Kuru kingdom

[10] The main contemporary sources for understanding the Kuru kingdom are the Vedas, containing details of life during this period and allusions to historical persons and events.

[5] The Kuru Kingdom was formed in the Middle Vedic period[2][4] (c. 1200 – c. 900 BCE) as a result of the alliance and merger between the Bharata and Puru tribes, in the aftermath of the Battle of the Ten Kings.

[14] The time frame and geographical extent of the Kuru kingdom (as determined by philological study of the Vedic literature) suggest its correspondence with the archaeological Painted Grey Ware culture.

[7] The shift out of Punjab corresponds to the increasing number and size of Painted Grey Ware (PGW) settlements in the Haryana and Doab areas.

Other late Vedic texts, such as the Shatapatha Brahmana, commemorate Parikshit's son Janamejaya as a great conqueror who performed the ashvamedha (horse-sacrifice).

[5] According to post-Vedic Sanskrit literature, the capital of the Kurus was later transferred to Kaushambi, in the lower Doab, after Hastinapur was destroyed by floods[2] as well as because of upheavals in the Kuru family itself.

[21] According to Buddhist sources, by the late and post-Vedic periods, Kuru had become a minor state ruled by a chieftain called Koravya and belonging to the Yuddhiṭṭhila (Yudhiṣṭhira) gotta (gotra).

Archaeological surveys of the Kurukshetra district have revealed a more complex (albeit not yet fully urbanized) three-tiered hierarchy for the period of the period from 1000 to 600 BCE, suggesting a complex chiefdom or emerging early state, contrasting with the two-tiered settlement pattern (with some "modest central places", suggesting the existence of simple chiefdoms) in the rest of the Ganges Valley.

[5] The Kuru kingdom transformed the Vedic religion into Brahmanism, which eventually spread over the subcontinent, synthesizing with local traditions, and together forming Hinduism.

[7][9] Kuru kings ruled with the assistance of a rudimentary administration, including purohita (priest), village headman, army chief, food distributor, emissary, herald and spies.

His cattle were reportedly destroyed as a result of conflict with the vratya ascetics; however, this Vedic mention does not provide corroboration for the accuracy of the Mahabharata's account of his reign.

Modern replica of utensils and falcon shaped altar used for Agnicayana , an elaborate srauta ritual from the Kuru period.
Kuru and other janapadas in Late Vedic period
Kuru and other Mahajanapadas in Post Vedic period
The later Kuru state in the Mahajanapada period, c. 600 BCE
Modern performance of Agnicayana , an elaborate srauta ritual from the Kuru period
Silver, ½ Karshapana, Indian coin , “Babyal Hoard” type, of the Kuru Janapada (450 BCE – 315 BCE). [ 24 ]
Pre-Mauryan (Ganges Valley) Kurus (Kurukshetras), Silver, ½ Karshapana, Indian coin , “Babyal Hoard” type, c. 350–315 BCE. AR 15 Mana – Half Karshapana (15 mm, 1.50 g). Triskeles-like geometric pattern/aix-armed symbol. [ 25 ]