3.8: Apaśūdrādhikaraṇam - The śūdra’s lack of qualification

The Vedas bring the idea of varnāśrama-dharma, a perfect system of social division based on work and qualification. Śūdras are not qualified to study the Vedas, until reformed.

« Vedānta-sūtra: The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa

Topic 8: Apaśūdrādhikaraṇam - The śūdra’s lack of qualification

Śūdras are not qualified to study the Vedas, until reformed

śug asya tad-anādara-śravaṇāt tadādravaṇāt sūcyate hi, kṣatriyatvāvagateś cottaratra caitrarathena lingāt, samskāra-parāmarśāt tad-abhāvābhilāpāc ca, tad-abhāva-nirdhāraṇe ca pravṛtteḥ, śravaṇādhyayanārtha-pratiṣedhāt smṛteś ca

“The word śūdra is used in the passage because Janaśruti approached Raikva in sorrow after hearing the disrespectful words. It is understood that he was a kṣatriya because of the cue later on, in the passage about Caitraratha.

The scriptures mention purificatory rites for the high classes and the absence of them for śūdras. In this way, care is taken to determine that a student is not a śūdra. The smṛti-śāstra also forbids the śūdras from hearing and studying the Vedas.”

Sūtra 1.3.34 - A universal process

śug asya tad-anādara-śravaṇāt tadādravaṇāt sūcyate hi

śug: sorrow, grief; asya: of him; tad-anādara-śravaṇāt: because of hearing the disrespectful words; tadā-adravaṇāt: because of rushing toward that; sūcyate: is indicated; hi: indeed, because.

The word śūdra is used in the passage because Janaśruti approached Raikva in sorrow after hearing the disrespectful words.

Commentary: Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa explains that the word “na” from sūtra 1.3.28 should be applied to this sūtra also, bringing the conclusion that śūdras are not qualified to understand the scriptures.

In the previous topic, the capacity of the devas to meditate and study the Vedas was discussed. Human beings also have the same capacity, but practicing meditation according to the injunctions of the Vedas requires studying them. This topic deals with the qualification for human beings to study the Vedas.

The Vedas bring the idea of varnāśrama-dharma, a perfect system of social division based on work and qualification. This is a divine system described by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.13):

cātur-varṇyam mayā sṛṣṭam, guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api mām, viddhy akartāram avyayam

“According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.”

The idea of varnāśrama is frequently confused with the hereditary caste system, but these two systems are actually diametrically opposite. The caste system is based on hereditary privileges, while true varnāśrama is based on training and qualification. The varnāśrama system is divine, whereas the caste system is demoniac.

Of the four classes, brāhmanas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas are considered to possess the necessary qualifications to study the Vedas, while śūdras are excluded from studying them due to their lack of qualifications. At first, this may appear discriminatory, but that’s not the point. When it’s affirmed that the śūdras are not qualified to study the Vedas, the understanding is that they should progress and become gradually qualified by going through the appropriate process, and not that they should remain in ignorance and make a show of studying the scriptures.

Most people nowadays, especially in Western countries, lack the purity and higher qualification of brāhmanas, kṣatriyas, or even vaiśyas. Therefore, almost all of us are śūdras or less than śūdras in terms of qualification. However, this is not determined by birth and can be changed by the appropriate training. When a person accepts to follow the four regulative principles and chant the specified number of rounds of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, as well as undergo spiritual training under the spiritual master, one may be initiated as a brāhmana and thus be trained to worship the Lord and study the Vedas, regardless of the situation at birth, as understood by Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura, and other Vaiṣnava ācāryas.

This topic, composed of sūtras 1.3.34 up to 1.3.38, deals with the issue of śūdras being qualified or not to study the Vedas before going through the necessary purificatory process.

The discussion in this section is based on a passage from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (4.1.1-5), which narrates the story of Janaśruti Pautrāyaṇa, who, although called a śūdra, was afterward trained in the Vedas by Raikva Muni.

The passage starts with the words “janaśrutir ha pautrāyaṇaḥ”, indicating a man named Janaśruti Pautrāyaṇa. This story narrates how, after hearing some insulting words spoken by two swans, Janaśruti became afflicted and approached Raikva Muni with gifts, asking to be trained in the Vedas. Raikva Muni initially rejected him and his gifts, calling him a śūdra: “Take them away, O śūdra! Let them be yours along with the cows.”

Rejected in this way and called a śūdra, Janaśruti came back with more wealth, cows, chariots, and even his daughter as an offering for the sage, making him obliged to accept him as his student and teach him the science of samvarga-vidyā.

A question could be raised based on this story: Since Raikva Muni agreed to teach Janaśruti, despite calling him a śūdra, does it mean śūdras are also qualified to study Vedic knowledge, even before going through the process of reformation? There are certainly other passages that can be used to sustain this thesis, such as Vidura (who is sometimes counted as a śūdra being born of a maidservant) being described as a knower of the Vedas.

To this, Vyāsadeva answers: śug asya tad-anādara-śravaṇāt tadādravaṇāt sūcyate hi. In this passage, Janaśruti is called “śūdra” in the sense of being afflicted. The word is a combination of “suk” (unhappy) and “dru” (he who ran). It thus denotes that, being unhappy, he ran to Raikva, and not that he was unqualified. Thus, when the sage referred to Janaśruti as “śūdra”, he simply referred to the fact that he ran to him when afflicted. In reality, Janaśruti was a kṣatriya, and thus this thesis has no sustenance.

A person who is born a śūdra can be accepted by the spiritual master and become eligible to study the Vedas if he goes through the process of reformation, or somehow displays the necessary qualification, but nowhere in the scriptures is it accepted that a person without qualification may study the Vedas. Vidura, for example, although born from a maidservant, is nothing less than the incarnation of Yamarāja, who was born a śūdra because of a curse.

Another meaning is that although śūdras are barred from studying the four Vedas, other literatures, such as the Mahabharata and the Purāṇas, don’t require special qualifications and can thus be studied by all persons, regardless of social class or level of qualification. Amongst all the Purāṇas, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is considered supreme, because it teaches directly about devotional service to the Lord, which is the ultimate conclusion of the Vedas.

Similarly, although the Vedic mantras can be chanted only by twice-borns, people who attained the necessary qualifications, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā-Mantra can be performed by everyone, regardless of gender, age, social class, or any other material designation. In this way, although it is a fact that the Vedas can be studied only by persons who attain the status of a twice-born, the simple process of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, based on chanting the holy names, discussing the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and taking prasāda, can be easily practiced by everyone.

This point is not directly discussed by Vyāsadeva in the Vedānta-sūtra, but it is clearly explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the authorized commentary to it. In the First Canto, for example, it is described how Nārada Muni attained perfection in his previous life, although born as the son of a maidservant, by serving great sages and hearing about the pastimes of the Lord from them. Similarly, in the Sixth Canto is described how the sinful Ajāmila was saved from arrest by the Yamadūtas and ultimately attained liberation by just chanting the holy name of Lord Narāyana a single time.

Yamarāja, who is known throughout the universe as the greatest authority in matters of Dharma, or religious principles, declared to his servants, the Yamadūtas:

“Lord Brahmā, Bhagavān Nārada, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras, Lord Kapila [the son of Devahūti], Svāyambhuva Manu, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Grandfather Bhīṣma, Bali Mahārāja, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and I myself know the real religious principle. My dear servants, this transcendental religious principle, which is known as bhāgavata-dharma, or surrender unto the Supreme Lord and love for Him, is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. It is very confidential and difficult for ordinary human beings to understand, but if by chance one fortunately understands it, he is immediately liberated, and thus he returns home, back to Godhead.

Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human society.

My dear servants, who are as good as my sons, just see how glorious is the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The greatly sinful Ajāmila chanted only to call his son, not knowing that he was chanting the Lord’s holy name. Nevertheless, by chanting the holy name of the Lord, he remembered Nārāyaṇa, and thus he was immediately saved from the ropes of death.” (SB 6.3.20-23)

He then continues by explaining the potency of chanting the holy names:

“Therefore it should be understood that one is easily relieved from all sinful reactions by chanting the holy name of the Lord and chanting of His qualities and activities. This is the only process recommended for relief from sinful reactions. Even if one chants the holy name of the Lord with improper pronunciation, he will achieve relief from material bondage if he chants without offenses. Ajāmila, for example, was extremely sinful, but while dying he merely chanted the holy name, and although calling his son, he achieved complete liberation because he remembered the name of Nārāyaṇa.

Because they are bewildered by the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yājñavalkya and Jaimini and other compilers of the religious scriptures cannot know the secret, confidential religious system of the twelve mahājanas. They cannot understand the transcendental value of performing devotional service or chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Because their minds are attracted to the ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas — especially the Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda and Ṛg Veda — their intelligence has become dull. Thus they are busy collecting the ingredients for ritualistic ceremonies that yield only temporary benefits, such as elevation to Svargaloka for material happiness. They are not attracted to the sankīrtana movement; instead, they are interested in dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa.

Considering all these points, therefore, intelligent men decide to solve all problems by adopting the devotional service of chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is situated in everyone’s heart and who is a mine of all auspicious qualities. Such persons are not within my jurisdiction for punishment. Generally they never commit sinful activities, but even if by mistake or because of bewilderment or illusion they sometimes commit sinful acts, they are protected from sinful reactions because they always chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.” (SB 6.3.24-26)

One could question why the majority of the verses in the Vedas describe auspicious ceremonies and rituals if one can achieve liberation and ultimately love of Godhead just by chanting the holy names and studying the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The point is that there are different classes of people. Most are just interested in staying in this world and attaining material prosperity or a better position in the next life by performing pious fruitive activities, and thus most of the Vedas are dedicated to teaching that, offering them a gradual path for advancement. Fruitive activities and ceremonies, however, can award positive results only when properly performed, and therefore, there is a need for qualified brāhmanas who can chant the mantras and perform the rituals. If unqualified people are allowed to perform these functions, the system loses its meaning. Śūdras should thus not be allowed to study the karma-kanda and jñana-sections sections of the Vedas, or to perform ceremonies, but anyone can chant the holy names, hear the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and take prasāda.

The process of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is not designed to increase one’s good karma, but to destroy all karma, good and bad, opening one’s way back to Godhead. In the age we live in, this is the only effective process of self-realization.

Sūtra 1.3.35 - Jānaśruti was a kṣatriya

kṣatriyatvāvagateś cottaratra caitrarathena lingāt

kṣatriyatva: the state of being a kṣatriya; avagateḥ: from the recognition; ca: also; uttaratra: in a later passage; caitrarathena: because of (the passage about) Caitraratha; lingāt: because of the inferential sign, indicator.

It is understood that he was a kṣatriya because of the cue later on, in the passage about Caitraratha.

Commentary: The passage from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad indicates that Jānaśruti was actually a kṣatriya since he had religious faith, was charitable, was the ruler of people, and so on. He also gave cows, jewels, chariots, and other precious things in charity. This set of qualities is possible only for a kṣatriya.

At the end of the story, there is also a description of Abhipratārī Caitraratha, who is also confirmed as a kṣatriya. Abhipratārī was the disciple of Śaunaka Kāpeya, who was a brāhmana. Raikva and Jānaśruti had the same guru and disciple relationship, and the mention of both in the same passage also indicates that Jānaśruti must have been a kṣatriya.

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