A member of the second of the four great Hindu castes, the military caste. The traditional function of the Kshatriyas is to protect society by fighting in wartime and governing in peacetime.

The Kshatriyas are a large block of Hindu castes, mainly located in the northern half of India. No doubt, most of the many castes that claim to be Kshatriya are somehow descended from warriors who were in the service of princes and rulers or who were of royal families.

Conversely, numerous rulers have legitimized their status, especially if usurpers, by claiming that their lineage was indeed Kshatriya. Most typical and best known of these groups are the Rajputs, who once formed the many princely houses of Rajasthan (former Rajputana) and neighboring areas. Of course, today most Kshatriyas are landowners or follow urban professions.

They rank high in the varna system, Kshatriyas may and commonly do eat meat (though never beef), and many also take alcoholic drinks; both of these characteristics set them apart from the Brahmans.

It is perhaps no mere coincidence that Mahavira and Gautama, the founders of Jainism and Buddhism respectively, were of this social category. It can be argued that their spiritual voyages in the sixth century b.c. were both prompted by reaction to the excessive ritualism that marked the Vedic sacrifice of the purohita