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The usual question is,
“does Atharvaveda mention the caste system?", “Specifically is the
shūdra or labouring class mentioned?”. The word shūdra
or its equivalent does not occur in the Atharvaveda. The word
visha means all persons or workers, which includes traders,
merchants, (vaņija), chariot makers (rathakāra)
smiths (karmāra), agriculture workers who operate the
implements like plow, yoke and the workers who build houses
(3.12).
Thus visha was later subdivided into vaishya and
shūdra. Even in the times of Bhagavad Gīta, vaishya
included both traders, agriculture workers and artisans; all the
unskilled labour was classified as shūdra. The Yajurveda’s
prayer [Shukla Yajurveda, Vājasaneyi Samhita
(18.48)]
shows an equal attitude to all the four types of workers.
Give lustre to our
Brāhmaņās,
Give lustre to our
kingly men,
Give lustre to our
vaishyās and shūdrās [YV
(18.48)]
The lustre is
physical, psychological and intellectual.
Again some
orthodox persons say that a shūdra is not fit to hear the
Veda. There is no support for such a statement in the vedās. On
the contrary, Shukla Yajurveda (26.2)
explicitly states;
“May I speak the
sacred word to the masses of the people—to the brāhmaņa,
rājanya (kşhatriya),
to the shūdra and vaishya, and to our own men and
the strangers”.
Note shūdra
takes priority over vaishya. Note the word strangers.
See also the section
"Knowledge for all".
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