A khattiya clan of India. Among those claiming a share of the Buddha's relics were the Moriyas of Pipphalivana. They came rather late and had to be satisfied with a share of the ashes (D.ii.166; Bu.xxviii.4).
Candagutta, grandfather of Asoka, was also a Moriyan (Mhv.v.16; Dpv.vi.19).
The Mahávamsa Tíká (MT. 180) contains an account of the origin of the name. According to one theory they were so called because they rejoiced in the prosperity of their city (attánam nagarasiriyá modápíti, ettha sañjátá ti, dakárassa rakáram katvá Moriyá ti laddhavohárá). They lived in a delightful land. Another theory connects the name with mora (peacock). The city which they founded had buildings of blue stone, like the neck of the peacock, and the place always resounded with the cries of peacocks. It is said that the Moriyans were originally Sákyan princes of Kapilavatthu, who escaped to the Himálaya regions to save themselves from the attacks of Vidúdabha, and established a city there. Thus Asoka was a kinsman of the Buddha, for Candagutta was the son of the chief queen of the Moriyan king. The king was killed by a neighbouring ruler and the city pillaged. MT.183; but according to the Mudráráksasa (Act iii.) Candragupta, was a Vrsala, a person of low birth, an illegitimate son of the last Nanda, king by a Súdra woman, Murá.
Asoka's mother, Dhammá, was also a Moriyan princess (MT.189). Mention is also made of the Moriyans as a Singhalese clan (Cv.xxxviii.13; xli.69; see also Cv.Trs.i.29, n. 2). Whether these had any connection with the Moriyans of India is not known.