History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c22.s1.22

v1.c22.s1.22

The Lichhavis, we have seen in Jayadeva’s inscription dated Harsha Era 153 or A. D. 759, connect themselves with the solar line of Kshatriyas, alleging that Lichhavi was the name of a king eighth in descent from Dasaratha father of Rāma. This was of course in consonance with the prevailing notions of the 8th century A. D. and those preceding and following it when every king tried to assign his family either to the solar or the lunar race. We similarly find the Cholas of the south call themselves solar Kshatriyas in inscriptions noted in the history of the Eastern Chālukyas and the Pāndya-Chola are Dravidas pre-eminently from the times of the Mahābhārata. It seems that the kingly families in the outlying territories who accepted the Aryan faith were, even in the days of the Manusmriti (2nd century B. C.), conceded by the orthodox Aryans to be Kshatriyas, but a distinction was made and they were called Vrātya Kshatriyas, that is, Kshatriyas who had lost the Samskāras or discontinued Aryan religious ceremonies owing to the loss of contact with Brahmins. These Vrātya Kshatriyas Manu enumerates in the following śloka :—