Tribes in Ancient India c75.10

c75.10

The Daśārṇas figure in the Mahābhārata as one of the tribes who fought for the Pāṇḍavas in the great Kurukṣetra war.³ The Daśārṇa king at that time was Kṣatradeva, a mighty hero, who fought valiantly on elephant-back. He attacked the enemy-generals,⁴ and the king of Prāgjyotiṣa or Kāmarūpa.⁵ The warriors of the Daśārṇa king were all mighty heroes and could fight best on elephants.⁶ According to Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra (Book II, Chap. II), the elephants of Aṅga and Kaliṅga belonged to the best of their species, while those of Karūṣa, Daśārṇa and Aparānta ranked second, those of the Saurāṣṭras and allied tribes (Saurāṣṭrikāḥ pañcajanāḥ) being the worst.