112 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Then the leaders of each Varna and of the castes lower still, consecrated him with holy water. Then followed acclamation by the twice-born. [1]
That the Shudras were invited to be present at the coronation of the king along with Brahmins is evidenced by the description of the coronation of Yudhishthira, the eldest brother of the Pandavas, which is given in the Mahabharata. [2]
Shudras were members of the two political assemblies of ancient times, namely, the Janapada and Paura and as a member of these the Shudra was entitled to special respect even from a Brahmin. [3]
This was so even according to the Manusmriti (vi.61) as well as to the Vishnu Smriti (xxi.64). Otherwise there is no meaning in Manu saying that a Brahmin should not live in a country where the king is a Shudra. That means Shudras were kings.
In the Shanti Parvan of the Mahabharata, [4] Bhishma in his lessons on Politics to Yudhishthira says :
“I shall, however, tell thee what kinds of ministers should be appointed by thee. Four Brahmins learned in the Vedas, possessed of a sense of dignity, belonging to the Snataka order, and of pure behaviour, and eight Kshatriyas, all of whom should be possessed of physical strength and capable of weilding weapons, and one and twenty Vaishyas, all of whom should be possessed of wealth, and three Shudras, everyone of whom should be humble and of pure conduct and devoted to his daily duties, and one man of the Suta caste, possessed of a knowledge of the Puranas and the eight cardinal virtues should be thy ministers.”
This proves that the Shudras were ministers and that they were almost equal to the Brahmins in number. [5]
The Shudras were not poor and lowly. They were rich. This fact is testified by the Maitrayani Samhita (iv.2.7.10) and the Panchavimsa Brahmana (vi.1.11). [6]
There are two other aspects to this question. What significance can there be to the enslavement of the Shudras, assuming it was a fact? There would be some significance if the Aryans did not know slavery or were not prepared to turn the Aryans into slaves. But the fact is that the Aryans knew slavery and permitted the Aryans to be made slaves. This is clear from Rig Veda, (vii.86.7;viii. 19.36 and viii.56.3).
1 See Jayaswal, Hindu Polity (1943), p. 223.
2 Mahabharata, Sabha Parvan, Chapter XXXIII, Verses 41-42.
3 See Jayaswal, -Hindu Polity, p. 248.
4 Roy’s Translation, Vol. II, p. 197
5 Bhishma believed in communal representation.
6 Referred to in the Vedic Index, Vol. II, p. 390.