Kuru Kingdom
Kuru (Sanskrit: कुरु) was the name of an Indo-Aryan tribe in Iron Age India, which evolved into a Mahajanapada state in the later Vedic period.[1] The Kuru clan was based in the area of modern Haryana, Delhi and western parts of Uttar Pradesh (the region of Doab, till Prayag/Kaushambi) in northern India.[2]
The Kurus figure prominently in the Rigveda. The Kurus here appear as a branch of the early Indo-Aryans, ruling the Ganga-Jamuna Doab and modern Haryana (earlier Eastern Punjab). The focus in the later Vedic period shifted out of Punjab, into the Doab, and thus to the Kuru clan.[3] The increasing number and size of Painted Grey Ware (PGW) settlements in the Doab area shows this. These developments resulted in the substantial enlargement of certain settlements such as Hastinapur and Kaushambi towards the end of the Later Vedic period. These settlements slowly began to acquire characteristics of towns.
The Kuru tribe was formed, in the Early Vedic period, as a result of the alliance and merger between the Bharata and Puru tribes.[4] They formed the first political center of the Vedic period, with its capital initially at Hastinapur, and were the center of political power during roughly 1200 to 800 BCE.[5] Towards the end of the Early Vedic period, the capital of the Kurus was transferred to Kaushambi, in the lower Doab, after Hastinapur was destroyed by floods [6] as well as because of upheavals in the Kuru family itself.[7][8]
In the late Vedic period (by the 6th century BC), the Kuru dynasty evolved into Kuru and Vats kingdoms, ruling over Upper Doab/Delhil/Haryana and lower Doab, respectively. The Vatsa branch of the Kuru dynasty further divided into Vats (Kaushambi) and Vats(Mathura) branches.[9] The Atharvaveda (XX.127) refers to certain Parikshita as the "Chief of the Kurus".[10]
See also [edit]
Notes [edit]
- ^ "Kuru Kingdom".
- ^ The History of India, edited by Kenneth Pletcher; Chapter: The Development of Indian Civilization from C. 1500 BCE To 300 CE|63
- ^ The Ganges In Myth And History
- ^ National Council of Educational Research and Training, History Text Book, Part 1, India
- ^ M Witzel, Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state, EJVS vol. 1 no. 4 (1995); also in B. Kölver (ed.), Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien. The state, the Law, and Administration in Classical India, München, R. Oldenbourg, 1997, p.27-52
- ^ The History of India, edited by Kenneth Pletcher; Chapter: The Development of Indian Civilization from C.1500 BCE To 300 CE|63
- ^ Kaushambhi.nic.in
- ^ All-art.org
- ^ Political History of Uttar Pradesh; Govt of Uttar Pradesh, official website.
- ^ Raychaudhuri, H. C. (1972). Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty, Calcutta:University of Calcutta, pp.11
References [edit]
- Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
- The Kuru race in Sri Lanka - Web site of Kshatriya Maha Sabha
External links [edit]
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