ksatriya, kshatriya

Kshatriya: one of the four varnas of Hindu society representing warrior aristocracy, along with Brahmins, Vaishyas, and Shudras. An administrator or a warrior.

Paul Pelliot has argued that the kings of Chenla, who were kstariya, could not directly descend from Kaundinya [Preah Thong], who was a brahmin. In Vaishnavism it is stated that the kstariya, ruling class, must govern the world in accordance with the rules and regulations enacted by great brāhmaṇas and saintly persons.

In Cambodia, there was a frequent mix of warrior and priest/scholar classes, a blend that led to a new group called Brahmakshatriyas. For instance, the K. 359 inscription from the 6th century reports the union of Brahmin Somasraman to a sister of King Bhavavarman I, himself a ksatriya. Several kings of Chenla bore the title Ksatriya in their ruler name, and the term came to mean "king" or "queen" in Khmer language.