Kṣatriya (from Sanskrit kṣatra, 'rule, dominion') is the second of the four varṇas in the Vedic social order, situated between the brāhmaṇas and the vaiśyas. The kṣatriya's defining dharma is the protection of people, upholding of justice (daṇḍa-nīti), governance of territory, and defence against external threats. Classical texts such as Manu Smṛti and the Mahābhārata's Śāntiparva devote extensive discussion to kṣatriya-dharma (rāja-dharma).
Like the brāhmaṇa and vaiśya, the kṣatriya is a dvija (twice-born) — a male member of this varṇa undergoes the upanayana sacrament and receives the sacred thread, qualifying him for Vedic study and the performance of Vedic rites. This marks a theological distinction from the śūdra varṇa, though from a prapatti standpoint such distinctions do not determine spiritual eligibility.
In the Itihāsa-Purāṇic tradition, the kṣatriya varṇa is intimately connected with the ideals of dharmic kingship and warrior-devotion. Bhagavān Śrī Rāma was born as a kṣatriya in the Solar dynasty (Sūryavaṃśa), and His life as narrated in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa is the epitome of kṣatriya-dharma fulfilled in divine devotion. Dharmaputra (Yudhiṣṭhira), Arjuna, and the Pāṇḍavas were kṣatriyas who became direct recipients of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa's grace and teaching. The Bhagavad Gītā itself arose in a kṣatriya context — Arjuna's battlefield grief became the occasion for Kṛṣṇa's teaching to all humanity.
From the Viśiṣṭādvaita perspective, varṇa — including kṣatriya varṇa — belongs to the realm of the body (śarīra), not the ātmā. The ātmā is śeṣa of Bhagavān irrespective of the body it inhabits. Therefore, while kṣatriya-dharma has its prescribed duties, the kṣatriya who takes refuge in Bhagavān through prapatti transcends these social distinctions in the ātma-plane, becoming equally eligible for Bhagavān's liberating grace.