- Rigvedic tribes
The Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the
Rigveda are described as semi-nomadic pastoralists, subdivided into temporary settlements ("vish", viś) and headed by atribal chief ("raja ", rājan) assisted by a priestly caste. They formed awarrior society, engaging inendemic warfare andcattle raid s ("gaviṣṭi") among themselves and against the "Dasyu" orDasa .The size of a typical tribe was probably of the order of a few thousand people. The account of the "
Dasharajna " battle (Battle of the Ten Kings ) inMandala 7 , hymn 18, mentions 6,666 casualties in a devastating defeat of a confederation of ten tribes, suggesting that a single tribe could muster a few thousand warriors on average, while the average size of a whole tribe may have been 3,000-6,000 (A late Vedic tribe, the Vesali, mentioned in the Pali texts, has 7000 "rajas", that is noblemen.) While the number of 6,666 cannot be taken literally, this order of magnitude is consistent with the typical size of tribes ofEurasian nomads .List of tribes: ("incomplete, please expand")
*Alina (RV 7.18.7) - They were probably one of the tribes defeated by Sudas at the DasarajnaA. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith (1912). "Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, I", 39.] , and it was suggested that they lived to the north-east of Nurestan, because the land was mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Hiouen Thsang.
*Anu
*Āyu
*Bhajeratha
*Bhalānas
*Bharatas
*Bhrigus
*Cedi
*Dasa (dāsa, 'slaves')
*Dasyu (Iranian: Dahyu, Latin:Dahae , Greek: Daai)
*Dṛbhīka
*Druhyus
*Gandhari
*Guṅgu
*Ikṣvāku
*Krivi
*Kīkaṭa
*Kuru
*Mahīna
*Maujavant
*Matsya
*Meenas
*Nahuṣa
*Paktha (?)
*Pañca Jana/Kṛṣṭi (etc.)
*Panis (IranianParni ?)
*Pārāvata
*Parsu (Parśu) - The Parsus have been connected with the Persians, though this view is disputed by some. [A. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith (1912). "Vedic Index of Names and Subjects".] This is based on the evidence of anAssyria n inscription from 844 BC referring to the Persians as "Parsu", and theBehistun Inscription ofDarius I of Persia referring to "Parsa" as the origin of the Persians. [Radhakumud Mookerji (1988). "Chandragupta Maurya and His Times" (p. 23). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 8120804058.]
*Pārthava
*Puru (Pūru)
*Ruśama
*Sārasvata
*Satvant
*Śigru
*Śimyu
*Śiva
*Srñjaya
*Śvitna
*Tritsu
*Turvasa (Turvaśa)
*Uśīnara
*Vaikarṇa
*Vaśa
*Vibhindu
*Viṣānin
*Vṛcīvant
*Yadu
*YakṣuReferences
ee also
*
Vedic Aryans
*Indo-Aryan migration
*Indo-Aryans
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