Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c13.660

c13.660

Under the influence of the reforming creeds the religious texts of the period shift the emphasis from the observance of rites and sacraments to that of good conduct, which determines the social status of a person. It is stated that neither the performance of the agnihotra nor the knowledge of the Veda is of any avail,⁷ for the gods are satisfied through good conduct which is fostered by the Śrutis; brāhmaṇas who do not maintain good conduct (*śila*) should be regarded as śūdras.¹ A person bereft of good conduct (*śila*) should not be honoured; on the other hand even a religious śūdra should be honoured.² A śūdra not only may become a non-regenerate (*asaṃskṛta*) dvija, but he should be revered like a regenerate person, if he is "pure of heart, and of subdued senses",³ since "not birth, nor sacrament, nor learning, nor stock (*santatiḥ*) make one regenerate, but only conduct".⁴ The argument that even a śūdra of good conduct can attain brāhmaṇahood in the next birth is repeatedly advanced in the didactic sections of the *Mahābhārata* and the Purāṇas,⁵ and is also reproduced in the *Vajrasūci*.⁶