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Kshatriya
Kshatriya (, from , ) is one of the four varnas (social orders) in Hinduism. It constitutes the military and ruling order of the traditional Vedic-Hindu social system as outlined by the Vedas and the Laws of Manu. Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira all belonged to this social order. Initially in ancient Vedic society, this position was achieved on the merits of a person's aptitude (guna), conduct (karma), and nature (swabhava). The earliest Vedic literature listed the Kshatriya (holders of k?atra, or authority) as first in rank, then the Brahmins (priests and teachers of law), next the Vaisya (merchant-traders), and finally the Sudra (artisans and labourers). Movements of individuals and groups from one class to another, both upward and downward, were not uncommon; a rise in status even to the rank of Kshatriya was a recognized reward for outstanding service to the rulers of the day.[1] Over the years it became hereditary. In modern times, the Kshatriya varna includes a broad class of caste groups, differing considerably in status and function but united by their claims to rulership, the pursuit of war, or the possession of land. The legend that the Kshatriya were destroyed by Parasurama, the sixth reincarnation of Vishnu, as a punishment for their tyranny is thought by some scholars to reflect a long struggle for supremacy between priests and rulers that ended in victory for the former. By the end of the Vedic era, the Brahmins were supreme, and the Kshatriya had fallen to second place.[2]
EtymologyIn Sanskrit, it is derived from k?atra, meaning "dominion, power, government" from a root k?? "to rule, govern, possess". Old Persian x??ya?iya ("emperor") and x?a?ra ("realm") are related to it, as are the New Persian words ??h ("emperor") and ?ahr ("city", "realm"). The Thai word for "king", kasat, and the Malay word for "knight" or "warrior", kesatria or satria, are also derived from it. The term denotes aristocratic status. In the early Vedic civilization, the warrior caste was called r?janya or k?atr?ya. The former was an adjectival form of r?jan "ruler, king" from a root r?j "to rule", cognate to the Latin rex "king", the German Reich "empire/realm", and the Thai racha "king". In Persia, the satraps, or "kshatrapa", were the governors, or "protectors", of the Persian Empire's provinces. Holy Warriors
Lord Sri Krishna with Radha. Krishna, a Kshatriya by birth of Chandravanshi lineage, He is considered another incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In the Bhagavad Gita he taught Arjuna about the duty of a Kshatriya. A Hindu ruler was bound by the holy scriptures to govern as a Dharma-Raja (Just Ruler), with the main duties being protection of his subjects and livestock.
People ruled by Aryans are led by the Divine light. King Rama of Ayodhya is considered the greatest of the Dharma-Rajas:
An Aryan who worked for the equality of all, was dear to everyone. Rama is also considered an avatar of Vishnu.
Symbol of KshatriyaIn the initiation rituals, the Nyagrodha (Ficus Indica or India Fig/Banyan tree) danda, or staff, is assigned to the Kshatriya class.
"The staff made of this wood is given to the Kshatriya initiate with a mantra imparting physical vitality or 'ojas'".[4] In the Manu Smriti, or Laws of Manu, the Kshatriya caste is given the Varna (Color) red. Vedic originThe universe in Hindu mythology came into being through the yawn of the Adi-Purusha, the one eternal being. He then felt it necessary to monitor the universe. So, he created Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, entrusting them with preservance and re-creation. These two were the two sides of the same coins, a replica of HIM. The primary job now was that of procreation. Lord Vishnu created Brahma from his navel, an incarnation of none other than Lord Shiva. Brahma, the procreator, then set about his task of creating the universe. He created the celestial bodies, earth, mountains, water, air and ether - known in Hinduism as Panch Maha Bhuta. He then created the Sapta Rishis, (Seven wise sages who would take the task of infusing life on the earth). An eighth rishi Narad was born, who declared that he was not interested in procreation and renounced his life for the propagation of Knowledge and Bhakti (Worship). The seven sages started with what their Father had ordered them. They came to be known as Prajapatis (Propagators of the divine human race). Rishi Kashyap grew to be wiser than the rest and Brahma married him off to Daksh Prajapati's two daughters - Diti and Aditi. Diti turned out to be a scheming and jealous woman always trying to belittle and outdo virtuous Aditi. This quality in her gave rise to a human race with the same inherent qualities and they came to be known as Daityas. Virtuous Aditi gave birth to equally virtuous and illustrious sons and they came to be known as Adaityas. Surya (Sun) and Indra (Fire) were born of Aditi. Hence the Sun God is also known as Aditya. [5] When Brahma was involved in the job of procreation due to toil and perspiration, a negative energy emanated from him. This negative energy took form of Rakshasas (Devils) Madhu and Kaitabha, evil and inhuman souls. They started torturing Brahma. Brahma appealed to Lord Vishnu who readily appeared and killed both of them. He explained to Brahma that when a positive energy is utilized, negative energy also emanates, and that a special race of humans should be created to protect the entire human race. Brahma acting on this advice sat down for meditation. At the end of the day four different forms of energy for the human race were formed out of Brahma's body. Brahmins were created at dawn, Kshatriyas at Noon, Vaishyas at dusk and Shudras at night. Note that these were the Varnas (colors) and not 'caste' (Jati) as now thought of today. Usually this is told as Brahmins were born from Brahma?s head, ending with Shudras from the feet. In the Rig Veda the varnas were not rigid and were related to ones actions. The Brahmin varna was reddish as the sky before dawn, Kshatriya varna as the Sun at noon, Vaishya as the evening sky and Shudra the color of night sky. Gradually, the Varna system caught hold of Indian Sub Continent and each varna did its job as per guidelines of Brahma. Brahmins and Kshatriyas were the upper castes and Vaishyas and Shudras the lower castes. Both, Brahmins and Kshatriyas were allowed to study the Vedas. Kshatriyas (pronounced as shatria) also studied the ancient martial arts which were eventually carried by Buddhist monks like Bodhidharma (a Kshatriya) to China and Japan. The Brahmans and Kshatriyas and later the Vaishyas had to perform a communion ceremony called the Upanayanam (thread ceremony) that would symbolize their entry into the Aryan social structure and would be considered reborn, i.e dvijas (twice born). This meant that you accepted the Vedas as the word of God and were willing to perform the rituals and duties outlined under the guidance of your spiritual guide, the Brahman priest. The Rig Veda refers to the ways in which Gods four body parts make up the four classes, depending on the nature or values that the human holds. The Brahmans hold spiritual and intellectual values and are in charge of teaching the Vedic Sanskrit, thus are made up of his head. The Kshatryas are the warriors that protect the countries and thus are made up of his arms. The Vaishyas are the farmers and merchants in the production nature and thus are made up of his belly and the Shudras are the laborers who perform menial chores of farming, labor, artisans and all the jobs required of a society and thus are made up of his legs. This was interpreted as meaning that no one caste is more important than the other and that society cannot survive without all parts working together. According to Vedic theology, Manu is considered the law-giver and progenitor of humanity. 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 j?tis 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 as it is related to the word "Aristocracy". Varna-Jati-CasteThere is confusion between Varna, Jati and Caste. While the term varna refers to the four broad different classes in society, the term jati refers to the different specific endogamous sections of the Hindu Society which is known as castes. Varna means "color" as well as "veil". It shows the four different ways in which the Divine Self is hidden in human beings. In the context of color people have confused it to mean race but it actually represents the distinct qualities (guna) that the four functional classes possess in their hearts and minds. The four different qualities of human beings:
One hymn of the Rig Veda states:
Clearly this color scheme had nothing to do with race and everything to do with a person?s aptitude.
Theories of originThe caste system was very fluid early on and an individual rose or fell depending on his own merit. Historians generally agree that caste became hereditary around the time of the rise of Buddhism and Jainism based on archaeological, 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. They did not believe in the preeminence of the Vedas and taught to the masses, not keeping spirituality to an elite few. Many of the ancient rulers such as Ashoka Maurya were ardent followers of this faith and promoted it throughout the Mauryan empire. This resulted in the decline in status of the Brahman order. Priests in all three faiths were the record keeper and as you will see in the coming examples there was a definite trend towards placing rulers in the Sudra varna if they did not follow Vedic teachings and maintain the prominence of the priestly order, losing their Kshatriya status. 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. The literalists believe that most of the Kshatriya communities descend from Surya, Chandra, or Agni. The Surya descendants claim descent from the Sun Dynasty (Suryavansh). Rama also belonged to this dynasty, and the Suryavansh Rajputs trace their linage back to him. Maharaja Agrasen also belonged from the same descent. The Chandra descendants claim descent from the Lunar Dynasty (Chandravansh). Krishna also was born in this dynasty. Yaduvanshi Kshtriyas consider him as an ancestor. This is based on the writings of the Rig Veda and other Puranas. Great epics, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Raghuvamsa, also support it. Jain origin
Mahavira, the last Tirthankara, was born into the Kshatriya caste. Thus four varnas came into existence: namely, the Kshatriyas, Brahmins, Vaishyas and Shudras. According to Jain and Buddhist literature, Kshatriyas are nothing but those who own a farm, i.e. farmers. And Kshatriyas are descendants of Rishabh, the first Jain Tirthankar. This fact is clearly stated in many Hindu puranic texts like the Bhagwat Purana, Brahma Purana, Vishnu Purana, etc. The clan of Rishabh was called Ikshwaku and is thus the clan of all Kshatiyas. Later two branches of this clan came into existence. The first was Suryavanshi which was named after Adityayash (Ark kirti), the elder son of Bharat and the Grand Son of Rishabh and second Somvansh named after Somyash, the elder son of Bahubali. (Bahubali was younger brother of Bharat and son of Rishabh). Rajputs and Marathas believe that Suryavansh was divided, later, into 36 clans and Somvansh was divided into 60 clans. Thus the total number of Kshatriya clans became 96. Establishments and assimilationIn ancient times there was mobility between varnas, as people learned new skills and changed their actions and occupations. The nomadic tribes of ancient India 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 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 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 one's 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 the northwest, but were assimilated into the Indian community as Kshatriyas. Non-orthodox Kshatriyas
Siddhartha Gautama or Gautama Buddha was born into a Hindu Kshatriya family
Kshatriya lineageThe major branches of Kshatriya varna are Chandravanshi, claiming descent from Chandra, Suryavanshi, claiming direct descent from Ramachandra and descent from Surya, Agnivanshi, claiming descent from Agni, and the Nagavanshi, claiming descent from the N?gas. SuryavanshiThe Suryavanshi or Solar dynasty lineage claims descent from Surya. Suryavanshis also claim descent from Rama, who was himself born into a Suryavanshi dynasty.
, Mark Juergensmeyer, p16, 1995[10] of Punjab, they claim Kshatriya status.[11] ChandravanshiThe Chandravanshi or Lunar dynasty lineage claims descent from Chandra. The Yaduvanshi lineage are the major sub-branch of the Chandravanshi lineage. The Yaduvanshis claim descent from Krishna, who in turn was born into a Chandravanshi dynasty. Several Indian castes such as Sainis, Rajputs of Bhati Clan, Jadaun Rajputs (Madhya Pradesh), and the Jats of Mathura and Bharatpur, claim descent from the Yaduvanshi lineage.
AgnivanshiThe Agnivanshi lineage claims descent from Agni. NagavanshiSome castes claim Kshatriya status as descendents of the N?ga or the "serpent dynasty", and are called Nagavanshi. Particular clans of Nair and Jat caste claim Nagavanshi descent. The Nagavanshi (or Nagabanshi) are known for ruling Chhotanagpur.
Others
Outside the Indian subcontinent
ReferencesFurther reading
See also
de:Kshatriya es:Chatria fr:Kshatriya ko:????? hi:???????? id:Kesatria mr:???????? nl:Kshattriya ja:?????? pl:Kszatrija pt:Xátria ro:Casta K?atriya ru:??????? simple:Kshatriya sv:Kshatriya ta:?????????? uk:??????? zh:??? Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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