Kshatra, Kṣatra: 16 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
Languages
1. Marathi
2. Sanskrit
3. Hindi
4. Kannada
See also

Introduction:

Kshatra means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

The Sanskrit term Kṣatra can be transliterated into English as Ksatra or Kshatra, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Kṣatra (क्षत्र) refers to a “great umbrella”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.3.40 (“The Marriage Procession of Śiva”).—Accordingly, as Brahmā narrated to Nārada: “[...] O sage, Viṣṇu, seated on Garuḍa and going in the middle of the group shone with the great umbrella (kṣatra—kṣatreṇa mahatā) held aloft. He was surrounded by his attendants who fanned him with Cāmaras. His Pārṣadas too shone well. He was bedecked in all his ornaments. I too shone well on the way with the Vedas, Śāstras, Purāṇas and Āgamas personified and along with my sons, Prajāpatis, Sanaka and other Siddhas. I was eager in rendering service to Śiva. [...]”.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

1a) Kṣatra (क्षत्र).—A son of Anamītra.^*

* Matsya-purāṇa 45. 25.

1b) ¹ —its dharma;² originated with the sons of Kāmyā and Priyavrata;³ powerful householders were appointed for the protection of the world and they were Kṣatriyas; duties of; to serve in an army, to be king and to take part in war;⁴ to protect the people and engage in righteous wars.⁵

1) Vāyu-purāṇa 99. 268.
2) Ib. 99. 227.
3) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 11. 34; Vāyu-purāṇa 26. 35; 28. 19; 32. 46; 93. 7.
4) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 7. 154; 161-66.
5) Viṣṇu-purāṇa VI. 7. 3.

1c) The body of Brahmā, while the Brāhmaṇa is his heart. Both dependent on each other;¹ created with the Brāhmaṇa, and hence no obstacle to intermarriage between Kṣatriya and Brāhmaṇa;² dharma of; no sin in killing men in war.³

1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa III. 22. 3-4; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 36. 23.
2) Matsya-purāṇa 30. 19-20.
3) Matsya-purāṇa 43. 18; 103. 21-22; 114. 12.

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Kṣatra (क्षत्र) is another name for the Kṣatriyas, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 5), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If there should be both lunar and solar eclipses in one month, princes will suffer both from dissensions among their own army and from wars. [...] If the disc should appear black resembling the colour of the stem of dūrvā grass (Agrostis linearis) or yellow, there will be much death in the land. If of the colour of the flower pāṭali (Bignonia Suaveolenis) ‘trumpet flower’ there will be fear from lightning. If the eclipsed disc be of the colour of red dust, the Kṣatriyas will suffer [i.e., kṣatra-dhvaṃsa] and there will be no rain. If of the colour of the rising sun, of lotus, of the rainbow, there will be suffering from weapons”.

context information

Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.

Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)

Source: University of Vienna: Sudarśana's Worship at the Royal Court According to the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā

Kṣatra (क्षत्र) refers to a “member of the second social class to which also kings traditionally belong”, according to the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā, belonging to the Pāñcarātra tradition which deals with theology, rituals, iconography, narrative mythology and others.—Accordingly, “Lakṣmī does not dwell in the Brāhmaṇa alone, because of [his] excessive gentleness. Nor does She wish to remain in the Kṣatra alone (i.e. a member of the second social class to which also kings traditionally belong), being fearful of [his] excessive fierceness”.

context information

Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

kṣatra (क्षत्र).—m S A man of the second or military and regal class: also n that class.

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kṣātra (क्षात्र).—a S Relating to the kṣatriya class or order.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

kṣatra (क्षत्र).—A man of the military and regal class. n That class.

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kṣātra (क्षात्र).—a Relating to kṣatriya.

context information

Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Kṣatra (क्षत्र).—1 Dominion, power, supremacy, might.

2) A man of the Kṣatriya caste, or the Kṣatriya tribe taken collectively; क्षतात्किल त्रायत इत्युदग्रः क्षत्रस्य शब्दो भुवनेषु रुढः (kṣatātkila trāyata ityudagraḥ kṣatrasya śabdo bhuvaneṣu ruḍhaḥ) R.2.53;11.69,71; असंशयं क्षत्रपरिग्रहक्षमा (asaṃśayaṃ kṣatraparigrahakṣamā) Ś.1.22; Manusmṛti 9.322; ब्राह्मणेनैधितं क्षत्रं मन्त्रिमन्त्राभिमन्त्रितम् । जयत्यजितमत्यन्तम् (brāhmaṇenaidhitaṃ kṣatraṃ mantrimantrābhimantritam | jayatyajitamatyantam) ... Kau. A.1.9.

3) A man of the warrior class, a soldier; क्षत्रप्रताप (kṣatrapratāpa) Uttararāmacarita 6.18; martial or heroic valour; 6.16;

4) Injury, harm (hiṃsā); 'क्षत्रं हिंसा तदर्थं जातं क्षत्रजम् (kṣatraṃ hiṃsā tadarthaṃ jātaṃ kṣatrajam)' -com. of Nīlakaṇṭha on Mahābhārata (Bombay) 12.189.5; (kṣatrajaṃ sevate karma vedādhyayanasaṃgataḥ |).

-trī 1 A woman of the military caste.

2) The rank of a member of the military caste.

3) Wealth.

4) Water.

5) The body.

Derivable forms: kṣatraḥ (क्षत्रः), kṣatram (क्षत्रम्).

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Kṣātra (क्षात्र).—a. (-trī f.) [क्षत्रस्य कर्म भावो वा अण् (kṣatrasya karma bhāvo vā aṇ)] Relating or peculiar to the military tribe; क्षात्रो धर्मः श्रित इव तनुं ब्रह्म- घोषस्य गुप्त्यै (kṣātro dharmaḥ śrita iva tanuṃ brahma- ghoṣasya guptyai) Uttararāmacarita 6.9.; R.1.13.

-tram 1 The Kṣatriya tribe.

2) The qualifications of a Kṣatriya; the Gītā thus describes them :-शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर्दाक्ष्यं युद्धे चाप्यपलायनम् । दानमीश्वरभावश्च क्षात्रं कर्म स्वभावजम् (śauryaṃ tejo dhṛtirdākṣyaṃ yuddhe cāpyapalāyanam | dānamīśvarabhāvaśca kṣātraṃ karma svabhāvajam) Bhagavadgītā (Bombay) 18.43.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Kṣatra (क्षत्र).—(nt.) = kṣetra, field. Cf. Pali Dīghanikāya (Pali) 3.93.13 khettānaṃ patī ti…khattiyo (in an etymology), which shows that a popular association of kṣatriya with kṣetra (or of their MIndic equivalents) existed. Doubtless as a result of this, the secondary etymological blend-form kṣatra occurs often in Lalitavistara, as in 208.13; 283.8; 352.18; 354.14, 22; 355.16; 357.4; 366.8; in all these all mss. and Lefm. kṣa°; in Lalitavistara 290.8, 15; 353.1 Lefm. kṣe° but most mss. kṣa°. The mss. of Mahāvastu also—sometimes nearly all of them—read kṣa°, as in v.l. for kṣe° at i.121.9, 11, 12; 122.1, 2. In all these cases there is no doubt of the meaning field; it seems to me that Lefm. was right in recognizing the existence in [Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit] of kṣatra in this sense, because of its frequent occurrence, which the [etymology] in Dīghanikāya (Pali) supports.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kṣatra (क्षत्र).—i. e. kṣi + atra, I. n. 1. Dominion (ved.). 2. The second, or military caste, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 9, 322; its dignity, [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 3, 6, 31. Ii. m. A man of the military caste, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 3, 23.

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Kṣātra (क्षात्र).—i. e. kṣatra + a, I. adj., f. rt, Peculiar to the military caste, [Rāmāyaṇa] 1, 54, 14. Ii. n. 1. The military caste, Mahābhārata 3, 5097. 2. Royal dignity, [Rāmāyaṇa] 5, 84, 10.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kṣatra (क्षत्र).—[neuter] rule, dominion, power; the reigning or warrior (second) caste or a member of it.

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Kṣātra (क्षात्र).—[feminine] ī pertaining to the military tribe; [neuter] dominion, supremacy.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Kṣatra (क्षत्र):—n. (√1. kṣi?; [gana] ardharcādi) sg. and [plural] dominion, supremacy, power, might (whether human or supernatural, especially applied to the power of Varuṇa-Mitra and Indra), [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda; Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā; Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa ii]

2) [xi]

3) sg. and [plural] government, governing body, [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda; Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā x, 17; Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa ii]

4) the military or reigning order (the members of which in the earliest times, as represented by the Vedic hymns, were generally called Rājanya, not Kṣatriya; afterwards, when the difference between Brahman and Kṣatra or the priestly and civil authorities became more distinct, applied to the second or reigning or military caste), [Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā; Atharva-veda; Taittirīya-saṃhitā] etc.

5) a member of the military or second order or caste, warrior, [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata] etc. (fancifully derived [from] kṣatāt tra [from] √trai id est. ‘a preserver from injury’ [Raghuvaṃśa ii, 53])

6) the rank of a member of the reigning or military order, authority of the second caste, [Aitareya-brāhmaṇa viii, 5; Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa xiii, 1, 5, 2; Bhāgavata-purāṇa iii, ix]

7) wealth, [Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska ii, 10]

8) water, [i, 12]

9) the body, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

10) Tabernaemontana coronaria ([varia lectio] chattra), [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]

11) Kṣātra (क्षात्र):—[from kṣatra] a mf(ī)n. ([from] kṣatra), belonging or relating or peculiar to the second caste, [Manu-smṛti vii, 87; Yājñavalkya; Mahābhārata] etc.

12) [v.s. ...] n. the dignity of a ruler or governor, [Mahābhārata iii, 5097 and xiii, 3026; Rāmāyaṇa ii f., v.]

13) b etc. See kṣatra.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Kṣatra (क्षत्र) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Khatta.

[Sanskrit to German]

Kshatra in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

Hindi dictionary

Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionary

Kṣātra (क्षात्र):—(a) pertaining to or typical of a kshattriy (see); —[teja] the brilliance or heroism typical of a kshattriy, martialling acumen; —[dharma] the duty or function of a kshattriy; martialling duty.

context information

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Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Kṣatra (ಕ್ಷತ್ರ):—[adjective] relating to the ruling power, caste or ethics.

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Kṣatra (ಕ್ಷತ್ರ):—[noun] = ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯ [kshatriya].

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Kṣātra (ಕ್ಷಾತ್ರ):—

1) [adjective] of or belonging to the kṣatriya (military) caste.

2) [adjective] befitting the ethics, morals, dignity, custom, etc. of that caste; brave and noble; high-spirited and daring; gallant.

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Kṣātra (ಕ್ಷಾತ್ರ):—

1) [noun] the class of military men.

2) [noun] the dignity, heroism , bravery which are considered to be the merits of a kṣatriya.

3) [noun] the ruling of a state; the act, manner, function or power of government; governance.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Relevant text

Search found 64 books and stories containing Kshatra, Kṣatra, Ksatra, Kṣātra; (plurals include: Kshatras, Kṣatras, Ksatras, Kṣātras). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

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