Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.564

c13.564

But the crucial development to be noted is not the non-recitation of the Vedic mantras but the performance of the *saṃskāras*. And since the sacraments had to be performed it was laid down by several early medieval authorities such as Vyāsa,⁵ Marici⁶ and the *Varāha Purāṇa*⁷ that a brāhmaṇa should be employed for reciting the mantras; it is not clear whether this was done within the hearing of the śūdra sacrificer.