Daradas are the inhabitants of the country along the course of the Indus River above the Himalaya Mountains just before it descends to India. This locality was occupied by the Daradas in the days of Strabo and Ptolemy and at the date of the Vishnu Purana. They reside there still and are now called Durds.
The kingdom of the Daradas is identified to be the Gilgit region in Kashmir. Arjuna is said to have visited this country of Daradas during his northern military campaign to collect tribute for Yudhisthira`s Rajasuya sacrifice. Many Daradas are also said to have attended the sacrifice and offered him lots of gifts. Daradas had also participated in the Kurukshetra war fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas.
The Vayu Purana, Brahmanda Purana and Vamana Purana mention the Daradas with the Kambojas, Chinas, Tusharas and the Bahlikas etc. The Bhuvankosha of the Puranas locates the Daradas, Kambojas, Barbaras, Bahlikas and Lampakas in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India.
They are referred to in the Mahabharata as having joined the Kaurava forces, and as having been defeated by Vasudeva, along with the Khasas, Sakas, Yavanas, Trigarttas, Malavas and others. The Vishnu Purana has associated them with the Abhiras and Kasmiras while in the Matsya Purana the country of the Daradas is linked with Gandhara, Sivapura, Urja, Aurasa and other districts forming the basin of the Sindhu. The Epic and Puranic traditions seem therefore to locate the Daradas in the north-west along the north-west frontier of Kashmir, and contiguously with the realm of the Khasas in the upper Punjab. They were probably a mountainous tribe, for `mountain is the commonest meaning of the word darad from which they appear to have derived their name`. Daradas are known by several names by the historians. They are known as Dardae, Derdai, Dardanoi.
As per the `Drona Parva` of the Mahabharata, Krishna had conquered the Daradas along with Anga, Vanga, Magadha, Kasi, Vatsa, Garga and many others.
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