Four main castes were prevalent in India in those days

• Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Shudras.
  
• Brahmans and Kshatriyas considered themselves as “upper castes”. Traders and moneylenders were called Vaisyas. Peasants, weavers and potters were called Shudras.
  
• At the lowest rung were people who laboured to keep cities and villages clean. They were treated as “untouchable”.
• They were not allowed to enter temples, draw water from the wells used by the upper castes, or bathe in ponds where upper castes bathed. They were seen as inferior human beings.