Sudra and Abhira were mentioned as two kingdoms where the river Saraswati existed only as a dried up river bed during the time of Kurukshetra War. After the fall of the Dwaraka federation, when Arjuna was taking the Yadav women of Dwaraka to Indraprastha, the Abhira tribes attacked him and took away the women and all the wealth. Ahir (a corruption of the word Abhir, fearless) is a subgroup of the Yadav caste of India. ... Saraswati, goddess of knowledge Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती) is the first of the three great goddesses of Hinduism, the other two being Lakshmi and Durga. ... Combatants Pandavas led by Dhristadyumna Kauravas led by Bhishma Commanders Arjuna Bhima Yudhishthira Nakula Sahadeva Bhishma Duryodhana Karna The Kurukshetra war forms an essential component of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. ... Dwaraka Capital : Dwaravati (near Dwarka, , Gujarat) Dwaraka was a new country founded by the Yadava clan of chiefs who fled from the Surasena Kingdom due to fear from the king Jarasandha of Magadha. ... Krishna to Arjuna: Behold My mystic opulence! Artwork © courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, arjuna) is one of the heroes of the epic Hindu Mahabharata. ... Yadav is a Hindu caste which is referred to in ancient Hindu scriptures. ... The first city of Delhi is believed to be founded by the legendary Pandavas of the Mahabharata around 1400 BC. It was called Indraprastha. ...

References of Abhiras in Mahabharata

The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically Mahābhārata - see note), is one of the three major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the others being the Ramayana and the Bhagavatam. ...

Nakula's military campaigning to the west

• MBh 2.31

Nakula, lead his campaign from Indraprastha to the western regions, to collect tribute for Yudhisthira's Rajasuya sacrifice. The first city of Delhi is believed to be founded by the legendary Pandavas of the Mahabharata around 1400 BC. It was called Indraprastha. ... In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, yudhishthira) was the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, king of Hastinapura and Indraprastha, and World Emperor. ... Rajasuya was a sacrifice performed by the ancient kings of India. ...

Nakula, the Pandava general, brought under subjection the mighty Gramaniya that dwelt on the shore of the sea, and the Sudras and the Abhiras that dwelt on the banks of the Saraswati, and all those tribes that lived upon fisheries, and those also that dwelt on the mountains, and the whole of the country called after the five rivers, and the mountains called Amara, and the country called Uttarayotisha and the city of Divyakutta and the tribe called Dwarapala. Nakula was the son of King Pandu and Queen Madri. ... In the Mahabharata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri. ... The Hindu Vedas mention a river named Sarasvatī. In Sanskrit saras means a pool or water body, and vatī (from vnt-ī, the female form of the -vant suffix) means she having lots of pools. Sarasvati was the biggest and most important of the seven holy rivers of the Rig Veda. ...

Markandeya's prediction of powerful tribes in the future

• MBh 3.187

Sage Markandeya explains to Yudhisthira about the rise of western tribes, and their influence on Bharata Varsha or Ancient India Markandeya was an ancient Indian rishi (sage), and a devotee of Shiva and Vishnu. ... In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, yudhishthira) was the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, king of Hastinapura and Indraprastha, and World Emperor. ...

The Andhhas, the Sakas, the Pulindas, the Yavanas, the Kamvojas, the Valhikas and the Abhiras, then become (in Kali Yuga, which is future for Yudhisthira), possessed of bravery and the sovereignty of the earth. Context : Kingdoms of Ancient India Andhra was a southern kingdom ruled by Brahmin rulers. ... Context : Kingdoms of Ancient India Sakas were a Mlechcha tribe grouped along with the Yavanas, Tusharas and Barbaras. ... Context : Kingdoms of Ancient India Yavana or Yona is grouped under western countries along with Sindhu, Madra, Kekeya, Gandhara and Kamboja as per the descriptions in the epic Mahabharata. ... Kamboja or Kamvoja is a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. ... All the western kingdoms were known by the general name Bahlika (Vahika, Vahlika and Bahika as variations of the name) meaning outsider. ... Kali Yuga is also the title of a book by Roland Charles Wagner. ... In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, yudhishthira) was the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, king of Hastinapura and Indraprastha, and World Emperor. ...

Abhiras in the List of Kingdoms of Bharata Varsha

• MBh 6.9

In Bhishama Parava, while narrating to Dhritarashtra the names of the Mountains, Rivers, Provinces etc of Bharata Varsha, Sanjaya includes the Abhiras in the list of its provinces and seems to locate them somewhere between the Mallas, Valhikas and the Aprantas (6,9). In Mahabharata Dhritarashtra was the son bore by Vichitraviryas first wife Ambika from Vyasa. ... Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska (USA) has the largest visible base-to-summit elevation difference on Earth. ... The Murray River in Australia. ... This article is about political regions. ...

i.e. ....the Valhikas , the Vatadhanas, the Abhiras, the Kalajoshakas; the Aparantas, the Parantas, the Pahnabhas, the Charmamandalas; the Atavisikharas, the Mahabhutas..... All the western kingdoms were known by the general name Bahlika (Vahika, Vahlika and Bahika as variations of the name) meaning outsider. ...

In the same Parava, there is also reference to the Sudra-Abhiras who are listed among the tribes of north such as the Yavanas, the Chinas, the Kambojas, the Darunas, and many Mleccha tribes, the Sukritvahas, the Kulatthas (Kulutas), the Hunas, and the Parasikas, the Ramanas, and the Dasamalikas, the Daradas, the Kasmiras, the Khasiras, the Bharadvajas, and the diverse tribes of Kiratas, the Tomaras, the Hansamargas, and the Karamanjakas etc (6.9) Viewed historically or developmentally, a tribe consists of a social formation existing before the development of, or outside of, states. ... ... Kambojas are a very ancient people of north-western parts of ancient India and Afghanistan , frequently mentioned in ancient texts, although not in the Rig Veda. ... For the Indian Hunas see Hephthalite Huna is the name that spiritualist entrepreneur Max Freedom Long gave his version of Hawaiian spiritualism. ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... Daradas were a people who lived north and north-east to the Kashmir valley. ... Shown in green is the Kashmiri region under Pakistani control. ... The Khasas are an ancient people, believed to be a section of the Iranians who originally belonged to Central Asia from where they had penetrated, in remote antiquity, the Himalayas through Kashgar and Kashmir and dominated the whole hilly region. ... In Hinduism, Bharadwaja was one of the great sages(rishi) who lived in ancient India. ... The Kiratas mentioned in early Hindu texts are the non-Aryan aborigines of the land. ...

Participation in the Kurukshetra War

• MBh 7.20

Bhutasarman, and Kshemasarman, and the valiant Karakaksha, and the Kalingas, the Singhalas, the Easterners, the Sudras, the Abhiras, the Daserakas, the Sakas, the Yavanas, the Kambojas, the Hangsapadas, the Surasenas, the Daradas, the Madras, and the Kalikeyas, with hundreds and thousands of elephants, steeds, cars, and foot-soldiers were stationed at its neck of the military formation formed by the Kaurava general Drona in Kurukshetra War. Context : Kingdoms of Ancient India Kalinga forms the southern part of Orissa state. ... Sinhala was a kingdom in the island Lanka, modern day Srilanka, mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. ... Sudra and Abhira were mentioned as two kingdoms where river Saraswati exists as a dried up river bed along its course. ... Context : Kingdoms of Ancient India Sakas were a Mlechcha tribe grouped along with the Yavanas, Tusharas and Barbaras. ... Context : Kingdoms of Ancient India Yavana or Yona is grouped under western countries along with Sindhu, Madra, Kekeya, Gandhara and Kamboja as per the descriptions in the epic Mahabharata. ... Kambojas are a very ancient people of north-western parts of ancient India and Afghanistan , frequently mentioned in ancient texts, although not in the Rig Veda. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Context: Kingdoms of Ancient India Daradas were a Mongoloid people who lived north to the Kashmir valley. ... Madra was a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. ... Kekeya is a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. ... The term Kaurava is a Sanskrit term, that means the descendants of Kuru, a legendary king who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the Mahabharata. ... In the epic Mahabharata, Drona (Sanskrit: द्रोण, droNa) or Dronacharya (द्रोणाचार्य, droNāchārya) is the royal guru to the Kauravas and the Pandavas. ... Combatants Pandavas led by Dhristadyumna Kauravas led by Bhishma Commanders Arjuna Bhima Yudhishthira Nakula Sahadeva Bhishma Duryodhana Karna The Kurukshetra war forms an essential component of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. ...

Impact of Bhargava Rama on Abhira tribe

• MBh 14.29

Dravidas and Abhiras and Pundras, together with the Savaras, became fallen to low status, though those men who had Kshatriya duties assigned to them in consequence of their birth, falling away from those duties due to fear of Bhargava Rama. Context : Kingdoms of Ancient India Dravida was a southern kingdom ruled by Brahmin rulers. ... Context: Kingdoms of Ancient India Pundra was an eastern kingdom located in West Bengal. ... Bhargava Rama was a Brahmin warrior in the lineage of Bhrigus. ...

Attack of Abhiras on Arjuna and the people of Dwaraka

• MBh 16.7

Arjuna rescued the women and children and a few soldiers from Dwaraka Island as it sank into the sea. They where heading from Dwaraka to Indraprastha, along a road parallel to the course of Saraswati River. Then the Abhiras attacked them. Dwaraka Capital : Dwaravati (near Dwarka, , Gujarat) Dwaraka was a new country founded by the Yadava clan of chiefs who fled from the Surasena Kingdom due to fear from the king Jarasandha of Magadha. ... The first city of Delhi is believed to be founded by the legendary Pandavas of the Mahabharata around 1400 BC. It was called Indraprastha. ... The Hindu Vedas mention a river named SarasvatÄ«. In Sanskrit saras means a pool or water body, and vatÄ« (from vnt-Ä«, the female form of the -vant suffix) means she having lots of pools. Sarasvati was the biggest and most important of the seven holy rivers of the Rig Veda. ...

Then those men, with hearts overwhelmed by cupidity, those Abhiras of ill omen, assembled together and held a consultation. They said, Here there is only one bowman, Arjuna. The cavalcade consists of children and the old. He escorts them, transgressing us. The warriors (of the Vrishnis) are without energy. Then those robbers, numbering by thousands, and armed with clubs, rushed towards the procession of the Vrishnis (the Yadava clan of Dwaraka), desirous of plunder. Krishna to Arjuna: Behold My mystic opulence! Artwork © courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, arjuna) is one of the heroes of the epic Hindu Mahabharata. ... The Yadava Dynasty ruled a kingdom in what is now Maharashtra, India from the 12th century to the 14th century. ...

• MBh 16.8

In Arjuna's very sight thousands of Vrishni ladies were carried away by the Abhiras of the country of the five waters. Krishna to Arjuna: Behold My mystic opulence! Artwork © courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, arjuna) is one of the heroes of the epic Hindu Mahabharata. ...

Balarama's pilgrimage along Saraswati River

• MBh 9.37

Then Bala Rama proceeded to Vinasana where the Sarasvati River hath become invisible in consequence of her contempt for the Sudras, the Abhiras. And since the Sarasvati, in consequence of such contempt, is lost at that spot, the Rishis, for that reason, always name the place as Vinasana. Having bathed in that tirtha of the Sarasvati, the mighty Bala Rama then proceeded to Subhumika, situated on the excellent bank of the same river. Balarama (left) with his brother Krishna Krishna-Balarama Mandir, Vrindavan, India In Hindu Vaishnavism, Balarama (or Bala-rama) is considered to be the ninth avatar of Vishnu. ... The Sarasvati River is an ancient river that is mentioned in Hindu texts. ... Sudra and Abhira were mentioned as two kingdoms where river Saraswati exists as a dried up river bed along its course. ... Balarama (left) with his brother Krishna Krishna-Balarama Mandir, Vrindavan, India In Hindu Vaishnavism, Balarama (or Bala-rama) is considered to be the ninth avatar of Vishnu. ...

See also

1. Kingdoms of Ancient India
2. Sudra Kingdom
3. Saraswati

This article tries to compile and classify all the Kingdoms of Ancient India mentioned in the Sanskrit/Vedic literature. ... Sudra and Abhira were mentioned as two kingdoms where river Saraswati exists as a dried up river bed along its course. ... Saraswati, goddess of knowledge Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती) is the first of the three great goddesses of Hinduism, the other two being Lakshmi and Durga. ...

References

• Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli