Central Asians in Ancient Indian literature
Encyclopedia
Ancient India and Central Asia 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. There has always been uninterrupted flow of people, material and the ideas between the two. So much so, some ancient literary sources trace common lineage for India
ns, Pakistan
is, Afghans
, and other nationalities of Central Asia
.
excavations in the Amu valley in Southern Uzbekistan
, in Afrasiab on north-eastern edge of Samarkand
and some other places in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
, Kazakhstan
and Tak-mak in Kirghizstan add further evidence of the existence of links between ancient India and Central Asia since remote antiquity.
Further, extensive excavations have been carried out with remarkable results at Kara Tepa, Fayaz Tepa, Dalverzin Tepa, Yer Kurgan, Ak-Beshin, Kranayerezka and Isyk-Ata. The discovery of manuscript
s in Xinjiang
(China) and many other valuable excavational finds substantively establish that India and eastern Central Asian region of Xinjiang were also in extensive political, cultural and religious intercourse with each other.
Dynasties
of India came from Central Asia as invaders and dynasties of Indian origin also ruled in Khotan
and other places in Central Asia.
Immigration
peoples and tribes from Central Asia into India, as well as expansion of Central Asian empires into India, is a recurring theme in the history of the region, from the Bronze Age
Indo-Aryan migration
, to the Iron Age Kushan Empire
, the Indo-Scythians, the Indo-Greeks (via Bactria) and the medieval Islamic conquest of the Indian subcontinent. Intrusion is typically across the Hindukush, and influence of the intrusive population is first established in the Punjab
and the Indus Valley, and sometimes further expanded into the Ganges Plain.
In classical Indian tradition clans of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Paradas etc are also attested to have been coming as invaders from Central Asia to India in pre-Christian times. They were all finally absorbed into the community of Kshatriya
s of Indian society.
The Shakas were formerly the inhabitants of trans-Hemodos region---the Shakadvipa of the Puranas or the Scythia of the classical writings. Later evidence attests them in Drangiana
i.e. Shakasthana (modern Seistan) located south of Herat. 1st century CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
as well as 2nd century CE Ptolemy
evidence also attest Indo-Scythia situated in lower Indus in western India.
The Paradas, the former inhabitants of Oxus and Sailoda (eastern Xinjiang
), are noted by Ptolemy
as Paradane and are attested to be living in western India in Sindhu or Gedrosia
, during 2nd century CE.
The Kambojas
and Pahlavas are known to have their original settlements in the east Iranian regions in Central Asia. Some allege the existence some of their settlements in post-Christian times in South-west/Southern India also.
The Rishikas
are formerly attested as living in Sakadvipa as neighbors to the Parama-Kambojas of Transoxiana
region. But later evidence also locates their section as neighbors to Ashmakas and Vidarbhas in south-west India. This Rishika settlement was
located between Godavari
and Tapti rivers, east of Nasika, north of Mulaka and west of Vidarbha.
The facts presented above show that the so-called 2nd century BCE Saka invasion of western India was probably carried out jointly by the Sakas, Pahlavas, Kambojas, Paradas, Rishikas and other allied tribes from the north-west (.
Thomas observes: " It would seem probable that the tribes from eastern Iran who invaded India included diverse elements mingled indistinguishably together, so that, it is not possible to assert that one dynasty was Parthian while another was Saka..." etc.
"The nomenclature of the early Sakas in India shows an admixture of Scythian, Parthian and Iranian elements..".
According to James Tod and other western scholars, all Central Asian tribes connected with horse-culture like the Assaceni/Aspasios, Assacanus/Assakenois (the famous Ashvaka Kambojas....i.e. the Ashvayanas/Ashvakayanas of Pāṇini), the Ari-aspi and the Asii/Asio of the classical writings etc belonged to the Scythic or Saca
races. Asii/Asio appears to be Parama Kambojas living in Shakadvipa of Mahabharata/Puranas or the Scythia
of classical writings.
The Common Era saw more invaders such as the Kushanas, Huna
s, Turk
s, Mongols and Pashtuns coming to the subcontinent. They all have been absorbed into various South Asian communities, leaving in some cases, no sign of clear-cut identification.
literature. A brief outline is given below:
makes references to Gandhari
, Mujavat and Bahlika from north-west (Central Asia). Gandharis are Gandharas, the Bahlikas are Bactrians, Mujavat (land of Soma) refer to Hindukush–Pamirs (the Kamboja region).
Post-Vedic Atharvaveda-Parisista (Ed Bolling & Negelein) makes first direct reference to the Kambojas (verse 57.2.5). It also juxtaposes the Kambojas, Bahlikas
and Gandhara
s. At another place, it juxtaposes the Shakas, Yavanas, Tusharas and Bahlikas (Saka. Yavana. Tushara. Bahlikashcha). This shows the Kambojas, Shakas, Tusharas, Bahlikas and Gandharas at this time were all located as neighbors in the Uttarapatha
.
people.
Prof Jean Przylusky has shown that Bahlika (Balkh) was an Iranian settlement of the Madras who were known as Bahlika-Uttaramadras i.e. the northern Madras, living in Bahlika or Bactria
country. These Bahlika Uttara Madras are the Uttara Madras of the Aitareya Brahamana.
This connection between the Uttara Madras and the Kambojas is said to be but natural, as they were close neighbors in the north-west.
The Kambojas as neighbors of the Uttara Madras here obviously refers to the trans-Himalayan branch of the Kambojas who became known as Parama-Kambojas in epic times. Both these nations belonged to Central Asia.
refers to some ancient nations lying beyond Trans-Himalaya boundaries. As an illustration, the name of Uttara Kuru and Uttara Madra are given. But other literature affirms that, besides Uttara Kuru and Uttara Madra, the janapadas
of Parama Kambojas, Rshikas and the Lohas etc were also located beyond Himalaya boundaries into Central Asia. These Central Asian people were undoubtedly in intensive intercourse with ancient Indian people.
s up to Arctic
(Somagiri) is stated by some to form ancient Uttara Kuru. There is picturesque mention of this region in the epic
s Ramayana
and the Mahabharata
. There are also numerous references to the people forming part of this vast region.
portrays the topography
of the whole land of Central Asia in very details and in some cases, very picturesquely. It gives very vivid account of Uttarapatha and several countries located in that direction. It mentions the lands and towns of the Kambojas, Shakas, Yavanas, Varadas (=Paradas: according to Dr Jayswal, Dr Singh and others) along with Himavanta. After this mentions is made of Uttara Kuru and Somagiri (Arctica
). The region is described as without the sun and yet very much lighted. There are said to be no Nation
al boundaries there.
The Bala Kanda section (1.55/2-3) of Ramayana refers to a joint mythical creation of the Central Asian tribe
s of the Kambojas, Yavanas, Shakas, Paradas and Mlechchas by sage Vasishatha through the divine powers of his Kamdhenu.
Bala Kanda of Ramayana also refers to the famed horses imported by prince
s of Ayodhya of Mid India from the Central Asian nations of Kamboja and Bahlika (Bactria).
. They had later participated in Mahabharata war from the Kaurava side. They were very ferocious warriors.
The Shakas, Hunas, Paradas and Tusharas had paid tribute to Yudhishtra. The epic also mentions that Pandava Nakula had defeated the Hunas, Pahalvas, Yavanas and Shakas in the western horizon.
Mahabharata mentions that Arjuna
had brought tributes from the Daradas, Kambojas, Lohas, Rishikas, Parama Kambojas and the Uttara Kurus of trans-Himalyan regions.
Mahabharata attests that the northern Rishikas and the Lohas were close neighbors and allied to Parama-Kambojas i.e. Trans-Hindukush Kambojas of the Trans-Himalyan territories.
At other places (5.4.18) in Mahabharata also, the Rishikas are shown as very intimitately connected with the Kambojas.
The Rishikas are said to be same as the Yuezhis (Dr V. S. Aggarwala). The Kushanas or Kanishka
s are also the same people (Dr J. C. Vidyalnkara). Prof Stein says that the Tukharas were a branch of the Yue-chi or Yuezhi
. Tusharas/Tukharas (Tokharois/Tokarais) and the Yuezhi are stated to be same people (Dr P.C. Bagchi).
According to Vayu Purana
and Matsya Purana
, river Chakshu (Oxus) flowed through the countries of Tusharas (Rishikas?), Lampakas, Pahlavas, Paradas and Shakas etc.
The above references indicate that the countries of Rishikas (=Tusharas?), Parama-Kambojas, Lohas, Pahlavas, Paradas, Shakas etc were close geographical neighbors and were all located in Central Asia.
King Drapupada of Panchala had advised Yudhishtra to invite the Kambojas, Shakas, Pahlavas, Rishikas and the Daradas (Paradas?) in the Mahabharata war on Pandava's side. But it was too late for Yudhishtra.
General Sudakshina
of the Kambojas had joined the Mahabharata war on Kurus' side leading one Akshauhini army of ferocious Central Asian warriors which included Shakas, and Yavanas, besides the Kambojas. Of the ten distinguished military Generals appointed by Duryodhana
to efficiently manage his vast host of army, Suadakshin Kamboj
was one of such distinguished Generals.
This ancient epic evidence shows that there was an intensive political and military
intercourse between the Mid Indians and the Central Asians.
Mahabharata brackets the Kambojas, Shakas and the Khashas together and styles them as tribes of Udichya or Uttarapatha, which obviously means Central Asia.
The Bhishamaparava and Shantiparavas of Mahabharata repeatedly assert that beyond the Uttara (north) are located the Mlechcha Janas (tribes) like the Yavanas, Kambojas, Darunas, Kiratas and other Mlechchas/Barbarians.
These above references also obviously point to Central Asian fringe of people located on the north of Bharatavarsa.
However, the Anusasanaparva of Mahabharata also asserts that the clan
s of the Kambojas, Yavanas, Shakas, Pahlavas were formerly noble Kshatriyas, but in later time had turned into degraded Kshatriyas due to the wrath of the Brahminas.
s and the Brahmanical code of conduct.
This statement of Manu is designed to accommodate these foreign hordes into the social set-up of the Hindu
s. The foreigners were expected to practice same normal pieties as the Hindus and the later, in return, regarded them henceforth as belonging to their own social organisation.
According to James Tod, this ancient testimony from Manu presents a conclusive proof of a perfect intercourse which had existed between the people of Oxus (Central Asia) and those of the Ganges region in remote antiquity
.
regained Ayodhya after totally destroying the Haihaya and Talajangha Kshatriyas in the battle. He was about to annihilate the five assisting hordes, but Sagara's priest
Vashishta intervened and persuaded him to save their lives by subjecting them to lighter punishments. Story says that King Sagara consented to the advice of his spiritual
guide but punished these foreigners by changing their hair-styles and turning them into degraded Kshatriyas.
These are the first known invaders in the recorded history of the sub-continent. The invaders were eventually assimilated into the local community
as Kshatriyas http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2002/07/07/stories/2002070700310400.htm.
Alberuni refers to this Puranic story in his classic book
Alberuni's India and testifies that the above referred to five hordes belonged to his own people i.e. Central Asia.
Puranic traditions (Bhagavata Purana
) say that Budha, the patriarchic figure the Yadu, Turvasa, Druhyu, Anu and Puru clans had come from Central Asia
to Bharatkhand to perform penitential rites and he espoused Ella, the daughter of Manu, by whom was born Pururavas. Pururavas had six sons, one of whom is said to be Ayu. This Ayu or Ay is said to be the patriarch figure of the Tartars of Central Asia
as well as of the first race of the kings of China.
Whatever may be value of these conjectures, this literary tradition definitely alludes to intimate relations which existed, since antiquity, between the Indian people and the Central Asians.
Puranic cosmography
divides our earth into seven concentric islands, viz. Jambudvipa
, Plakasadvipa, Salmalidvipa, Kushadvipa, Krounchadvipa, Shakadvipa, and Pushkaradvipa, separated by seven encircling seas. Insular continent
Jambudvipa forms the innermost concentric island in the above scheme of continents. Jambudvipa includes nine varsa and nine mountains. Varsa of Illa-vrta lies at the center of Jambudivipa at whose center is located Mount Meru (Plateau of Pamir). The varsa of Uttara Kuru lies to the north of Mount Meru and extending beyond north-wards. The varsa of Illa Vrta includes parts of Central Asia.
The Puranic Bhuvanakosha attests that the boundaries of Bharata varsa
extended in the Uttarapatha as far as the Vamkshu or Oxus in Central Asia. The Oxus to be the northmost limit of the geographical
territories once included in the Bharata varsa was a real fact in political history of ancient India. It was the most well-defined geographical feature delimiting the boundaries of Bharata Varsa in the north.
The Puranic Bhuvanakosha attests that Bahlika or Bactria
was the northern-most Puranic Janapada
of ancient India and was located in Udichya or Uttarapatha division of Indian sub-continent.
The Uttarapatha or northern division of Jambudvipa comprised very vast area of Central Asia, as far as the Ural
s and the Caspian Sea
to the Yenisei and from Turkistan
and Tien Shan ranges to as far as the Arctic
(Dr S. M. Ali).
's alliance with Himalayan king Parvatka. The Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a composite formidable army made up of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Kiratas, Parasikas and Bahlikas as attested by Mudra-rakashas.
With the help of these frontier martial tribes from Central Asia, Chandragupta was able to defeat the Greek
successors of Alexander the Great and the Nanda/Nandin rulers of Magadha
so as to found the powerful Maurya empire
in northern India.
provides graphic picture of northern mountainous region of India. This is especially so in the case of his works like Meghdoota, Vikramorvashiam and Raghuvamsha. He also brings refreshing reference of the Uttara Kuru.
Raghuvamsha tells of a war expedition of king Raghu
(Chandragupta Vikramaditya) against the Parasikas (Sassanians), Hunas and the Kambojas located in northern division or Uttarapatha. The encounters with the Hunas and the Kambojas had occurred around river Oxus, right in Central Asia.
of Kalhana makes king Lalitaditya Mukatapida of Kashmir
undertake a war expedition against his neighboring countries. He launched onto the region of north (from Kashmir) against the Kambojas, Tusharas, Bhauttas, Daradas, Valukambudhi, Strirajya and Uttarakurus (mythical or not). There is also a reference to the humiliation of the Hunas by Lalitaditva in the Rajataramgini. The nations named above are all located in Central Asia.
i (60 c BC) had mobilised his forces against the invading hordes of the Mlechchas from north west. He had ridded the mother earth off the sinfuls by completely destroying the Mlechcha hordes of the Sakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Parasikas etc.
This, again affirms the ongoing inter-action between the Indian-mainland and the people of Central Asia.
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
. The two regions have common and contiguous borders, climatic continuity, similar geographical features and geo-cultural affinity. There has always been uninterrupted flow of people, material and the ideas between the two. So much so, some ancient literary sources trace common lineage for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ns, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
is, Afghans
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and other nationalities of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
.
Archaeological excavations
The archaeologicalArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
excavations in the Amu valley in Southern Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, in Afrasiab on north-eastern edge of Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
and some other places in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and Tak-mak in Kirghizstan add further evidence of the existence of links between ancient India and Central Asia since remote antiquity.
Further, extensive excavations have been carried out with remarkable results at Kara Tepa, Fayaz Tepa, Dalverzin Tepa, Yer Kurgan, Ak-Beshin, Kranayerezka and Isyk-Ata. The discovery of manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s in Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
(China) and many other valuable excavational finds substantively establish that India and eastern Central Asian region of Xinjiang were also in extensive political, cultural and religious intercourse with each other.
Dynasties
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
of India came from Central Asia as invaders and dynasties of Indian origin also ruled in Khotan
Khotan
Hotan , or Hetian , also spelled Khotan, is the seat of the Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang, China. It was previously known in Chinese as 于窴/於窴 and to 19th-century European explorers as Ilchi....
and other places in Central Asia.
Migrations from Central Asian into India
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
peoples and tribes from Central Asia into India, as well as expansion of Central Asian empires into India, is a recurring theme in the history of the region, from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Indo-Aryan migration
Indo-Aryan migration
Models of the Indo-Aryan migration discuss scenarios of prehistoric migrations of the proto-Indo-Aryans to their historically attested areas of settlement in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent...
, to the Iron Age Kushan Empire
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...
, the Indo-Scythians, the Indo-Greeks (via Bactria) and the medieval Islamic conquest of the Indian subcontinent. Intrusion is typically across the Hindukush, and influence of the intrusive population is first established in the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
and the Indus Valley, and sometimes further expanded into the Ganges Plain.
In classical Indian tradition clans of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Paradas etc are also attested to have been coming as invaders from Central Asia to India in pre-Christian times. They were all finally absorbed into the community of Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
s of Indian society.
The Shakas were formerly the inhabitants of trans-Hemodos region---the Shakadvipa of the Puranas or the Scythia of the classical writings. Later evidence attests them in Drangiana
Drangiana
Drangiana or Zarangiana was a historical region of the Achaemenid Empire. This region comprises territory around lake Hâmûn, wetlands in endorheic Sīstān basin on the Irano-Afghan-Pakistan border, and its primary watershed Helmand river in nowadays southwestern Afghanistan and the "Nok Kondi" of...
i.e. Shakasthana (modern Seistan) located south of Herat. 1st century CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea or Periplus of the Red Sea is a Greco-Roman periplus, written in Greek, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and India...
as well as 2nd century CE Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
evidence also attest Indo-Scythia situated in lower Indus in western India.
The Paradas, the former inhabitants of Oxus and Sailoda (eastern Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
), are noted by Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
as Paradane and are attested to be living in western India in Sindhu or Gedrosia
Gedrosia
Gedrosia from Pashto Gwadar-khua is the hellenized name of an area that corresponds to today's Balochistan. Eastern Balochistan is southwestern province of Pakistan and parts of southwestern and south-central Afghanistan and western Balochistan is divided between Iranian provinces of Hormozgan and...
, during 2nd century CE.
The Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
and Pahlavas are known to have their original settlements in the east Iranian regions in Central Asia. Some allege the existence some of their settlements in post-Christian times in South-west/Southern India also.
The Rishikas
Rishikas
Rshikas were an ancient tribe living in the northern division of ancient India. They find references in the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Brhat Samhita, Markendeya Purana etc. Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini does not mention the Rishikas, but Mahabhasya of Patanjali does make reference to this people. Mahabharata...
are formerly attested as living in Sakadvipa as neighbors to the Parama-Kambojas of Transoxiana
Transoxiana
Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
region. But later evidence also locates their section as neighbors to Ashmakas and Vidarbhas in south-west India. This Rishika settlement was
located between Godavari
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
and Tapti rivers, east of Nasika, north of Mulaka and west of Vidarbha.
The facts presented above show that the so-called 2nd century BCE Saka invasion of western India was probably carried out jointly by the Sakas, Pahlavas, Kambojas, Paradas, Rishikas and other allied tribes from the north-west (.
Thomas observes: " It would seem probable that the tribes from eastern Iran who invaded India included diverse elements mingled indistinguishably together, so that, it is not possible to assert that one dynasty was Parthian while another was Saka..." etc.
"The nomenclature of the early Sakas in India shows an admixture of Scythian, Parthian and Iranian elements..".
According to James Tod and other western scholars, all Central Asian tribes connected with horse-culture like the Assaceni/Aspasios, Assacanus/Assakenois (the famous Ashvaka Kambojas....i.e. the Ashvayanas/Ashvakayanas of Pāṇini), the Ari-aspi and the Asii/Asio of the classical writings etc belonged to the Scythic or Saca
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
races. Asii/Asio appears to be Parama Kambojas living in Shakadvipa of Mahabharata/Puranas or the Scythia
Scythia
In antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
of classical writings.
The Common Era saw more invaders such as the Kushanas, Huna
Huna
For other uses, see HunaHuna is a Hawaiian word adopted by Max Freedom Long in 1936 to describe his theory of metaphysics which he linked to ancient Hawaiian kahuna...
s, Turk
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
s, Mongols and Pashtuns coming to the subcontinent. They all have been absorbed into various South Asian communities, leaving in some cases, no sign of clear-cut identification.
Central Asian People in Indian Classical Literature
There are extensive references to people of Central Asia in Indian literature like Atharvaveda, Vamsa Brahmana of Samveda, Aitareya Brahmana, Satapatha Brahmana, Puranas, Manusmiriti, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Raghuvamsa, Brihat-Katha -Manjari, Katha-Saritsagara, Rajaratrangini, Mudra-rakshasa, Kavymimansa and host of other old SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
literature. A brief outline is given below:
Atharvaveda
AtharvavedaAtharvaveda
The Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda"....
makes references to Gandhari
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
, Mujavat and Bahlika from north-west (Central Asia). Gandharis are Gandharas, the Bahlikas are Bactrians, Mujavat (land of Soma) refer to Hindukush–Pamirs (the Kamboja region).
Post-Vedic Atharvaveda-Parisista (Ed Bolling & Negelein) makes first direct reference to the Kambojas (verse 57.2.5). It also juxtaposes the Kambojas, Bahlikas
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
and Gandhara
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
s. At another place, it juxtaposes the Shakas, Yavanas, Tusharas and Bahlikas (Saka. Yavana. Tushara. Bahlikashcha). This shows the Kambojas, Shakas, Tusharas, Bahlikas and Gandharas at this time were all located as neighbors in the Uttarapatha
Uttarapatha
Ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the northern part of Jambudvipa, one of the "continents" in Hindu mythology.The name is derived from the Sanskrit terms uttara, for north, and patha, for road...
.
Sama Veda
The Vamsa Brahmanahttp://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/ind/aind/ved/sv/vb/vb.htm of the Sama Veda refers to Madrakara Shaungayani as the teacher of Aupamanyava Kamboja. Sage Shangayani Madrakara, as his name itself shows, and as the scholars have rightly pointed out, belonged to the MadraMadra
Madra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
people.
Prof Jean Przylusky has shown that Bahlika (Balkh) was an Iranian settlement of the Madras who were known as Bahlika-Uttaramadras i.e. the northern Madras, living in Bahlika or Bactria
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
country. These Bahlika Uttara Madras are the Uttara Madras of the Aitareya Brahamana.
This connection between the Uttara Madras and the Kambojas is said to be but natural, as they were close neighbors in the north-west.
The Kambojas as neighbors of the Uttara Madras here obviously refers to the trans-Himalayan branch of the Kambojas who became known as Parama-Kambojas in epic times. Both these nations belonged to Central Asia.
Aitareya Brahmana
Aitareya BrahmanaAitareya Brahmana
The Aitareya Brahmana is the Brahmana of the Shakala shakha of the Rigveda, an ancient Indian collection of sacred hymns. This work, according to the tradition is ascribed to Mahidasa Aitareya.-Contents:...
refers to some ancient nations lying beyond Trans-Himalaya boundaries. As an illustration, the name of Uttara Kuru and Uttara Madra are given. But other literature affirms that, besides Uttara Kuru and Uttara Madra, the janapadas
Janapadas
The Janapadas were the major realms or kingdoms of Vedic India which, by the 6th century BC, evolved into the sixteen classical Mahajanapadas.-Etymology:...
of Parama Kambojas, Rshikas and the Lohas etc were also located beyond Himalaya boundaries into Central Asia. These Central Asian people were undoubtedly in intensive intercourse with ancient Indian people.
Indian epics
The vast area across the Himalayas and Hindukush from PamirPamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...
s up to Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
(Somagiri) is stated by some to form ancient Uttara Kuru. There is picturesque mention of this region in the epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
s Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. There are also numerous references to the people forming part of this vast region.
Valmiki Ramayana
The Valmiki RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
portrays the topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
of the whole land of Central Asia in very details and in some cases, very picturesquely. It gives very vivid account of Uttarapatha and several countries located in that direction. It mentions the lands and towns of the Kambojas, Shakas, Yavanas, Varadas (=Paradas: according to Dr Jayswal, Dr Singh and others) along with Himavanta. After this mentions is made of Uttara Kuru and Somagiri (Arctica
Arctica
Arctica was an ancient continent which formed approximately 2.5 billion years ago in the Neoarchean era.Arctica consisted of the Canadian and Siberian shields, and is now roughly situated in the Arctic around the current North Pole.- History :...
). The region is described as without the sun and yet very much lighted. There are said to be no Nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
al boundaries there.
The Bala Kanda section (1.55/2-3) of Ramayana refers to a joint mythical creation of the Central Asian tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s of the Kambojas, Yavanas, Shakas, Paradas and Mlechchas by sage Vasishatha through the divine powers of his Kamdhenu.
Bala Kanda of Ramayana also refers to the famed horses imported by prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
s of Ayodhya of Mid India from the Central Asian nations of Kamboja and Bahlika (Bactria).
Mahabharata
According to Mahabharata, the kings of the Kambojas and the Tusharas were present in the Rajasuya Yajna of YudhisthiraYudhisthira
In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
. They had later participated in Mahabharata war from the Kaurava side. They were very ferocious warriors.
The Shakas, Hunas, Paradas and Tusharas had paid tribute to Yudhishtra. The epic also mentions that Pandava Nakula had defeated the Hunas, Pahalvas, Yavanas and Shakas in the western horizon.
Mahabharata mentions that Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
had brought tributes from the Daradas, Kambojas, Lohas, Rishikas, Parama Kambojas and the Uttara Kurus of trans-Himalyan regions.
Mahabharata attests that the northern Rishikas and the Lohas were close neighbors and allied to Parama-Kambojas i.e. Trans-Hindukush Kambojas of the Trans-Himalyan territories.
At other places (5.4.18) in Mahabharata also, the Rishikas are shown as very intimitately connected with the Kambojas.
The Rishikas are said to be same as the Yuezhis (Dr V. S. Aggarwala). The Kushanas or Kanishka
Kanishka
Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
s are also the same people (Dr J. C. Vidyalnkara). Prof Stein says that the Tukharas were a branch of the Yue-chi or Yuezhi
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi, or Rouzhi , also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi , were an ancient Central Asian people....
. Tusharas/Tukharas (Tokharois/Tokarais) and the Yuezhi are stated to be same people (Dr P.C. Bagchi).
According to Vayu Purana
Vayu Purana
The Vayu Purana is a Shaiva Purana, a Hindu religious text, dedicated to the god Vayu , containing about 24,000 shlokas.-Date:Banabhatta refers to this work in his Kadambari and Harshacharita...
and Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya Avatar to save the seeds of all lives and Manu...
, river Chakshu (Oxus) flowed through the countries of Tusharas (Rishikas?), Lampakas, Pahlavas, Paradas and Shakas etc.
The above references indicate that the countries of Rishikas (=Tusharas?), Parama-Kambojas, Lohas, Pahlavas, Paradas, Shakas etc were close geographical neighbors and were all located in Central Asia.
King Drapupada of Panchala had advised Yudhishtra to invite the Kambojas, Shakas, Pahlavas, Rishikas and the Daradas (Paradas?) in the Mahabharata war on Pandava's side. But it was too late for Yudhishtra.
General Sudakshina
Sudakshina Kamboja
Sudakshina was a king of the Kambojas, mentioned in theMahābhārata as fighting on the side of the Kauravas and being slain by Arjuna....
of the Kambojas had joined the Mahabharata war on Kurus' side leading one Akshauhini army of ferocious Central Asian warriors which included Shakas, and Yavanas, besides the Kambojas. Of the ten distinguished military Generals appointed by Duryodhana
Duryodhana
In the Hindu epic the Mahābhārata, Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, Emperor of the world at that time which means Emperor of India or Bharatvarsha as it was known at that time, cousin and the chief...
to efficiently manage his vast host of army, Suadakshin Kamboj
Kamboj
The Kambojs , also Kamboh, are an ethnic community of the Punjab region. They may relate to the Kambojas, an Iranian tribe known to the people of Iron Age India and mentioned in ancient Sanskrit texts and epigraphy. Kamboj is frequently used as a surname in lieu of the sub-caste or the gotra name...
was one of such distinguished Generals.
This ancient epic evidence shows that there was an intensive political and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
intercourse between the Mid Indians and the Central Asians.
Mahabharata brackets the Kambojas, Shakas and the Khashas together and styles them as tribes of Udichya or Uttarapatha, which obviously means Central Asia.
The Bhishamaparava and Shantiparavas of Mahabharata repeatedly assert that beyond the Uttara (north) are located the Mlechcha Janas (tribes) like the Yavanas, Kambojas, Darunas, Kiratas and other Mlechchas/Barbarians.
These above references also obviously point to Central Asian fringe of people located on the north of Bharatavarsa.
However, the Anusasanaparva of Mahabharata also asserts that the clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
s of the Kambojas, Yavanas, Shakas, Pahlavas were formerly noble Kshatriyas, but in later time had turned into degraded Kshatriyas due to the wrath of the Brahminas.
Manusmriti
Manusmriti asserts that the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas, Paradas, Pahlavas etc were originally Kshatriyas of good birth but were gradually degraded to the barbaric status due to their not following the BrahmanaBrahmana
The Brāhmaṇas are part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are commentaries on the four Vedas, detailing the proper performance of rituals....
s and the Brahmanical code of conduct.
This statement of Manu is designed to accommodate these foreign hordes into the social set-up of the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s. The foreigners were expected to practice same normal pieties as the Hindus and the later, in return, regarded them henceforth as belonging to their own social organisation.
According to James Tod, this ancient testimony from Manu presents a conclusive proof of a perfect intercourse which had existed between the people of Oxus (Central Asia) and those of the Ganges region in remote antiquity
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
.
Puranas
According to Bahu-Sagara legend, the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Paradas and Pahlavas, the so-called five hordes (panca-ganah), from north-west were invited by the Haihaya Yadavas for military support against king Bahu of Ayodhya. Bahu was defeated and ran off Ayodhya. A generation later, Bahu's son, SagaraSagara (Vedic king)
King Sagara is one of the greatest kings of the Suryavansha in the Satya Yuga, also known as the Ikshvaku dynasty, he has two wives, one a princess of the Vidarbha, and the other from royal lineage of Sivi He was an ancestor to King Dasharatha and Lord Rama .-Birth of Ganga:King Sagara performed a...
regained Ayodhya after totally destroying the Haihaya and Talajangha Kshatriyas in the battle. He was about to annihilate the five assisting hordes, but Sagara's priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
Vashishta intervened and persuaded him to save their lives by subjecting them to lighter punishments. Story says that King Sagara consented to the advice of his spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
guide but punished these foreigners by changing their hair-styles and turning them into degraded Kshatriyas.
These are the first known invaders in the recorded history of the sub-continent. The invaders were eventually assimilated into the local community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
as Kshatriyas http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2002/07/07/stories/2002070700310400.htm.
Alberuni refers to this Puranic story in his classic book
Classic book
A classic book is a book accepted as being exemplary or noteworthy, either through an imprimatur such as being listed in any of the Western canons or through a reader's own personal opinion. The term itself is closely related to Western Canon and to various college/university Senior Comprehensive...
Alberuni's India and testifies that the above referred to five hordes belonged to his own people i.e. Central Asia.
Puranic traditions (Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
) say that Budha, the patriarchic figure the Yadu, Turvasa, Druhyu, Anu and Puru clans had come from Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
to Bharatkhand to perform penitential rites and he espoused Ella, the daughter of Manu, by whom was born Pururavas. Pururavas had six sons, one of whom is said to be Ayu. This Ayu or Ay is said to be the patriarch figure of the Tartars of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
as well as of the first race of the kings of China.
Whatever may be value of these conjectures, this literary tradition definitely alludes to intimate relations which existed, since antiquity, between the Indian people and the Central Asians.
Puranic cosmography
Cosmography
Cosmography is the science that maps the general features of the universe, describing both heaven and Earth...
divides our earth into seven concentric islands, viz. Jambudvipa
Jambudvipa
Jambudvīpa is the dvipa of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live...
, Plakasadvipa, Salmalidvipa, Kushadvipa, Krounchadvipa, Shakadvipa, and Pushkaradvipa, separated by seven encircling seas. Insular continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
Jambudvipa forms the innermost concentric island in the above scheme of continents. Jambudvipa includes nine varsa and nine mountains. Varsa of Illa-vrta lies at the center of Jambudivipa at whose center is located Mount Meru (Plateau of Pamir). The varsa of Uttara Kuru lies to the north of Mount Meru and extending beyond north-wards. The varsa of Illa Vrta includes parts of Central Asia.
The Puranic Bhuvanakosha attests that the boundaries of Bharata varsa
Bharata (emperor)
Bharata was a legendary emperor of India, and is referred to in Hindu and Jain mythology. He was son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala and thus a descendant of the Lunar Dynasty of the Kshatriya caste. Bharata conquered all of greater Greater India, uniting it into a single entity which was named...
extended in the Uttarapatha as far as the Vamkshu or Oxus in Central Asia. The Oxus to be the northmost limit of the geographical
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
territories once included in the Bharata varsa was a real fact in political history of ancient India. It was the most well-defined geographical feature delimiting the boundaries of Bharata Varsa in the north.
The Puranic Bhuvanakosha attests that Bahlika or Bactria
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
was the northern-most Puranic Janapada
Janapadas
The Janapadas were the major realms or kingdoms of Vedic India which, by the 6th century BC, evolved into the sixteen classical Mahajanapadas.-Etymology:...
of ancient India and was located in Udichya or Uttarapatha division of Indian sub-continent.
The Uttarapatha or northern division of Jambudvipa comprised very vast area of Central Asia, as far as the Ural
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
s and the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
to the Yenisei and from Turkistan
Türkistan
*Türkistan is the local name for Turkestan, a region of Central Asia.*Türkistan, Kazakhstan is a historic city and place of pilgrimage in southern Kazakhstan...
and Tien Shan ranges to as far as the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
(Dr S. M. Ali).
Mudra-Rakashasa drama
The Buddhist drama Mudra-rakshas by Visakha Dutta as also the Jaina work Parisishtaparvan refer to ChandraguptaChandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in conquering most of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta is considered the first unifier of India and its first genuine emperor...
's alliance with Himalayan king Parvatka. The Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a composite formidable army made up of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Kiratas, Parasikas and Bahlikas as attested by Mudra-rakashas.
With the help of these frontier martial tribes from Central Asia, Chandragupta was able to defeat the Greek
Hellenistic Greece
In the context of Ancient Greek art, architecture, and culture, Hellenistic Greece corresponds to the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek heartlands by Rome in 146 BC...
successors of Alexander the Great and the Nanda/Nandin rulers of Magadha
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
so as to found the powerful Maurya empire
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC...
in northern India.
Raghuvamsha
Poet KalidasaKalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
provides graphic picture of northern mountainous region of India. This is especially so in the case of his works like Meghdoota, Vikramorvashiam and Raghuvamsha. He also brings refreshing reference of the Uttara Kuru.
Raghuvamsha tells of a war expedition of king Raghu
Raghu
The Great Emperor Raghu was a valorous king of the Ikshvaku dynasty. According to the Raghuvamsha, he was born to king Dilipa and his queen Sudakshina. His name in Sanskrit means the fast one, deriving from Raghu's chariot driving abilities. So celebrated were the exploits of Raghu, that his...
(Chandragupta Vikramaditya) against the Parasikas (Sassanians), Hunas and the Kambojas located in northern division or Uttarapatha. The encounters with the Hunas and the Kambojas had occurred around river Oxus, right in Central Asia.
Rajtrangini
RajataranginiRajatarangini
The Rājatarangiṇī is a metrical chronicle of North west of the Indian subcontinent particularly the kings of Kashmir from earliest time written in Sanskrit by Kalhaṇa. The Rājatarangiṇī often has been erroneously referred to as the River of the Kings. In reality what Kalhana means by Rājatarangiṇī...
of Kalhana makes king Lalitaditya Mukatapida of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
undertake a war expedition against his neighboring countries. He launched onto the region of north (from Kashmir) against the Kambojas, Tusharas, Bhauttas, Daradas, Valukambudhi, Strirajya and Uttarakurus (mythical or not). There is also a reference to the humiliation of the Hunas by Lalitaditva in the Rajataramgini. The nations named above are all located in Central Asia.
Brahata Katha of Kshmendra
Brahata Katha indicates that king Vikramaditya of UjjainUjjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
i (60 c BC) had mobilised his forces against the invading hordes of the Mlechchas from north west. He had ridded the mother earth off the sinfuls by completely destroying the Mlechcha hordes of the Sakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Parasikas etc.
Katha-Saritsagara of Somadeva
The Katha-Saritsagara of Somadeva also refers to the subjugation of numerous kings and the destruction of the Sanghas (republics) of the Mlechchas by king Vikramditiya. Those who survived paid tributes to him or joined him militarily. The reference to the Sanghas of the Mlechchas, undoubtedly alludes to the Sanghas of the Kambojas, Yavavans, Abhiras as well as of the Vahikas etc.This, again affirms the ongoing inter-action between the Indian-mainland and the people of Central Asia.
Kavyamimamsa of Rajashekhara
The 10th century CE Kavyamimamsa of Pandit Rajashekhara knows about the existence of several Central Asian tribes. He furnishes an exhaustive list of the extant tribes of his times and places the Shakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Vahlika, Vahlava, Tangana, Limpaka, Turukshas etc together, styling them all as the tribes from Uttarapatha or north division.See also
- KambojasKambojasThe Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
- Sakas
- Yavanas
- Indo-Aryan migrationIndo-Aryan migrationModels of the Indo-Aryan migration discuss scenarios of prehistoric migrations of the proto-Indo-Aryans to their historically attested areas of settlement in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent...
- Indo-ScythiansIndo-ScythiansIndo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE....
- Indo-Parthian KingdomIndo-Parthian KingdomThe Gondopharid dynasty, and other so-called Indo-Parthian rulers, were a group of ancient kings from present day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan who ruled India, during or slightly before the 1st century AD...
- Uttara Madras
- Uttara Kurus
- The Kurus
- Raghuvamsha
- Iran-Pakistan relationsIran-Pakistan relationsRelations between Pakistan and Iran date back to the common prehistoric Indo-Iranian heritage from 3000-2000 BC and the Indo-Parthian and Indo-Scythian kingdoms of antiquity to the strongly Persianized Islamic empires in South-central Asia and the Greater Middle East in the 13th to 19th...
Books and periodicals
- Mahabharata
- Valmiki Ramayana
- Puranas
- Manusmriti
- Aitareya Brahmana
- Raghuvamsa by Kalidasa
- Brahata Katha, by Kshmendra
- Rajatrangini by Kalhana
- Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, Dr Kamboj
- Political History of Ancient India, 1996, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury
- India and Central Asia, 1955, Dr P. C., Bagchi.
- Myths of the Dog-Man, 1991, David Gordon White.