Tribes in Ancient India c37.17

c37.17

The earliest epigraphic mention of the Andhra people is made in some of the edicts (XIII, R.E.) of Aśoka where the Andhras, Palidas (Pāladas, Parimdas = the Pulindas, or the Pāradas), Bhojas and Rāthikas (Rāṣṭrikas) are said to have been vassal tribes of the great Maurya. The Andhra people are also referred to by Pliny who says that the Andarae or Āndhras possessed a very large number of villages, thirty towns defended by walls and towers, and supplied their king with an army of 100,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 1,000 elephants.⁵