Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.176

c13.176

The old provision that artisans should work for a day in a month for the king is repeated by Viṣṇu.⁴ This rule continued to work in practice, for an inscriptions of the sixth century A.D. in Western India states that forced labour (*viṣṭi*) should be imposed on smiths, chariot-makers (*rathakāras*) barbers and potters by the elders (*vārikena*)⁵ Vasiṣṭha states that no taxes should be imposed on the earnings of craftmanship.⁶ In post-Mauryan times, however, taxes seem to have been confined to weavers only,⁷ but during this period there began the practice of levying taxes from the artisans. The *Śānti Parvan* lays down that artisans and traders should be taxed after taking into account conditions of production and the nature of their crafts. Assessment may be made on the basis of the number of commodities produced, and taxes may be collected in kind.⁸ It is beyond doubt that artisans paid taxes to the state, for this fact is repeatedly mentioned in the inscriptions of this period. A Pallava inscription of A.D. 446 from Southern India informs us that blacksmiths leather workers, weavers and even barbers paid taxes to the king.⁹ All this testifies to the material progress and growing importance of some sections of śūdra artisans. The commentary on a passage of the *Kāmasūtra* suggests that a śūdra could accumulate earnings through the occupations of craftsmen, actors, etc. and could thus become a *nāgaraka*, i.e. a respectable and dignified citizen.¹