Andarae

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Andarae were ancient race mentioned by Pliny and Megasthenes. Alexander Cunningham has identified them with Andhras.

Variants

• Andaræ (Pliny.vi.22)
• Andarae = Andhras

Jat Gotras Namesake

• Andar = Andaræ (Pliny.vi.22)

• Andari = Andaræ (Pliny.vi.22)

• Andhra = Andaræ (Pliny.vi.22)

History

Alexander Cunningham writes that ....The Andhras are mentioned by Pliny under the name of Andarae, as a powerful nation, who possessed thirty fortified cities, and a large army of one hundred thousand infantry, two thousand cavalry, and one thousand elephants. They are also noted in the Pen-tingerian Tables as Andrae-Indi. Wilson quotes these

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[p.529]: Tables as placing the Andhras " on the banks of the Ganges," but the extremely elongated form of the Pentingerian Map has squeezed many of the peoples and nations far out of their true places. A much safer conclusion may be inferred from a comparison of the neighbouring names. Thus the Andrae-Indi are placed near Damirice, which I would identify with Ptolemy's Limyrike by simply changing the initial A to A, as the original authorities used for the construction of the Tables must have been Greek. But the people of Limyrike occupied the south-west coast of the peninsula, consequently their neighbours the Andrae-Indi must be the well-known Andhras of Telingana, and not the mythical Andhras of the Ganges, who are mentioned only in the Puranas. Pliny's knowledge of the Andarae must have been derived either from the Alexandrian merchants of his own times, or from the writings of Megasthenes and Dionysius, the ambassadors of Seleukus Nikator and Ptolemy Philadelphus to the court of Palibothra. But whether the Andarae were contemporary with Pliny or not, it is certain that they did not rule over Magadha at the period to which he alludes, as immediately afterwards he mentions the Prasii of Palibothra as the most powerful nation in India, who possessed 600,000 infantry, 30,000 horse, and 9000 elephants, or more than six times the strength of the Andarae-Indi.

The Chinese pilgrim notices that though the language of the people of Andhra was very different from that of Central India, yet the forms of the written characters were for the most part the same. This statement is specially interesting, as it shows that

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[p.530]: the old Nagari alphabet introduced from Northern India was still in use, and that the peculiar twisted forms of the Telugu characters, which are found in inscriptions of the tenth century, had not yet been adopted in the south.

Mention by Pliny

Pliny mentions 'The Ganges.'....We next come to a still more powerful nation, the Andaræ,¹⁴ who dwell in numerous villages, as well as thirty cities fortified with walls and towers. They furnish for their king one hundred thousand foot, two thousand horse, and a thousand elephants.

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14 Ansart suggests that this may be the modern kingdom of Pegu. He thinks also that the preceding kingdom may be that now called Arracan.

Jat clans mentioned by Megasthenes

Megasthenes also described India's caste system and a number of clans out of these some have been identified with Jat clans by the Jat historians. Megasthenes has mentioned a large number of Jat clans. It seems that the Greeks added 'i' to names which had an 'i' ending. Identified probable Jat clans have been provided with active link within brackets.

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Jat clans as described by Megasthenes
Location	Jat clans	Information
5. Next come	The Andarae (Andar, Andari, Andhras)	A powerful race, which possesses numerous villages, and thirty towns defended by walls and towers, and which supplies its king with an army of 100,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 1,000 elephants