not entitled to perform the sacrifices which were strictly vedic. Sage Jaimini mentions another Rathakāra whose social status is inferior to Vaiśya but superior to that of a Śudra, and calls them Saudhavanas. The confusion about the term Rathakāra The varna of Rathakāra is not explicitly mentioned in Ṛgveda, Āpastamba maintains that Rathakāra is not a separate caste, but one of the three high castes viz. Brāhmaṇa, Kṣtriya, Vaiśya, who has embraced the occupation of chariot making. Ṛgvedic Rathakāra to belongs to Brahmaṇa varṇa, as rest four varṇas were not entitled to place the sacrificial fire in the pyre. For all above obvious reasons the Śāstric materials did not conclusively distinguish between them as a result foreign scholars and Indologists like Albrecht Weber (cf. Indische Studien) and his followers have misinterpreted the meaning of the word Rathakāra. See also Ṛgveda Yajña Ṛgvedic tribes Ratha Citations Rigveda