Around 2000 BC, Aryans belonged to Indo European civilization
migrated to India through North West valley, setting
themselves up in the Sindhu plains (present day Sindhu, Pakistan). Their main occupation was farming,
cattle rearing, and animal husbandry. During those days the
donkey, horse, etc were considered the most important domestic
animal. A man’s wealth was measured on the basis of number
of domestic animals he owned. Cows were considered divine
and hence worshipped. They were interested in literature.
Many a poet composed devotional songs and these songs were
grouped and named as ‘ Rig Veda’, from here the Aryan culture started.
The word Aryan does not have a social connotation, but it is considered as a word of honour. The details of Vedic culture originated from the Vedas. The Vedas are the oldest literary works. Veda really means knowledge. They conducted ‘ Yagna’ and worshipped ‘Ishwar’(Supreme Deity), ‘Guru’ ‘Parents’ etc.
Aryans divided themselves into small groups and each group had a leader called ‘Nayak’, meaning king. Even today the surname Nayak exists among Ramakshathriya families, which symbolizes that their ancestors belonged to royalty during Vedic period. By the initiation of Gayathri mantra, which is in Rig Veda, every Aryan conducted thread ceremony of the male members of the family and converted themselves into ‘ Dwija’ (Brahmin). Now this practice of performance, the thread ceremony or ‘Brahmopadesha’became tradionally popular among the Ramakshathriya. This practice of Brahmopadesha among them classified them into ‘varnas’ or classes as- ‘ Purohit’, ‘Kshathtriya’, Vaishya’ and ‘ Shudra’. Shudras were the actual first residents of India who were defeated by the Aryans. The classification was done according to their occupation. ‘Purohit were the upper class and ‘Shudras’ were the lowest class. The Aryans also had an opportunity or were given a chance to join any one of the above mentioned class.
From the Sindhu plain they slowly transferred themselves to the plain of Ganges. From here, the second stage of Vedic culture began. Due to everyday differences among these groups, many kingdoms were born. The history of ‘Ayodhya’ especially of Kosal dynasty has been noted. This was the period when the ‘Ramayana’ one of the greatest epics of the world originated. This epic clearly describes the lifestyle and the laws and rules to be followed by the people, to lead a systematic and prosperous life.
In the Ramayana the slokas clearly note that Raghunathan established many Kshathriyas as administrators. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras had separate duties allotted to them. The king of the Ramayana period was called the primitive king and the ‘Kshathriya’ of today are called his decent.
In the later period, people who were not Kshathriyas proclaimed that they also belong to the class of Kshathriyas. The real Kshathriyas were people from the lord Rama dynasty, who were faithful to their principles. These people wanted to safeguard not only their caste, but also maintain the purity of their caste, so they started calling themselves Rama kshathriyas in 1633. They settled in Vijayadurga, Ratnagiri, Shringeri etc.
In ‘ Thretha Yuga’ in the court of lord Rama in Ayodhya, a court was called “Kothwal”. Those families who belong to the ‘Kothwal’ assumed the title Kothwal.These people started living in Kundapur. The Kshathriyas are found in Honnavar, Byndoor, Gangolli, Kundapur, Kodi, Udupi, Kasargod, Kerala, Puttur, Mangalore, Chittari, Bekal, and Hosadurga etc.
They have established “Rama Kshathriya Seva Sangha”, the association for community members to conduct various activities. They have also established “Sita Rama” temple,”Bhajana Sangha” etc. Various documents prove the existence of the Rama Kshathriya and the activities conducted by them. Bhikshu Laxmanananda Swamy has preached that we should protect and continue our community than discarding it just for selfish desires. The caste name was coined in 1633 as “Rama Kshathriya” and it is our duty to preserve and protect the tradition of community. This could be achieved by designating the association name as ‘Rama Kshathriya Sangha’ in every region and every place, which would contribute to the integrity among the community members and also to the government to recognize "Rama Kshathriya" as a single caste.
Our ‘Rama Kshathriya Sangha’, Mangalore, has sent its representation to the Karnataka Government and the Central Government. During the submission of the committee report and the Chennappa Reddy report, the following sub caste name were written:
Main caste name - Rama Kshathriya
Synonyms
Rama Kshathriya
Ramaraja Kshathriya
Kote Kshathriya
Koteyavaru
Koteyar
Kotegara
Kotegar
Servegar
Seregara
Hence, hereafter the above listed names or equivalent names should be used whenever the caste specification is required.
