Sudas


Sudās was an Indo-Aryan tribal king of the Bhāratas, during the main or middle Rigvedic period. He led his tribe to victory in the Battle of the Ten Kings near the Paruṣṇī in Punjab, defeating an alliance of the powerful Puru tribe with other tribes, for which he was eulogised by his purohita Vashistha in a hymn of the Rigveda. His victory established the ascendency of the Bhārata clan, allowing them to move eastwards and settle in Kurukshetra, paving the way for the emergence of the Kuru "super-tribe" or tribal union, which dominated northern India in the subsequent period.

Mention in Rigveda

Sudas is mentioned in Rigveda as the chief of Bharatas who conquered the ten-kings confederacy. It is further mentioned that the king replaced Vashistha
with Visvamitra as his priest,
thereby creating a rivalry between the two. The ten-kings, viz. Puru, Yadu, Turvasa, Adu, Druhyu, Alina, Paktha, Bhalanas, Siva and Vishanin, then revolted against Sudas but were defeated by him. He also fought Ajas,
Sigrus and Yakshus soon after.

Citations