In Hindu caste system terminology, an outcast or person of the lowest social status, historically considered outside the four main varnas.
From Sanskrit chandāla (outcast), possibly from chanda (fierce, violent) or from a proto-Indo-European root. The term dates back to ancient Hindu texts and reflects the rigid hierarchies of classical Indian society.
Chandala appears in ancient texts like the Manusmriti as the archetype of social rejection—yet the term also became associated with Buddhist and tantric practices that intentionally challenged caste purity, showing how marginalized groups sometimes subverted the very labels used to exclude them.
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