Puru (Vedic tribe)

The Purus were a clan, or a confederation of clans, mentioned many times 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 rallied many other groups against King Sudas of the Bharata, but were defeated in the Battle of the Ten Kings (RV 7.18, etc.).

This article is about the Rigvedic clan. For the historical king, see King Porus. For the village in Estonia, see Puru, Estonia.

Early history

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

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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3]

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.

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.[4] Nor can he be traced to the Puru clan.

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See also

Notes
  1. Time Table Of Yoga, By Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D.
  2. Gods, Sages and Kings: Vedic Secrets of Ancient Civilization, By David Frawley, pp 142
  3. Gods, Sages and Kings: Vedic Secrets of Ancient Civilization, By David Frawley
  4. Nonica Datta, ed. (2003). Indian History: Ancient and medieval. Encyclopaedia Britannica / Popular Prakashan. p. 222. ISBN 978-81-7991-067-2. 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.

References
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