linguistic:voice_change, structural:scholar_edition, quality:corruption
Kuru was a Vedic Indo-Aryan tribal union in northern Iron Age India of the Bharata and Puru tribes. The Kuru kingdom appeared in the Middle Vedic period, encompassing parts of the modern-day states of Haryana, Delhi, and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh. The Kuru Kingdom was the first recorded state-level society in the Indian subcontinent. The Kuru kingdom became a dominant political and cultural force in the middle Vedic Period during the reigns of Parikshit and Janamejaya, but declined in importance during the late Vedic period and had become "something of a backwater" by the Mahajanapada period in the 5th century BCE. However, traditions and legends about the Kurus continued into the post-Vedic period, providing the basis for the Mahabharata epic. The Kuru kingdom corresponds with the archaeological Painted Grey Ware culture. The Kuru kingdom decisively changed the religious heritage of the early Vedic period, arranging their ritual hymns into collections called the Vedas, and transforming the Historical Vedic religion into Brahmanism, which eventually contributed to the Hindu synthesis.