Kuru Kingdom

Kuru Kingdom
c. 1200 BCE – c. 500 BCE
Capital	Āsandīvat (modern Assandh), Hastinapura Indraprastha (modern Delhi)
Common languages	Vedic Sanskrit
Religion	Historical Vedic religion
Government	Elective monarchy[1]
Raja (King)
• 12th–9th centuries BCE	Parikshit
• 12th–9th centuries BCE	Janamejaya
Legislature	Sabhā
Historical era	Iron Age
• Established	c. 1200 BCE
• Kuru Kingdom got divided into Kuru and Vatsa Kingdom	c. 700 BCE
• Disestablished	c. 500 BCE
Currency	Karshapana
Preceded by Succeeded by Bharatas (tribe) Puru (Vedic tribe) Mahajanapadas Gaṇasaṅgha Yaudheyas
Today part of	India

Kuru was a Vedic Indo-Aryan tribal union in northern Iron Age India of the Bharatas and other Puru clans. The Kuru kingdom appeared in the Middle Vedic period^[2][3] (c. 1200 – c. 900 BCE), encompassing parts of the modern-day states of Haryana, Delhi, and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh. The Kuru kingdom was the first recorded state-level society in the Indian subcontinent.^[4][5][6]

The Kuru kingdom became a dominant political and cultural force in the middle Vedic Period during the reigns of Parikshit and Janamejaya,^[4] but declined in importance during the late Vedic period (c. 900 – c. 500 BCE) and had become "something of a backwater"^[6] by the Mahajanapada period in the 5th century BCE. However, traditions and legends about the Kurus continued into the post-Vedic period, providing the basis for the Mahabharata epic.^[4]

The Kuru kingdom corresponds with the archaeological Painted Grey Ware culture.^[6] The Kuru kingdom decisively changed the religious heritage of the early Vedic period, arranging their ritual hymns into collections called the Vedas, and transforming the Vedic religion into Brahmanism, which eventually contributed to the Hindu synthesis.^[6][7]