Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c10.224

c10.224

It is said that one of the most powerful dynasties of this period was of śūdra extraction and that the śūdras acquired supreme power in the lower Gaṅgā valley.¹ These statements can be considered true only in so far as they indicate the low birth of the Nanda rulers. They should not be taken to mean that political power passed into the hands of the śūdra community; for there is nothing to show that the rise of the Nandas put an end to the political disabilities of the śūdra.