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Concept
Abhira people
Summary
The Abhira people is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. They are thought to be people who moved in from eastern Iran in the aftermath of the invasion of Alexander the Great. Their main base was in the Indus delta (modern Sindh and Kathiawar), where their country is mentioned as "Abiria" and "Aberia" in classical sources. There were also other communities of Abhiras in modern Haryana.
Etymologically, he who can cast terror on all sides is called an Abhira.,
Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya says that the Abhiras are mentioned in the first-century work of classical antiquity, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. He considers them to be a race rather than a tribe. Scholars such as Ramaprasad Chanda believe that they were Indo-Aryan peoples. but others, such as Romila Thapar, believe them to have been indigenous. The Puranic Abhiras occupied the territories of Herat; they are invariably juxtaposed with the Kalatoyakas and Haritas, the peoples of Afghanistan.
According to Jayant Gadkari tribes such as Vrusni, Andhaka, Satvatas and Abhiras after a period of long conflicts came to be known as Yadavas.
In the Padma-puranas and certain literary works, the Abhiras are referred to as belonging to the race of Krishna.
There is no certainty regarding the occupational status of the Abhiras, with ancient texts sometimes referring to them as warriors, pastoral and cowherders but at other times as plundering tribes.
Along with the Vrishnis, the Satvatas and the Yadavas, the Abhiras were followers of the Vedas, who worshipped Krishna, the head and preceptor of these tribes.
In archaeological inscriptions Abhiras are mentioned as belonging to the race of Krishna.
From 203 to 270 the Abhiras ruled over the whole of the Deccan Plateau as a paramount power. The Abhiras were the immediate successors of the Satavahanas.
Before the 12th century, an Ahir dynasty ruled some areas in what is now Nepal.
Official source
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Related concepts (16)
Abhira dynasty
The Abhira dynasty was a dynasty that ruled over the western Deccan, where they perhaps succeeded the Buddhist Satavahana dynasty. From 203 CE to roughly 270, or possibly 370, they formed a vast kingdom. They belonged to the ancient Abhira tribe. The Purana texts associate the Abhira tribe with Saurashtra and Avanti regions. According to Balkrishna Gokhale, they "have been well-known since epic times as a martial tribe". The Mahabharata describes them as living near the seashore and on the bank of the Sarasvati River, near Somnath in Gujarat.
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