Kshatriya - Revision history

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	{{short description\|Ruling and warrior class in the Hindu Varna system of India}}		{{short description\|Ruling and warrior class in the Hindu Varna system of India}}
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	[[File:Statue of Bhishma.jpg\|thumb\|[[Bhishma]], a Kshatriya of the Lunar dynasty]]		[[File:Statue of Bhishma.jpg\|thumb\|[[Bhishma]], a Kshatriya of the Lunar dynasty]]

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	After the collapse of the [[Maurya Empire]], numerous clan-based polities in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan claimed kshatriya status.{{Sfn\|Thapar\|2002\|p=211}}		After the collapse of the [[Maurya Empire]], numerous clan-based polities in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan claimed kshatriya status.{{Sfn\|Thapar\|2002\|p=211}}

	The [[Shakas]] and [[Yavanas]] were considered to be low-status kshatriyas by brahmin authors.{{Sfn\|Thapar\|2004\|p=227}}		The [[Shakas]] and [[Yavanas]] were considered to be low-status or vratya 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}}		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}}
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	=== Modern era ===		=== 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>		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>

	~~A number of castes in the modern era began claiming kshatriya origin, but that they purportedly fell in status due to economic necessity or ritual faults.{{Sfn\|Thapar\|2004\|p=464}}~~

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

	There are other lineages, such as [[Agnivanshi]] ("fire lineage"), in which an eponymous ancestor rises out of [[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. The Nagavanshi, not ~~attested in the Itihasa-Purana tradition~~, were Naga ~~tribes~~ whose origin can be found in scriptures.<ref>Omacanda Hāṇḍā. Naga Cults and Traditions in the Western Himalaya, p. 251. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xd50t19YpJEC&pg=PA251]</ref>		There are other lineages, such as [[Agnivanshi]] ("fire lineage"), in which an eponymous ancestor rises out of [[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. The Nagavanshi, not mentioned as a purely independent lineage, were Naga clans whose origin can be found in scriptures.<ref>Omacanda Hāṇḍā. Naga Cults and Traditions in the Western Himalaya, p. 251. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xd50t19YpJEC&pg=PA251]</ref>

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	==History==		==History==
	===Early Rigvedic tribal monarchy===		===Early Rigvedic tribal monarchy===
	The administrative machinery in the [[Vedic India]] was headed by a tribal king called ''Rajan'' whose position ~~was~~ not hereditary.{{cn\|date=~~February 2021~~}}The king ~~was~~ elected in a tribal assembly (called ''Samiti'') which included women.{{cn\|~~date~~=~~February 2021~~}}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>		The administrative machinery in the Vedic India was headed by a tribal king called 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 Samiti), which included women.<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Shori\|first=Maj Gen A. K.\|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FRCiBQAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT87&dq=The+king+was+elected+in+a+tribal+assembly+(called+Samiti)+which+%22included+women%22.&hl=en&redir_esc=y\|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===		===Later Vedic period===
	The hymn ''[[Purusha Sukta]]'' to the ''[[Rigveda]]'' describes the symbolic creation of the four varna-s through [[Purusha Sukta\|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.{{~~citation needed~~\|date=~~January~~ 2014}} Since not all Indians were fully regulated under the varna in the 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 in order to secure Vedic sanction for the heredity caste scheme.~~{{citation needed\|date~~=~~January 2014}}~~ An alternate explanation is that the word 'Shudra' does not occur anywhere else in the ''Rig-veda'' except the ''Purusha Sukta'', leading some scholars to believe the ''Purusha Sukta'' was a composition of the later Rig-vedic period itself to denote, legitimize and sanctify an oppressive and exploitative class structure that had already come into existence.<ref>		The hymn ''[[Purusha Sukta]]'' to the ''[[Rigveda]]'' describes the symbolic creation of the four varna-s through [[Purusha Sukta\|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\|last=Jamison\|first=Stephanie W.\|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1-PRAwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&redir_esc=y\|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 the varna in the 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 in order to secure Vedic sanction for the heredity caste scheme.<ref name=":RigvedaJamisonBreretonPurushaSukta"/> An alternate explanation is that the word 'Shudra' does not occur anywhere else in the ''Rig-veda'' except the ''Purusha Sukta'', leading some scholars to believe the ''Purusha Sukta'' was a composition of the later Rig-vedic period itself to denote, legitimize 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>		Jayantanuja Bandyopadhyaya (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=gwUF11NRyT4C&pg=PA37 Class and Religion in Ancient India], pp. 37–47. Anthem Press.</ref>

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[[File:Rama_and_the_ocean.jpg|thumb|[[Rama|Lord Rama]], a Kshatriya of the [[Solar dynasty]]]]
'''Kshatriya''' ({{lang-hi|क्षत्रिय}}) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] (social orders) of [[Hindu]] society, associated with [[warrior]] [[aristocracy]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|title=History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300|publisher=University of California Pres|year=2004|pages=63}}</ref> The [[Sanskrit]] term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the context of [[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&pg=PA74&dq=indo-aryan+society+kshatriya&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eLhWUrnwLfGw4APh24CYAQ&ved=0CGAQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=indo-aryan%20society%20kshatriya&f=false 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 the [[Vedic India]] was headed by a tribal king called ''Rajan'' whose position was not hereditary.{{cn|date=February 2021}}The king was elected in a tribal assembly (called ''Samiti'') which included women.{{cn|date=February 2021}}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]]'' to the ''[[Rigveda]]'' describes the symbolic creation of the four varna-s through [[Purusha Sukta|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.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} Since not all Indians were fully regulated under the varna in the 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 in order to secure Vedic sanction for the heredity caste scheme.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} An alternate explanation is that the word 'Shudra' does not occur anywhere else in the ''Rig-veda'' except the ''Purusha Sukta'', leading some scholars to believe the ''Purusha Sukta'' was a composition of the later Rig-vedic period itself to denote, legitimize 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
| access-date =23 October 2011
| edition = Accompanied by three supplementary volumes: ''indexes'', compiled by Dorothy Rivers Turner: 1969. – ''Phonetic analysis'': 1971. – ''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 Rig-veda 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> The Srimad [[Bhagavata Gita]] has the following quoted lines by [[Sri Krishna]]:
{{Quote|शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर्दाक्ष्यं युध्दे चाप्यपलायनम् ।<br>दानमीश्वरभावश्च क्षात्रं कर्म स्वभावजम् ॥१८-४३ ॥<br>
Kshatriya never flees from the war, he shows bravery, skill, chivalry and patience in the face of war. Donation to the society and protecting citizens (Kshatra duty) are the norms of a Kshatriya.}}

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 Kshatriya 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}}

=== Mahajanapadas ===
The ''gaṇa sangha'' form of government was a 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|p=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 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|p=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|p=155-156}}

=== 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/about/Reflections_On_Resemblance_Ritual_And_Re.html?id=nkruE6UCz54C ''Reflections on Resemblance, Ritual, and Religion''], Motilal Banarsidass Publishe, 1998</ref>

==Lineage==

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

There are other lineages, such as [[Agnivanshi]] ("fire lineage"), in which an eponymous ancestor rises out of [[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. The Nagavanshi, not attested in the Itihasa-Purana tradition, were Naga tribes whose origin can be found in scriptures.<ref>Omacanda Hāṇḍā. Naga Cults and Traditions in the Western Himalaya, p. 251. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xd50t19YpJEC&pg=PA251]</ref>

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==See also==
{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}
*[[Indian caste system]]
*[[Forward caste]]s
*[[Sanskritisation]]
*[[AJGAR]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{Reflist|group=groupname}}
{{Reflist|group=ghu}}

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

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