Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c8.20

c8.20

This tendency to quote ancient scriptures in support of modern reforms can be well summed up in the words of R. G. Bhandarkar (1895): "In ancient times girls were married after they had attained maturity, now they must be married before; widow marriage was in practice, now it has entirely gone out. ... Interdining among the castes was not prohibited, now the numberless castes...cannot have intercommunication of that nature."³