Kekaya (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age (c.1100âÂÂ500 BCE). The members of the Kekaya tribe were called the Kaikayas.
The Kekayas were located between the GÃÂndhÃÂra kingdom and the VipÃÂà Âàriver, more precisely on a tributary of the IrÃÂvatë river named the Saranges by ancient Greek authors.
The capital of Kekaya was a city named RÃÂjagá¹Âha or Girivraja, identified with the modern-day Girjak or Jalalpur in the Pakistani Punjab.
The Kekeyas, as well as the neighbouring Madraka and Uà Âënara tribes, were descended from the á¹Âgvedic Anu tribe which lived near the Paruá¹£á¹Âë river in the central Punjab region, in the same area where the Kekayas were later located.
A famous king of Kekaya during the late Vedic period was AÃ Âvapati, who is mentioned in the and the as a patron of s, and was an elder contemporary of the Vaideha king Janaka.
During the 6th century BCE, the Kekayas, along with the Madras, Uà Âënaras, and Sibis, fell under the suzerainty of the GÃÂndhÃÂra kingdom, which was the principal imperial power in north-west Iron Age South Asia.
The 10th century CE of RÃÂjaà Âekhara furnishes a list of the extant tribes of his times which also includes the Kekayas along with the Shakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Vahlikas, Vahlavas, Limpakas, Tangana, Turukshas, referring to them all as the tribes of Uttarapatha or north division.
A branch of the Kekaya seems to have migrated to southern India in later times and established its authority in Mysore country.
The Kekayas appear in epic Hindu literature, especially in the and the . In the former, the step-mother of the god RÃÂma and mother of the prince Bharata is the eponymous princess of Kekaya, Kaikeyë.