This is a list of ancient

Indo-Aryan peoples Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of Indo-European peoples speaking Indo-Aryan languages in the Indian subcontinent. Historically, Aryan were the Indo-European pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia into South Asia and int ...

and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of

Indic religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern part of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

–

Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

(roughly today's Punjab),

Western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union ...

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in al ...

, and also in areas of the southern part like

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

through and after a complex process of migration, assimilation of other peoples and language shift.Mallory, J.P.; Douglas Q. Adams (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. .

Ancestors

Proto-Indo-Europeans The Proto-Indo-Europeans are a hypothetical prehistoric population of Eurasia who spoke Proto-Indo-European (PIE), the ancestor of the Indo-European languages according to linguistic reconstruction. Knowledge of them comes chiefly from ...

(

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo ...

speakers) **

Proto-Indo-Iranians Indo-Iranian peoples, also known as Indo-Iranic peoples by scholars, and sometimes as Arya or Aryans from their self-designation, were a group of Indo-European peoples who brought the Indo-Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European l ...

(common ancestors of the

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

, Nuristani and Indo-Aryan peoples) (

Proto-Indo-Iranian Proto-Indo-Iranian, also Proto-Indo-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian/Indo-Iranic branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd millennium ...

speakers) *** Proto-Indo-Aryans ( Proto-Indo-Aryan speakers)

Vedic tribes

* Alina people (RV 7.18.7) *

Andhras Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

* Anu (RV 1.108.8, RV 8.10.5) * Āyu * Bhajeratha * Bhalanas * Bharatas- The Bharatas are a major Aryan clan mentioned in the Rigveda, especially in Mandala 3 attributed to the Bharata sage Vishvamitra. The entire Bharata clan is described as crossing over, with their chariots and wagons, at the confluence of the Vipash (Beas) and Shutudri (Satlej). The Bharatas are mentioned as the protagonists in the

Battle of the Ten Kings The Battle of the Ten Kings ( sa, दाशराज्ञ युद्ध, translit=Dāśarājñá yuddhá) is a battle, first alluded to in the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda (RV), between a Bharata king and a confederation of tribes. It resulte ...

in Mandala 7 (7.18 etc.), where they are on the winning side. They appear to have been successful in the early power-struggles between the various Aryan and non-Aryan clans so that they continue to dominate in post-Rigvedic texts, and later in the (Epic) tradition. "Bhārata" today is the official name of the Republic of India (see also Etymology of India). * Chedi *

Dasa ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a " servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or ...

* Dasyu * Dṛbhīka * Druhyus (Rigveda, RV 1.108.8, RV 8.10.5) *

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...

* Guṅgu *

Ikshvaku dynasty The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...

* Krivi * Kīkaṭa *

Kuru Kuru may refer to: Anthropology and history * Kuru (disease), a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore people * Kuru (mythology), part of Meithei mythology * Kuru Kingdom, ...

* Mahīna * Malankhara * Maujavant *

Matsya Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya ...

* Nahuṣa * Paktha * Panis * Pārāvata * Parsu (Parśu) *

Puru Puru refer to: *Puru (Vedic tribe), a tribe, or a confederation of tribes, mentioned many times in the Rigveda *King Puru, a Hindu king in the Rigveda and Mahabharata *King Porus, a king of northwest India in the time of Alexander the Great *Puru ( ...

(Pūru) * Ruśama (RV Mandala 8) * Sārasvata * Srñjaya * Tritsu(RV 7.18, 7.33, 7.83) *

Yadu This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indic religions. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern ...

: Of Indo-Aryan origin,Yadu is one of the five early Rigvedic tribes ('' panchajana'', ''panchakrishtya'' or ''panchamanusha'') mentioned in the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...

. The Yadus had a tribal union with the Turvasha tribe, and were frequently described together. The Yadus were a Aryan tribe. By the time of the arrival of the

and Bharata tribes, the Yadu-Turvashas were settled in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

, with the Yadus possibly residing along the

Yamuna River The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...

.In Mandalas 4 and 5 of the Rigveda, the god

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

is stated to have saved the Yadu-Turvashas from drowning when they crossed rivers. In Mandala 6, the Yadu-Turvashas are stated to have been "brought from far away" by

. The Yadu-Turvashas are treated relatively positively in Mandalas 5, 6, and 8, and are stated to be the occasional allies and enemies of the Puru-Bharatas. In the

, the Yadus were defeated by Bharata chieftain

Sudas Sudās Paijavana ( sa, सुदास्) was an Indo-Aryan tribal king of the Bharatas, during the main or middle Rigvedic period (c. 14th century BCE). He led his tribe to victory in the Battle of the Ten Kings near the Paruṣṇī (mod ...

Pancha Jana (Five tribes)

(पञ्च जना – '' Páñca Jánāḥ'' / '' Pancha-janah'') The pancha Jana are five tribes inexplicitly listed together during the ( Āryāvarta of this time, c. 1700–1500 BCE, roughly corresponds with the

and closer regions) (see the map of Early

Vedic Period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...

) *

Anu , image=Detail, upper part, Kudurru of Ritti-Marduk, from Sippar, Iraq, 1125-1104 BCE. British Museum.jpg , caption=Symbols of various deities, including Anu (bottom right corner) on a kudurru of Ritti-Marduk, from Sippar, Iraq, 1125–1104 BCE , ...

(in the southwest part of early Āryāvarta) * Druhyu (in the north part of early Āryāvarta) *

(ancestors of the

Paurava The Pauravas were an ancient dynasty on the Indus (present-day India and Pakistan) to which King Porus may have belonged. Porus and the Pauravas The origins of the Pauravas are still disputed. The Pauravas may be related to the Puru tribe, due ...

) (in the centre and east parts of early Āryāvarta, including

Sarasvati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a ...

river region) * Turvaśa (Turvasha) (in the centre and south parts of early Āryāvarta): The Turvashas ( sa, तुर्वश, ) were one of the five major peoples (''panchajana'', ''panchakrishtya'' or ''panchamanusha'') mentioned in the

. The Turvashas had a tribal union with the

tribe, and were frequently described together. The Turvashas were a partly Indo-Aryan-acculturated Indus tribe. By the time of the arrival of the

and Bharata tribes, the Yadu-Turvashas were settled in

. By the time of the

Shatapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana ( sa, शतपथब्राह्मणम् , Śatapatha Brāhmaṇam, meaning 'Brāhmaṇa of one hundred paths', abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Śukla (white) Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic ...

(7th-6th centuries BCE), the Turvashas are linked to the Panchalas. Alfred Ludvig first conjectured that Turvīti and Vayya could have been connected with the Turvasha tribe, a notion that is still considered only speculation according to Witzel. In Mandalas 4 and 5 of the Rigveda, the god

is stated to have saved the Yadu-Turvashas from drowning when they crossed rivers. In Mandala 6, the Yadu-Turvashas are stated to have been "brought from far away" by

. The Yadu-Turvashas are treated relatively positively in Mandalas 5, 6, and 8, and are stated to be the occasional allies and enemies of the Puru-Bharatas. *

(in the southeast and south parts of early Āryāvarta)

Janapadas

Early Janapadas (peoples / tribes) (c. 1700–1100 BCE)

After roughly 1500 BCE

and tribes were swiftly expanding through ancient northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, therefore the number of peoples, tribes and clans was increasing (as well as the number of Indo-Aryan language speakers) and Āryāvarta was becoming a very large area (see the map on the right side). * Aja – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Ambaśṭha – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Aṅga – Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta (Madhya-desha and Prachya Āryāvarta – Central and Eastern Āryāvarta in Vamana). *Anu – is a

Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Sanskrit was an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid- 2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It was orally preser ...

term for one of the 5 major tribes in the

, RV 1.108.8, RV 8.10.5 (both times listed together with the

Druhyu This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indic religions. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern p ...

) and, much later also in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

.Talageri, S. G. (2005). The Rigveda as a source of Indo-European history. The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History, 332. In the late Vedic period, one of the Anu kings, King Anga, is mentioned as a "

chakravartin A ''chakravarti'' ( sa, चक्रवर्तिन्, ''cakravartin''; pi, cakkavatti; zh, 轉輪王, ''Zhuǎnlúnwáng'', "Wheel-Turning King"; , ''Zhuǎnlún Shèngwáng'', "Wheel-Turning Sacred King"; ja, 転輪王, ''Tenrin'ō'' ...

" ( AB 8.22). ''Ānava'', the vrddhi derivation of ''Anu'', is the name of a ruler in the Rigvedic account of the

(7.18.13) and at 8.4.1 with the Turvaśa (tribe). The meaning ánu "living, human" (Naighantu) cannot be substantiated for the Rigveda and may have been derived from the tribal name. (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Āyu – * Bhajeratha * Bhalana – The Bhalanas were one of the tribes that fought against

in the

Dasarajna The Battle of the Ten Kings ( sa, दाशराज्ञ युद्ध, translit=Dāśarājñá yuddhá) is a battle, first alluded to in the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda (RV), between a Bharata king and a confederation of tribes. It resulte ...

battle. Some scholars have argued that the Bhalanas lived in Eastern Afghanistan

Kabulistan Kabulistan (Pashto: کابلستان) is a historical regional name referring to the territory that is centered on present-day Kabul Province of Afghanistan. In many Greek and Latin sources, particularly editions of Ptolemy's ''Geography'', the ...

, and that the

Bolan Pass Bolān Pass ( ur, ) is a valley and a natural gateway, through the Toba Kakar range in Balochistan province of Pakistan, south of the Afghanistan border. The pass is an stretch of the Bolan river valley from Rindli in the south to Darwāza ...

derives its name from the Bhalanas. (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Bharadvāja – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *

Bhrigus Bhrigu ( sa, भृगु, ) was a rishi in Hinduism. He was one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, one of the many Prajapatis (the facilitators of Creation) created by Brahma. The first compiler of predictive astrology, and also the a ...

* Bheda – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Bodha – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Druhyu – The Druhyu were a people of Vedic India. They are mentioned in the Rigveda, usually together with the Anu tribe. Some early scholars have placed them in the northwestern region. The later texts, the Epic and the Puranas, locate them in the "north", that is, in Gandhara, Aratta and Setu. (Vishnu Purana IV.17) The Druhyus were driven out of the land of the seven rivers, and their next king, Gandhara, settled in a north-western region which became known as

Gandhāra Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...

. The sons of the later Druhyu king Pracetas too settle in the "northern" (udīcya) region (Bhagavata 9.23.15–16; Visnu 4.17.5; Vayu 99.11–12; Brahmanda 3.74.11–12 and Matsya 48.9.). Recently, some writersTalageri 2000 have ahistorically asserted that the Druhyu are the ancestors of the Iranian, Greek or European peoples, or of the Celtic Druid class.Sanskrit in English
/ref> The word Druid (Gallic Celtic druides), however, is derived from Proto-Indo-European ''vid'' "to see, to know' It has also been alleged that the Rg Veda and the Puranas describe this tribe as migrating North,. However, there is nothing of this in the Rigveda and the Puranas merely mention that the Druhyu are "adjacent (āśrita) to the North". (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *Gandharis (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) # # (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *Kārūṣa (Karusha) – later Cedi (Chedi) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Keśin (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Kīkaṭa (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *Kosala (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *Krivi (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Kunti (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *

Madra Madra (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested since the Vedic period. The members of the Madra tribe were called the Madrakas. Location The Madras were divided into -Madra ("northe ...

(Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) **Uttara Madra (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) *

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

(Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *Mahāvṛṣa (Mahavrisha) (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Mahīna *MalankharaGriffith, R. T. (2009). The Rig-Veda. The Rig Veda. *

(Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Mūjavana / Maujavant (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) *Nahuṣa * Pāñcala ( Panchala) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Pārāvata (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Pṛthu (

Prithu Prithu (Sanskrit: पृथु, ''Pṛthu'', lit. "large, great, important, abundant") is a sovereign ( chakravarti), featured in the Puranas. According to Hinduism, he is an avatar (incarnation) of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called ...

) (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Pūru (Puru) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) ** Bharatas – The Bharatas are an

Arya Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

n tribe mentioned in the

, especially in

Mandala 3 The third Mandala of the Rigveda has 62 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra. It is one of the "family books" (mandalas 2-7), the oldest core of the Rigveda, which were composed in early Vedic period (1500 - 1000 BCE). Most hymns in this book are attrib ...

attributed to the Bharata sage

Vishvamitra Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mant ...

and in and

Mandala 7 The seventh Mandala of the Rigveda ("book 7", "RV 7") has 104 hymns. In the Rigveda Anukramani, all hymns in this book are attributed to ''Vashista''. Hymn 32 is additionally credited to Sakti Vashista, and hymns 101-102 (to Parjanya) are addi ...

.Frawley, D. (2001). The Rig Veda and the History of India: Rig Veda Bharata Itihasa. Aditya Prakashan. ''Bharatá'' is also used as a name of

Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

(literally, "to be maintained", viz. the fire having to be kept alive by the care of men), and as a name of

Rudra Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. Rud ...

in RV 2.36.8. In one of the " river hymns" RV 3.33, the entire Bharata tribe is described as crossing over, with their chariots and wagons, at the confluence of the Vipash (Beas) and Shutudri (Satlej). Hymns by Vasistha in

(7.18 etc.) mention the Bharatas as the protagonists in the

, where they are on the winning side. They appear to have been successful in the early power-struggles between the various

n and non-Aryan tribes so that they continue to dominate in post-Rigvedic texts, and later in the ( Epic) tradition, the

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, the eponymous ancestor becomes

Emperor Bharata Bharata ( sa, भरत, Bharata) is a legendary king featured in Hindu literature. He is a member of the Chandravamsha dynasty, and becomes the Chakravarti (universal monarch). He is regarded to be the ancestor of the Pandavas, the Kauravas, ...

, conqueror of 'all of India', and his tribe and kingdom is called Bhārata. "Bhārata" today is the official name of the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(see also

Etymology of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

). (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) ***

– Ancestors of the

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...

(Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) **** Uttara Kuru (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) ***

Pandu In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Pandu ( sa, पाण्डु, Pāṇḍu, pale) was a king of the Kuru Kingdom. He was the foster-father of the five Pandava brothers, who were the boons bestowed upon his wife Kunti by a number of deities ...

– Ancestors of the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

(Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) ** Tṛtsu (Tritsu) The Tritsus are a sub-group of the

who are distinct from the Bharatas mentioned in

of the

(in hymns 18, 33 and 83). Under king

they defeated the confederation of ten kings led by the Bharatas at the

. (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Ruśama (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Śālva (Shalva) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Sārasvata – people that dwelt the banks of the

river (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *Satvanta (Dakshina Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) *Śigru (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Śiva (

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, not to be confused with the God

Śiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

) (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *Srñjaya ( Srinjaya) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Śvikna (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Turvaśa (Turvasa) *Uśīnara (Ushinara) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Vaikarṇa (Vaikarna) (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) *Vaṅga (Vanga) (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *Varaśikha (Varashikha) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Vaśa (Vasha) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *Vidarbha (

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...

, Dakshina Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) *

Videha Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy but later ...

(

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

, Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *Viśaṇin (Vishanin) (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *Vṛcivanta (Vrichivanta) (Pratichya Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *Yadu (Dakshina Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) *Yakṣu (Yakshu) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)

Late Janapadas (peoples / tribes) (c. 1100–500 BCE)

From roughly 1100 to 500 BCE

and tribes expanded even further throughout ancient northern

(see the map 6). * Abhīṣaha ( Abhishaha) / Apanga (''

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

'') / Aupadha (''

Markandeya Bhargava Markandeya ( sa, मार्कण्‍डेय ) is an ancient rishi (sage) born in the clan of Bhrigu Rishi (Bhargava Brahmins Community). The Markandeya Purana especially, comprises a dialogue between Markandeya and a sage cal ...

'') / Alasa (''

Vamana Vamana (), also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (), and Balibandhana () is an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha. O ...

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Āhuka / Kuhaka (''

'') / Kuhuka (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Alimadra / Anibhadra (''

'') / Alibhadra (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Aṅga – (Madhya-desha and Prachya Āryāvarta – Central and Eastern Āryāvarta in ''

'') * Āntaranarmada / Uttaranarmada (''

''), Sunarmada (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Antargiri – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Anūpa / Arūpa (''

''), Annaja (''

'') – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Aparānta / Purandhra (''

''), Aparīta (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Arthapa / Atharva (''

'') – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Aśvakūṭa – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Ātreya / Atri (''

'', ''

Brahmanda The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text ...

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Audumbara / Audambara / Audumvara – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Auṇḍra – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Bahirgiri – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *

Bhadra ''Bhadra''Feminine: sa, भद्रा, Bhadrā is a Sanskrit word meaning 'good', 'fortune' or 'auspicious'. It is also the name of many men, women and objects in Hindu mythology. Male Figures King of Chedi Bhadra was a king of Chedi Kingdom ...

– (Prachya and Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Eastern and Central Āryāvarta) * Bhadrakāra – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Bharadvāja – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Bhārgava – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *

Bharukaccha Bharuch (), formerly known as Broach, is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District. The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since time ...

/ Bhanukaccha (''

''), Bhīrukahcha (''

''), Dārukachchha (''

''), Sahakaccha (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Bhogavardhana / Bhokardan (Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) * Bhūṣika ( Bhushika) – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Bodha / Bāhya (''

'') – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Brahmottara / Suhmottara (''

''), Samantara (''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Carmakhaṇḍika ( Charmakhandika) / Attakhaṇḍika (''

''), Sakheṭaka (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) *

Darada Daradas were a people who lived north and north-west to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoke ...

– (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern '' Āryāvarta'') * Darva – (Himalayan and Northern in ''

'' and ''

'', Parvata-shrayin and Udichya Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Daśeraka ( Dasheraka) / Karseruka (''

''), Kuśeruka (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Daśamālika ( Dashamalika) / Daśanāmaka (''

''), Daśamānika (''

''), Daṅśana (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Daśarṇa ( Dasharna) (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) *

/ Hrada (''

''), Bhadra (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) *

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

/ Durgala (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *

Ganaka Kaniyar is a caste from the Indian state of Kerala. There are regional variations in the name used to define them. They are listed under the Other Backward Communities (OBC) by the Kerala Government. Traditions of origin Kathleen Gough has re ...

– (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) *

Gāndhāra Gandhar is the 3rd svara from the seven svaras of Hindustani music and Carnatic music. Gandhar is the long form of the syllable ग. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Gandhar is pronounced as Ga (notation - G). It is als ...

/ Gandharians ('' Vaēkərəta'' in

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

) – the people who lived in

and spoke Gandhari (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Gonarda / Govinda (''

''), Gomanta (''

''), Mananda (''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Haṃsamārga / Sarvaga (Himalayan) in ''

''; Haṃsamārga (Northern and Himalayan) in ''

'' and ''

''; Karnamārga (Northern) and Haṃsamārga (Himalayan) in ''

''; Haṃsamārga (Himalayan) Haṃsabhaṅga (Northern) in ''

'' – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta; Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Hāramuṣika ( Haramushika) / Hāramūrtika (''

''), Hārapūrika (''

''), Sāmuṣaka (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Huhuka / Samudgaka (''

''), Sahūdaka (''

''), Sakṛtraka (''

''), Śahuhūka (''

''), Sahuhūka (''

'') – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Ijika (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Jaguda / Jāṇgala (''

''), Juhuḍa (''

''), Jāguḍa (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Jāṇgala – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Jñeyamarthaka / Jñeyamallaka (''

''), Aṅgiyamarṣaka (''

''), Gopapārthiva (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Kachchhika / Kāchchhīka (''

''), Kacchīya (''

''), Kāśmīra (''

''), Kacchipa (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Kālatoyaka – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Kaliṅga (central) / Arkalinga (''

'') – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Kaliṅga (southern) – (Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) * Kalitaka / Kālītaka (''

''), Anīkaṭa (''

''), Tālīkaṭa (''

''), Kuntala (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Kalivana / Kolavana (''

''), Kālivala (''

''), Vāridhana (''

''), Kalivana (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Kantakara / Kanṭakāra (''

''), Raddhakaṭaka (''

''), Bahubhadra (''

''), Kādhara (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Kāraskara / Paraṣkara (''

''), Kaṭhākṣara (''

''), Karandhara (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Kārūṣa (

Karusha The Karusha Kingdom is one of the Yadava kingdoms of the Mahabharata epic. It is placed to the south of Chedi. Karusha king Dantavakra supported Chedi king Shishupala and was killed by Vasudeva Krishna. Karusha Kingdom is identified as modern Da ...

), later Cedi ( Chedi) – Southern and Vindhyan Āryāvarta (''

'') (Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Southern '' Āryāvarta''; Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Kāśi (

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi may refer to: Places * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India **Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas **Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi * Kashgar, a cit ...

) (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Kasmira (

Kashmira Kasmira was a kingdom identified as the Kashmir Valley along the Jhelum River of modern Jammu and Kashmir. During the epic ages this was one among the territories of the Naga race. The Kasmiras were allies of the Kuru king Duryodhana. Referen ...

/ Kāmīra) – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Kathas – in the

River Chenab The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul regi ...

Valley (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Kauśika – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *

Kekeya Kekeya Kingdom (also known as Kekaya, Kaikaya, Kaikeya etc.) was a kingdom mentioned in the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' among the western kingdoms of then India. The epic ''Ramayana'' mentions one of the wives of Dasharatha, the king of Ko ...

/ Kaikeyya (''

''), Kaikeya (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Khaśa / Khasha – Khaśa (''

''), Śaka (''

'') – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Kisaṇṇa – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Koṅkaṇa – (Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) * Kośala (Central) – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Kośala (Vindhyan) – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Kukkuṭa – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Kulūta / Ulūta (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Kulya – only Central in ''

''; only Southern in ''

'' and ''

'' – (Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta; Madhya-desha – Central Āryāvarta) *

Kuninda The Kingdom of Kuninda (or Kulinda in ancient literature) was an ancient central Himalayan kingdom documented from around the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century, located in the southern areas of modern Himachal Pradesh and far western areas of U ...

/ Pulinda (''

''), Kaliṅga (''

''), Kalinda (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Kuśalya ( Kushalya) – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Kuśūdra ( Kushudra) – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Kuthaprāvaraṇa / Kuśaprāvaraṇa (''

''), Kuntaprāvaraṇa (''

''), Apaprāvaraṇa (''

'') – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Lalhitta – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Lampāka / Lamaka (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Madguraka / Mudgara (''

''), Mudagaraka (''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

– in the

Valley (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Mādreya – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *

/ Central and Eastern in ''

'' and ''

'' –

(Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Maharāṣṭra (

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

) / Navarāṣṭra (''

'') –

(Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) * Māheya – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Mālada / Mālava (

), Manada (''

''), Mansāda (''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Malaka – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Malavartika – Mallavarṇaka (''

''), Mālavartin (''

''), Mānavartika (''

''), Baladantika (''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Mālava / Western Malla (known as Malloí by the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...

and Malli by

ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

) – they were a people from southern

, including today's

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

city ('' Mallorum Metropolis'') and region, south of the confluence of the

Jhelum Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

Hydaspes The Jhelum River (/dʒʰeːləm/) is a river in the northern Indian subcontinent. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Pakistani-administered territory of Kashmir, and then ...

for the Greeks, and

Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...

, Hydraotes for the Greeks, rivers (see map 8), they are mentioned by ancient Greek historiansIan Worthington 2014, p. 219.Peter Green 2013, p. 418. in the telling of

Alexander III of Macedon Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to t ...

's or

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

(

Iskandar Iskandar, Iskander, Askander, Eskinder, or Scandar ( ar, إسكندر ( fa, اسکندر ''Eskandar'' or سکندر ''Skandar''), is a variant of the given name Alexander in cultures such as Iran (Persia), Arabia and others throughout the Middle Ea ...

) Mallian Campaign; Malada (''

''), Ekalavya (''

'') (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) (not the be confused with the Eastern Malla) *

Malla Malla may refer to: Places ;Bolivia *Malla, Bolivia, a locality * Malla Jawira, a river * Malla Jaqhi, a mountain * Malla Municipality * Malla Qullu, a mountain ;India * Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu *Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the s ...

/ Eastern Malla / Śālva (''

''), Māla (''

''), Māia (''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) (not to be confused with the Mālava or

Malavas The Malavas (Brahmi script: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mmālava'') or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. Modern scholars identify them with the Mallian people (Malloi) who were settled in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander the Great, A ...

of Western

Ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...

– Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Maṇḍala / Mālava (''

''), Mālava (''

'') – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Māṇḍavya – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Māṣa (

Masha In Russian, Masha () is a diminutive of Maria. It has been used as a nickname or as a pet name for women named Maria or Marie. An alternative spelling in the Latin alphabet is "Macha". In Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, "Maša" is a diminutive of "Mar ...

) – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Mātaṅga – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) *

/ Yatstha (''

'') – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Mekala / Rokala (''

''), Kevala (''

'') – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Mūka – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Nāsikya / Vāsikya (''

''), Nāsikānta (''

''), Nāsika (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Nirāhāra / Nigarhara (''

''), Nihāra (''

'') – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Pāṇavīya – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Pāñcala ( Panchala) – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Pārada / Parita (''

''), Pāravata (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Paṭaccara ( Patachchara) / Śatapatheśvara (''

'') – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Pūru (Puru) – Ancestors of the

(Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) **

– Descendants of the

(Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) ***

(''

'') – Ancestors of the

(Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) ****

(''

'') – Descendants of the

(Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) ***

– Ancestors of the

(Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) ****

– Descendants of

(Udichya Āryāvarta and Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta and Central Āryāvarta) *****

Arjunayana Arjunayana, Arjunavana, Arjunavayana or Arjunayanaka was an ancient republican people located in Punjab or north-eastern Rajasthan. They emerged as a political power during the Shunga period (). In the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta ...

– (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) ****** Tomara / Tāmasa (''

'' and ''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Pluṣṭa ( Plushta) – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Prāgjyotiṣa (

Pragjyotisha Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to ...

) – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Pravaṅga / Plavaṅga (''

'' and ''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Prāvijaya / Prāviṣeya (''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Priyalaukika / Harṣavardhana (''

''), Aṅgalaukika (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Puleya / Kulīya (''

''), Pulinda (''

''), Pulīya (''

''), Pauleya (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Rūpasa / Kūpasa (''

''), Rūpapa (''

''), Rūpaka (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Sainika / Pidika (''

''), Śūlika (''

''), Jhillika (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Śālva (

Shalva Shalva ( he, שַׁלְוָה, ''lit.'' Security) is a moshav shitufi in southern Israel. Located in the southern Shephelah near Kiryat Gat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The mos ...

) – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Saraja – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Sārasvata – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Sauśalya ( Saushalya) – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Sauvīra – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Śaśikhādrika ( Shashikhadraka) – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Śatadruja ( Shatadruja) / Śatadrava (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Ṣaṭpura / Padgama (''

''), Ṣaṭsura (''

''), Paṭava (''

''), Bahela (''

'') – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) *

Sindhu The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

Saindhava The Saindhavas, also known as Jayadrathas, was a Medieval Indian dynasty that ruled western Saurashtra (now in Gujarat, India) from c. 735 CE to c. 920 CE, probably in alliance with Maitrakas in its early years. Their capital was at Bhutamab ...

– (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Sirāla / Surāla (''

''), Sumīna (''

''), Sinīla (''

''), Kirāta (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Śudra (

Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...

/ Sudra) / Suhya (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) (not to be confused with the

, a

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

) * Sujaraka – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Śulakara ( Shulakara) – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Surāṣṭra (

Surashtra Saurashtra, also known as Sorath or Kathiawar, is a peninsular region of Gujarat, India, located on the Arabian Sea coast. It covers about a third of Gujarat state, notably 11 districts of Gujarat, including Rajkot District. It was formerly a ...

) / Saurāṣṭra (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Śūrpāraka / Sūrpāraka (''

''), Sūryāraka (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Śūrasena (

Shurasena Shurasena ( sa, शूरसेन, ) was an ancient Yadava ruler of Mathura. He was married to a Nāga (or serpent) woman named Marisha. She bore all of his children and was the cause for Vasuki’s boon to Bhima."''Surasena or shoorsaini was ...

) / Braj – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Taittrika / Taittirika (''

''), Turasita (''

''), Kurumini (''

''), Tubhamina (''

''), Karīti (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Taksas – in

Taksasila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area an ...

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...

(Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Talagana / Talagāna (''

''), Stanapa (''

''), Tāvakarāma (''

''), Tālaśāla (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Tāmasa / Chamara (''

''), Tomara (''

''), Tāmara (''

'') – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Tāmas – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Tāmralipataka – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Taṅgaṇa / Apatha (''

''), Gurguṇa (''

'') – (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Taṅgaṇa / Tuṅgana (''

'') – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Tāpasa / Svāpada (''

''), Tāpaka (''

'') – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) * Tilaṇga – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Traipura – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) *

Trigarta Trigarta kingdom was an ancient kingdom in northern Indian region of the Indian subcontinent with its capital at Prasthala (modern Jalandhar), Multan and Kangra. Trigarta was founded and ruled by the vrishni Dynasty. Mention in Mahabharata Tri ...

– (Parvata-shrayin Āryāvarta – Himalayan Āryāvarta) * Tugras – in the

Sutlej river The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...

basin (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Tūrṇapāda – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Utkala – (Eastern and Central in ''

'' – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Uttamārṇa / Uttama (''

'') – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Vāhyatodara / Girigahvara (

) – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) * Vaidiśa (Vaidisha) / Vaidika (''

''), Kholliśa (''

'') – (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta) * Vaṅga – Central and Eastern in ''

'' – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Vāṅgeya / Mārgavageya (''

''), Rāṅgeya (''

''), Vojñeya (''

'') – (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) * Vāṭadhāna – (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) *

Vatsa Vatsa or Vamsa (Pali and Ardhamagadhi: , literally "calf") was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Location The territory of Vatsa was located to the south o ...

/ Vamsa – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) * Vātsīya – (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *

Vemaka The Vemaka were an ancient Indian tribe, located north of the larger tribe of the Kuninda in northern India. They are known for their coins, as the silver coins of the Kunindas, the Vemakas and the Audumbaras closely follow the coins of the ...

– (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) *

– (Prachya Āryāvarta – Eastern Āryāvarta) (

/ Tirabhukti) * Vṛka ( Vrika) – (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta) *

Haihayas The Heheya Kingdom (also known as Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya _sa.html" ;"title="nowiki/> sa">हैहय was a kingdom ruled by the Yadava people, who claimed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. One of the mo ...

/ Heheya (Talajangha) *** Avanti – Clan of the Haihayas (Central and Vindhyan Āryāvarta in ''

'') ***

Bhoja Bhoja (reigned c. 1010–1055 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was centered around the Malwa region in central India, where his capital Dhara-nagara (modern Dhar) was located. Bhoja fought wars with nearly all h ...

/ Gopta (''

'') (Gupta) – Clan of the Haihayas (Vindhya-prashtha Āryāvarta – Vindhyan Āryāvarta in ''

'') *** Sharyatas – Clan of the

. **** Ānarta / Āvantya in ''

'', ''

'' – Subclan of the Sharyatas (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) *** Tuṇḍikera / Śauṇḍikera (''

''), Tuṣṭikāra (''

'') – Clan of the

. (Vindhyan Āryāvarta) *** Vītihotra / Vīrahotra (''

''), Vītahotra (''

'') – Clan of the

(Vindhyan Āryāvarta) ** Cedi ( Chedi) / Chaidyas ** Shashabindu / Shashabindava – ** Vaidarbha /

(

) –

(Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) **

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Sat ...

– Descendants of the

*** Ābhīra – (Udichya and Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Northern and Southern Āryāvarta) **** Northern Ābhīra (Udichya Āryāvarta – Northern Āryāvarta) **** Southern Ābhīra (Dakshinapatha Āryāvarta – Southern Āryāvarta) ***

Kukura Kukura may be, * Juraj Kukura (born 1947), Slovak actor * Philipp Kukura (born 1978), Slovak physical chemist * Kukurá language, a linguistic hoax {{dab, surname ...

– *** Satvata – ***

Vrishni The Vrishnis (Brahmi: ''vri-shņi'') were an ancient Vedic Indian clan who were believed to be the descendants of Vrishni. It is believed that Vrishni was the son of Satvata, a descendant of Yadu, the son of Yayati. He had two wives, Gandhari an ...

– **** Shainya / Shaineya *

Yaudheya Yaudheya (Brahmi script: 𑀬𑁅𑀥𑁂𑀬) or Yoddheya Gana (Yoddheya Republic) was an ancient militant confederation. The word Yaudheya is a derivative of the word from yodha meaning warriors.“Yaudheyas.” Ancient Communities of the Hima ...

– (Madhya-desha Āryāvarta – Central Āryāvarta)

Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE)

महाजनपद – Mahajanapada Shodasa Mahajanapadas (Sixteen Mahajanapadas) The

Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and '' janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urban ...

were sixteen great kingdoms and republics that emerged after the more powerful political entities (initially based on the territories of peoples and tribes) had conquered many others. According to the '' Anguttara Nikaya'', ''

Digha Nikaya Digha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in West Bengal. Hi ...

'', '' Chulla-Niddesa'' (

Buddhist Canon Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

) *

Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...

Assaka Ashmaka (Sanskrit: ) or Assaka (Pali: ) was a Mahajanapada in ancient India which existed between 700 BCE and 425 or 345 BCE according to the Buddhist texts '' Anguttara Nikaya'' and ''Puranas''. It was located around and between the Godavar ...

(or

Asmaka Ashmaka (Sanskrit: ) or Assaka (Pali: ) was a Mahajanapadas, Mahajanapada in ancient India which existed between 700 BCE and 425 or 345 BCE according to the Buddhist texts ''Aṅguttara Nikāya, Anguttara Nikaya'' and ''Puranas''. It was loc ...

) * Avanti * Chetiya ( Chedi / Cedi) *

* Kamboja (possibly ancestral of Nuristani) *

Kasi KASI (1430 AM, "News Talk 1430") is a radio station licensed to serve Ames, Iowa. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and licensed to iHM Licenses, LLC. It airs a News/Talk radio format. The station was assigned the KASI call letters b ...

Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...

* Maccha (

) *

* Panchala (

Pañcāla Panchala ( sa, पञ्चाल, IAST: ) was an ancient kingdom of northern India, located in the Ganges-Yamuna Doab of the Gangetic plain, Upper Gangetic plain. During Late Vedic period, Vedic times (c. 1100–500 BCE), it was one of the mos ...

) *

Surasena Kingdom of Surasena (or Sourasena) (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian region corresponding to the present-day Braj region in Uttar Pradesh, with Mathura as its capital city. According to the Buddhist text ''Anguttara Nikaya'', Surasena was one ...

Vajji The Vajjika (Pāli: ) or Vrijika (Sanskrit: ) League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji (Pāli: ) or Vriji (Sanskrit: ), was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribal league which existed during the later Iron Age period in north-east South ...

( Vṛji)) ** Licchavis (tribe) * Vamsha (Vatsa) According to the ''

Vyākhyāprajñapti ''Vyākhyāprajñapti'' ( sa, व्याख्याप्रज्ञप्ति "Exposition of Explanations"), commonly known as the ''Bhagavati Sūtra'' (), is the fifth of the 12 Jain Agamas said to be promulgated by Mahāvīra. The Vy ...

'' / ''

Bhagavati Sutra Bhagavatī (Devanagari: भगवती, IAST: Bhagavatī), is a Hindus, Hindu epithet of Sanskrit origin, used as an honorific title for female deities in Hinduism. It is primarily used to address one of the Tridevi: Saraswati, Lakshmi, and P ...

'' (

Jain text Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the ca ...

) * Accha *

* Avaha * Bajji (

/ Vriji) ** Licchavis (tribe) *

Banga Banga may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Banga'' (album), a 2012 album by Patti Smith * A song by Ali Shaheed Muhammad from the 2004 album '' Shaheedullah and Stereotypes'' * The name of Pontius Pilate's dog in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel ' ...

Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family ...

* Kochcha *

Ladha Ladha ( ps, لده; ur, لدها) or Lada is a town in South Waziristan, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (formerly in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, now merged with province). Just 10 km north of Ladha is the city of Makeen, while 10 ...

Lata Lata (Hindi: लता) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "vine". Lata may refer to: Notable people named Lata *Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian singer. * Lata (born 1975), Musician. *Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2 ...

* Malavaka * Malaya (located in the

Malaya mountains The Malaya Mountains were a range of mountains that were mentioned in the Hindu sacred texts like ''Matsya Purana'', the ''Kurma Purana'', the ''Vishnu Purana'', and the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The Vishnu Purana specifi ...

, southernmost part of the Western Ghats, part of the same was called the Sahya Mountains,

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

) (probably Dravidian and Non-Indo-Aryan) * Moli /

Padha Padha is a village in Karnal district, Haryana, India with approximately 8,000 inhabitants The main occupation is Kheti (Agriculture) and Pashupalan (cattle breeding). There is famous "Panch Thirath". Villages in Karnal district {{Haryana ...

* Sambhuttara * Vaccha (

)

Mentions by Ancient Greek authors (Classical Age)

Northwest

– Indus River Basin * Glausae ( Glausaí) (may have been the Gandhari?) * Malloí / Malli (known as Mālava / Western Malla by

Indo-Aryans Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of Indo-European peoples speaking Indo-Aryan languages in the Indian subcontinent. Historically, Aryan were the Indo-European pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia into South Asia and intr ...

ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...

) – they were a people from southern

, including today's

city ('' Mallorum Metropolis'') and region, south of the confluence of the

for the Greeks, and

, Hydraotes for the Greeks, rivers (see map 9), they are mentioned by ancient Greek historians in the Mallian Campaign of

(

); Malada (''

''), Ekalavya (''

'') (Aparanta Āryāvarta – Western Āryāvarta) (not the be confused with the Eastern Malla) * Oxydracae ( Oxydrakaí) (may have been the Śudra (

/ Sudra) / Suhya (''

''), not to be confused with the

, a

) * Sattagydans – people that dwelt in

Sattagydia Sattagydia (Old Persian: 𐎰𐎫𐎦𐎢𐏁 ''Thataguš'', country of the "hundred cows") was one of the easternmost regions of the Achaemenid Empire, part of its Seventh tax district according to Herodotus, along with Gandārae, Dadicae and ...

(Old Persian Thataguš; th = θ, from θata – "hundred" and guš – "cows", country of the People of "Hundred Cows"), may have been an Indo-Aryan people of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

with Iranian influence or the opposite, an

people of

with Indo-Aryan influence. * Sibae / Sobii ( Sibaí / Sivaí / Sobioí / Sivioí) (may have been the

people of Early

Janapadas The Janapadas () (c. 1500–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (saamarajya) of the Vedic period on the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to th ...

?) (not to be confused with the God

) Other regions of

(''India Intra Gangem'') * Pragii / Prasii ( Pragioí / Prasioí) (may have been the people of Prāgjyotiṣa or

Kamarupa Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 11 ...

Possible Indo-Aryan or other peoples / tribes / clans

*Alina (RV 7.18.7) (RV =

) – They were one of the tribes defeated by

of the Bharatas at the

( Ten Kings Battle). A. A. Macdonell and

A. B. Keith Arthur Berriedale Keith (5 April 1879 – 6 October 1944) was a Scottish constitutional lawyer, scholar of Sanskrit and Indologist. He became Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology and Lecturer on the Constitution of the Brit ...

(1912). ''Vedic Index of Names and Subjects''. It is suggested that they lived to the north-east of the

Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...

(possible ancestors of the Nuristani that live in

Nurestan Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Dari: ; Kamkata-vari: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, w ...

) because in the 7th century CE, the land was mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

. It is possible that they are connected with the

Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...

or Alani people who are a nomadic Iranian tribe. Alans is a dialectal cognate of Aryāna, itself derived from the root arya-, meaning 'Aryan', the common self-designation of Indo-Iranian peoples. It probably came in use in the early history of the Alans for the purpose of uniting a heterogeneous group of tribes through the invocation of a common, ancestral 'Aryan' origin. The historian S. Talageri identifies them with the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

(Hellenes). However, the dating of the Rigveda and the hypothetical historic time for the

(

Battle of Ten Kings The Battle of the Ten Kings ( sa, दाशराज्ञ युद्ध, translit=Dāśarājñá yuddhá) is a battle, first alluded to in the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda (RV), between a Bharata king and a confederation of tribes. It resulte ...

) occurred millennia before Hellenes were recorded in India. *Parsu (Parśu) – The Parsus have been connected with the Persians based on the evidence of an Assyrian inscription from 844 BC referring to the Persians as Parshu, and the Behistun Inscription of Darius I of Persia referring to Parsa as the home of the Persians. Pârsâ, is the Old Persian name for the Persis region Pars province as well as the root for the term Persian. *

Shakya Shakya (Pali, Pāḷi: ; sa, शाक्य, translit=Śākya) was an ancient eastern Sub-Himalayan Range, sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age i ...

– a clan of

Iron Age India In the prehistory of the Indian subcontinent, the Iron Age succeeded Bronze Age India and partly corresponds with the megalithic cultures of India. Other Iron Age archaeological cultures of India were the Painted Grey Ware culture (1300–3 ...

(1st millennium BCE), habitating an area in

Greater Magadha Greater Magadha is a concept in studies of the early history of India. It is used to refer to the political and cultural sphere that developed in the lower Gangetic plains ( Johannes Bronkhorst defines the region to comprise modern day Bihar and e ...

, on the foothills of the

Himalaya mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. This is also the clan in which

Siddhartha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

(also known as

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

or Shakyamuni – Sage of the Shakyas) (c. 6th to 4th centuries BCE) was born into, whose teachings became the foundation of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. According to Chandra Das, the name "Shakya" is derived from the Sanskrit word "śakya," which means "the one who is capable". Some scholars argue that the Shakya were of

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

(

Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...

) origin (part of the

Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separat ...

) and assimilated into

.Christopher I. Beckwith, "Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia", 2016, pp 1–21 * Sogdi ( Sogdoí), people that inhabited where is today the

Sibi Division Sibi Division () is a division of Balochistan province of Pakistan. It contains the following districts: The creation of Sibi Division in 1974, the divisional offices shifted to Ziarat during the summer. Districts * Sibi District (created 1 ...

valley in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, between

and

, and most of the

Larkana Division Larkana Division ( sd, لاڙڪاڻو ڊويزن) is an administrative division of the Sindh Province of Pakistan. It was created in 1980 by bifurcation of Sukkur Division. In 2000 abolished by General Pervaiz Musharraf rule but Sindh governme ...

, and parts of the

Sukkur Division Sukkur Division ( sd, سکر ڊويزن) is one of the seven administrative Divisions of the Sindh Province of Pakistan. This level of administration was abolished in 2000 but restored again on 11 July 2011. Sukkur is the divisional headquarte ...

to the west of the

Indus river The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

, in

(see map 8), their main city was called Sogdorum Regia (maybe today's

Sukkur Sukkur (; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, and 14th largest ci ...

) by the ancient Greek and Roman authors, and was on the

banks. They may have been an Indo-Aryan people of the

Indus valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

with a coincidental name with the

Sogdians :''This category lists articles related to historical Iranian peoples'' Historical Peoples Iranian Iranian Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples ...

, or, as the name could tell, a branch of the

, the "

Indus Sogdians The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir ...

", in a region of the west

. * Kāmboja (Kamboja) (ancestors of the Nuristani and

Kamboj The Kamboj ( pa, ਕੰਬੋਜ ''Kamboj'', hi, कंबोज ''Kamboj''), also Kamboh ( ur, ALA-LC: ), is a cultivating community of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India, spanning a region from the Sutlej Valley to the north, the M ...

peoples, sometimes included in the

, or of the Iranian Pamirian peoples –

Pamiris The Pamiris, russian: Пами́рцы, Pamírtsy, zh, s=帕米尔人, p=Pàmǐ'ěrrén, ur, are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group, native to the Badakhshan region of Central Asia, which includes the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Taj ...

or Badakhshani people)

Hypothetical Indo-Aryans

* Mitanni Indo-Aryans (c. 1500–1300 BCE) – hypothetical ancient people of the northern

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

in the

Mitanni Mitanni (; Hittite cuneiform ; ''Mittani'' '), c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat (''Hanikalbat'', ''Khanigalbat'', cuneiform ') in Assyrian records, or ''Naharin'' in ...

kingdom (part of today's far western Iran, northwestern Iraq, northern Syria and southeastern Turkey), that spoke the hypothetical Mitanni Indo-Aryan (a language that was superstrate of

Hurrian The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...

, a non-Indo-European language) and merged with the

Hurrians The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Mes ...

, many of them as a social elite, in the course of the

Indo-Aryan migration The Indo-Aryan migrations were the migrations into the Indian subcontinent of Indo-Aryan peoples, an ethnolinguistic group that spoke Indo-Aryan languages, the predominant languages of today's North India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lank ...

(towards West in this case).

Ancestors

Vedic tribes

Pancha Jana (Five tribes)

Janapadas

Early Janapadas (peoples / tribes) (c. 1700–1100 BCE)

Late Janapadas (peoples / tribes) (c. 1100–500 BCE)

Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE)

Mentions by Ancient Greek authors (Classical Age)

Possible Indo-Aryan or other peoples / tribes / clans

Hypothetical Indo-Aryans

See also

References

Further reading