Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s11.557

v1.c3.s11.557

The territory of the Kuru-Pañcālas is declared in the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa to be the middle country (Madhyadeśa).³⁸ A group of the Kuru people still remained further north—the Uttara Kurus beyond the Himālaya. It appears from a passage of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa that the speech of the Northerners—that is, presumably, the Northern Kurus—and of the Kuru-Pañcālas was similar, and regarded as specially pure.³⁹ There seems little doubt that the Brahminical culture was developed in the country of the Kuru-Pañcālas, and that it spread thence east, south, and west. Traces of this are seen in the Vrātya Stomas (sacrifices for the admission of non-Brahminical Āryans) of the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa,⁴⁰ and in the fact that in the Śāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka it is unusual for a Brahmin to dwell in the territory of Magadha.⁴¹ The repeated mention of Kuru-Pañcāla Brahmins is another indication of their missionary activity.⁴²