Kekaya (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

of north-western

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

whose existence is attested during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. The members of the Kekaya tribe were called the Kaikayas.

Location

The Kekayas were located between the

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 ...

kingdom and the Vipāśā river, more precisely on a tributary of the Irāvatī river named the Saranges by ancient Greek authors. The capital of Kekaya was a city named Rājagṛha or Girivraja, identified with the modern-day Girjak or

Jalalpur Jalalpur is a town, tehsil and a municipal board in Ambedkar Nagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Geography Jalalpur is located at . It has an average elevation of . The city is directly connected to Azamgarh, Akbarp ...

in the

Pakistani Punjab Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

History

The Kekeyas, as well as the neighbouring Madraka and

Uśīnara Ushinara (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. Location The Uśīnaras lived in the northernmost part of the , with the Uśīnara-giri ("Uśīnara mountain" ...

tribes, were descended from the Ṛgvedic Anu tribe which lived near the Paruṣṇī river in the central

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

region, in the same area where the Kekayas were later located. A famous king of Kekaya during the late

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, betw ...

was Aśvapati, who is mentioned in the and the as a patron of s, and was an elder contemporary of the Vaideha king

Janaka Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hrasva ...

. During the 6th century BCE, the Kekayas, along with the

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 ...

s, and

Sibi Sibi ( Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu la ...

s, fell under the suzerainty of the

kingdom, which was the principal imperial power in north-west Iron Age South Asia.

Later history

The 10th century CE of Rājaśekhara furnishes a list of the extant tribes of his times which also includes the

Kekayas Kekaya (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Kekaya tribe were called the Kaikayas. Location The Kekayas were located between the Gāndhāra ...

along with the Shakas, Tusharas, Vokanas,

Hunas Hunas or Huna (Middle Brahmi script: ''Hūṇā'') was the name given by the ancient Indians to a group of Central Asian tribes who, via the Khyber Pass, entered the Indian subcontinent at the end of the 5th or early 6th century. The Huna Kin ...

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 ...

Vahlikas The Bahlikas ( sa, बाह्लिक; ''Bāhlika'') were the inhabitants of Bahlika ( sa, बह्लिक, located in Bactria), mentioned in Atharvaveda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka of Katyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc ...

, Vahlavas, Limpakas, Tangana, Turukshas, referring to them all as the

s of Uttarapatha or north division. A branch of the Kekaya seems to have migrated to southern India in later times and established its authority in Mysore country.Ancient History of Deccan, pp 88, 101; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 58, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury.

In epic literature

The Kekayas appear in epic Hindu literature, especially in the and the . In the former, the step-mother of the god

Rāma Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

and mother of the prince Bharata is the eponymous princess of Kekaya, Kaikeyī.

Location

History

Later history

In epic literature

References

Further reading