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
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 ...
(RV), between a Bharata king and a confederation of tribes. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Bharatas and subsequent formation of the Kuru polity.
Background
In
Book 3, the
Bharatas are noted to have crossed
Beas and
Sutlej
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 In ...
, in their progress towards Kurukshetra where they came across a nascent (and temporary) inter-tribal alliance.
This led to the battle, which is described in the 18th hymn (verses 5-21) of Book 7; the exact motivations are doubtful —
Michael Witzel
Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–80).
Witz ...
argues that it might have been a product of intratribal resentment or intrigues of an ousted family-priest while Ranabir Chakravarti argues that the battle was probably fought for controlling the rivers, which were a lifeline for irrigation.
The hymns also mention of the tribes seeking to steal cows from the Bharatas.
Battle
Hanns-Peter Schmidt, whom Witzel deems to have produced the most "detailed, and ingenious reinterpretation" of the hymns, locates a unique poetic moment across the RV corpus, in their extraordinarily abundant usage of sarcastic allusions, similes and puns to mock the tribal alliance.
Some of those allusions seem to be heavily context-specific and (still) remain unrecognized; there exist considerable disputes about interpretations of particular words, in light of the employed figures of speech and other poetic devices.
First phase
The first phase of the battle took place on the banks of the river
Ravi (then Parusni) near Manusa, west of Kurukshetra.
The Bharata King and their priest are respectively mentioned as Sudas Paijavana and Vasistha, in the Rig Veda; however the names change in
Samaveda and
Yajurveda Samhitas.
The principal antagonist is doubtful and names of the participating tribes are difficult to retrieve, in light of the phonological deformations of their names.
Plausible belligerents of the tribal union include (in order) —
Purus (erstwhile master-tribe of Bharatas),
Yadu (probably commanded by Turvasa), Yaksu (relatively unimportant or a pun for Yadu),
Matsyas,
Druhyus,
Pakthas
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 ...
,
Bhalanas
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 ...
,
Alina
Alina is a female given name of European origin. It is particularly common in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It may be derived from the name Adelina. Alina was one of the top 10 most popular names in Switzerland and one of the top 50 most ...
s, Vishanins, Sivas, Vaikarna, and
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
, ...
.
Though seemingly an unequal battle, going by the numbers (this aspect is highlighted multiple times in the hymns), Sudas decisively won against the tribal alliance by strategic breaching of a dyke on the river thereby drowning most (?) of the opponents.
This sudden change in fortunes is attributed to the benevolence and strategizing of
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 ...
, the patron-God of Bharatas, whose blessings were secured by Vasistha's poetics.
Second phase
Thereafter, the battleground (probably) shifted to the banks of river
Yamuna
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 B ...
, wherein the local chieftain Bhida was defeated along with three other tribes — Ajas, Śighras, and the Yakṣus.
Aftermath
The Battle of the Ten Kings led Bharatas to occupy the entire Puru territory (Western Punjab) centered around
Sarasvati River
The Sarasvati River () is a deified river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Vedic religion, appearing in all but the fourth book of the Rigveda.
As a physical river, ...
and complete their east-ward migration.
Sudas celebrated his victory with the
Ashvamedha
The Ashvamedha ( sa, अश्वमेध, aśvamedha, translit-std=IAST) was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accom ...
ritual to commemorate the establishment of a realm, free of enemies from the north, east, and west. He still had enemies in the
Khāṇḍava Forest to the south, which was inhabited by the despised non-Indo-Aryan
Kikatas
Kīkaṭa was an ancient Indian kingdom in what is now India, mentioned in the Vedas.
A section in the Rigveda (RV 3.53.14) refers to the Kīkaṭas, with its ruler Pramangada. Some scholars have placed them in Bihar (Magadha) because Kikata is ...
.
A political realignment between Purus and Bharatas probably followed soon enough and might have included other factions of the tribal union as well; this is exhibited from how the core collection of RV prominently features clan-hymns of both the sides.
Historicity
Numerous translators since the 1800s including
K. F. Geldner have considered the battle as a historical event, based on the narration-characteristics of the verses.
Witzel dates the battle between approximately 1450 and 1300 BCE; he deems the concerned hymns to be late interpolations.
Stephanie W. Jamison
Stephanie Wroth Jamison (born July 17, 1948) is an American linguist, currently at University of California, Los Angeles and an Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She did her doctoral work at Yale University as a student ...
warns against using it as a major source to reconstruct history since the description of the battle is "anything but clear."
Both Witzel and Jamison find the very next hymn (7.19, verse 3) to show a striking shift of allegiance with Indra helping Sudas as well the Purus, who won land.
Possible Prototype for the Mahabharata War
Witzel notes this battle to be the probable archetype/prototype of the
Kurukshetra War
The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...
, narrated 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 K ...
.
John Brockington
John Stanley Brockington (born September 7, 1948) is a former American football player, a running back
in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs. He was a first round draft choice out of Ohio Sta ...
takes a similar approach.
S. S. N. Murthy goes to the extent of proposing the battle as the very "nucleus" of the
Kurukshetra War
The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...
;
Walter Ruben adopts a similar stance.
However, Witzel maintains the nucleus text of the Mahabharata to be in description of some event in the Late Vedic spans; it was since reshaped (and expanded) over centuries of transmission and recreation to (probably) reflect the Battle of the Ten Kings.
Alf Hiltebeitel
Alfred John Hiltebeitel (born 1942) is Columbian Professor of Religion, History, and Human Sciences at George Washington University in Washington DC, USA. His academic specialism is in ancient Sanskrit epics such as the ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramaya ...
rejects Witzel's and Brockington's arguments as "baffling fancy" and notes a complete lack of means to connect the battle with the "fratricidal struggle" of the Mahabharata.
Legacy
Stephanie W. Jamison
Stephanie Wroth Jamison (born July 17, 1948) is an American linguist, currently at University of California, Los Angeles and an Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She did her doctoral work at Yale University as a student ...
notes it to be the most famous historical conflict in RV—in that, it secured the dominance of Bharatas over Vedic tribes—as does Witzel.
The territory would eventually become the first South-Asian "state" under the Kuru tribe in post-RV span and serve as the heart-land of Brahminical culture.
The Purus went on to survive as a marginal power in Punjab; Witzel and some other scholars believe
Porus (c. early 300 BC) to be a king from the same tribe.
See also
*
Kurukshetra War
The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...
*
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 K ...
*
Historicity of the Mahabharata
Notes
References
{{reflist
Rigveda
the Ten Kings
2nd-millennium BC conflicts
Wars involving ancient India