Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.344

c13.344

The dasyus are repeatedly mentioned in the Śānti Parvan as enemies of the king, always threatening the peace and tranquillity of the realm.⁵ Probably this refers to enemies outside the state and not to the śūdras. For it is provided that, if the troubles created by the dasyus cause the intermixture of varṇas, brāhmaṇas, vaiśyas, and śūdras --- all can take up arms.⁶ It is argued that, be he a śūdra or be he a member of any other order, he who becomes a raft on a raftless current, a means of crossing where means there are none, certainly deserves respect in every way.⁷ The person who protects helpless men against the dasyus deserves to be worshipped by all as if he were a kinsman.⁸ The Dhanurveda Saṃhitā⁹ lays down that, while the members of the three upper varṇas can ordinarily take up arms, the śūdra can do so only in times of danger.¹ But it adds that a brāhmaṇa should use a bow, a kṣatriya a sword, a vaiśya a lance and a śūdra a mace.² Thus the above references clearly show that śūdras were conceded the right to bear arms. This indicates a very significant change in their civic status, for the early law-givers do not permit them to bear arms. The new development links up with the transformation of śūdras into peasants, and shows that the old apprehension of their getting completely out of hand no longer exercised the minds of the upholders of the varṇa system. It seems that śūdras were actually enrolled in the army. In a drama of this period two army officers are represented as belonging respectively to the castes of barbers and leather workers.³