Rigvedic tribes

The tribes described in the Rigveda include the Druhyus, Purus, and Anu.

Quotes

• She, the holy follower of Universal Order, [Sarasvatī,] has spread us all [the five tribes of the Vedic people (stanza 12)] beyond enmities, beyond the other [seven] sister-rivers, as the sun spreads out the days.
  • Rigveda (VI. 61.9): sấ no víśvā áti dvíṣaḥ svásṝ anyā ṛtấvarī, átann áheva sṹryaḥ. cited in Kazanas, N. (2015). Vedic and IndoEuropean studies. Aditya Prakashan. , chapter 3. and A Reply to Koenraad Elst by Kazanas.

• The next Druhyu king Gandhāra retired to the northwest and gave his name to the Gandhāra country.
  • Ancient Indian Historical Tradition by F.E. Pargiter, Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi-Varanasi-Patna, 1962. Quoted in Talageri, S. G. (2010). The Rigveda and the Avesta. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.

• Indian tradition distinctly asserts that there was an Aila outflow of the Druhyus through the northwest into the countries beyond, where they founded various kingdoms.
  • Ancient Indian Historical Tradition by F.E. Pargiter, Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi-Varanasi-Patna, 1962. Quoted in Talageri, S. G. (2010). The Rigveda and the Avesta. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.

• Five Purāṇas add that Pracetas‘ descendants spread out into the mleccha countries to the north beyond India and founded kingdoms there.
  • BHARGAVA 1956/1971: India in the Vedic Age: A History of Aryan Expansion in India. Upper India Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. Lucknow, 1956.Quoted in Talageri, S. G. (2010). The Rigveda and the Avesta. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.

• After a time, being overpopulated, the Druhyus crossed the borders of India and founded many principalities in the Mleccha territories in the north, and probably carried the Aryan culture beyond the frontiers of India.
  • MAJUMDAR ed.1951/1996: The Vedic Age. General Editor Majumdar R.C. The History and Culture of the Indian People. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Mumbai, 1951. (MAJUMDAR 1951/1996:283).Quoted in Talageri, S. G. (2010). The Rigveda and the Avesta. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.

• One branch, headed by Uśīnara, established several kingdoms on the eastern border of the Punjab […] his famous son Śivi originated the Śivis [footnote: called Śivas in Rigveda VII.18.7] in Śivapura, and extending his conquests westwards […] occupying the whole of the Punjab except the northwestern corner.
  • Ancient Indian Historical Tradition by F.E. Pargiter, Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi-Varanasi-Patna, 1962. Quoted in Talageri, S. (2000). The Rigveda: A historical analysis. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. (PARGITER 1962:264): [1]