The Wealthy Shudra

This story, based on a Buddhist text in Pali known as the Majjhima Nikaya, is part of a dialogue between a king named Avantiputta and a disciple of the Buddha named Kachchana. While it may not be literally true, it reveals Buddhist attitudes towards varna.

Avantiputta asked Kachchana what he thought about Brahmanas who held that they were the best caste and that all other castes were low; that Brahmanas were a fair caste while all other castes were dark; that only Brahmanas were pure, not non-Brahmanas; that Brahmanas were sons of Brahma, born of his mouth, born of Brahma, formed by Brahma, heirs to Brahma.

Kachchana replied: “What if a Shudra were wealthy..... would another Shudra ... or a Kshatriya or a Brahmana or a Vaishya ... speak politely to him?”

Avantiputta replied that if a Shudra had wealth or corn or gold or silver, he could have as his obedient servant another Shudra to get up earlier than he, to go to rest later, to carry out his orders, to speak politely; or he could even have a Kshatriya or a Brahmana or a Vaishya as his obedient servant.

Kachchana asked: “This being so, are not these four varnas exactly the same ?”

Avantiputta conceded that there was no difference amongst the varnas on this count.
A. What did Avantiputta want to know from Kachchana about Brahmanas?
B. What was Kachchana’s reply? Explain.
C. If a Shudra had wealth, would Brahmanas and others speak to him politely? Give reasons.

A mother’s advice:

The Mahabharata describes how, when war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas became almost inevitable, Gandhari made one last appeal to her eldest son Duryodhana:

By making peace you honour your father and me, as well as your well-wishers ... it is the wise man in control of his senses who guards his kingdom. Greed and anger drag a man away from his profits; by defeating these two enemies a king conquers the earth ... You will happily enjoy the earth, my son, along with the wise and heroic Pandavas ... There is no good in a war, no law (dharma) and profit (artha), let alone happiness: nor is there (necessarily) victory in the end - don't set your mind on war ...