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LICHCHHAVIS
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Exalted. One was a Kshatriya and so are we. We are worthy to receive a portion of the relics of the Exalted One.". In the Jaina Kalpa Sūtra Trišalā, sister to Chetaka of. Vesālī, is styled Kshatriyāṇī. - Manu concurs in the view that the Lichchhavis are Rājanyas or Kshatriyas.
Jhallo Mallaścha rājanyād vrūtyān Nichchhivireva cha :) Natascha Karanaśchaiva Khaso Drūvila eva cha..
It may be argued that the Lichchhavis, though originally non-Aryans or foreigners, ranked as Kshatriyas when they were admitted into the fold of Brāhmanism like the Dravidians referred to in Manu's śloka and the Gurjara-Pratīhāras of mediæval times. But unlike the Pratīhāras and Dravidas, the Lichchhavis never appear to be very friendly towards the orthodox form of Hinduism. On the contrary, they were always to be found among the foremost champions of non-Brāhmaṇical creeds like Jainism and Buddhism. Manu testifies to their heterodoxy when he brands them as the children of the Vrātya Rājanyas. The great mediæval Rājput families (though sometimes descended from foreign immigrants) were never spoken of in these terms. On the contrary, they were supplied with pedigrees going back to Rāma, Lakshmaņa, Yadu, Arjuna and others. A body of foreigners who did not observe ceremonies enjoined in the Brahmaņic code, could hardly have been accepted as Kshatriyas. The obvious conclusion seems to be that the Lichchhavis were indigenous Kshatriyas who were degraded to the position of Vrātya when they neglected Brāhmaṇic rites and showed a predilection for heretical doctrines. The Rūmāyana, as we have seen, represents
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S. B. e., XXI, pp. xii, 227.* X. 22.
