Ruling and warrior class of the Hindu varna system
For the Bollywood film of the same name, see Kshatriya (film).
Kshatriya (Sanskrit: क्षत्रिय, romanized: Kṣatriya) (from Sanskrit kṣatra, "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya)[1] is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy.[2] 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.[3]
- ^
- Upinder Singh (2017). Political Violence in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. p. 23. ISBN 9780674975279.
- John McLeod (2002). The History of India. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 207. ISBN 9780313314599.
- ^ Thapar 2004, p. 63.
- ^ Bujor Avari (2007). India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Sub-Continent from c. 7000 BC to AD 1200, p. 89