+Ritual

Intro

  • There were many dīkṣa-s available to the śūdra-s, prescribed in the purāṇa-s and the tantra-s. Furthermore, in several critical places, the dharmaśāstra thinkers are not in agreement.
  • The most popular and the dearest modes of Hindu spirituality in the past two millennia were (perhaps by definition) very much open to śūdra-s. For example:
    • Adoring images, trees, animals or instruments.
    • Constructing and patronizing temples.
      • The smṛti-s, in fact, rarely ever talk about temple adorations. That is the domain of the āgama-s, which do not at all claim monopolies on running temples.
      • Nirṇayasindhu quotes the authority of purāṇa-s to enable even the “untouchable” populations to construct bhairava temples.
    • Pilgrimage.
    • Non-vedic (purāṇic/ āgamika) fire sacrifices - various āgamika homa-s.
    • Non-vedic animal sacrifices.
    • They could certainly do pūrta-dharma (building of wells, temple-building, distributing food etc..), if not the iṣṭi-s (vaidika sacrificies involving similar ritual donations).
    • Chanting and singing non vaidika mantras, stotras and songs.
    • shUdra and mlecCha access to pAkayajJNa-s and pUrta-s
      • mahAbhArata IMG.
      • gautamadharmasūtra 10.65
  • A greater period of ritual impurity after events such as death.

Summary

  • Śūdra-s are ineligible for most vedic sacrifices according to most dharmaśāstra texts.
  • Even brāhmaṇas don’t do most vedic sacrifices.
  • Śūdra-s along with brāhmaṇas have been worshipping idols, trees, animals etc.. and hence the ineligibility doesn’t matter in practice.

Vedic study

  • Studying the veda was prohibited. Gautama-dharma-sūtra (an influential early work) even barred them from hearing it.
  • There are hints that this restriction was not in place in the distant past. For example, Bādari (an early mīmāṃsa scholar) advocates that śūdra-s too could study the veda-s (PMS 6.1.27).
  • They were explicitly authorized to repeat various popular non-vedic mantra-s and there was no restriction whatsoever on repeating non-vedic poetry.

Sanskrit use

  • See sanskrit misconceptions page. They could learn and teach sanskrit without impinging on core religious teaching authority of brAhmaNas (eg. dharmashAstra-s). Even there: They could certainly write express/ teach their understanding of essentials of dharma. Plus the general authority of teaching other vidya-s were not monopolized.