Bharatas (tribe)
Bharatas were a tribe mentioned in the Rigveda, especially in Mandala 3 attributed to the Bharata sage Vishvamitra. Scholars believe the Bharatas to be a Vedic tribe around river Ravi in modern Punjab in the second millennium B.C.E. Bharatá is also used as a name of Agni,.36.8.
Mandala 7 mentions the Bharatas as taking part in the Battle of the Ten Kings, where they are on the winning side. Due to the victory of the
Bharata chieftain Sudas in this battle, the Bharata rulers were able to
settle in the Kurukshetra area. They appear to have been successful in the early power-struggles between the various Vedic tribes.
In the epic Mahābhārata, the ancestor of Kurus becomes Emperor Bharata, and his ruler and kingdom is called Bhārata. The Bharata clan mentioned in Mahabharata is a Kuru clan which is a sub clan of the Puru clan who were the cousins of the Yadavas. "Bhārata" today is an official name of the Republic of India.
