Puru (Vedic tribe)

The Purus were a clan, or a confederation of clans, mentioned many times in the Rigveda, formed around 3180 BCE. RV 7.96.2 locates them at the banks of the Sarasvati River. There were several factions of Purus, one being the Bharatas. Purus rallied many other groups against King Sudas of the Bharata, but were defeated in the Battle of the Ten Kings (RV 7.18, etc.,).

India's name Bharat or Bharat-Varsh is named after a descendant of the Puru dynasty King Bharat . There were two main Vedic cultures in ancient India. The first was a northern kingdom centered on the Sarasvati-Drishadvati river region dominated by the Purus and the Ikshvakus. The second was a southern culture along the coast of the Arabian Sea and into the Vindhya Mountains, dominated by the Turvashas and Yadus and extending into groups yet further south. These northern and southern groups vied for supremacy and influenced each other in various ways as the Vedas and Puranas indicate. The northern or Bharata culture ultimately prevailed, making India the land of Bharata or Bharatavarsha and its main ancient literary record the Vedas, though militarily the Yadus remained strong throughout history.

Kuru was born after 25 generations of Puru's dynasty, and after 15 generations of Kuru, Kauravas and Pandavas were born. These were the same renowned Kauravas and Pandavas who fought the epic battle of Mahabharata. The dynasty of king Yadu - Andhak, Vrasni and Bhoj, under the leadership of Shree Krishna, helped the Pandavas win the battle. According to Puranic tradition, the war occurred 95 generations after Manu Vaivasvata. The Puranas state that there are 1,050 years between Parikshit of the Kurus and the last Kuru king at the time of Mahapadma Nanda.

The Greek name of Porus of Alexander's time seems to reflect the old tribal name. Kosambi mentioned that the Puru name perhaps survived in the modern Punjabi surname Puri.

According to Puranic legend the Chandravanshi lineage is:
Brahma -> Atri -> Chandra -> Budha (married to Manu's daughter Ila) -> Pururava -> Ayu -> Nahusha -> Yayati -> Puru and Yadu

...
Wikipedia