Tribes in Ancient India c27.2

c27.2

The Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta (fourth century A.D.) (i, 22) refers to a host of tribes—Mālavas, Ārjunāyanas, Yaudheyas, Madrakas, Ābhīras, Prārjunas, Sanakānīkas, Kākas, Kharaparikas, and others—that obeyed the imperial commands and paid all kinds of taxes. Research has ascertained that all these tribal states were located along the north-western, western and south-western fringes of the N. Indian kingdom of Samudragupta. The Mālavas, Yaudheyas, Madrakas and Ābhīras are more or less wellknown, but very little is known about the other tribes.