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The Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rigveda are described as semi-nomadic pastoralists, subdivided into villages (vish) and headed by a tribal chief (raja) and administered by a priestly caste. They formed a warrior society, engaging in endemic warfare and cattle raids among themselves and against the Dasa.

The size of a typical tribe was probably of the order of a few thousand people. The account of the dasharajna battle in Mandala 7 mentions 6,666 casualties in a devastating defeat of a confederation of ten tribes, suggesting that a single tribe could muster at maybe some 700-2,000 warriors on average, which would indicate an average size of maybe 3,000-6,000 of a whole tribe. While the number of 6,666 cannot of course be taken literally, and is as likely as not a gross exaggeration, this order of magnitude is consistent with the typical size of tribes of Eurasian nomads.

List of tribes: (incomplete, please expand)

• Alinas: They were probably one of the tribes defeated by Sudas at the DasarajnaMacdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, 1912, I, 39, and it was suggested that they lived to the north-east of Kafiristan, because the land was mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Hiouen Thsang.Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, 1912, I, 39
• Anu: They were said to be a dynasty that lived in Kashmir
• Bhrigus: Said to be descended from Lord Varuna. They are also related to the composition of the Atharva Veda.
• Bhalanas: One of the tribes that fought against Sudas in the Dasarajna battle. Some scholars have argued that the Bhalanas lived in East Kabulistan, and that the Bolan Pass derives its name from the Bhalanas.
• Matsya
• Parsu: According to some scholars, the Parsus are connected with the Persians. Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, 1912 This view is disputed. Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, 1912. The ancient Persians settled in Parsu, giving their name to a regin in Iran, thus they are they same tribe.
• Puru: The tribe of King Sudas. The Bharatas were a clan among the Puru tribe. Bharat is also the name of Rudra, Agni and one of the Aditiyas. The Prthas were also a clan from the Puru tribe because from the Gita we know that Arjuna's Pandava clan descends from the Kaurava clan, which in turn descends from the Pauravas but Krishna also referred to Arjuna as Paartha (descendant of the Prtha clan.) This clan migrated to Iran and began the Parthian Dynasty.
• Tritsu
• Dasa, Dasyu (Dahae, Dahyu): A term labelled to all Iranic tribes that were in opposition to King Sudas. They Iranians acknowledge themselves as the Daha and Dahyu, while the ancient Greeks had also acknowledged them as 'Dahae.'
• Druhyus: From them came Ghandari. who gave his name to a region he settled in the Gandhara Valley.
• Panis: Possibily the Vedic scholor who came to India to learn Sanskrit and added to the langauge, Panini was a member of this tribe.

Notes

1. Macdonell, A.A. and Keith, A.B. 1912. The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects.
2. The Indus Valley Civilization
3. Update on the Aryan Invasion Theory

See also

• Vedic Aryans
• Indo-Aryan migration
• Indo-Aryans

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