View source for Kshatriya

{{short description|Ruling and warrior class of the Hindu varna system}}
{{For|the Bollywood film of the same name|Kshatriya (film)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
[[File:Statue of Bhishma.jpg|thumb|[[Bhishma]], a kshatriya of the [[Lunar dynasty]] in Hindu literature.]]
{{Hinduism|expanded=Society}}'''Kshatriya''' ({{Langx|sa|क्षत्रिय|translit=Kṣatriya}}) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called '''Rajanya''')<ref>
*{{cite book|title=Political Violence in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6A4DwAAQBAJ&dq=kshatriya+and+rajanya+are+synonyms&pg=PA23|author=[[Upinder Singh]]|page=23|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2017| isbn=9780674975279 }}
*{{cite book|title=The History of India|url=
https://books.google.com/books?id=DAwmUphO6eAC&dq=Kshatriya+formerly+known+as+rajanya&pg=PA207|page=207|author=John McLeod|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2002| isbn=9780313314599 }}</ref> is one of the four [[Varna (Hinduism)|varnas]] (social orders) of [[Hindu]] society and is associated with the [[warrior]] [[aristocracy]].{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|p=63}} The [[Sanskrit]] term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the context of later [[Vedic]] society wherein members were organised into four classes: ''[[brahmin]]'', kshatriya, ''[[vaishya]],'' and ''[[shudra]]''.<ref>Bujor Avari (2007). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1e2V_4Um10C&dq=indo-aryan+society+kshatriya&pg=PA74 India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Sub-Continent from c. 7000 BC to AD 1200]'', p. 89</ref>

==History==

===Early Rigvedic tribal monarchy===
The administrative machinery in Vedic India was headed by a tribal king called a Rajan whose position may or may not have been hereditary.<ref name=":VedicIndiaRenouKshatriyas">{{Cite book|last=Renou|first=Louis|url=http://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.6854|title=Vedic India|date=1957|pages=130}}</ref> The king may have been elected in a tribal assembly (called a Samiti), which included women.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shori|first=Maj Gen A. K.|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FRCiBQAAQBAJ&dq=The+king+was+elected+in+a+tribal+assembly+(called+Samiti)+which+%22included+women%22.&pg=PT87|title=Seven Shades of Rama|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-93-84391-74-4|language=en|chapter=Fifth Shade : Rama as A King}}</ref><ref name=":VedicIndiaRenouKshatriyas"/> The Rajan protected the tribe and cattle; was assisted by a priest; and did not maintain a standing army, though in the later period the rulership appears to have risen as a [[social class]]. The concept of the fourfold varna system is not yet recorded.<ref name=raj>{{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Ram Sharan|title=India's ancient past|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=the University of Michigan|isbn= 9780195667141|pages=110–112}}</ref>

===Later Vedic period===
The hymn ''[[Purusha Sukta]]'' in the ''[[Rigveda]]'' describes the symbolic creation of the four varnas through cosmic sacrifice (yajña). Some scholars consider the ''Purusha Sukta'' to be a late interpolation into the ''Rigveda'' based on the neological character of the composition, as compared to the more archaic style of the Vedic literature.<ref name=":RigvedaJamisonBreretonPurushaSukta">{{Cite book|last1=Jamison|first1=Stephanie W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-PRAwAAQBAJ|title=The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India|last2=Brereton|first2=Joel P.|date=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-937018-4|pages=57–58|language=en}}</ref> Since not all Indians were fully regulated under varna paradigm in Vedic society,<ref>David Kean (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=beJP_BOIhEcC&pg=PA26 Caste-based Discrimination in International Human Rights Law], p. 26.  Ashgate Publishing Ltd.</ref> the ''Purusha Sukta'' was supposedly composed to secure Vedic sanction for the hereditary caste scheme.<ref name=":RigvedaJamisonBreretonPurushaSukta"/> An alternate explanation is that the word ''Shudra'' does not occur anywhere else in the ''Rigveda'' except the ''Purusha Sukta'', leading some scholars to believe the ''Purusha Sukta'' was a composition of the later Rigvedic period itself to denote, legitimise and sanctify an oppressive and exploitative class structure that had already come into existence.<ref>
Jayantanuja Bandyopadhyaya (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=gwUF11NRyT4C&pg=PA37 Class and Religion in Ancient India], pp. 37–47. Anthem Press.</ref>

Although the ''Purusha Sukta'' uses the term ''rajanya'', not ''Kshatriya'', it is considered the first instance in the extant Vedic texts where four social classes are mentioned for the first time together.<ref name="Roy">Kumkum Roy (2011). [https://books.google.com/books?id=TGzbPNdtJGsC&pg=PA148 Insights and Interventions: Essays in Honour of Uma Chakravarti], p. 148. Primus Books.</ref> Usage of the term ''Rajanya'' possibly indicates the 'kinsmen of the Rajan' (i.e., kinsmen of the ruler) had emerged as a distinct social group then,<ref name="Roy"/> such that by the end of the Vedic period, the term ''rajanya'' was replaced by ''Kshatriya''; where ''rajanya'' stresses kinship with the ''Rajan'' and ''Kshatriya'' denotes power over a specific domain.<ref name="Roy"/> The term ''rajanya'' unlike the word ''Kshatriya'' essentially denoted the status within a lineage. Whereas ''Kshatra'', means "ruling; one of the ruling order".<ref>{{cite book
 |last        = Turner
 |first       = Sir Ralph Lilley
 |author-link = Ralph Lilley Turner
 |author2     = Dorothy Rivers Turner
 |title       = A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages.
 |url         = http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:81.soas
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130825205232/http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:81.soas
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-date = 25 August 2013
 |access-date = 23 October 2011
 |edition     = Accompanied by three supplementary volumes: ''indexes'', compiled by Dorothy Rivers Turner: 1969.&nbsp;– ''Phonetic analysis'': 1971.&nbsp;– ''Addenda et corrigenda'': 1985.
 |orig-year   = 1962
 |date        = January 2006
 |publisher   = Oxford University Press
 |location    = London
 |pages       = 189–190
}}</ref>
Jaiswal points out the term ''Brahman'' rarely occurs in the ''Rigveda'' with the exception of the ''Purusha Sukta'' and may not have been used for the priestly class.<ref name="Roy"/> Based on the authority of [[Pāṇini]], [[Patanjali]], [[Kātyāyana]] and the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', Jayaswal believes that Rajanya was the name of political people and that the Rajanyas were, therefore, a democracy (with an elected ruler).<ref name="choudhary">
Radhakrishna Choudhary (1964). The Vrātyas in Ancient India, Volume 38 of Chowkhamba Sanskrit studies, p. 125. Sanskrit Series Office.</ref> Some examples were the [[Andhaka]] and [[Vrishni|Vrsni]] Rajanyas who followed the system of elected rulers.<ref name="Roy"/> Ram Sharan Sharma details how the central chief was elected by various clan chiefs or lineage chiefs with increasing polarisation between the ''rajanya'' (aristocracy helping the ruler) and the ''vis'' (peasants) leading to a distinction between the chiefs as a separate class (''raja, rajanya, kshatra, kshatriya'') on one hand and ''vis'' (clan peasantry) on the other hand.<ref name="sharma">Ram Sharan Sharma (1991). [https://books.google.com/books?id=9_E3K8fQoDgC&pg=PA172 Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, p. 172]. Motilal Banarsidass Publications.</ref>

The term ''kshatriya'' comes from ''kshatra'' and implies temporal authority and power which was based less on being a successful leader in battle and more on the tangible power of laying claim to sovereignty over a territory, and symbolising ownership over clan lands. This later gave rise to the idea of kingship.<ref name=raj1>{{cite book|last=Reddy|title=General Studies History 4 Upsc|year=2005|publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill Education|isbn= 9780070604476|pages=78, 79, 33, 80, 27, 123}}</ref>

In the period of the [[Brahmana]]s (800 BCE to 700 BCE) there was ambiguity in the position of the varna. In the ''Panchavimsha Brahmana'' (13,4,7), the Rajanya are placed first, followed by Brahmana then Vaishya. In ''Shatapatha Brahmana 13.8.3.11'', the Rajanya are placed second. In ''Shatapatha Brahmana 1.1.4.12'' the order is—Brahmana, Vaishya, Rajanya, Shudra. The order of the Brahmanical tradition—Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra—became fixed from the time of [[dharmasutra]]s (450 BCE to 100 BCE).<ref>Upinder Singh (2008). [https://books.google.com/books?id=GW5Gx0HSXKUC&pg=PA202 A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, p. 202]. Pearson Education India.</ref> The kshatriya were often considered pre-eminent in Buddhist circles.<ref name=Auboyer>{{cite book|author=Jeanne Auboyer|title=Daily Life in Ancient India|year=1965|publisher=Phoenix Press|isbn=1-84212-591-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinancie0000aubo/page/26 26–27]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinancie0000aubo/page/26}}</ref> Even among Hindu societies they were sometimes at rivalry with the Brahmins, but they generally acknowledged the superiority of the priestly class.<ref name=Auboyer/> The Kshatriyas also began to question the [[yajnas]] of the [[historical Vedic religion]], which led to religious ideas developed in the [[Upanishads]].{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|p=129, 131}}

=== Hindu ritual duties===
The Kshatriyas studied Vedas, gave gifts and performed fire sacrifice.<ref name="ludo14"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Vedic duties of twice-born Varnas<ref name="ludo14">{{cite book|author=Ludo Rocher|editor=Donald R. Davis Jr.|title=Studies in Hindu Law and Dharmaśāstra|chapter=9.Caste and occupation in classical India: The normative texts|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dziNBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA205|year=2014|publisher=Anthem Press|pages=205–206|isbn=9781783083152}}</ref>
|-
! !!''Adhyayan''<br />(Study Vedas)!!''Yajana''<br />(performing sacrifice for<br /> one's own benefit)!!Dana<br />(Giving Gifts)!!Adhyapana<br />(Teaching Vedas)!!Yaajana<br />(Acting as Priest<br />for sacrifice)!!''Pratigraha'' (accepting gifts)
|-
|  Brahmin|| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ ||✓ ||✓ 
|-
| Kshatriya|| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || No||No||No
|-
| Vaishya|| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || No||No||No
|-
|-
|}

=== Mahajanapadas ===
The ''gaṇa sangha'' form of government was an oligarchic republic during the period of the [[Mahajanapadas]] (c. 600–300 BCE), that was ruled by Kshatriya clans. However, these kshatriyas did not follow the Vedic religion, and were sometimes called degenerate Kshatriyas or Shudras by Brahmanical sources. The kshatriyas served as representatives in the assembly at the capital, debated various issues put before the assembly.{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|pp=146–150}} Due to the lack of patronage of Vedic Brahmanism, the kshatriyas of the gana sanghas were often patrons of [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]].{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|p=170}} In the [[Pali canon]], Kshatriya is referred as ''khattiya''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gautama Buddha: The Life and Teachings of The Awakened One |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JKW8CgAAQBAJ&dq=Pali+canon+khattiya+kshatriya&pg=PT223 |page= |publisher=Hachette UK|year=2011|isbn=978-1849169233}}</ref>

In the kingdoms of the Mahajanapadas, the king claimed kshatriya status through the Vedic religion. While kings claimed to be kshatriya, some kings came from non-kshatriya origins.{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|pp=150–151}}

After the Mahajanapada period, most of the prominent royal dynasties in northern [[Indian subcontinent|India]] were not kshatriyas. The [[Nanda Empire]], whose rulers were stated to be shudras, destroyed many kshatriya lineages.{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|pp=155–156}}

=== Post-Mauryan Kshatriyas ===
After the collapse of the [[Maurya Empire]], numerous clan-based polities in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan claimed kshatriya status.{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|p=211}}

The [[Shakas]] and [[Yavanas]] were considered to be low-status kshatriyas by Brahmin authors.{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|p=227}}

In the third to fourth centuries CE, kingdoms in the [[Krishna River|Krishna]] and [[Godavari River|Godavari]] rivers claimed kshatriya status and performed [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic rituals]] to legitimate themselves as rulers.{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|pp=228–229}} During his visit to India in the 7th century, [[Hieun Tsang]] noted that ''kshatriya'' rulers were ruling the kingdoms like Kabul,<ref>{{cite book|title=India Ever Independent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvVBDwAAQBAJ&dq=Kabul+kshatriya+hiuen+tsang&pg=PT206|publisher=Balboa Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1504391702|author=Devi Dayal Aggarwal}}</ref> Kosala,<ref>{{cite book |ref=none |last= Mishra|first= Patit Paban|year=2005 |title= Cultural rapprochement between India and Southeast Asia|publisher=National Book Organisation |location= |pages=5–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P21wAAAAMAAJ|access-date= |isbn=8187521171|quote=Hsuan Tsang mentions the existence of kshatriya rulers by stating that the ruler of Kosala was a kshatriya and follower of Buddhism.}}</ref> Bhillamala,<ref>{{cite book|title=Rajasthan District Gazetteers: Jalor|quote=Hiuen Tsang, who visited Bhillamala in about 641 A.D. refers to it as the capital of the Gurjara kingdom . According to him the king of this place was a Kshatriya, a profound believer in Buddhism and a man of exceptional abilities.|year=1973|author=K.K Sehgal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gAil1gRL4sYC}}</ref> Maharashtra<ref>{{cite book|title=Maratha-Rajput Relations from 1720 to 1795 A.D.|author=K.A Acharya|publisher=University of California|page=4|quote=Hiuen – Tsang (first half of seventh century) speaks Pulakeshi (Pu–lo–ki–she) as the great kshatriya king of Maharashtra.|year=1978|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Afu1AAAAIAAJ&q=Maharashtra+kshatriya+hiuen+tsang}}</ref> and Vallabhi.<ref>{{cite book|author=Vincent A. Smith|page=325|title=The Early History of India|year=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XXGhAL1WKcC&dq=Valabhi+kshatriya+hiuen+tsang&pg=PA325|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=9788171566181 |quote=Sīlāditya, the former Raja of Valabhi and Mo-la-p'o, was considered to be a Kshatriya}}</ref>

=== Emergence of "Puranic" Kshatriyas ===
In the era from 300 to 700 CE, new royal dynasties were bestowed kshatriya status by Brahmins by linking them to the kshatriyas of the epics and Puranas. Dynasties began affiliating themselves with the [[Solar dynasty|Solar]] and [[Lunar dynasty|Lunar dynasties]] and this gave them legitimation as rulers. In return the newly christened kshatriyas would patronize and reward the Brahmins. The Sanskritic culture of the kshatriyas of this period was heavily influential for later periods and set the style that kshatriyas of later periods appealed to. This process took place both in North India and the Deccan.{{Sfn|Thapar|2004|p=320, 324, 341, 370}}

=== Modern era ===

Writing in the context of how the [[jajmani system]] operated in the 1960s, Pauline Kolenda noted that the "caste function of the Kshatriya is to lead and protect the village, and with conquest to manage their conquered lands. The Kshatriyas do perform these functions today to the extent possible, by distributing food as payments to ''kamins'' and providing leadership."<ref name="kolenda">{{cite journal |title=Toward a Model of the Hindu Jajmani System |first=Pauline Mahar |last=Kolenda |journal=Human Organization |volume=22 |issue=1 |date=Spring 1963 |pages=11–31 |doi=10.17730/humo.22.1.x01162046g995q1j |jstor=44124164}}</ref>

==Symbols==

In rituals, the ''nyagrodha'' (''[[Ficus indica]]'' or India fig or [[banyan]] tree) ''danda'', or staff, is assigned to the kshatriya class, along with a mantra, intended to impart physical vitality or 'ojas'.<ref>Brian K. Smith. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nkruE6UCz54C ''Reflections on Resemblance, Ritual, and Religion''], Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1998</ref>

==Lineage==

The Vedas do not mention kshatriya (or varna) of any ''vamsha'' (lineage). The lineages of the [[Itihasa]]-[[Purana]] tradition<ref name="indianhistory"/> are: the [[Solar dynasty]] (Suryavamsha);<ref name="indianhistory"/> and the [[Lunar dynasty]] (Chandravamsha/Somavamsha).<ref name="indianhistory"/>

There are other lineages, such as [[Agnivanshi]] ("fire lineage"), in which an eponymous ancestor is claimed from [[Agni]] (fire),<ref name="indianhistory">Indian History: Ancient and medieval, p. 22. Volume 1 of Indian History, Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Pvt. Ltd, 2003.</ref> and Nagavanshi (snake-born), claiming descent from the [[Nāga]]s, whose description can be found in scriptures such as [[Mahabharata]].<ref>Omacanda Hāṇḍā. Naga Cults and Traditions in the Western Himalaya, p. 251. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xd50t19YpJEC&pg=PA251]</ref>

{{clear}}

==See also==
*[[Indian caste system]]
*[[Forward caste]]s
*[[Sanskritisation]]

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

* {{cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|author-link=Romila Thapar|title=History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5irrXX0apQC&q=History+of+Early+India:+From+the+Origins+to+AD+1300 |publisher=University of California Press|year=2004|isbn=0520242254}}

==Further reading==
*Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. ''History and Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age''. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1996. pp.&nbsp;313–314

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[[Category:Kshatriya| ]]
[[Category:Varnas in Hinduism]]
[[Category:Warriors]]