Public Administration in Ancient India c5.3

c5.3

The Āryas of the land of the Seven Rivers (now known as the Punjab) were divided into a number of tribes or nations (janāḥ).¹ Each tribe or nation, again, was subdivided into a number of clans (viśaḥ), the members of which claimed their descent from a common ancestor, real or mythical. The different tribes lived, as a rule, on terms of amity and peaceful neighbourliness, and each clan was united with the others by a tie of kindred and a sense of common interest. Occasionally, envy and jealousy led to quarrels and internecine wars, but such occasions were few and far between.¹