Madra (
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 since the
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 ...
. The members of the Madra tribe were called the Madrakas.
Location
The Madras were divided into -Madra ("northern Madra"), -Madra ("southern Madra"), and Madra proper:
*The Uttara Madrakas lived to the north of the
Himavat
Himavat (Sanskrit: हिमवत्, lit. ''frosty'') is the personification of the Himalayan mountains in Hinduism. He is the guardian deity of the Himalayas, and finds mention in the epic ''Mahabharata'' and other Hindu scriptures.
Nomencla ...
, near the Uttara Kurus, possibly in the
Kashmir Valley
The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...
.
*The Madras proper lived in the
Rachna Doab
Rachna Doab ( pa, ) can be classified as one of the main regions of Punjab, Pakistan. Punjab historically has been divided into regions based on its various rivers, since the name Punjab is based on its five main rivers. Rachna doab includes a ...
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 ...
, to the west of the
Irāvatī river. These Madras were organised into a kingdom and had their capital at
Sāgala or Śākala.
*The Dakṣiṇa Madrakas lived to the east of Śākala, near the
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 ...
s.
History
The Madrakas, as well as the neighbouring
Kekaya
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 Gāndh ...
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 Madrakas were later located.
Madra proper
Several Vedic scholars from the
period were from Madra proper, including Śākalya, who was a member of the court 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 ...
, as well as Madragāra Śauṅgāyani, and
Uddālaka Āruṇi
Uddalaka Aruni (fl. c. 8th century BCE), (Devanagari: उद्दालक आरुणि) also referred to as Uddalaka or Aruni or Uddalaka Varuni, is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism.Ben-Ami Scharfstein (1998), ''A comparative history of wor ...
's teacher Patañchala Kāpya.
During the 6th century BCE, the Madrakas, along with the
Kekaya
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 Gāndh ...
s,
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" ...
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
Gandhāra kingdom, which was the principal imperial power in north-west Iron Age South Asia.
During the 5th century BCE,
Kṣemā, the daughter of the Madraka king, was married to the
Māgadhī king
Bimbisāra, who himself engaged in diplomatic relations with the Madrakas' suzerain, the Gandhari king
Pukkusāti.
In epic literature
The Madrakas appear in epic Hindu literature, especially in the
and the
. In the latter, the wife of the Kuru king
Pāṇḍu was a Madraka princess eponymously named
Mādrī
In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Madri is the princess of Madra Kingdom and the second wife of the king Pandu. She is the mother of the youngest Pandavas - the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva. The word ''Mādrī'' means 'woman of Madra'.
...
, after the kingdom which she hailed from.
References
Further reading
*
{{refend
Ancient peoples of Pakistan