Battle of Ten Kings - Dasaradnya as narrated in Rik Veda, earliest chronicled battle in India - Part 1

The earliest history of India never appears in history books owing some biases on the part of historians, notably Indian ones who follow their foreign masters and stick to the colonial baggage of disparaging their own legacy and jewels. Our Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata have many consistent historical anecdotes, and yet they are never considered as a historical evidence by our scholars, simply because they do not contain dates and that these are dubbed as mythology. While it is true that there are poetic exaggerations in these scriptures (Puranas are the least reliable of all these, however they are also most rich and varied), if we study them carefully and analyze them after discriminating between sand and sugar in Sri Ramakrishna's language, we shall see that there are beautiful consistencies in different narratives on the genealogy side. Atleast they should have been subjects of serious research. Atleast many scholars have now considered Mahabharata as a largely authentic source as far as the great battle between the Kurus and the Panchalas goes, albeit grudgingly.

Rik Veda refers to battle of 10 kings or Dasaradnya (10 kings) who had fought a vicious war during the earliest period of Indian history, even before the terrible Mahabharata war. This was the battle which was chronicled by sages Vasistha and Viswamitra in two separate hymns of Rik Veda. We all know Vasistha and Viswamitra. Mahabharata adi parva mentions the fierce rivalry between  Vasistha and Viswamitra. Viswamitra was related to Jamadagnya clan as he was born a Kshatriya. When trying to forcefully take away Vasistha's kamadhenu Nandini, he was defeated and hence wanted to become a Brahmin to take revenge on Vasistha. He took revenge on Vasistha clan by killing 100 sons of Vasistha, and getting Shakti, a famous son of Vasistha killed by king Kalmashpada, who, by misfortune and curses had turned into a demon (Rakshasa - cannibal). Kalmashapada was an Ikshaku king and his other name was Soudas. However during Ramayana period we see that Vasistha and Viswamitra had reconciled and had even become friends. So battle of 10 kings, which was a fallout of the rivalry between Vasistha and Viswamitra, was even before the Ramayana period and therefore can be said to be the earliest historical battle. 

Mahabharata also tells us the story of king Yayati and his five sons born from two wives - Sarmistha and Devyani. If we take the asuras as a tribe (probably the Persians whose God was Ahura or Asura, Asuras are probably those who did not take Vedas as the authority and did not believe in sacrifices or yagnas, as is evident from the stories), then Yayati, Vrishaparva and Devyani episode is basically a historical narrative, the story of Yayati is completely historical in context and we get a confirmation from battle of 10 kings narrative as well. Yayati had five sons - Turvasu, Yadu, Anu, Drahyu and Puru, of whom he gave his throne(probably entire North entire extending till present day Afghanistan). Puru established Puarava dynasty, later of which Pandavas and Kauravas were descendants. From Yadu came the Yadavas - Vrishni, Andhaka, Bhoja and Kukkaras. Turvasu, Anu and Drahyu had to move out and became chief of various non Aryan kingdoms, Mlechhas and Yavanas - probably in Central Asia,  Europe and Himalayas bordering China. So that is how Vedic culture spread beyond Indian subcontinent. It is significant that Persians used to worship fire and there were significant Vedic ritualistic practices among Celtics. The Indo European language probably originated from migration, proving again that Sanskrit was the mother of all languages of the world. The Vedic culture was probably intermixed with non Aryan cultures of the West, thereby producing a composite culture which later gave birth to paganism.