Daradas were an ancient people who lived north and north-west to the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

. This kingdom is identified to be the

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina language, Shina: ; ) is a city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

region, in the

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

region (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river

Sindhu The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

. They are often spoken along with the

Kambojas The Kambojas were a southeastern Iranian peoples, Iranian people who inhabited the northeastern most part of the territory populated by Iranian tribes, which bordered the Indian subcontinent, Indian lands. They only appear in Indo-Aryan langua ...

. The

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

hero

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

had visited this country of Daradas during his northern military campaign to collect tribute for

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

Rajasuya Rajasuya () is a śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king. According to the Puranas, it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti – universal monarch, in which the tributary princes ...

sacrifice. The country of Darada has also been mentioned in the Rasa Ratna Samucchaya, a book dealing about Rasasastra

Location of Daradas

*The

Vayu Purana The ''Vayu Purana'' (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to propose that the text is among the ...

Brahmanda Purana The ''Brahmanda Purana'' () is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text is also referred in medieval Indian literature as th ...

and

Vamana Purana The ''Vamana Purana'' (, IAST: ), is an ancient Sanskrit text that is at least 1,000 years old and is one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is named after one of the incarnations of Vishnu and probably was a Vaishnava text ...

mention the Daradas with the Kambojas, Chinas, Tusharas and the Bahlikas etc. The Bhuvankosha of the Puranas locates the Daradas,

, Barbaras, Bahlikas, Lampakas etc. in the

Uttarapatha Ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the Northern part of Jambudvipa (equivalent of present-day North India), one of the " continents" in Hindu mythology. In modern times, the Sanskrit word ''uttarapatha'' is sometimes u ...

division of ancient India. e.g.: :''ete desha udichyastu'' :''Kambojah Daradashchaiva Barbarashcha Angalaukikah , , '' :''Chinashchaiva Tusharashcha Pahlavadhayata narah , '' *Puranas also refer to river

as watering the lands of Daradas,

Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...

s and the Aurasas (Ursas). *Brhatsamhita groups the Daradas with the Abhisaras and the Tanganas. *

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

also mentions the Daradas as neighbors to the

and Bahlikas. *Mahabharata locates the country of Daradas in the ''Himavata-Pradesa''. *

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

refers to the Daradas as living below the sources of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

. *

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

refers to the Daradas as ''Dadicae'' and groups them with the

s and the Aparytae. Herodotus and

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

also connect the Daradas with the gold producing area located in the west of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. There is an evidence that the Daradas, in ancient times, had their colonies located in

Baltistan Baltistan (); also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet, is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and constitutes a northern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

and

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

also. All the above references locate the Daradas in Uttarapatha as neighbors to Kambojas of

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

Nuristan Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Pashto: ; Katë: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, with a ...

Struggles in Mahabharata

''Sabha Parva'' of

attests that

had led a digvijaya expedition against the

Kashmira Kasmira or Kashmira was a kingdom mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, identified as the Kashmir Valley along the Jhelum River of present-day Jammu and Kashmir, India. During the epic ages this was one among the territories of the Naga ra ...

s, Ursas, Abhisaras, Sinhapuras, Suhmas, Daradas,

, Bahlikas, Lohas, Rishikas and Parama Kambojas etc. ''Drona Parva'' of Mahabharata attests that

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

had vanquished the Daradas along with

Anga Anga was an ancient Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great na ...

, Vanga,

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

, Kasi,

Kosala Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala () was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became (along with Magadha) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage ...

, Vatsa, Garga, Karusha, Pundra, Avanti, Daserka,

, Ursa, Madugalas,

, Pisachas, Malavas,

Sakas The Saka, old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian Steppe and the Tarim Basin from the ...

Yavanas The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit, were used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (), who were probably the first Gre ...

etc.

Daradas in Yudhishtra's Rajasuya ceremony

The Daradas along with numerous other tribes from northwest had including the Bahlikas, Kiratas, Pahlavas, Paradas, Kambojas, Shakas, Yavanas, Trigartas, Kshudrakas, Malavas, Angas, Vangas etc. had joined Yudhishtra at his

ceremony and brought him numerous gifts.

Daradas in Kurukshetra war

Daradas had also participated in the Kurukshetra war fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas. They are variously listed with Sauviras, Bahlikas, Shakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, Paradas, Kekayas, Kambojas, Madras, Mlecchas, northern and westerner tribes etc.

Horses of Daradas

refers to the horses from Darada country.

Daradas in Brahatsamhita of Varahamihira

The Daradas are mentioned with the Shakas,

, Paradas and the

in the 6th-century AD Brhatsamhita of Varahamihira. They are also mentioned with the Abhisaras in the same text as living on the borders of

Daradas in Tibetan chronicles

The Daradas are mentioned in the Tibetan chronicle Dpag-bsam-ljon-bzah (''The Excellent Kalpa-Vrksa''), along people like the

Yavana The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit, were used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (), who were probably the first Gre ...

, Tukharas,

Hunas Hunas or Huna (Middle Brahmi script: ''Hūṇā'') was the name given by the ancient Indians to a group of Central Asian tribes who, via the Khyber Pass, entered the Indian subcontinent at the end of the 5th or early 6th century. The Hunas occu ...

, Khasas etc.

Rajatarangini references to Daradas

According to ancient text

Rajatarangini ''Rājataraṅgiṇī'' (Sanskrit: Devanagari, राजतरङ्गिणी, IAST, romanized: ''rājataraṅgiṇī'', International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɑː.d͡ʑɐ.t̪ɐˈɾɐŋ.ɡi.ɳiː ) is a metrical legend ...

Kalhana Kalhana (c. 12th century) was the author of '' Rajatarangini'' (''River of Kings''), 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 wri ...

, a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

text from the north, king

Lalitaditya Muktapida Lalitaditya alias Muktapida (IAST: Lalitāditya Muktāpīḍa; r. c. 724 CE–760 CE) was a Karkota monarch of the Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent. The 12th-century Kashmiri chronicler Kalhana characterizes Lalitaditya as a " world c ...

undertakes to reduce his neighbouring countries. He launches war expedition onto the region of north from Kashmir and first he fights with the

and deprives them of their horses. Immediately after the Kambojas, he meets the Tukharas. Tukharas do not give him fight, but run away even abandoning their horses in the field. Then Lalitaditiya meets the Bhauttas in

in western

north of Kashmir, then the Dardas in

Karakorum Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian script:, ''Qaraqorum'') was the capital city, capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan, Northern Yuan dynasty in the late 14th and 1 ...

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

, the Valukambudhi and then he encounters ''Strirajya'', the Uttarakurus and the Pragjyotisha respectively.

names several Darada rulers: ''Acalamangala'', during the reign of Ananta of

, AD 1028 to AD 1063, ''Vidhyadhara Shahi'' during the reign of Harsa, 1089–1101 AD, ''Jagaddala'' during the reign of Uccala, AD 1101 to AD 1111, ''Manidhara'' during the reign of Sussala, AD 1112 to AD 1120), and ''Yasodhara'' during the reign of Jayasimha, AD 1128 to AD 1149.

Epigraphic references to Daradas

Three inscriptions on rocks along the

and

Rivers in the southern reaches of the

Karakoram The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...

provide the earliest epigraphic references to Darada kings. The first inscription is found on rocks where the present-day road between Gilgit and Skardu crosses the Gilgit River, over a bridge known as the Alam bridge, now called the Farhad bridge. The inscription is in poor

Kharoshthi Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside vari ...

, and Fussman has read "daradaraya", meaning "King of the Daradas".Fussman 1978:1-6. The second inscription is found at Chilas Terrace, near to Chilas village along the Indus River, south of the junction of the Gilgit River and the Indus River. It is in

Brahmi Brahmi ( ; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' or ...

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

. Hinuber has published a transliteration , which he interprets as daran-maharaja "great king of Daran" or "great king of the Daradas" (1989:57-8). A third inscription is immediately below the Thalpan bridge over the Indus River on the Thalpan side of the bridge. It is also in Brahmi script. Hinuber publishes a transliteration of ''daratsu maharaja sri vaisravanasena ssatrudamanah'', which he translates as "The glorious Vaisravanasena, the subduer of enemies, great King in the land of the Daradas" (1989:59). Hinuber has interpreted these

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s as referring to the same king Vaiaravanasena, and dates them to the 4th or 5th centuries AD. He remarks that this king "is the second oldest king of the Daradas known by name, preceded only by the ''daradaraya'' mentioned at Alam bridge in a Kharoshthi inscription" (1989:59). These inscriptions appear to be the only known self-reference to a Darada people.

References

{{reflist, 30em Ancient peoples of India Ancient peoples of Pakistan