Puru (Vedic tribe)

The Purus are a tribe, or a confederation of tribes, mentioned in the Rigveda. RV 7.96.2 locates them at the banks of the Sarasvati River. There were several factions of Purus one being the Bharatas. Purus against King Sudas and hence, siding with the Iranic tribes (e.g. Parsu) were defeated at the Battle of the Ten Kings.

The Vedic Aryans were the Purus of the ancient texts. And in fact, the particular Vedic Aryans of the Rigveda were one section among these Purus, who called themselves Bharatas.[1] ^[archive]

Early history

India's name Bharat or Bharat-Varsh is named after a descendant of the Puru dynasty King Bharata.

There were two main Vedic cultures in ancient India. The first was a northern kingdom centered on the Sarasvati-Drishadvati river region dominated by the Purus and the Ikshvakus. The second was a southern culture along the coast of the Arabian Sea and into the Vindhya Mountains, dominated by the Turvashas and Yadus and extending into groups yet further south. These northern and southern groups vied for supremacy and influenced each other in various ways as the Vedas and Puranas indicate. The northern or Bharata culture ultimately prevailed, making India the land of Bharata or Bharatavarsha and its main ancient literary record the Vedas, though militarily the Yadus remained strong throughout history.

Kuru Kings

Kuru was born after 25 generations of Puru's dynasty, and after 15 generations of Kuru, Kauravas and Pandavas were born. These were the same renowned Kauravas and Pandavas who fought the epic battle of Mahabharata. The dynasty of the king Yadu - Andhak, Vrasni, and Bhoj, under the leadership of Shree Krishna, helped the Pandavas win the battle. According to Puranic tradition, the war occurred 95 generations after Manu Vaivasvata. The Puranas state that there are 1,050 years between Parikshit of the Kurus and the last Kuru king at the time of Mahapadma Nanda.

Rigvedic Puru clan lineage

According to Puranic legend the Chandravanshi lineage is:
Brahma -> Atri -> Chandra -> Budha (married to Manu's daughter Ila) -> Pururava -> Ayu -> Nahusha -> Yayati -> Puru and Yadu

King Yayati's elder son Yadu had officially lost the title to govern by his father's command since he had refused to exchange his youth with his father. Thereby, he could not have carried on the same dynasty, called Somvanshi. Consequently, the generations of King Puru, Paurav or Puruvanshi were the only one to be known as Somvansa.

Yayati divided up his kingdom into five portions (VP IV.10.1708). To Turvasha he gave the southeast (Bay of Bengal); to Druhya the west Gandhara; to Yadu the south (By Arabian sea); to Anu the north Punjab; and to Puru the center (Sarasvati region) as the supreme king of Earth.

The Rig Veda notes an earlier period of Turvasha-Yadu predominance, which the Purus broke in order to become the dominant people in the region.

• a. The Vedic Gods are clearly identified as the Gods of the PUrus:

• Agni is described as a “fountain” to the PUrus (X.4.1), a “priest” who drives away the sins of the PUrus (I.129.5), the Hero who is worshipped by the PUrus (1.59.6), the protector of the sacrifices of the PUrus (V.17.1), and the destroyer of enemy castles for the PUrus (VII.5.3).

• Mitra and Varuna are described as affording special aid in battle and war to the PUrus, in the form of powerful allies and mighty steeds (IV.38.1, 3; 39.2).

• Indra is identified as the God to whom the PUrus sacrifice in order to gain new favours (VI.20.10), and for whom the PUrus shed Soma (VIII.64.10). Indra gives freedom to the PUrus by slaying VRtra (IV.21.10), helps the PUrus in battle (VII.19.3), and breaks down enemy castles for the PUrus (I.63.7; 130.7; 131.4).

• Indra even speaks to the PUrus and asks them to sacrifice to him alone, promising in return his friendship, protection and generosity (X.48.5.). In a Biblical context, this would have been a testimony of “God’s covenant” with the People of the Book.

• b. It is generally accepted by the scholars that the SarasvatI represents the geographical heartland of the Vedic Aryan civilization. SarasvatI is invoked (alongwith two other Goddesses who, as we have seen in our chapter on the Geography of the Rigveda, were deities of places close to the banks of the SarasvatI) in the AprI-sUktas of all the ten families of composers of hymns in the Rigveda.

• It becomes clear, in VII.96.2, that the SarasvatI was a PUru river, and it flowed through PUru lands. The river is addressed with the words: “The PUrus dwell, Beauteous One, on thy two grassy banks.”

• c. The identity of the PUrus with the Vedic Aryans is so unmistakable, that the line between “PUru” and “Man” is distinctly blurred in the Rigveda:

• Griffith, for example, sees fit to translate the word PUru as “Man” in at least five verses: I.129.5; 131.4; IV.21.10; V.171.1; X.4.1.

• The Rigveda itself, in no uncertain terms, identifies the PUrus in VIII.64.10 with “mankind”: PUrave… mAnave jane.

• In fact, the Rigveda goes so far as to coin a word PUruSa/PuruSa (descendant of PUru) for “man”, on the lines of the word manuSa (descendant of Manu).

• While the word ManuSa for “man” is representative of a general Indo-European word with counterparts in other Indo-European branches (Germanic, as in English “man”), the word PUruSa/PuruSa is purely Rigvedic in origin: the word is found in the Rigveda in 28 verses, of which 17 are found in the late MaNDala X. Of the 11 verses in the other nine MaNDalas, 9 are by the priests of SudAs and his descendant Somaka (i.e. by ViSvAmitra, VasiSTha, Kutsa and VAmadeva). The word, therefore, was clearly coined during the period of SudAs, and gained increasing currency during the period of composition of the Rigvedic hymns. (Talageri 2000)

Claimants

Later rulers may have claimed lineage to the Puru tribe to bolster their legitimacy. Modern scholars conjecture that Porus may have been a Puru king. However, Porus is not known in Indian sources. Nor can he be traced to the Puru tribe.

See also

• List of Indian monarchs

References

• Kosambi, Damodar Dharmanand (1966). Ancient India: A History of its Culture and Civilisation ^[archive]. Delhi: Pantheon Books. pp. 81–83.
• Prakash, Buddha (1964). Political and Social Movements in Ancient Panjab ^[archive]. Delhi, Patna, Varanasi: M. Banarsidass. p. 77.