Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c15.s4.t2.1

c15.s4.t2.1

The Dālbhyas who appear in the *Ṛg Veda* are referred to as settled on the banks of the Gomati,⁶ which Raychaudhuri suggests might be the Gumti which flows between the Ganges and the Ghāgrā.⁷ But it seems strange that the Ṛg Vedic text should refer to such an eastern river. Even the Ganges is referred to only a few times in the *Ṛg Veda*. In Monier Williams' opinion, the Gomati referred to in some hymns fell into the Indus.⁸ It was probably in that region that the Keśins of the *Ṛg Veda* were settled. Probably during the later Vedic period they moved to the Pāñcāla region, from where a branch of them moved further eastwards and settled at Kesaputta, sometime before the days of the Buddha.