Literary and Archaeological Evidence on the Aryan Expansion in India

Literary and Archaeological Evidence on the Aryan Expansion in India [bharatavarse sraryanam vistaravisaye sahityikam puratattvasambandhi ca saksyam ] By Dr. A.D. Pusalker; Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona / 307-332

[asmin nibandhe sahityika saksyasya puratatvavidyayah saksyasya ca pramanyavisaye pracalitanam vibhinnamatanam nirdesam krtva sahityika- saksyadvara bharatadese sraryanam vistarakramasya vivecanam krtam, tasya ca puratattva vidya sambandhisaksyena samarthanam ca krtam | sahityika saksyasya pramanyavisaye samskrtajna vidvamsah puratatvavidyavisesajnasca naikamatah | hvilara- pigata- gordanaprabhrtayah puratattvajnah sahityika saksyasya pramanyam na svikurvanti | kintu majumadara srinivasacaryamprabhrtividvamsa ubhayoreva saksyayormahattam svikurvanti | asmin lekhe da0 pusalakara mahodayaih vaidika- pauranika saksyadharena aryanam vistarakramah vicaritah | lekhakamatanu- sarena jalapralayanantaram rajavamsavalih 3100 i0 pu0 varse prarabhata, mahabharatayuddham ca 1400 i0 pu0 varse'bhut | kintu altekaramahodayasya matanusarena ubhe'pi ghatane kramasah 2000 i0 pu0 varse tatha 1000 i0 pu0 varse babhuvatuh | atra lekhe lekhaka mahodayena altekaramahodayasyaiva matam svikrtam | rgvedasya saksyadharena lekhaka mahodayena pradarsitam yat rgveda- kalina arya aphaganistana panjaba sindha- rajaputana pascimottariya- pradesa- kasmiradesesu pratisthita asan | purvasyam disi sarayunadiparyamntam tesamadhipatyam babhuva | asmin visaye rgvedanirdistanam nadiparvatapradesanam nirdesa api krtah | tatratyanam vibhinnajatinamapi nirdesah krtah | rgvedat pascadvartini vaidikayuge aryajanapadanam nirdesena pratipaditam yadasmin yuge sampurnam uttarabharatadesah daksinapathe narmadayah pare ca keciddesa aryapradesa asan | vaidika saksyanantaram pauranika saksyadharenaryanam vistarah prada- sitah | atra krtatretadvaparanusarena vibhagatrayam krtva vistarah pradarsitah | krtayuge catvarimsatpaurusa rajavamsah, tretayam pancavimsatipaurusah, dvapare * Extension Lecture delivered at Baroda on the 3rd March 1964 under the auspices of the M. S. University of Baroda. "Abbreviations" have been explained at the end of the article,

308 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 trisatpaurusa iti nirdistam | krtayuge rajnam samrajyavistaram pradarsyatra nirdistam yat krtayugasyavasane srarya akhilamuttaradesamavrtya daksinapathe gujarata kathiyavadabararaprabhrtin desanapi vyapnuvantah | anga-vanga- bihara desesvapi tesamadhipatyam sampannam | tretayuge'pi rajnamadhikarabhumi pradarsya nirdistam yat tretaya ante asama-udisa - kiskindhaprabhrtisu pradesesu aryah pratisthitah, lanka'pi ca tesamadhipatye agata | mahabharata- yuddhakale dvaparante sampurna bharatavarsam aryairadhyasitamabhavat, uttarasima- pradese bharatad bahirapi tesam prabhutvamabhut | idam pratiyate yad daksinapatho na tatha aryairvijitah yatha uttarapathah | bharatayuddhe sammilitanam cola- keralapandyanam nirdesah puranesu mahabharate ca pascat praksiptah | lekhaka mahodayenatra svikrtam yat vedapura gayoh saksyayoh bhede sati vedasaksyameva pramanam, yatah puranesu bahvinam ghatananam tada samavesah krto yada yatharthamghatanakramasya jnanam luptamabhut | marsala hvilarayomamtanu- sarena indrah sindhunadyah samipe sthitanam nagaranam dhvamsamakarot | tayormatanusarena vrttamidam harappa samskrteraryedhvamsanasya pratikam| kinvatra lekhakenasya matasya sayukti nirasah krtah | lekhakah harappa sabhyatayah sampadakanam jananam vaidikaih panibhih saha tadatmyam svikaroti | sa svamatasya puratattvavidyayah pramanenapi pusti karoti | tenedam sambhavitam yad bhavi vyapakamutkhananamaryanam nivasavistarakramam ito'pyadhikam spastikarisyati | ] 1. There is a serious difference of opinion among competent scholars-Sanskritists, historians and archaeologists-as to the comparative, or even intrinsic, value of the archaeological and literary sources. Archaeologists like Wheeler, Piggott and Gordon treat the literary evidence with distrust. Woolley attaches little importance to literary evidence when not supported by archaeological data, while Wheeler considers the search for literary evidence in support of archaeological data as a great risk. According to Piggott the literary and philological evidence is a dangerous ground full of quick sands and pitfalls which have too often trapped the unwary and not infrequently the would-be 1. cf. Majumdar, ABORI, XL, p. 3. 2. AI, 3, p. 81-2.- 3. Prehistoric India, p. 241,

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 309 wary too. While frankly confessing that "almost all interpretation of the archaeological materials of the early times is in fact speculative", Gordon condemns literary evidence by stating that the major portion of the Mahabharata and the Puranas "provides little except fuel for the blaze of controversy".5 Kosambi goes to the length of stating that archaeology alone can supply any reliable data for the study of ancient culture"." As against this encomium of archaeology may be considered the view of Srinivasachari, who observes: "Archaeological material can at best furnish only what may constitute the dry bones of history, only such a sequence of occurrence and priority and posteriority in point of time and the general condition of the civilization of the people whose handiwork is subjected to examination"." Another eminent historian, R. C. Majumdar, says: "The archaeologist is too much obsessed with outward manifestations, as a purely literary man is likely to be too much occupied with the inner conception of man. A true historian must take cognizance of both and collect his data after a proper and critical analysis, from archaeological as well as literary evidence; he can ignore either only at his peril". Majumdar points out the limitations of archaeological evidence and criticises both the extreme views taking either archaeological evidence or literary evidence as the only evidence to the exclusion of the other. The right approach is "to supply the necessary corrective to both these extreme views and draw up the picture of ancient India after a proper valuation of all available evidence". The exclusion of literary evidence would mean the restriction of culture only to the external manifestation of man's activities, ignoring the mental and moral make-up. II Having thus made a case for the consideration of the literary evidence, let us turn to the Vedic texts and the Puranas, which 4. PBIC, Intr., p. 2. 5. op. cit., p. 153. 6. ABORI, XXIX, p. 274. 7. ABORI, XXXI, p. 56. 8. ABORI, XL, p. 8. 9. op. cit., p. 8, 7 7

310 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 constitute the literary evidence in the present context. The Rgveda has generally been assigned to a period before 1000 B. C. at any rate, and its text has been very accurately handed down through the centuries by oral transmission. Other Vedic texts also are comparatively free from textual corruption. The reliability of the Vedic texts as literary evidence, therefore, goes generally unchallenged. The Puranas, however, stand on a different footing. Ever since they became known to the West during the last century, the Puranas have passed through several vicissitudes. It is good sign that an eminent archaeologist like Sankalia assigns the Puranas, along with the Vedic texts, to the protohistoric period,10 thus confirming the view of Altekar," the present writer and a few others, though in a recent publication, a wellknown British historian condemns the Puranas as purely imaginary in unambiguous terms.12 The information collected by me from the Puranas has appeared as "Traditional History" in a standard work of the History and Culture of the Indian People.13 Though committed to writing at a comparatively late period, the Puranas, as preserving royal genealogies and hero-ballads go back to the period of the Atharvaveda. The Puranic accounts are comparable to those of Menetho about Egypt and Berossos (recently attempted to be identified with Vyasa) 15 about Mesopotamia. Sumerian accounts, which were ignored for a long time, came into their own after being confirmed by the spade of the archaeologist despite some inaccuracies. The Puranas doubtless contain several inaccuracies. But the Sutas, entrusted with the preservation of the Puranic tradition, were not only not deliberate fabricators, but careful students of history as would appear from their definite statements regarding the identity of certain individuals bearing 14 10. Munshi Indological Felicitation Volume, p. 232. 11. PIHC, XXII, p. 23. 12. Historians of India, Pakistan and Ceylon, p. 291. 13. HCIP, I (Vedic Age), Chs. XIV-XV. 14. cf. Atharvaveda, XV. 6. 11 : tamitihasasca puranam ca gathasca narasamsisca- nuvyacalan | also XI. 7. 24 : rcah samani chandamsi puranam yajusa saha | 15. Buddha Prakash, JBRS, XXXVII, pts 3-4, pp. 31-42; contra, Hazra, Purana, II, pp. 17-22.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 311 the same names, in order to avoid confusion. 16 In the context of the archaeological discoveries of the chalcholithic cultures, the Puranic accounts need careful study and correlation instead of wholesale condemnation. It is further to be borne in mind that in order to extract meaning from some passages one has to penetrate through the allegories, exaggerations, symbolisms, etc. 17 With regard to the comparative value of the Vedic texts and the Puranas divergent views are held by different scholars. Keith is unduly sceptical about the historical value of the Puranas and doubts the authenticity of any Puranic event not explicitly mentioned in the Rgveda. Pargiter heads the other side preferring the Puranas to the Vedic evidence. Some differences in the accounts as preserved by the Vedic texts and the Puranas are inevitable in view of their being produced under different circumstances and with different aims and objects. But there is practically no contradiction or conflict in them. The extant Rgveda being a Kuru-Pancala product, kings of that region figure prominently therein. Vedic kings, not found in the Puranas, possibly belonged to minor dynasties not preserved in the dynastic lists of the Puranas, or the same person might have been known under different names in the Vedic and Puranic texts. When the Puranic accounts are corroborated by the Vedic evidence, it is legitimate to take the former as valid in matters on which the Rgveda is silent. The Puranic evidenc is to be very carefully evaluated in all cases. 16. cf. Vayu, 83. 174-75; Brahmanda, II. 63. 174; Linga, 66. 24-25 : nalau dvaviti vikhyatau puranesu drdhavratau | virasenatmajascaiva yasceksvakukulodvahah || Vayu, 99. 2; Matsya, 48. 2; Brahma, 13. 143; Brahmanda, II. 74. 2: karandhamastu traisanomaruttastasya catmajah | errazzaifaferat zigi Asa: fua: gz 1 || Brahma, 13. 112-3; Harivamsa, I. 32. 4-5: dvavrksau somavamse'smindvaveva ca pariksitau | bhimasenastrayo vipra dvau capi janamejayau || 17. cf. Pusalker, Purana, III, pp. 8-21; Gupta, Purana, VI, pp. 53-78.

312 puranam - PURANA III [Vol. VI., No. 2 TO This is not the occasion to discuss the number of generations in the Puranic genealogies, their reliability, and the scheme of chronology adopted here regarding the Rgveda and the Puranic accounts. Suffice it to state here that though I hold the postFlood dynasties to have started in c. 3102 B.C., 18 the Rgveda to be contemporaneous with the personages figuring in it, and the Bharata war to have taken place in c. 1400 B.C.,19 for this paper, in order to avoid conflict with archaological data (about C-14 dates, it may be noted, some scholars still entertain doubts), 20 I have accepted Altekar's chronology which places these events respectively in 2000 B.C." and 1000 B.C. I have also indirectly accepted his scheme of allotting 15 years per generation. 23 With these rather lengthy but inevitable prefatory remarks, I start with the Rgvedic data on the Aryan expansion. IV In connection with the data from the Rgveda it is to be noted that it is unsafe and hazardous to draw any inference, positive or negative, from the silence of the Rgveda because, in the first place, the Rgveda does not profess to be a geographical manual, and secondly, it has not come down to us in all its recensions. The non-mention, as is well-known, must be of such importance as to be inexplicable except on the hypothesis of want of knowledge if any conclusions are to be deduced from it. In order to ascertain the extent of the Aryan occupation during the period of the Rgveda, we have to consider the geographical data in the hymns, especially references to mountains, rivers, countries, tribes and kingdoms. Though the courses of 18. VA, pp. 269 f. 19. op. cit., p. 269. 20. Gordon, PBIC,p. 30 n 19; Kosambi, Introduction to the Study of Indian History, p. 47 n 3. 21. PIHC, XXII, p. 26. 22. op. cit., pp. 26 ff. 23. op. cit., p. 26.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 313 rivers, especially in the Panjab, have considerably changed during the last three or four millennia, and the kingdoms and tribes were subject to constant modifications both regarding their boundaries and nomenclature, we can get a fairly accurate idea of the location of quite a large number of them. Mountains, however, constitute the terra firma, and the Rgveda refers directly to the Himalaya by mentioning one of its peaks as the source of the Soma. In keeping with the holiness attached to rivers through the ages, the Rgveda glorifies them as deities. The celebrated Nadistuti enumerates several streams, most of which belong to the Sindhu system. Of the five streams, viz. the Sutudri, Vipas, Parusni, Asikni and Vitasta, which are responsible for the name of the Panjab and flow into the Sindhu after uniting, the Sutudri (modern Sutlej) is the most easterly, while Vipas (modern Beas) appears to have been of small importance as it occurs but twice in the Rgveda and is omitted in the Nadistuti. The Parusni (modern Ravi) played a decisive role in the famous Dasarajna by drowning the enemies of Sudas. The Asikni (modern Chenab) was later known as Candrabhaga. The most westerly was the Vitasta (modern Jhelum). The Marudvrdha, inserted by the Nadistuti between the Asikni and Vitasta, and placed by some in the Panjab, appears to be identical with the Maruwardwan in Kashmir which joins the Chenab, as shown by Stein.24 Among the western tributaries of the Sindhu, are mentioned the Rasa, identified with Jaxartes in the extreme northwest of the Vedic territory; the Kubha (modern Kabul) which receives the joint flow of the Suvastu (modern Swat) and Gauri; Krumu (modern Kurram); and Gomati or the Gomal. Several lesser streams, which have not been properly identified, are not mentioned here. The Sarasvati, Drsadvati, Yamuna, Ganga and Sarayu are the rivers outside the Sindhu basin. The Sarasvati, occurring very frequently, is the river par excellence (naditama), a very important river and the holy stream in the Vedic age. Though 24. JRAS, 1917, pp. 93-6.

314 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VI.. No. 2 Roth, Zimmer, Griffith and Ludwig hold that in many Rgvedic 25 passages the Sindhu is meant by the Sarasvati, it is generally identified with the modern Sarsuti which is lost in the desert at Bhatnair.2 The Drsadvati is identified variously with the Ghaggar and the Chittang." The Yamuna has been mentioned thrice, and the Ganga does not appear to be an important river in the period of the Rgveda. The Gomati of the Rgveda was the Gomal in the northwest, 28 while its namesake in the later Vedic texts is to be identified with the Gomati, a tributary of the Ganga.29 The Sarayu, the scene of one of the battles in the Dasarajna, appears to be the modern Sarju, as suggested by Zimmer and others, 30 its location in the northwest being unconvincing.31 V The extent of the region, above referred to, appears to be Afghanistan, the Panjab, parts of Sindh and Rajputana, NorthWest Frontier, Kashmir, and Eastern India up to the Sarayu. This whole territory was occupied by several people and tribes. Bharatas, the most important of the Rgvedic tribes, were settled in the region between the Sarasvati and Yamuna, i.e. the Madhyadesa. The Trtsus, identified with the Bharatas or said to be the priests of the royal family of the Bharatas, occupied the territory to the east of the Parusni. The Srnjayas were the close associates of the Trtsus and lived in their neighbourhood, in Pancala. Purus, mentioned along with the Anus, Druhyus, Turvasas and Yadus, were the enemies of the Trtsus and Bharatas 32 25. Roth, St. Petersberg Dict., s. v; Zimmer, AL, pp. 5-10; Griffith, Hymns of the Rgveda, I, p. 60; II, p. 90; &c; Ludwig, Trans. of the Rgveda, III, pp. 201, 2. 26. Ved. Ind., II, p. 435 n 16; CHI, I, p. 80. 27. Macdonell, HSL, p. 142; Keith, CHI, I. p. 80. 28. Zimmer, AL, p. 14; Ludwig, Trans. of Rgveda, III, p. 200. 29. De, GD, p. 70. 30. AL, p. 17; Law, Rivers of India, p. 22. 31. cf. V A, p. 242; Bhargava, IVA, p. 70. 32. Ludwig, op. cit., III, pp. 172 ff; Oldenberg, ZDMG, 42, p. 207; Geldner, Ved. Stud., II, pp. 136 ff.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 315 and lived on either side of the Sarasvati. These five, according to some,³ 33 constitute the five people (pancajana) of the Rgveda. The Purus were worsted in the Dasarajna and coalesced with the Trtsu-Bharatas in the later Vedic age to form the Kurus. The Druhyus, Turvasas and Anus lived between the Asikni and Parusni, and the Yadus in the southern Panjab and further south. The Turvasas disappear in the later Vedic age, possibly because of their merger in the Pancalas. The Krivis, also associated with the Purus, lived on the Sindhu and Asikni. The Matsyas probably occupied the region comprising modern Alwar, Bharatpur and Jaipur. The Pakthas, Bhalanas, Visanins, Alinas and Sivas were the five frontier tribes. The Pakthas, identified with modern Pathans, occupied eastern Afghanistan. The Bhalanas came from east Kabulistan, while the Visanins were between the Krumu and the Gomati. Alinas have been located in the northwest of Kafiristan, and the Sivas between the Sindhu and the Vitasta. The Gandharas lived to the extreme northwest. The Cedis probably dwelt between the Yamuna and the Vindhya while the Usinaras and Vasas occupied the middle country. The Kikatas are located in the country later known as Magadha. The Panis, the merchants par excellence, have been variously identified with an aboriginal non-Aryan people, with Babylonians, Parnians, the Dahaes and other Iranian tribes, and with non-Aryan caravan traders.34 Altekar has made a strong case for their identification with the Harappans, 35 and I am inclined to accept the identification. The Dasas were the enemies of the Vedic people, and several Dasa kings are mentioned including Ilibisa, Sambara, Varcin, etc. The Dasa tribes included the Kiratas, Parnakas and Simyus, who mostly inhabited the Ganga valley. 33. cf. Zimmer, AL, pp. 119-23; Macdonell, HSL, p. 153. 34. cf. Zimmer, AL, p. 257; Ludwig, op. cit., III, pp. 213-5; VA, p. 249, 35. PIHC, XXII, pp. 20-2.

316 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 Thus the Aryan settlements during the age of the Rgveda were practically co-terminous with the extent of the geographical knowledge of the period. VI Before dealing with the Aryan expansion in the postRgvedic period, let us deal with Samudra (the sea). Divergent views are held as to whether the Rgvedic people knew the ocean and marine navigation. While Max Muller, Lassen, Zimmer and Macdonell held that the ocean was known, 36 Keith and others assert that there is no clear indication of it in the Rgvedic period.37 References to the western and eastern oceans, 38 the treasures of the ocean, 39 marine navigation 40 and high tides conclusively prove that the Rgvedic people knew the ocean, and maintained trade relations with the outside world. In the later Vedic literature, however, the word Samudra invariably means the sea, and there are indications that the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean were known. VII Some of the peaks of the Himalayas are referred to in the later Vedic texts, and a definite allusion to the Vindhya may be read in "the southern mountain"." The disappearance of the Sarasvati is an important landmark in this period. The Sadanira, mentioned as the boundary between the Kosalas and Videhas, has been variously identified with the Gandak and the Rapti, the Vedic Index lending its support to the former. 48 In contrast to the Rgveda, later Vedic texts refer to several place-names. 36. SBE, XXXII, pp. 61 ff; Ind. Alt., I, p. 883; AL, pp. 22 ff; Ved. Ind., II, p. 432. 37. CHI, I, pp. 78-9; Wilson, Rgveda, I, p. xli. 38. RV, X, 136. 5-6. 39. RV, I. 47. 6; VII. 6. 7; IX. 97. 44. 40. RV, 1. 116.3; 117.14; VI. 62.6; VII. 68.7; 69.7; X. 143.5. 41. RV, I. 48. 3. 42. Kausitaki Upanisad, II. 13. 43. De, GD, p. 171; Law, HGAI, p. 32; Pargiter, Markandeya P., p. 294; Ved. Ind., II, p. 422,

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 317 Asandivat, the capital of Janamejaya Pariksita, was probably identical with Nagasahvaya (Hastinapura). Kampila is modern Kampil, while Kausambi is Kosam. Naimisa forest has been identified with Nimsar.44 Aryavarta (or Brahmavarta), Madhyadesa and Daksinapatha were the three broad divisions. The Aitareya Brahmana 15 gives a fivefold division, viz. Dhruva madhyama pratistha dis, i.e. Madhyadesa or middle country; Praci dis, or the eastern quarter; Daksina dis, or the southern quarter; Pratici dis, or the western quarter; and Udici dis, or the northern quarter, along with the enumeration of the residents therein. In the later Vedic age, several old tribes disappeared, merged with others, paled into insignificance, or were known under different names, while many new tribes sprang up. The five tribes lost prominence; the Srnjayas disappeared; the Purus and Bharatas amalgamated with the Kurus who, along with Pancalas, became dominant. The Kuru-Pancalas, Vasas and Usinaras occupied the Madhyadesa. The Kuru kingdom comprised the modern Thanesar, Delhi and the upper Ganga doab, while the territory of the Pancalas embraced the Bareilly, Badaun, Farrukhabad and the adjoining districts of the Uttar Pradesh. The Vasas occupied the region round their capital Kausambi, which was later known as the Vatsa. The Sibis were probably in the northwest while the Salvas were located in the region comprising the old Alwar state. Kosala, corresponding roughly to the old Oudh, and Videha, modern Tirhut, are first referred to in the Satapatha Brahmana. The Vedic literature does not refer to the later division of Kosala into northern and southern. Kasi came into prominence in the later Vedic age, though it cannot be said to be unknown to early Vedic literature. Magadha constituted the easternmost region roughly corresponding to southern Bihar. The Angas and Vangas are new tribes. Pargiter regards the Angas and Magadhas as non- 44. Raychaudhury, PHAI, p. 151 n 2; De, GD, p. 135; Law, HGAI, pp. 41, 113, 45. VIII. 14. 8

318 puranam -- PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 Aryans coming from beyond the seas, 46 while Oldenberg takes them as the earliest Aryan immigrants." The Vangas were residents of modern Bengal. The Satvants, Vidarbhas, Nisadhas and Kuntis were the new tribes that are to be associated with the south. The Satvants were the subjects of the Bhojas and were settled in the south beyond the river Carmanvati (modern Chambal). Vidarbha corresponds to old Berar, its capital Kundina being identified with modern Kaundinyapura on the Wardha. 48 The Nisadhas were probably contiguous to the region of the Vidarbhas. The Uttarakurus and Uttaramadras were located beyond the Himalayas, while the Madras or southern Madras in Sialkot and its adjoining districts. With the Panjab and Sindh were associated the Nicyas, Bahikas and Ambasthas. The Aitareya Brahmana indicates that Gandhara was the famous resort of scholars for the Vedas and Vidyas. The Kambojas were Vedic Aryans, and various locations have been suggested for Kamboja, the latest identification being with Badakhshan and the Pamirs, proposed by Jaya Chandra and supported by Moti Chandra.49 Among the semi-Aryan, non-Aryan and barbarous tribes may be included the Andhras, Pundras, Sabaras and Pulindas, who are stated to be Dasyus living on the borders of the Aryan settlements. The Andhras, according to Smith, were originally in eastern India between the Krishna and the Godavari.0 The Pundras were situated in north Bengal, and their name still. survives in the Puros, an aboriginal caste in Bengal. The Sabaras were the hill tribes who probably survive in the Savaralu or 46. JRAS, 1908, p. 852. 47. This view gets confirmation by the Puranic statements that the Iksvakus and Videhas, of the Aryan stock, inhabited the region since the time of the Rgueda. 48. PHAI, p. 87. 49. JUPHS, XVI, pp. 43-6. For the other identifications of Kamboja, cf. the above article by Moti Chandra; Law, Tribes in Ancient India, pp. 2-3; HGAI, pp. 88-9; & c. A controversy is going on at the moment between Sircar and Agrawala in the pages of the Purana. 50. ZDMG, 56, pp. 657 ff.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA Sauras of the Vizagapatam hills, and the savages in Orissa hills. 51 banks of the Musi in Hyderabad." the Vindhya and the Satpura hills. 319 the Savaris in old Gwalior state The Mutibas were residents on The Nisadas probably occupied The territory under the occupation of the Aryas and under their influence during the later Vedic period thus comprised practically the whole of north India and some territories beyond the Narmada to the south. VIII Now let us see what the Puranas say about the Aryan expansion in India. According to traditional history, as recorded in the Puranas, kings Sagara, Rama and Krsna flourished respectively at the end of the Krta, Treta and Dvapara ages, which preceded the Kali age, and it would be convenient to consider the Aryan expansion in the Puranas under these three ages (yugas). In view of the position of these kings in the genealogies, which I have exhaustively dealt with in the "Vedic Age", it is seen that the Krta age covered approximately 40 generations, Treta 25, and Dvapara 30. These relate to the pre-Bharata war epoch, and the Kali age to the post-Bharata war period.58 Traditional history opens with Manu Vaivasvata, the first king of India, dividing the earth, comprising practically the whole of north India extending up to Orissa, among his ten sons. The easternmost part, covering Orissa and south Behar, came under the Saudyumnas, and Nabhanedistha ruled over north Behar and the territory later known as Vaisali. Some accounts, which state that Nabhanedistha was left out of partition and got cows from Angiras for having acted as a priest, suggest the partition of the Vedic Aryans into two sections and also indicate the migration of a section of the Vedic Aryans who took with them the worship of fire (Angiras).54 The Ayodhya kingdom, the Videha (or Mithila) 51. Raychaudhuri, PHAI, pp. 93-4; Dutt, Aryanisation of India, p. 69. 52. Raychaudhuri, PHAI, p. 94. 53. cf. VA, p. 311. 54. cf. Viswanatha, Racial Synthesis in Indian Culture, p. 17.

320 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 kingdom and the Dandaka forest were allotted to Iksvaku, the eldest son of Manu, and later fell to the respective shares of Vikuksi, Nimi and Danda, sons of Iksvaku. Karusa occupied the country round Rewa. Nabhaga settled in the midlands on the Yamuna in between the Ganga and the Aravalli in one direction and the Sarasvati and the Vindhya on the other. Dhrsta occupied the Panjab. Narisyanta settled in the trans-Sindhu regions and, according to the Puranic accounts, his descendants, the Sakas, spread out of India in the west. Saryati established a kingdom on the Narmada in Gujarat and Kathiawad. Pramsu was settled in Rajputana and Malwa. The youngest Prsadhra was excluded from partition on account of some heinous crime. Contemporaneous with Iksvaku was the lunar king Pururavas, connected with Manu through his daughter Ila. Pururavas occupied the Madhyadesa in the Ganga doab with Pratisthana as his capital. Thus, according to tradition, royal power first developed in the plains of the Ganga in the towns of Ayodhya, Mithila, Pratisthana and Gaya, with the outlying branches at Kusasthali and on the Narmada and Tapi. That the kingdoms established by Karusa, Nabhaga, Dhrsta, Narisyanta, Pramsu and Prsadhra appear to be shortlived in traditional history seems to be due to their displacement by Pururavas, Nahusa and Yayati of the Lunar dynasty, who absorbed them in the Paurava realm as will be indicated presently. Bhargava seems to be partially right in stating the number of Manu's sons to be four and in confining the original extent of the region occupied by the immediate successors of Manu to the restricted area, but the actual extent seems to be larger than what he takes it to be.55 Though the Solar dynasty originally occupied the greatest part of India, they lost to the Ailas, rising again for a time under Mandhatr and Sagara. The Ailas, under Pururavas, dominated the scene and extended their sway into the Ganga doab (Kanyakubja), Malwa and eastern Rajputana. Nahusa and Yayati accounted for the neighbouring kindoms under the Solar dynasty, 55. IVA, Chs. IV and V.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 321 and their realm boasted of such vast territories that Ksatravrddha, the former's brother, established at Kasi in the east, and Yayati's five sons founded fresh dynasties in the regions received by them. Puru, the youngest, continued the main line in Madhyadesa, the southern half of the Ganga-Yamuna doab, with its capital at Pratisthana. Yadu received territories to the southwest covering the country watered by the Carmanvati (Chambal), Vetravati (Betva) and Suktimati (Ken). Turvasu got the southeastern region (round Rewa), and Druhyu the territory west of the Yamuna and north of the Chambal. The northern portion of the GangaYamuna doab was assigned to Anu. The Yadavas (descendants of Yadu) soon eclipsed the other branches of the lunar dynasty, and branched into the Yadavas and Haihayas. They destroyed the Punyajana Raksasas in the southwest, who had overthrown the Saryatas from Gujarat and Kathiawad. The Yadavas then drove the Druhyus across the Aravallis into the Marwad deserts from where the latter migrated to Qandahar through Sindh.56 Later, turning to the east, the Yadavas overthrew the Turvasas and probably defeated the Pauravas. They further drove the Anavas in the mid-Ganga doab leading to their bifurcation northwards into the Panjab and eastwards into Bengal. The former established themselves in the Panjab under Usinara after displacing the Dharstakas, and the latter under Titiksu settled in Bengal after overthrowing the Saudyumnas. These Yadava conquests were accomplished under Citraratha and Sasabindu. The Yadava power, however, decayed after Sasabindu, and the scene of activity was transferred to the north in Ayodhya under Samrat Mandhatr of the solar dynasty who had married Gauri, the daughter of Sasabindu. After subjugating the Kanyakubja and Paurava kingdoms, Mandhatr fought against the Anavas and Druhyus in the northwest, and then carried his conquering hordes through the Vindhya to the Narmada. His son Purukutsa continued the victorious campaigns of his father and subdued the Narmada region. Both Mandhatr and Purukutsa, however, spared the 56. cf. AIHT, pp. 262, 264.

322 puranam - PURANA The [Vol. VI., No. 2 Yadavas, their relatives through matrimonial alliance. Ayodhya power declined after Purukutsa, and the Yadavas, this time their Haihaya branch, entered the arena again in their contest for supremacy. Reoccupying Malwa and fortifying Mahismati under Mahisyanta,the Haihaya's took possession of the Paurava realm and invaded the Banaras kingdom. They reached their zenith under Arjuna who ruled practically over the whole of the north, even up to the Himalayas. Bahu, the Iksvaku king of Ayodhya, had to seek refuge with Aurva, a Bhargava sage. The Bhrgus left the Haihayas and set up in Kanyakubja where they strengthened their position by contracting matrimonial alliances with the ruling families. Parasurama, the great Bhargava hero, organised a confederacy of Vaisali, Videha, Kasi and Ayodhya against the Haihayas. Arjuna's successor Vitahavya, after whom the dynastic list of the Haihayas practically came to an end, was completely routed, had to seek shelter with a Bhargava rsi and to become himself a Brahmana. Sagara was posthumously born to Bahu in the hermitage of Aurva. He was a great conqueror, and absorbed not only the Pauravas and Kanyakubjas but also the foreign Sakas, Yavanas, Paradas, Kambojas, etc., who had occupied Ayodhya during the period of turmoil following the exile of Bahu. As the result of Sagara's campaigns, the Yadavas retired into the Deccan and founded the kingdom in Berar. Kasi, Vaisali, Videha and the eastern Anavas in Bengal survived the onslaughts of Sagara. Thus, by the end of the Krta age, the Aryans had penetrated the whole of north India including Sindh and Qandahar in the west and Behar and west Bengal in the east. In the south the Aryans colonised Gujrat, Kathiawad and Berar, and their southern limits had extended beyond the Vindhya and Narmada down to the Tapi and the Satpuras. Traditional history indicates that the Aryans first conquered Mahismati, then Vidarbha and Mekala, and then pressed towards Anga, Vanga and Kalinga. It was after colonising these parts that the Aryans further conquered Asmaka and Mulaka in the south.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA IX 323 The end of Sagara's reign heralded the beginning of a new order in India. New kingdoms sprang up in place of those destroyed by Sagara. The Yadavas, Haihayas and Iksvakus destroyed the Paurava kingdom, and the royal family sought refuge with the Turvasus. On the weakening of the Iksvakus after Sagara's death, Paurava Dusyanta, who was adopted by Turvasu Marutta, not only recovered his ancestral kingdom but augmented it. His son Bharata, after whom the Pauravas came to be called Bharatas, was a great conqueror and carried the frontiers of his kingdom up to the banks of the Sarasvati. Bharata probably shifted his capital from Pratisthana to the city later called Hastinapura after his successor Hastin. Shortly thereafter, the Bharatas expanded into Dvimidhas (Kumaun Division of the U. P.), the main Hastinapura line (Meerut, Ambala and Delhi), the north Pancala (Rohilkhand) and south Pancala (Agra and Kanpur) displacing the Kanyakubja kingdom. Among the Bharatas, the north Pancala alone rose into prominence under its powerful kings, among whom Divodasa was the contemporary of king Dasaratha of Ayodhya. The Yadavas started expanding northwards from Vidarbha, and soon conquered the Cedi territories, gradually extending them up to the Mathura region. The "Anava branch in the east" founded by Titiksu in Anga expanded considerably and comprised the five states of Anga (Bhagalpur), Vanga (Bengal), Kalinga (Orissa), Pundra (Rajshahi) and Suhma (Chota Nagpur). Sibi Ausinara and his sons pushed the Druhyus into the northwest corner of the Panjab. In course of time, the Druhyus outgrew in number and founded many principalities in the Mleccha countries beyond the frontiers of India. This outward migration from India in about 2000 B.C., at a very modest estimate based on the chronology proposed by Altekar, explains the mention of the Aryan gods in the Boghazkeui treaty assigned to 1400 B.C. Rama of Ayodhya played a very important part in the expansion of the Aryan culture in the 57. cf. AIHT, pp. 108, 264, 293.

324 PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 south. Agastya, the pioneer among the rsis to establish a hermitage in the trans-Vindhyan region, preceded Rama by some generations, and paved the way of later adventurers. The Aryan occupation during this periods thus extended further east and south embracing, in addition to the territories already occupied in the Krta age, Orissa, Assam, Chota Nagpur, Central Provinces and some parts further south. The southern territories of Janas thana, Kiskindha and also Lanka came under the sphere of Aryan influence during the days of Rama. X The power of Ayodhya waned after Rama, and it no longer played a dominant part in traditional history. The north Pancala dynasty attained great prominence under a succession of powerful rulers, and Sudas, who flourished about four or five generations after Rama, undertook great military operations. He was the principal figure in the famous Dasarajna, and emerged victorious the battle resulting in the exile of the Paurava king Samvarana in Sindh. After Sudas, however, the Pancalas declined, and the Pauravas regained supremacy in the days of Kuru, son of Samvarana. The Pauravas or Bharatas reappear as Kauravas after this Kuru. His successor Vasu Caidya absorbed the Yadava kingdom of Cedi and advanced into Chota Nagpur. Magadha and Cedi, among the dynasties founded by his sons, rose into prominence. The Yadavas also expanded and branched off into the Vrsnis, Andhakas, Satvatas, Kukuras, Bhojas, etc. The Vrsnis became allied with the Kauravas by matrimonial relations and came into conflict with Jarasandha, the Magadha rular. The invasions of Jarasandha, however, forced them to retreat from the Mathura region, and they migrated towards southwest founding their branch in Dwarka. The Vrsni prince Krsna with the help of the Pandavas overthrew Jarasandha. This leads us to the Bharata war. By the time of the Bharata war, the Aryans had expanded over the whole of India and even beyond its frontiers in the west.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 325 There is no doubt that the northern India and some territories beyond the Narmada and Tapi in the south were Aryanised, but the regions further south did not receive Aryanisation to that extent which the north had received. The Mahabharata represents the Pundras as one of the Aryanised people. Pragjyotisa (modern Assam), which also included portions of the slopes of the Himalayas, was ruled by the Aryans, while the subjects were the Mlecchas.58 Though the Mahabharata and the Puranas speak of the Colas, Keralas, Pandyas as participants in the Bharata war, the fact is doubtful, and the references are very late interpolations in the Mahabharata and the Puranas. After the Bharata war, only Magadha, Kosala and Avanti, besides the Pauravas, retained some importance. Their activities concerned mainly the north, and up to the period of Sisunaga, there was practically no extension of the Aryan culture of influence, there being changes of territories between these dynasties. XI The story of the Aryanisation in traditional History reveals several interesting features. It shows that eastern India was but imperfectly Aryanised. It never adapted itself completely to the rigid models of the Madhyadesa. The partial Aryanisation of Magadha partly explains the receptive mood of the populace which resulted in the rise of new religions, and the large proportion of converts to new religious faiths and systems in that region. We find that the Aryanisation of the north was effected principally through conquests whereas the south was Aryanised mostly by peaceful means. The rsis played a very prominent part in the diffusion of the Aryan culture in the south. The Pandyas were emigrants from the Surasena in the north. The Deccan and the south reveal three shades in the stages of Aryanisation. Berar and Maharashtra were completely Aryanised by the conquering Yadavas who imposed their language and creed on the populace. The Andhras did not remain long under the Aryan rule, but, hemmed in as they were between the Aryanised Berar and Kalinga, 58. Mbh, II. 23. 18-9; 47. 12-4; V. 164. 35; VIII. 4. 15-6. 9

326 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 they became influenced by the Aryan language and creed. The Tamil country remained free from Aryan influence. XII After thus considering the data afforded by the Vedic texts and the Puranas, let us attempt a coordination of the two. The Puranas open with Manu as the overlord of a large part of the north. This is certainly not correct as it must have taken a few generations to occupy the regions, as we find from the Rgveda, which indicates that the Aryans had not penetrated long enough in the east. The occupation of Ayodhya, placed by the Puranas about 70 generations before the Bharata war, occurred in c. 1900 B. C., so that Mandhatr, the 21st ruler in the dynasty, is to be assigned to c. 1700 B.C. This early date is confirmed by Vedic tradition in which Mandhatr figures as a very ancient, almost a mythical personage, who was contemporaneous with the Angiras and the Pitrs in very ancient times.59 To reach Banaras and Videha in the east and Malwa in central India the Aryans could not have taken more than 200 years, as stated by Altekar, 60 which is corroborated both by the Vedic and Puranic evidence. I have shown that the war in which Paurava Samvarana was routed and had to seek refuge in Sindh was the Puranic replica of the Dasarajna echoing the complete defeat of the Purus.61 The Dasarajna war, according to the chronology adopted for this article, was fought in c. 1400 B.C., but the geographical horizon at this period is much extensive in the Puranas embracing practically the whole of India, as the hero Sudasa is placed after Dasaratha and Rama in the Puranas. Indeed in several instances, it is seen that there is perfect agreement and synchronism between the Vedic texts and the Puranas in most particulars relating to various incidents; and "the apparently conflicting statements", as observed by Rapson, "are not really contradictory; the chain 59. RV, VIII. 40. 12. 60. PIHC, XXII, p. 29. 61. Dasarajna: A new Interpretation, Munshi Vol., II, pp. 70-9.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 327 of evidence which might bring the tradition into substantial agreement with the Rgveda has been broken".62 There are, however, serious discrepancies regarding geographical data. Similarities of names and incidents are not mere coincidences. The reason for the differences appears to be that the Sutas somehow lost geographical specifications in the tradition; perhaps they were thought to be of minor importance; and later on, when need was felt to supply the geographical background to the incidents, subsequent redactors incorporated whatever they could extract out of the floating tradition supplying the rest from their cultural background. In any event, in the case of a conflict between the Vedic texts and the Puranas, preference is always to be given to the former. XIII Before turning to the archaological data on the Aryan expansion, it is necessary to discuss the chronological position of the Rgveda, the most important of our literary sources, and the Indus valley civilization, which constitutes the earliest archaological evidence in our context. 63 Following Marshall, and particularly Wheeler who accused Indra of the sacking of the Indus cities, primarily on the supposed destruction of the Harappan civilisation by the Aryans in c. 1500 B. C., archaologists place the advent of the Aryans in India in c. 1500 B. C. However, as pointed out by Kane and Altekar, 65 there is no archaological evidence to prove that the Aryans completely destroyed the Harappan civilization. On the contrary, recent investigations have shown that there was no violent end, but the decay was gradual, a fight against nature.66 Of the three cemeteries found at 62. CHI, I, p. 306. 63. Indus Civilization (Cambridge, 1953) pp. 90-2. "On circumstantial evidence.........Indra stands accused." (p. 92) 64. Presidential Address (pp. 15-6), Indian History Congress, Sixteenth Session, Waltair, 1953. 65. PIHC, XXII, pp. 15-6. 66. cf. Sankalia, IAT, p. 70 n 124; Wheeler, EIP, pp. 113-4.

328 -PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 Harappa, Cemetery H 1, the uppermost, has been taken to represent the Aryan culture; and the fact of its immediately overlying Cemetery R 37 representing the Harappan culture, is interpreted as the conquest and destuction of the Harappans by the Aryans and the superstructure of the latter on the ruins of the former. But the stratification is agaist such a view as the debris of five to seven feet between Cemetery R 37 and Cemetery H 1 shows a clear hiatus and not continuity, so that it cannot be maintained that the Aryans destroyed the Harappans. There was no trace of the so-called invaded when the so-called invaders arrived on the scene. It cannot, again, be argued that the Cemetery H 1 culture was Aryan. Funerary customs of both Cemetery H 1 and Cemetery H 2 speak against their association with the Aryans, whose customs were quite different. Thus archaeological evideuce does not point to the destruction of the Harappans by the Aryans in c. 1500 B. C. 67 Now, the Aryans were not a racially homogeneous people, and the skeletal remains in the Indus Valley indicate the presence of the Aryans. Following up the trail of the Aryans from Western Asia on the basis of archaeological evidence it is seen that a branch of the Indo-Iranians could have reached India from Bactria even earlier than 2000 B. C. The Boghazkui inscriptions do not militate against the Aryan entry into India before 1400 B. C. As has been indicated when considering the Puranic evidence, the Druhyus, who were ruling in Gandhara, migrated further west to Mlecchadesa i. e. Mesopotamia, not later than 1700 B. C. after entering India before 2000 B. C. As the date of the end of the Harappan culture is accepted as 1500 B. C., it seems that the Aryans and the Harappans lived together in India for at least five centuries, if not more. XIV There has been quite an amount of speculation among scholars as to the identity of the Harappans or the authors of the Indus valley culture. Without entering into details as to the 67. cf. Lal, AI, 10-11, p. 151 n 1.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 329 various views and the grounds therefor, I may state here that I agree with the views of Altekar connecting the Panis with the Harappans. 68 The Rgveda shows close contact with the Panis, and it has already been indicated that the date of the advent of the Aryans does not go against the association of the Aryans with the Harappans for some centuries. Relics of the Harappan civilisation have been found in the valley of the Ghaggar, the ancient Sarasvati. The Panis or the Harappans appear to have taken part in the Dasarajna and other battles of the Aryans. The Aryans apparently did not oust the Panis out of the Indus valley and occupy it, but allowed them as their vassals. There were several non-Aryan pockets in the Aryan territories as would appear from the Puranic accounts wherein several Naga, Raksasa and non-Aryan principalities are said to have flourished during different periods in between the Aryan territories. The colonies of the Harappans extended eastwards to Rupar and Bara in East Panjab, Alamgirpur near Meerut, and in Bikaner, and southwards in Saurashtra. XV That the copper hoard people, associated with ochre-washed ware,69 came between the Harappans and the Painted Grey Ware culture, appears from the excavations at Ruper and Bara in East Panjab which show that the Painted Grey Ware succeeded the degenerate Harappan culture after a gap,70 and from those at Hastinapur, where the ochre-washed ware occurred in the lowest layer below the Painted Grey Ware.". The finds can be placed to c. 1800 B.C. We do not get information about the copper hoard people and their associations. As they belong to the pre-Grey Ware period, they are supposed to be some pre-Aryan people, probably the Nisadas," or primitive tribes. For aught we know they might have been some tribes in the vanguard of the Aryans. The extent of their culture, in the present state of 68. PIHC, XXII, pp. 20 ff. 10 69. Lal, AI, 7, pp. 20-39; Wheeler, EIP, pp. 123 ff; Sankalia, PPI, p. 223. 70. cf. Sankalia, IAT, p. 52. 71. Lal, AI, 10-11, p. 11 (Period I). 72. Lal, AI, 7, p. 39; Sankalia, PPI, p. 223.

330 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 our knowledge, appears to be Rajasthan along with the Ganga valley, Orissa, Central Provinces and Nasik.73 The population was composite even in those early days so that there is nothing surprising if a section of the Nevasians (or even elsewhere in the region) was of a primitive racial type, or even if we get evidence of the fusion of cultures. XVI After the ochre-washed ware, but before the historical Northern Black Polished Ware, comes the Painted Grey Ware, which has been associated with the Aryans. It was first found in the lowest layers at Ahicchatra in 1940-44 and later at Hastinapur, Rupar, Purana Qila, Ujjain, Mathura, Sravasti, Kausambi, Alamgirpur, Bikaner, and other sites, with greatest concentration in the Ganga-Yamuna doab, the Aryavarta or Madhyadesa of the Vedic texts and the Puranas." The association of the several sites of the Painted Grey Ware with the heroes of the Bharata war raises many expectations about the solution of several knotty problems and the unfolding of unknown facets of our culture from these sites. Nothing unearthed so far tells us anything about the authors of this culture. What little we know about their food and residence seems to be quite inadequate for associating them with the Aryans of the age of the Bharata war. No doubt horizontal excavations at these sites, as elsewhere, will unravel the mystery to some extent. Yet assuming that the Grey Ware culture people can be identified with the people of the Bharata war, we are still far away chronologically from the age of the Rgveda, and hence on this ground also, our placing the Rgveda as contemporaneous with the Harappans for some centuries receives an additional support. It may be stated here that archaeology has not yet unearthed any site showing definite relics of the Rgvedic period. That the Painted Grey Ware culture people had contacts with the contemporary cultures in the Panjab, Rajputana, Malwa, 73. cf. IAR, 1957-58, p. 30; 1960-61, pp. 66, 26. 74. cf. Wheeler, EIP, p. 129; AI, 1, pp. 58-9; 10-11, p. 13; IAR, 1953-54, p. 6; 1956-57, p. 219; 1954-55, p. 15; 1958-59, p. 48; 1957-58, p. 47.

July, 1964] ARYAN EXPANSION IN INDIA 331 Eastern U.P, and Behar would be apparent from the finds of sherds from so far south as Ujjain, Chosla and Gondi in Ajmer and Jaipur, with small settlements in Rajputana, up to Vaisali in Behar in the east and up to Madhopur near Jullundur in the north. This shows that the Narmada valley and the region to its south remained unaffected by the Painted Grey Ware culture. 7b On the basis of the assumed connection of the Painted Grey Ware Culture with the arrival of the Aryans, Sankalia equates the Bharatas who occupied the Ganga-Yamuna doab with the Aryans of the Painted Grey Ware culture."6 The Painted Grey Ware sites in ancient Kosala like Sravasti, Ahicchatra, etc. may, in like manner, be associated with the Iksvakus figuring in the Vedic texts and the Puranas. The Malwa Ware is spread all along the Narmada, and is to be tacked on to the Haihaya branch of the Yadavas," who occupied the Malwa region, according to the Puranas, in c. 1800 B.C., the date assigned to the Malwa ware. Altekar's anticipation of finding a Harappan settlement below the modern Dwarka78 has not been realised so far by the excavations at Dwarka, which tend to confirm a very late Puranic statement that Dwarka was swallowed by the sea. 79 Another Puranic statement about the transfer of the capital from Hastinapura 80 has been confirmed by the Hastinapura excavations, which show evidence of flood in early levels, which can be assigned to a period a few generations after the Bharata war." XVII Large-scale horizontal excavations will, no doubt, provide a clear picture of the vicissitudes of the Aryan occupation and expansion in India and will also solve several controversial problems. 75. cf. Sankalia, PPI, p. 184. 76 Sanka ia, PPI. p. 279. 77. cf. Sankalia, PPI, p. 279. 78. PHIC, XXII, p. 30. 79. Artic e in the Times of India, June 2, 1963. 80. cf. Pargiter, Dynasties of the Kali Age, p. 5. 81. AI, 10-11, pp. 14-5, 23,

332 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VI., No. 2 ABORI: AI: AIHT: AL: CHI: Abbreviations Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona. Ancient India, New Delhi. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, by F. E. Pargiter. Altindisches Leben, by H. Zimmer. Cambridge History of India. EIP: Early India and Pakistan, by Sir Mortimer Wheeler. GD: Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval India, 2nd Ed., by N. L. Dey. Historical Geography of Ancient India, by B. C. Law. HGAI: HSL: History of Sanskrit Literature. IAR: IAT: Indian Archaeology: A Review. Indian Archaeology Today, by H. D. Sankalia, Ind. Alt Indische Altertumskunde. IVA: India in the Vedic Age, by P. L. Bhargava. JBRS: JRAS: Journal of the Behar Research Society. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. JUPHS Journal of the U. P. Historical Society. Mbh : PBIC: PIHC: PPI: : Mahabharata (Citical Edition). Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona. Prehistoric Background of Indian Culture, by D. H. Gordon. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Prehistory and Proto-history in India and Pakistan, by H.D. Sankalia. RV: SBE: VA: Ved. Ind Ved. Stud. Rgveda. Sacred Boks of the East. Vedic Age, Edited by R. C. Majumdar and A. D. Pusalker. Vedic Index, by Macdonell and Keith. Vedische Studien.