 | ||
Uttara Kuru was an ancient kingdom located north of the India. The name Uttara Kuru means the Northern Kurus. The Kurus were a tribe during the Vedic civilization of India. The Uttara Kuru were therefore a population to the north of the Kurus, or north of the Himalayas.
Some historians identify this kingdom as Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian Republic. This identification is based on the Mahabharata epic which describes a Kuru warrior Bhishma abducting two brides from the Kasi kingdom for making them wives of his half-brother Vichitravirya. This same custom of abduction of brides by bridgegroom or his allies for marrying them, still prevails in Kyrgyzstan.
At some point during the reign of Pururavas-Aila (the first king mentioned in the line of lunar dynasty of Indian kings) Uttara Kuru and the Kurus of India could have belonged to the same Kuru Empire. Arjuna collected tribute from Uttara Kuru during his northern military campaign for Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice. The epics also mention that they followed a republican constitution with no monarchy.