Kekaya
Encyclopedia
Kekayas or Kaikeyas were an ancient people attested to have been living in north-western Punjab—between Gandhara
and Beas
river since remote antiquity. They were the descendants of the Kshatriya
s of the Kekaya Janapada hence called Kekayas or Kaikeyas. The Kekayas were often associated with the Madra
s, the Usinaras
s, the Sibis etc., and their territory had formed a part of the Vahika country, according to the evidence furnished by Pāṇini .
s, Yavanas, Shakas, Paradas, Bahlikas, Kambojas
, Daradas
, Barbaras, Chinas, Tusharas, Pahlavas etc., and call them as a people of Udichya i.e. of northern division or Uttarapatha
. The Kekayas are said to have occupied the land now comprised by three districts of Jhelum
, Shahpur and Gujerat , all in Pakistan.
s viz. Arjuna Aupavesi, Gautama, Satyajna Paulushi, Mahasala Jabala, Budila Asvatarashvi, Indradyumna Bhallaveya, jana Sarkarakshya, Prachinshala, Aupamanyava and Uddaalaka Aruni etc..
in the epic Ramayana
. Kekayi, one of the three queens
of Dashratha, the king of Ayodhya was a Kekaya princess. Ramayana
testifies that the capital of Kekayas lay beyond river Sudama . River Sudama has been identified with river Saranges of Arrian
which flowed also flowed through Kekians. The Vedic texts do not mention name of the capital of Kekaya but Ramayana
does inform us that the Kekaya metropolis was Rajagriha or Girivraja. which A. Cunningham has identified with Girjak or Jalalpur
on river Jhelum in the Jhelum district but this view has not been accepted by scholars. Ramayana further attests that Kekaya lay beyond Vipasa or Beas and abutted with the country of Gandharava or Gandhara
vishaya (country).
. The five Kekaya princes, led by their elder brother Vrihatkshatra, had joined the Pandava
army while other Kekaya brothers opposed Vrihatkshatra had sided with the Kauravas. The other numerous kingdoms of ancient India viz. Dwaraka, Kasi
, Magadha
, Matsya
, Chedi
, Pandya and the Yadus of Mathura were allies of Pandavas while the allies of the Kauravas were nations of Pragjyotisha, Anga
, Kekaya, Sindhudesa, Mahishmati, Avanti
in Madhyadesa, Madra
s, Gandhara
, Bahlika, Kamboja (with Yavanas, Sakas, Tusharas etc.) and many others had sided with Kauravas.
Karna Parava refers to the Kekayas, the Malavas, the Madra
kas, the Dravidas of fierce prowess, the Yaudheyas, the Lalittyas, the Kshudrakas, the Tundikeras, the Savitriputras etc., who had supported Karna
on 17th day of the war, as all having been slain by Arjuna
.
Mahabharata
associates the Kekaya peoples with the Madra
s (Madraschasca saha Kekayaiha) , Madra-Kekayah etc.
attests that the prince of Kekaya along with princes from Matsya
, Kosala
, Vidharbha, Kuru, Srnjaya, Kamboja
, Usinara, Madra
, Kunti, Anarta, Kerala
was present at Samanta-pancaka in Kurukshetra at the occasion of the solar eclipse . http://vedabase.net/sb/10/82/12-13/en.
and had participated in a war against Krishna
and his Yadava army http://vedabase.net/sb/2/7/34-35/en1.
was going to Mithila, the Kekays had met him with presents .
, the Sibi, the Madra
s, and the Kekayas were the direct descendants of Yayati
's son Anu. Sibi or Sivi is stated to be son of Usinara
The same tradition is also furnished by other Puranic texts like Vayu Purana
and Matsya Purana
as well . The Anavas, derived from Anu, were a tribe
of the Rigvedic
period and are said to belong to the Iranian
s.
and refer to the Kekaya city called Seyaviya.
, Vahlikas, Vahlavas, Limpakas, Tangana, Turukshas etc., referring to them all as the tribe
s of Uttarapatha
or north division .
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
and Beas
Beas River
The Beas River is a river in the northern part of India. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 km to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab....
river since remote antiquity. They were the descendants of the Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
s of the Kekaya Janapada hence called Kekayas or Kaikeyas. The Kekayas were often associated with the Madra
Madra
Madra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
s, the Usinaras
Usinaras
Usinaras were an ancient people attested to have been living in central Punjab since remote antiquity. They were often associated with Madras, Kekayas, Sibis etc and their territory formed part of Vahika country according to evidence of Pāṇini.- Usinaras in Vedic literature :There is a reference...
s, the Sibis etc., and their territory had formed a part of the Vahika country, according to the evidence furnished by Pāṇini .
Geographical Location the Kekayas
Numerous Puranas include the Kekayas in the list of GandharaGandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
s, Yavanas, Shakas, Paradas, Bahlikas, Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
, Daradas
Daradas
Daradas were a people who lived north and north-east to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region in Kashmir along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken along with the Kambojas...
, Barbaras, Chinas, Tusharas, Pahlavas etc., and call them as a people of Udichya i.e. of northern division or Uttarapatha
Uttarapatha
Ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the northern part of Jambudvipa, one of the "continents" in Hindu mythology.The name is derived from the Sanskrit terms uttara, for north, and patha, for road...
. The Kekayas are said to have occupied the land now comprised by three districts of Jhelum
Jhelum District
Jhelum District is in the Punjab province of Pakistan. According the 1998 census the district had a population of 936,957, of which 31.48% were urban. Jhelum is known for providing a large number of soldiers to the British and later to the Pakistan armed forces due to which it is also known as...
, Shahpur and Gujerat , all in Pakistan.
Kekayas in Vedic texts
The Rigvedic Kekayas dwelt on the banks of river Parusni (=Ravi) . The king of Kekayas at the time of Janaka of Videha was Ashvapati i.e. lord of horses. Satapatha Brahmana and Chandogiya Upanishada suggest that Kekaya king Ashvapati had instructed a number of BrahmanaBrahmana
The Brāhmaṇas are part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas, detailing the proper performance of rituals....
s viz. Arjuna Aupavesi, Gautama, Satyajna Paulushi, Mahasala Jabala, Budila Asvatarashvi, Indradyumna Bhallaveya, jana Sarkarakshya, Prachinshala, Aupamanyava and Uddaalaka Aruni etc..
Kekayas of Valmiki Ramayana
There are several references to KaikeyiKaikeyi
Kaikeyi , in the Hindu epic Rāmāyaṇa, was the second of King Daśaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā. She was the mother of Bharata...
in the epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
. Kekayi, one of the three queens
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of Dashratha, the king of Ayodhya was a Kekaya princess. Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
testifies that the capital of Kekayas lay beyond river Sudama . River Sudama has been identified with river Saranges of Arrian
Arrian
Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
which flowed also flowed through Kekians. The Vedic texts do not mention name of the capital of Kekaya but Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
does inform us that the Kekaya metropolis was Rajagriha or Girivraja. which A. Cunningham has identified with Girjak or Jalalpur
Jalalpur Sharif
Jalalpur Sharif is a small town located in Jhelum, and is a Union Council of Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil in Jhelum District, Punjab province, Pakistan...
on river Jhelum in the Jhelum district but this view has not been accepted by scholars. Ramayana further attests that Kekaya lay beyond Vipasa or Beas and abutted with the country of Gandharava or Gandhara
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
vishaya (country).
Vishnu-Dharmottara Mahapurana
According to Vishnu-Dharmottara Mahapurana also, the capital of the Kekayas lay beyond river Sudama which flowed some distance westwards from the Vitasta or Jhelum river. Prince Bharata, son of princess Kekayi, while going to Kekaya country from Ayodhya had to cross river Vitasta and then after crossing river Sudama, he reached the land of the Kekayas .Mahabharata references
The Kekayas are said to have fought on both sides in the Kurukshetra warKurukshetra war
According to the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata, a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins of an Indo-Aryan kingdom called Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in the Kurukshetra War in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated as allies of...
. The five Kekaya princes, led by their elder brother Vrihatkshatra, had joined the Pandava
Pandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
army while other Kekaya brothers opposed Vrihatkshatra had sided with the Kauravas. The other numerous kingdoms of ancient India viz. Dwaraka, Kasi
Kasi
KASI or Kasi may refer to:* Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, South Korea* Kingdom of Kashi, or Kasi, an ancient kingdom with Varanasi as its capital* 1430KASI, a radio station licensed to serve Ames, Iowa...
, Magadha
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
, Matsya
Matsya
Matsya was the first Avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. The great flood finds mention in Hindu mythology texts like the Satapatha Brahmana, where in the Matsya Avatar takes place to save the pious and the first man, Manu and advices him to build a giant boat.-The Legend:According to the Matsya...
, Chedi
Chedi Kingdom
Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yaduvanshi Rajput kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna and along river Betwa or Vetravati...
, Pandya and the Yadus of Mathura were allies of Pandavas while the allies of the Kauravas were nations of Pragjyotisha, Anga
Anga
Anga was a kingdom that flourished on the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 6th century BCE until taken over by Magadha in the same century. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya, Anga also finds mention in the Jain Vyakhyaprajnapti’s list of...
, Kekaya, Sindhudesa, Mahishmati, Avanti
Avanti
Avanti may refer to:* Avanti , a UK Government sponsored programme to assist construction project partners to work together more effectively...
in Madhyadesa, Madra
Madra
Madra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
s, Gandhara
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
, Bahlika, Kamboja (with Yavanas, Sakas, Tusharas etc.) and many others had sided with Kauravas.
Karna Parava refers to the Kekayas, the Malavas, the Madra
Madra
Madra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
kas, the Dravidas of fierce prowess, the Yaudheyas, the Lalittyas, the Kshudrakas, the Tundikeras, the Savitriputras etc., who had supported Karna
Karna
Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...
on 17th day of the war, as all having been slain by Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
.
Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
associates the Kekaya peoples with the Madra
Madra
Madra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
s (Madraschasca saha Kekayaiha) , Madra-Kekayah etc.
Bhagavata Purana references
There are several references to the Kekayas in the Bhagavatam Purana.Kekayas visit Samantapancaka
Bhagavata PuranaBhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
attests that the prince of Kekaya along with princes from Matsya
Matsya
Matsya was the first Avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. The great flood finds mention in Hindu mythology texts like the Satapatha Brahmana, where in the Matsya Avatar takes place to save the pious and the first man, Manu and advices him to build a giant boat.-The Legend:According to the Matsya...
, Kosala
Kosala
Kosala was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa Mahajanapadas in 6th century BCE and its cultural and...
, Vidharbha, Kuru, Srnjaya, Kamboja
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
, Usinara, Madra
Madra
Madra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
, Kunti, Anarta, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
was present at Samanta-pancaka in Kurukshetra at the occasion of the solar eclipse . http://vedabase.net/sb/10/82/12-13/en.
Kekayas join Rajasuya of Yudhishtra
Bhagavata Purana also testifies that the Kekayas and other nation like those of the Yadus, Srnjayas, Kurus and Kambojas had participated in the Rajasuya sacrifice of Yudhishtra. "The massed armies of the Yadus, Srnjayas, Kambojas, Kurus, Kekayas and Kosalas made the earth tremble as they followed Yudhishira Maharaja, the performer of the Rajasuya sacrifice, in procession" http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto10/Canto10-Sanskrit/chapter75.html.Kekayas fight Yadavas
The Kekayas, Madras and Kambojas etc. from north are stated to have sided with king Jarasandha of MagadhaMagadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
and had participated in a war against Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
and his Yadava army http://vedabase.net/sb/2/7/34-35/en1.
Other references in Bhagavata Purana
Kekays had participated in the marriage ceremony of Rukmini, queen consort of Krishna, the daughter of Bhishmaka, the king of Vidarbha. One of the wives of Krishna was a Kekaya princess. When KrishnaKrishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
was going to Mithila, the Kekays had met him with presents .
Traditional origin of Kekayas
Bhagavata Purana further states that the UsinarasUsinaras
Usinaras were an ancient people attested to have been living in central Punjab since remote antiquity. They were often associated with Madras, Kekayas, Sibis etc and their territory formed part of Vahika country according to evidence of Pāṇini.- Usinaras in Vedic literature :There is a reference...
, the Sibi, the Madra
Madra
Madra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
s, and the Kekayas were the direct descendants of Yayati
Yayati
Yayati was a Puranic king and the son of king Nahusha and one of ancestors of Pandavas. He was a great scholar of Vedas. He had five brothers, Yati, Samyati, Ayati, Viyati and Kriti. He had two wives, Devayani and Sharmishtha. Devayani was the daughter of Shukracharya, the priest of Asuras ....
's son Anu. Sibi or Sivi is stated to be son of Usinara
The same tradition is also furnished by other Puranic texts like Vayu Purana
Vayu Purana
The Vayu Purana is a Shaiva Purana, a Hindu religious text, dedicated to the god Vayu , containing about 24,000 shlokas.-Date:Banabhatta refers to this work in his Kadambari and Harshacharita...
and Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya Avatar to save the seeds of all lives and Manu...
as well . The Anavas, derived from Anu, were a tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
of the Rigvedic
Rigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
period and are said to belong to the Iranian
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
s.
Kekays in Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi
Pāṇini refers to the Kaikeyas or Kekayas in his Ashtadhyayi and mentions their land as a part of the Vahika country. The other three countries which formed parts of the Vahika land were the Madra, the Usinara and the Savasa lands .Jaina accounts
The Jaina texts say that one half of the Kekaya was AryanAryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
and refer to the Kekaya city called Seyaviya.
Kekayas in Kavyamimamsa of Rajashekhara
The 10th century CE Kavyamimamsa of Pandit Rajashekhara furnishes a list of the extant tribes of his times which also includes the Kekayas along with the Shakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, KambojasKambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
, Vahlikas, Vahlavas, Limpakas, Tangana, Turukshas etc., referring to them all as the tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s of Uttarapatha
Uttarapatha
Ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the northern part of Jambudvipa, one of the "continents" in Hindu mythology.The name is derived from the Sanskrit terms uttara, for north, and patha, for road...
or north division .
Migration of the Kekayas
A branch of the Kekaya seems to have migrated to southern India in later times and established its authority in Mysore country .Books and periodicals
- Mahabharata
- Bhagavata Purana
- Vayu Purana
- Matsya Purana
- Geographical Data in Ancient Puranas, 1972, Dr M. R. Singh
- Political History of Ancient India, 1996, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee
- India as Known to Panini, Dr V. S. Aggarwala
- Ancient Geography of India, A. Cunningham