Rigvedic tribes Information & Rigvedic tribes Links at HealthHaven.com

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 Dasarajna^[1], and it was suggested that they lived to the north-east of Nurestan, because the land was mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.^[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.^[2]
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.^[3] 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.^[4]
Pārthava
Puru (Pūru)
Ruśama
Sārasvata
Satvant
Śigru
Śimyu
Śiva
Srñjaya
Śvitna
Tritsu
Turvasa (Turvaśa)
Uśīnara
Vaikarṇa
Vaśa
Vibhindu
Viṣānin
Vṛcīvant
Yadu
Yakṣu

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b A. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith (1912). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, I, 39.
^ History of Buddhism in Afghanistan By Sī. Esa Upāsaka, Kendrīya-Tibbatī-Ucca-Śikṣā-Saṃsthānam Published by Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1990 Original from the University of California Page 78
^ 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.

[edit] See also

[Macdonell39-0] A. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith (1912). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, I, 39.

[1] History of Buddhism in Afghanistan By Sī. Esa Upāsaka, Kendrīya-Tibbatī-Ucca-Śikṣā-Saṃsthānam Published by Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1990 Original from the University of California Page 78

[2] A. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith (1912). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects.

[3] Radhakumud Mookerji (1988). Chandragupta Maurya and His Times (p. 23). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 8120804058.

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