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CHAPTER LXIII
THE SUDRAS
The Sūdras as a tribe (as distinct from the fourth caste) seem to have played some part in Ancient Indian History, and are several times mentioned in the Mahābhārata and Purāņas, as also in the accounts of Greek geographers and historians.
The Sūdras were a fairly important tribe of the north-west at the time when Alexander the Great invaded India (326 B.C.). They were among those who weré vanquished by the Macedonian conqueror. Greek writers refer to them as Sodrai, in association with the Massanoi and Mousikaroi, all of whom occupied portions of modern Sind. The next datable reference to the tribe is contained in Patañjali's Mahābhāşya (1, 2, 3), where they are associated with the Abhiras. In the Mahābhārata also they are associated with the Abhiras, and are said to have occupied the region where the river Sarasvati vanishes into the desert, i.e. near Vinaśana in Western Rajputana.
In the Harivamsa,3 we have ‘Madrābhīrāh' (Madras and Ābhīras) where we would expect to find 'Sūdrābhīrāh'; here Madra may be a misreading for Sūdra, for the Madras are hardly anywhere connected with the Abhīras.
According to the Mārkandeya Purāna (57, 35), the Sūdras were located in the Aparānta region or western country, and were associated with the Vāhlikas, Vātadhānas, Ābhiras, Pallavas, etc. The Brahmapurāna 5 also places them in the west, and associates them with the Saurāştras, Ābhīras, Arbudas, Mālavas, etc. The Visnupurāna (II, 3) has Śūrābhīrāḥ for what obviously should be Śūdrābhīrāh. In the Bhāgavatapurāna (XII, 1, 36) also we have:
'Saurāstrāvaityabhīrāśca Śūdrā Arbuda-mālavāh.'
1 Salyaparvan, 2119., 2 Mh., IX, 37, 1: 'Śūdrābhīrān prati dveșād yatra nastā Sarasvati'. 3 Cal. Ed., 12, 837.
4 M. Langolis reads 'Śūrābhīrāḥ', evidently following the Vişnu, Bhāgavata, and some other Purāṇas. See his translation of the Harivamśa, Vol. II, p. 401; also Goldstücker's Dictionary, p. 299. 5 19, 17: ‘Tathāparāntyāḥ Saurāstrāh Śūdrābhīrāstathārbudāḥ
Mārukā Mālavāścaiva Pāriyātranivāsinah.'
