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Puru (Vedic tribe)

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Puru
Paurava
Clan-based Confederation
The Purus and other early Vedic tribes
EthnicityIndo-Aryan
LocationNorthern Indian subcontinent
VarnaKshatriya[1]
Descended fromPururavas[2]
Parent tribeFirst tribe of Chandra clan
BranchesBharatas[3]
LanguageVedic Sanskrit[4]
ReligionHistorical Vedic religion[5]
SurnamesPuruvansha

The Puru tribe (Sanskrit: पुरुवंश IAST: Pūruvaṃśa), also known as the Pauravas[6] (Sanskrit: पौरव, lit. 'scion of Pūru'), were an Indo-Aryan clan-based tribe of Puru clan, that existed between 1700 and 1400 BCE. They were descendants of Pururavas[7] and were the first tribe of the Chandra clan.[8] There were several branches of Purus, one of which was the Bharatas.[3] The Purus and the Bharatas were the two most prominent clan-based tribes in most of the Rigveda.[8] The chief of tribe was called Rajan.[1] The Purus rallied many other tribes and groups against King Sudas of the Bharata clan, but were defeated in the Battle of the Ten Kings (RV 7.18, etc).

Etymology

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The name Puru is of possible Indo-Aryan origin.[9]

Origin

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The Purus or Pauravas were a prominent clan-based tribal confederation of the Puru clan during the Vedic period, and were the first tribe of the Chandra clan.[8] The Vedic corpus also preserves a genealogical tradition concerning Pururavas and Purus. According to the Shatapatha Brahmana of Shukla Yajurveda (part of Yajurveda), the Puru tribe were descendants of Pururavas and Puru. Pururavas was the son of Budha (who is described as the son of Soma), and Ila, daughter of Manu.[10] The Ṛg Veda (X.95.18) states that Pururavas was a pious ruler and son of Ilā[11]

Rigveda

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In Mandala 6, it is recalled that Purukutsa, chieftain of Purus, had destroyed autumnal forts in the Afghan mountains.[12][13] In Mandala 4, it is stated that as a result of his Ashvamedha (Horse Sacrifice) with the horse Daurgaha, his son Trasadasyu was born.[14][12]

In Mandala 4, Trasadasyu is the chieftain of the Purus. In addition to being the son of Purukutsa, Trasadasyu is also described as Gairikṣita, meaning descendant of Girikṣit.[14][12] Trasadasyu lived on the western side of the Indus River (Sindhu) while Mandala 4 was being composed, but he also moved into the land of Seven Rivers and defeated the Anu-Druhyus and Yadu-Turvashas. He molded the conquered tribes and the Purus into the Pancha-janah (Five Peoples). To celebrate his victory he conducted an Ashvamedha with his horse, Dadhrikā. Dadhrikā is extolled in RV 4.38-40, and in these hymns, Dadhrikā is stated to have become a divine being, the sacrificial horse of the Ashvamedha, and a symbol of Puru and Indo-Aryan dominance. Trasadasyu's son was Tṛkṣi.[12]

Scholars who adhere to Hermann Grassmann's interpretation of Rigveda 7.92.2 state that by Mandala 7, the Purus had reached the Sarasvati river.[15][12]

Location

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The Puru clan was primarily associated with the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent within the geographical setting of the Rigveda. Its territory was particularly connected with the Paruṣṇī (Ravi) River, which is mentioned in the context of the Battle of the Ten Kings in Rigveda 7.18. The Puru clan also appears in relation to the Sarasvatī and other Vedic rivers and tribes, placing it within the broader Sapta Sindhu region. The Rigveda, however, does not define fixed territorial boundaries for the Puru clan, and its precise geographical extent cannot be determined from the text alone.

Porus

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Modern scholars conjecture that Porus may have been a Puru king. However, Porus is not known in Indian sources.[16]

See also

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Vedic period
History of India

Notes

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  1. 1 2 Renou, Louis (1957). Vedic India. p. 130.
  2. ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (2015-04-15). "Genealogy of the princes of the lunar race [Chapter CXXXIX]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  3. 1 2 Scharfe, Hartmut E. (2006), "Bharat", in Stanley Wolpert (ed.), Encyclopedia of India, vol. 1 (A-D), Thomson Gale, pp. 143–144, ISBN 0-684-31512-2
  4. ↑ Baldi, Philip (1983). An Introduction to the Indo-European Languages. Southern Illinois University Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 978-0-8093-1091-3.
  5. ↑ Witzel, Michael (2004). "Kalash Religion (extract from 'The Ṛgvedic Religious System and its Central Asian and Hindukush Antecedents". In Griffiths, A.; Houben, J.E.M. (eds.). The Vedas: Texts, language, and ritual. Groningen: Forsten. pp. 581–636.
  6. ↑ Talageri, Shrikant G. (2008). The Rigveda and the Avesta: The Final Evidence. Aditya Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7742-085-2.
  7. ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (2015-04-15). "Genealogy of the princes of the lunar race [Chapter CXXXIX]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  8. 1 2 3 Erdosy, George; Witzel, Michael (1995). Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics. De Gruyter. p. 204.
  9. ↑ Witzel, Michael (1999). "Aryan and non-Aryan Names in Vedic India. Data for the linguistic situation, c. 1900-500 B.C." (PDF). Harvard Oriental Series Opera Minora. 3: 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011.
  10. ↑ Thapar 2013, p. 308.
  11. ↑ Misra, V.S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-413-8, p.57
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Erdosy, George; Witzel, Michael (1995). Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics. De Gruyter. pp. 237–242.
  13. ↑ Jamison & Brereton 2014, p. 801.
  14. 1 2 Jamison, Stephanie; Brereton, Joel (2014). The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 619–626, 699. ISBN 9780199370184.
  15. ↑ Jamison & Brereton 2014, p. 1004.
  16. ↑ Nonica Datta, ed. (2003). Indian History: Ancient and medieval. Encyclopaedia Britannica / Popular Prakashan. p. 222. ISBN 978-81-7991-067-2. Not known in Indian sources, the name Porus has been conjecturally interpreted as standing for Paurava, that is, the ruler of the Purus, a clan known in that region from ancient Vedic times.

References

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