Matsya (

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 ...

: ;

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

: ) 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 is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

of central

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

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 mostl ...

. The members of the Matsya tribe were called the Mātsyeyas and were organised into a kingdom called the Matsya kingdom.

Etymology

and in

mean "fish".

Location

The kingdom of the Mātsyeyas covered an extensive territory, with the

Sarasvatī 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 go ...

river and the forests skirting it as its western border, and its southern boundaries being the hills near the Chambal River. The neighbours of the Matsya state were Kuru in the north, and Sūrasena in the east. The capital of Matsya was Virāṭanagara, which corresponds to the modern-day Bairāṭ.

History

The Matsya tribe was first mentioned in the , where they appear as one of the opponents of Sudās during the Battle of the Ten Kings. According to the , the Mātsyeya king Dhvasan Dvaitavana performed an sacrifice near the Sarasvatī river. A forest on the banks of the Sarasvatī and a lake were both named after the king Dvaitavana. Vedic texts such as the mention the Mātsyeyas along with the Śālva tribe, and the connects them with the Kuru-

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

s. Later Puranic texts such as the connects them with 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 T ...

s and the Caidyas, and the lists the countries of the Mātsyeyas, the Śūrasenakas, the

s, and of Kuru-kṣetra, as forming the (the holy enclave of the sages). The later history of Matsya is not known, although the Buddhist included it among the sixteen s ("great realms"), which were the most powerful states of South Asia immediately before the birth of the

Buddha 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 L ...

. The Matsya state in the period archaeologically corresponds to the

Northern Black Polished Ware The Northern Black Polished Ware culture (abbreviated NBPW or NBP) is an urban Iron Age Indian culture of the Indian Subcontinent, lasting c. 700–200 BCE (proto NBPW between 1200 and 700 BCE), succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture and Blac ...

archaeological culture which in the western part of the Gaṅgā- Yamunā Doab region succeeded the earlier

Painted Grey Ware culture The Painted Grey Ware culture (PGW) is an Iron Age Indian culture of the western Gangetic plain and the Ghaggar-Hakra valley in the Indian subcontinent, conventionally dated 1200 to 600–500 BCE, or from 1300 to 500–300 BCE It is a successo ...

, and is associated with the Kuru,

, Matsya,

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 on ...

and

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 ...

s. Unlike other states of central South Asia who abandoned the kingdom form for a (

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

republic) mode of government during the late Iron Age, Matsya maintained a monarchical system. Matsya was eventually conquered by the empire of

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 ...

Legacy

After the Indian independence in 1947, the princely states of Bharatpur,

Dholpur Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur prin ...

Alwar Alwar (Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur. ...

and

Karauli Karauli (also formerly spelled Karoli or Kerowlee) is a city located in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The city is the administrative center of Karauli District, and was formerly the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Karauli. Karau ...

were temporarily put together from 1947 to 1949 as the ″ United States of Matsya″, and later in March 1949 after these princely states signed the Instrument of Accession they were merged with the present state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. The Matsya Festival is held in

every year in the last week of November to celebrate culture and adventure..

References

Sources