The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology c9.s8.1

c9.s8.1

It is questionable how far the category, caste, can be used in connection with the diverse periods of Vedic literature. Probably the category, race, is more appropriate when we have to speak of diverse social or professional groups. It should not be reasonable always to take Śūdra = Dasyu, Dāsa and Non-Aryan. To what extent the Śūdra = “lower classes” is also problematic. In any case the Aryan-non-Aryan *rapprochement* or race-fusion, group-mixture and culture-contact is the outstanding theme of the Vedic texts. In the *Puruṣa Sūkta*, as we have seen, the Śūdra is either not a non-Aryan, or if so, is already assimilated to the Aryan.