"It was well after the Vedic period, after even the period of the Mauryan empire, that the notion of untouchability came into being. In Satapatha Brahmana, the chief is advised to eat from the same vessel as the commoner. In the Rg Veda there is no mention of untouchable either. It was only around second century ad that the stratum of untouchables and the notion of untouchability became evident for instance in Apasthambha Dharmasutra."