Identify the correctly matched pair:

The correct answer is Option (2) → Ordered rank of a caste - its position in a ladder-like arrangement from highest to lowest

Option (1) Ritual purity - something believed distant from or opposed to the sacred — Incorrect. Ritual purity is what is believed to be closer to the sacred. Something distant from or opposed to the sacred is ritually polluting, so this pair has the meaning reversed.

Option (2) Ordered rank of a caste - its position in a ladder-like arrangement from highest to lowest — Correct. Each caste holds not only a distinct place but also an ordered rank, a particular position in a ladder-like arrangement from highest to lowest. This is the hierarchy principle of caste, so the pair matches.

Option (3) Panchamas - the four-fold division into brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra — Incorrect. The four-fold division into brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra is the varna scheme. Panchama means the fifth, the groups kept outside these four varnas, so the pair does not match.

Option (4) Material power and social status - kept apart from each other in caste society — Incorrect. Material power and social status are closely linked in caste society, as in all societies. Those in power tend to have high status, and the reverse also holds, so the two are not kept apart.