Who Were the Shudras (fourth varna)? What Did the Shudras Do?

The Shudras resided outside the village and protected it. Working on farmers' land, demarcating village boundaries, providing security to merchants while moving from place to place, guarding the agricultural produce and state treasury, and transporting them safely from one location to another—all these duties belonged to the Shudras. The very nature of the Shudra community's work required them to live outside the village.

Who Were the Shudras?

To understand this, we must first seek the answer to the question: what is the Shudra community? What we know so far is as follows:

1. The Shudra community lived outside the village.
2. The Shudra community performed the task of protecting the village; this was not merely their duty but also their responsibility. If a theft occurred in the village, the responsibility of catching the thieves lay with the Shudras.
3. Tracking down thieves, keeping track of visitors to the village, and holding suspicious persons outside the village limits were the tasks of the Shudras.
4. While demarcating the boundaries of fields and villages, the word of the Shudras was considered final.
5. The Shudras had independent chavdis (settlements), and their value was greater than that of the main village chavdi.
6. Whenever merchants set out with their caravans, Shudras were appointed to protect them.
7. That the Shudras are a martial and industrious race was acknowledged even by the British, who formed the Mahar Regiment from among the Mahars, a subgroup of the Shudras.
8. By profession, Shudras were bodyguard personnel.
9. Shudras also served as spies in villages, towns, and the state. If anything appeared suspicious, they reported it to the town head or the village Patil. Not only this, if Banjaras or any other people entered the village, they gathered information about them and informed the village headman. This was their duty.
10. Delivering land revenue and state treasure to their rightful destinations was the responsibility of the Shudras.
11. The Shudra community was not untouchable. However, precautions were observed to avoid contamination arising from certain occupational tasks.

There is no mention of Shudras being untouchable in any smriti (traditional texts on social law) or Purana. In the Manusmriti, castes such as Nishada, Vena, Ayomed, Andhra, Chunchu, and Dhigvana are mentioned as living outside the village. However, except for the Chandala, even those castes are not called untouchable. According to the Taittiriya Upanishad and Vishnu Smriti, only the Chandala community is considered untouchable. Therefore, there is no evidence as to when the notion of untouchability by birth entered India.

So the question arises: where did the idea of Shudras being untouchable come from?

For this, let us look at the prominent surnames of the Mahar community. Some major surnames among the Shudras are Adasule, Ahire, Avachat, Bhede, Bhilang, Bhosale, Kamble, Gaikwad, Pawar, Kadam, Shelke, and Shinde. A look at these prominent surnames makes it clear that these surnames are also found among Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This demonstrates that these people were also once part of the same broader society. As occupations separated over time, distinct castes emerged from this society. Eventually, castes became birth-based, leading to further division. The deities traditionally worshiped by this community were Shiva, Vishnu, Vitthal, Mahalaxmi, Bhairava, and so on. This community had no distinct set of deities separate from others. However, during the medieval period, like all other communities, various folk deities developed among them as well. All the goddesses were considered manifestations of Mata Durga herself.

Shudras were village guardians whose duty was to repel thieves, dacoits, and invaders. Residing outside the village was a necessity of their profession so that they could defend the village effectively. Since they could not reside inside the village, their settlements were situated outside. The importance of their settlements was greater than that of the village settlements. They were considered bhumiputras (sons of the soil), and the boundaries of villages and fields were demarcated and guarded by them. In earlier times, regional trade occurred on a large scale. While traveling through other countries or regions, merchants took them along for protection. The Shudras were always reputed to be honest, hardworking, authentic, and formidable fighters.

There is no written or physical evidence regarding when caste arose among the Shudras. However, social history indicates that whenever urban systems came into existence, society appointed warriors (fighters or protectors) from within its ranks to protect the city merchant (nagarsheth). There is a difference between a soldier who fights in war and a town guardian. A soldier's job is to fight the enemy in warfare, but a village guardian has to perform his duty day and night. The practice of building fortifications or boundary walls around villages and towns for defense against enemies dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization. Even when the gates of these walls were closed, guarding remained customary for protecting the village and town. The reason was the prevailing economy, which was primarily agrarian; whenever an enemy attacked a village or town, they would enter by burning crops. This practice persisted in Indian society until the 18th century, and attempts were made to halt them outside the village or town. The Shudras would stop such enemies right outside the village.

Arguments
1. In those times, villages were surrounded by fortifications, and the main gate was closed at night. Regardless of who was in power, villages were not secure. Plundering villages and setting them on fire were the primary activities of invaders. The practice of defending the village while staying inside it gradually waned, and Shudras began living outside the village, risking their lives and the lives of their families. They guarded the village; it was not always possible for them to emerge victorious. On such occasions, they had to sacrifice their lives. The memorial pillars (bhadkhambas) found in villages are memorials to those who were slain in this manner. Many of the local Bhairavas venerated by all communities across towns were originally Shudra warriors.

2. Shudras were not poor in ancient times, though they became so in later periods. Living outside the village, accumulating wealth served no purpose because, being situated outside, they bore the brunt of the initial attack by robbers and invaders. History records no incident of Shudras looting the very village they were tasked to protect. However, by mistake, the Mahars supported the British instead of the patriotic Marathas.

3. Disputes regarding land and boundaries were settled through the testimony of Shudras. Great weight was attached to their testimony (as seen later even during the Peshwa period). There is no instance of Shudras ever giving false testimony.

4. The Mahars were also responsible for delivering all revenue collected from the village to the central treasury. Yet there is no evidence that Mahars ever misappropriated it. The Marathas accorded important positions, such as army commanders, to the Mahars, where everyone fought shoulder to shoulder for the nation.

The Mahars were a Kshatriya caste, but due to siding with the British, they gradually slipped down the social hierarchy. Furthermore, as transoceanic movement commenced and international trade grew, the village-based economy collapsed. In such times, merchants and the local economy suffered a setback, and production had to be curtailed. The movement of merchants from one place to another also diminished. At a time when the duty of the Shudras was to escort merchant caravans safely from one place to another, this work of theirs steadily declined..

In the 12th–13th century, the balutedari (traditional village service-share) system began, and the biggest blow from this system fell upon the Shudras because their service was invisible service. They served as village guardians. During trade booms, the service of village guardians was felt to be crucial, but during periods of decline, this service seemed equally dispensable. This was what happened to the Shudras, and they began receiving a smaller share of agricultural produce. The condition of the Shudras hit rock bottom, though the condition of the alutedars/balutedars remained somewhat better compared to that of the Shudras.

Shudras engaged in numerous occupations for their livelihood, such as leatherworking (charmakara), pottery (kumbhakara), clay work (mrittikara), hair cutting, carpentry, manual labor, construction, and manufacturing various goods. In all these tasks, the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas of the village maintained complete harmony with the Shudras, and no injustice was done to them anywhere. In the social structure, during every wedding, religious ceremony, and festival, the largest share of ritual gifts and charity was given to the Shudras in various forms. They received everything from food to clothing and daily necessities. Shudras began doing whatever work was available in the village—alongside village protection, tasks like clearing paths, disposing of dead animals, preparing bodies for funeral rites, and other tasks that no one else could do were undertaken by the Shudras. Consequently, alongside village security and official duties, Shudras took up farming, street cleaning, disposing of dead livestock, and cleaning wells. When Islamic invaders struck, they devastated the remaining rural economy as well.

This pathetic plight of the Shudra varna came about after the Islamic invasions. In Vedic society, Shudras engaged in various income-generating occupations throughout the day and were quite wealthy, as there were no restrictions on their earnings like those imposed on the other three varnas. In Vedic society, those who performed the most social service were granted the greatest concessions. Observe in your own home: to parents, the younger son who serves them is often dearer than the elder son who earns money. In Vedic society, the penal provisions for the Shudra community were the lowest among all varnas. The reason was that the Shudras were dearest to the administration. Due to Islamic and British invasions, poverty engulfed the entire Hindu society; thus, due to economic depression, it became difficult for Shudras to find work. Then, owing to the cruelty of Muslim rulers, they were forced into tasks such as scavenging, which reduced their societal respect compared to earlier times. But the reality is that in Hindu Dharma, Shudras have always been noble. Therefore, if tomorrow someone informs me of my true history and tells me that my lineage falls under "Shudra", I will accept it gladly. Not for a second will I entertain an inferiority complex, because I know that a Shudra is as sacred as a Brahmin!

– Ajesht Tripathi, the author is a deep scholar and researcher of Hindu Dharma, culture, and history.

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