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52 : śramaņa, Vol 63, No. 4, Oct.-Dec. 2012 mention. However, ‘ksatriya' kula is mentioned along with other kulas such as “rājenya’, harivamśa, ‘iksavāku' etc. where a Tīrthankara can take birth. Further, according to Svetāmbaras, Mahāvīra was first conceived in the womb of a Brahmin lady Devānandā and the embryo had to be transferred to that of a Kșatriya lady Trišalā, queen of King Siddhārtha, because of above compulsion.
Apart from above, there are a large number of stories in Jain mythology indicative of the enmity between the Brahmins and the Kșatriyas of those days. The most outstanding being that of Cakravarti Subhhuma who rid the earth of Brahmins twenty-one times. Here one is immediately reminded of the Brahmanic story of Paraśurāma mentioned earlier who rid the earth of ‘kșatriyas' twentyone times. This is indicative of the great divide between the Brahmins and the Kșatriyas of that time.
Conclusions Apparently, before the word ‘ksatriya' was adopted and assimilated into the Vedic stream, it was being used for the original local inhabitants, the 'śramaņas', who faced the Vedic people, the believers in Brahma and probably, in general called the ‘Brahmins'. This is corroborated by observations of TITLE in his Outlines of History of Religions” to the effect that earlier the word 'Brahmin' was used for ‘singers of sacred songs and not the caste. In its extended usage the word was probably employed in the generic sense for the Vedic people.
It also appears that, the word 'Kșatriya' was a mutated form of
Kșetriya.. derived from ‘Kșetra' which means the ‘area' and kşetriya would thus, have been appropriate word for the 'local people, the original inhabitants as against the outsiders, the Vedic people. It is also interesting to know that ‘Kșetraja /kşetriya' was a term used to denote persons born out of ‘Niyoga'. Use of this term for their
