Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Kshatriya

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

  • 67 Accesses

There exists no greater good for a kshatriya than a war enjoined by duty.

Happy are the Kshatriyas O Parth, for whom such a war comes of its own accord as an open door to heaven. But if thou does not this lawful battle, then thou wilt fail thy duty and glory and will incur sin. Besides, men will ever recount thy ill-fame, and for one who has been honored ill-fame is worse than death. The great warriors will think that thou hast abstained from battle through fear, and they by whom thou was highly esteemed will make light of thee. Either slain thou shalt go to heaven or victorious thou shalt enjoy the earth, therefore, arise, O Son of Kunti, resolve the battle as your Kshatriya dharma.

(Shri Krishna to Arjun in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, verse 31–37)

The Etymology

The word Kshatriya is derived from a Sanskrit word “Kshatra” which means dominion, government, administration, power, or rule. The root of the word “Kshatriya” is “Kshi” which means to rule or govern. They were the class or...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Further Reading

  1. Smith BK (1998) Reflections on resemblance, ritual, and religion. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  2. Klostermaier K (2007) A survey of Hinduism, 3rd edn. State University of New York press, Albany

    Google Scholar 

  3. Doniger W (2009) The Hindus, an alternative history. The Penguin press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  4. Rosen S (2006) Essential Hinduism. Praeger publication, Westport/London

    Google Scholar 

  5. Kshatriyas. New World Encyclopedia, 23 Jan 2018, 21:11 UTC. 25 Jul 2018, 06:30 http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Kshatriyas&oldid=1009080

  6. Singh U (2008) A history of ancient and early medieval India: from the stone age to the 12th century. Pearson Education, Noida

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bandyopadhyaya J (2007) Class and religion in ancient India. Anthem Press, London, pp 37–47

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA, USA

    Mona Rawal

Authors
  1. Mona Rawal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mona Rawal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, TX, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature B.V.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Rawal, M. (2019). Kshatriya. In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_113-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_113-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation