Rig veda 6.16.45

उद् अग्ने भारत द्युमद् अजस्रेण दविद्युतत् |
शोचा वि भाह्य् अजर || 6.16.45

ud agne bhārata dyumad ajasreṇa davidyutat | śocā vi bhāhy ajara ||

ud agne bhārata : Rise O psychic being (fire) of the human bearer

dyumad ajasreṇa davidyutat: Shine (in the human conscious) like a lightning incessantly 
śocā vi bhāhy ajara: spread widely (across  three levels of human consciousness) O deathless one

Rig veda 6.16.19

आग्निर् अगामि भारतो वृत्रहा पुरुचेतनः |
दिवोदासस्य सत्पतिः || 6.16.19

āgnir agāmi bhārato vṛtrahā purucetanaḥ |
divodāsasya satpatiḥ ||

Link

āgnir agāmi - Psychic spirit (agni) is approached

bhārato - By the human carrier (vedic worshipper)

vṛtrahā - (This psychic spirit) is the slayer of dark forces (Python Vrtra)

purucetanaḥ - has multiple knowledge
divodāsasya satpatiḥ - Is the master of Divodasa (name or a trtsu king)

AIOIT-Aryan Invasion and Out of India Theory

I should thank Shrikant Talagiri Ji for coining the word AIOIT. Though he used the word in a negative sense, it perfectly explains the origin of the Vedic civilization to be presented in the blog. AIOIT stands for Aryan Invasion and Out of India Theory. Basic premise is that the Iranian people entered India in the early bronze age triggering the Vedic civilization. This migration stopped in the middle bronze age and reversed. By late bronze age and iron age, several north western Indian tribes show up in middle east and central Asia. 

The OIT makes a well detailed case for the late bronze age and iron age migrations. This blog will not go into it. The focus of the blog will be the early bronze age migration of the Iranian tribes into India through comparative study of Avesta and Rig Veda. 

The three phases of Iranian migration in the early bronze age

The first phase of the Iranian migration starts with the common Indo Iranian culture. The memory of this period only exists in the Avesta. The Vedic religion had not come into existence. At the end of this period, the migration of the Iranians to India starts with Manu, Angiras and Atharvan.

The second phase is the dawn of the Vedic civilization from the initial migrants. It continues through early rig Vedic period up to the battle of Varshagira. In the Iranian civilization this marks the peak of the Paradhata dynasty, the Kavi dynasty up to the rise of Zarathustra.

The final phase is the Varshagira battle which marks the end of the migration of the Iranian tribes in to India. This is followed by the out flow of the Indian tribes in to middle east and central Asia as explained by the OIT. 

The first phase of migration: Indo Iranian civilization:

Before we get into the common Indo-Iranian civilization I would like to mention the Aryan Invasion of the south India. There is a consensus among AIT, OIT and the Vedic traditionist that the south India was culturally invaded by the Vedic religion. The Puranic stories and Tamil Sangam literature allude to the arrival of Agastya triggering the Vedic civilization in South India. There are no memory of kings, priests and religion of south India prior to the arrival of Rishi Agastya in any Tamil literature.  

Now rewind the story to a few centuries before to the north India. There is no memory of the the kings, priest and religion prior to arrival of Manu, Angiras and Atharvan. The traditional accounts have tried to address this issue with the theory of Yuga cycles and multiple Manus. Such Puranic explanation are clearly not real. But the memory of this period is preserved in the Avesta.

Avesta has the memory of the common Indo-Iranian period from the time of Gaya Marten (Ysn, 23.2, Ysn26.5, Ysn 26.10, Ysn 68.22, Yst 13.87, Yst 13.145). It also mention the Paradhata Dynasty started by Haoshyangha (Yst5.21, Yst9.3, Yst13.137, Yst15.7, Yst17.24, Yst17.26, Yst19.26). His son Takhma Urupa (Yst13.96,yst15.11,yst19.28). He is followed by Yima Vivanghvant (Ysn.9.4, Ysn9.5, Ysn32.8,  Yst5.25, Yst9.8, Yst13.130, Yst15.15/16, Yst17.28, Yst17.31, Yst19.31, Yst19.34/35/36/38/46)

During Yima's time, the migration of Iranians to India starts. The Vedas have the memory of Yama Vivasvan (Rv10.14.1,Rv10.21.5,Rv10.58.1,Rv10.60.10,Rv1.163.2/3). His brother Manu Vivasvan (Rv 8.96.1)  gets the honor of being the first Vedic king. He is mentioned in all the books of the Rig Veda (Rv 1.13, Rv 1.14.11, Rv 1.36.19, Rv 1.44.11, Rv 1.45, Rv 1.46.13, Rv 1.113.16, Rv 1.114, Rv 1.128, Rv 1.139.9, Rv 2.10, Rv 2.33, Rv 3.17, Rv 3.60.3, Rv 4.26.1, Rv 5.45, Rv 6.21, Rv 7.2.3, Rv 7.100.4, Rv 8.22.6, Rv 8.52, Rv 8.96, Rv 9.92, Rv 9.96, Rv 10.53, Rv 10.62, Rv 10.63.6/7, Rv 10.69.3, Rv 10.86.23, Rv 10.100). On the priest families of this period, Atharvan and Angiras, are mentioned by both the Avesta and the Vedas.

What follows is the one sided migration of the Iranian tribes to India. We will see that all the Iranian kings until the period of Zarathustra in Avesta are familiar and popular among the Vedic civilization. But the fore fathers of the Vedic civilization and the early Rig Veda are completely alien to the Avesta. 

The second phase of migration: The dawn of Vedic civilization

To understand the dawn of the Vedic civilization it is important to understand the Iranian civilization that was contemporary to the Vedic civilization.

Iranian civilization from Yima to Zarathustra

The pre-Zoroastrian Iran had a very interesting history. Yima Vivanghvant is deposed by Azhi Dahaka (Ysn 9.8, Ysn11.6, Yst9.14, Yst14.40, Yst15.19/24, Yst17.34, Yst19.37/46/47/48/49/50/92)  apparently from Babylon (Yst 5.29). Iran is liberated from Azhi by Thraetana son of Atwaya (Ysn9.7, Yst5.33/61, Yst9.13, Yst13.131, Yst14.40, Yst15.23, Yst17.33/35, Yst19.36/92). He has a son Airyu (Yst 13.131). The name Iran and the Aryan tribe get their name from Airyu. His two brother are the founders of the tribes Sairima (Yst 13.143/144) and Turan (Ysn11.7, Ysn46.12, Yst5.41, Yst 5.54, Yst 5.73, Yst 9, Yst 13.38, Yst 17.38, Yst19.56/57/60/63/82/93). The Paradhata dynasty ends with  Manushchithra (Yst13.131) and the weak king Naotara (yst5.53/76,yst13.101,yst15.35). Another important personality during this time is Thrita Sama/sayuzhdri (Ysn 9.10, Yst5.72, Yst13) 

The Paradhata dynasty is followed by the Kavi Dynasty. The first king is Kavi Kavata (Yst19.71, Yst13.132). The next important king is Kavi Usadhan (yst19.71) and Kavi Husravas (Yst5.49, Yst9.18, Yst9.21, Yst13.132, Yst13.137, Yst15.32, Yst17.38/41/43,yst19.56/76/93). Another important character is the father of Husravas, Syavakshana (Yst13.29.132, Yst19.72, Yst.9, Yst13, Yst17.38, Yst17.42, Yt19.76) who never ascended the throne. 

A parallel dynasty to the Kavi was the Turanian dynasty. The most important king was Frangrasyan (Ysn 11.7,  Yst.9, Yst13, Yst17.38, Yst17.42, Yst19.76). He is also called tûrahyâ uzjên fryânahyâ (Ysn 46.12). Another important Turanian is Frangrasyan's brother Agreratha (Yst.9, Yst13, Yst17.38, Yst17.42, Yst19.76) who was murdered along with Syavakshana by Frangrasyan. The murder of Syavakshana is avenged by his son Kavi Husravas.

The most interesting aspect of this period in the Iranian history is that all these characters are found in Rig Veda. Azhi Dahaka is the Ahi (Rv 1.32.11, Rv 1.103.7, Rv 2.11.5, Rv 2.13.5, Rv 2.19.2, Rv 2.30.1, Rv 3.32.11, Rv 3.33.7, Rv 4.19, Rv 4.28, Rv 5.31, Rv 5.33, Rv 6.18.14, Rv 6.30, Rv 8.82, Rv 10.62, Rv 10.96). 

Thraetana is mentioned in (Rv 1.158). Rig Veda has fused the Thraetana Atwaya and Thrita Sama into the character Trita Aptya (Rv 5.41, Rv 10.8.8, Rv 10.120.6, Rv 8.12.16). Trita is the most popular character after Manu in the Rig Veda (Rv 1.52.5, Rv 1.105.17, Rv 2.11, Rv 5.9.5, Rv 5.41.10/4, Rv 5.86.1, Rv 10.99.6, Rv 2.31.6, Rv 2.34.10/14, Rv 5.54.2, Rv 8.7.2, Rv 8.41.6, Rv 9.34.4, Rv 9.38.2, Rv 9.95.4, Rv 9.102.2/3, Rv 10.8.7, Rv 10.46.3, Rv 10.64, Rv 10.115). Rig Veda also remembers him slaying Ahi (Rv 10.8.8, Rv 2.11.20, Rv 1.187.1).

Though Airyu and Manushchithra are not directly mentioned, there are plenty of references to the Aryan tribe and the patriarch Manu. Kavi Kavata is mentioned as the ancient Kavasa (Rv 7.18.12). Kavi Ushadhan is the Kavi Ushana (Rv 6.20.11, Rv 1.51.10, Rv 1.51.11, Rv 4.16, Rv 4.26, Rv 5.29.9, Rv 5.31, Rv 5.34, Rv 8.23.17, Rv 9.87.3, Rv 9.97.7, Rv 10.22.6, Rv 10.40.7). He is mentioned along with Yama in (Rv 1.83.5). Husravas is the Susravas (Rv 1.53.9).  Frangrasyan or Tûrahyâ uzjên fryânahyâ is the Turvayana (Rv 6.18.13, Rv 10.61.2). The protagonist Husravas/Susravas and the antagonist Frangrasyan/Turvayana are jointly mentioned in Rv 1.53.10. Finally the Simyu (Rv 7.18.5) are identified with Sairima.

Pre Rig Vedic and early Rig Vedic period

The period from Yima to Zarathustra in Iran is contemporary to Pre Rig Vedic and early Rig Vedic period of the family books 6,7,3,2 and 4. Below is the list of prominent kings, tribes and rishis in this period. The Iranian Avesta is completely unaware of any of them. 

1. Dynasty of Manu , Ila (Rv 10.95.18, 1.31.11),  Pururavas (Rv 1.31.4, Rv 10.95),  Ayu (8.15.5), Nahusa (Rv 1.31.11, Rv 5.12.6, Rv 6.22.10, Rv 7.95.2, Rv 8.46.27 ), Yayati (Rv 1.31.17, Rv 10.63.1)

2. Five tribes (Rv 1.117.3, Rv 5.35, Rv 6.11, R6.46, Rv 6.61.12, Rv 7.75.4, Rv 7.79.1, Rv 8.9.2, Rv 8.52.7, Rv 9.92, Rv9.101, Rv 10.45/46/53/55/60/119) : Anu (Rv 8.10.5, Rv 1.108.8, Rv 5.31.4, Rv 7.18.13) , Yadu (Rv 1.36.18, Rv 1.54.6, Rv 1.174.9, Rv 4.30.17, Rv 6.20.12, Rv 6.45.1, Rv 7.19.8, Rv8.1.31, Rv  8.4.7, Rv 8.7.18,  Rv 8.9.14, Rv 8.10.5, Rv 8.45.27, Rv 9.61.2, Rv 10.49.8, Rv 10.62.10), Druhyu (Rv 8.10.5, Rv 7.18.5), Turvasa (Rv 1.47.7, Rv 6.27.8, Rv 7.18.6, Rv 1.36.18, Rv 1.54.6, Rv 1.174.9, Rv 4.30.17, Rv 5.31.8, Rv 6.20.12, Rv 6.45.1, Rv 7.19.8, Rv8.1.31, Rv  8.4.7, Rv 8.7.18,  Rv 8.9.14, Rv 8.10.5, Rv 8.45.27, Rv 9.61.2, Rv 10.49.8, Rv 10.62.10), Puru (Rv 1.63.7, Rv 1.130.7, 4.38.3, 7.5.5, Rv 7.8.4, Rv 7.18.13, Rv 7.19.3)

3. Devavata tribe: Devavata (Rv 3.23.2, Rv 6.27.7, Rv 7.18.22), Srnjaya (Rv 4.15.4, Rv 6.27.7, Rv 6.47.22), Prastoka (Rv 6.47.22), Devasravas (Rv 3.23.2)

4. Trtsu tribe (Rv 7.18.15/19, Rv 7.33, Rv 7.83): Athithigva (Rv 1.51.6, Rv 1.53, Rv 1.112.14, Rv1.130, Rv 2.14, Rv 4.26, Rv 6.18, Rv 6.26, Rv 6.47, Rv 7.19, Rv 8.57.16, Rv 8.97.2, Rv 10.48.8), Vadhryasva (Rv 6.61.1),  Divodasa (Rv 1.112.14, Rv 1.116.18, Rv 1.119, Rv 1.130.7, Rv 2.19, Rv 4.26, Rv 4.30.20, Rv 6.16.5, Rv 6.26, Rv 6.31, Rv 6.47, Rv 6.61.1, Rv 7.18.25, Rv 7.18.25, Rv 8.92.2) , Pratardana (Rv 6.26.8), Pijavana (Rv 7.18.23), Sudas (Rv 1.47.6, Rv 1.63, Rv 1.112, Rv 7.18.5,  Rv 7.19.3, Rv 7.20, Rv 7.25.3, Rv 7.33, Rv 7.60.8, Rv 7.64, Rv 7.83.4)

5. Prthu tribe (Rv 6.27.8, Rv 7.83.1):  Abhyavartin Chayamana (6.27.8/5), Kavi Chayamana (Rv 7.18.8)

Several late bronze age and iron age tribe identified in OIT as Iranian are listed below. They are also not found in Avesta. Their migration into middle east and central Asia is well documented in the OIT: Paktha (Rv 7.18.7), Parsu (Rv 7.83.1), Bhalana (Rv 7.18.7), Prthu (Rv 7.83.1), Alina (Rv 7.18.7), Bhrgu (7.18.6), Sivas (Rv 7.18.7), Visanin (Rv 7.18.7), Bhrigu (Rv 7.18.6)

The one Iranian tribe that finds mention in the Avesta is Simyu (Rv 7.18.5). It is identified as Sairima, We have seen that they are the sister tribe of Iranians that had moved out of Iran.

Several early Rig Vedic rishi families: Brihaspati, Bharadwaj, Vasishta Vishwamitra, Chyavan, Dadhyac, Agastya, Jamadagni, are also missing in Avesta. The rishi families such as Ausija and Gautama show up in Avesta happen during the time of Zarathustra. This is when the Iranians meet the Vedic tribe after a long hiatus. We will explore it in the next section.

This section proves that Vedic civilization was fully aware of the Iranian civilization. But the Iranian Civilization was completely detached from the Vedic civilization in this period from Yima to Zarathustra. Some of the major battles such as the Hariyupiya and Dasarajana are not in the memory of Iranians since they were not involved in it. But Iranian sister tribe of Turan and Sairima did seem to have contacts with the Vedic civilization. And definitely a steady stream of migrants from Iran flowed to the Vedic civilization bringing in their stories, heroes and gods. This is the conclusive proof of one way migration from Iran to India during Pre Rig Vedic and Early Vedic period.

The final phase of Iranian migration to India: The Zoroastrian period

The rise of Zarathustra, the monotheistic Asuric cult and his Patron King Vistasp (Ysn12.7, Ysn 23.2, Ysn28.7, Ysn46.14, Ysn51.16, Ysn 53.2,  Yst5.98/108/117/132, Yst15.36, Yst17.49/52/61, Yst19.87/93) finally put the Vedic civilization in contact with the Iranians. The Vedic rishis like Ausija/Usij (Rv1.18, Rv 1.112, Rv 1.119.9, Rv 1.122.4, Rv 5.41, Rv 6.4, Rv 10.99.11, Ysn 44.20) and Gautama/Gaotema (Rv 1.60/61/62/63/77/78/88/92, Rv 4.32, Rv 8.77, Yst 13.16) are recorded in the King Vistasp's court. The oral arguments fail leading to the battle of Varshagira (Rv 1.100).

The Turanians kings who are Daeva worshippers align with the Vedic kings. These kings identified in Rig Veda and Avesta are Somaka / Humayaka (Rv 4.15, Yst 5.113), Rjrasva/Arejat aspa (Rv 1.100.16, Rv 1.116.16, Rv 1.117, Yst 5.109/113/116, Yst 9.30), Bhayamana/Vadaremaini (Rv 1.100, Yst 5.116).

Eventually Turanians kill Zarathustra as per the Iranian tradition. This marks the end of all Iranian migration to India. This is followed by all the late bronze age and iron migration of the Indian tribes into middle east and central Asia as per OIT.

Conclusion

Iranians who migrated to India brought the seeds of the Vedic Civilization. The Rig Veda celebrated the Iranian heroes and gods. But the Vedic civilization developed its own unique universalism in its Deva religion and philosophy. The Iranian civilization was untouched by the developments in the Vedic civilization. The Iranians embraced an Asuric monotheism and took a separate path. It is unfortunate that the Vedic civilization lost the memory of the Iranian ancestors and the understanding of the Asuric monotheism by the time of Itihasa and Puranas as the migration to India stopped. 

In defense of Sudas and the Vedic Dharma

I recently saw few Out Of India Theory (OIT) proponents put forward arguments that claimed Vedic people had a tribal and an expansionist mindset. This apparently pushed the other tribes out of India who went on to become Iranians. This narrative prompted me to write this blog to debunk this nonsense and defend the Vedic people and culture.

What this blog is not about

This blog is not about disproving the OIT. I am a fan of Shrikant Talagiri ji's analysis of Vedic and Avestan text. But using his methods I reached the conclusion that Iran is the homeland. This thesis needs its own series of blogs to explain it in detail. 

 This blog is also not going into the philosophy of the Vedic texts. The OIT proponents regurgitate the debunked arguments that Rig Vedic texts are an inferior karma kanda. They claim the superior philosophy of the Upanishad was a gift of east Indian tribes who adopted the Vedic religion, I guess these OIT proponents have not heard of the book "The secret of Vedas" written a 100 years ago by Sri Aurobindo. Or they did not have the capacity to understand it. Nevertheless this blog is not about defending the superior philosophy and vision of of the Rig Vedas.      

This blog is about the Vedic people who fought wars to defend the dharma. They have inspired several generations to recognize the Asuric forces and defend the Dharma. Their message still inspires the followers of the Vedic religion. To degrade the Vedic people as tribal expansionist with crude philosophy is an insult that needs a proper response. 

Dharmic nature of the wars in Vedas

Let us examine the 3 wars that the OIT folks mention. The first one is the Hariyupiya / Yavyavati war in book 6. The second is the Dasaranjana in book 7. The final one is the Varshagira battle in book 1.

In the Hariyupiya war the protagonist is Abhyavartin Chayamana a Prthu. The Prthu are supposedly the progenitors of the Iranian Parthians. If the Vedic religion was tribal why would it praise a proto Iranians? The Vedic religion welcomes all the tribes that were open to accepting the Vedic dharma. The same Parthians in the next Dasaranjana battle become antagonist (7.83.1) since they reject the Vedic dharma.

The Dasaranjana war described in 7.83 probably best describes the nature of this war for Dharma.

दश राजानः समिता अयज्यवः सुदासम् इन्द्रावरुणा न युयुधुः |

सत्या नृणाम् अद्मसदाम् उपस्तुतिर् देवा एषाम् अभवन् देवहूतिषु || 7.83.7

It clearly says that the 10 kings opposed the Vedic sacrifice (dharma). Further it says that Sudas won because he stood by Satya. Devas were pleased with his piety. There should be no further doubt that this was a war for dharma and not a war for expansion.

Another verse that is misquoted to paint Dasaranjana as a war for expansion in 3.53.11. It describes the Vishwamitra aiding the Ashvamedha for Sudas. The Ashvamedha was done by Sri Rama and Yudhishtra. Then they must also be accused as an expansionist. This comes from a poor understanding of the Vedic yagna. There is no forced displacement of people here. It is an attempt to spread Vedic religion to avoid future conflicts. We have lost this spirit which explains the current state of affair of the Vedic religion. 

Finally the Varshagira war. The religious nature of the conflict is well known and documented in the Iranian text. This probably was the final dharmic war of the Vedic people that put an end to the Asuric monotheism in India for a long time. We can learn several lessons from it.

Sudas was neither an Aryan, nor a Puru

Another accusation of the OIT is that the Vedic text belonged to a Aryan and a Puru tribe and their ancestor was a Bharata. Sudas of the Dasaranjana war is supposed to belong to this tribe. The only proof of a Sudas (father of Somaka) being a Puru and descendent of Bharata is in Vishnu Purana. The OIT, who otherwise reject Puranic evidence, proudly have embraced this to serve their narrative.

The fact is Sudas fought Aryans (7.83.1) and Purus (7.18.13) in the Dasaranjana battle. The tribe of Sudas is called Trtsu (7.18, 7.33). Trtsu are distinguished from Aryans (7.18.7). Sudas is distinguished from Puru in 1.63.7. There is not even a single verse that calls Sudas an Aryan, Puru or a Bharata. Yet the OIT has created a fake Puru Bharata sub dynasty and placed Sudas in it.

The fake Bharata Puru dynasty of OIT

There is a Bharata Puru dynasty in the Itihasa and Purana. They are the descendants of King Bharata son of Dushyanta. But Rig Veda does not have a single sukta that mentions a combination of the Bharata and Puru. The main reason is that the events of the family book of the Rig Veda precedes the Bharata Puru of the Itihasa. Yet the OIT has combined Bharata, Puru and have mixed the Trtsu and Srnjaya to concoct a new Dynasty. They claim the Rig Veda to be the book of this concocted tribe. The accusation of Vedic people as tribal will fall apart if we unravel this concocted dynasty. 

Let us start with the Trtsu tribe. The members of this tribe are Athithigva, Vadhryasva(6.61.1), Divodasa, Pratardana(7.33.14,9.96), Pijavana(7.18.22,23) and Sudas(7.18.25). The OIT then uses evidence from Puranas to add Sahadeva and Somaka to this tribe without any evidence from Rigveda. 

The second dynasty that is mixed with Trtsu is the Srnjaya. The members of this tribe are Devavata (4.15.4), Srnjaya(6.27.7), Prastoka (6.47.22) and Devasravas (3.23.2). No one from this dynasty is ever called a Puru, yet they are concocted into the fake Bharata Puru dynasty.

Some blatant fraud by OIT to mix the Srnjaya and Trtsu are the evidences cited in 

- 6.47.25. A fake ancestry of Divodasa to Srnjaya. Nowhere in the verse is Divodasa mentioned. The previous verses in the sukta (6.47.22) refer to 2 donors Prastoka and Divodasa. Evidences outside of Rig Veda link Prastoka to Srnjaya. Yet OIT falsely links Divodasa to Srnjaya to create this fake Bharata Puru dynasty. In fact this verse makes it abundantly clear that Divodasa is not the Srnjaya's descendant. 

- 7.18.22. False claim that Devavata is an ancestor of Sudas. The verse says Devavata's descendants gave cow to Vasishta and Sudas gave 2 Chariots. These are 2 separate donations. Sudas is not Devavata's descendant. Similar to evidence in 1.67.3 (where Sudas and Puru are mentioned as separate people), Sudas's identity is merged into Devavata's descendant identity to create the fake Bharata Puru dynasty.

So far I have unraveled the Trtsu, Srnjaya and Puru from the fake Bharata Puru dynasty. Now it is time to unravel the fake Bharata tribe.

Bharata is a religious identity, not a tribe

As stated before, Bharata is certainly an identity of a tribe in the Itihasa and the Puranas. But in Rig Veda it is a religious term used for Agni and its worshippers. The lack of understanding of the philosophy behind the Rig Veda has allowed OIT and AIT to concoct this fake Bharata tribe in Rig Veda. If Bharata of Rig Veda was a person why does not the text give a clue as to who is his father, brother, son, wife etc.? Indologist side step this issue by claiming that he was a remote ancestor. Rig Veda mentions the relatives of remote ancestors like Manu and Yama. But there is no background for this fictitious Bharata.

In the Rig Vedic philosophy Agni is the spirit behind the human body, soul and mind (3.26.7). The objective is to manifest this spirit and let it guide the destiny of the Vedic worshipper. The Vedic gods help humans with other psychological powers. This Vedic Agni needs a Bharata or a human bearer (bringer). Hence the Vedic worshippers are called Bharata or sons of Bharata in several hymns of Agni (6.16.19, 6.16.45, 6.16.4, 2.7.1,2.7.5,3.23.2,7.8.4). The Vedic kings who fight for Dharma are guided by Agni. Hence they are also called as Bharata (3.53.12,3.53.24,3.33.11,3.33.12,7.33.6,6.16.4). In fact Bharata or Bharatiya is a much better word to replace the ambiguous "Hindu" tag that the Iranians have labelled us with.

Hope this blog dispels the narrative that Vedic people were tribal, nationalist or expansionist. They were dharmic people from various tribes who accepted Vedic Dharma and laid down their life for its protection.