The Political History of the Later Vedic Period

The political history of the Later Vedic Period (c. 1000–600 BCE) saw the rise of larger kingdoms and the decline of smaller tribal units that characterized the early Vedic period. This era was marked by the consolidation of power by the Kuru and Panchala kingdoms, which laid the foundation for more centralized forms of governance. The development of complex social hierarchies and the increased role of the Brahmins in religious and political affairs were key features. Kingship became more ritualistic, with rulers performing elaborate sacrifices like the Ashvamedha to legitimize their rule. The Later Vedic texts, such as the Brahmanas and Upanishads, reflect the growing political and social changes of the time.

Political History of the Later Vedic Period

Introduction

During the period represented by the later Vedic literature, which roughly speaking comes down to about 600 B.C., some remarkable changes came over the Aryans in India. The first and foremost of these was their gradual expansion towards the east and south. We have seen that the main Aryan settlements in the earlier period were on the banks of the rivers of the Punjab, although their outlying colonies reached as far as the Ganges. During the period under review, however, they continued their progress and well-nigh covered the whole of Northern India, from the Himalaya to the Vindhyas, and probably even beyond the latter range. The spread of Aryan colonies over the whole of Hindustan was probably due to a variety of causes, the most important of which was, no doubt, the missionary propaganda, not infrequently backed by military force. The earlier inhabitants either resigned themselves to the fate of the slaves or were pushed back still further, and Northern India was almost completely Aryanised. Of the new Aryan kingdoms in the cast, the most important were those of the Kurus, Panchalas, Kasis, Kosalas, and Videhas.

Centre of Aryan civilization

With the progress of the Aryans, their centre of civilisation, too, was shifted towards the east. The bank of the Sarasvati was now regarded as the most sacred spot and witnessed the performance of many a sacrifice of great sanctity and importance. The territory between this holy river and the Ganges came to be the seat of the orthodox Aryan civilisation, and nothing is more indicative of the change that had taken place than that the people of this region should look down upon the Aryans of the Panjab as of impure descent and imperfect in manners and customs.

Growth of powerful States

The progress of the Aryans was followed by other important consequences. The old tribal organisation was gradually strengthened and consolidated and led in many instances to the growth of powerful territorial states. Many of the famous tribes of the earlier period had passed into oblivion, and new ones had taken their place. Thus the far-famed Bharatas, Purus, Tritsus, and Turvasas of old were now merging into new peoples like the Kurus and the Panchalas, whose names do not occur in the Rigvedic hymns, but who now began to play the most conspicuous part in political and religious life.

Imperialism in ancient India

• (1) The political life became more keen, and the conflict for supremacy among different states was of frequent occurrence. Already the ideal of universal empire loomed large in the political horizon, and it is difficult to maintain that it was never actually realised in practice to any considerable extent. The references to Asvamedha and Rajasuya sacrifices are too frequent in literature to be dismissed as mere fiction, and both of them had, as their immediate and only object, the establishment of imperial sway over a number of other states.
• (2) We may readily believe that political India was already exhibiting those characteristic features which have ever distinguished it in historical times, viz., a congeries of states, fighting for supremacy, and yielding at times to the irresistible force of a mighty empire-builder.
• (3) A few concrete instances may be noted. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to two Bharata kings, Bharata Dauashanti and Satanika Satrajita, as having performed the Aśvamedha sacrifice. They advanced as far as the Ganges and the Jamuna and conquered the Kasis in the east and the Satvats in the west. The same Brahmana refers to an old gatha which says, “The greatness of the Bharatas neither the men before nor those after them attained.”
• (4) The Satapatha Brahmana further refers to Asvamedha sacrifices performed by Para, the Kosala king; Purukutsa, the Aikshvaka king; Marutta Avikshita, the Ayogava king; Kraivya and Soņa Satrasaha, the Panchala kings; Dhvasan Dvaitavana, the king of the Matsyas; and Rishabha Yajnatura, the king of the Sviknas.
• (5) Again, the Aitareya Brahmana refers specifically to no less than twelve kings who, being inaugurated with the Mahabhisheka ceremony, “went everywhere, conquering the earth, up to its ends, and sacrificed the sacrificial horse.” Three of these kings are identical with those in the Satapatha Brahmana list.

The Story of Mahabharata

A typical instance of the struggle for supremacy leading to the establishment of a mighty empire is furnished by the Mahabharata. The main events of this grand epic are too well-known to require any detailed treatment. Although its composition is to be referred to a later period, the central event of the poem, viz., the struggle between the Kauravas of Hastinapura and the Pandavas of Indraprastha, is certainly historical. These two branches of the Kuru family fell out with each other owing to the perfidy of the Kaurava prince Duryodhana, and when negotiations and mediations failed to bring about a settlement, each side prepared for war. Most of the important states of India joined with one or the other. The patron of the Pandavas, the statesman Vasudeva Krishna, conceived the bold idea of building up one universal empire out of the innumerable states which divided India into so many hostile camps, as it were. At last the great battle was fought on the famous field of Kurukshetra, and the Pandavas gained a complete victory. This great war, the echo of which persists down to our own time, may be approximately dated at about 1000 B.C. It must have caused a tremendous sensation, comparable to the late great war in Europe, for the ancient writers are unanimous in their view that it ushered in a new epoch (the Kali Yuga or Dark Age) in the history of India.

Later history of the Pandavas

The battle of Kurukshetra left the Pandavas the supreme political power in India. The Puranas name thirty kings of this dynasty descended from Arjuna. They are called Pauravas, nо doubt because of a real or fancied connection with the celebrated Purus. It is almost certain that the early Aryan tribes, mentioned in the Rik-Samhita, were merged in later ones, and, in all likelihood, the Purus and the Bharatas of the Rigveda were merged in the Kurus of the Brahmanas and Mahabharata. The Paurava kings, Parikshit and Janamejaya, are famous figures in Mahabharata, and the latter is one of the twelve universal sovereigns mentioned in the Aitareya Brahmana. During the reign of Nichakshu, fourth in descent from Janamejaya, the city of Hastinapura was carried away by the Ganges, and other calamities befell the Kuru kingdom. The capital was then transferred to Kausambi, but the Kuru kingdom steadily declined from that time. No detail is known of any of the succeeding Pauravas, till we come to the twenty-sixth king Udayana, whose history will be dealt with in a later chapter.

Other contemporary kingdoms

• (1) The contemporary, and probably allied, dynasty of the Aikshvakus ruled in Kosala with Ayodhya as their capital. Twenty-four kings ruled in this line, but our detailed knowledge begins from the time of Prasenajit, a contemporary of Udayana, of whom more will be heard hereafter.
• (2) At the time of the Great War, the Barhadrathas were ruling in Magadha. They were descendants of the famous Jarasandha. Sixteen kings of this dynasty ruled at Giribraja (Rajagriha) after the Great War, when the dynasty was overthrown by the Saisunagas.
• (3) In addition to the above, other ruling dynasties flourished in different parts of India during the period that followed the Great War. Of these, the kingdoms of Kasi and Videha rose to great eminence, and among others may be mentioned the Panchalas, the Haihayas, the Kalingas, and the Surasenas.
• (4) Thus the supremacy which, the Pandavas gained by the Great War must have been short-lived. During the six hundred years that followed, India must have presented the same political condition, out of which she was rescued by the genius of Krishna and the prowess of Arjuna. The next great empire that we know of was built up by Mahapadma Nanda, and if any flourished during the interval, its memory has been completely lost.

Lack of detailed political history

So far about a general outline of political events. If we now turn from this brief sketch to a consideration of the detailed political history of the period, our difficulties at once become apparent. There were no doubt genuine traditions about kings and royal dynasties from the earliest period, but in course of transmission through thousands of years, the texts containing them have suffered to such an extent by way of additions and alterations that it is at present almost impossible to reconcile them with one another. Mr. Pargiter, who has gone more deeply into this branch of study than any other scholar, has prepared an outline of the political history of this period on the basis of these early traditions. This outline has not yet been critically saemined by scholars and is in conflict with some of the current views. But as a first bold attempt to reconstruct the framework of the early political history of India, its importance cannot be over-estimated. We give below a summary of his main conclusions.

The mythical king Manu.

Tradition naturally begins with myth, and so all the early dynasties that ruled in India are derived from a primaeval king Manu Vaivasvata. Manu is said to have nine sons and a daughter, among whom the whole of India was divided. Ikshvaku, the eldest son, obtained Madhyadesa, and was the progenitor of the solar race or dynasty, with its capital at Ayodhya. From Ikshvaku’s son Nimi (or Nemi) sprang the dynasty that reigned in Videha, with its capital at Mithila, which is said to have been named after his son Mithi.

The dynasty of Pururavas

Ila, the daughter of Manu, had a son, called Pururavas Aila, who got the kingdom of Pratishthana (Allahabad). This kingdom rapidly developed, and members of this family carved out independent principalities at Kanyakubja (or Kanauj) and Benares. Yayati, the son of Nahusha and the great-grandson of Pururavas, was a renowned conqueror. He extended his kingdom widely and was reckoned a Samraj (emperor). He divided his empire among his five sons, Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Anu and Puru, each of whom became the founder of a long line of kings. Puru, the youngest son, got the ancestral property, and Yadu’s realm lay in the country watered by the rivers Chambal, Betwa, and Ken. At a later period, Yadu’s descendants increased and divided into two great branches, ‘the Haihayas’, and ‘the Yadavas.’ The Yadava branch developed a great kingdom by extending its sway over neighbouring countries. They defeated the Pauravas (descendants of Puru) and drove the Druhyus into the Panjab.

Mandhatri

The kingdom of Ayodhya then rose to very great eminence under Yuvanasva II, and especially his son Mandhatri. The latter was a famous king, a Samraj (emperor), and extended his sway very widely. He overran the Paurava and Kanyakubja kingdoms and defeated the Druhyus. The Druhyu king Gandhara retired to the north-west, and gave his name to the Gandhara country. It is also probable that Mandhatri or his sons carried their arms south to the river Narmada.

The Haihayas

The supremacy of Ayodhya soon waned, and the Haihayas became the dominant power. One of their kings traversed the prostrate Paurava kingdom and conquered Kasi. The most famous king of this dynasty was Arjuna, son of Kritavirya. He extended his conquests from the mouth of the Narmada as far as the Himalayas and raised the Haihaya power to preeminence during his long reign. The principal Brahmans who dwelt in the lower region of the Narmada were the Bhargavas. They were ill-treated by the Haihaya kings and fled into Madhyadesa. The famous Rishi Richika Aurva, who was chief among them, married a daughter of Gadhi, king of Kanyakubja. The issue of the marriage was Jamadagni, who married a princess of Ayodhya. Gadhi’s son Viśvaratha became the Brahmana Visvamitra.

Jamadagni and Arjuna

At the end of his long reign, Arjuna came into collision with Jamadagni and killed him. The latter’s son Rama took up the light and was supported by the princes of Ayodhya and Kanyakubja, who were allied to him by marriage and who would naturally have opposed the dangerous raids of the Haihayas. With their help, Rama killed Arjuna and punished the Haihayas.

Sagara

But although the Haihayas received a setback, they grew in power, and their dominions stretched from the Gulf of Cambay to the Ganges—Jumna Doab, and thence to Benares. They overthrew the kingdoms of Ayodhya and Kanyakubja and many other kingdoms in the north-west with the cooperation of various foreign tribes. The king of Ayodhya, driven from his throne, took refuge in the forest and died there, leaving a child named Sagara. Sagara, on reaching manhood, defeated the Haihayas and regained Ayodhya. He extended his campaign, crushed the Haihayas in their own territories, and subdued all the other enemies in North India. India was thus saved from age-long struggles and depredations, bringing ruin and carnage in their train.

Minor States

When Sagara established his empire over Northern India, the only noticeable kingdoms that survived were the Videha, Vaisali, and Anava (descendants of Anu) kingdoms in the cast, Kasi in Madhyadesa, and the Yadava kingdoms in Vidarbha and on the Chambal. After the death of Sagara, the overthrown dynasties appear to have generally recovered themselves, and the Yadavas of Vidarbha seem to have extended their authority northward over the Haihaya territory. Vidarbha, after whom the province was named, had a grandson, Chidi, who founded the dynasty of Chaidya kings in Chedi, the country lying along the south bank of the Jumna. The Anava kingdom in the east, the nucleus of which was Anga, became divided up into five kingdoms, said to have been named after King Bali’s sons, Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Suhma, and Pundra. The capital of Anga was Malini, and its name was changed afterwards to Champa or Champavati (Bhagalpur) after King Champa.

The Pauravas

The Paurava realm had been overthrown in Mandhatri’s time, but, after Sagara’s death, it was reestablished by Dushyanta. Dushyanta’s son by Sakuntala was the famous and pious Bharata. Their territory, however, appears to have been shifted to the northern portion of the Ganges-Jumna Doab, for Pratishthana is no longer mentioned, and the district was included in the Vatsa realm. Bharata was a great monarch with a wide sway, and his successors were the famous Bharatas. Bharata’s fifth successor, Hastin, made Hastinapura his capital. Under Hastin and his successors, the Paurava dynasty extended its sway over Panchala and other neighbouring realms.

Kingdom of Ayodhya

In the meantime, Ayodhya again rose to prominence under Sagara’s great-grandson Bhagiratha and the latter’s successors. But after the reign of Kalmashapada, who killed the sons of his priest Vasishtha, a troublesome period ensued, and the kingdom was divided among two rival lines. The internal dissensions continued for six or seven generations, until Dilipa II reestablished the single monarchy. The kingdom of Ayodhya, which now acquired the name of Kosala, rose to prominence under Dilipa II and his successors Raghu, Aja, Dasaratha, and Rama. After them, Ayodhya ceased to play any prominent part in history.

The Yadavas

About this time, the Yadavas rose to power. For a long time their territory was divided into a number of small kingdoms, but the famous king Madhu consolidated them, and his territory is alleged to have extended from Gujarat to the Jumna. His descendants were the Madhus or Madhavas. But the large Yadava kingdom was again divided among Satvata’s four sons, of whom Andhaka and Vrishņi became the founders of important ruling dynasties. Andhaka reigned at Mathura, the chief Yadava capital, and Vrishni reigned probably at Dväraka in Gujarat.

The Kurus

About this time the kingdom of north Panchala rose to great power, and the famous king Sudasa established its preeminence by driving out the Paurava king of Hastinapura and defeating a confederacy of hostile kings. But not long afterwards, the table was turned. The Pauravas not only recovered Hastinapura but conquered north Panchala, and under the famous king Kuru, their sway extended beyond Prayaga. Kuru gave his name to Kurukshetra and to Kurujangala, which adjoined it on the east and in which Hastinapura lay. His successors were called the Kurus or the Kauravas, a name that was extended also to the people.

Jarasandha

Vasu, a descendant of Kuru, conquered the kingdom of Chedi and extended his conquests as far as Magadha in the east and Matsya in the north-west. He divided the kingdom among his five sons. Brihadratha, the eldest, took Magadha, with Girivraja as his capital, and founded the famous Barhadratha dynasty there. Jarasandha was one of the most famous kings of this dynasty and extended his kingdom as far as Mathura, where Kamsa, the Yadava king, acknowledged him as overlord. Kamsa, relying on his favour, tyrannised over his own subjects and was killed by Krishna. This roused Jarasandha’s wrath against Krishna and the Bhojas of Mathura. For a long time they resisted him, but feeling their position there insecure, they migrated in a body to Gujarat, and established themselves in Dvaraka, where Krishna ultimately obtained the lordship.

The Kauravas and the Pandavas

In the meantime, the Kauravas had again become prominent under Pratipa and his successor Santanu. Santanu’s grandsons were Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Dhritarashtra had many sons, Duryodhana and others, who, as the eldest branch, were called the Kauravas. Pandu had five sons, Yudhishthira and others, who were known as the Pandavas. Pandu died early, and there was intense jealousy between the cousins. The young Pandavas received the small principality of Indraprastha (Delhi) as their share of the Kaurava territory, but being ambitious, they, with Krishna’s help, killed Jarasandha, their common enemy. They were banished for fourteen years as the penalty of losing at dice and, at the end of that time, reclaimed their principality; but Duryodhana refused all terms, and they appealed to arms. They were aided by the Matsyas, Chedis, Karushas, Kasis, south Panchalas, western Magadhas, and the western Yadavas from Gujarat and Surashtra, and on Duryodhana’s side were all the Panjab nations. and all the other kingdoms of Northern India and the north of the Deccan. The contest ended in the victory of the Pandavas, with the slaughter of nearly all the kings and princes who took part in it. It was the famous Bharata battle. Yudhishthira became the king of the Kurus and reigned at Hastinapura. A few years later, the Yadavas of Gujarat were ruined by fratricidal strife, and Krishna died. Yudhishthira then abdicated and retired with his brothers, having placed Arjuna’s grandson Parikshit II on the throne.

The later history of the Kurus

The great slaughter of the Kshatriyas in the battle must have seriously weakened the stability of the kingdoms, especially in the north-west, which were faced by hostile frontier tribes. The Nagas established themselves at Takshasila and probably overran the whole of the Panjab. Within a century of the great battle, the Kuru king was obliged to abandon all the northern parts of the Ganges-Jumna Doab, and the Kaurava-Pandavas then reigned at Kausambi.

Conclusion

The political history of the Later Vedic Period marks a crucial transition from tribal organizations to more centralized and complex monarchies. The period witnessed the rise of powerful kingdoms like Kuru and Panchala, where kingship became a divine institution, closely tied to elaborate rituals and the support of the Brahmin class. Political power increasingly shifted towards hereditary monarchies, while the traditional assemblies, such as the Sabha and Samiti, played diminishing roles. Warfare and alliances were common as kingdoms sought to expand their territories and influence. Religion and politics were deeply intertwined, with rituals like the Ashvamedha being used to legitimize royal authority. This era laid the foundations for the more structured political systems that would follow in ancient India, setting the stage for the formation of early empires.

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