The caste system enforced exclusion from sacred knowledge through scriptural sanctions.
Evidence
His older brothers were not allowed to learn Sanskrit because it was the language of the Vedas, and the colonisation of knowledge was a central tenet of the caste system. (If a Shudra listens intentionally to the Vedas, the Gautama Dharma Sutra says, his ears must be filled with molten tin or lac.) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 294
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- SHARE: The molten tin/lac ear-filling penalty from the Gautama Dharma Sutra is the kind of precise, shocking detail to send to anyone studying Hindu law or caste.
Related
- Gautama Dharma Sutra predated the Manusmriti in prescribing brutal Vedic-access punishments (similarity 0.84)
- Only destroying shastra-based religion can break the caste system. (similarity 0.79)
- Abolishing caste requires destroying the sacred authority of shastras (similarity 0.79)
- Ambedkar demanded Hindus deny shastra authority, following Buddha and Nanak (similarity 0.78)