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ALIENS OR HUMANS? From a historical point of view, these exotic tribes simply may have been tribes that did not interact frequently with mainstream culture so that knowledge of them was very limited, which spurred the invention of fables about them. One extreme and unlikely point of view is that the exotic tribes were actually Aliens from distant planets; this point of view usually assumes that the exotic capabilities of such tribes, as described in classic literature, are accurate and can be taken at face value. The exotic capabilities incluedes # the ability to appear and disappear at will #the ability to fly in air, with our without the use of an airbone vehicle #the knowledge of aircraft #the abilty to change shape at will #the ability to read the mind of people #the knwoledge about other inhabited places like the Earth #the ability to influence natural forces In any case, these tribes had a profound influence on the Vedic culture, but remained separate from the culture due to some reason—perhaps due to their geographic isolation from the rest of the world. The tribes' bases ranged from high mountains (such as the Yaksas and Rakshasas) to deep forests (such as the Vanaras), or they were civilizations beyond the mainstream Indian civilization (as with the Devas and Asuras) which prevailed in the plains of Saraswati, Sindhu and Ganga. GANDHARVAS Gandharvas are described as fierce warriors who could challenge even the great Kshatriya warriors. They were also skilled in art, music and dance. Some Gandharva tribes were allied with the Devas. They inhabited the land to the north of Kailasa , close to the Deva territories. The name Gandharva could have been derived from the name Gandhara, since they might originally have inhabited the inaccessible mountains of the Gandhara Kingdom . Later they might have spread to the Saraswati river (seen by Balarama during his pilgrimage over Saraswati). The Ramayana mentions a Gandharva kingdom named Sailusha near the mouth of the river Ganga . YAKSAS The Yaksas were a tribe living in the area surrounding the Kailasa range of the Himalayas . Their king, Vaisravana or Kuvera , was a worshipper of Siva whose abode is thought to be Kailasa. KINNARAS The Kinnaras are a tribe often spoken of along with the Gandharvas and Yakshas. There is a district named Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh which is thought to be the domain of the Kinnara tribes. KIMPURUSHAS Kimpurushas were described to be horse headed beings. Puranas mention about an Asura with a horse head, who was known as ''Hayagreeva'' (which in Sanskrit means ''the horse headed one''; ''Haya = horse'' and ''greeva = head'') This Asura was killed by an Incarnation of Lord Vishnu , who took the similar form of a horse headed human figure. In Egyptian sculpures also we see horse headed figures or warriors employing an elongated face mask, which resemble the head of a horse. The epic Mahabharata and the Puranas describe, regions north to Himalayas as the abode of Kimpurushas. This region was also the abode of a tribe of people called Kambojas . They were fierce warriors skilled in horse ride and horse warfare. Some of them were robber tribes who invaded village settlements, by raiding them using their skilled cavalry forces. The myth of Kimpurushas probably came from these ferocious warrior tribes, who terrorized the Vedic settlements. RAKSHASAS Were they Neandarthals ? Rakshasa's were described to have large bodies, probably due to their continuous life in cold climates over snow covered mountains. One theory says that they were the Neanderthals , the early humans who inhabited Europe and other places in Asia where temperature was very low, like the Himalayan region. The genographic project conducted by National Geographic and IBM, is coming to the conclusion that many species of humans coexisted, all of them in a culturally evolved state. Thus Rakshasas could be one of these species of humans, reduced to small pockets like the high Himalayas and cool mountains of Srilanka, with their social networks steadily shrinking. Famous Rakshasas Ravana was the most famous Rakshasa in Ancient India, who ruled from the Trikuta mountains ( Adem's Peak ) of Lanka where the climatic conditions were similar to Himalayas . He rose to the status of an emperor who excerted his direct control from Srilanka up to the south of Vindhya ranges in India, and indirectly the kingdoms beyond. Ghatotkacha was a Rakshasa born of the Pandava Bhima and the Rakshasa woman Hidimbi . Rakshasa Ghatotkacha's kingdom was in Himalaya between Gangotri and Kailasa . The forefathers of Ravana also lived here along with the Yakshas . The Yaksha king Vaisravana was the elder brother of Rakshasa king Ravana. Ravana had many sons among Gandharva wives. The two epics Mahabharata and Ramayana and many Puranas attest that Rakshasas , Yakshas and Gandharvas were related and had inter-marriages. The famous Rakshasa kingdoms in India were # Lanka Kingdom , ruled by Rakshasa emperor Ravana # Danda Kingdom ruled by Khara , Ravana 's general #Rakhasa Ghatotkacha 's kingdom in the Himalayas #Other kingdoms in the Himalayas NAGAS Nagas were a group of Mongoloid people spread throughout India during the period of the epic Mahabharata .The demi-god tribe called ''Suparnas'' (in which Garuda belonged) were arch-rivals of the Nagas. However, the Nagas near Kashmir seems to be the original abode of all of them. Places like Ananta Nag attests this theory. #Naga Ananta was the first among all the Naga kings. #The second Naga chief Vasuki had the kingdom near Kailasa (hence the connection of Vasuki with lord Siva). #The third chief Takshaka , in Takshasila both not far from Anantnag . #The kingdoms of other Nagas like Karkotaka and Airavata (near River Iravati , one among the five rivers of Punjab ) were also not far away. Nagas had kingdoms in Nagaland and Andhra Pradesh . Arjuna 's wife Ulupi was from one of such Naga kingdom (in Gangatic Plain or in Andhra Praesh near Chithoor , or in Nagaland) Arjuna's another wife Chitrangada , who also was known to Ulupi was from Chitrapuri or Chithoor of Andhra Pradesh . She was probably from a Dravidian tribe who had close ties with the Naga tribe of Ulupi. There are now many Naga worshipers ( Serpant Worshippers) in South India , especially in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala . Naga race was almost exterminated by Janamejaya , the Kuru king in Arjuna 's line, who conducted the massacre of Nagas at Takshasila. This massacre was stopped by Astika , a Brahmin whose mother was a Naga (Vasuki's sister Jaratkaru ). SUPARNAS The Suparnas were probably the Falcon worshipping or falcor rearing Iranians who conqured the Naga territories of north west India. They could also be the Dragon worshiping Chinese people. They were arch-rivals of the Nagas. Garuda was a famous Suparna. They had the ability to fly in air without using an aircraft. Some literature tells that they had wings like that of Angels . Some believes that they were birds like the hawk or eagle. Some thinks that they were a race of intelligent Dragon s in the family of Dinosaurs, that became extict during the dawn of human civilizations. VANARAS Vanaras were a trible who dwelled in the interior of dense forest. During the time of Ramayana , the central part of Indian peninsula was covered by a dense forest by the name Dandaka Forest . Most of the Vanaras lived in this dense forest. Kishindha was their stronghold, that had sway among the whole of the Vanara tribes spread all over the Indian Subcontinent. It was situated in this forest, located now near the Tungabhadra lake in Karnataka state of India. Some literature describes them as monkeys, some as apes and some as aborigin tribes of India, belonging to the Astroloid group. SEE ALSO Kingdoms Of Ancient India REFERENCES
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