Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c8.229

c8.229

In essence the *Ṛg Veda* Āryan society was characterised by the absence of sharp class divisions amongst its members, a feature which is usually found in early tribal societies.⁵ It was possible to have different ranks but not different social classes. Perhaps the Purāṇic speculation regarding the origin of the *varṇas* refers to this stage, when it states that until the advent of the Tretā age there was no *varṇa* division and nothing like greed or the tendency to steal.¹ But even in the earliest period, in addition to the slowly emerging military leaders and priests, there were husbandmen, and artisans who practised a number of crafts. Common words for weaver, tanner, carpenter and painter suggest their Indo-European origins.² The existence of a widespread Indo-European word for chariot shows that the chariot-maker may have been known to the Indo-Europeans.³ The *rathakāra* (chariot-maker), however, does not appear in the *Ṛg Veda*, where the carpenter's work is referred to in several early passages.⁴ It appears from the *Atharva Veda* that chariot-makers (*rathakāra*) and metal workers (*karmāra*) enjoyed a position of importance in society. In the early portion of that collection a newly elected king prays to a plant amulet (*parṇa-maṇi*) to help him to strengthen his position among the skilful builders of chariots, and the ingenious workers of metal, who constitute the folk around him. These artisans are to be made his helpers,⁵ and in this sense seem to be on a par with the kings, king-makers, charioteers (*sūta*) and troopleaders (*grāmaṇi*),⁶ who constitute the folk round about the king and are likewise to be made his helpers.⁷