Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.51.31

vayaḿ tu puruṣa-vyāghra

aikṣvākāḥ kṣatra-bandhavaḥ

mucukunda iti prokto

yauvanāśvātmajaḥ prabho

SYNONYMS

vayam — we; tu — on the other hand; puruṣa — among men; vyāghra — O tiger; aikṣvākāḥ — descendants of Ikṣvāku; kṣatra — of kṣatriyas; bandhavaḥ — family members; mucukundaḥ — Mucukunda; iti — thus; proktaḥ — called; yauvanāśva — of Yauvanāśva (Māndhātā, the son of Yuvanāśva); ātma-jaḥ — the son; prabho — O Lord.

TRANSLATION

As for ourselves, O tiger among men, we belong to a family of fallen kṣatriyas, descendants of King Ikṣvāku. My name is Mucukunda, my Lord, and I am the son of Yauvanāśva.

PURPORT

It is common in Vedic culture that a kṣatriya will humbly introduce himself as kṣatra-bandhu, a mere relative in a kṣatriya family, or in other words a fallen kṣatriya. In ancient Vedic culture, to claim a particular status on the basis of one's family relations was itself indicative of a fallen position. Kṣatriyas and brāhmaṇas should be given status according to their merit, by their qualities of work and character. When the caste system in India became degraded, people proudly claimed to be relatives of kṣatriyas or brāhmaṇas, though in the past such a claim, unaccompanied by tangible qualifications, indicated a fallen position.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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