The clans mentioned in the Rigveda are described as semi-nomadic pastoralists. During the Rigvedic period, they formed a warrior society, engaging in endemic warfare and cattle raids among themselves and against their enemies, the "Dasyu" or Dasa. When not on the move, they were subdivided into temporary tribal settlements composed of several villages, and each village was composed of several families. These settlements were headed by a tribal chief assisted by warriors and a priestly caste. The following is a list of Indo-Aryan clans mentioned in the text of the Rigveda.
Alina people - They were probably one of the clans defeated by Sudas at the Dasarajna, and it has been suggested that they lived to the north-east of Nurestan, because much later, in the 7th century CE, the land was mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.
Anu is a Vedic Sanskrit term for one of the 5 major clans in the Rigveda, RV 1.108.8, RV 8.10.5 and, much later also in the Mahabharata. In the late Vedic period, one of the Anu kings, King Anga, is mentioned as a "chakravartin". Ānava, the vrddhi derivation of Anu, is the name of a ruler in the Rigvedic account of the Battle of the Ten Kings and at 8.4.1 with the Turvaśa. The meaning ánu "living, human" cannot be substantiated for the Rigveda and may have been derived from the tribal name.
Āyu
Bhajeratha
Bhalanas - The Bhalanas were one of the clans that fought against Sudas in the Dasarajna battle. Some scholars have argued that the Bhalanas lived in Kabulistan, and that the Bolan Pass derives its name from the Bhalanas.
Bharatas - The Bharatas are an Aryan clan mentioned in the Rigveda, especially in Mandala 3 attributed to the Bharata sage Vishvamitra and in and Mandala 7. Bharatá is also used as a name of Agni, and as a name of Rudra in RV 2.36.8. In one of the "river hymns" RV 3.33, the entire Bharata clan is described as crossing over, with their chariots and wagons, at the confluence of the Vipash and Shutudri. Hymns by Vasistha in Mandala 7 mention the Bharatas as the protagonists in the Battle of the Ten Kings, where they are on the winning side. They appear to have been successful in the early power-struggles between the various Aryan and non-Aryan clans so that they continue to dominate in post-Rigvedic texts, and later in the tradition, the Mahābhārata, the eponymous ancestor becomes Bharata Chakravartin, conqueror of 'all of India', and his clan and kingdom is called Bhārata. "Bhārata" today is the official name of the Republic of India.
Bhrigus
Chedi
Dasa
Dasyu
Druhyus - The Druhyu were a people of Vedic India. They are mentioned in the Rigveda, usually together with the Anu clan. Some early scholars have placed them in the northwestern region. The later texts, the Epic and the Puranas, locate them in the "north", that is, in Gandhara, Aratta and Setu. The Druhyus were driven out of the land of the seven rivers by King Mandhatri of the Ikshvaku dynasty.. Their next king, Gandhara, settled in a north-western region which became known as Gandhāra. The sons of the later Druhyu king Pracetas too settle in the "northern" region. Recently, some writers have ahistorically asserted that the Druhyu are the ancestors of the Iranian, Greek or European peoples, or of the Celtic Druid class. The word Druid, however, is derived from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- "to see, to know' It has also been alleged that the Rg Veda and the Puranas describe this clan as migrating North,. Puranas do not refer to Druhyus after the King Pracetas whose 100 sons settled in the region north of Afghanistan and became Mlecchas.. Vishnu Purana also lists Aratta and Setu as areas where Druhyus settled.
Parsu - The Parsus have been connected with the Persians This is based on the evidence of an Assyrian inscription from 844 BC referring to the Persians as Parshu, and the Behistun Inscription of Darius I of Persia referring to Parsa as the home of the Persians.
Tritsu The Tritsus are a sub-group of the Puru who are distinct from the Bharatas mentioned in Mandala 7 of the Rigveda. Under king Sudas they defeated the confederation of ten kings with the help of the Bharatas at the Battle of the Ten Kings.
