Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c14.80

c14.80

*Vaiśyas* and *Śūdras*. These come under the second, third, and fourth castes mentioned by Megasthenes. “The second caste consists of the husbandmen who form the bulk of the population and in disposition most mild and gentle. They are exempted from military service, and cultivate the lands undisturbed by fear. They never go to town, either to take part in its tumults or for any other purpose, but live in the country with their wives and children. The work of these tillers of the soil consists of ploughing or gathering in their crop, pruning the trees or reaping the harvest.”