In the Yajurveda, we see manifestly the greatness accorded to the essence of kshaatra. An important representative of the essence of kshaatra is the ashvamedha yajna. The Taittiriya Samhita says ‘यजुर्वेदं क्षत्रियस्याहुर्योनिम्’ (3.12.1.2) suggesting that the Yajurveda is the origin of the kshatriyas. In our Vedas, the ऋक् has been associated with brahmanas, यजुस् with kshatriyas, and सामन् with vaishyas [there are other views too; for example...
The Age of the Vedas: Indra – a great symbol for kshaatra In the Vedas, Indra has been called Purandara. It means that he is the Indra who destroyed the puras of asuras. The word ‘pura’ can either mean the ‘forts’ of the enemies or their ‘bodies.’ Purandara is used in the sense of one who is capable of destroying the three kinds of shariras – स्थूल, सूक्ष्म, and कारण. Calling Shiva as a Tripurari also has a similar connotation. The meaning of...
Since how long has the spirit of strength and courage been in the world? Indeed for thousands of years. In the Upanishads – the preeminent portion of the Vedas – we have a famous story of the creation of braahma, kshaatra, vaishya, and shudra along with dharma (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4). All the varnas arose from Prajapati (Brahma). Indra-devendra-268x300_2.jpg Indra, the symbol for kshaatra While Indra is a symbol for...
The Age of the Vedas: Origin of the word ‘kshatriya’ It is said that the word ‘kshatriya’ comes from the root word ‘kshi.’ Even here, opinions differ. In Yaska’s Nirukta and in Panini’s Dhatupatha, the words ‘kshaatra’ and ‘kshatriya’ are shown to have been derived from the root 'क्षि' – 'क्षयैश्वर्ययोः.' From the semantic etymology of Nirukta, we have ‘क्षतात् त्रायते इति क्षत्रियः’ and when we consider the Dhatupatha, we learn that the origin...
The Age of the Vedas: Introduction According to the Puranas, there are no more kshatriyas left in the world; नन्दान्तं क्षत्रिय कुलं – with the fall of the Nanda dynasty, after the rule of Dhanananda, no more kshatriyas were left in the world (see for example, "महानन्दिनस्ततः प्रभृतिः... शूद्रा भूपाला भविष्यन्ति" – Vishnu Purana 4.14.10-11 and "महानन्दसुतश्चापि शूद्रायं कलिवंशजः| उत्पत्स्यते महापद्मः सर्वक्षत्त्रान्तको नृपः|| ततः प्रभृति राजानो...
For several years now, there has been an attempt to distort India’s history, culture, and traditions starting from the Islamic invaders, British imperialism, the missionaries, and more recently, the Marxist historians and so-called intellectuals. This trend continues unabated even to this day. At the root of these distortions lies a ruthless and sustained assault on everything that represents bharatiya samskrti – be it traditional values, time-...