Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s7.368

v2.c4.s7.368

Fick¹⁵⁶ finds in the Jātakas mention of a number of occupations whose members did not form part of any caste at all, such as the attendants on the court, the actors and dancers who went from village to village, and the wild tribes that lived in the mountains, fishermen, hunters, and so on. In Vedic times these people presumably fell under the conception of Śūdra, and may have included the Parnaka, Paulkasa, Bainda, who are mentioned with many others in the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā and the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa in the list of victims at the Puruṣamedha (‘human sacrifice’). The slaves also, whom Fick¹⁵⁷ includes in the same category, were certainly included in the term Śūdra.