Shudra Totally Explained

Everything about Shudra totally explained

Shudra (IAST: ) is the fourth Varna in the traditional four-section division in historic Hindu society. Their assigned and expected role in post-Vedic India was that of labourers. The four Varnas are Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Shudra.

Origins

Whilst the origins of the other varnas can be traced to Indo-Aryan or even Proto-Indo-European words, the root of the word isn't clear at all. A threefold division of societies can be found in ancient Iran that matches the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaisya varnas. However, the linguistically related Nuristani people in neighboring Afghanistan have a class equivalent to the Shudras amongst them. (External Link

)

From Dasas and Dahyus

But the latter groups are also encountered in the Avestan texts and no subjugation is mentioned, though enmity is. This is because the Dasa, Dasyus or Pani as they're sometimes referred to were Iranic. The Iranians call themselves "Dahyu"(which means tribe, province, and district.). Panini was a Pashtun Brahmin scholar of Sanskrit grammar. (External Link

). So then this suggests that the Dasa were merely a tribe. The ancient texts of India portray no such subjugation by conquest resulting in servile group of people, but merely assume that the Shudras are part of society, even if not the most exalted.

Etymology

The etymology of the word can be traced back to the vedic age. Shudra comes from the word "shuchAt dravanam" a person who is in suffering/mourning/pain, who needs mental or physical cleansing. Shudra was a common Sanskrit word, any person regardless of his/her varna to could be addressed as shudra. An implied version of this common form has become traditionally associated with the varna system. It is also mentioned in the purusha-sukta of Rig veda where shudras are said to have emanated from the feet of the lord (padbhyAm shUdrO ajaayata). A very symbolic statement indeed. It denotes that the three other varnas which made up the parts of purusha (the lord) were supported by the shUdras as the feet form the supporting system of the entire body. This can be understood clearly from the fact that the shudras were basically farmers, potters, cobblers etc (anything the other three varnas wouldn't do viz, teaching, fighting and trade) and hence they formed a support system for the entire society. Unfortunately, direct misinterpretations of these vedic hymns have caused a lot of unrest and confusion in the modern Hindu society.

Jāti

The theoretical and the original varnas carried to its extreme in the ages following the 'Vedic' period. Every Jāti claimed to belong to some Varna.
Local variations of Jāti sub-castes exist wit the Shudra caste. A sub-caste is a local endogenous group practising a lower end Shudras will be untouchable Dalits.

Saints in Hinduism

Sant Bogar, goldsmith, a South Indian Siddhar who became a Siddhar under the guidance of Kalanginaathar. It is said that he proceeded to China to teach the ways of the Siddhars. There is even a myth that Lao Tze is noneother than Bhogar. Bhogar’s Samadhi is to be found in the South West corridor at the Palani Muruga shrine.(External Link)
Sant Dadu, cotton carder, founded Dadu Panth, tried to bridge gap between Hindus and Muslims(External Link)
Sant Enadinatha, Shanar (toddy tapper) devotee of Shiva(External Link)
Sant Goroba, Kumbhar (potter)
Sant Ilakkulaccanrar, Shanar devotee of Shiva(External Link)
Sant Janabai, Dasi, domestic servant in Sant Namdev's home, performed Vatsalya Bhakti on Lord Vitthala
Sant Kabir, member of the weaver caste and Vaishnava devotee of Lord Rama. He tried to bring peace between Hindus and Muslims. He is said to have been found in a lotus flower according to a legend.(External Link)
Sant Kanakadas, Kuruba, a devotee of Krishna
Sant Kahar, a weaver, devotee of Vishnu (Ranchi University P. 58 Journal of Social Research)
Sant Kwaja Lassa Sahib (External Link)
Sant Kanchipurna (External Link), Vaishnava devotee of Lord Vishnu
Sant Matsyendranath, said to be born out of a fish and then adopted by a fisherwoman, worshiped by Shaiva, Vaishnavas, tantric and Buddhists (Bista, P. 34 Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization).
Sant Namdev, Vaishnava devotee of Lord Vithoba. It is said that he's a part (Amsa) of Lord Krishna, wrote Abhangs devoted to Krishna
Sant Nammalvar (External Link)
Sant Nandanar (External Link)
Sant Yogi Potuluri Veerabrahmam,(External Link) goldsmith, Telugu, devotee of Shiva. His disciples included Brahmins like Annajayya, Muslims like Siddhayya and chura (cobbler) ‘untouchables’ like Kakkayya
Sant Raka Kumbhar, potter, devotee of Vitthal
Revana Siddeshwara, Kuruba, devotee of Lord Shiva
Sant Sajan Kasai, butcher
Sant Savata Mali, Mali (gardener) from Aran, Maharashtra, devotee of Vithal, wrote Abhangs devoted to Krishna
Sant Sena, Nai (barber), wrote Abhangs devoted to Krishna
Sant Sachidanand, Nai, devotee of Dattatreya
Siddharameswar Maharaj, a devotee of Lord Shiva
Sant Tirukkacchi Nambi
Sant Tiruneelakanda Nayanar, potter, devotee of Shiva, one of 63 Shaivite saints
Tiruppana Azhvar, Azhvar (or Ezhava), devotee of Vishnu
Sant Visoba Khechar, grocer, devotee of Lord Shiva and the disciple of the saint Shri Gnaneshwar Maharaj of Aalandi.

Maharishis

Maharishi Ramananda Raya, a very important devotee of Krishna

Maharshi Aitreya Mahidasa, composed the Aitreya Brahmana and sections 1-3 of the Aitreya Aranyaka (the latter contains the Aitreya Upanishad - one of the 10 canonical Upanishads for Hindus) belonging to the Rigveda.

Maharishi Karve Maharishi Angira considered as creator of Rig Ved belonged to Jangid Brhamin Community and his successors known as khati

Other Sages

Bhagat Amir Shankar, butcher, devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba

Bhagat Avvaiyyar, Ezhava

Bhagat Bala Ganpat Shimpi, tailor, friend of Shirdi Sai Baba

Bhakta Jaidev, made poetry of the Gita-Govinda

Bhakta Kakshivat, a Brahmavadin, was the son of Dirghatamas by a Shudra maid servant (Brihaddevata 4.24-25). His descendants are also referred to as "Kakshivat".

Bhakta Narayana Guru

, Ezhava, a very well-known Hindu reformer and a sanyasi

Guru Nitya Chaythaniya Yethi

Bhagat Mhalsapati Sonar, goldsmith, the supreme devotee of the saint Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi

Manikyavachakar, Ezhava

Mudisoodum Perumal, Nadar, a religious Ayyavazhi reformer

Karta Ram Maharaj, Rajasthani, meghawals (leather-weavers) the guru of members of his caste

Kashiram Shimpi, tailor

Nataraja Guru, disciple of Narayana

Gabaji Sutar, carpenter, devotee of Sai Baba in Sai's time

Guru Muni Narayana Prasad, disciple of Sree Narayana Guru

Swami Bodhananda

Bhakta Narayan Baba, the youngest son of Tukaram, began Pandharpur Festival in 1685

Rajak Var-Pradanam, Chanda (washerman), first disciple of Shripad Shri Vallabha avatar

Vagbhatananda Gurudevar, Thiyya, disciple of Sree Narayana Guru

Bhikshu Dharmaskandha, disciple of Sree Narayana Guru

Brahmashri Swami Sashwathikananda, disciple of Sree Narayana Guru

Brahmashri Swami Sookshmananda, disciple of Sree Narayana Guru

Bhakta Rani Rasmoni, Bengali, founded the Dakshineswar Kali Temple

Bhakta Madanapala was the son of a boatwoman

Bhakta M.S. Subbulakshmi, devotee of Vishnu, musician and was taught Bhajagovindam and Vishnu Sahasranamam from her guru Chandrashekarendra Saraswati

Bhakta Vatsa, according to the Rig Veda, a descendant of Kanva RV 6.1; 8.8 etc; was called a Shudra-putra (Panchavimsha Brahman 14.66).

Bhakta Sarala Dasa, wrote the Mahabharata in Oriya. He was renamed Sarala from Siddheswar Parida (after the boon Goddess Sarala.)

Avatars

Shri Ayya Vaikundar, considered incarnation of Vishnu in the Ayyavazhi Smarta sect

Maharshi Veda Vyas, fisherman, composed the Mahabharata, considered an avatara of Vishnu. Maharishi Ved Vyas, who is credited to have compiled/edited all the four Vedas in present format and who is believed to be author of Mahabharata, Shrimad Bhagwat Gita and all the Purans has himself laid down (Mahabharata: 1-V-4): that `whenever there's conflict between what is declared in the Vedas and provisions in any of the Smritis, Puranas, etc., what is declared in the Vedas shall prevail.` Furthermore, Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (10.37) says, "Of the descendants of Vrishni I'm Vasudeva, and of the Pandavas I'm Arjuna. Of the sages I'm Vyasa, and among great thinkers I'm Usana."

Narad Muni, was son of maidservant who became a Brahmana and was taught by Vaishnava gurus, wrote the Narad Bhakti Sutra. He is mentioned as one of the 25 avatars of Lord Vishnu.(External Link

) Krishna also says in the Bhagavad Gita (10.26)(External Link

), "Of all trees I'm the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I'm Narada. Of the Gandharvas I'm Citraratha, and among perfected beings I'm the sage Kapila."

Sukhdevji, the son of the great guru and avatar of Sri Vishnu, Veda Vyasa. He stayed inside mother's womb for sixteen years. He was the first one to say Bhagavata Purana to the great Raja Parikshita in last seven remaining days of king's life. Thus the king attained self-realization.

Shudras and North Indian society

It is commonly believed that the caste division is somewhat uniform in North Indian society compared to South Indian society. However some prominent rulers of North India were believed to have originated from the Shudra caste. Ex: The Nandas and the Mauryas.
Even today, the ruling coalitions of the Nardaz in most of the North Indian provinces like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are dominated by political parties that either overtly or covertly represent the interests and identities of the Shudra sections (called the 'other backward castes' or OBCs by the politically correct.) Examples include the Samajwadi Party, at the head of the ruling coalition in India's biggest state UP and deriving most of its support from the Yadav (Ahir) tribe/caste and the Samata Party, at the head of Bihar's ruling coalition, which gets most of its support from the Kurmi OBC.
OBC doesn't means Sudra status. OBC is very flexible group and changes state to state. One community/caste is OBC in one state but not in other state. Here are some examples, Banias are OBCs in Bihar but not in other states, Rajputs are OBC in Karnataka and Gujarat but not in other state. Kurmis are OBC in UP,MP,Bihar but not in Gujarat. Dr Ambedkar investigated thoroughly the vast Hindu literature and wrote the book "who were Shudras". He proposed that shudras varna was developed by brahmins to punish tyrannical kshatriyas.

Shudras and South Indian society

South Indian society makes more sense from feudal angle than caste angle. Here, both the dominant castes and weaker castes are classified under Shudras. This caste model is also true for Bengal, Orissa, and Assam. Hence the mapping of four varnas over these areas is incomplete.
   In South India, they rank next to the Brahmin.
   The caste system that made feudal families in all over South India an endogenous unit was readily accepted even though Brahmins didn't exactly give Kshatriya and Vaishya status to all the warrior and merchant communities. Mostly the Brahmins acquired land and until land reforms in twentieth century, were feudal lords.
   It could be debated if the people of South India really realized (when it comes to weaker castes) or cared (when it comes to dominant castes), their position in caste hierarchy. Also, most importantly whether many communities even think they were part of the caste system, since if one removes the Vedic part of Brahmanical Hinduism, there isn't much difference between Brahmin worship and native Dravidian worship.
   Many South Indian communities had their own temples and priests. However, the universal education during British period and the Western concepts of community identity caused the development of caste consciousness in South Indian society (the clan identities were present and those could be within the caste too). In Tamil Nadu it resulted in the dominant castes asserting themselves through the Dravidian movement against the caste system in general and Brahmins in particular. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh it resulted in dominant castes claiming higher caste positions.

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, viz. Brahmanas and the next [Kshatriyasand Vaishyas], 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. That this caste is purer than the former [three] is self-evident; for this caste was born along with the river Ganges [whichalso springs from his feet], the purifier of the three worlds. 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 kingly caste.

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

Shudras outside of India

Shudra as a Varna is seen amongst the Hindus of Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bali in Indonesia. In Bali, Indonesia they form 97% of the practicing Hindu population (See Balinese caste system). During the historic period many people in Java, Cambodia and Champa (a region in Vietnam) were considered to be Shudras prior to their conversion to Islam and Buddhism.

Notes

Who were the Shudras By B. R. Ambedkar (External Link

)

Shudras in Ancient India/R. Chandra and K.L. Chanchreek. New Delhi, Shree Pub., 2004, xiii, 253 p., ISBN 81-88658-65-0.

Early Evidence for Caste in South India(External Link

) Further Information

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