |
Chākrika |
Oil manufacturing & ringing bells |
Chitrakāra |
Painting |
Chīna |
|
Chunchu |
Hunter |
Chuchuka |
Dealer of tāmbula |
Jālika |
Manufacturer of nets |
Jhalla |
|
Domba |
Disposal of cremated human remains |
Tivara |
Hunting, selling wild animals & fishing |
Tāmropajīvin |
Manufacturer of copper-made products |
Tailika |
Oilpresser |
Darada |
|
Dāsa |
Labourer |
Durbhara |
Tanner |
Dolavāhin |
Palaquin-bearer |
Dausyanta |
Watchman |
Draviṛa |
|
Dhigvaṇa |
Dealer of animal-skins, cobbler |
Naṭa |
Actor |
Nartaka |
Dancer |
Nāpita |
Barber |
Niṣada |
|
Pahlava |
|
Pārada |
|
Pāraśava |
Drummer |
Piṅgala |
|
Pukkasa |
Hunting, killing animals that live underground, manufacturing & selling drugs & alcohol |
Pulinda |
Hunter |
Puspadha |
|
Pauṇḍraka |
Manufacturing jaggery |
Plava |
Dealer of animal bones |
Bhāṭa |
Bard |
Bhaḍa |
|
Bhilla |
|
Bhūpa |
|
Bhoja |
|
Maṇikāra |
Dealer of precious stones |
Madgu |
Hunter |
Madranābha |
Donkey-keeper |
Malegrahin |
Sweepers |
Malla |
|
Matsyabandhaka |
Dealer of fish |
Māṁsacchedin |
Butcher |
Māgadha |
Carrying messages, royal flatterer, singer |
Mātara |
|
Madhuka |
Manufacturer of alcohol |
Manyu |
Law enforcement |
Mālakāra |
Dealer of flowers |
Māhiśya |
Cultivation of crops |
Mūrdhavasikta |
Astrologer, exorcist |
Meda |
Sweeper |
Modaka |
Manufacturer of sweetmeat |
Rañjaka |
Dyer |
Rajaka |
Washerman |
Rathakāra |
Manufacturer of chariots |
Rājaputra |
|
Romika |
Manufacturer of salt |
Varuḍa |
Manufacturer of bamboo-made products |
Vāgatīta |
Bodyguards, henchmen |
Vādaka |
|
Varujīvin |
Betel-leaf cultivator |
Vaiṇa |
Making announcements, cutting bamboo |
Veṇuka |
Player of musical instruments |
Vaitālika |
Bell-ringer |
Velava |
|
Vaidehaka |
Attending upon women, rearing animals for milk & selling milk-made products |
Vyadha |
Hunter, fowler |
Śavara |
|
Śūlika |
Executioner of death by impalement |
Śaṅkhakāra |
Manufacturer of conchshell-made articles |
Śaṅkhavanik |
Dealer of conchshell-made articles |
Śaraka |
|
Śuddhamārjaka |
Musicians |
Śekhara |
Sweeper |
Sauṇḍika |
Dealer of alcohol |
Svarṇakāra |
Goldsmith |
Suvarṇavanik |
Dealer of gold |
Sauchika |
Weaver |
Sūta |
Driving chariots & elephants |
Sūtradhara |
Masonry & stone-work |
Sairindhra |
Masseur & beautician |
Saupaka |
Hangman, dealer of meat |
Note : Agriculture & labour are the universal professions amongst all varnasaṅkara communities.
This list is incomplete because Kane's sources were heavily centered around Marathi Hindu society to which I added those groups which are endemic to Bengali Hindu society. It may happen that some areas possess caste-groups endemic to that particular area only. For example within the Axomiya Hindu society, there is a caste-group called Kalitā who claim to be the descendants of vrātya kṣatriyas who fled to Kāmarūpa to avoid Paraśurāma's wrath (as stated in the Kālikapurāṇa) & married local women. Here in Bengal, the last surviving Buddhists who converted into Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇava faith describe themselves as belonging to the Vaiṣṇava caste.
Brahmavaivartapurāṇa divides the varnasaṅkaras into 2 categories - sat-śūdra & asat-śudra. It is the asat-śudra who are considered as untouchables. However, around Uttar Pradesh, sat-śūdra communities decline to accept their śūdra status & instead claim the status of kṣatriyas & vaiśyas (without undergoing the requisite saṁskāras like vrātyaṣṭoma or upanayana) & club the śūdra varṇa exclusively with the asat-śūdra jāti (leading to the misconception of all śūdras & varṇasaṅkaras being untouchables by default). For example, the record-keeper is considered as a sat-śūdra in Bengali Hindu society but in Uttar Pradesh, they claim the status of kṣatriyas due to their origin from an intercaste union involving a kṣatriya father.
Again in certain areas like Bengal & Nepal, sat-śudras are classified into 2 categories - those from whom brāhmaṇas can accept water & those from whom brāhmaṇas can't accept water but other sat-śūdras can. These rules varies across regions. For example, the weaver is a sat-śūdra in Bengali, Axomiya & Odiya Hindu societies from whom brāhmaṇas accept water but in Bihar (i.e in Maithili & Bhojpuri Hindu societies) & undivided Uttar Pradesh (i.e Hindusthani, Avadhi, Brajbhashi, Kumaoni & Garhwali Hindu societies), they are considered as untouchables. This might be due to absence a flourishing textile industry in these regions as the areas where the weaver is touchable, boasts of a rich legacy of producing superior handloom-based products (like Muga silk sari of Assam, Tānt sari of Bengal & Sambalpuri sari of Odisha). Similarly, kaivartas are considered as sat-śūdras from whom brahmaṇas can't accept water in Bengali, Oriya & Maithili Hindu societies but in Uttar Pradesh, they are considered as untouchables. Coincidentally, fish consumption is normalised among the Bengalis, Oriyas & Maithilis but is a taboo amongst the Bhojpuri, Avadhi, Brajbhashi & Hindusthani people
Recently, various varṇasaṅkara communities have attempted to raise their status in the Hindu society through measures like claiming descent from vrātya groups or directly from various deities, changing their surnames through affidavits, changing community names (some examples are allocation of the names Namaḥśūdra to caṇḍālas & Yādava to ābhīras and a section of gopālas) & mimicking customs of upper-castes like abandoning pork & alcohol and wearing a sacred thread. For example, here in Bengal, a section of kaivartas & washermen who have practiced agriculture for more than 3 generations (called Cāṣī-kaibarta & Cāṣā-dhopā respectively in Bengali) have successfully re-branded themselves as māhiśyas (called Satcāṣi in Bengali) in an attempt to raise their social status (in Bengali Hindu society, washermen & kaivartas are sat-śūdras from whom brāhmaṇas can't accept water but māhiśyas are sat-śūdras from whom brāhmaṇas can accept water). I expect similar cases to have also occurred elsewhere.
Another case worthy of mention is that of grahavipras in Bengali Hindu society. This is a community of Śākadvīpi brāhmaṇas who exclusively practice astrology for which they are looked down upon by other brāhmaṇas (who are mostly descendants of Kānyakubja brāhmaṇas) in Bengal. The hatred for grahavipras sometimes went to such extents that they would be even denied of their brāhmaṇa status & placed among varṇasaṅkaras by interpolating scriptures. This goes to show that the relative status of varṇasaṅkaras in the society depended to some extent upon the local brāhmaṇas. Another example is the status of Hinduised Boḍo-Kacārī tribes like the Koch (Kuvacha in Sanskrit), Hājoṅ, Kacāri, Ḍimāsā, Cutīyā, Āhom (who migrated from Yunnan province of China into the Brahmaputra Valley in the 13th century), Deurī, Rābhā, Tiwā & Morān of Assam who were accorded the status of sat-śūdras from whom brahmaṇas can't accept water by Axomiya brāhmaṇas due to their patronization of Hindu culture in the aftermath of the collapse of the Kāmarūpa kingdom
(Koch king Naranārāyaṇa reconsecrated the shrine of *Kāmākhyā & patronized paṇḍita Pītāmbara Siddhāntavāgīśa, the codifier of Axomiya Hindu laws and Āhom king Suklenmung persecuted the followers of Śaṅkaradeva at the insistence of local brāhmaṇas. Suklengmung's descendant Sutanphaa, who assumed the Hindu name of Śivasiṁha donated large amounts of lands to brāhmaṇas, reconstructed important shrines around that of Kāmākhyā like those of Dīrgheśvarī, Ugratārā & Aśvakrāntā and constructed the large Śivadeul of Śivasāgara district) & periodic raids of Muslims from Bengal, Nāgā tribals from surrounding hilly regions & the Burmese from the southeast (repelled by the Cutīyā, Ḍimāsā & Āhom rulers) but brāhmaṇas in areas like Uttar Pradesh would consider them on par with their non-Hindu counterparts like the Boḍo & Gāro due to their Sino-Tibeto-Burmese appearance.
The current consensus is that in case of an intercaste marriage, the offspring bears the caste of it's father, as in the case of Agastya & Lopāmudrā, Cyavana & Sukanyā, Ṛcika & Satyavatī, Jamadgni & Reṇukā, Paraśara & Satyavatī and Viśravā & Nikaṣā.