Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.523

c13.523

It is contended that as a student of military science the śūdra passed through the ceremony of the upanayana, which was accompanied by the recital of Vedic mantras,⁶ but there is no reference to such a rite in the Dhanurveda Saṃhitā. Probably as artisans the śūdras continued to have vocational or technical training in their family or under outside experts, but this remained divorced from literate learning. Nevertheless, it is clear that the texts of the Gupta period not only take a liberal view of the education of the śūdras but also testify to the existence of some educated śūdras.