Shudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order down to circa A.D. 600 c9.96

c9.96

The śūdra’s participation in the political life of the period is further evident from the ritual of the game of dice, which is prescribed as a rite in the *rājasūya* sacrifice and presented to us in two versions. In the earlier version, which occurs in the *Black Yajus* texts, the brāhmaṇa, the rājanya, the vaiśya and the śūdra participate in a game of dice for the sake of cow, which is won by the king.³ In the later version, which occurs in the *White Yajus* texts, the vaiśya and śūdra are eliminated as candidates in competition for the cow, which is staked by the kinsman (*sajāta*) of the king and won for him by the officiating priest (*adhvaryu*).⁴ It appears that this contest for the cow was originally a tribal custom to test the wit and sagacity of the leader. It is, therefore, the old tradition of tribal solidarity and homogeneity which accounts for the participation of all the varṇas in the game of the dice. But with the passage of time the character of the ritual changed; the vaiśya and the śūdra were excluded from the game. Nevertheless, it is significant that in the earlier period even a śūdra could join as a competitor in a game, which formed one of the preliminaries to the formal consecration of the king.