Tribes in Ancient India c30.2

c30.2

The Niṣadhas were a different race from the Niṣādas with whom they are often confounded; and we may conclude that they belonged to the Aryan fold. According to the Epic and Paurāṇic tradition, the Niṣadhas are said to have sprung from the primeval King Pṛthu, son of Veṇa.¹ The tribe seems to have derived its name from Niṣadha who is described in the Purāṇas and *Bhagavadgītā* to have been the son of Atithi, grandson of Kuśa, and father of Nala.² According to the *Viṣṇupurāṇa* (IV, Chap. 24, 17), the ten kings of the Mekala country and nine of the Sapta Kośala country are said to have been succeeded by the nine kings of the Niṣadhas, while, according to the *Vāyupurāṇa*, the kings of the Niṣadha country held sway till the end of the days of Manu. They were all descendants of King Nala, and lived in the country of Niṣadha (*Vāyu* P., Chap. 99, 376). This King Nala of the Purāṇas must be identical with the King Nala whose story is referred to in the *Mahābhārata* (III).³