Pāradas (alternatively Varadas, Parita) was an Iron Age kingdom described in various ancient and classical Indian texts. The exact location of the kingdom is unknown. The

Vayu Purana The ''Vayu Purana'' ( sa, वायुपुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to ...

locates the tribe on the upper course of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

(also known as Chaksu) and

Syr Darya The Syr Darya (, ),, , ; rus, Сырдарья́, Syrdarjja, p=sɨrdɐˈrʲja; fa, سيردريا, Sirdaryâ; tg, Сирдарё, Sirdaryo; tr, Seyhun, Siri Derya; ar, سيحون, Seyḥūn; uz, Sirdaryo, script-Latn/. historically known ...

rivers in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

.Alexander's Invasion of India, p. 57 The

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

, however, associates the Paradas with the

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 confl ...

s of

Uttarapatha Ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the Northern part of Jambudvipa (equivalent of present-day North India), one of the "continents" in Hindu history. In modern times, the Sanskrit word ''uttarapatha'' is sometimes use ...

, and places them on the Sailoda River in the

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...

province of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Additionally, the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

locates the people in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. It is thought that the Pāradas are connected to the later

Paratarajas The Pāratarājas (Brahmi: ''Pāratarāja'', Kharosthi: 𐨤𐨪𐨟𐨪𐨗 ', ', "Kings of Pārata") or Pāradarājas was a dynasty of Parthian kings, and ruling family from what is now Pakistan, from circa 125 CE to circa 300 CE. They appear ...

, an

Indo-Parthian The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian ...

dynasty in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

during the 1st-3rd century CE.

Discussion in the Puranic texts

Numerous Puranic texts associate the Parada Kingdom with the Kamboja,

Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who histo ...

Yavana The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" ( gr ...

and Pahlava tribes, and brand them together as ''Panca-ganah'' ("five hordes"). These five hordes were military allies of the

Haihaya The Heheya Kingdom (also known as Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya _sa.html" ;"title="nowiki/> sa">हैहय was a kingdom ruled by the Yadava people, who claimed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. One of the mo ...

or Taljunga

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the co ...

s of the

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and ...

line, and were chiefly responsible for dethroning

King Bahu King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a small state during the late Vedic peri ...

. Later,

King Sagar King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the t ...

a, son of Bahu, was able to defeat the Haihayas or Taljungas together with the five hordes. King Sagara had divested the Paradas and other members of the ''Panca-ganah'' of their noble

hood and demoted them to the

barbaric A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

Mlechchas Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or " barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups. T ...

, due to their non-observance of sacred

Brahmanical codes The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subc ...

and neglect of the

priestly class Priestly is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Miranda Priestly, a character in ''The Devil Wears Prada'' * Paul Priestly, a character in ''EastEnders'' See also * Priestley (disambiguation) Priestley may refer to: Places * ...

. Before their defeat at the hands of King Sagara, these five-hordes were called ''Kshatriya-pungava'' ("foremost among the Kshatriyas").

Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote the ...

X.43-44 The Vayu Purana state that the Udichya tribes, including the ''Panca-ganah'', the

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...

s, Tusharas, Khasas, Lampakas, Madhyadesis,

Vindhya The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India. Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...

s, Aprantas, Dakshinatyas, Dravidas,

Pulinda Pulinda (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient tribe of south-central South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Pulindas were a non- Indo-Aryan tribe. Location During the later Vedic period, the Pulindas were living to the south-east ...

s and

Simhala Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people ( si, හෙළ). They constitute about 75% of t ...

s, would be proceeded against and annihilated by

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which i ...

References

External links

{{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata Kingdoms in the Mahabharata