Tribes in Ancient India c65.3

c65.3

The Śūdras were a fairly important tribe of the north-west at the time when Alexander the Great invaded India (326 B.C.). They were among those who were vanquished by the Macedonian conqueror. Greek writers refer to them as Sodrai, in association with the Massanoi and Mousikaroi, all of whom occupied portions of modern Sind. The next datable reference to the tribe is contained in Patañjali’s *Mahābhāṣya* (I, 2, 3), where they are associated with the Ābhīras. In the *Mahābhārata* also they are associated with the Ābhīras,¹ and are said to have occupied the region where the river Sarasvatī vanishes into the desert, i.e. near Vinaśana in Western Rajputana.²