Tushara

Last updated
Tushara Kingdom alongside other locations of kingdoms and republics mentioned in the Indian epics or Bharata Khanda. EpicIndia.jpg
Tushara Kingdom alongside other locations of kingdoms and republics mentioned in the Indian epics or Bharata Khanda.

The kingdom of Tushara, according to ancient Indian literature, such as the epic Mahabharata , was a land located beyond north-west India. In the Mahabharata, its inhabitants, known as the Tusharas, are depicted as mlechchas ("barbarians") and fierce warriors.

Contents

Modern scholars generally see Tushara as synonymous with the historical "Tukhara", also known as Tokhara or Tokharistan – another name for Bactria. This area was the stronghold of the Kushan Empire, which dominated India between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE.

Tukhara

The historical Tukhara appears to be synonymous with the land known by Ancient Chinese scholars as Daxia , from the 3rd century BCE onwards.

Its inhabitants were known later to Ancient Greek scholars as the Tokharoi and to the Ancient Romans as Tochari. Modern scholars appear to have conflated the Tukhara with the so-called Tocharians – an Indo-European people who lived in the Tarim Basin, in present-day Xinjiang, China, until the 1st millennium. When the Tocharian languages of the Tarim were rediscovered in the early 20th century, most scholars accepted a hypothesis that they were linked to the Tukhara (who were known to have migrated to Central Asia from China, with the other founding Kushan peoples). However, the subjects of the Tarim kingdoms appear to have referred to themselves by names such as Agni , Kuči and Krorän . These peoples are also known to have spoken centum languages, whereas the Tukhara of Bactria spoke a satem language.

The Tukhara were among Indo-European tribes that conquered Central Asia during the 2nd century BCE, according to both Chinese and Greek sources. Ancient Chinese sources refer to these tribes collectively as the Da Yuezhi ("Greater Yuezhi"). In subsequent centuries the Tukhara and other tribes founded the Kushan Empire, which dominated Central and South Asia.

The account in Mahabharata (Mbh) 1:85 depicts the Tusharas as mlechchas ("barbarians") and descendants of Anu, one of the cursed sons of King Yayati. Yayati's eldest son Yadu, gave rise to the Yadavas and his youngest son Puru to the Pauravas that includes the Kurus and Panchalas. Only the fifth son of Puru's line was considered to be the successors of Yayati's throne, as he cursed the other four sons and denied them kingship. The Pauravas inherited the Yayati's original empire and stayed in the Gangetic plain who later created the Kuru and Panchala Kingdoms. They were followers of the Vedic culture. The Yadavas made central and western India their stronghold. The descendants of Anu, known as the Anavas, are said to have migrated to Iran.

Various regional terms and proper names may have originated with, or been derived from, the Tusharas including: Takhar Province in Afghanistan; the Pakistani village of Thakra; the surname Thakkar, found across India; the Marathi surname Thakere, sometimes anglicised as Thackeray; the Takhar Jat clan in Rajasthan, and the Thakar tribe of Maharashtra. It is also possible that the Thakor (or Thakore) caste of Gujarat, the Thakar caste of Maharashtra and the title Thakur originated with names such as Tushara/Tukhara. The Sanskrit word thakkura "lord" may be related to such terms or may itself be derived from one of them.

Indian literature

References in Mahabharata

The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata associates the Tusharas with the Yavanas, Kiratas, Chinas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Kankas, Sabaras, Barbaras, Ramathas etc., and brands them all as barbaric tribes of Uttarapatha, leading lives of Dasyus. [1]

The Tusharas along with numerous other tribes from the north-west, including the Bahlikas, Kiratas, Pahlavas, Paradas, Daradas, Kambojas, Shakas, Kankas, Romakas, Yavanas, Trigartas, Kshudrakas, Malavas, Angas, and Vangas had joined Yudhishtra at his Rajasuya ceremony and brought him numerous gifts such as camels, horses, cows, elephants and gold [2]

Later the Tusharas, Sakas and Yavanas had joined the military division of the Kambojas and participated in the Mahabharata war on the side of the Kauravas. [3] Karna Parva of Mahabharata describes the Tusharas as very ferocious and wrathful warriors.

At one place in the Mahabharata, the Tusharas are mentioned along with the Shakas and the Kankas. [4] At another place they are in a list with the Shakas, Kankas and Pahlavas. [5] And at other places are mentioned along with the Shakas, Yavanas and the Kambojas [6] etc.

The Tushara kingdom is mentioned in the travels of the Pandavas in the northern regions beyond the Himalayas:- Crossing the difficult Himalayan regions, and the countries of China, Tukhara, Darada and all the climes of Kulinda, rich in heaps of jewels, those warlike men reached the capital of Suvahu (3:176).

The Mahabharata makes clear that Vedic Hindus did not know the origins of the Mlechcha tribes, who were highly skilled in weapons, warfare and material sciences, but never followed the Vedic rites properly. That the Vedic people were dealing with foreign tribes is evident in a passage from Mahabharata (12:35). It asks which duties that should be performed by the Yavanas, the Kiratas, the Gandharvas, the Chinas, the Savaras, the Barbaras, the Sakas, the Tusharas, the Kankas, the Pathavas, the Andhras, the Madrakas, the Paundras, the Pulindas, the Ramathas, the Kambojas, and several new castes of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras, that had sprung up in the dominions of the Arya kings.

The kings of the Pahlavas and the Daradas and the various tribes of the Kiratas and Yavanas and Sakras and the Harahunas and Chinas and Tukharas and the Sindhavas and the Jagudas and the Ramathas and the Mundas and the inhabitants of the kingdom of women and the Tanganas and the Kekayas and the Malavas and the inhabitants of Kasmira, were present in the Rajasuya sacrifice of Yudhishthira the king of the Pandavas (3:51). The Sakas and Tukhatas and Tukharas and Kankas and Romakas and men with horns bringing with them as tribute numerous large elephants and ten thousand horses, and hundreds and hundreds of millions of golds (2:50).

The Tusharas were very ferocious warriors. The Yavanas and the Sakas, along with the Chulikas, stood in the right wing of the Kaurava battle-array (6:75). The Tusharas, the Yavanas, the Khasas, the Darvabhisaras, the Daradas, the Sakas, the Kamathas, the Ramathas, the Tanganas the Andhrakas, the Pulindas, the Kiratas of fierce prowess, the Mlecchas, the Mountaineers, and the races hailing from the sea-side, all endued with great wrath and great might, delighting in battle and armed with maces, these all—united with the Kurus and fought wrathfully for Duryodhana’s sake (8:73). A number of Saka and Tukhara and Yavana horsemen, accompanied by some of the foremost combatants among the Kambojas, quickly rushed against Arjuna (8:88). F. E Pargiter writes that the Tusharas, along with the Yavanas, Shakas, Khasas and Daradas had collectively joined the Kamboja army of Sudakshina Kamboj and had fought in Kurukshetra war under latter's supreme command. [7]

In the Puranas and other Indian texts

Puranic texts like Vayu Purana, Brahmanda Purana and Vamana Purana, etc., associate the Tusharas with the Shakas, Barbaras, Kambojas, Daradas, Viprendras, Anglaukas, Yavanas, Pahlavas etc and refer to them all as the tribes of Udichya i.e. north or north-west. [8] The Kambojas, Daradas, Barbaras, Harsavardhanas, Cinas and the Tusharas are described as the populous races of men outside. [9]

Puranic literature further states that the Tusharas and other tribes like the Gandharas, Shakas, Pahlavas, Kambojas, Paradas, Yavanas, Barbaras, Khasa, and Lampakas, etc., would be invaded and annihilated by Lord Kalki at the end of Kali Yuga . And they were annihilated by king Pramiti at the end of Kali Yuga. [10]

According to Vayu Purana and Matsya Purana, river Chakshu (Oxus or Amu Darya) flowed through the countries of Tusharas, Lampakas, Pahlavas, Paradas and the Shakas, etc. [11]

The Brihat-Katha-Manjari [12] of Pt Kshemendra relates that around 400 CE, Gupta king Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) (r. 375-413/15 CE), had "unburdened the sacred earth by destroying the barbarians" like the Tusharas, Shakas, Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Parasikas, Hunas etc.

The Rajatarangini of Kalhana records that king Laliditya Muktapida, the 8th-century ruler of Kashmir had invaded the tribes of the north and after defeating the Kambojas, he immediately faced the Tusharas. The Tusharas did not give a fight but fled to the mountain ranges leaving their horses in the battlefield. [13] This shows that during the 8th century CE, a section of the Tusharas was living as neighbours of the Kambojas near the Oxus valley.

By the 6th century CE, the Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira also locates the Tusharas with Barukachcha (Bhroach) and Barbaricum (on the Indus Delta) near the sea in western India. [14] The Romakas formed a colony of the Romans near the port of Barbaricum in Sindhu Delta. [15] This shows that a section of the Tusharas had also moved to western India and was living there around Vrahamihira's time.

There is also a mention of Tushara-Giri (Tushara mountain) in the Mahabharata, Harshacharita of Bana Bhata and Kavyamimansa of Rajshekhar. ÷

Kingdom

Tushara
Common languages Sanskrit, Vedic Languages
Religion
Hinduism and Vedic folk Religion
Rajas  

Historical references

Early Chinese & Greek sources

Little is known of the Tukhara before they conquered the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in the 2nd century BCE. They are known, in subsequent centuries, to have spoken Bactrian, an Eastern Iranian language. The Yuezhi are generally believed to have had their ethnogenesis in Gansu, China. However, Ancient Chinese sources use the term Daxia (Tukhara) for a state in Central Asia, two centuries before the Yuezhi entered the area. Hence the Tukhara may have been recruited by the Yuezhi, from a people neighbouring or subject to the Greco-Bactrians.

Likewise the Atharvaveda also associates the Tusharas with the Bahlikas (Bactrians), Yavanas/Yonas (Greeks) and Sakas (Indo-Scythians), as following: "Saka.Yavana.Tushara.Bahlikashcha". [16] It also places the Bahlikas as neighbors of the Kambojas. [17] This may suggest suggests that the Tusharas were neighbours to these peoples, possibly in Transoxiana.

Later Chinese sources

In the 7th century CE, the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, by way of the "Iron Pass" entered Tukhara (覩貨羅 Pinyin Duhuoluo; W-G Tu-huo-luo). Xuanzang stated that it lay south of the Iron Pass, north of the "great snow mountains" (Hindukush), and east of Persia, with the Oxus "flowing westward through the middle of it." [18]

During the time of Xuanzang, Tukhāra was divided into 27 administrative units, each having its separate chieftain. [19] [20]

Tibetan chronicles

The Tukharas (Tho-gar) are mentioned in the Tibetan chronicle Dpag-bsam-ljon-bzah (The Excellent Kalpa-Vrksa), along with people like the Yavanas, Kambojas, Daradas, Hunas, Khasas etc. [21]

References in association with the Kambojas

The Komedai of Ptolemy, [22] the Kiumito or Kumituo of Xuanzang's accounts, Kiumizhi of Wu'kong, [23] Kumi of the Tang Annals , [24] Kumed or Kumadh of some Muslim writers, Cambothi, Kambuson and Komedon of the Greek writers (or the Kumijis of Al-Maqidisi, Al-Baihaki, Nasir Khusau etc.) [25] [26] who lived in Buttamen Mountains (now in Tajikistan) in the upper Oxus [27] are believed by many scholars to be the Kambojas who were living neighbors to the Tukhara/Tusharas north of the Hindukush in the Oxus valley. [28] The region was also known as Kumudadvipa of the Puranic texts, which the scholars identify with Sanskrit Kamboja. [29]

Before its occupation by the Tukhara, Badakshan formed a part of ancient Kamboja (Parama Kamboja) but, after its occupation by the Tukhara in the 2nd century BCE, Badakshan and some other territories of the Kamboja became part of Tukhara. [30]

Around the 4th to 5th century CE, when the fortunes of the Tukhara finally waned, the original population of Kambojas re-asserted itself, and the region again started to be called by its ancient name, i.e., "Kamboja", [31] though northwestern parts still retained the name of Duhuoluo or Tukharistan in Chinese at least until the time of the Tang dynasty. [32]

There are several later references to Kamboja of the Pamirs/Badakshan. Raghuvamsha - a 5th-century Sanskrit play by Kalidasa, attests their presence on river Vamkshu (Oxus) as neighbors to the Hunas (Raghu: 4.68-70). As seen above, the 7th-century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang mentions the Kiumito/Kumito living to the north of the Oxus, [33] which may refer to Komedai of Ptolemy. [34] which, as noted above, has been equated to Kamboja mentioned in Sanskrit texts.

The 8th-century king of Kashmir, King Lalitadiya, invaded the Kambojas of the "far-spreading northern region" (uttarāpatha) as mentioned in the Rajatarangini of Kalhana. After encountering the Kambojas, Lalitadiya's army approached the Tuhkhāras who "fled to the mountain ranges leaving behind their horses." [35] According to D. C. Sircar, the Kambojas here are bracketed with the Tukharas and are shown as living in the eastern parts of the Oxus valley as neighbors of the Tukharas who were living in the western parts of that Valley. [36] [37] [38]

The 10th century CE Kavyamimamsa of Rajshekhar lists the Tusharas with several other tribes of the Uttarapatha viz: the Shakas, Kekeyas, Vokkanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Pahlavas, Limpakas, Kulutas, Tanganas, Turusakas, Barbaras, Ramathas etc. [39] This mediaeval era evidence shows that the Tusharas were different from the Turushakas with whom they are often confused by some writers.

Possible connection to the Rishikas

Pompeius Trogus remarks that the Asii were lords of the Tochari. It is generally believed that they are same as the Rishikas of the Mahabharata which people are equivalent to Asii (in Prakrit). [40] V. S. Aggarwala also equates the Rishikas with the Asii or Asioi. [41] In 1870, George Rawlinson commented that "The Asii or Asiani were closely connected with the Tochari and the Sakarauli (Saracucse?) who are found connected with both the Tochari and the Asiani". [42]

If the Rishikas of the Mahabharata were same as the Tukharas, then the observation from George Rawlinson is in line with the Mahabharata [43] statement which also closely allies the Rishikas with the Parama Kambojas [44] and places them both in the Sakadvipa. [45] The Kambojas (i.e. the southern branch of the Parama Kambojas), are the same as the classical Assaceni/Assacani (Aspasio/Assakenoi of Arrian) and the Aśvayana and Aśvakayana of Panini. [46] They are also mentioned by Megasthenes who refers to them as Osii (= Asii), Asoi, Aseni etc., [47] all living on upper Indus in eastern Afghanistan. The names indicate their connection with horses and horse culture. [48] [49] These Osii, Asoi/Aseni clans represent earlier migration from the Parama Kamboja (furthest Kamboja) land, lying between Oxus and Jaxartes, which happened prior to Achaemenid rule. Per epic evidence, Parama Kamboja was the land of the Loha-Kamboja-Rishikas. [50]

The Rishikas are said by some scholars to be the same people as the Yuezhi. [51] The Kushanas are also said by some to be the same people. [52] Kalhana (c. 1148-1149 CE) claims that the three kings he calls Huṣka, Juṣka and Kaniṣka (commonly interpreted to refer to Huvishka, Vāsishka and Kanishka I) were "descended from the Turuṣka race". [53] Aurel Stein says that the Tukharas (Tokharoi/Tokarai) were a branch of the Yuezhi. [54] P. C. Bagchi holds that the Yuezhi, Tocharioi and Tushara were identical. [55] If he is correct, the Rishikas, Tusharas/Tukharas (Tokharoi/Tokaroi), the Kushanas and the Yuezhi, were probably either a single people, or members of a confederacy.

Sabha Parva of Mahabharata states that the Parama Kambojas, Lohas and the Rishikas were allied tribes. [56] Like the "Parama Kambojas", the Rishikas of the Transoxian region are similarly styled as "Parama Rishikas". [57] Based on the syntactical construction of the Mahabharata verse 5.5.15 [58] and verse 2.27.25, [59] Ishwa Mishra believe that the Rishikas were a section of the Kambojas i.e. Parama Kambojas. V. S. Aggarwala too, relates the Parama Kambojas of the Trans-Pamirs to the Rishikas of the Mahabharata [60] and also places them in the Sakadvipa (or Scythia). [61] According to Dr B. N. Puri and some other scholars, the Kambojas were a branch of the Tukharas. [62] [63] Based on the above Rishika-Kamboja connections, some scholars also claim that the Kambojas were a branch of the Yuezhi themselves. [64] Dr Moti Chander also sees a close ethnic relationship between the Kambojas and the Yuezhi . [65] [66]

Modern scholars are still debating the details of these connections without coming to any firm consensus. [67] [68]

Japan Visit

According to the Nihon Shoki , the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history, in 1654 two men and two women of the Tushara Kingdom, along with one woman from Shravasti, were drive by a storm to take refuge at the former Hyūga Province in southern Kyushu. They remained for several years before setting off for home. [69] : 75  That is the first recorded visit of people from India to Japan.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ MBH 12.65.13-15
  2. ↑ Mahabharata 2.51-2.53; 3.51 .
  3. ↑ MBH 6.66.17-21; MBH 8.88.17
  4. ↑ Shakas.Tusharah.Kankascha
  5. ↑ Shakas Tusharah Kankashch.Pahlavashcha
  6. ↑ Shaka.Tushara.Yavanashcha sadinah sahaiva.KambojavaraijidhansavahORKritavarma tu sahitah Kambojarvarai.Bahlikaih...Tushara.Yavanashchaiva.Shakashcha saha Chulikaih
  7. ↑ The Nations of India at the Battle Between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1908, pp 313, 331, Dr F. E. Pargiter, (Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland).
  8. ↑ Brahmanda Purana 27.46-48.
  9. ↑ Markandeya Purana, LVII.39, The Markandeya Purana, F. E. Pargiter, Trans. Varanasi Reprint, 1969, pp 307-44; A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization, 2000, p 39, Niharranjan Ray, Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya.
  10. ↑ Vayu I.58.78-83; cf: Matsya 144.51-58
  11. ↑ Vayu Purana I.58.78-83
  12. ↑ 10/1/285-86
  13. ↑ RT IV.165-166
  14. ↑ bharukaccha.samudra.romaka.tushrah.. :Brhatsamhita XVI.6
  15. ↑ See comments: M. R. Singh in The Geographical Data of Early Purana, 1972, p. 26
  16. ↑ Ed Bolling & Negelein, 41.3.3.
  17. ↑ AV-Par, 57.2.5; cf Persica-9, 1980, p. 106, Michael Witzel
  18. ↑ Li, Rongxi (translator). 1995. The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, p. 31. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN   1-886439-02-8.
  19. ↑ On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629-645 A.D., Edition: 1904, pp. 102, 327. Thomas Watters - Buddhism; Publications, 1904. Oriental Translation Fund - Oriental literature.
  20. ↑ Li, Rongxi (translator). 1995. The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, p. 32. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN   1-886439-02-8. See also: E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, Edition 1935, p. 807; M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel; Geographical Data in the Early Purāṇas: A Critical Study, 1972, p. 174, M. R. Singh.
  21. ↑ Tho-gar yul dań yabana dań Kambodza dań Khasa dań Huna dań Darta dań...(See: Pag-Sam-Jon-Zang (1908), I.9, Sarat Chandra Das; Ancient Kamboja, 1971, p 66, H. W. Bailey.
  22. ↑ Ronca, Italo. (1971). Ptolemaios: Geographie 6,9-21 Ostiran und Zentalasien. Teil I. IsMEO, Rome p. 108.
  23. ↑ Lévi, Sylvain and Chavannes, Éd. (1895). "L'itinéraire d'Ou-k'ong. Journal Asiatique, Sept.-Oct. 1895, p. 362.
  24. ↑ Chavannes, Éd. (1900). Documents sur les Tou-kiue (Turcs) occidentaux. Paris, Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient. Reprint: Taipei. Reprint: Cheng Wen Publishing Co., pp. 164, 339.
  25. ↑ See: (Author?) Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1940, p 850, University of London School of Oriental and African Studies - Oriental philology Periodicals; Bagchi, P. C. India and Central Asia, p. 25; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 401, Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Satyavrat Śāstrī - Kamboja (Pakistan); Turkestan Down to Mongol Invasion, 1968, pp. 293-6, Barthold; The Ghaznavids, p 108, C. E. Bosworth. In: History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco - Central Asia; The Cambridge History of Iran, 1975, pp 173, 192, Richard Nelson Frye - History; On the Kumijis see also article 26,10, Hudud Al'alam: The Regions of the World: a Persian Geography, 327 A.H.-982 A.D. See p 209.
  26. ↑ See: THE ETHNIC OF THE SAKAS (SCYTHIANS. See link: .
  27. ↑ The Cambridge History of Iran, 1975, p. 192, Richard Nelson Frye; cf. also: Li, Rongxi (translator). 1995. The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, p. 33. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN   1-886439-02-8.
  28. ↑ Bagchi, P. C. India and Central Asia, p. 25; Studies in Indian History and Civilization, Agra, p 351; cf: India and Central Asia, p 25, Dr P. C. Bagchi; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 401, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī - Kamboja (Pakistan).
  29. ↑ Dr Buddha Prakash maintains that, based on the evidence of Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha, Raghu defeated the Hunas on river Vamkshu (Raghu vamsha 4.68), and immediately after them he marched against the Kambojas (4.69-70). These Kambojas were of Iranian affinities who lived in Pamirs and Badakshan. Hiun Tsang calls this region Kiu.mi.to which is thought to be Komdei of Ptolemy and Kumadh or Kumedh of Muslim writers (See: Studies in Indian History and Civilization, Agra, p 351; India and the World, 1964, p 71, Dr Buddha Prakash; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 300, Dr J. L. Kamboj).
  30. ↑ Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference, 1930, p 108, Dr J. C. Vidyalankara; Bhartya Itihaas ki Ruprekha, p 534, Dr J. C. Vidyalankar; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp 129, 300 Dr J. L. Kamboj;
  31. ↑ Bhartya Itihaas ki Ruprekha, p. 534, J. C. Vidyalankar; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp. 129, 300. J. L. Kamboj;
  32. ↑ See, for example, the references to Xuanzang's account above.
  33. ↑ Li, Rongxi (translator). 1995. The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, p. 33. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN   1-886439-02-8.
  34. ↑ Beal, Samuel. 1884. Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang. 2 vols. Translated by Samuel Beal. London. 1884. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969. vol. I, p. 41, n. 131.
  35. ↑ Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī: A Chronicle of the Kings of Kaśmīr. (1900). Translated and annotated by M. A. Stein. Reprint (1979): Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. Vol. I, Bk. 4, 163-165, p. 136.
  36. ↑ Sircar, D. C. "The Land of the Kambojas", Purana, Vol V, No ?, July 1962, p. 250.
  37. ↑ These Kambojas, apparently were descendants of that section of the Kambojas who, instead of leaving their ancestral land during second century BCE under assault from the Da Yuezhi, had compromised with the invaders and decided to stay put in their ancestral land instead of moving to the Helmand or Kabul valley.
  38. ↑ There are other references which also equate Kamboja with Tokhara. A Buddhist Sanskrit Vinaya text translated by N. Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, III, 3, 136, (quoted in B.S.O.A.S. XIII, p. 404) has the expression satam Kambojikanam kanyanam i.e. 'a hundred maidens from Kamboja'. This has been rendered as Tho-gar yul-gyi bu-mo brgya in the Tibetan and as Togar ulus-un yagun ükin in Mongolian. Thus, Kamboja has been rendered as Tho-gar or Togar. And Tho-gar/Togar are Tibetan or Mongolian forms of Tokhar/Tukhar (See: H. W. Bailey, Irano-Indica III, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1950, pp. 389-409; see also: Ancient Kamboja, Iran and Islam, 1971, p. 66, H. W. Bailey.
  39. ↑ Kavyamimamsa, Chapter 17.
  40. ↑ Note - name of author and article needed here - Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p. 227 (v.30-31 1954-1955).
  41. ↑ Aggarwala, V. S. India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī, 1953, p 68, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala - India; A Grammatical Dictionary of Sanskrit (Vedic): 700 Complete Reviews of the ... - Page 68, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala, Surya Kanta, Jacob Wackernagel, Arthur Anthony Macdonell, Peggy Melcher - India.
  42. ↑ Rawlinson, George. The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia.) .
  43. ↑ Mahabharata 2.27.25-26.
  44. ↑ The Mahabharata, Book 2: Sabha Parva: Jarasandhta-badha Parva: Section XXVI
  45. ↑ Agrawala, Vasudeva Sharana India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī, 1953, p 64: Agrawala, Vasudeva Sharana. India; A Grammatical Dictionary of Sanskrit (Vedic): 700 Complete Reviews of the ..., 1953, p 62, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala, Surya Kanta, Jacob Wackernagel, Arthur Anthony Macdonell, Peggy Melcher - India.
  46. ↑ See: Ashtadhyayi Sutra IV.1.110 & Ganapatha, Nadadigana IV.1.99 respectively.
  47. ↑ FRAGM. LVI., Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. 21. 8-23. 11., List of the Indian Races "Project South Asia". Archived from the original on 2006-05-28. Retrieved 2011-02-24.. .
  48. ↑ "In Aswa, we have ancient race peopled on both sides of Indus and probable etymon of Asia. The Assaceni, the Ari-aspii, the Aspasians and (the Asii) whom Strabo describes as Scythic race have same origin. Hence Asi-gurh (Hasi/Hansi) and Asii-gard, the first settlements of Scythic Asii in Scandinavia" (see: Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1826, p 318, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland - Great Britain; Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Reprint (2002), Vol I, p 64. Also see: pp 51-54, 87, 95; Vol-2, P 2, James Tod; The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial ..., 1885, p 196, Edward Balfour - India.
  49. ↑ For Asii = Assi = Asvaka - a tribe connected with Asvas or horses, See also : The Racial History of India - 1944, pp 815, 122, Chandra Chakraberty. For Aspasii, Hipasii, see: Olaf Caroe, The Pathans, 1958, pp. 37, 55-56,
  50. ↑ Mahabharata 2.27.25-26.
  51. ↑ Aggarwala, V. S. India as Known to Panini, p. 64
  52. ↑ Vidyalnkara, J. C. (1941). Bhartya Itihaas ki Ruprekha.
  53. ↑ But as noted above, tenth century CE Kavyamimamsa of Rajshekhar lists the Tusharas with several other tribes of the Uttarapatha viz: the Shakas, Kekeyas, Vokkanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Pahlavas, Limpakas, Kulutas, Tanganas, Turusakas, Barbaras, Ramathas etc. (Kavyamimamsa, Chapter 17), which clearly differentiates the Tukharas from the Turusakas.
  54. ↑ Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī: A Chronicle of the Kings of Kaśmīr. (1900). Translated and annotated by M. A. Stein. Reprint (1979): Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. Vol. I, Bk. I, 169-170, pp. 30-31.
  55. ↑ Bagchi, P. C. India and Central Asia, 1955, p 24.
  56. ↑ Mahabharata 2.26.25: See: The Mahabharata, Book 2: Sabha Parva, section XXVI, p 58, Kisari Mohan Ganguli, trans. [1883-1896] ; The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa: Translated Into English Prose, 1962, p 66, Pratap Chandra Roy; Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahābhārata: Upāyana Parva, 1945, p 13, Moti Chandra - India.
  57. ↑ taraka maya sankashah Parama Rishika parthayoh || 26 ||.
  58. ↑
    Shakanam Pahlavana.n cha Daradanam cha ye nripah |
    Kamboja Rishika ye cha pashchim.anupakash cha ye ||5.5.15||
    Trans: The kings of the Shakas, Pahlavas and the Daradas, and the Kamboja-Rishikas live in the west in the Anupa region.
  59. ↑ LohanParamaKambojanRishikanuttaran api ||v 2.27.25||
  60. ↑ The Deeds of Harsha: Being a Cultural Study of Bāṇa's Harshacharita, 1969, p 199, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala.
  61. ↑ India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī, 1953, p 64, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala - India; A Grammatical Dictionary of Sanskrit (Vedic): 700 Complete Reviews of the ..., 1953, p 62, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala, Surya Kanta, Jacob Wackernagel, Arthur Anthony Macdonell, Peggy Melcher - India.
  62. ↑ Buddhism in Central Asia, p. 90.
  63. ↑ The Journal of Central Asian Studies, 2003, p 33, University of Kashmir Centre of Central Asian Studies - Central Asia.
  64. ↑ Journal of Tamil Studies, 1969, pp 86, 87, International Institute of Tamil Studies - Tamil philology.
  65. ↑ Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahābhārata: Upāyana Parva, 1945, p 19, Dr Moti Chandra - India.
  66. ↑ The Cultural Heritage of India also sees a close ethnic relationship between the Kambojas, the Tukharas (=Rishikas = Yue-chis) and the modern Tajik race. It calls the modern Tajik race to be descendants of the Tukharas and Kambojas, thus assuming Kambojas as a component of the Tukharas or vice versa (The Cultural Heritage of India: Sri Ramakrishna Centenary Memorial, 1936, p 151). Cf: "The Kambojas indicate the people of Tajikistan speaking Ghalcha..." (See: Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India, 1977, p 94, Dr Moti Chandra). For Kambojas as the ancestors of the Tajiks, Cf: Bhart Bhumi Aur Unke Nivasi, p 313-314, 226, Bhartya Itihaas Ki Mimansa, p 335 by Dr J. C. Vidyalanka; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 164-65, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī.
  67. ↑ Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. (2000). The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West, pp. 91-99. Thames & Hudson, London. ISBN   0-500-05101-1.
  68. ↑ Lebedynsky, Iaroslav (2006). Les Saces: Les "Scythes" d'Asie, VIIIe siècle av, J.-C.— IVe siècle apr. J.-C., p. 63. Edition Errance. Paris. ISBN   2-87772-337-2.
  69. ↑ Waterhouse, David (1991), "Where did Toragaku come from?", in Marett, Allan (ed.), Musica Asiatica, vol. 6, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 73–94, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511896071.006, ISBN   978-0-521-39050-7

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yona</span> Term used to designate Greek-speakers in ancient India

The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians", who were probably the first Greeks to be known in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Scythians</span> Nomadic Iranian peoples of Saka and Scythian origin

The Indo-Scythians were a group of nomadic people of Iranic Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the northwestern Indian subcontinent: the present-day South Asian regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India. The migrations persisted from the middle of the second century BCE to the fourth century CE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahajanapadas</span> Kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent (c. 600 BCE–c. 345 BCE)

The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms or aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.

The Rishikas was an ancient Kingdom of Central Asia and South Asia, who are mentioned in Hindu and Sanskrit literary texts, including the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Brhat-Samhita, the Markendeya Purana and Patanjali's Mahabhashya.

Daradas were an ancient people who lived north and north-west to the Kashmir Valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken along with the Kambojas. The Pandava hero Arjuna had visited this country of Daradas during his northern military campaign to collect tribute for Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice.

The Chinas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian literature, such as the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, and the Puranic literature.

The Pahlava Kingdom is identified to be a kingdom of an Iranian tribe. The kingdom was well known, even during the campaign of Alexander. It was also mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.

Sakas are described in Sanskrit sources as a Mleccha tribe grouped along with the Yavanas, Tusharas and Barbaras. There were a group of Sakas called Apa Sakas meaning water dwelling Sakas, probably living around some lake in central Asian steppes. Sakas took part in Kurukshetra War.

Khasas were a north western tribe mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.

Kasmira or Kashmira was a kingdom identified as the Kashmir Valley along the Jhelum River of modern Jammu and Kashmir. During the epic ages this was one among the territories of the Naga race. The Kasmiras were allies of the Kuru king Duryodhana.

Hunas were a tribe close to Himalayas that, because of limited interaction with Indian kingdoms, were mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. They belonged to the Xinjiang province of China, east of Jammu-Kashmir. However, they were nomadic people who changed their settlements from time to time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hara Huna Kingdom</span> Ancient kingdom inhabited by the Hara Huna tribe

Hara-Huna was an ancient kingdom and inhabited by the Hara Hunas tribe close to the Himalayas who had limited interaction with the Indian kingdoms, thus they were identified in the epic Mahabharata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirata Kingdom</span> Mythological kingdom of Sanskrit literature

Kirata Kingdom in Sanskrit literature and Hindu mythology refers to any kingdom of the Kirati people, who were dwellers mostly in the Himalayas. They took part in the Kurukshetra War along with Parvatas (mountaineers) and other Himalayan tribes.

Parvata Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe known as Parvatas (Mountaineers), mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. Most of the descriptions of Parvata kingdom in the epic refer to a mountainous country in the Himalayas. Tribes belonging to other mountainous regions in the north west, west and the east of the Indo-Gangetic Plain were also known as Parvatas, when used as a collective name. Parvatas took part in the Kurukshetra War. The epic also mentions a sage named Parvata who was a companion of sage Narada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pahlavas</span> Ethnic group mentioned in historic Indian texts

The Pahlavas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian texts like the Manu Smriti, various Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Brihat Samhita. According to P. Carnegy, In the 4th century BCE, Vartika of Katyayana mentions the Sakah-Parthavah demonstrating an awareness of these Saka-Parthians, probably by way of commerce.

The Bahlikas were the inhabitants of Bahlika, mentioned in Atharvaveda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka of Katyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc. and in the ancient Inscriptions. The other variations of Bahlika are Bahli, Balhika, Vahlika, Valhika, Bahlava, Bahlam/Bahlim, Bahlayana and Bahluva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komedes</span> Ethnic group in Central Asia

Komedes is the ethnonym of an ancient people in Central Asia. They were mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy in Geography. Traditional Hindu and Indian spellings included Kumuda, Kumuda-dvipa, and Parama Kambojas; and ancient Greek and Roman spellings included Komedes, Komedei, Traumeda, Caumedae, Homodotes, Homodoti, or Homodontes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Asians in ancient Indian literature</span>

Central Asia and Ancient India have long traditions of social-cultural, religious, political and economic contact since remote antiquity. The two regions have common and contiguous borders, climatic continuity, similar geographical features and geo-cultural affinity. For millennia, there has been a flow of people, material and ideas between the two.

The Kingdom of Kapisa was a state located in what is now Afghanistan during the late 1st millennium CE. Its capital was the city of Kapisa. The kingdom stretched from the Hindu Kush in the north to Bamiyan and Kandahar in the south and west, out as far as the modern Jalalabad District in the east.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.