Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c9.334

c9.334

A review of the position of the śūdra in the religious life of the later Vedic period shows that, in addition to the *rathakāra* and the *niṣāda*, who could take part in the Vedic sacrifice, the śūdra varṇa as such had its gods and could participate in several Vedic rites. It is true that in most cases the mode of participation was meant to indicate the śūdra's low position in society, but on that account this privilege was not completely denied to him. The process of his exclusion, which is already in evidence in some of the earlier texts, became stronger towards the very close of the Vedic period. It seems that the growth of economic and social differentiation gradually changed the character of the tribal sacrifice, which tended to become individual and involved more and more gifts to the priests. In course of time the sacrifice came to be the prerogative of the higher varṇas, who could afford the means to pay for it. This can be inferred from the commentary of Śaṅkara to a passage of the *Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad*,¹ where he says that God created the vaiśyas to acquire wealth, which is the means of performing rites. Similarly in the *Mahābhārata* Yudhiṣṭhira is represented as stating that sacrifices cannot be performed by people who are poor, for they require a large store of diverse kinds of articles. He further says that merit attaching to sacrifices can be acquired only by kings and princes, and not by those who are destitute of wealth and helpless.² This would imply that generally the śūdra, who could ill afford to make gifts on the occasion of the sacrifice, was unable to perform it. In the case of a rich śūdra association with sacrifice was not considered undesirable, for it was laid down that fire could be accepted from his house.³