Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c12.411

c12.411

The condition of society during the post-Mauryan period was perhaps similar to that which followed the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, when for some time the masses fought against the priests and nobles, and played havoc with the established order. Therefore Manu’s provisions were meant to combat the forces of disintegration, which followed the break-up of the Mauryan empire, rather than to undo the measures of Aśoka. His strong emphasis on the servile nature of the śūdra was obviously necessitated by the latter’s refusal to work. He enjoins the king to compel the vaiśyas and śūdras to work,¹ which shows that the masses did not feel sharing any common interest with the members of the two higher varṇas. Manu ordains that the king should maintain the varṇa-dharma, for the state which is sullied by the intermixture of varṇas perishes together with its inhabitants,² i.e. the established order is destroyed. Such measures are broadly analogous to the decrees issued by the Roman empire in the third century A.D., commanding people of various callings to stick to their trades. But Manu also applies some spiritual sanctions. If the śūdra fails in his duty, he is born as a cailāśaka (a kind of goblin feeding on moths);³ but if he performs it loyally, he gets a higher birth next time.⁴