Shudra, fourth and lowest of the traditionalvarnas, or social classes, of India, traditionallyartisans and labourers. The term does not appear in the earliestVedic literature. Unlike the members of the threedvija (“twice-born”)varnas—Brahmans (priests and teachers),Kshatriya (nobles and warriors), andVaishya (merchants)—Shudras are not permitted to perform theupanayana, the initiatory rite into the study of theVedas (earliestsacred literature of India).

Deriving from the belief that certain behaviour patterns and occupations are polluting, the Shudravarna includes a wide spectrum of endogamous status groups considered either ritually “clean” or “unclean.” At the clean end of the scale are dominant, landowning groups, while the other end of the scale includes washers, tanners, shoemakers, sweepers, and scavengers. As evidence of groupmobility in thecaste system, some observers have pointed out that many castes claiming Kshatriya and Vaishya status gradually emerged from the Shudraclass.