Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

caste order. In their case the reason for discrimination is obvious and
needs no explanation. But, it is important to note that, in the course
of time, the caste process became a self-propelled downgrading
operation, which, once started, gradually unfolded itself so as to engulf
even the non-Brahmanical sections of the twice-born Aryans.
The position of Kshatriyas, originally among the leaders in the
invading community, became later less prominent in the Aryan
hierarchy. Barth opines that the rise of great monarchies and the
employment of mercenary soldiers, ‘must have had the effect of shaking
the constitution of the old Kshatriya nobility’. 25 This might have been
a contributory factor, and there might have been other reasons also.
But, there are circumstances which show that the Brahmins made
a deliberate attempt to bring about the downfall of the Kshatriyas.
The first notable event in this direction was the effort for the
monopolization of sacerdotal functions by the Brahmins. In the
earliest stage, there was, it appears, no clear distinction between a
Rishi and a priest. 26 Later, when a priestly class got concretized,
sacerdotal functions were not the monopoly of a hereditary class.
There was a stage when hymns were composed and sacerdotal
functions exercised both by Rajanyas (who were in later ages called
Kshatriyas) and by the Brahmins. 27 There are even instances of
Rajanyas having been spiritual preceptors of Brahmins. 28 But, later,
sacerdotal functions became the sole monopoly of the Brahmin
caste. Manu declared that the Brahmins along was to teach the
Veda and that a Kshatriya was never to usurp a Brahmin’s
functions. 29 It was not merely an empty declaration; it became a
fixed rule in the orthodox society.
In the course of time, the dislodgement of the Kshatriyas from
their pre-eminent social and political position also followed. In the
Buddhist literature, the Kshatriyas are given precedence over the
Brahmins, 30 indicating that the Kshatriyas were atleast no less in social
rank that the Brahmins. This is also to be inferred from the fact that
the political power was concentrated in the hands of the Kshatriyas;
the Brahmins depended upon the ruling class for the political sanction
of their social claims. Nevertheless, it is clear that a change in the
relative social positions of these two castes did come about somehow.
It is significant that Buddhism has been regarded as a Kshatriya revolt
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