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Sakas are described in Sanskrit sources as a Mleccha tribe grouped along with the Yavanas, Tusharas and Barbaras. There were a group of Sakas called Apa Sakas meaning water dwelling Sakas, probably living around some lake in central Asian steppes. Sakas took part in Kurukshetra War.
Mahabharata mentions about a whole region inhabited by Sakas called Sakadwipa to the north-west of ancient India. There in that region are, many delightful provinces where Siva is worshipped, and thither repair the Siddhas, the Charanas , and the Devas. The people there are virtuous, and all the four orders are devoted to their respective occupations. No instance of theft can be seen there. Freed from decrepitude and death and gifted with long life, the people there grow like rivers during the season of rains. The rivers there are full of sacred water, and Ganga herself, distributed as she hath been into various currents, is there as Sukumari, and Kumari, and Seta, and Keveraka, and Mahanadi and the river Manijala, and Chakshus, and the river Vardhanika, these and many other rivers by thousands and hundreds, all full of sacred water, are there. It is impossible to recount the names and lengths of rivers. As heard by all men there, in that region of Saka, are four sacred provinces. They are the Mrigas, the Masakas, the Manasas, and the Mandagas.
The Mrigas for the most part are Brahmanas devoted to the occupations of their order. Amongst the Masakas are virtuous Kshatriyas. The Manasas live by following the duties of the Vaishya order. Having every wish of theirs gratified, they are also brave and firmly devoted to virtue and profit. The Mandagas are all brave Shudras of virtuous behaviour.
In these provinces, there is no king, no punishment, no person that deserves to be punished. Conversant with the dictates of duty they are all engaged in the practice of their respective duties and protect one another. This much is capable of being said of the region called Saka.
The region called Sakadwipa is mentioned again at (12:14) as a region to the east of the great Karnali mountains.
When the sage Vasistha was attacked by king Viswamitra's army, Vasistha's cow, Kamadehnu, brought forth from her tail, an army of Palhavas, and from her udders, an army of Dravidas and Sakas; and from her womb, an army of Yavanas, and from her dung, an army of Savaras; and from her urine, an army of Kanchis; and from her sides, an army of Savaras. And from the froth of her mouth came out hosts of Paundras and Kiratas, Yavanas and Sinhalas, and the barbarous tribes of Khasas and Chivukas and Pulindas and Chinas and Hunas with Keralas, and numerous other Mlechchhas.
In the ancient Indian literature, cow is a symbol of earth or land. Thus the myth mentioned above simply means that, these tribes gathered for the protection of sage Vasistha's land against the army of king Viswamitra. This myth indicates that the ancient people were familiar with these Mlechcha tribes who were highly skilled in weapons, warfare and material sciences but never followed the Vedic rites properly.
The confusion of ancient Vedic people in dealing with these tribes is evident in the following passage from Mahabharata. At (12:35) is mentioned:- What duties should be performed by the Yavanas, the Kiratas, the Gandharvas, the Chinas, the Savaras, the Barbaras, the Sakas, the Tusharas, the Kankas, the Pathavas, the Andhras, the Madrakas, the Paundras, the Pulindas, the Ramathas, the Kamvojas, the several castes that have sprung up from Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras, that reside in the dominions of (Arya) kings?.
They were later given the status of Shudras. It is in consequence of the absence of Brahmanas from among them that the Sakas, the Yavanas, the Kamvojas and other Kshatriya tribes have become fallen and degraded into the status of Shudras. The Dravidas, the Kalingas, the Pulandas, the Usinaras, the Kolisarpas, the Mahishakas and other Kshatriyas, have, in consequence of the absence of Brahmanas from among their midst, become degraded into Shudras (13:33).
Nakula the son of Pandu reduced to subjection the fierce Mlechchas residing on the sea coast, as also the wild tribes of the Palhavas, the Kiratas, the Yavanas, and the Sakas (2:31).
They were also vanquished by Krishna:- The Sakas, and the Yavanas with followers, were all vanquished by Krishna. (7:11).
Bhima subjugated strategically the Sakas and the barbarians living in that part of the country. And the son of Pandu, sending forth expeditions from Videha, conquered the seven kings of the Kiratas living about the Indra mountain. (2:29). These Sakas seems to be established in the north-east regions of Gangatic plain. These Sakas close to Videha was mentioned at (6:9) in the list of kingdoms of Bharata Varsha (Ancient India). Another colony of Sakas were mentioned close to the Nishadha Kingdom in central India.
Sakas were mentioned with other tribes, bringing tribute to Yudhishthira (2:50,51). Numberless Chinas and Sakas and Uddras and many barbarous tribes living in the woods, and many Vrishnis and Harahunas, and dusky tribes of the Himavat, and many Nipas and people residing in regions on the sea-coast, waited at the gate.
Words of Satyaki a commander in the side of Pandavas:- I shall have to encounter the Sakas endued with prowess equal to that of Sakra (Indra) himself, who are fierce as tire, and difficult to put out like a blazing conflagration (7:109).
In Kurukshetra War, the Sakas sided with the Kauravas under the Kamboja king Sudakshina.
Saka king was reckoned by Drupada in his list of kings to be summoned for the cause of Pandavas in Kurukshetra War (5:4). Sudakshina, the king of the Kambhojas, accompanied by the Yavanas and Sakas, came to the Kuru chief with an Akshauhini of troops (5:19). The Sakas, the Kiratas, and Yavanas, the Sivis and the Vasatis with their Maharathas at the heads of their respective divisions joined the Kaurava army (5:198). The Sakas, the Kiratas, and Yavanas, and the Pahlavas, took up his position at the northern point of the army (6:20).
Of terrible deeds and exceedingly fierce, the Tusharas, the Yavanas, the Khasas, the Darvabhisaras, the Daradas, the Sakas, the Kamathas, the Ramathas, the Tanganas the Andhrakas, the Pulindas, the Kiratas of fierce prowess, the Mlecchas, the Parvatas, and the races hailing from the sea-side, all endued with great wrath and great might, delighting in battle and armed with maces, these all united with the Kurus (8:73).
Yavanas were armed with bow and arrows and skilled in smiting. They were followed by Sakas and Daradas and Barbaras and Tamraliptakas, and other countless Mlecchas (7:116). Three thousand bowmen headed by Duryodhana, with a number of Sakas and Kamvojas and Valhikas and Yavanas and Paradas, and Kalingas and Tanganas and Amvashtas and Pisachas and Barbaras and Parvatas, inflamed with rage and armed with stone, all rushed against Satyaki (7:118).
Sakas were mentioned along with other tribes like the Sudras, the Abhiras, the Daserakas, the Yavanas, the Kamvojas, the Hangsapadas, the Paradas, the Vahlikas, the Samsthanas, the Surasenas, the Venikas, the Kukkuras, the Rechakas, the Trigartas, the Madrakas, the Tusharas and the Chulikas as battling on the side of Kauravas at various passages. (6:51,75,88, 7:20,90).
A number of Saka and Tukhara and Yavana horsemen, accompanied by some of the foremost combatants among the Kambojas, quickly rushed against Arjuna (8:88). All the Samsaptakas, the Kambojas together with the Sakas, the Mlecchas, the Parvatas, and the Yavanas, have also been slain by Arjuna (9:1)
A passage which is rendered as a futuristic prediction in Mahabharata mentions thus:- The Sakas, the Pulindas, the Yavanas, the Kamvojas, the Valhikas and the Abhiras, will then become possessed of bravery and the sovereignty of the whole earth (3:187).
The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians", who were probably the first Greeks to be known in India.
Daradas were a people who lived north and north-west to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken along with the Kambojas. The Pandava hero Arjuna had visited this country of Daradas during his northern military campaign to collect tribute for Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice.
The Chinas, Cīna, or Chīnaḥ are a people mentioned in ancient Indian literature from the first millennium BC and first millennium AD, such as the Mahabharata, Laws of Manu, and the Puranic literature.
Madra Kingdom was a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. Its capital was Sagala in Madra region, modern Sialkot in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The Kuru king Pandu's (Pāṇḍu) second wife was from Madra kingdom and was called Madri. The Pandava twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, were her sons. Madri's brother Shalya was the king of Madra. Though affectionate to the Pandavas, he was tricked to give support to Duryodhana and fought against the Pandavas during the Kurukshetra War. He was killed by Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava. Other than the Madra kingdom with Sagala as its capital, it is believed that there was a Western Madra and a Northern Madra.
Gandhāra was an Ancient Indian kingdom mentioned in the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Gandhara prince Shakuni was the root of all the conspiracies of Duryodhana against the Pandavas, which finally resulted in the Kurukshetra War. Shakuni's sister was the wife of the Kuru king Dhritarashtra and was known as Gandhari after the area of Gandhāra. Puskalavati, Takshasila (Taxila) and Purushapura (Peshawar) were cities in this Gandhara kingdom. Takshasila was founded by Raghava Rama's brother Bharata. Bharata's descendants ruled this kingdom afterwards. During the epic's period, the kingdom was ruled by Shakuni's father Suvala, Shakuni and Shakuni's son. Arjuna defeated Shakuni's son during his post-war military campaign for Yudhishthira's Aswamedha Yagna.
The Pahlava Kingdom is identified to be a kingdom of an Iranian tribe. The kingdom was well known, even during the campaign of Alexander. It was also mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.
Pāradas was an Iron Age kingdom described in various ancient and classical Indian texts. The exact location of the kingdom is unknown. The Vayu Purana locates the tribe on the upper course of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers in Central Asia. The Mahabharata, however, associates the Paradas with the tribes of Uttarapatha, and places them on the Sailoda River in the Xinjiang province of China. Additionally, the Ramayana locates the people in the Himalayas.
The kingdom of Tushara, according to ancient Indian literature, such as the epic Mahabharata, was a land located beyond north-west India. In the Mahabharata, its inhabitants, known as the Tusharas, are depicted as mlechchas ("barbarians") and fierce warriors.
Khasas were a north western tribe mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.
Hunas were a tribe close to Himalayas that, because of limited interaction with Indian kingdoms, were mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. They belonged to the Xinjiang province of China, east of Jammu-Kashmir. However, they were nomadic people who changed their settlements from time to time.
Kalinga is a kingdom described in the legendary Indian text Mahabharata. They were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region, present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh. According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts.reference-Sudama Misra (1973). Janapada state in ancient India. Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana. p. 78.
Andhra was a kingdom mentioned in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. It was a southern kingdom, currently identified as Indian state of Andhra Pradesh which got its name from.
Dravida is mentioned as one of the kingdoms in the southern part of present-day mainland India during the time of the Mahabharata.
The Keralas or Udra Keralas were a royal dynasty mentioned in Sanskrit epics of ancient India. In the Mahabharata, the Keralian Empire took part in the Kurukshetra War by feeding both armies. According to the Puranas, the navigators and survivors of the Yadavas of Dwaraka also settled in Kerala later. Some remnants of the Naga culture are also found here.
Kanchi was a southern kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. This kingdom took part in the Kurukshetra War.
Kirata Kingdom in Sanskrit literature and Hindu mythology refers to any kingdom of the Kirata people, who were dwellers mostly in the Himalayas. They took part in the Kurukshetra War along with Parvatas (mountaineers) and other Himalayan tribes.
Parvata Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe known as Parvatas (Mountaineers), mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. Most of the descriptions of Parvata kingdom in the epic refer to a mountainous country in the Himalayas. Tribes belonging to other mountainous regions in the north west, west and the east of the Indo-Gangetic Plain were also known as Parvatas, when used as a collective name. Parvatas took part in the Kurukshetra War. The epic also mentions a sage named Parvata who was a companion of sage Narada.
The Pahlavas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian texts like the Manu Smriti, various Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Brihat Samhita. According to P. Carnegy, In the 4th century BCE, Vartika of Katyayana mentions the Sakah-Parthavah demonstrating an awareness of these Saka-Parthians, probably by way of commerce.
The Bahlikas were the inhabitants of Bahlika, mentioned in Atharvaveda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka of Katyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc. and in the ancient Inscriptions. The other variations of Bahlika are Bahli, Balhika, Vahlika, Valhika, Bahlava, Bahlam/Bahlim, Bahlayana and Bahluva.
Yalamber or Yalung, Yalambar, Yalamwar, Yalamver was a Kirat warrior and first King of Kirata Kingdom in Nepal. He established Kirata Kingdom in 800 B.C. His capital was Yalakhom, present day Kathmandu Valley (Thankot) after conquering Central Nepal and his kingdom extended from river Trishuli in the west to river Teesta in the east of Bhutan. Patan also known as is resemblance to Yalamber as he ruled the regions.