Rathakāra or the ''Chariot maker'' is mentioned in several

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

scriptures such as

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' (, , from यजुस्, "worship", and वेद, "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Edito ...

Atharvaveda The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from ''wikt:अथर्वन्, अथर्वन्'', "priest" and ''wikt:वेद, वेद'', "knowledge") or is the "knowledge storehouse of ''wikt:अथर्वन्, atharvans'', the proced ...

, Saṃhitas etc. There are various types of Rathakāras mentioned in the texts, whose social status was not uniform, some enjoyed a very high status and some were degraded. Recent inscriptions found by Archeological department says Rathakaras are artisans, who were born out of

Anuloma Anuloma is a Sanskrit term that is used in the Manusmriti, that is the ''Laws of Manu ( Shraddhadeva Manu''), to describe a hypergamous union between a high born man and a woman of a lower standing (by birth) relative to the respective man. Manu ex ...

and

Pratiloma Pratiloma is a Sanskrit term used in the Manusmriti, that is the ''Laws of Manu ( Shraddhadeva Manu''), to describe a hypogamous union between a high born woman and a man of a lower standing (by birth) relative to the respective woman. Manu explai ...

Inscriptions

Some inscriptions refers to artisans as Rathakara and are said to have been born as

and

. Anulomas are described as those who were the sons of high caste father and a low caste mother whereas Pratilomas means the sons of low caste father and a high caste mother.

Niṣādapati

The Rathakāra's ways of earning a livelihood are stated as comprising chariots, carts and the like.

Other scriptures

According to some doctrines these Rathakāras have no right to take part in any of the sacrifices as they are degraded to Śudra. A Śudra is not initiated to Vedic studies hence no

Upanayana ''Upanayana'' () is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' or ''acharya'', and an individual's initiation into a school in ...

, as the sacrificer has to know Vedas, hence Śudra cannot participate in any kind of Yajña. Baudhāyana on the other hand admits this degraded Rathakāra to the ceremony of Upanayana, according to him fallen Rathakāra ought to perform this ceremony the rainy season. But some text mention that even a Śudra was allowed to participate in few sacrifices, and was even entitled to perform certain sacrifices like ''Pākayajñas'', ''Śradhayajñas''. But they were not entitled to perform the sacrifices which were strictly vedic. Sage Jaimini mentions another Rathakāra whose social status is inferior to Vaiśya but superior to that of a Śudra, and calls them ''Saudhavanas''.

Citations

{{Rigveda Rigveda

Inscriptions

Niṣādapati

Other scriptures

See also

Citations