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198 POLITICAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA
rule over the Oddavādi country. After twenty-three generations came Arjuna who ruled in 1269 A.D.
The Śūrasena country had its capital at Mathurā which, like Kaušāmbi, stood on the Jumna. Neither the country nor its metropolis finds any mention in the Vedic literature. But Greek writers refer to the Sourasenoi and their cities Methora (Mathurā ) and Cleisobora. Buddhist theologians make complaint about the absence of amenities in Mathurā. They were apparently not much interested in its kettledrums, or in the śāțakas ( garments ) and kārshāpaņas (coins ) about which Patañjali speaks in the Mahābhāshya.? A highroad connected the city with a place called Verañjā which was linked up with Śrāvasti and the caravan route that passed from Taxila to Benares through Soreyya, Sankassa ( Sānkāsya ), Kannakujja ( Kanyākubja or Kanauj ), and Payāga-Patitthāna (Allahabad). .
In the Mahābhārata and the Purānas the ruling family of Mathurā is styled the Yadu or Yādava family. The Yādavas were divided into various septs, namely, the Vitihotras, Sātvatas, etc. The Sātvatas were subdivided into several branches, e.g., the Daivāvșidhas, Andhakas, Mahā-bhojas and Vșishộis.
Yadu and his tribe are repeatedly mentioned in the Rig Veda. He is closely associated with Turvaša and, in one place, Druhyu, Anu and Pūru. This association is also implied by the epic and Purāņic legends which state that Yadu and Turvašu were the sons of the same parents, and Druhyu, Anu and Pīru were their step-brothers.
1 Gradual Sayings, II. 78 ; III. 188. 2 1. 2. 48 (Kielhorn I. 19). 3 Gradual Sayings, II. p. 66; DPPN. II. 438, 930, 1311, 4 Matsya, 43-44 ; Vayu, 94-96. 5 Vishnu, IV. 13. 1 ; Vāyu, 96, 1-2. 6 I. 108, 8,