|
Chinas
The Chinas, Cīna, or Chīnaḥ (Sanskrit चीनः (''cīna'')) are a people mentioned in ancient Indian literature from the first millennium BC and first millennium AD, such as the ''Mahabharata'', ''Laws of Manu'', and the Puranic literature. Etymology The origin of the Sanskrit name "Cina" is commonly believed to have been the Qin (''Tsin'' or ''Chin'' in older transliterations) dynasty which ruled in China from 221 BC, or the preceding state of Qin which is traditionally dated to the 9th century BC.Geographical Data in Early Puranas, 1972, p172, Dr M. R. Singh There are a number of other suggestions for the origin of the word. Some Chinese and Indian scholars argued for the state of Jing (荆) as the likely origin of the name, while other theories suggest it is derived from ''Zina'', the endonym of the inhabitants of Yelang.Wade, Geoff,The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China', ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', No. 188, May 2009. Mahabharata The Sanskrit epic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tushara Kingdom
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. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pahlava
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. Literary references In Puranic texts Pahlavas are referenced in various Puranic texts like Vayu Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Markendeya Purana, Matsya Purana, Vamana Purana etc. Kirfel's list of Uttarapatha countries of the ''Bhuvanakosha'' locates the Pahlavas along with the Tusharas, Chinas, Angalaukikas, Barbaras, Kambojas, Daradas, Bahlikas and other countries of the Udichya division of ancient India. e.g.: :''ete desha udichyastu'' :Kambojashchaiva Dardashchaiva Barbarashcha Angaukikah , , :Chinashchaiva Tusharashcha Pahlavadhayata narah , , . The Vayu Purana, Brahamanda Purana and several other Puranas mention the Pahlavas with the tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yelang
Yelang, also Zangke, was an ancient political entity first described in the 3rd century BC in what is now western Guizhou province, China. It was active for over 200 years. The state is known to modern Chinese from the idiom, "Yelang thinks too highly of itself" ().Wade, Geoff,The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China', ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', No. 188, May 2009. Name The inhabitants of Yelang called themselves ''Zina''. This may be source of the Sanskrit word Cīna (चीन). The English word China is derived from this Sanskrit word. Geography Expanse The Yelang were believed to have been an alliance of agricultural tribes covering parts of modern-day Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan. Location The ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian described Yelang located west of the Mimo and Dian, south of Qiongdu (in what is now southern Sichuan), and east of the nomadic Sui and Kunming. Some people have identified the seat of the kingdom as Bijie () in today's Liupan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yavana
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" ( grc, Ἴωνες < Ἰάoνες < *Ἰάϝoνες), who were probably the first Greeks to be known in the East. Both terms appear in ancient literature. ''Yavana'' appears, for instance, in the '''', while ''Yona'' appears in texts such as the Sri Lankan chronicle '' Mahavamsa''. The Yona are mentioned in the |
Uttarapatha
Ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the Northern part of Jambudvipa (equivalent of present-day North India), one of the "continents" in Hindu history. In modern times, the Sanskrit word ''uttarapatha'' is sometimes used to denote the geographical regions of North India, Western India, Central India, Eastern India, Northeast India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal in just one term. The pronunciation of the word varies depending on the regional language of the speaker. History The name is derived from the Sanskrit terms ''uttara'', for north, and ''patha'', for road. Initially, the term Uttarapatha referred to the ''northern high road'', the main trade route that followed along the river Ganges, crossed the Indo-Gangetic watershed, ran through the Punjab to Taxila (Gandhara) and further to ''Zariaspa'' or Balkh (Bactria) in Central Asia. The eastern terminus of the Uttarapatha was Tamraliptika or Tamluk located at the mouth of Ganges in West Bengal. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kambojas
Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people of the Kshatriya caste inhabiting the Kamboja Mahajanapada region, forming one of the sixteen nations that made up ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urbanisation period. Earlier, during the late Vedic age, the Kambojas had emerged as an important part of the Indo Aryan Vedic people with a prominent place among the Kshatriya tribes of the Mahabharata. While historical boundaries of the Kambojas are varied, scholarly accounts altogether place the northern and western borders in present-day Tajikistan and eastern Uzbekistan, with eastern borders in present-day Jammu and Kashmir, and southern borders in present-day Iran and southern Afghanistan. Etymology The name ''Kamboja'' may derive from ''Kam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhagadatta
Bhagadatta ( sa, भगदत्त) was the son of Narakasura, and the king of Pragjyotisha. Bhagadatta was born from a limb of the asura called Bāṣkala. He was a renowned warrior, and was known to be a great friend of Indra. When Arjuna embarked on a conquest to help his brother Yudhishthira perform the Rajasuya Yagya, Bhagadatta was one of the first kings to be conquered by him. He was particularly skilled in the use of elephants in warfare. Riding on his elephant Supratik, he fought valiantly in the battle of Kurukshetra on behalf of the Kauravas. At this time he was very old. He was so old, in fact, that he tied his wrinkled eyelids with a silken handkerchief so that they could cover his eyes in battle. He was succeeded by his son Vajradatta. He fought for the Kaurava in the ''Mahabharata'' war. He was the leader of a great army of Kiratas and Chinas in the war. Life In the Battle of Kurukshetra, Bhagadatta fought on the side of the Kauravas. He had long history of enmi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Old Indo-Aryan language varieties. The most archaic of these is the Vedic Sanskrit found in the Rig Veda, a colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmana
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within each Veda, which explain and instruct on the performance of Vedic rituals (in which the related Samhitas are recited). In addition to explaining the symbolism and meaning of the Samhitas, Brahmana literature also expounds scientific knowledge of the Vedic Period, including observational astronomy and, particularly in relation to altar construction, geometry. Divergent in nature, some Brahmanas also contain mystical and philosophical material that constitutes Aranyakas and Upanishads. Each Veda has one or more of its own Brahmanas, and each Brahmana is generally associated with a particular Shakha or Vedic school. Less than twenty Brahmanas are currently extant, as most have been lost or destroyed. Dating of the final codification of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madra
Madra (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested since the Vedic period. The members of the Madra tribe were called the Madrakas. Location The Madras were divided into -Madra ("northern Madra"), -Madra ("southern Madra"), and Madra proper: *The Uttara Madrakas lived to the north of the Himavat, near the Uttara Kurus, possibly in the Kashmir Valley. *The Madras proper lived in the Rachna Doab in the central Punjab, to the west of the Irāvatī river. These Madras were organised into a kingdom and had their capital at Sāgala or Śākala. *The Dakṣiṇa Madrakas lived to the east of Śākala, near the Trigartas. History The Madrakas, as well as the neighbouring Kekaya and Uśīnara tribes, were descended from the Ṛgvedic Anu tribe which lived near the Paruṣṇī river in the central Punjab region, in the same area where the Madrakas were later located. Madra proper Several Vedic scholars from the period w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sindhu
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. It is bounded by the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang to the northeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east (both parts of China), by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south, by Pakistan to the west, and by Afghanistan to the northwest. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, ... The southern and southeastern portions constitute the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian- and Pakistani-administered portions are divided by a "line of control" agreed to in 1972, although neither country recognizes it as an international boundary. In addition, China became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that re-organized the military into a formidable force. King Shaka was born in the lunar month of ''uNtulikazi'' (July) in the year of 1787 near present-day Melmoth, KwaZulu-Natal Province, the son of the Zulu King Senzangakhona kaJama. Spurned as an illegitimate son, Shaka spent his childhood in his mother's settlements, where he was initiated into an '' ibutho lempi'' (fighting unit), serving as a warrior under Inkosi Dingiswayo. King Shaka further refined the ''ibutho'' military system and, with the Mthethwa Paramountcy's support over the next several years, forged alliances with his smaller neighbours to counter Ndwandwe raids from the north. The initial Zulu maneuvers were primarily defensive, as King Shaka preferred to apply pressure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
