Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 50: The Meeting of Rāma and Guha
Text 2.50.32
तत्र राजा गुहो नाम रामस्यात्मसमः सखा।
निषादजात्यो बलवान्स्थपतिश्चेति विश्रुतः॥
tatra rājā guho nāma rāmasyātma-samaḥ sakhā
niṣāda-jātyo balavān sthapatiś ceti viśrutaḥ
tatra = of that area; rājā = was the king; guhaḥ = Guha; nāma = named; rāmasya = of Rāma; ātma-samaḥ = he was as dear to Rāma as His very life; sakhā = a friend; niṣāda-jātyaḥ = he had taken birth in a niṣāda dynasty; balavān = he had a fourfold army with him; sthapatiḥ = their ruler 3; ca = and; iti = as; viśrutaḥ = was very famous.
A friend of Rāma named Guha was the king of that area. He was as dear to Rāma as His very life. He had taken birth in a niṣāda dynasty. He had a fourfold army with him and was very famous as their ruler.1
One might wonder, “How is appropriate for Rāma who had taken birth in a great and noble family establish friendship with a descendant of [the niṣādas], a defective caste, for such friendship is considered [in the scriptures to be] a minor degrading sin 4?”
In response, it can be pointed out that we hear from the Śruti that niṣādas are involved in the performance of [certain] Vedic sacrifices: niṣāda-sthapatiṁ yājayet.1 So it should be understood that association with the niṣādas is not absolutely forbidden.
Factually, however, the scripture states:
na śūdrā bhagavad-bhaktā viprā bhāgavatāḥ smṛtāḥ
sarva-varneṣu te śūdrā ye hy abhaktā janārdane
“Devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not śūdras. Such devotees of the Lord are considered to be brāhmaṇas since those who are not devotees of Lord Janārdana in every varṇa are actually śūdras.”2
Guha was a devotee of Rāma and therefore he was certainly the very best [in society]. That Guha was dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is clear from a reference to him in text 1.1.28.