Druhyus

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The Druhyus were a people of Ancient India. They are already mentioned in the Rigveda.^[1] They lived in the Ghandara region. They were often considered to be Dasyus.

The Puranas say that they moved north and west, and then settled in Gandhara, Aratta (northwest Punjab) and Setu. (VP IV.17) The Druhyus were driven out of the land of the seven rivers by Mandhatr and their next king Ghandara settled in a north-western region which became known as Ghandara. The sons of the later Druhyu king Pracetas finally migrate to the region north of Afghanistan.( Bhagavata 9.23.15-16; Visnu 4.17.5; Vayu 99.11-12; Brahmanda 3.74.11-12 and Marsya 48.9.) Some scholars say they could be related to Zoroastrian, Iranian, Greek or European peoples.

They were probably a north-western people^[2]. In the Hindu epics, they are connected with Ghandara.^[3]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ e.g. RV 1.108.8; 7.18; 8.10.5; 6.46.8
2. ^ Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, 1912, I, 385
3. ^ Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, 1912, I, 385

[edit] References

• Rig Veda
• Vishnu Purana
• Frawley David: The Rig Veda and the History of India, 2001.(Aditya Prakashan), ISBN 81-7742-039-9
• Pargiter, F.E. [1922] 1979. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. New Delhi: Cosmo.
• Talageri, Shrikant: The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis 2000, ISBN 81-7742-010-0 [6]; --Aryan Invasion Theory and Indian Nationalism. 1993.