Surapana

(“liquor-drinking”) In the dharma literature, one of the Four Great Crimes
whose commission made one an outcast from society. Although in modern
times the word sura is the term for
“wine,” here it was believed to refer to a
particular type of spirituous liquor
made from rice flour. For members of
the three highest social groups—brahmins, kshatriyas, and vaishyas, the
most commonly prescribed penance
(prayashchitta) for habitually drinking
sura was to drink this same beverage
boiling hot, until one died. Interestingly,
this penalty does not apply to members
of the lowest social class, the shudras.
This difference reflected their lower status, in which they were not held to the
same sorts of scrupulous standards as
the “twice-born.” Despite the harsh
penalty for drinking sura, there were
other sorts of intoxicants that kshatriyas
and vaishyas could drink without penalty,
although brahmins who drank these
had to perform mild penances.