Location
The Kekayas were located between the Gandhara, Gāndhāra kingdom and the Beas River, Vipāśā river, more precisely on a tributary of the Ravi River, 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 Sharif, Jalalpur in the Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistani Punjab.History
The Kekeyas, as well as the neighbouring Madra, Madraka and Uśīnara tribes, were descended from the Ṛgvedic List of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes#Vedic Tribes, Anu tribe which lived near the Paruṣṇī 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 Shatapatha Brahmana, and the Chandogya Upanishad, as a patron of Brahmin, s, and was an elder contemporary of the Videha, Vaideha king Janaka. During the 6th century BCE, the Kekayas, along with the Madras, Uśīnaras, and Shivi, Sibis, fell under the suzerainty of the Gandhara, Gāndhāra kingdom, which was the principal imperial power in north-west Iron Age South Asia.Later history
The 10th century CE of Rajashekhara, Rājaśekhara furnishes a list of the extant tribes of his times which also includes the Kekayas along with the Shakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Vahlikas, Pahlavas, 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 Ramayana, and the Mahabharata, . In the former, the step-mother of the god Rama, Rāma and mother of the prince Bharata (Ramayana), Bharata is the eponymous princess of Kekaya, Kaikeyi, Kaikeyī.References
Further reading
*''Geographical Data in Ancient Puranas'', 1972, Dr M. R. Singh * *''India as Known to Panini'', Dr V. S. Aggarwala *''Ancient Geography of India'', A. Cunningham {{refend Ancient peoples of Pakistan