Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c11.188

c11.188

Several provisions of Kauṭilya regarding the emancipation of slaves seem to apply exclusively to the āryas reduced to servile status. It is enacted that the child of one who sells himself should be considered as an ārya (free).⁶ A person can earn without prejudicing the work of his master, inherit his ancestral property and thus regain his āryahood (*āryatvam*) by paying his purchase value.⁷ An *āryaprāṇa* who has been captured in war can secure his emancipation through the payment of ransom.⁸ Failure to recognise a *dāsa* as an ārya on the receipt of proper ransom shall be punished with a fine of 12 *paṇas*.⁹ In all such instances the question of regaining āryahood can arise only in the case of those who had it before and not in the case of the śūdras. At best the above-mentioned provisions can apply to the sons of the three higher varṇas born from śūdra mothers.