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 kingdom and the Vipāśā river, more precisely on a tributary of the

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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 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 tribes, were descended from the Ṛgvedic

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tribe which lived near the

Paruṣṇī The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

river in the central Punjab region, in the same area where the Kekayas were later located. A famous king of Kekaya during the late Vedic period was Aśvapati, who is mentioned in the and the as a patron of s, and was an elder contemporary of the Vaideha king Janaka. During the 6th century BCE, the Kekayas, along with the Madras, Uśīnaras, and Sibis, fell under the suzerainty of the Gāndhāra 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 along with the Shakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Vahlikas, Vahlavas, Limpakas, Tangana, Turukshas, referring to them all as the tribes 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 and mother of the prince Bharata is the eponymous princess of Kekaya, Kaikeyī.

Location

History

Later history

In epic literature

References

Further reading