Puru (Vedic tribe)

{{Short description|Indo-Aryan tribes, c. 1700–1400 BCE}} {{about|the historical Rigvedic tribe|the historical king who fought Alexander the Great|Porus|the village in Estonia|Puru, Estonia|the mythological Hindu king|King Puru}} {{Infobox tribe | name = Puru | local name = Paurava | type = Confederation | image = Early_Vedic_Culture_(1700-1100_BCE).png | image_size = | alt = | caption = The Purus and other early Vedic tribes | ethnicity = Indo-Aryan | nisba = | location = Northern Indian subcontinent | varna = Kshatriya<ref name=":VedicIndiaRenouKshatriyas">{{Cite book|last=Renou|first=Louis|url=http://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.6854|title=Vedic India|date=1957|pages=130}}</ref> | descended_label = | descended = Pururavas<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2015-04-15 |title=Genealogy of the princes of the lunar race [Chapter CXXXIX] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-garuda-purana-dutt/d/doc122619.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> | parent_tribe = First tribe of Chandra clan | population = | demonym = | branches = Bharatas<ref name=Scharfe>{{citation |last=Scharfe |first=Hartmut E. |chapter=Bharat |editor=Stanley Wolpert |editor-link=Stanley Wolpert |title=Encyclopedia of India |volume=1 (A-D) |publisher=Thomson Gale |year=2006 |isbn=0-684-31512-2 |pages=143–144}}</ref> | language = Vedic Sanskrit<ref name="Baldi1983p51">{{cite book|first=Philip |last=Baldi|author-link=Philip Baldi|title=An Introduction to the Indo-European Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lq-mkL23oh8C&pg=PA51 |year=1983|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press|isbn=978-0-8093-1091-3|pages=51–52}}</ref> | religion = Historical Vedic religion<ref name=Witzel2004>{{cite book |author=Witzel, Michael |year=2004 |article=Kalash Religion (extract from 'The Ṛgvedic Religious System and its Central Asian and Hindukush Antecedents |editor1-first=A. |editor1-last=Griffiths |editor2-first=J.E.M. |editor2-last=Houben |title=The Vedas: Texts, language, and ritual |place=Groningen |publisher=Forsten |pages=581–636}}</ref> | surnames = Puruvamsh }} {{Hinduism small}} The '''Purus''' were an Indo-Aryan tribal alliance or a confederation of tribes that existed between 1700 and 1400 BCE.<ref name=":1p204">{{Cite book|last1=Erdosy|first1=George|title=Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics|last2=Witzel|first2=Michael|publisher=De Gruyter|year=1995|isbn=|location=|page=204}}</ref> There were several factions of Purus, one being the Bharatas.<ref name=Scharfe>{{citation |last=Scharfe |first=Hartmut E. |chapter=Bharat |editor=Stanley Wolpert |editor-link=Stanley Wolpert |title=Encyclopedia of India |volume=1 (A-D) |publisher=Thomson Gale |year=2006 |isbn=0-684-31512-2 |pages=143–144}}</ref> The Purus and the Bharatas were the two most prominent tribes in most of the Rigveda.<ref name=":1p204" /> The chief of tribe was called Rajan.<ref name=":VedicIndiaRenouKshatriyas">{{Cite book|last=Renou|first=Louis|url=http://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.6854|title=Vedic India|date=1957|pages=130}}</ref> The Purus rallied many other groups against King Sudas of the Bharata, but were defeated in the Battle of the Ten Kings (RV 7.18, etc).

== Etymology == The name ''Puru'' is of possible Indo-Aryan origin.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=1999|title=Aryan and non-Aryan Names in Vedic India. Data for the linguistic situation, c. 1900-500 B.C..|url=https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/Lingsit.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728003219/https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/Lingsit.pdf|archive-date=28 July 2011|journal=Harvard Oriental Series Opera Minora|volume=3|pages=19|via=}}</ref>

== Rigveda == In Mandala 6, it is recalled that Purukutsa, chieftain of Purus, had destroyed autumnal forts in the Afghan mountains.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Erdosy|first1=George|title=Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics|last2=Witzel|first2=Michael|publisher=De Gruyter|year=1995|isbn=|location=|pages=237–242}}</ref>{{Sfn|Jamison|Brereton|2014|p=801}} In Mandala 4, it is stated that as a result of his Ashvamedha (Horse Sacrifice) with the horse Daurgaha, his son Trasadasyu was born.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In Mandala 4, Trasadasyu is the chieftain of the Purus. In addition to being the son of Purukutsa, Trasadasyu is also described as Gairikṣita, meaning descendant of Girikṣit.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Jamison|first1=Stephanie|title=The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India|last2=Brereton|first2=Joel|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=9780199370184|location=|pages=619–626, 699}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Trasadasyu lived on the western side of the Indus River (Sindhu) while Mandala 4 was being composed, but he also moved into the land of Seven Rivers and defeated the Anu-Druhyus and Yadu-Turvashas. He molded the conquered tribes and the Purus into the Pancha-janah (Five Peoples). To celebrate his victory he conducted an Ashvamedha with his horse, Dadhrikā. Dadhrikā is extolled in RV 4.38-40, and in these hymns, Dadhrikā is stated to have become a divine being, the sacrificial horse of the Ashvamedha, and a symbol of Puru and Indo-Aryan dominance. Trasadasyu's son was Tṛkṣi.<ref name=":1" />

Scholars who adhere to Hermann Grassmann's interpretation of Rigveda 7.92.2 state that by Mandala 7, the Purus had reached the Sarasvati river.{{Sfn|Jamison|Brereton|2014|p=1004}}<ref name=":1" />

== Claimants == Later rulers may have claimed lineage to the Puru clan to bolster their legitimacy. Modern scholars conjecture that Porus may have been a Puru king. However, Porus is not known in Indian sources.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQxuAAAAMAAJ|title=Indian History: Ancient and medieval|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica / Popular Prakashan|year=2003|isbn=978-81-7991-067-2|editor=Nonica Datta|page=222|quote=Not known in Indian sources, the name Porus has been conjecturally interpreted as standing for Paurava, that is, the ruler of the Purus, a clan known in that region from ancient Vedic times.}}</ref>

== Notes == {{Reflist}}

== References == * {{cite book |last=Kosambi |first=Damodar Dharmanand |year=1966 |title=Ancient India: A History of its Culture and Civilisation |publisher=Pantheon Books |location=Delhi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ubk8AAAAMAAJ&q=puri+puru+aryan+veda |pages=81–83 |ref=Kos66}} * {{cite book |last=Prakash |first=Buddha |year=1964 |title=Political and Social Movements in Ancient Panjab |publisher=M. Banarsidass |location=Delhi, Patna, Varanasi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nqo_AAAAIAAJ&q=puri |ref=Bud64 |page=77}}

Category:Rigvedic tribes Category:Indo-Aryan peoples Category:Tribal confederacies