Tribes in Ancient India c58.2

c58.2

The Kirātas were a non-Aryan mountain tribe, possessing a rude culture. They are referred to in the *Mahābhārata* (XII, 207, 43) together with the Yaunas or Yavanas, Kāmbojas, Gāndhāras, and Barbaras, who all dwelt in the northern region or Uttarāpatha; while the *Rāmāyaṇa* mentions them along with the Mlecchas, or ‘barbarians’, another non-Aryan tribe. That the Kirātas were outside the Aryan fold is evident from a passage in the *Śrīmad-bhāgavatam* (II, 4, 18) which states that the Kirātas along with the Hūṇas, Andhras, Pulindas, Pulkasas, Ābhīras, Suhmas, Yavanas, Khasas, and other impure tribes purified themselves by offering their allegiance to Śrī-Kṛṣṇa. The Kirātas are mentioned in the *Viṣṇupurāṇa* (Wilson’s Ed., II, pp. 156–90), in a long list of Indian peoples and countries, where they also seem to have been located in the northern region.