Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c16.24

c16.24

In post-Gupta times the number of ‘mixed’ castes goes on steadily multiplying, and from the numerical point of view Manu’s list is not very much different from the one given in the tenth chapter of the Brahma khaṇḍa of the *Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa*, attributable to the tenth century. The latter counts seventy-two mixed castes, of which many are common to Manu. However the additional castes, mentioned in this Purāṇa, comprise about fifty tribes and craft groups who do not appear in Manu.