Chandala

Chandala (Skt. चाण्डाल) is the lowest class in Ancient India. According to the ancient code law of Manusmriti, it is the class formed from the union of a brahmin woman (the highest class within varna) and a shudra man (the lowest classes) in Northern India.^[1]

The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Faxian, in the records of his journey to India in the early 5th century, mentions the Chandala as the only ones who eat onion and garlic and live separately from the others. They must make themselves known when they enter towns or marketplaces so that contact with them can be avoided. The Chandalas are the only ones who hunt and sell meat, marking their status as untouchables. Chandalas in ancient times having lost the right to any of the four varnas - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras - were expelled from cities and sought refuge in the forests. After they became "masons", until finally expelled, they left the country, about 400 AD.^[2] 10.000 - 12.000 Indian musicians, was sent by the King Shankalat of India to Sassanid King Bahram V.^[3] There descendants are the Roma people.^[4]