Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.236
Śūdras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.236
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c13.236
As regards the appointment of ministers, Yājñavalkya and Kāmandaka repeat the old view that they should possess noble birth (kulīnaḥ) and knowledge of the Vedas,⁵ which rules out the possibility of śūdras being selected as ministers. But the Śānti Parvan breaks new ground when it provides for a body of eight mantrins of whom four should be brāhmaṇas, three loyal, disciplined and obedient śūdras, and one a sūta.⁶ We do not know whether such a precept was followed, but it shows a significant change in the brāhmaṇical attitude towards the śūdras.