Shudra (Sanskrit: शूद्र Śūdra) is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders. According to this ancient text, the Shudra perform functions of serving the other three varna. The varna system became rigid in the later Vedic period[1]
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Whilst the origins of the other varnas can be traced to Vedic words, the word varna is translated as the Sanskrit word for colour. In the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata, it is said that there was initially only one varna, being Brahmana. The other varnas were formed depending on the dominance of the three Gunas — Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas — in one's self. The varnas were socio-economical roles that people take in a society.
It is also mentioned in the Purusha sukta of the Rig Veda that shudras are said to have emanated from the feet of the Virat Purush (पद्भ्याम् शूद्र् अजायत padbhyām śūdro ajāyata).[2]
An inscription of Singaya-Nayaka (1368 CE) declares that belonging to the fourth varna was a matter of pride:[3]
The three castes, Brahmanas and the next (Kshatriyas and Vaishyas), were produced from the face, the arms and the thighs of the Lord; and for their support was born the fourth caste from His feet. River Ganges, the purifier of the three worlds also sprang from Lord's feet. The members of this caste are eagerly attentive to their duties, not wicked, pure-minded, and are devoid of passion and other such blemishes; they ably bear all the burdens of the earth by helping those born in the other caste.
Another inscription relates how his relative Kapaya-Nayaka, "rescued the Andhra country from the ravages of the Mohammedans".[4]