Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c8.118

c8.118

If inferences can be drawn from the relative occurrences of the terms dāsa and dāsyu in the Ṛg Veda, it would appear that the Dasyus, who are mentioned eighty-four times, were obviously numerically stronger than the Dāsas, who are mentioned sixty-one times.³ The struggle against the Dasyus was attended with much bloodshed. The Āryans, who in the early stage of their expansion coveted cattle for their upkeep, naturally did not understand the value of urban settlements and organised agriculture.⁴ The Āryans seem to have played some part in the destruction of the pre-Āryan urban settlements, although the evidence for intrusive elements in late Harappā culture is not very strong. While the spoils of war, especially cattle, must have added to the power of the warriors and priests, raising them above the viś, it was slowly realised that the peasants of the older culture could provide labour power with which the Āryans could carry on agriculture.