Uttarakuru
Encyclopedia
Uttarakuru is the name of a dvipa
("continent") in ancient Hindu
and Buddhist mythology
. The Uttarakuru country and its people are sometimes described as belonging to the real world, whereas at other times they are mythical or otherworldly spiritual beings.
makes first reference to Uttarakuru and Uttaramadra
as real-life Janapadas
. According to Aitareya Brahmana, these two nations lied beyond the Himalayan ranges (Hindukush). The Aitareya Brahmana adduces these two people as examples of republic
an (vairajiya) nations, where whole Janapada took the consecration of rulership .
Aitareya Brahmana again notes that Uttarakuru was a devak-setra or divine land.
Puranic cosmography
divides our earth into seven concentric island
s called Jambu
, Plaksha, Salmali, Kusha
, Kraunca, Shaka
, and Pushkara
. They are separated by the seven encircling sea
s. The insular continent Jambudvipa forms the innermost concentric
island
in the scheme of continents. Jambudvipa includes nine countries (varṣa) and nine mountains. The land of Illa-vrta lies at the center of Jambudivipa at whose center is located Mount Meru. The land of Uttarakuru lies to the north of Mount Meru.
The land of Uttarakuru of the Puranas is said to be somewhat of an El Dorado
. The Bhagavata Purana
notes the Uttarakuru as the land of the "northern Kurus", a people separate from the Dakisha Kurus.
The Brahmanda Purana
and Vayu Purana
state that the Pururavas, the ancestors of the Puru race once lived with Urvasi in Uttarakuru.
In Matsya Purana
, Uttarakuru is described as 'Tiratha
', that is: a pure place where one went to undergo ritual ablutions.
sometimes depicts the Uttarakuru as a fairy
land. It is stated to be the ultimate abode of the blessed souls. The souls of the blessed ones and the glorious Kshatriya
s who fall in battle go to Uttarakuru after death.
Adiparva of Mahabharata refers to a practice of free love
among the denizens of Uttarakuru, like the one followed by birds and the beasts, and is not regarded sinful as it is stated to have the approval of the rishis and the sanction of antiquity. At other times, the epic describes the Uttarakurus as real entity and associates them with the real Kurus.
The ancestors of the Kauravas and Pandavas had originally migrated from Uttarakuru.
At the Rajasuya Sacrifice performed by king Yudhishtra, the kings of north-west brought gifts, some of which belonged to Uttarakuru.
After reducing the Kambojas
and Daradas
on south of Hindukush, Arjuna
proceeded to Trans-Hindukush countries and fought with the Lohas, Parama-Kambojas
and the Rishikas
. Thereafter, Arjuna encountered the Limprushas, Haratakas and the Uttarakurus, which were the neighboring tribes in the trans-Himalaya region.
Karna
in practice of war started Vijayatra conquering whole eurasia.
references Kambojas
, Yavanas, Shakas, Paradas and then further northwards, it refers to the land of the Uttarakurus lying beyond river Shailoda and Kichaka bamboos valleys. It gives very vivid and graphic picture of Uttarakuru region .
In Digha Nikaya
, Uttarakuru is said to be the name of city
.
Lalita-Vistara describes the Uttarakuru as Pratyanta-dvipa or a frontier island
.
Sumangalavilasini says that the wife of a Chakravarti king comes either from Uttarakuru or from the race of a king Madda
.
Buddhaghosa
records a tradition which states that, when Vedic king Mandhata returned to Jambudvipa
from his sojourn in the four Mahadipas, there were, in his retinue, a large number of the people of Uttarakuru. They all settled down in Jambudípa, and their settlement became known as Kururattha (Kuru Rashtra).
Majjhima Commentary also attests that the people of Kururatha had originally belonged to the Uttarakuru.
of Kalhana
, king Lalitaditya Muktapida
of Kashmir
leads a war expedition against the tribe
s of north (i.e north of Kashmir) and in sequence, encounters the Kambojas, Tusharas, Bhauttas, Daradas, Valukambudhis, Uttarakurus, Strirajya (mythical or otherwise) and Pragjyotisha with whom he fights one after the other.
's Geography
refers to Ottorokorai (Uttarakuru) tribe
, Ottorokora as a city, and Ottorokoras as a river. The Ottorokora city is shown as located at longitude of 165° 37' 25" E. Ptolemy has also referred to one mountain by the same name and fixes at with longitude from 169° 39' to 176° 39' E.
The Attacori of Pliny
probably also refers to the Uttarakuru people and their country.
Ammianus Marcellinus
refers to Uttarakuru as Ottorogorae.
Puranic accounts always locate the Uttarakuru varsa in the northern parts of Jambudvipa
.
The Uttarakuru is taken by some as identical with the Kuru country mentioned in the Rig-Veda. The Kurus and Krivis (Panchala) are said to form the Vaikarana of Rigveda
and the Vaikarana is often identified with Kashmir
. Therefore, Dr Zimmer likes to identify the Vaikarana Kurus with the Uttarakurus and places them in Kashmir
Michael Witzel locates his Uttarakuru in Uttarakhand Pradesh
.
According to some scholars, the above locations however do not seem to be correct since they go against Aitareya Brahmana evidence which clearly states that Uttarakuru and Uttaramadra lied beyond Himalaya (pren himvantam janapada Uttarakurva Uttaramadra). Moreover, no notice of the Uttaramadras (Bahlika
, Bactria
) has been taken of while fixing up the above location of Uttarakuru. Uttarakurus and Uttaramadras are stated to be immediate neighbors in the Trans-Himalaya region per Aitareya Brahmana evidence .
Ramayana
testifies that the original home of the Kurus was in Bahli country. Ila, son of Parajapati Karddama was a king of Bahli, where Bahli represents Sanskrit
Bahlika (Bactria). Also the kings from Aila lineage have been called Karddameyas. The Aila is also stated to be the lineage of the Kurus themselves . The Karddamas obtained their name from river Karddama in Persia/ancient Iran
. Moreover, Sathapatha Brahmana attests a king named Bahlika Pratipeya as of the Kauravya lineage. Bahlika Pratipeya, as the name implies, was a prince of Bahlika (Bactria). Thus, the Bahli, Bahlika was the original home of the Kurus. Thus, Bahlika or Bactria may have constituted the Uttarakuru. Mahabharata and Sumangalavilasini also note that the people of Kuru had originally migrated from Uttarakutru. Bactria is evidently beyond the Hindukush i.e Himalaya. In ancient literature, Himalaya is said to be extending from eastern occean to western occean and even today is not separated from it .
The above identification of Uttarakuru comes from Dr M. R. Singh .
K. P. Jayswal identifies Mt Meru of the Puranas
with the Hindukush ranges and locates the Uttakuru in the Pamirs itself .
V. S. Aggarwala thinks that the Uttarakuru was located to north of Pamirs in Central Asia
and was also famous for its horses of Tittirakalamasha variety . Thus it probably comprised parts of Kirgizstan and Tian-Shan. Incidentally, the reference to horses from Uttarakuru rules out any possibility of locating Uttarakurus in Kashmir and Uttarakhand Pradesh
since these regions have never been noted for their horses.
Buddha Prakash locates the Uttarakuru-varsa in Sinkiang province of China
.
Bhishamaparava of Mahabharata
attests that the country of Uttarakuru lied to the north of Mt Meru and to the south of Nila Parvata
The Mt Meru of Hindu traditions is identified with the knot of Pamir
s. Mountain Nila may have been the Altai-Mt.
The Mahabharata refers to the Kichaka bamboos growing on the banks of river Shailoda . Mahabharata further attests that the Kichaka bamboo region was situated between Mountain
Meru (Pamirs) and Mountain Mandara (Alta Tag). The river valleys between these two mountains are still overgrown with forests of Kichaka Bamboos.
Ramayana also attests that the valley
s of river Shailoda were overgrown with Kichhaka bamboos and the country of Uttarakuru lied beyond river Shailoda as well as the valleys of Kichaka bamboos.
River Shailoda of Ramayana and of Mahabharata has been variously identified with river Khotan, Yarkand, and Syr (Jaxartes) by different scholars.
Raghuvamsa
also refers to the Kichaka bamboos of Central Asia
in the eastern regions of the Pamirs or Meru mountains which were known as Dirghavenu in Sanskrit
.
The above discussion shows that the land of Uttarakurus was located north of river Shailoda as well as of the Kichaka bamboo valley.
Rajatarangini
places Uttarkuru land in the neighborhood of Strirajya. Based on Yuan Chwang's evidence , Strirajya is identified as a country lying north of Kashmir, south of Khotan and west of Tibet.
Thus, the Uttarakuru which finds reference in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Rajatarangini probably can not be identified with the Bahlika or Bactria as M. R. Singh has concluded.
Uttarakuru probably comprised north-west of Sinkiang province
of China
and parts of the Tian-Shan .
Christian Lassen
suggests that the Ottorokoroi of Ptolemy should be located in the east of Kashgar
i.e in Tarim Basin
.
Some writers, however, assert that Uttarakuru was the name for the vast area lying north of Himalaya and extending as far as Arctic
Circle.
Some people tend to identify the Uttarakurus and the Uttaramadras with the Tocharian
(Uttarakuru = Tokhari) branch of Indo-Europeans
, located to the north of the Himalayas http://www.bharatvani.org/books/rig/ch7.htm
Tokhari or Tukharas, the later Yucchi
s, are the same as the Rishikas of Mahabharata.
Dvipa
In Indian mythology, dvīpa is the term for the major divisions of the terrestrial sphere, sometimes translated as "continents"....
("continent") in ancient Hindu
Hindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
and Buddhist mythology
Buddhist mythology
Buddhist mythology operates within the Buddhist belief system. It is a relatively broad mythology, as it was adopted and influenced by several diverse cultures such as Gandhara which was the capital of Bactria. Later on, it also came to incorporate aspects from countries such as China and Japan...
. The Uttarakuru country and its people are sometimes described as belonging to the real world, whereas at other times they are mythical or otherworldly spiritual beings.
Vedic literature
Aitareya BrahmanaAitareya Brahmana
The Aitareya Brahmana is the Brahmana of the Shakala shakha of the Rigveda, an ancient Indian collection of sacred hymns. This work, according to the tradition is ascribed to Mahidasa Aitareya.-Contents:...
makes first reference to Uttarakuru and Uttaramadra
Uttaramadra
The Uttaramadra was the northern branch of the Madra people who are numerously referenced in ancient Sanskrit and Pali literature.In Aitareya Brahmana , the Uttarakuru and the Uttaramadra tribes are stated to be living beyond Himalaya...
as real-life Janapadas
Janapadas
The Janapadas were the major realms or kingdoms of Vedic India which, by the 6th century BC, evolved into the sixteen classical Mahajanapadas.-Etymology:...
. According to Aitareya Brahmana, these two nations lied beyond the Himalayan ranges (Hindukush). The Aitareya Brahmana adduces these two people as examples of republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an (vairajiya) nations, where whole Janapada took the consecration of rulership .
Aitareya Brahmana again notes that Uttarakuru was a devak-setra or divine land.
Puranas
In later literature like Puranas, the Uttarakurus are sometimes described as mythical people, while at other times their description seems to place them in the real world.Puranic cosmography
Cosmography
Cosmography is the science that maps the general features of the universe, describing both heaven and Earth...
divides our earth into seven concentric island
Dvipa
In Indian mythology, dvīpa is the term for the major divisions of the terrestrial sphere, sometimes translated as "continents"....
s called Jambu
Jambudvipa
Jambudvīpa is the dvipa of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live...
, Plaksha, Salmali, Kusha
Kusha
Kusha may refer to:* Kusha , one of six schools of Japanese Buddhism in the Nara period* Kusha , in Hindu mythology, was one of the twin sons of Lord Rama and Sita* Kusha, tall tufted perennial grass. See also: Poa cynosuroides...
, Kraunca, Shaka
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
, and Pushkara
Pushkara
In Hindu mythology Pushkara was the brother of Nala to whom Nala lost his kingdom and all that he possessed in gambling. Kali got very angry when Damayanti chose Nala in the swayamvar. Kali possessed Nala and was defeated by his brother Pushkara....
. They are separated by the seven encircling sea
Samudra
Samudra is a Sanskrit term for "ocean", literally the "gathering together of waters" Samudra is a Sanskrit term for "ocean", literally the "gathering together of waters" Samudra is a Sanskrit term for "ocean", literally the "gathering together of waters" (- meaning "together" and -udra meaning...
s. The insular continent Jambudvipa forms the innermost concentric
Concentric
Concentric objects share the same center, axis or origin with one inside the other. Circles, tubes, cylindrical shafts, disks, and spheres may be concentric to one another...
island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the scheme of continents. Jambudvipa includes nine countries (varṣa) and nine mountains. The land of Illa-vrta lies at the center of Jambudivipa at whose center is located Mount Meru. The land of Uttarakuru lies to the north of Mount Meru.
The land of Uttarakuru of the Puranas is said to be somewhat of an El Dorado
El Dorado
El Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
. The Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata 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...
notes the Uttarakuru as the land of the "northern Kurus", a people separate from the Dakisha Kurus.
The Brahmanda Purana
Brahmanda Purana
The Brahmanda Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts and has been assigned the eighteenth place in almost all the lists of the Puranas.Brahma in Sanskrit means "the biggest", anda/andam means globe...
and 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...
state that the Pururavas, the ancestors of the Puru race once lived with Urvasi in Uttarakuru.
In 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...
, Uttarakuru is described as 'Tiratha
Tirtha
In Jainism, a tīrtha |ford]], a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed") is used to refer both to pilgrimage sites as well as to the four sections of the sangha...
', that is: a pure place where one went to undergo ritual ablutions.
Mahabharata
MahabharataMahabharata
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....
sometimes depicts the Uttarakuru as a fairy
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
land. It is stated to be the ultimate abode of the blessed souls. The souls of the blessed ones and the glorious 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 who fall in battle go to Uttarakuru after death.
Adiparva of Mahabharata refers to a practice of free love
Free love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
among the denizens of Uttarakuru, like the one followed by birds and the beasts, and is not regarded sinful as it is stated to have the approval of the rishis and the sanction of antiquity. At other times, the epic describes the Uttarakurus as real entity and associates them with the real Kurus.
The ancestors of the Kauravas and Pandavas had originally migrated from Uttarakuru.
At the Rajasuya Sacrifice performed by king Yudhishtra, the kings of north-west brought gifts, some of which belonged to Uttarakuru.
After reducing the 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...
and 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...
on south of Hindukush, 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,...
proceeded to Trans-Hindukush countries and fought with the Lohas, Parama-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...
and the Rishikas
Rishikas
Rshikas were an ancient tribe living in the northern division of ancient India. They find references in the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Brhat Samhita, Markendeya Purana etc. Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini does not mention the Rishikas, but Mahabhasya of Patanjali does make reference to this people. Mahabharata...
. Thereafter, Arjuna encountered the Limprushas, Haratakas and the Uttarakurus, which were the neighboring tribes in the trans-Himalaya region.
Karna
Karna
Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...
in practice of war started Vijayatra conquering whole eurasia.
Ramayana
In the enumeration of the countries of north, RamayanaRamayana
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...
references 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...
, Yavanas, Shakas, Paradas and then further northwards, it refers to the land of the Uttarakurus lying beyond river Shailoda and Kichaka bamboos valleys. It gives very vivid and graphic picture of Uttarakuru region .
Buddhist text
Uttarakuru also finds numerous references in Buddhist literature, sometimes as a real land and other times as a mythical region.In Digha Nikaya
Digha Nikaya
The Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
, Uttarakuru is said to be the name of city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
.
Lalita-Vistara describes the Uttarakuru as Pratyanta-dvipa or a frontier island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
.
Sumangalavilasini says that the wife of a Chakravarti king comes either from Uttarakuru or from the race of a king Madda
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:...
.
Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa
Bhadantācariya Buddhaghoṣa（Chinese: 覺音）was a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. His best-known work is the Visuddhimagga, or Path of Purification, a comprehensive summary and analysis of the Theravada understanding of the Buddha's path to liberation...
records a tradition which states that, when Vedic king Mandhata returned to Jambudvipa
Jambudvipa
Jambudvīpa is the dvipa of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live...
from his sojourn in the four Mahadipas, there were, in his retinue, a large number of the people of Uttarakuru. They all settled down in Jambudípa, and their settlement became known as Kururattha (Kuru Rashtra).
Majjhima Commentary also attests that the people of Kururatha had originally belonged to the Uttarakuru.
Rajatarangini of Kalhana
According to RajataranginiRajatarangini
The Rājatarangiṇī is a metrical chronicle of North west of the Indian subcontinent particularly the kings of Kashmir from earliest time written in Sanskrit by Kalhaṇa. The Rājatarangiṇī often has been erroneously referred to as the River of the Kings. In reality what Kalhana means by Rājatarangiṇī...
of Kalhana
Kalhana
Kalhana , a Kashmiri, was the author of Rajatarangini , an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be deduced from his own writing, a major scholar of which is Mark Aurel Stein...
, king Lalitaditya Muktapida
Lalitaditya Muktapida
Lalitaditya Muktapida was a Hindu emperor of the Karkota dynasty from Kashmir, India. He ruled from , during this period he conquered most of Northern India and Central Asia. He was the son of emperor Durlabhvardhana, a ashwa-ghas kayastha...
of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
leads a war expedition against 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 north (i.e north of Kashmir) and in sequence, encounters the Kambojas, Tusharas, Bhauttas, Daradas, Valukambudhis, Uttarakurus, Strirajya (mythical or otherwise) and Pragjyotisha with whom he fights one after the other.
Foreign sources
PtolemyPtolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
's Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
refers to Ottorokorai (Uttarakuru) 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...
, Ottorokora as a city, and Ottorokoras as a river. The Ottorokora city is shown as located at longitude of 165° 37' 25" E. Ptolemy has also referred to one mountain by the same name and fixes at with longitude from 169° 39' to 176° 39' E.
The Attacori of Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
probably also refers to the Uttarakuru people and their country.
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
refers to Uttarakuru as Ottorogorae.
Geographical location
Though the later texts mix up the facts with the fancies on Uttarakurus, yet in the earlier, and some of the later texts, Uttarakurus indeed appear to be historical people. Hence scholars have attempted to identify the actual location of Uttarakuru.Puranic accounts always locate the Uttarakuru varsa in the northern parts of Jambudvipa
Jambudvipa
Jambudvīpa is the dvipa of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live...
.
The Uttarakuru is taken by some as identical with the Kuru country mentioned in the Rig-Veda. The Kurus and Krivis (Panchala) are said to form the Vaikarana of Rigveda
Rigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
and the Vaikarana is often identified with Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. Therefore, Dr Zimmer likes to identify the Vaikarana Kurus with the Uttarakurus and places them in Kashmir
Michael Witzel locates his Uttarakuru in Uttarakhand Pradesh
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
.
According to some scholars, the above locations however do not seem to be correct since they go against Aitareya Brahmana evidence which clearly states that Uttarakuru and Uttaramadra lied beyond Himalaya (pren himvantam janapada Uttarakurva Uttaramadra). Moreover, no notice of the Uttaramadras (Bahlika
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
, Bactria
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
) has been taken of while fixing up the above location of Uttarakuru. Uttarakurus and Uttaramadras are stated to be immediate neighbors in the Trans-Himalaya region per Aitareya Brahmana evidence .
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 original home of the Kurus was in Bahli country. Ila, son of Parajapati Karddama was a king of Bahli, where Bahli represents Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
Bahlika (Bactria). Also the kings from Aila lineage have been called Karddameyas. The Aila is also stated to be the lineage of the Kurus themselves . The Karddamas obtained their name from river Karddama in Persia/ancient Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Moreover, Sathapatha Brahmana attests a king named Bahlika Pratipeya as of the Kauravya lineage. Bahlika Pratipeya, as the name implies, was a prince of Bahlika (Bactria). Thus, the Bahli, Bahlika was the original home of the Kurus. Thus, Bahlika or Bactria may have constituted the Uttarakuru. Mahabharata and Sumangalavilasini also note that the people of Kuru had originally migrated from Uttarakutru. Bactria is evidently beyond the Hindukush i.e Himalaya. In ancient literature, Himalaya is said to be extending from eastern occean to western occean and even today is not separated from it .
The above identification of Uttarakuru comes from Dr M. R. Singh .
K. P. Jayswal identifies Mt Meru of the Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
with the Hindukush ranges and locates the Uttakuru in the Pamirs itself .
V. S. Aggarwala thinks that the Uttarakuru was located to north of Pamirs in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and was also famous for its horses of Tittirakalamasha variety . Thus it probably comprised parts of Kirgizstan and Tian-Shan. Incidentally, the reference to horses from Uttarakuru rules out any possibility of locating Uttarakurus in Kashmir and Uttarakhand Pradesh
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
since these regions have never been noted for their horses.
Buddha Prakash locates the Uttarakuru-varsa in Sinkiang province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Bhishamaparava of 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....
attests that the country of Uttarakuru lied to the north of Mt Meru and to the south of Nila Parvata
The Mt Meru of Hindu traditions is identified with the knot of Pamir
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...
s. Mountain Nila may have been the Altai-Mt.
The Mahabharata refers to the Kichaka bamboos growing on the banks of river Shailoda . Mahabharata further attests that the Kichaka bamboo region was situated between Mountain
Meru (Pamirs) and Mountain Mandara (Alta Tag). The river valleys between these two mountains are still overgrown with forests of Kichaka Bamboos.
Ramayana also attests that the valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s of river Shailoda were overgrown with Kichhaka bamboos and the country of Uttarakuru lied beyond river Shailoda as well as the valleys of Kichaka bamboos.
River Shailoda of Ramayana and of Mahabharata has been variously identified with river Khotan, Yarkand, and Syr (Jaxartes) by different scholars.
Raghuvamsa
Raghuvamsa
Raghuwamsa or Raghu race is a legendary lineage of warrior kings tracing its ancestry to the Hindu solar deity Surya. Kalidasa's famous work, Raghuvaṃśa depicts the legend of this race. The progenitor of the lineage was Raghu, son of the emperor Dileepa. Raghu was father of Aja, and thus...
also refers to the Kichaka bamboos of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
in the eastern regions of the Pamirs or Meru mountains which were known as Dirghavenu in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
.
The above discussion shows that the land of Uttarakurus was located north of river Shailoda as well as of the Kichaka bamboo valley.
Rajatarangini
Rajatarangini
The Rājatarangiṇī is a metrical chronicle of North west of the Indian subcontinent particularly the kings of Kashmir from earliest time written in Sanskrit by Kalhaṇa. The Rājatarangiṇī often has been erroneously referred to as the River of the Kings. In reality what Kalhana means by Rājatarangiṇī...
places Uttarkuru land in the neighborhood of Strirajya. Based on Yuan Chwang's evidence , Strirajya is identified as a country lying north of Kashmir, south of Khotan and west of Tibet.
Thus, the Uttarakuru which finds reference in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Rajatarangini probably can not be identified with the Bahlika or Bactria as M. R. Singh has concluded.
Uttarakuru probably comprised north-west of Sinkiang province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and parts of the Tian-Shan .
Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen was a Norwegian-German orientalist.-Life:He was born at Bergen, Norway. Having received a university education at Oslo, he went to Germany and continued his studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Bonn. In Bonn, Lassen acquired a sound knowledge of Sanskrit...
suggests that the Ottorokoroi of Ptolemy should be located in the east of Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
i.e in Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
.
Some writers, however, assert that Uttarakuru was the name for the vast area lying north of Himalaya and extending as far as Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
Circle.
Some people tend to identify the Uttarakurus and the Uttaramadras with the Tocharian
Tocharian
Tocharian may refer to:* Tocharians, an ancient people who inhabited the Tarim Basin in Central Asia* Tocharian languages, two Indo-European languages spoken by those people...
(Uttarakuru = Tokhari) branch of Indo-Europeans
Proto-Indo-Europeans
The Proto-Indo-Europeans were the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language , a reconstructed prehistoric language of Eurasia.Knowledge of them comes chiefly from the linguistic reconstruction, along with material evidence from archaeology and archaeogenetics...
, located to the north of the Himalayas http://www.bharatvani.org/books/rig/ch7.htm
Tokhari or Tukharas, the later Yucchi
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi, or Rouzhi , also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi , were an ancient Central Asian people....
s, are the same as the Rishikas of Mahabharata.