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Chandala (Devanagari: चंडाल) is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, formerly considered untouchables. Currently it is a term used specifically in Indo-Aryan speaking regions of India. Sandala has become a swear word in the colloquial usage of the Tamil language. Chandal is a general derogatory slur used to refer to a filthy, mean or low person in North India.

Usage of the term is noted in ancient and medieval literature of Sri Lanka, South India, and in Indo-China. Chandala as a term of despised caste was used in Dravidian-speaking South India and among the Sinhala of Sri Lanka.^{[citation needed]}

The Chandalas are not a single tribe with a common defining ancestry, and in fact many Dalit groups in north India are referred to as Chandalas, and the term is used in a general way to denote any similar caste as well. Chandalas reside in Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. Chandalas predate the final versions of the Mahabharata and the Manu Smriti, but there are groups with much more recent origin. For example, the Namasudras, a boatmen and agricultural community in Bengal, and possibly of aboriginal^{[citation needed]} Bihari origin, was made outcaste in the 11th or 12th century due to some conflict with the kings of the Sen dynasty, and the word 'Chandala' came to be applied to them. The word is now sometimes also applied to the Dom or Domba.

In literature[link]

According to the ancient law code, the Manu-smṛti, this class originated from the union of a Brahmin (the highest class within the varṇa, or four-class system) woman and a Śūdra (the lowest class) man. The term 'Chandala' was also used in the Mahabharata, the religious epic.

In the early Vedic literature such as the Smritis (ancient religious scriptures) the word Antyajas is used for the untouchable castes.

Fa Xian, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who recorded his visit to India in the early 4th century C.E., noted that Chandalas were segregated from the mainstream society. Traditionally, Chandalas were considered to be beyond the pale of the varna or caste system. They were considered as Panchama (the Fifth caste) and thus beyond the fourfold division of people, and outcastes. Their situation was similar to that of the Roma and Cagot people in Europe.

Usage elsewhere[link]

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche described the Jewish and Christian religions with the term Chandala ("Tschandala") in his works The Antichrist and The Twilight of the Idols. Nietzsche's use of this term was influenced by the French writer Louis Jacolliot, and his work Les législateurs religieux, Manou, Moïse, Mahomet. Nietzsche also claimed that every great spirit has experienced, "as one stage in his development", the stigma of being a Chandala; not because others consider him this way, but because he feels and senses within himself a profound schism and alienation from the world.

Sydney Owenson, Lady Morgan misspells the word as "Chancalas" throughout the text in her 1811 sentimental novel The Missionary: An Indian Tale.^[1]

References[link]

• Anna Dallapiccola, Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend, ISBN 0-500-51088-1.
• 'Chandalbhikshuki' written by famous Malayalam poet -Kumaran Asan

External links[link]

• Chanadalas amongst Sinhalese in Sri Lanka
• Regulations against the Chandalas in Maharshatra
• Namasudra a new term for Chandalas of Bengal
• Chandala in Tamil Nadu Bakthi movement
• Matanga Jataka Jataka Pali No.497
• Chandal Slums in Gujarat
• Chandala versus Doms^{[dead link]}

Five or 5 Star(s) or star(s) may refer to:

• Five-star rank, a senior military rank
• A grading of a hotel, restaurant, movie, TV show, theatre or musical work or performance - see star (classification)
• Five Star (film), South Indian Tamil film
• Five Star Production, a Thai film production company
• Five Star Final, 1931 film
• The Five Star Stories or Five Star Monogatari, manga series and 1989 film
• Five Star Theater, American 1930s radio series
• Five Star Jubilee, a 1961 NBC-TV program
• Five Star Jet Center, and Five Star Flight Academy, at Barnes Municipal Airport, Westfield, MA, USA
• Five Star Publishing, fiction imprint of Gale (Cengage)
• Five Star Bus Company, Inc, in the Philippines
• 5 Star (supermarkets), an Australian group, competitors of IGA (Australian supermarket group)
• UEFA elite stadiums (known as 5 star stadiums until 2006), football stadiums graded on suitability to host major matches
• Five-starred red flag or Five-star red flag, the Flag of the People's Republic of China
• Five Star, a triangular shaped and powerful firecracker manufactured in the Philippines
• Five star energy rating system, a No load power#Policies to reduce no load power for mobile phone chargers
• Five Star Supermarket (Ireland), a former supermarket chain in Ireland
• 5*, a UK TV channel, sister channel of Channel 5

Albums, EPs, music DVDs & songs[link]

• Five-star (album), 2007 greatest hits album by Japanese singer Yuki Isoya
• Five Star (album), 1990 eponymous album by the British group Five Star
• 5 Star (song), by rapper Yo Gotti

Bands[link]

• Five Star, a British pop group from Romford, Essex
• Five Stars (Bulgarian group), includes Svetlozar Hristov, singer about Torbalan
• The Five Stars, a Samoan musical group

See also[link]

• Five-pointed star
• All pages beginning with "Five Star"
• All pages beginning with "Five star"
• All pages beginning with "5 Star"
• All pages beginning with "5 star"
• For other numbers of stars, see Category:Star ranking systems.

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