KSHATRIYA

also spelled Kshattriya, or Ksatriya, Sanskrit Ksatriya, second highest in ritual status of the four varnas, or social classes, of Hindu India, traditionally the military or ruling class. The earliest Vedic literature listed the Kshatriya (holders of ksatra, or authority) as first in rank, then the Brahmans (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 services to the rulers of the day. 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 Brahmans were supreme, and the Kshatriya had fallen to second place. In modern times, the Kshatriya varna is held to include a broad class of caste groups, differing considerably in status and headed by the aristocratic Rajput lineages. See also varna.