The Rashtrakutas and their Times c21.8

c21.8

It is quite clear from the details given by these writers that Brahma, Sūdariyā, Baisurā, and Sandālia are the same as Brahmanas, Sudras, Vaishyas, and Chandalas. Katarīyas, who could drink three cups of wine and whose daughters could be married by the Brahmanas, are obviously the same as the Kshatriyas. Sābkufrīas or Sabakfreyas seem to stand for Sanskrit Satkshatriyas, (4) since we are told that they were superior to all the remaining castes and that the kings were chosen from among them. The distinction between the Katarīyas and Sābkufrīas or Satkshatriyas seems similar to the distinction between the Kshatriyas and the Rājanyas of the earlier period; the former constituted the general military order while the latter were the members of the aristocracy descended from the royal stock. This distinction between the Kshatriyas and Satkshatriyas reminds us of the distinction between the Sudras and Sachchhudras, though the former is not known to the Dharmaśāstra literature. (5)