Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c12.444

c12.444

But it would not be fair to hold that Manu’s diatribes against the śūdras mark the nadir of their fortunes during the post-Mauryan period. These should be taken in the nature of desperate measures, which were suggested to maintain the old form of society threatened by the appearance of new forces. Even the law-book of Manu could not ignore several changes in the position of the śūdras, which had appeared perhaps as a result of their struggle against the brāhmaṇas, the advent of new peoples and developments in arts and crafts.