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{{Short description|One of four varnas (classes) in Hinduism}}
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'''Shudra''' or ''Shoodra''<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/eastern-religions/hinduism/sudra| title = Sudra {{!}} Encyclopedia.com}}</ref> ([[Sanskrit]]: ''{{IAST|Śūdra}}''{{sfn|Sharma|1990|pp=60–61, 192–200, 261–267 with footnotes}}) is one of the four [[Varna (Hinduism)|varnas]] of the Hindu class and social system in [[ancient India]].<ref name=davis51/>{{sfn|Varadaraja V. Raman|2006|pp= 200–204}} Some sources translate it into English as a [[caste]],{{sfn|Varadaraja V. Raman|2006|pp= 200–204}} or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like workers.{{sfn|Sharma|1990|pp=60–61, 192–200, 261–267 with footnotes}}{{sfn|Ghurye|1969|pp=15–17, Quote: "This was only generally true, for there were groups of occupations like trading, agriculture, labouring in the field and doing military service which were looked upon as anybody's, and most caste were supposed to be eligible for any of them.}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Gombrich|author-link =Richard Gombrich|title=Buddhist Precept & Practice|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uZQrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA343 |year=2012|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-15616-8|pages=343–357|chapter=Chapter 8. Caste in the Monastery}}</ref>

According to [[Richard Gombrich]]'s study of [[Buddhist texts]], particularly relating to castes in [[Buddhism in Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan Buddhist]] and [[Tamil Hindu]] society, {{quote|"The terms Vaisya and Sudra did not correspond to any clear-cut social units, even in the ancient period, but various groups were subsumed under each term [...]; In medieval times (say AD 500–1500) though society was still said to consist of the four classes, this classification seems to have become irrelevant[.]"}}

The word ''Shudra'' appears in the ''[[Rigveda]]'' and it is found in other Hindu texts such as the ''[[Manusmriti]]'', ''[[Arthashastra]]'', [[dharmaśāstra]]s and [[jyotiḥśāstra]]s. In some cases, Shudras participated in the coronation of kings, or were [[amatya]] "ministers" and [[raja]]s "kings" according to early Indian texts.<ref name=jabbar148/>{{sfn|Sharma|1990|pp=54–61, 267–268 with footnotes}}

==History==
===Vedas===
The term ''śūdra'' appears only once in the ''Rigveda''.{{sfn|Basham|1989|pp=25-26}}{{Sfn|Sharma|1990|p=33}} This mention is found in the mythical story of creation embodied in the ''[[Purusha Sukta|Puruṣasuktam]]''. It describes the formation of the four varnas from the body of a [[Purusha|primeval man]]. It states that the [[brahmin]] emerged from his mouth, the [[kshatriya]] from his arms, the [[vaishya]] from his thighs and the shudra from his feet. According to historian [[Ram Sharan Sharma]], the purpose of this verse may have been to show that shudras had the same lineage as the other varnas and hence were a section of society in the [[Vedic period]]. On the other hand, it could also represent an attempt to provide a common mythical origin for the heterogenous Brahminical society.{{sfn|Sharma|1990|p=32}}<ref name="Sharma1983">{{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Ram Sharan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GN_ZAAAAMAAJ|title=Material culture and social formations in ancient India|publisher=Macmillan|year=1983|isbn=9780333904169|page=51|author-link=Ram Sharan Sharma}}</ref>{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/36 36-37]}}

While the ''Rigveda'' was most likely compiled between c. 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE,{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=37}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=4}} John Muir in 1868 suggested that the verse that mentions the four varnas has "every character of modernness both in its diction and ideas".<ref>{{cite book |last=Muir |first=John |title=Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India: Their Religion and Institutions, Volume 1|date=1868|publisher=Trubner and Co|location= London|page= 12|edition=2nd|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=K5ooAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA12}}</ref> The ''Purusha Sukta'' verse is now generally considered to have been inserted at a later date into the Vedic text, possibly as a [[Origin myth|charter myth]].{{sfn|Stephanie Jamison|Joel Brereton|2014|pages=57–58}}<ref>{{cite book |author1=Moriz Winternitz |author-link1=Moriz Winternitz |author2=V. Srinivasa Sarma |title=A History of Indian Literature|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JRfuJFRV_O8C&pg=PA59 |year=1996 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0264-3 |pages=59–60}}</ref>

According to [[Stephanie W. Jamison]] and Joel Brereton, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in the Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality".{{sfn|Stephanie Jamison|Joel Brereton|2014|pages=57–58}} Historian [[Ram Sharan Sharma]] states that "the Rig Vedic society was neither organized on the basis of social division of labour nor on that of differences in wealth... [it] was primarily organised based on kin, tribe and lineage."{{sfn|Sharma|1990|p=10}}

According to Sharma, nowhere in the ''Ṛgveda'' or ''Atharvaveda'' "is there any evidence of restrictions regarding food and marriage either between the Dasa and Aryan, or between the Shudra and the higher varnas". Further, adds Sharma, in late Atharva Veda, "Shudra does not come in for notice, probably because his varna did not exist at that stage".{{sfn|Sharma|1990|p=44–45}}

According to [[Romila Thapar]], the Vedic text's mention of Shudra and other varnas has been seen as its origin, and that "in the varna ordering of society, notions of purity and pollution were central and activities were worked out in this context" and it is "formulaic and orderly, dividing society into four groups arranged in a hierarchy".{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|p=63}} According to Sharma, the Shudra class originated from [[Aryan#Proto-Indo-Iranians|Indo-Aryans and non-Indo-Aryans]] who were relegated to that position due "partly through external and partly through internal conflicts".{{Sfn|Sharma|1990|p=45}}

The word ''pusan'' appears in a Vedic-era [[upanishad]] meaning "nourisher" and associates it with the creation of earth and production activities that nourishes the whole world, and the text calls this ''Pusan'' as Shudra.<ref>{{cite book|author=Patrick Olivelle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lsp18ZvstrcC|title=The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-535242-9|page=49|author-link=Patrick Olivelle}}</ref>{{sfn|Sharma|1990|pp=49–50}} The term ''Pusan'', in Hindu mythology, is the charioteer of the sun who knows the paths thereby bringing light, knowledge and life to all.<ref>{{cite book|author=Patrick Olivelle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lsp18ZvstrcC|title=The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-535242-9|pages=483, 636|author-link=Patrick Olivelle}}</ref> The same word ''pusan'' is, however, associated in a [[Brahmana]] text to [[Vaishya]].{{sfn|Sharma|1990|pp=49–50}}

===Arthashastra===
The ancient Hindu text ''Arthashastra'' states, according to Sharma, that ''Aryas'' were free men and could not be subject to slavery under any circumstances.{{sfn|Sharma|1958|p=163 (1990:177)}} The text contrasts ''Aryas'' with ''Shudra'', but neither as a hereditary slave nor as an economically closed social stratum in a manner that the term Shudra later was interpreted.{{sfn|D. R. Bhandarkar|1989|p=9}}{{sfn|Sharma|1958|p=163 (1990:177)}}{{sfn| Roger Boesche | 2013|pp= 103-104}} According to Rangarajan, the law on labour and employment in ''Arthashastra'' has led to a variety of different interpretations by different translators and commentators, and "the accepted view is that slavery, in the form it was practised in contemporary Greece, did not exist in Kautilyan India".{{sfn|LN Rangarajan|1992|p=411}}

[[Kautilya]] argued for the rights of Shudras and all classes to participate as warriors. Roger Borsche says that this is so because it is in the self-interest of the ruler to "have a people's army fiercely loyal to him precisely because the people had been treated justly".{{sfn| Roger Boesche|2013|pp= 103-104}}

===Manusmriti===
The ''Manusmriti'' predominantly discusses the code of conduct (dharma rules) for the Brahmins (priestly class) and the Kshatriyas (king, administration and warrior class).{{sfn|Patrick Olivelle|2005|pp=16, 62-65}} The text mentions Shudras and Vaishyas, but this part is its shortest section. Sections–of the ''Manusmriti'' state eight rules for Vaishyas and two for Shudras.{{sfn|Patrick Olivelle|2005|pp= 16, 8-14, 206-207}}

According to [[Indologist]] [[Patrick Olivelle]], the ''Manusmriti'' says Brahmins may seize property from Shudras (because Shudras own nothing)<ref>Patrick Olivelle 2005, page 189.</ref> and that Shudras should not accumulate wealth as if they become wealthy they could gain undue power.<ref>Patrick Olivelle 2005, page 214.</ref> 

In sections 10.43 - 10.44, Manu lists [[Kshatriya]] tribes who, neglecting the priests and their rites, had fallen to the status of Shudras. These are: [[Pundravardhana|Pundrakas]], Codas, [[Dravida kingdom|Dravidas]], [[Kambojas]], [[Yavana]]s, [[Saka]]s, [[Parada kingdom|Paradas]], [[Pahlavas]], [[Chinas]], [[Kirata]]s, [[Daradas]] and [[Khas people|Khasas]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Deshpande |first1=Madhav|last2=Hook |first2=Peter Edwin|title=Aryan and Non-Aryan in India |year=1979 |publisher=University of Michigan |isbn=0891480145 |page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpz6CpO4XhwC&q=Cinas,+Kir%C4%81tas+and+Daradas|access-date=24 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Baldwin |first1=John Denison |title=Pre-Historic Nations |year=1871 |publisher=Sagwan Press |isbn=1340096080 |page=290 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oz5HAQAAMAAJ&q=shudras+Cinas%2C+Kir%C4%81tas+and+Daradas&pg=PA290|access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref>

===Yajnavalkya smriti and Grhyasutras===
According to [[Laurie L. Patton|Laurie Patton]], a professor of religion specialising in early Indian religions, the rights and status of Shudra vary widely across early Indian texts.{{sfn|Laurie Patton|2002|p=90}} The ''Apastamba Grhysutra'' excludes the Shudra students from hearing or learning the Vedas.{{sfn|Laurie Patton|2002|p=90}} ''[[Yajnavalkya Smriti]]'' in contrast, mentions Shudra students, and the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' states that all four varnas, including the Shudras, may hear the Vedas.{{sfn|Laurie Patton|2002|pp=90-91}}{{sfn|Sharma|1990|p=293}} Other Hindu texts go further and state that the three varnas – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya – may acquire knowledge from Shudra teachers, and the ''[[yajna]]'' sacrifices may be performed by Shudras.{{sfn|Laurie Patton|2002|p=91}} These rights and social mobility for Shudras may have arisen in times of lower societal stress and greater economic prosperity, periods that also saw improvement in the social conditions of women.{{sfn|Laurie Patton|2002|pp=90-91}}

===Medieval Upanishads===
Medieval era texts such as ''[[Vajrasuchi Upanishad]]'' discuss varna and include the term Shudra.<ref>Mariola Offredi (1997), The banyan tree: essays on early literature in new Indo-Aryan languages, Volume 2, Manohar Publishers, {{oclc|46731068}}, {{ISBN|9788173042775}}, page 442</ref><ref>M.V. Nadkarni (2005), [http://gateway.isec.ac.in/JSED/JSED_V7_I1_91-113.pdf Review Articles: Perspectives on Dalit Problems and Solutions] {{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Journal of Social and Economic Development, Vol. 7, No. 1, page 99</ref> According to Ashwani Peetush, a professor of philosophy at the Wilfrid Laurier University, the ''Vajrasuchi Upanishad'' is a significant text because it assumes and asserts that any human being from any social background can achieve the highest spiritual state of existence.<ref>Ashwani Peetush (2011), Justice and Religion: Hinduism, in Encyclopedia of Global Justice, Springer Netherlands, {{ISBN|978-1402091599}}, pages 596–600</ref>

===Non-Hindu texts===
Outside of the conflicting stances within the Hindu texts, non-Hindu texts present a different picture about the Shudras. A Buddhist text, states Patton, "refers to Shudras who know the Vedas, grammar, [[Mimamsa]], [[Samkhya]], [[Vaisheshika]] and [[lagna]]".{{sfn|Laurie Patton|2002|p=90}}

According to [[Johannes Bronkhorst]], a professor of Indology specialising in early Buddhism and Hinduism, the ancient Buddhist canon is predominantly devoid of varna discussions, and the varnas are rarely referred to in its ancient discourses.{{sfn|Johannes Bronkhorst| 2011|p=34 with footnotes}} The Buddhist texts do not describe the Indian society as divided into the four varṇas of "Brahmins, Ksạtriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras". Instead, states Bronkhorst, the bulk of society is described as consisting of "householders" (Pāli: ''gahapati''), without internal distinctions.{{sfn|Johannes Bronkhorst| 2011|p=34 with footnotes}} Even where the Brahmins are mentioned in such a context, they too are referred to as householders, or ''Brāhmaṇa-gahapati''.{{sfn|Johannes Bronkhorst| 2011|pp=34-35}} The term ''vaṇṇa'' does appear in the Buddhist texts as few exceptions, but states Bronkhorst, only in the context of abstract divisions of society and it seems to "have remained a theoretical concept without any parallel in actual practice".{{sfn|Johannes Bronkhorst| 2011|p=35}}

== Disabilities ==
The Śāstra literature lists various disabilities of śūdras.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kane |first=Pandurang Vaman |title=History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediæval Religious and Civil Law) |publisher=Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |year=1941 |series=Government Oriental Series Class B, No 6 |volume=II, Part I |location=Poona |pages=154–164}}</ref>

# Barred from studying and hearing the [[Vedas]]. The prohibition was based on Vedic passages, but Kane notes in ancient times was the prohibition not as "absolute and universal". Śūdras were permitted to hear the [[Itihāsa]] and [[Puranas|Purāṇa]] texts.<ref name=":0" />
# Barred from performing [[Vedic sacrifice|Vedic sacrifices]] and instituting sacred Vedic fires. Śūdras were permitted to perform pūrta-dharma (building wells, tanks, temples, parks, and distributing charity), to perform the five daily Mahāyajñas in ordinary fire, perform the [[Śrāddha]], all without Vedic mantras and speaking only "namaḥ".<ref name=":0" />
# There exist conflicting opinions regarding [[Samskara (rite of passage)|saṁskāras]]. The most restrictive text, the Mānava Dharmaśāstra, bars śūdras from all saṁskāras. The most liberal texts allow performance of the childhood saṁskāras preceding Vedic study along with vivāha ("marriage"), all without the use of Vedic mantras.<ref name=":0" />
# Higher punishments for certain offenses such as sexual intercourse, adultery, rape, slander, or libel of a person of higher varṇa. For some certain offenses such as theft a śūdra received less punishment than higher varṇas.<ref name=":0" />
# Longer impurity of one month during death and birth in the family.<ref name=":0" />
# Barred from being a judge or propounding dharma.<ref name=":0" />
# Barred from giving gifts to brāhmaṇas except in extreme situations.<ref name=":0" />
# Brāhmaṇas generally prohibited from taking food from śūdras unless the śūdra be in the brāhmaṇa's employ.<ref name=":0" />
# Texts vary on whether or not a śūdra may touch a brāhmaṇa without expiation on the brāhmaṇa's part.<ref name=":0" />
# A śūdra was only entitled to the [[Grihastha|gr̥hastha]] ("householder") [[āśrama (stage)]].<ref name=":0" />
# The penance for killing a śūdra was less than a person of the higher varṇas.<ref name=":0" />

Kane notes that despite these disabilties the śūdras had many advantages; they were free from the minutiae of rules, regulations, and constant rituals required of the higher varnas.<ref name=":0" />

==Education==
Historian R. S. Sharma, after discussing several examples concludes that the dharmaśāstras did not allow the Shudras access to [[literacy]] but allowed them to learn arts and crafts such as elephant training, etc. He also adds that texts denied them Vedic education as it was believed to impede agriculture and vice versa. While the other varnas showed varying degrees of literacy, the Shudras were generally illiterate.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharma|1990|p=134}}</ref> The social reformer [[Jyotirao Phule]] blamed the deterioration of the Shudras on illiteracy and emphasised education for them.<ref name="JyotiraoPhuleonShudra"> 
*{{cite book|author=Angus J. L. Menuge|title=Religious Liberty and the Law: Theistic and Non-Theistic Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NMItDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT272|date=20 July 2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-98266-5|pages=272–}} 
*{{cite book|author1=J. S. Rajput|author2=National Council of Educational Research and Training (India)|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Education: A-K|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGYOAQAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=NCERT|isbn=978-81-7450-303-9|page=22|quote=Although varying degrees of literacy were present among the first three castes, there was absolute illiteracy among Shudras.}} 
*{{cite book|author1=Michael D. Palmer|author2=Stanley M. Burgess|title=The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=miXfxNiFghcC&pg=PT210|date=12 March 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-5537-6|pages=210|quote=His emphasis on the education of the Shudras is well explained in his own words: For want of education intellect deteriorated, For want of intellect morality decayed, For want of morality progress stopped, For want of progress wealth vanished, For want of wealth Shudra perished and all these sorrows sprang from illiteracy.}}</ref>

==Occupation==
[[File:From left to right- A Gurkha, a Brahmin and a Sood.jpg|thumb|From left to right: A [[Gurkha]], a Brahmin, and a Shudra, Simla, 1868.]]
Traditionally, Shudras were [[peasant]]s and [[artisan]]s. The ancient texts designate the Shudra as a peasant. Shudras were described as the giver of grain and ancient texts describe a Shudra's mode of earning as being "by the sickle and ears of corn". The ancient precept, "Vedas are destroyer of agriculture and agriculture is destroyer of Vedas", is shown as one of the reasons as to why the Shudras were not allowed to learn Vedas. The fact that peasants were held as Shudras is also documented by Chinese traveller [[Xuanzang]] in the [[7th century]]. Also, an "outcaste" who entered the profession of agriculture would be absorbed in the Shudra varna.<ref name="ShudraPeasantSources">Shudra peasant :
*{{cite book | last=Barrett | first=Ronald L. | title=Aghor Medicine: Pollution, Death, and Healing in Northern India | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnIlDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 | date=4 March 2008 | publisher=University of California Press | isbn=978-0-520-25218-9 | page=68 | quote=Among the most vocal of these supporters was Dr. Shastri, a professor of Ayurvedic medicine at a well-known university, who associated the Caraka Samhita use of shudra for lesser conditions with the shudra (peasant) castes, linking both.}}
*{{cite book | last=Krishnan-Kutty | first=G. | title=Peasantry in India | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8lOrdSYJiLwC&pg=PA47 | year=1986 | publisher=Abhinav Publications | isbn=978-81-7017-215-4 | page=47 | quote=The ancient texts designate the sudra as a peasant. The distinction between the all-India category of varna and the local and omnipresent category of jati is well brought out by M. N. Srinivas in his famous book ''The Remembered Village''.}}
*{{cite book | last=Sisson | first=Richard | title=The Congress Party in Rajasthan: Political Integration and Institution-building in an Indian State | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNn0L9BmCQcC&pg=PA33 | year=1971 | publisher=University of California Press | isbn=978-0-520-01808-2 | page=33 | quote=The Shudra included peasants and artisans.}}
*{{cite book | last=Gadkari | first=Jayant | title=Society and Religion: From Rugveda to Puranas | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zst_7qaatp8C&pg=PA76 | date=October 1996 | publisher=Popular Prakashan | isbn=978-81-7154-743-2 | page=76 | quote=An extract from Pali work Majjima Nikaya tells us... shudras [live] by the sickle and ears of corn. A large number of Shudras appear to be agricultural laborers. Shudras were not entitled to learn Vedas, and a precept says, 'Vedas are the destroyer of agriculture and agriculture is the destroyer of Vedas.'}}
*{{cite book | last=Kumar | first=Sangeet | title=Changing Role of the Caste System: A Critique | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=guhtAAAAMAAJ | date=1 January 2005 | publisher=Rawat Publications | isbn=978-81-7033-881-9 | page=144 | quote=In some texts, the pure Shudras were described as giver of grain (annada) and householder (grhastha). The reason was that the actual cultivation was generally done by peasants belonging to the Shudra caste.}}
*{{cite book | last=Grewal | first=J. S. | title=The State and Society in Medieval India | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgluAAAAMAAJ | year=2005 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-566720-2 | page=156 | quote=At its beginning or a little before the millennium, the Manusmriti considers the pursuit of agriculture blameworthy because the 'wooden [plough] with the iron point injures the earth and the [beings] living in the earth'. Thus, by an appeal to the doctrine of ahimsa, so much promoted by Buddhism and Jainism, the plough became unclean, and the peasant who worked the plough earned opprobrium that has stuck till our own times. R. S. Sharma shows how in the legal texts, peasants were generally regarded not as Vaishyas as earlier, but as Shudras. This is confirmed in the seventh century by Xuan Zhuang (Hsuan Tsang) who found that in India peasants were held to be Shudras. Such varna ranking of most peasant castes (now usually given the designation of 'Other Backward Castes') is thus more than 1300 years old, and was in place by the early medieval times. If certain older communities were thus reduced in status, it is possible that other communities, previously held to be outside the pale of the varna system, were absorbed as Shudra castes once they took to agriculture. We have such an example in the Kaivartas.}}
*{{cite book | last=Jha | first=Dwijendra Narayan | title=Early India: A Concise History | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUpuAAAAMAAJ | date=1 January 2004 | publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors | isbn=978-81-7304-587-5 | page=196 | quote=For the shudras now took their position as cultivators and the origin of the modern peasant castes of kurmis in Bihar and kunbis in Maharashtra may be traced back to the early medieval period.}}
</ref>

The Shudra, states Marvin Davis, are not required to learn the [[Vedas]]. They were not ''[[dvija]]'' or "twice-born", and their occupational sphere stated as service (''seva'') of the other three varna.<ref name=davis51>{{cite book |title=Rank and Rivalry: The Politics of Inequality in Rural West Bengal |first=Marvin |last=Davis |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1983 |page=51 |isbn=9780521288804 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kw4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA52}}</ref>{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|p=63}} The word ''Dvija'' is neither found in any [[Vedas]] and [[Upanishads]], nor is it found in any Vedanga literature such as the Shrauta-sutras or Grihya-sutras.<ref name="DIntinoGuenzi2012p117">{{cite book|author=Patric Olivelle|editor=Silvia D'Intino, Caterina Guenzi|title=Aux abords de la clairière: études indiennes et comparées en l'honneur de Charles Malamoud|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k9UIMwEACAAJ|series=Volume 7 of Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études, Sciences Religieuses: Série Histoire et prosopographie|year=2012|publisher=Brepols, Belgium|isbn=978-2-503-54472-4|pages=117–132}}</ref> The word is almost entirely missing, in any context, from ancient Sanskrit literature composed before the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, and it scarcely appears in the dharmasutras.<ref name="DIntinoGuenzi2012p117"/> Increasing mentions of it appear in the dharmasastras of mid to late 1st millennium CE. The presence of the word ''dvija'' is a marker that the text is likely a medieval-era text.<ref name="DIntinoGuenzi2012p117"/>

The traditional occupation of Shudra as described by Ghurye is agriculture, trade and crafts.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ingold |first=Tim |title=Companion encyclopedia of anthropology |publisher=Routledge |location=London New York |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-415-28604-6 |page=1026}}</ref> However, this categorisation varies by scholar.{{sfn|Ghurye|1969|pp=63-64, 102 Quote: "treat both the Vaishyas and the Shudras as almost indistinguishable. The occupations prescribed by Parashara, who is par excellence the mentor of the age, for both of them are the same, viz. agriculture, trade and crafts"}} As per Drekmeier state "Vaishya and Shudra actually shared many occupations and were frequently grouped together".<ref name="Drekmeier1962p85">{{cite book|author=Charles Drekmeier|title=Kingship and Community in Early India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmurAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA85 |year=1962|publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-0114-3|pages=85–86}}</ref>{{sfn|Sharma|1990|pp=263–269, 342–345}}

The ''Arthashastra'' mentions Shudra as artisans while the ''Vishnusmriti'' (3rd century) states all arts to be their occupational domain. In contrast, the ''Parasarasmriti'' and other texts state that arts and crafts are the occupational domain of all four varnas.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch|title=Exploring India'S Sacred Art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxPeWwFz9MkC&pg=PA60 |year=1994|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1208-6|pages=60–61}}</ref>

Other sources state that this statement of occupations of Shudra is a theoretical discussion found in select texts, it is not historical. Other Hindu texts such as the epics, states Naheem Jabbar, assert that Shudras played other roles such as kings and ministers.<ref name=jabbar148>{{cite book|author=Naheem Jabbar|title=Historiography and Writing Postcolonial India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wt6AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA148| year=2009| publisher= Routledge|isbn= 978-1-134-01040-0|pages=148–149}}</ref> According to Ghurye,{{sfn|Ghurye|1969|pp=15–16}} in reality, the hereditary occupation aspect of Shudra and other varnas was missing from large parts of India, and all four varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras) were agriculturalists, traders or became warriors in large numbers depending on economic opportunity and circumstantial necessities.{{sfn|Ghurye|1969|pp=16–17}} According to Ghurye:

{{Blockquote|
Though theoretically the position of the Shudras was very low, there is evidence to show that many of them were well-to-do. Some of them succeeded in marrying their daughters in royal families. Sumitra, one of the 3 wives of king Dasharatha, was a Shudra. Some of them even worked their way up to throne.
|G. C. Ghurye|''Caste and Race in India''{{sfn|Ghurye|1969|p=63}}|source=}}

===Bali, Indonesia===
Among the Hindu communities of Bali, Indonesia, the Shudra (locally spelled ''Soedra'') have typically been the temple priests, though depending on the demographics, a temple priest may also be a Brahmin (Brahmana), Kshatriya (Ksatrya) or Vaishya. In most regions, it has been the Shudra who typically make offerings to the gods on behalf of the Hindu devotees, chant prayers, recite ''meweda'' (Vedas), and set the course of Balinese temple festivals.<ref>Jane Belo (1953), Bali: Temple Festival, Monograph 22, American Ethnological Society, University of Washington Press, pages 4-5</ref>

===Historical evidence===
Scholars have tried to locate historical evidence for the existence and nature of ''varna'' and ''jati'' in documents and inscriptions of medieval India. Supporting evidence for the existence of ''varna'' and ''jati'' systems in medieval India has been elusive, and contradicting evidence has emerged.{{sfn|Talbot|2001|pp=50–51}}{{sfn|Orr|2000|pp=30–31}}

''Varna'' is rarely mentioned in the extensive medieval era records of [[Andhra Pradesh]], for example. This has led Cynthia Talbot, a professor of history and Asian studies, to question whether ''varna'' was socially significant in the daily lives of this region. The mention of ''jati'' is even rarer, through the 13th century. Two rare temple donor records from warrior families of the 14th century claim to be Shudras. One states that Shudras are the bravest, the other states that Shudras are the purest.{{sfn|Talbot|2001|pp=50–51}}

Richard Eaton, a professor of history, writes, "anyone could become a warrior regardless of social origins, nor do the ''jati'' appear as features of people's identity. Occupations were fluid." Evidence shows, according to Eaton, that Shudras were part of the nobility, and many "father and sons had different professions, suggesting that social status was earned, not inherited" in the Hindu [[Kakatiya dynasty|Kakatiya]] population in the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] region between the 11th and 14th centuries.{{sfn|Eaton|2008|pp=15-16}}

According to Johannes Bronkhorst, none of Ashoka's inscriptions mention the terms Kshatriyas, Vaishyas or Shudras, and only mention Brahmins and [[Śramaṇa]]s.{{sfn|Johannes Bronkhorst| 2011|pp=32, 36}}

Several popular medieval era [[Bhakti movement]] poet-saints and religious leaders were born in a Shudra family. Examples include [[Tukaram]] and [[Namdev]].<ref>Richard M. Eaton (2005), ''A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761: Eight Indian Lives'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521716277}}, pages 129-130</ref>{{sfn|Novetzke|2013|pp=54-55}} The compositions of Namdev have been popular not only in the Hindu community of [[Maharashtra]], but also in the Sikh community. Sixty of his compositions were included by the Sikh Gurus of Punjab region as they compiled the [[Sikhism]] scripture the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Pashaura Singh|title=The Bhagats of the Guru Granth Sahib: Sikh Self-definition and the Bhagat Bani|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMrXAAAAMAAJ |year=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566269-6 |pages=11–15, 105–107, 119–120}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Kerry Brown|title=Sikh Art and Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddgO-DldmSwC |year=2002|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-63136-0|page=114}}</ref>

==Commentary==
[[File:Women of all nations; a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs and influence (1908) (14596144980).jpg|thumb|A 1908 photo of a [[bride]] and [[bridegroom]] of the sudra caste in a [[horse-drawn vehicle]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Women of all nations, a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs and influence |year=1908|first=Thomas Athol |last=Joyce|author-link=Thomas Athol Joyce|url=https://archive.org/details/womenofallnation00joyc}}</ref>]]
[[B. R. Ambedkar|Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar]], a social reformer, believed that there were initially only three varnas: the [[Brahmin]], [[Kshatriya]] and [[Vaishya]], and that the Shudras were the Kshatriyas who were denied the [[Upanayana]], an initiation ritual, by the Brahmins.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ambedkar|first1=B.R.|title=Who were the Shudras|year=1970|publisher=Thackers|location=Bombay|page=xiv|url=http://164.100.47.134/plibrary/ebooks/Jagjivan%20Ram/(sno%207)jagjivan%20ram%201.pdf|access-date=17 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819103958/http://164.100.47.134/plibrary/ebooks/Jagjivan%20Ram/(sno%207)jagjivan%20ram%201.pdf|archive-date=19 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> This claim has been contested by historians such as [[Ram Sharan Sharma|R. S. Sharma]]. Sharma criticised Ambedkar for relying solely on translations of texts for his information, and stated Ambedkar wrote the book with the sole purpose to prove Shudras were of high caste origin, which was very popular among the highly educated parts of the lower castes during that time period.{{sfn|Sharma|1990|p=5}}

[[Sri Aurobindo]] states Shudra and the other varna is a concept found in all human beings in different proportions. He states that this was externalised and mechanised into a system quite different from what it was intended.{{sfnp|Aurobindo|1996|pages=740-747|ps=}}

The tenets of Vedic Hinduism in north India held less sway in the south, where the societal divisions were simply three distinguishable classes, the [[Brahmins]], the non-Brahmins and the [[Dalit]]s. The two intermediate [[dvija]] varnas—the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas—did not exist.<ref>{{cite book |first=Ayesha |last=Jalal |title=Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative and Historical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNJHlFTPBT0C&pg=PA204 |year=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-47862-5 |page=204}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Jean Alphonse |last=Bernard |title=From Raj to the Republic: A Political History of India, 1935–2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dP9tAAAAMAAJ |year=2001 |publisher=Har Anand Publications |page=37|isbn=9788124107669 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=M. P. |last=Joseph |title=Legitimately Divided: Towards a Counter Narrative of the Ethnographic History of Kerala Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNLYAAAAMAAJ |year=2004 |publisher=Christava Sahitya Samithi |isbn=978-81-7821-040-7 |page=62}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Tapan |last1=Raychaudhuri |first2=Irfan |last2=Habib |author-link2=Irfan Habib |first3=Dharma |last3=Kumar |title=The Cambridge Economic History of India: c.1200–c.1750 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-s8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA26 |year=1982 |publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive |isbn=978-0-521-22692-9 |page=27}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Sat-Sudra]]
* [[Chuhra]]
* [[Other Backward Class]]
* ''[[Who Were the Shudras?]] (Book)''

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|30em}}

=== General and cited references ===
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*{{citation |author-link=Roger Boesche |author=Roger Boesche |year=2013 |title=The First Great Political Realist: Kautilya and His Arthashastra |publisher=Lexington |isbn=978-0739104019}}
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* {{Cite web |title=Shudra: Hindu Class |author=Encyclopedia Britannica |year=2010 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shudra |publisher=The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica}}
*{{citation |last=Ghurye |first=G. S. |author-link=G. S. Ghurye |year=1969 |orig-year=first published 1932 |edition=Fifth |title=Caste and Race in India |publisher=Popular Prakashan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWkjsvf6_vsC |isbn=978-81-7154-205-5}}
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** {{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Ram Sharan |title=Śūdras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa A.D. 600 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsZkAu-RHVgC |edition=Third |year=1990 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. |isbn=978-81-208-0706-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Talbot |first=Cynthia |title=Precolonial India in practice society, region, and identity in medieval Andhra |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-513661-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofGLngEACAAJ}}
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* {{Cite journal |last=Witzel |first=Michael |year=1995 |title=Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state |journal=EJVS |volume=1 |issue=4 }}

[[Category:Shudra castes| ]]
[[Category:Varnas in Hinduism]]