History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c19.9.9

v2.c19.9.9

6.11, VI. 52.2, X. 105.8, X. 141.5 (‘Oh Agni, make our prayer and sacrifice prosper by your flames’). Ṛg. III. 53.12 is ‘this brahma (prayer or spiritual power) of Viśvāmitra protects the Bhārata people’. In the Atharvaveda II. 15.4 (as brahma and kṣatra entertain no fear, nor are they harmed) brahma seems to mean ‘the class of brāhmaṇas’. The transition of meaning from ‘brahma’ (prayer) to ‘brahma’ meaning the class of those who composed or recited prayers is natural and easy. In the Ṛgveda I. 157.2 both brahma and kṣatra occur⁶³ in the same verse where they probably mean ‘prayer’ and ‘valour’ respectively. In the Atharvaveda III. 19.1 both words occur and probably mean the same thing as in Ṛg. I. 157.2. In some Vedic works *brahma* and *kṣatra* stand collectively for brāhmaṇas⁶⁴ and kṣatriyas (e. g. Tai. Br. II. 7.18, Bṛ. Up. I. 4.11, Kaṭhopaniṣad I. 2. 24). The word kṣatriya is very frequently applied as an epithet to several gods; e. g. Ṛg. VII. 64. 2 and VIII. 25. 8 (in both to Mitra and Varuṇa), Ṛg. VIII. 67. 1 (to Ādityas), Ṛg. X. 66.8 (to gods in general). In some verses kṣatriya means ‘a king or a nobleman’; e. g. Ṛg. IV. 42.1 ‘the kingdom on both sides (heaven and earth) belongs to me, who am a kṣatriya and who holds sway over all living persons, so that all the immortals (gods) are ours (on my side)’;⁶⁵ Ṛg. X. 109.3 ( = Atharva V. 17.3 ) 'the domain of the kṣatriya has been protected (from the sight of enemies)'.