Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.465
Śūdras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.465
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c13.465
The dombas, who came to form a numerous section of the untouchables in Northern India in subsequent times, seem to have appeared as a caste in the Gupta period. The Jain sources describe them as a despised class.⁶ They were probably one of the aboriginal tribes, who were assimilated to the lower orders of brāhmaṇical society. Wild tribes such as the Kirātas, Śabaras, and Pulindas, along with the Mlecchas, are included in the *śūdra-varga* of the *Amarakośa*,⁷ which shows that large masses of tribal population were being absorbed in the śūdra community.