Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c16.26

c16.26

The society which received the tribals in pre-Manu times and the methods through which it assimilated them changed after the age of Manu. Although the earlier society was varṇa-divided, it was not sharply marked by unequal distribution of land leading to the establishment of strong private rights in it. Independent peasants formed the backbone of the society which was also served by a considerable amount of trade and commerce, a good many thriving towns and handicrafts, and a widespread use of metallic money. The tribals therefore were annexed to a four-tier society, and several of them were absorbed as kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. The vrātya list of Manu does not speak of any specific śūdra caste. On the other hand it specifies twelve second-class kṣatriya castes (all of them being originally tribal peoples, foreign and indigenous) and six vaiśya castes tribes. The number of the brāhmaṇa vrātya castes is five, out of whom only two appear to be remnants of original tribes. It seems that the vrātya theory meant for according recognition to tribals annexed to brāhmaṇical society had started much earlier, and if Manu’s vrātya examples are taken as marking the climax of the old process, it would appear that most tribals were given place in the second and third strata of society, in other words as warriors and peasants.