Tribes in Ancient India c6.22

c6.22

The Mahābhārata contains many legends about Gandhāra. In the Ādiparvan we find that Dhṛtarāṣṭra, king of the Kurus, married the daughter of Suvala,⁵ King of Gandhāra, and 100 sons were born to them (Chap. 10, p. 118; Chap. 63, p. 72). A princess of Gandhāra was one of the wives of Ajamīḍha who was the originator of the Kuru family. Gandhāra, it is said, was named after this Gāndhārī (Ādiparvan, Chap. 95, p. 105). In the Udyogaparvan we find that King Yayāti sent his son Yadu into exile in Gandhāra, because he began to disregard his Kṣatriya superiors, becoming vain on account of his strength (Chap. 149, p. 771). In the Droṇaparvan it is said that Karṇa brought Gandhāra under the sway of Duryodhana (Chap. 4, p. 997); while in the Aśvamedhaparvan we read that Arjuna went to the Punjab (Pañcanada), where he had a hard fight with the son of Śakuni, King of Gandhāra. The Gandhāran army was put to flight, but Arjuna spared the life of Śakuni's son (Chaps. 83-4, pp. 2093-4).