Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c16.7

c16.7

But when we come to Manu’s tenth chapter, ascribable to late Gupta times, we have the remarkable spectacle of sixty-one mixed castes, most of them being the products of *pratiloma* or hypogamous unions. Later Hsüan Tsang notices so many mixed castes that he finds it difficult to describe them. Manu offers two explanations for their origin. First he takes recourse to the *vrātya* theory, which was modified in post-Vedic times. Baudhāyana identifies *vrātya* with the *varṇasaṃkara* and the third book of the *Arthaśāstra* of Kauṭilya roundly supports this view.¹ According to Kauṭilya the *vrātyas* are sons begotten by impure men of any of the four orders on a woman of lower caste.² Manu also characterises the *vrātya* as a mixed caste but excludes the śūdras from the process of producing the *vrātyas*. In addition to assigning a mixed origin to the *vrātya* both Kauṭilya and Manu call him a deviant from the established religious practice. According to Manu a twice-born (*dvijāti*) produces on a similar woman (*savaṛṇā*) those who do not observe *vrata* (*avratān*), and these people, who are not entitled to the sacred thread ceremony, are called *vrātya*.³ The *vrātya* brāhmaṇa produces on a brāhmaṇa woman Bhūrjakaṇṭaka, Āvantya, Vāṭadhāna, Puṣpadha and Śaikha.⁴ The progeny of the rājanya *vrātya* from a kṣatriya woman consist of the Jhallas, Mallas, Licchavis, Naṭas, Karaṇas, Khasas and Draviḍas.⁵ From the vaiśya *vātya* on a vaiśyā are produced Sudhanvā, Ācārya, Kārūṣa, Vijanma, Maitra and Sātvata.⁶ Thus Manu enumerates in all eighteen *vrātya* mixed castes. Although divided into three categories of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya, they are all reduced to the position of śūdras inasmuch as they are not entitled to *upanayana* and consequently Vedic studies. In addition to these vrātya castes, Manu enumerates twelve kṣatriya castes who were reduced to śūdrahood on account of abandoning their rituals and lack of contact with the brāhmaṇas.¹ These are Pauṇḍraka, Auḍra, Draviḍa, Kāmboja, Yavana, Śaka, Pārada, Pahlava, Cīna, Kirāta, Darada and Khasa.² They are as good as vrātyas, for they are also distinguished by the lack of *upanayana*. Since two mixed castes mentioned in the second list are also found in the first list, the total number of the vrātya and semi-vrātya castes comes to twenty-eight.