Tribes in Ancient India c7.43

c7.43

In the Epic period, the Kurus became the most powerful Kṣatriya tribe in northern India, after the downfall of the Magadha empire of Rājagṛha when Bhīmasena, who belonged to the younger branch of the Kauravas, killed the Samrāṭ (Emperor) Jarāsandha. Bhīmasena’s grandson, Pratīpa, had three sons, Devāpi, Vāhlika and Śāntanu. The eldest son, Devāpi, was a leper, and for this reason King Pratīpa was prevented by his subjects and by the advice of wise men from placing him on the throne. Devāpi became an ascetic, while Vāhlika went to rule over his maternal uncle’s land, and, after Pratīpa’s death, granted permission to his brother Śāntanu to reign over the Kuru country.⁴