Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c4.31

c4.31

The Aryans had now advanced further into India, and it is perhaps to this period that we are to ascribe the events which form the historical basis of the two great epics, the *Mahābhārata* and the *Rāmāyaṇa*. During this period there was a growth of luxury. The power of the king has become greater, and he employs an army of hired soldiers. The supremacy of the priesthood is being established, and the priest is coming to be regarded no longer as a servant or companion of the king, but as his superior. The classes were becoming hardened into caste divisions, and besides the Brāhmans (priests), Kshatriyas (nobles and warriors), and Vaiśyas (agriculturists and traders), who were of Aryan descent, though probably by this time mixed with non-Aryans, the great mass of non-Aryan peoples were classed as Śūdras. In course of time these castes became divided into many more, and every social distinction created by occupation, or race, or language tended to produce a separate caste.