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Kingdom of Kuru | |||||||||||||||||||
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| c. 1200 BCE – c. 345 BCE | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Capital |
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| Common languages | Vedic Sanskrit | ||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Historical Vedic religion | ||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Elective monarchy (1200 BCE - 700 BCE)[1] Confederation (700 BCE - 500 BCE) Gaṇasaṅgha (500 BCE - 345 BCE) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Raja (King) | |||||||||||||||||||
• 12th–9th centuries BCE | Parikshit | ||||||||||||||||||
• 12th–9th centuries BCE | Janamejaya | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Sabhā | ||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Iron Age | ||||||||||||||||||
• Established | c. 1200 BCE | ||||||||||||||||||
| c. 700 BCE | |||||||||||||||||||
• Kuru Gaṇasaṅgha (Republic)[3] | c. 500 BCE | ||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | c. 345 BCE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Karshapana | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | India | ||||||||||||||||||
TheKuru Kingdom was a VedicIndo-Aryan tribal union in northernIndia of theBharata andPuru tribes. The Kuru kingdom appeared in the MiddleVedic period[2][4] (c. 1200 – c. 900 BCE) during theIron age of India, encompassing parts of the modern-day states ofHaryana,Delhi, and some North parts ofWestern Uttar Pradesh. The Kuru Kingdom was the first recordedstate-level society in theIndian subcontinent.[5][6][7]
The Kuru kingdom became a dominant political and cultural force in the middle Vedic Period during the reigns ofParikshit andJanamejaya,[5] but declined in importance during the late Vedic period (c. 900 – c. 500 BCE) and had become "something of a backwater"[7] by theMahajanapada period in the 5th century BCE. However, traditions and legends about the Kurus continued into the post-Vedic period, providing the basis for theMahabharata epic.[5]
The Kuru kingdom corresponds with the archaeologicalPainted Grey Ware culture.[7] The Kuru kingdom decisively changed the religious heritage of the early Vedic period, arranging their ritual hymns into collections called theVedas, and transforming thehistorical Vedic religion intoBrahmanism, which eventually contributed to theHindu synthesis.[5][8][9]
Kuru state was located in northwestern India, stretching from theGaṅgā and the border of thePañcāla in the east to theSarasvatī and the frontier ofRohītaka in the west, and bordered theKulindas in the north and theSūrasenas andMatsya in the south. The area formerly occupied by the Kuru Kingdom covered the presentlyThanesar,Delhi, and most of the upperGangetic Doab.[10]
The Kuru state was itself divided into the Kuru-jaṅgala ("Kuru forest"), the Kuru territory proper, and the Kuru-kṣetra ("Kururegion"):[10]
The rivers flowing within the Kuru state included the Aruṇā, Aṃśumatī, Hiraṇvatī, Āpayā,Kauśikī, Sarasvatī, and Dṛṣadvatī or Rakṣī.[10]
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The main contemporary sources for understanding the Kuru kingdom are theVedas, containing details of life during this period and allusions to historical persons and events.[5]
The Kuru Kingdom was formed in the MiddleVedic period[2][4] (c. 1200 – c. 900 BCE) as a result of the alliance and merger between theBharata andPuru tribes, in the aftermath of theBattle of the Ten Kings.[5][11] With their centre of power in theKurukshetra region, the Kurus formed the first political centre of the Vedic period and were dominant roughly from 1200 to 800 BCE. The first Kuru capital was at Āsandīvat,[5] identified with modernAssandh inHaryana.[12][13] Later literature refers toIndraprastha (identified withPurana Qila in modernDelhi) andHastinapura as the main Kuru cities.[5]
The Kurus figure prominently inVedic literature after the time of theRigveda. The Kurus here appear as a branch of the early Indo-Aryans, ruling theGanga-Yamuna Doab and modern Haryana. The focus in the later Vedic period shifted out ofPunjab, into the Haryana and the Doab, and thus to the Kuru clan.[14]
The time frame and geographical extent of the Kuru kingdom (as determined byphilological study of the Vedic literature) suggest its correspondence with the archaeologicalPainted Grey Ware culture.[7] The shift out of Punjab corresponds to the increasing number and size ofPainted Grey Ware (PGW) settlements in the Haryana and Doab areas.
Although most PGW sites were small farming villages, several PGW sites emerged as relatively large settlements that can be characterised as towns; the largest of these were fortified by ditches or moats and embankments made of piled earth with wooden palisades, albeit smaller and simpler than the elaborate fortifications which emerged in large cities after 600 BCE.[15] Another PGW site has been discovered in Katha village ofBagpat district, which, according to local oral traditions, is believed to have once been the fort of a King called Raja Ror.[16]
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TheAtharvaveda (XX.127) praisesParikshit, the "King of the Kurus", as the great king of a thriving, prosperous realm. Other late Vedic texts, such as theShatapatha Brahmana, commemorate Parikshit's sonJanamejaya as a great conqueror who performed theashvamedha (horse-sacrifice).[17] These two Kuru kings played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state and the development of thesrauta rituals, and they also appear as important figures in later legends and traditions (e.g., in theMahabharata).[5]
The Kurus declined after being defeated by the non-VedicSalva (or Salvi) tribe, and the centre of Vedic culture shifted east, into thePanchala Kingdom, in modern-dayUttar Pradesh (whose kingKeśin Dālbhya was the nephew of the late Kuru king).[5] According to post-Vedic Sanskrit literature, the capital of the Kurus was later transferred toKaushambi, in the lower Doab, after Hastinapur was destroyed by floods[2] as well as because of upheavals in the Kuru family itself.[18][19][note 1]
In the post-Vedic period (by the 6th century BCE), the Kuru dynasty evolved into Kuru andVatsa Kingdom, ruling over Upper Doab/Delhi/Haryana and lower Doab, respectively. The Vatsa branch of the Kuru dynasty was further divided into branches at Kaushambi and atMathura.[21]
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 theYuddhiṭṭhila (Yudhiṣṭhira)gotta (gotra).[22][23] After the main Kuru ruling dynasty had moved to Kosambi, the Kuru country itself became divided into multiple small states, with the ones atIndapatta (Indraprastha) and one at Iṣukāra being the most prominent ones. By the time of theBuddha, these small states had been replaced by a KuruGaṇasaṅgha (republic).[3]
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The clans that consolidated into the Kuru Kingdom or 'Kuru Pradesh' were largely semi-nomadic,pastoral clans. However, as settlement shifted into the westernGanges 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 specialised artisans and craftsmen.Iron was first mentioned asśyāma āyasa (श्याम आयस, literally "dark metal")[26] in theAtharvaveda, a text of this era.
An important development was the fourfoldvarna (class) system, which replaced the twofold system ofarya anddasa from the Rigvedic times.
Archaeological surveys of theKurukshetra district have revealed a more complex (albeit not yet fully urbanised) three-tiered hierarchy for the period of the period from 1000 to 600 BCE, suggesting a complex chiefdom or emerging early state, contrasting with the two-tiered settlement pattern (with some "modest central places", suggesting the existence of simplechiefdoms) in the rest of the Ganges Valley.[27]
In the fourfold varna-system theBrahmin priesthood andKshatriya aristocracy, who dominated theArya commoners (now calledvaishyas) and thedasa labourers (now calledshudras), were designated as separate classes.[5][28]
The Kuru kingdom decisively changed the religious heritage of the early Vedic period, arranging their ritual hymns into collections called theVedas, and developing new rituals, that gained their position in Indian culture as theSrauta rituals.[5]
The Kuru kingdom transformed the Vedic religion into Brahmanism, which eventually spread over the subcontinent,synthesising with local traditions, and together formingHinduism.[7][9]
Kuru kings ruled with the assistance of a rudimentary administration, includingpurohita (priest), village headman, army chief, food distributor, emissary, herald and spies. They extracted mandatory tribute (bali) from their population of commoners as well as from weaker neighbouring tribes. They led frequent raids and conquests against their neighbours, especially to the east and south. To aid in governing, the kings and their Brahmin priests arranged Vedic hymns into collections and developed a new set of rituals (the now orthodoxSrauta rituals) to uphold social order and strengthen the class hierarchy. High-ranking nobles could perform very elaborate sacrifices, and manypujas (rituals) primarily exalted the status of the king over his people. Theashvamedha or horse sacrifice was a way for a powerful king to assert his domination inĀryāvarta.[5]
Kuru had two types of legislative assembly:
Theepic poem, theMahabharata, tells of a conflict between two branches of the reigning Kuru clan possibly around 1000 BCE. However, archaeology has not furnished conclusive proof as to whether the specific events described have any historical basis. The existing text of theMahabharata went through many layers of development and mostly belongs to the period between c. 400 BCE and 400 CE.[29] Within theframe story of theMahabharata, the historical kingsParikshit andJanamejaya are featured significantly as scions of the Kuru clan.[5]
A historical Kuru King named Dhritarashtra Vaichitravirya is mentioned in theKathaka Samhita of theYajurveda (c. 1200–900 BCE) as a descendant of theRigvedic-era kingSudas. His cattle were reportedly destroyed as a result of conflict with thevratya ascetics; however, this Vedic mention does not provide corroboration for the accuracy of the Mahabharata's account of his reign.[30][31]
This shows the line of royal and family succession, not necessarily the parentage. See the notes below for detail.
Key to Symbols
Notes
The birth order of siblings is correctly shown in the family tree (from left to right), except forVyasa andBhishma whose birth order is not described, and Vichitravirya and Chitrangada who were born after them. The fact thatAmbika andAmbalika are sisters is not shown in the family tree. The birth of Duryodhana took place after the birth of Karna and Yudhishthira, but before the birth of the remaining Pandava brothers.
Some siblings of the characters shown here have been left out for clarity; this includesVidura, half-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu.
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