Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c9.4

c9.4

In Upaniṣads we find seers from all castes and classes. Bādarāyaṇa however seeks to restrict the knowledge of *Brahman* from śudras. There is a whole section in his *Brahmasūtra* — called the Apaśūdrādhikaraṇa — in defence of this restriction. Pūrva-Mīmāṁsā also upholds the ban on the śūdras for performing a Vedic ritual. On the other hand, there were some enlightened sages like Bādari, who upheld the right of the śūdras to perform rituals.