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The Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rigveda are described as semi-nomadic pastoralists, subdivided into temporary settlements (vish, viś) and headed by a tribal chief (raja, rājan) assisted by a priestly caste. They formed a warrior society, engaging in endemic warfare and cattle raids ("gaviṣṭi") among themselves and against the "Dasyu" or Dasa.
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) in Mandala 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 of Eurasian nomads.
List of tribes: (incomplete, please expand)
- Alina (RV 7.18.7) - They were probably one of the tribes defeated by Sudas at the Dasarajna1, and it was suggested that they lived to the north-east of Nurestan, because the land was mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Hiouen Thsang.1
- 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 (Iranian Parni?)
- Pārāvata
- Parsu (Parśu) - The Parsus have been connected with the Persians, though this view is disputed by some.2 This is based on the evidence of an Assyrian inscription from 844 BC referring to the Persians as Parsu, and the Behistun Inscription of Darius I of Persia referring to Parsa as the origin of the Persians.3
- Pārthava
- Puru (Pūru)
- Ruśama
- Sārasvata
- Satvant
- Śigru
- Śimyu
- Śiva
- Srñjaya
- Śvitna
- Tritsu
- Turvasa (Turvaśa)
- Uśīnara
- Vaikarṇa
- Vaśa
- Vibhindu
- Viṣānin
- Vṛcīvant
- Yadu
- Yakṣu
References
- ^ a b A. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith (1912). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, I, 39.
- ^ A. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith (1912). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects.
- ^ Radhakumud Mookerji (1988). Chandragupta Maurya and His Times (p. 23). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 8120804058.
See also
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