Druhyus

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The Druhyu were a people of Ancient India. They are already mentioned in the Rigveda.^[1], often together with the Anu tribe. Some early scholars have placed them in the northwestern region. <ref. Macdonell-Keith, Vedic Index 1912, vol. I p. 395 </ref>

The Epic and the Puranas say that they are located in the "north" (that is, Gandhara), and are settled in Gandhara, Aratta and Setu. (Vishnu Purana IV.17) The Druhyus were driven out of the land of the seven rivers by Mandhatr and their next king Gandhara settled in a north-western region which became known as Gandhāra. The sons of the later Druhyu king Pracetas too settle in the "northern" (udīcya) region (Bhagavata 9.23.15-16; Visnu 4.17.5; Vayu 99.11-12; Brahmanda 3.74.11-12 and Matsya 48.9.) Some have assumed that they could be related to Zoroastrian, Iranian, Greek or European peoples, while there is no trace of the tribal name west of India.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ e.g. RV 1.108.8; 7.18; 8.10.5; 6.46.8

[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.