Kuru Kingdom
Kuru Kingdom | |||||||||||||||
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c. 1200 BCE – c. 500 BCE | |||||||||||||||
Capital |
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Common languages | Vedic Sanskrit | ||||||||||||||
Religion | Historical Vedic religion | ||||||||||||||
Government | Elective monarchy[1] | ||||||||||||||
Raja (King) | |||||||||||||||
• 12th–9th centuries BCE | Parikshit | ||||||||||||||
• 12th–9th centuries BCE | Janamejaya | ||||||||||||||
Legislature | Sabhā | ||||||||||||||
Historical era | Iron Age | ||||||||||||||
• Established | c. 1200 BCE | ||||||||||||||
• Kuru Kingdom got divided into Kuru and Vatsa Kingdom | c. 700 BCE | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | c. 500 BCE | ||||||||||||||
Currency | Karshapana | ||||||||||||||
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Today part of | India |
Kuru was a Vedic
The Kuru kingdom decisively changed the religious heritage of the early Vedic period, arranging their ritual hymns into collections called the Vedas, and developing new rituals that gained their position over Indian civilization, as the Srauta rituals,[4] which contributed to the so-called "classical synthesis"[6] or "Hindu synthesis".[7] It became the dominant political and cultural centre of the middle Vedic Period during the reigns of Parikshit and Janamejaya,[4] but declined in importance during the late Vedic period (c. 900 – c. 500 BCE) and had become "something of a backwater"[6] by the Mahajanapada period in the 5th century BCE. However, traditions and legends about the Kurus continued into the post-Vedic period, providing the basis for the Mahabharata epic.[4]
The main contemporary sources for understanding the Kuru kingdom are the Vedas, containing details of life during this period and allusions to historical persons and events.[4] The time frame and geographical extent of the Kuru kingdom (as determined by philological study of the Vedic literature) suggest its correspondence with the archaeological Painted Grey Ware culture.[6]
Location
The Kuru state was located in northwestern India, stretching from the Gaṅgā river and the border of the Pañcāla state in the east to the Sarasvatī and the frontier of Rohītaka in the west, and bordered the Kulindas in the north and the Sūrasenas and Matsya in the south. The area formerly occupied by the Kuru kingdom covered the presently Thanesar, Delhi, and most of the upper Gangetic Doab.[8]
The Kuru state was itself divided into the Kuru-jaṅgala ("Kuru forest"), the Kuru territory proper, and the Kuru-kṣetra ("Kuru field"):[8]
- Kuru-jaṅgala was a wild area which stretched from the Kāmyaka forest on the banks of the Sarasvatī to the Khāṇḍava forest
- proper Kuru territory consisted of the region around Hāstīnapura
- Kuru-kṣetra was located between the Dṛṣadvatīrivers
The rivers flowing within the Kuru state included the Aruṇā, Aṃśumatī, Hiraṇvatī, Āpayā, Kauśikī, Sarasvatī, and Dṛṣadvatī or Rakṣī.[8]
History
The Kuru clan was formed in the Middle
The Kurus figure prominently in Vedic literature after the time of the Rigveda. The Kurus here appear as a branch of the early Indo-Aryans, ruling the Ganga-Yamuna Doab and modern Haryana. The focus in the later Vedic period shifted out of Punjab, into the Haryana and the Doab, and thus to the Kuru clan.[12]
This trend corresponds to the increasing number and size of
The
The Kurus declined after being defeated by the non-Vedic
According to Buddhist sources, by the late and post-Vedic periods, Kuru had become a minor state ruled by a chieftain called Koravya and belonging to the Yuddhiṭṭhila (Yudhiṣṭhira)
Society and Administration
Society
The tribes that consolidated into the Kuru Kingdom or 'Kuru Pradesh' were largely semi-nomadic, pastoral tribes. However, as settlement shifted into the western Ganges Plain, settled farming of rice and barley became more important. Vedic literature of this period indicates the growth of surplus production and the emergence of specialized artisans and craftsmen. Iron was first mentioned as śyāma āyasa (श्याम आयस, literally "black metal") in the Atharvaveda, a text of this era. Another important development was the fourfold varna (class) system, which replaced the twofold system of arya and dasa from the Rigvedic times. The Brahmin priesthood and Kshatriya aristocracy, who dominated the Arya commoners (now called vaishyas) and the dasa labourers (now called shudras), were designated as separate classes.[4][25]
Administration
Kuru kings ruled with the assistance of a rudimentary administration, including
Assembly
Kuru had two types of legislative assembly:
- The Samiti was a common assembly of the Jana members, and had the power to elect or dethrone the king.
- The Sabha was a smaller assembly of wise elders, who advised the king.[1]
In epic literature
The
A historical Kuru King named
Kuru family tree in Mahabharata
This shows the line of royal and family succession, not necessarily the parentage. See the notes below for detail.
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Key to Symbols
Notes
- a: .
- b: Pandu and Dhritarashtra were fathered by Vyasa in the niyoga tradition after Vichitravirya's death. Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura were the sons of Vyasa with Ambika, Ambalika and a maid servant respectively.
- c: Karna was born to Kunti through her invocation of Surya, before her marriage to Pandu.
- d: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva were acknowledged sons of Pandu but were begotten by the invocation by Kunti and Madri of various deities. They all married Draupadi (not shown in tree).
- e: Duryodhana and his siblings were born at the same time, and they were of the same generation as their Pandava cousins.
- f : Although the succession after the Pandavas was through the descendants of Arjuna and Subhadra, it was Yudhishthira and Draupadi who occupied the throne of Hastinapura after the great battle.
The birth order of siblings is correctly shown in the family tree (from left to right), except for Vyasa and Bhishma whose birth order is not described, and Vichitravirya and Chitrangada who were born after them. The fact that Ambika and Ambalika are sisters is not shown in the family tree. The birth of Duryodhana took place after the birth of Karna, Yudhishthira and Bhima, but before the birth of the remaining Pandava brothers.
Some siblings of the characters shown here have been left out for clarity; this includes Vidura, half-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu.
See also
- Kuru related
- King Kuru
- Uttara Kuru Kingdom
- Other Mahabharta related
- Parikshit, Janamejaya
- Nishada
- Historicity of the Mahabharata
- Modern archaeology of the Vedic era
- Cemetery H culture
- Painted Grey Ware culture
- Kingdoms of Ancient India
- Present day regions
Notes
- ^ The flooding of Hastinapura and the transfer of the capital to Kaushambi is only mentioned in semi-legendary accounts dating to the post-Vedic era, e.g., Puranas and Mahabharata, whereas Vedic-era texts only mention the invasion of Kurukshetra by the Salva tribe as the cause for the decline of the Kurus.[18]
References
- ^ a b Misra 1973, p. 12.
- ^ a b c Pletcher 2010, p. 63.
- ^ a b Witzel 1995, p. 6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Witzel 1995.
- ^ B. Kölver, ed. (1997). Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien [Law, State and Administration in Classical India] (in German). München: R. Oldenbourg. pp. 27–52.
- ^ a b c d Samuel 2010.
- ^ Hiltebeitel 2002.
- ^ a b c Raychaudhuri 1953, p. 21-23.
- ^ National Council of Educational Research and Training, History Text Book, Part 1, India
- ^ Prāci-jyotī: Digest of Indological Studies. Kurukshetra University. 1 January 1967.
- ISBN 9780143414216.
- ISBN 9788120817579.
- ^ Bellah, Robert N. Religion in Human Evolution (Harvard University Press, 2011), p. 492; citing Erdosy, George. "The prelude to urbanization: ethnicity and the rise of Late Vedic chiefdoms," in The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States, ed. F. R. Allchin (Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 75-98
- ^ James Heitzman, The City in South Asia (Routledge, 2008), pp.12–13
- ^ 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.11–46
- ^ "About the District". kaushambhi.nic.in. District Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ "History of Art: Visual History of the World". www.all-art.org. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ Witzel 1990, p. [page needed].
- ^ "Political History of Uttar Pradesh". Govt of Uttar Pradesh, official website. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012.
- ^ Singh, Upinder. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. p. 264.
- ^ Raychaudhuri 1953, p. 41.
- ^ Raychaudhuri 1953, p. 133-134.
- ^ Śrīrāma Goyala (1994). The Coinage of Ancient India. Kusumanjali Prakashan.
- ^ "INDIA, Pre-Mauryan (Ganges Valley). Kurus (Kurukshetras)". CNG Coins.
- ISBN 978-81-208-0706-8
- ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9
- ^ Witzel 1995, p. 17 footnote 115.
- ^ Witzel 1990, p. 9.
Sources
- Hiltebeitel, Alf (2002), Hinduism. In: Joseph Kitagawa, "The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture", Routledge, ISBN 9781136875977
- Pletcher, Kenneth (2010), The History of India, The Rosen Publishing Group, ISBN 9781615301225
- Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1953). Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of Gupta Dynasty. University of Calcutta.
- Samuel, Geoffrey (2010), The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century, Cambridge University Press
- Witzel, Michael (1990), "On Indian Historical Writing" (PDF), Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 2: 1–57
- Witzel, Michael (1995), "Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state" (PDF), EJVS, 1 (4), archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2007
- Misra, Sudama (1973). Janapada state in ancient India. Vārāṇasī: Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
External links
- Kuru Kingdom
- Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
- The Kuru race in Sri Lanka – Web site of Kshatriya Maha Sabha
- Coins of Kuru janapada