Shakya caste is Suryavanshi Kshatriya, then why in OBC category ?

Malcom J Haddon

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Jul 21, 2016, 7:46:33 PM7/21/16

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Hello Everyone,

I am writing a book on Lord Buddha and need some suggestions.

According to Hindu mythological books or Puranas Lord Buddha was a Hindu prince of the Kingdom of Kapilavastu and his real name was Siddhartha Shakya (son of King Shuddhodhana Shakya). Hindu Puranas,specifically Vishnu Purana, also mention Shakya caste/clan as a descendant of Suryavansha and belonging to Kshatriya varna.

However, I found out that there is something called 'gotra' in Hinduism. And Shakya caste belongs to Brahmin (priest) gotra.

So I am confused now, whether Gautam Buddha and his Shakya caste is a Kshatriya or a Brahmin ?

Also, when Shakya caste is a Kshatriya (or Brahmin) caste then why Indian government has put it in Backward caste category (OBC) list ?

Malcom J Haddon

History Analyst and Researcher

National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore

Previous: Calcutta University, India

Chauhan Kushal Singh

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Jul 21, 2016, 7:50:23 PM7/21/16

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Shakya caste is a Kshatriya dynasty of Suryavansha. It is in OBC list in UP, Bihar and MP. But in General category in rest of the Indian states.

Prologue

Very first thing to keep in mind is that "backward does not mean lower and general(forward) does not mean higher". This is the misunderstanding that I see in most of the editors who are not from India.

The reservation categories were introduced by government of India in 1993. Other than just the social factors the government also looks into many factors before adding a community in OBC list.

For example,

-percentage of literacy in a community

-percentage of urban and rural population of the community

-per capita income

-mode of income (agriculture, trade, services etc)

-participation in politics and government jobs etc

OBC category list differs from state to state. And also differs between state and central.

A caste which is General in one state can be in OBC in another state. A caste OBC in many states may be General in central.

So OBC category is not a criteria of judging social standing of any community.

For example,

# Tyagi Brahmins are in OBC in Haryana.

# Giri / Goswami Brahmins are in OBC in Bihar.

# Rajputs are in OBC in Karnataka.

# Maratha are in General category in Maharastra, while Marathas in Karnataka are in OBC. Emporer Shivaji was a Maratha.

# Patel/Patidar is also a Forward Caste. We all have heard Patel agitation news in Gujarat. But Patel/Patidar of UP, MP and many states are in Central's OBC list, while Patel/Patidar in Gujarat are in general category in state and central both.

# Jat is a General Caste in Central but Jats are in OBC in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The whole Jat agitation was to get OBC reservation in Haryana.

Moreover, even though Rajasthan Jats are in OBC, still Bharatpur and Dholpur Jats of Rajasthan are in General category.

# Yadavs are in OBC in UP and many states and central. But Yadavs are Chandravanshi Kshatriyas. Lord Krishna was a Yadav.

There are many other examples.

Caste of Buddha - Shakya caste

As per Vishnu Puran, Hindu religion classifies Shakya as belonging to Kshatriya varna because they are descendants of Suryavansha (Sun Dynasty) branch of ancient Hindu Kshatriyas.

Indian government list Shakya in OBC in some states because they are economically backward in those states.

Shakya caste is in OBC list in the states of UP, Bihar and MP. They are in General category in rest of the Indian states.

.

The OBC (Backward caste) is Not an indicator of social status.

Since most communities in OBC belong to lower caste hence people get confused and assume that all castes in OBC are lower, which actually is not correct.

There are many castes in General Category who are actually lower caste in Hindu caste system.

Shakya Gotra - Gautam

According to the Brihadaranyaka Upanisad, there were seven sages, called Saptarishi:

“Gautama, Bharadvāja, Viśvāmitra, Jamadagni, Vashishtha, Kaśhyapa and Shandilya”

These seven sages form seven gotras of Brahmins.

Shakyas actually belonged to Gautama gotra which means that they trace their descent from the ancient sage Gautama by unbroken male descent.

However, Shakyas were able to become Kings.

As I told that caste system initially was not based on inheritence but based on occupation, hence even though Shakya genetically belong to Gautama gotra but their varna or caste became Kshatriya.

Kushal Singh Chauhan

Wikipedia (India)

Divyankaa Mishra

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Jul 21, 2016, 7:52:05 PM7/21/16

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Malcom, The information you gave for that Chinese article was very helpful. Thanks again !

The simple answer is:

Because Reservation categories decided by Indian Government are not based on what caste is upper or lower.

It is mainly based on per head financial income of a caste.

Commonly, a caste which is lower will also be most probably be financially poor. While a caste which was higher will also be financially strong. Due to this reason, most castes on OBC are not upper castes. However, there are exceptions to this rule.

For example, Yadavs are Chandravanshi Kshatriyas. Lord Krishna was a Yadav. Still Yadavs are in OBC category. While Jats are Shudra, but still they are in General Category.

Shakya caste is a well documented community in Hindu Puranas. You can even find Shakya caste history in NCERT text books. The Genealogy of Shakya caste can be found in Book IV of the Vishnu Purana, the chapter 12 of Bhagavata Puranaand the Brahma Purana. As per the Hindu scared Puranas, the Shakyans were was one of the last descendants of Suryavansha lineage of Kshatriya varna.

Hindu Puranas mention Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha Shakya) as the ninth avatar(incarnation) of God Vishnu; Rama and Krishna were seventh and eighth avatars respectively. This is mentioned in scared textsGarudaPurana and Matsya Purana.

For more details, refer this link that I found online: Click Here

Divyankaa Mishra

Wikipedia Researcher

Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just an opinion !

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K.R.Bhattacharya

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Jul 21, 2016, 7:55:42 PM7/21/16

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I think people above have already provided very good answers. Here is something that I want to add.

It is a very well known fact that Shakya community belongs to Kshatriya varna and their vansha is Suryavansha. Many of the Hindu Puranas mention this.

Shakya people or Shakya community belongs to the same bloodline as Lord Rama. Lord Rama was also a Suryavanshi Kshatriya.

This is written in Vishhu Purana (Book 4, Chapter 22), Shrimad Bhagavatam (Canto 9), Brahma Purana and Bhavishya Purana.

Following is an extract from Vishnu Purana :

Vishnu Purana (Book 4, Chapter 22) lists the names of last kings of Suryavansha Dynasty (also known as Ikshvaku Dynasty).

These were the last decendants of Lord Rama’s bloodline.

The list starts from King Vrihadbala and ends with King Sumitra. Sumitra was the last King of Suryavansha dynasty.

This list mentions

· Sanjay’s son as King Shakya (the founder of Shakya Dynasty),

· Shakya’s son was King Shuddhodhana Shakya,

- Shuddhodhana’s son was prince Siddhartha Shakya. But Siddhartha Shakya left the kingdom and founded a new religion named Buddhism. Siddhartha Shakya was later came to be known as Lord Gautam Buddha.

· Siddhartha’s son was Rahula Shakya. Since Siddhartha (Lord Gautam Buddha) declined to become the king, hence his son Rahula became the next king of Suryavansha.

English Translation of Vishnu Purana (Book 4, Chapter 22)

I will now repeat to you the princes of the family of Ikshwáku.

The son of Vrihadbala 2 will be Vrihatkshańa 3; his son will be Urukshepa 4; his son will be Vatsa 5; his son will be Vatsavyúha 6; his son will be Prativyoman 7; his son will be Divákara; his son will be Sahadeva 8; his son will be Vrihadaśwa 9; his son will be Bhánuratha 10; his son will be Supratítha 11; his son will be Marudeva 12; his son will be Sunakshatra; his son will be Kinnara 13; his son will be Antaríksha; his son will be Suvarna 14; his son will be Amitrajit 15; his son will be Vrihadrája 16; his son will be Dharman 17; his son will be Kritanjaya; his son will be Rańanjaya; his son will be Sanjaya; his son will be Śákya 18; his son will be Śuddhodana 19; his son will be Rátula 20; his son will be Prasenajit; his son will be Kshudraka; his son will be Kuńd́aka 21; his son will be Suratha 22; his son will be Sumitra. These are the kings of the family of Ikshwáku, descended from Vrihadbala. This commemorative verse is current concerning them; "The race of the descendants of Ikshwáku will terminate with Sumitra: it will end in the Kali age with him 23."

K.R.Bhattacharya

Historian, Poet and Writer

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