Legendary kirant tribe in ancient India

Chandra Prakash Sunuwar

Kirant legendary aboriginal inhabitants of The Himalayas. Early references to the GOLDEN SKINNED kirant in Sanskrit literature portray them as fearsome skin-clad cannibalistic hunter, skilled in magical arts. In later Hindu Epics they are described as having their own kings who allied themselves with Hindu rulers but despised bramhans.In a well known Episode from the Mahavarata the god Shiva assumes the guise of kirata to do battle with the hero arjuna.The kirant have been associated with the kiranti of nepal like SUNUWAR, RAI, LIMBU AND YAKKHA.KASTEN RONNOW in his long article “kirata” A study on some ancient Indian tribes published in 1936 has provided a detailed accounts of the kiratas.The subject is further highlighted in Encyclopaedia prepared by R.N SALETORE, ROBERT has touched on the subject without giving any details. SUDHAKAR CHATTOPADHYAH had tried to do justice with the subject concerned through his Important work. R.P. CHANDRA a celebrated Indian anthropologist and a highly accomplished scholar of indology has also made a historical study of a few ancient Indian tribes by taking a numismatic approach to the problem concerned. All of them mentioned about kirant which Is the most ancient tribe in Indian continent. The more important inscriptions about the ethnic communities of the region are the PANDUKESHVAR copper plate inscription or the CHARTERS AND GRANTS OF LALITASURA middle of the 9th centaury A.D and the grants of PADMA middle of the 10th centaury A.D. Both of kumaon garwal region. These have been addressed to the kiratas,The khasas,the Dravidas and otheres. One of the PANDUKESHVAR inscriptions provided a glimpse of the kingdom of RAJYA KIRATAS {kumaon and karttikeyapur}. Sikh guru Nanak himself was born in KIRANTPUR ancient kirant kingdom in panjab. Classical GREEK AND ROMAN writer were also mentioned about kirata. The first Greek historian and geographer to speak clearly of the races of north western India was HECATEUS of miletus {B.C 549 - 486}. In his geographical work the period gees he mentions KALATIAI OR KALLATIAI along with other tribal people who were living on the frontier Hills. The KALATIAI can etymologically be identified with kiratas living on the Upper Indus. People says Indus civilization is Aryan civilization but in historic, anthropologist and archaeologist way this civilization was completely belongs to kirata because this civilization was before 5000 B.C but Aryan start to migrate in Indian continent only after 1500 B.C from Iran. What they only found in Indus valley where the civilization was various forms of Statue of GOD SHIVA kiranti god.Very import few CHINESE TEXT are also worthy of mention. The most ancient text PO-OU-YEO-JING. Translated in 308 AD. Refers to an appellation VI-TI-SAI, which from the Chinese point of view is an exact equivalent to the kiratas who were the very popular and doughty warrior in the Chinese text. They were mentioned as quite similar with Chinese race. Golden yellowy colour. From Chinese and Japanese point of view ancient Hindu religion itself was the religion of kiratas because many god and goddess were used to worship by local tribes before Aryan start to migrate in Indian continent. Hindu religion only seems borrowed by Aryans and later claimed their religion adding some other system and god,goddess. Like ancient Hindu god and goddest{AGNI, BAYU, BIRYE, BARUN}were already existed before Aryan comes. All the Chinese, French, Arabian, Japanese, venetian travellers some how they managed to mentioned about kiratas. FA-HIAN{399-414 AD} Who visited India during Gupta period has made a passing reference of a kirat. HIUEN-TSANG{629-645 AD} Who visited India during the time of HARSA, has left behind an elaborate account of India. He was also mentioned about kiratas saying beautiful people.kiratas were disappeared in many different way which I mentioned in my another article we kirant mongol race. Like that The last alphabet of the word kirata{ta} disappeared and kirata, became “kira” in kanga. A village has been called KIR and the king as the “KIRA-RAJA” They were called kinnar as well that means “LIKE WOMEN WHO HAS NO BEARED AND MUSTACHES” In Sanskrit. In India these kirata people were unfortunately treated as foreigners but in our study shows that they have been aboriginals of India and we do not find any reflection of their foreign origin ancient Indian Literary texts. They were also known as DASYUS ,they were of KSHATRIYA origin but due to laxity in moral conduct they were degraded and thus termed as DASAS OR DASYUS by Aryans. One of the powerful dasyu king was SHAMBARA. Whom the RIGVEDA mentions as the greatest enemy of the Aryans. After Fighting for about forty years. The Aryans defeated shambara.The rajya kirata were actually ancient kirata tribes of kumaon region who were the descendant of shambara.these kiratas were always resist against the invader and looter Aryans. So as being noble enemy of Aryan they were appreciated and hated in mixture way of Aryan text book.

Sources of article.

-The abode of amative

-Garwal the land and people

-study on kumaon Himalaya

-man and forest-myths, rituals and believes in himanchal prades

-recent research on the Himalayas