Tribes in Ancient India c50.5

c50.5

In the *Taittirīya Brāhmana* (III, 4, 1, 1) we read that the people of Magadha were famous for their loud voice. The fact that Māgadha in later times often stands for ‘minstrel’ is easily accounted for by the assumption that the country was the home of minstrelsy and that wandering bards from Magadha were apt to visit the more western provinces of ancient India. The minstrel character of the Magadhas also appears from the *Mānava Dharmaśāstra* which mentions them as bards and traders.³ The *Brahmapurāna* tells us that the first great Samrāt or Emperor Prthu gave Magadha to Māgadha, being highly pleased with his song in praise of himself.⁴