Tribes in Ancient India c77.24

c77.24

The *Mahābhārata*¹ and the *Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa* mention a people called the Mūṣikas as dwelling in the south; the same people evidently were also called Mūṣakas who are mentioned twice in the *Mahābhārata*.² The *Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa* in another context refers to a people called Mṛṣikas³ as dwelling in the south-east and still another called Ṛṣikas⁴ in the south. The Mṛṣikas were apparently the same as the Mūṣikas or the Musakas. The Ṛṣikas were also a well-known people; they are referred to as dwelling in the north in the *Mahābhārata*,⁵ in the *Rāmāyaṇa*⁶ as well as in the *Matsyapurāṇa*.⁷ Another section of the same people seems to have their location in the south.⁸ It is difficult to say whether the Ṛṣikas were the same as the Mṛṣikas or the Mūṣikas = Mūṣakas.