Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c9.216

c9.216

Of the four stages of life (*āśramas*), which appear at the end of the Vedic period, only the life of the householder is prescribed for the śūdra in later times, but there is no reference to such a distinction during this period. Although the four *āśramas* are mentioned in the *Chāndogya Upaniṣad*, there is no reference to their connection with the *varṇas*.¹ This brings us to the question of the education of the śudra, for, according to later texts, he cannot be admitted to the stage of studentship (*brahmacarya āśrama*), which begins with the ceremony of the *upanayana*. The earliest mention of the *upanayana* is to be found in the *Atharva Veda*, where the youth is initiated (*upa-ni*) into a new life by the teacher, for he is supposed to be born from his belly.² The initiate becomes a *brahmacārin*, but there is nothing to indicate his *varṇa*. On the basis of Āruṇi’s exhortation to his son Śvetaketu that he ought to pass through the *brahmacarya* it has been held that for a long time the *upanayana* was confined only to priestly or literary families, from whom it was extended to the whole brāhmaṇa class and then finally to all the Āryans.³ This may be true if the *upanayana* be taken as the starting point of literate learning, since in ancient societies education was generally in the hands of the priests. The fact that the *brahmacārin* was normally a brāhmaṇa is known for several sources.⁴ But this does not seem to be true of the *upanayana* and the *brahmacarya* if they are taken as signifying the beginning of a new life by a person on his formal admission as a full-fledged adult member of the tribe. Such an interpretation can be put on the tradition that gods, men and demons spent their *brahmacarya* period under the guidance of their father Prajāpati, who was their teacher.⁵ This cannot be taken to mean that literate learning was widespread among the early peoples, but can only suggest that some form of initiation into the life of the community was a universal practice among the Vedic Indians or their ancestors — a fact which is supported by the prevalence of similar practices among primitive peoples. The rite of initiation was also extended to the Vrātyas, who were admitted into Āryan society through the acquisition of *brahmacarya*.¹