Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s17.422

v1.c3.s17.422

But Geldner¹⁶ has suggested with great probability that Trtsu, who is once mentioned in the singular,¹⁷ means the Trtsu king—that is, Sudās.¹⁸ This explanation alone justifies the description¹⁹ of the Bharatas as Trtsūnām viśaḥ,²⁰ ‘subjects of the Trtsus,’ meaning the Trtsu Gotra or family, for the people could not be said to be subjects of a body of priests. The Vasiṣṭhas might be called Trtsus because of their close connexion with the royal house of that people. The reverse process is also quite possible, but is rendered improbable by the fact that the Pratṛdaḥ are referred to as receiving Vasiṣṭha.²¹ This name of the Trtsu dynasty is probably older than its connexion with Vasiṣṭha in the time of Sudās, a conclusion supported by the name of Pratardana, who is mentioned later as a descendant of Divodāsa,²² an ancestor of Sudās. The Trtsu dynasty could therefore hardly have been referred to as Vasiṣṭhas. For the further history of the dynasty and its relation with Vasiṣṭha and Viśvāmitra, see Sudās.