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| {{Hinduism small}} | {{Hinduism small}} | ||
| '''Shudra''' is the fourth ], as |
'''Shudra''' is the fourth ], as mentioned in the '']'' of the '']'', one of the earliest texts of what has come to be known as ]. The Purusha Sukta hymn is one of the last verses to be added to Rig Veda and some scholars feel that this could have been an interpolation. The Rig Veda simply talks about the sacrifice of the cosmic giant Purusha and says that the four varnas came out of different body parts of Purusha, the Brahmins from his mouth, the Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vaishyas from his thighs and the Shudras from his feet. | ||
| ⚫ | ] in his book, ], claims that there were initially only three varnas: the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya, and the Shudras were the Kshatriyas who were denied the ] or the initiation ritual by the Brahmins. The Brahmins denied the Upanayana ritual to the Shudras as there was a continuous between the Brahmins and the Shudras. "Owing to the denial of the Upanayana, the Shudras who were Kshatriyas became socially degraded, fell below the rank of the Vaishyas and thus came to form the fourth varna.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ambedkar|first1=B.R.|title=Who were the Shudras?|date=1970|publisher=Thackers|location=Bombay|page=xiv|url=http://164.100.47.134/plibrary/ebooks/Jagjivan%20Ram/(sno%207)jagjivan%20ram%201.pdf}}</ref> | ||
| The varna system became rigid in the later ]. In modern Indian society, the government is ] these distinctions.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=ExrSB8R4G3MC&pg=PA6 |page=6 |title=Law of prevention of atrocities on the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes |first=T. R. |last=Naval |publisher=Concept Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=9788170228851 }}</ref> | |||
| The Government of India, under the leadership of V.P. Singh, instituted the ] in 1993 following the recommendations of ] (1979) to provide social justice to the Shudras. According to the 1931 census conducted by the British government Shudras classified as backward castes constituted 43.5 per cent of the Indian population.<ref>{{cite web|title=Counting Caste|url=http://caravanmagazine.in/perspectives/counting-castes|publisher=The Caravan}}</ref> | |||
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| == See also == | == See also == | ||
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| *] | *] | ||
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| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 15:17, 17 August 2014
Shudra is the fourth varna, as mentioned in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, one of the earliest texts of what has come to be known as Hinduism. The Purusha Sukta hymn is one of the last verses to be added to Rig Veda and some scholars feel that this could have been an interpolation. The Rig Veda simply talks about the sacrifice of the cosmic giant Purusha and says that the four varnas came out of different body parts of Purusha, the Brahmins from his mouth, the Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vaishyas from his thighs and the Shudras from his feet.
Ambedkar in his book, Who Were the Shudras?, claims that there were initially only three varnas: the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya, and the Shudras were the Kshatriyas who were denied the Upanayana or the initiation ritual by the Brahmins. The Brahmins denied the Upanayana ritual to the Shudras as there was a continuous between the Brahmins and the Shudras. "Owing to the denial of the Upanayana, the Shudras who were Kshatriyas became socially degraded, fell below the rank of the Vaishyas and thus came to form the fourth varna.
The Government of India, under the leadership of V.P. Singh, instituted the system of reservation in 1993 following the recommendations of Mandal Commission (1979) to provide social justice to the Shudras. According to the 1931 census conducted by the British government Shudras classified as backward castes constituted 43.5 per cent of the Indian population.
See also
References
- Ambedkar, B.R. (1970). Who were the Shudras? (PDF). Bombay: Thackers. p. xiv.
- "Counting Caste". The Caravan.
Further reading
- Chandra, R.; Chanchreek, K. L. (2004). Shudras in Ancient India. New Delhi: Shree Pub. ISBN 81-88658-65-0.
- Sharma, Ram Sharan (1990). Śūdras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa A.D. 600 (Third ed.). Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 9788120807068.
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