Nishadas

[1] In the Mahabharata, the Nishadas are described as hunters, fishermen, mountaineers or raiders that have the hills and the forests as their abode.

[3] In the epic Ramayana, a king named Guha of the Nishada clan assists Rama during his period of exile.

[5] This is suggested by the fact that according to Yaska's Nirukta, Aupamanyava explains the Rigveda term "pancha-janah" ("five peoples") as the four varnas of the Indo-Aryan society and the Nishadas.

[6] Linguist S. K. Chatterji notes that the Nishadas appear to be different from the Dasas and the Dasyus, which are the other non-Aryan people mentioned in the Vedic texts.

[8] The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata describes the Nishadas having dark skin colour similar to that of charred wood, black hair, blood red-coloured eyes, and short limbs.

The Bhagavata Purana mentions the Nishadas as having copper-coloured hair, high cheekbones, and low-tipped nose.

[9] Nishadas are presented as hunters in the Bala Kanda of the Ramayana, Utpala's 8th century commentary on the Brihat Samhita, and the Dharmasutras of Vaikhanasa and Ushanas.

[11] The Vishnu Smriti also seems to consider subsistence on fishing a characteristic of the Nishadas, as attested by Nanda-pandita's commentary on the text and the Katha-sarit-sagara.

[10] Several ancient texts present the Nishadas as progeny of parents from different occupational classes, called the varnas (see Social status section below).

Historian Ramaprasad Chanda speculates that the Nishadas were too numerous and too powerful to be eliminated, enslaved, or expelled by the Indo-Aryans: this may explain the limited attempts to assimilate them.

Panini's Ganapatha mentions a gotra called Nishada, which according to scholar D. D. Kosambi, suggests that some tribal priests were assimilated as Brahmanas in the Indo-Aryan society.

[citation needed] Aushmikas, and Nishadas, and Romakas were mentioned as bringing tribute to king Yudhishthira during his Rajasuya sacrifice (2,50).

This kingdom was visited by Sahadeva during his military campaign to the south, to collect tribute for Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice;- Sahadeva, the Kuru warrior, conquered the country of the Nishadas and also the high hill called Gosringa, and that lord of earth called Srenimat (2,30).

Arjuna had come to Nishada kingdom of Ekalavya, after the Kurukshetra War, to collect tribute for Yudhishthira's Ashwamedha sacrifice.

Unvanquished in battle, the valiant son of Kunti defeated the Nishada king who proved an obstacle to the sacrifice.

A spot named Vinasana on the banks of Sarasvati River is mentioned as the gate to the kingdom of the Nishadas.

[citation needed] This kingdom was visited by Sahadeva during his military campaign to the south, to collect tribute for Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice;- After defeating the Dandakas (Aurangabad, Maharashtra) the Kuru warrior, Sahadeva vanquished and brought under his subjection numberless kings of the Mlechchha tribe living on the sea coast, and the Nishadas and the cannibals and even the Karnapravarnas, and those tribes also called the Kalamukhas (2,30).