Kshatriya

Kshatriya (Hindi: क्षत्रिय, kṣatriya from Sanskrit: क्षत्र, kṣatra) is the title of the princely military order in the Vedic society. The Kshatriya are one of the four varnas of Hinduism, the other three being Brahmins, Vaishyas and Shudras. They are the warrior and ruling caste in the varna system. The word means the protector of land. They are supposed to uphold the code of honour, bravery and loyalty. Everyone in the military and governing hierarchy from king to village chief and from general to foot-soldier is a kshatriya. In ancient Hindu society, a person's aptitude (guna), conduct (karma) and nature (swabhava) were considered to assign his occupation or varnas .

Etymology

In Sanskrit it is derived from kšatra, meaning "dominion, power, government" from a root kšī "to rule, govern, possess". It is related to Old Persian xšāyaθiya ("emperor") and xšaθra ("realm"), and thus to the New Persian words šāh ("emperor") and šahr ("city", "realm").

Kshatra is God's energy which descends upon those who are righteous.

In the early Vedic civilization, the warrior caste was called rājanya & kšatrīya. The former was an adjectival form of rājan "ruler, king" from a root rāj "to rule", cognate to the Latin rex "king" and the German Reich "empire".

Holy warriors

Lord Sri Rama (center) with wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman. Rama and Lakshmana are always shown to be ready for battle (with bow and arrow) as it is their Kshatriya dharma to fight. Rama is shown having blue skin which is a characteristic of Vishnu

The Kshatriyas were assigned to be protectors of Dharma (duty/justice), their subjects and livestock. They were sanctioned by holy scriptures to govern. The noble king is regarded as a Dharma Raja (Just Ruler)

The Rig Veda states:

praja arya jyotiragrah. RV, VII. 33.17

People ruled by Aryans (nobles) are led by the Divine light. King Rama of Ayodhya is considered the greatest of the Dharma Rajas:

arya sarva samascaiva sadaiva priyadarsanah

Noble who worked for the equality of all, was dear to everyone. Ramayana said:

Like the ancient monarch Manu, father of the human race,

Dasaratha ruled his people with a father's loving grace,

Symbol of Kshatriya

In the initiation rituals, the nyagrodha (Ficus Indica or Sacred Fig tree) danda is assigned to the Kshatriya class.

The nyagrodha or banyan tree, with its bending branches which take root in the ground, was regarded as a resembling form of the Kshatriya. The nyagrodha is the kshatra power of trees, and the Kshatriya is the kshatra power [among humans], for the Kshatriya dwells fastened to the kingdom, and is supported [by it]. And the nyagrodha is fastened to the ground by its downward growths, and supported [by it].

• (Aitereya Brahmana, 7.31; see also Satapatha Brahmana 5.3.5.13)

"The staff made of this wood is taken by the Kshatriya initiate with a mantra imparting physical vitality or ojas".

• (Reflections on Resemblance, Ritual, and Religion; Brian K. Smith)

In Manu Smriti the Kshatriya caste is given the Varna (Color) red, to symbolize strength, passion and Valor.

Origin

Theology

• In Vedic theology, Manu is considered the law giver and progenitor of Humans. He had over 50 sons. Manu was both king and priest and his children (and thus all of humanity) are considered highborn. Due to the eventual differences in occupations, people ended up in different jātis and caste. Those who studied the Vedas became known as Brahmins, those who practiced trade became Vaishya, those who labored became Sudra, and those who took up martial arts became Kshatriyas. The word Arya means "noble" and was initially only used for kings and kshatriyas, the word Arya is related to "Aristocracy".
• Panchjanya, meaning five people, is the common name given to five most ancient vedic kshatriya tribes. It is supposed they are all descendants of Turvasha, Yadu, Puru, Anu and Druhyu. For e.g. Yadav for descendants of Yadu, Paurav for descendants of Puru etc.
• Kshatriyas were created from the arms of God and the priests were from his mouth and the merchants from his abdomen and the laborers from his legs. This was to be interpreted as meaning that no one caste is more important than the other and that society cannot survive without all parts working together.

Vedic Origin

In modern India, caste is inherited. Most of the Kshatriya communities claim descent from Surya, Chandra, or Agni. The Surya descendants claim descent from Rama and the Chandra descendants claim Krishna as an ancestor. This is based on the writings of the Rig Veda and other Puranas.

Two camps exist about the importance of these texts. One camp is similar to the literalists of the Christian faith who believe that their holy texts are verbatim documentation of real people, events and dates and that modern society is descended from them. The other camp believes that the holy texts are not meant to be taken literally and should be used symbolically as examples of the proper way to live.

Those who believe the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas were verbatim documents feel that modern Kshatriyas are descended from the Vedic Kshatriyas. The reason for the controversy is that we do not have any physical evidence of their existence. There are no bones, forts, weapons, coins, monuments, pictures etc. discovered to state unequivocally that they existed. This issue can be debated at length.

File:StandingBuddha.JPG

Siddhartha Gautama was born into a Hindu Kshatriya family

What historians generally agree on is that from around 1000 BC onwards we have archeological, literary, and artistic evidence of the communities that existed in India. Gautama Buddha and Mahavira are two Kshatriya sages who made a lasting impression on the world.

Establishments and assimilation

In ancient age, there was mobility between varnas, as people learned new skills and changed their actions and occupation. Historians believe that the Hindu caste system became rigid around 1000 BC. Prior to this in ancient India the nomadic tribes did not have a fixed caste system. They initially assigned roles based on an individual’s aptitude and ability. This was necessary in order to ensure the tribe's survival. The stronger members of the tribe became the warriors and were given a higher status in society as they were more important to the survival of the tribe at the time. As the tribes became more familiar with farming they built up surpluses and became more settled. This more sedentary and leisurely lifestyle shifted the people's focus to accumulating wealth and finding a meaning to life. Priests began to take the preeminent role in society as they ensured spiritual salvation. This led to society forming a more rigid social system where position was determined by birth rather than merit. Thereafter, those in the more powerful classes enforced this caste system to remain in power, a pattern also exhibited by the nobles of Europe. During the Epic Age people began to question these institutions.

Many historical rulers came from other castes, or were descended from non-Hindu foreign conquerors, and were either granted de facto Kshatriya status by virtue of the power they held, or they created fictionalized family histories to connect themselves to past Kshatriya rulers. For instance, the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Paradas etc were foreign invaders from north-west but were assimilated into the Indian community as Kshatriyas.

Non-Puritan Kshatriyas

• The Ashtadhyayi of Panini (sutra 4.1.168-175) attests that the Kamboja and Gandhara were very important Kshatriya kingdoms of Uttarapatha during or prior to Paninian times (500 BC). See more on ancient Kamboja Kshatriyas [4]

• The Manusmriti, written about 200 AD states that the Sakas (Scythians), Yavanas (Ionian, Indo-Greeks), Kambojas (Central Asians), Paradas (Sinkiang), Pahlavas (Persians), Kiratas (Nepal, Assam), Dravidas (Tamil), and Daradas were originally noble Kshatriyas but were relegated to the Barbaric (Vrishala) status due to their neglect of the Brahmanas as well as due to their non-observance of the sacred Brahmanical codes (X/43-44).

• Anushasanaparava of the Mahabharata also views the Sakas, Kambojas and the Yavanas etc. in the same light. Patanjali in his Mahabhasya regards the Sakas and Yavanas as pure Sudras (II.4.10).
• The Vartika of the Katyayana informs us that the kings of the Sakas and the Yavanas, like those of the Kambojas, may also be addressed by their respective tribal names.
• The Mahabharata also associates the Sakas, Yavanas, Gandharas (Northwest India), Kambojas (Pamir-Badakshan), Pahlavas, Tusharas, Sabaras, Barbaras, Dravidas, etc.. and addresses them all as the Barbaric tribes of Uttarapatha.
• In another verse the epic groups the Shakas, Kambojas and Khashas together and state them as the tribes from Udichya, i.e. north division (5/169/20).
• The Kishkindha Kanda of the Ramayana locates the Sakas, Kambojas, Yavanas and the Paradas in the extreme north-west beyond the Himavat (i.e. Hindukush) (43/12) in the Shakadvipa, adjoining the land of Uttarakurus.
• The Udyogaparava of the Mahabharata (5/19/21-23) tells us that the composite army of the Kambojas, Yavanas and Sakas had participated in the Mahabharata war under the supreme command of Sudakshina Kamboja. The epic repeatedly applauds this composite army as being very fierce and wrathful. Some verses of Mahabharata also attest that the Tusharas or Tukharas were also included in the Kamboja division (e.g.: MBH 6.66.17-21; MBH 8.88.17). See Tocharians
• Puranic accounts attest that the Dravidas are Kshatriyas and are said to be descendants of the sons of Vishwamitra. Like the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas, Daradas, Khashas etc, the Dravidas were recorded as Kshatriyas who no longer were initiated into the sacred thread due to their neglect of the Brahmanas as well as due to their non-observance of the sacred Brahmanical codes.

Kshatriya communities

"Rajputs" (anonymous, c.1860)
From the collection of the British Library

The Kshatriya communities are generally very prominent in Indian history, having been major influences on Indian politics, society, culture, religion and economics for hundreds of years. The Gujjars, Jats, Kurus, Panchalas, Khatris, Kosalas, Matsyas, Magadhas, Chedis, Yadus, Kambojas, Gandharas, Kekayas etc in epic times and Mauryas, Guptas, Chalukyas, Rajputs, Marathas, Dhangars, Ghosh etc. in post-epic/medieval eras are considered to have been particularly influential.

Vedic Kshatriyas

Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi

• Bais Rajputs (Uttar Pradesh and North India)
• Kayasthas (Originated from pre Moryan Vedic Kshatriyas)
• Khatris (the Original members of the Vedic Kshatriyas, have mixed blood with Greco-Bactrians in some cases)
• Kunbis or Kanbis/Kurmis/Kambes
• Marathas

1. 60 clans (Suryavanshi)
2. 36 clans (Chandravanshi)

• Merus (Andhra Pradesh)

Suryavanshis

• Kachwaha
• Lohanas
• Rathore
• Ayyaraka Patrudu
• Bhandaris

= Chandravanshi

• Adhikari
• Chandel
• Dhangar
• Kuruba
• Rajus
• Somvanshi Kshatriya Pathare

Non-Vedic Kshatriyas

Agnivanshi

Many of the Rajputs are known as Agnivanshi Kshatriyas. According to Agni Purana the Agnivanshi Rajputs were born from the fire which resides in Mt. Abu in Northwestern India after the "destruction of ancient Kshatriyas".However historians interpretes this as suggestive of Indo-Scythian origin because this place was entrance gateway for scythic groups in India .In fact lineage of all 36 Rajput rajcule has been traced to Indo-scythic races [5].However, it is also suggested that, by the tenth century, much of the Post-Gupta Kshatriya rulers of northern and central India also adopted the term Rajputs and were responsible for the continuity of administrative style and coinage of the preceding period[6].

• Agnivanshi Rajputs

1. Solanki
2. Gurjara-Pratihara, Gujjars
3. Chauhans
4. Bhadorias/Bhadaurias
5. Paramara
6. Rever

Nagavanshi

These are the Kshatriyas belonging to the Serpent dynasty called Nagavansham. They are the Kshatriyas of South India (in particular Kerala and Tamil Nadu). They are serpent worshippers.

• Nair (Naagar)
• Samanthan
• Kurup
• Nambiar
• Unnithan

Sun and Fire Worshippers

• Sakas (Lohars, Tarkhans, Cheema, Jats)
• Yavanas
• Kambojas
• Pahlavas
• Paradas
• Sisodias .

Others

• Aroras
• Bhatias
• Bhavsars
• Bunts
• Daradas
• Dogras
• Dravidas
• Gurkhas
• Kayasthas
• Kiratas
• Reddys
• Soods
• Kodavas
• Pathare prabhu

Non-Indian

Hindu

Bali Kshatriyas

About 40 percent of the total population of Bali comprises of Balinese Kshatriyas. Balinese Hinduism has a caste system and is heavily influenced by the Vedas. Balinese people are of mixed Mongoloid, Polynesian, Australoid, Aryan and Dravidian races.

Cham Satrias

The Balamon Hindu Cham people of Vietnam consist of 70% Kshatriyas (pronounced in Vietnamese as "Satrias"). Although Balamon make up only 25% of the overall Cham population (the other 75% are Muslims or Cham Bani). These Balamon Kshatriyas claim to be the descendants of the Champa Empire.

External links

• [7]
• [8]

Books, Megazines and Articles

• History and Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age, p 313-314
• History of Gurjara Rajputs: [9]

See also

• Maharaja
• Raja
• Forward Castes
• Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar
• Jatt
• Caste
• Varnas
• Jāti
• Champa Empire
• History of India
• Middle kingdoms of India
• Satrap
• Indian caste system