Sudas

Sudās (Sanskrit: सुदास) was an Indo-Aryan tribal king of the Bhāratas, during the main or middle Rigvedic period (c. 14th century BCE).[1] He led his tribe to victory in the Battle of the Ten Kings near the Paruṣṇī (modern Ravi River) in Punjab,[2] defeating an alliance of the powerful Puru tribe with other tribes, for which he was eulogised by his purohita Vashistha in a hymn of the Rigveda. His victory established the ascendency of the Bhārata clan, allowing them to move eastwards and settle in Kurukshetra, paving the way for the emergence of the Kuru "super-tribe" or tribal union, which dominated northern India in the subsequent period.[3]

Mention in Rigveda
Main article: Battle of the Ten Kings

Sudas is mentioned in Rigveda as the chief of Bharatas who conquered the ten-kings confederacy.[2] It is further mentioned that the king replaced Vashistha with Visvamitra as his priest, thereby creating a rivalry between the two. The ten-kings, viz. Puru, Yadu, Turvasa, Adu, Druhyu, Alina, Paktha, Bhalanas, Siva and Vishanin, then revolted against Sudas but were defeated by him. He also fought Ajas, Sigrus and Yakshus soon after.[4]

See also

References

Citations
  1. Witzel, Michael (2000). "The Languages of Harappa". In Kenoyer, J.. Proceedings of the conference on the Indus civilization.
  2. Mookerji 1988, p. 1.
  3. Witzel, Michael (1995), "Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state", EJVS vol. 1 no. 4 (1995)
  4. Sen 1999, p. 41.

Sources
  • Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1988) [first published in 1966], Chandragupta Maurya and his times (4th ed.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0433-3
  • Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999) [1988], Ancient Indian History and Civilization (Second ed.), New Age International Publishers, ISBN 81-224-1198-3
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