Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.507

c13.507

*Nāṭyaśāstra* or dramatics was another branch of learning which was brought within the reach of the śūdras. This is declared to be the fifth Veda, which was composed out of the elements of the four Vedas and which men of all castes should enjoy.² Moreover, the two philosophical systems of Yoga³ and Sāṃkhya,⁴ which probably took their final form during the Gupta period, were also open to the śūdras.⁵ The fact that the Veda formed one of the sources of proof according to the Sāṃkhya system was not inconsistent with that system being made available to all; similarly the epic, which contains Vedic quotations, was equally open to śūdras to hear.⁶