When Brahmins killed Kshatriyas and Kshatriyas killed Brahmins

Anyone who reads the Ramayana and the Mahabharata carefully realises that both texts presuppose an event involving Parshuram, a Brahmin, who slaughters the Kshatriya kings. It is described as a terrible genocide, with five great lakes filled with blood. We are told that after this event, all the Kshatriyas on earth are wiped out. Those who manage to survive vow never to take up arms again and instead become merchants. Across North India, many caste groups claim they descend from warriors until Parashuram made them non-violent traders.

Eventually, Parshuram is overpowered by Ram, as per the Ramayana, and by Krishna, as per the Harivamsa, which prompts Parshuram’s migration to the south. Parshuram then throws his blood-soaked axe into the sea, revealing the western coast. Brahmins, disgusted by his actions, refuse to associate with him. Nevertheless, Parshuram travels along the southern coast, creating a new class of warrior Brahmins. This story is used to explain the arrival of Brahmins in Kerala after 1000 AD.

Similar stories of Parashuram’s migration are found in the eastern part of India, in Arunachal Pradesh. The Lohit River is linked to the washing of Parashuram’s blood-soaked axe. Its story is told to explain Brahmin migration to the Brahmaputra valley after 800 AD. 

As per the Ramayana, Ram, a Kshatriya, is celebrated for his story of defeating and killing Ravana, who is clearly identified as a Brahmin, the son of Vaishravana. As per Harivamsa and Bhagavata, Krishna, raised by cowherds, defeats Indra, the god of Brahmins and humbles Brahma, and blesses the wives of Brahmins who feed him, over Brahmins who prefer doing yagna. 

The killing of Brahmins is also described in the Shiva Purana. Shiva is said to have plucked the fifth head of Brahma and beheaded the yagya-performing Daksha Prajapati. In Shaivite art, Shiva is associated with Brahma-hatya — the killing of Brahmins — which is considered the greatest sin in Hinduism. Legend has it that Shiva wandered the earth and was cleansed of this sin only at Kashi, where he washed his hands in the holy river. Ram too had to purify himself from killing Ravana, a Brahmin, at many pilgrimage sites from Rameshwaram to Rishikesh. 

The Mahabharata also discusses this confrontation between Brahmins and Kshatriyas. The Brahmin teacher Drona, trained by Parshuram, becomes the tutor to the Kuru clan, and does not prevent the battle between the Pandavas and their rivals, the Kauravas. This results in a massive conflict in which the Kshatriyas largely destroy one another. Drona, though a Brahmin, orchestrates the killing of Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. Furthermore, Drona’s son, Ashwatthama, attempts to kill Abhimanyu’s unborn child, Parikshit. Thus, a Brahmin father and son try to kill a Kshatriya prince and his unborn heir. Later, Krishna enables the beheading of Drona by Dhristadhyumna and curses Ashwatthama. Thus, the Brahmin father and son duo are not spared. No one speaks of Brahma-hatya here. 

In a society where caste plays such an important role, these details are rarely revealed when Bollywood creates its grand adaptations of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata to appease political parties. Increasingly, Ravana is portrayed very un-Brahmin like, almost like ‘invaders’. One wonders if a day will come when Duryodhana will also be linked to ‘invaders’. Such portrayals distort the essence of the Fifth Veda, the Pancham Veda, which draws attention to political rivalries between those who wield weapons and those who possess magical powers.

The battle between elites destroys a society. This pattern persists even today, with merchants manipulating Brahmin ideologues and Kshatriya politicians to secure a share of the financial pie. Across India, images of Parshuram are being used to depict him as a warrior fighting against Muslims and foreigners. In reality, Parshuram’s actions involved killing Kartavirya, a man whose family had long supported Parshuram’s father, Jamadagni, by gifting them cows. When relations between the two families soured, the priest attacked his patron. The beneficiary turned against the benefactor because the benefactor had become oppressive.

The tensions between Brahmins and Kshatriyas are said to have given rise to the Upanishads, Buddhism, and Jainism, where teachers are typically warriors who educated sages and Brahmins. Janaka, the king, enlightens Ashtavakra, the sage. Indra and Brahma are often depicted bowing to the Buddha in Buddhist art. Jain stories speak of how Indra celebrates the birth of the Tirthankara. Brahmins are excluded from these stories or shown in junior or inferior roles. 

Few wish to discuss these stories in their original form, fearing they might spark a revolution within the Hindu world by revealing who the true beneficiaries and benefactors of the caste system are. Instead, we are distracted by imagined foreign villains. 

(Devdutt Pattanaik is the author of more than 50 books on mythology. X: @devduttmyth.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.