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| {{short description|Ancient Indian Kingdom}} | | #REDIRECT [[Kuru kingdom]] |
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| {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}} | | {{Redirect category shell| |
| {{Infobox country
| | {{R from move}} |
| | conventional_long_name = Kuru Kingdom
| | {{R from over-capitalization}} |
| | common_name = Kuru Kingdom
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| | era = [[Iron Age]]
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| | government_type = [[Monarchy]]
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| | year_start = c. 1200 BCE
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| | year_end = c. 500 BCE
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| | p1 = Bhāratas
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| | s1 = Panchala
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| | s2 = Mahajanapada
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| | image_map = Late_Vedic_Culture_(1100-500_BCE).png
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| | image_map_caption = Kuru and other kingdoms in the Late Vedic period.
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| | image_map2 = Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE).png
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| | image_map2_caption = Kuru and other Mahajanapadas in the Post Vedic period.
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| | capital = [[Assandh|Āsandīvat]], later [[Hastinapura]] and [[Indraprastha]]
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| | common_languages = [[Vedic Sanskrit]]
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| | religion = [[Historical Vedic religion]]<br>
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| | title_leader = [[Raja]] (King or Chief)
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| |leader1 = [[Parikshit]]
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| |year_leader1 = 12th–9th centuries BCE
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| |leader2 = [[Janamejaya]]
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| |year_leader2 = 12th–9th centuries BCE
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| | today = [[India]]
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| }} | | }} |
| [[File:North India in 540 BCE.png|thumb|Map depicting 16 [[mahajanapada]]s kingdoms and other kingdoms of [[vedic era]] India in 540 BCE.]]
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| '''Kuru''' ({{lang-sa|कुरु}}) was a Vedic [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] tribal union in northern [[Iron Age India|Iron Age]] [[India]], encompassing the modern-day states of [[Delhi]], [[Haryana]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] and some parts of western [[Uttar Pradesh]], which appeared in the Middle [[Vedic period]]{{sfn|Pletcher|2010|p=63}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=6}} (c. 1200 – c. 900 BCE) and developed into the first recorded [[State (polity)|state-level society]] in the [[Indian subcontinent]].{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}{{refn|group=note|Also in B. Kölver (ed.)(1997), ''Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien'' [''The state, the Law, and Administration in Classical India'']. München: R. Oldenbourg. pp. 27–52.}}{{sfn|Samuel|2010}}
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| The Kuru kingdom decisively changed the religious heritage of the early Vedic period, arranging their ritual hymns into collections called the [[Vedas]], and developing new rituals which gained their position in [[Indian civilization]] as the [[Śrauta|Srauta]] rituals,{{sfn|Witzel|1995}} which contributed to the so-called "classical synthesis"{{sfn|Samuel|2010}} or [[Hinduism#Roots of Hinduism|"Hindu synthesis"]].{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2002}} It became the dominant political and cultural center of the middle Vedic Period during the reigns of [[Parikshit]] and [[Janamejaya]],{{sfn|Witzel|1995}} but declined in importance during the late Vedic period (c. 900 – c. 500 BCE) and had become "something of a backwater"{{sfn|Samuel|2010}} by the [[Mahajanapadas|Mahajanapada period]] in the 5th century BCE. However, traditions and legends about the Kurus continued into the post-Vedic period, providing the basis for the [[Mahabharata]] epic.{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}
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| The main contemporary sources for understanding the Kuru kingdom are the [[Vedas]], containing details of life during this period and allusions to historical persons and events.{{sfn|Witzel|1995}} The time-frame and geographical extent of the Kuru kingdom (as determined by [[philology|philological study]] of the Vedic literature) suggest its correspondence with the archaeological [[Painted Grey Ware culture]].{{sfn|Samuel|2010}}
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| ==History==
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| [[File:ചിതിയുടെയും-ഉപകരണങ്ങളുടെയും മാതൃക.jpg|thumb|Modern replica of utensils and [[Vedic fire altar|falcon shaped altar]] used for [[Agnicayana]], an elaborate [[srauta]] ritual from the Kuru period.]]
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| The Kuru clan was formed in the Middle [[Vedic period]]{{sfn|Pletcher|2010|p=63}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=6}} (c. 1200 – c. 900 BCE) as a result of the alliance and merger between the [[Bhāratas|Bharata]] and other [[Puru (Vedic tribe)|Puru]] clans, in the aftermath of the [[Battle of the Ten Kings]].{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}<ref>National Council of Educational Research and Training, History Text Book, Part 1, India</ref> With their center of power in the [[Kurukshetra]] region, the Kurus formed the first political center of the Vedic period, and were dominant roughly from 1200 to 800 BCE. The first Kuru capital was at Āsandīvat,{{sfn|Witzel|1995}} identified with modern [[Assandh]] in [[Haryana]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AL45AQAAIAAJ|title=Prāci-jyotī: Digest of Indological Studies|date=1967-01-01|publisher=Kurukshetra University.|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|date=2010-01-01|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=9780143414216|language=en}}</ref> Later literature refers to [[Indraprastha]] (identified with modern [[Delhi]]) and [[Hastinapura]] as the main Kuru cities.{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}
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| The Kurus figure prominently in [[Vedas|Vedic literature]] after the time of the [[Rigveda]]. The Kurus here appear as a branch of the early Indo-Aryans, ruling the Ganga-Yamuna [[Doab]] and modern Haryana.
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| The focus in the later Vedic period shifted out of Punjab, into the Haryana and the Doab, and thus to the Kuru clan.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0obUy_W9NREC&pg=PA63&dq=prayag+Rig+veda&oi=book_result&ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=prayag%20Rig%20veda&f=false ''The Ganges In Myth And History'']</ref>
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| This trend corresponds to the increasing number and size of [[Painted Grey Ware]] (PGW) settlements in the Haryana and Doab area. Archaeological surveys of the [[Kurukshetra District]] have a revealed a more complex (albeit not yet fully urbanized) three-tiered hierarchy for the period of 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 simple [[chiefdom]]s) in the rest of the Ganges Valley.<ref>Bellah, Robert N. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xHr-uN4XpAgC&pg=PA491 ''Religion in Human Evolution''] (Harvard University Press, 2011), p. 492; citing Erdosy, George. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5kI02_zW70C&pg=PA80 "The prelude to urbanization: ethnicity and the rise of Late Vedic chiefdoms,"] in ''The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States'', ed. F. R. Allchin (Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 75-98</ref> Although most PGW sites were small farming villages, several PGW sites emerged as relatively large settlements that can be characterized 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.<ref>James Heitzman, [https://archive.org/details/cityinsouthasia0000heit ''The City in South Asia''] (Routledge, 2008), pp.12-13</ref>
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| The [[Atharvaveda]] (XX.127) praises [[Parikshit]], the "King of the Kurus", as the great ruler of a thriving, prosperous realm. Other late Vedic texts, such as the [[Shatapatha Brahmana]], commemorate Parikshit's son [[Janamejaya]] as a great conqueror who performed the [[ashvamedha]] (horse-sacrifice).<ref>Raychaudhuri, H. C. (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty'', Calcutta:University of Calcutta, pp.11-46</ref> These two Kuru kings played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state and the development of the [[srauta]] rituals, and they also appear as important figures in later legends and traditions (e.g., in the [[Mahabharata]]).{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}
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| The Kurus declined after being defeated by the non-Vedic [[Salva (India)|Salva (or Salvi) tribe]], and the center of Vedic culture shifted east, into the [[Panchala]] realm, in [[Uttar Pradesh]] (whose king [[Keśin Dālbhya]] was the nephew of the late Kuru king).{{sfn|Witzel|1995}} According to post-Vedic Sanskrit literature, the capital of the Kurus was later transferred to [[Kosambi|Kaushambi]], in the lower Doab, after Hastinapur was destroyed by floods{{sfn|Pletcher|2010|p=63}} as well as because of upheavals in the Kuru family itself.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kaushambhi.nic.in/|title=District Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh, India : Home|website=kaushambhi.nic.in|access-date=2016-05-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513183352/http://kaushambhi.nic.in/|archive-date=13 May 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.all-art.org/Visual_History/01india1.htm|title=History of Art: Visual History of the World|website=www.all-art.org|access-date=2016-05-08}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The flooding of Hastinapura and the transfer of the capital to Kaushambi is only mentioned in semi-legendary accounts dating to the post-Vedic era, e.g., [[Puranas]] and [[Mahabharata]], whereas Vedic-era texts only mention the invasion of Kurukshetra by the Salva tribe as the cause for the decline of the Kurus.<ref>Michael Witzel (1990), [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/vamsa.pdf "On Indian Historical Writing"]</ref>}} In the post Vedic period (by the 6th century BCE), the Kuru dynasty evolved into Kuru and [[Vatsa]] [[janapada]]s, ruling over Upper Doab/Delhi/Haryana and lower Doab, respectively. The Vatsa branch of the Kuru dynasty further divided into branches at Kaushambi and at [[Mathura]].<ref>[http://upgov.nic.in/uphistory.aspx Political History of Uttar Pradesh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512013514/http://upgov.nic.in/uphistory.aspx |date=12 May 2012 }}; Govt of Uttar Pradesh, official website.</ref>
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| ==Society==
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| [[File:ശ്യേന-ചിതി-നിർമ്മാണം.jpg|thumb|Modern performance of [[Agnicayana]], an elaborate [[srauta]] ritual from the Kuru period]]
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| [[File:Coin of the Kuru Kingdom.jpg|thumb|A Kuru coin, earliest example of [[coinage of India|coinage in India]].<ref name="Goyala1994">{{cite book|author=Śrīrāma Goyala|title=The Coinage of Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T5caAAAAYAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Kusumanjali Prakashan}}</ref>]]
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| The tribes that consolidated into the Kuru Kingdom or 'Kuru Pradesh' were largely semi-nomadic, [[pastoralism|pastoral]] tribes. However, as settlement shifted into the western [[Ganges]] Plain, settled farming of rice and barley became more important. Vedic literature of this time period indicates the growth of surplus production and the emergence of specialized artisans and craftsmen. [[Iron Age|Iron]] was first mentioned as ''śyāma āyas'' (श्याम आयस, literally "black metal") in the [[Atharvaveda]], a text of this era. Another important development was the fourfold [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] (class) system, which replaced the twofold system of [[Aryan|arya]] and [[dasa]] from the Rigvedic times. The [[Brahmin]] priesthood and [[Kshatriya]] aristocracy, who dominated the ''arya'' commoners (now called [[vaishya]]s) and the ''dasa'' labourers (now called [[shudra]]s), were designated as separate classes.{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}<ref>{{citation |last=Sharma |first=Ram Sharan |author-link=Ram Sharan Sharma |title=Śūdras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa A.D. 600 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsZkAu-RHVgC |edition=Third |year=1990 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0706-8}}</ref>
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| [[File:Kurus (Kurukshetras) circa 350-315 BCE.jpg|thumb|left|Pre-Mauryan (Ganges Valley) Kurus (Kurukshetras) coin, c. 350–315 BCE. AR 15 Mana – Half Karshapana (15mm, 1.50 g). Triskeles-like geometric pattern/aix-armed symbol.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=224220 CNG Coins]</ref>]]
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| Kuru kings ruled with the assistance of a rudimentary administration, including [[purohit]]a (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 neighboring tribes. They led frequent raids and conquests against their neighbors, 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 orthodox [[Srauta]] rituals) to uphold social order and strengthen the class hierarchy. High-ranking nobles could perform very elaborate sacrifices, and many poojas (rituals) primarily exalted the status of the king over his people. The [[ashvamedha]] or horse sacrifice was a way for a powerful king to assert his domination in northern India.{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}
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| ==In epic literature==
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| {{See also|Kauravas|Pandavas}}
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| [[Image:Ancient india.png|thumb|The later Kuru state in the [[Mahajanapada]] period, c. 600 BCE]]
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| The [[Sanskrit epics|epic]] poem, the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', 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 the ''Mahabharata'' went through many layers of development and mostly belongs to the period between c. 400 BCE and 400 CE.<ref>Singh, U. (2009), ''A History of Ancient and Mediaeval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century'', Delhi: Longman, p. 18-21, {{ISBN|978-81-317-1677-9}}</ref> Within the [[frame story]] of the ''Mahabharata'', the historical kings [[Parikshit]] and [[Janamejaya]] are featured significantly as scions of the Kuru clan.{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}
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| A historical Kuru King named [[Dhritarashtra|Dhritarashtra Vaichitravirya]] is mentioned in the [[Kathaka]] Samhita of the [[Yajurveda]] ({{circa}} 1200–900 BCE) as a descendant of the [[Rigveda|Rigvedic]]-era king [[Sudas]]. His cattle were reportedly destroyed as a result of conflict with the [[Yoga#Vedic period (1700–500 BCE)|vratya]] ascetics; however, this Vedic mention does not provide corroboration for the accuracy of the Mahabharata's account of his reign.<ref>Witzel 1995, p.17 footnote 115</ref><ref>Michael Witzel (1990), [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/vamsa.pdf "On Indian Historical Writing"], p.9 of PDF</ref>
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| ===Kuru family tree in Mahabharata===
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| {{Kuru family tree}}
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| ===List of Kuru Kings according to epic literature===
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| {{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}
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| {| class="wikitable"
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| |-
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| | 1200 BC - 1000 BC || 1000 BC - 500 BC
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| |-
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| * [[Pratipa]]
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| * [[Shantanu]]
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| * [[Chitrāngada]]
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| * [[Vichitravirya]]
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| * [[Pandu]]
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| * [[Dhritarashtra]]
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| * [[Yudhishthira]]
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| * [[Parikshit]]
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| * [[Janamejaya II]]
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| ||
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| * [[Satanika]]
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| * [[Aswamedhadatta]]
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| * [[Asíma-krishńa]]
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| * [[Nichakra]]
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| * [[Ushńa]]
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| * [[Chitraratha]]
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| * [[Vrishńimat]]
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| * [[Susheńa]]
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| * [[Sunítha]]
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| * Richa
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| * [[Nrichakshu]]
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| * [[Sukhíhala]]
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| * [[Pariplava]]
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| * [[Sunaya]]
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| * [[Medhávin]]
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| * [[Nripanjaya]]
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| * [[Mridu]]
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| * [[Tigma]]
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| * [[Vrihadratha]]
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| * [[Vasudána]]
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| * [[Śatáníka II]]
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| * Udayana
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| * [[Ahínara]]
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| * [[Khańd́apáni]]
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| * [[Niramitra]]
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| * [[Kshemaka]]
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| |}
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| '''Notes'''
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| * '''a''': [[Shantanu]] was a king of the Kuru dynasty or kingdom, and was some generations removed from any ancestor called [[Kuru (kingdom)|Kuru]]. His marriage to [[Ganga (goddess)|Ganga]] preceded his marriage to [[Satyavati]].
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| * '''b''': [[Pandu]] and [[Dhritarashtra]] were actually fathered by [[Vyasa]] after [[Vichitravirya]]'s death. Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura were the sons of Vyasa with Ambika, Ambalika and a maid servant respectively.
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| * '''c''': [[Karna]] was born to [[Kunti]] through her invocation of [[Surya]], before her marriage to [[Pandu]].
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| * '''d''': [[Yudhishthira]], [[Bhima]], [[Arjuna]], [[Nakula]] and [[Sahadeva]] were acknowledged sons of [[Pandu]] but were begotten by [[Kunti]]'s invocation of various deities. They all married [[Draupadi]] (not shown in tree) but she also had 5 sons. named [[Upapandavas]].
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| * '''e''': [[Duryodhana]] and his siblings were born at the same time, and they were of the same generation as their [[Pandava]] cousins.
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| * '''f''': After [[Dhritarashtra]] and [[Gandhari (character)|Gandhari]]'s rule in Hastinapura, [[Yudhishthira]] and [[Draupadi]] ascended the throne, not [[Arjuna]] and [[Subhadra]].
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| ==See also==
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| ; Kuru related
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| * [[Characters in the Mahabharata#Kuru|King Kuru]]
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| * [[Uttara Kurus]], [[Uttara Kuru Kingdom]]
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|
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| ; Other Mahabharta related
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| * [[Parikshit]], [[Janamejaya]]
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| * [[Panchala]], [[Videha]], [[Magadha]], [[Nishada Kingdom|Nishada]]
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| ; Modern archaeology of Vedic era
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| * [[Cemetery H culture]]
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| * [[Painted Grey Ware culture]]
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| * [[Kingdoms of Ancient India]]
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|
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| ; Present day regions
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| * [[Administrative divisions of Haryana|Regions of Haryana]]
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| * [[:Category:Regions of Rajasthan|Regions of Rajasthan]]
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| * [[Administrative divisions of Uttar Pradesh|Regions of Uttar Pradesh]]
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|
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| ==Notes==
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| {{reflist|group=note}}
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist|2}}
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| ==Sources ==
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| {{refbegin}}
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| * {{Citation | last =Hiltebeitel | first =Alf | year =2002 | title =Hinduism. In: Joseph Kitagawa, "The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture" | publisher =Routledge | isbn =9781136875977 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=kfyzAAAAQBAJ}}
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| * {{Citation | last =Pletcher | first =Kenneth | year =2010 | title =The History of India | publisher =The Rosen Publishing Group | isbn =9781615301225 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=VsujRFvaHI8C&q=Kuru+Kaushambi&pg=PA63}}
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| * {{Citation | last =Samuel | first =Geoffrey | year =2010 | title =The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}
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| * {{Citation|last=Witzel |first=Michael |year=1995 |title=Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state |journal=EJVS |volume=1 |issue=4 |url=http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611142934/http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2007 }}
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| {{refend}}
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|
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| ==Further reading==
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| * {{Citation|last=Witzel |first=Michael |year=1995 |title=Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state |journal=EJVS |volume=1 |issue=4 |url=http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611142934/http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2007 }}
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| * {{Citation | last =Samuel | first =Geoffrey | year =2010 | title =The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}
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| ==External links==
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| {{commons category}}
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| *[http://www.gloriousindia.com/history/kuru_kingdom.html Kuru Kingdom]
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| *[http://sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm ''Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa''], translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
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| *[http://www.karava.org The Kuru race in Sri Lanka - Web site of Kshatriya Maha Sabha]
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| *[https://web.archive.org/web/20050728143952/http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-kuru.html Coins of Kuru janapada]
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| {{Mahajanapada}}
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| {{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata}}
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| {{Mahabharata}}
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| {{Historical regions of North India}}
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuru Kingdom}}
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| [[Category:Kingdoms of the Puru clan]]
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| [[Category:Iron Age countries in Asia]]
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| [[Category:Iron Age cultures of South Asia]]
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| [[Category:Ancient peoples]]
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| [[Category:Indo-Aryan peoples]]
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| [[Category:Mahabharata]]
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| [[Category:Rigvedic tribes]]
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| [[Category:Mahajanapadas]]
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| [[Category:Locations in Hindu mythology]]
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| [[Category:Regions of Haryana]]
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| [[Category:Regions of Rajasthan]]
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| [[Category:Regions of Uttar Pradesh]]
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| [[Category:Regions of Punjab, India]]
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