History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c91.47.3

v7.c91.47.3

There was a third view held by Śrīdatta and others that a śūdra could recite a paurāṇika mantra, but he should not himself read the Purāṇas and should only listen to the reading of Purāṇas by a brāhmaṇa. In the times of the Dharmasūtras the only mantras employed were mostly Vedic and therefore in the case of śūdras Gautama¹⁴⁷⁷ provided that the śūdras were allowed the alternative of saying ‘namah’ in place of a Vedic mantra. In the centuries preceding Christ the śūdras would naturally have been attracted to Buddha's teaching as it was addressed to all including śūdras. Comparatively early orthodox writers like Kumārila knew that the śūdras formed the largest number of professed Buddhists when he says¹⁴⁷⁸ 'the dicta of Śākya and others were all opposed, except a few relating to self-restraint, charity and the like, to all the fourteen sources of learning, were promulgated by Buddha and others that had strayed from the path of the three Vedas and did acts contrary (to the Veda) and that those dicta were presented by them to those who were deluded, who were outside the pale of the three Vedas, who mostly comprised the 4th varṇa (i. e. śūdra) and those that had lost caste'. Therefore, the learned brāhmaṇas who wanted to wean sections of the masses (including śūdras) away from Buddhist teachings composed new Paurāṇika mantras by the thousand and employed them in all religious rites like śrāddhas, vratas &c.