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Shudra

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Shudra (IAST: Sanskrit and Hindi: शूद्र Śūdra, now normally spelled Sudra or Súdra in English, which has produced a spelling pronunciation) is the fourth Varna. The other three varna were Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders. The Shudra performed functions of serving the other three varna. The Purusha Sukta of the Rig ved, prescribes the constitution of society into four or Chaturvarna. The varna system became rigid in the later Vedic period.Law of prevention of atrocities on the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes By T. R. Naval

Origins

Whilst the origins of the other varnas can be traced to Vedic words, the word varna is translated as the Sanskrit word for colour. In the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata, it is said that there was only one Varna—Brahmana—in the beginning. The other varnas were formed depending on the dominance of the three Guṇas—Sattva, Rajah, and Tamas—in one's self. The varnas were socio-economical roles that people take in a society. It is also mentioned in the Purusha sukta of the Rigveda that shudras are said to have emanated from the feet of the Virat Purush (पद्भ्याम् शूद्र् अजायत padbhyām śūdro ajāyata).

Medieval royal dynasties

Inscriptions of Shudra dynasties declare that belonging to the fourth varna was a matter of pride. An inscription of Singaya-Nayaka (1368 CE) says:

The three castes, Brahmanas and the next , were produced from the face, the arms and the thighs of the Lord; and for their support was born the fourth caste from His feet. River Ganges, the purifier of the three worlds also sprang from Lord's feet. The members of this caste are eagerly attentive to their duties, not wicked, pure-minded, and are devoid of passion and other such blemishes; they ably bear all the burdens of the earth by helping those born in the other caste.

Another inscription relates how his relative Kapaya-Nayaka "rescued the Andhra country from the ravages of the Mohammedans".

See also


Notes

  1. Oxford English Dictionary, s. v. "Sudra" sic
  2. Sastri, K. Rama (1982). "Akkalapundi grant of Singaya-Nayaka: Saka-Samvat 1290" Epigraphica Indica, vol. XIII. India: Archaeological Survey of India. pp. 259ff., v.5–7.
  3. Sastri, K. Rama (1982). "Akkalapundi grant of Singaya-Nayaka: Saka-Samvat 1290" Epigraphica Indica, vol. XIII. India: Archaeological Survey of India. p. 261.

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