the Brihat Samhita, and the Dharmasutras of Vaikhanasa and Ushanas. The Adi Parva of the Mahabharata describes the Nishada prince Ekalavya as the son of an archer, which suggests that archery was a hereditary trait of the Nishadas. The Manusmriti and the Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata mention fishing as the profession of the Nishadas. The Vishnu Smriti also seems to consider subsistence on fishing a characteristic of the Nishadas, as attested by Nanda-pandita's commentary on the text and the Katha-sarit-sagara. The Raghuvamsha presents the Nishada as boatmen. The Ayodhya Kanda of the Ramayana, which mentions the Nishada as the name of an occupational caste (jāti), states that the Nishada king helped Rama cross the Ganges River. The Harivamsha states that the Nishadas collected gems and jewels from the river beds. Maskarin's commentary on Gautama Dharmasutra suggests that elephant-training was another occupation associated with the Nishadas. This is also corroborated the use of the term "Nishadin" to describe an elephant-keeper in Bana's Harsha-charita and Magha's Shishupala-vadha. Several ancient texts present the Nishadas as progeny of parents from different occupational classes, called the varnas (see Social status section below). However, such classifications are not indicative of the contemporary occupations of the Nishadas: rather, they appear to be a legal attempt to define the status of the Nishadas relative to the other varnas, so that the varna-specific laws could be applied to them. Relations with the early Indo-Aryans The Nishadas appear to have been among the first indigenous tribes encountered by the Indo-Aryans in India. Most of the other indigenous tribes find few mentions in the Vedic texts. The Nishadas appear in these texts several times, and as a full-fledged tribe within the Indo-Aryan social framework. Aitareya Brahmana, an early text, describes the Nishadas as raiders operating in the forests. However, the later Shrauta texts suggest that they were gradually assimilated into the Indo-Aryan society, and were not considered as untouchable at this time. For example: The Apastamba-Shrauta-Sutra and the Latyayana-Shrauta-Sutra indicate that the Nishadas lived in villages: the performance of the Vishvajit Vedic ritual sacrifice required the performer to live with the Nishadas for three nights, and share their food. The Shrauta-Sutras of Apastamba, Katyayana, and Varaha, mention the participation of Nishadas in a sacrificial ceremony: A Nishada official (sthapati) makes offerings to fire to propitiate the deity Rudra, although this ceremony does not involving chanting of the Vedic mantras. The