Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c30.85

c30.85

These conclusions raise the question, what does tradition say about the origin of the Ailas or Aryans? It makes the Aila power begin at Allahabad, and yet distinctly suggests that they came from outside India. The legends and fables about the progenitor Purūravas Aila all connect him with the middle Himalayan region.⁴ He was closely associated with the Gandharvas. His wife Urvaśī was a Gandharvī, as well as called an apsaras.⁵ The places he frequented were the river Mandākinī, Alakā, the Caitraratha and Nandana forests, the mountains Gandhamādana and Meru, and the land of the Uttara Kurus—regions to which the Gandharvas were assigned.⁶ From the Gandharvas he obtained sacrificial fire; his sons were known in the Gandharva world;⁷ and he ultimately became united with the Gandharvas.⁸ Further, the fables about his birth (pp. 253–4) point to that region, and two accounts connect his alleged parent Ila with the northern country Ilāvṛta, which they say was named after him.¹