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The kingdom of Tushara according to
The kingdom of Tushara according to Ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
n literature, such as the epic ''Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
'' was a land located beyond north-west India. In the ''Mahabharata'', its inhabitants, known as the Tusharas, are depicted as ''mlechchas
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or " barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups.
The ...
'' ("barbarians") and fierce warriors.
Modern scholars generally see Tushara as synonymous with the historical "Tukhara
The Tocharians, or Tokharians ( US: or ; UK: ), were speakers of Tocharian languages, Indo-European languages known from around 7600 documents from around 400 to 1200 AD, found on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China) ...
", also known as Tokhara or Tokharistan – another name for Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
. This area was the stronghold of the Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
, 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
Daxia, Ta-Hsia, or Ta-Hia (; literally: 'Great Xia') was apparently the name given in antiquity by the Han Chinese to Tukhara or Tokhara: the main part of Bactria, in what is now northern Afghanistan, and parts of southern Tajikistan and Uzbek ...
'', from the 3rd century BCE onwards.
Its inhabitants were known later to Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
scholars as the ''Tokharoi'' and to the Ancient Romans
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...
as ''Tochari''. Modern scholars appear to have conflated the ''Tukhara'' with the so-called Tocharians
The Tocharians, or Tokharians ( US: or ; UK: ), were speakers of Tocharian languages, Indo-European languages known from around 7600 documents from around 400 to 1200 AD, found on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China). ...
– an Indo-European people
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
who lived in the Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...
, in present-day Xinjiang, China, until the 1st millennium. When the Tocharian language
The Tocharian (sometimes ''Tokharian'') languages ( or ), also known as ''Arśi-Kuči'', Agnean-Kuchean or Kuchean-Agnean, are an extinct branch of the Indo-European language family spoken by inhabitants of the Tarim Basin, the Tocharians. The l ...
s 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
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...
'', '' Kuči'' and ''Krorän
Loulan, also called Krorän or Kroraina ( zh, s=, t=, p=Lóulán < ''lo-lɑn'' < ''. These peoples are also known to have spoken
centum language
Languages of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family are classified as either centum languages or satem languages according to how the dorsal consonants (sounds of "K", "G" and "Y" type) of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European langu ...
s, whereas the ''Tukhara'' of Bactria spoke a satem language
Languages of the Indo-European family are classified as either centum languages or satem languages according to how the dorsal consonants (sounds of "K", "G" and "Y" type) of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) developed. An e ...
.
The ''Tukhara'' were among Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
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
The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...
"). In subsequent centuries the ''Tukhara'' and other tribes founded the Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
, which dominated Central and South Asia.
The account in Mahabharata (Mbh) 1:85 depicts the Tusharas as mlechchas
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or " barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups.
The ...
("barbarians") and descendants of Anu, one of the cursed sons of King Yayati
Yayāti ( sa, ययाति, translit=Yayāti), is a king in Hindu tradition. He is described to be a Chandravamsha king. He is regarded to be the progenitor of the races of the Yadavas and the Pandavas.
He is considered in some texts to ...
. Yayati's eldest son Yadu
This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indic religions.
From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern p ...
, gave rise to the Yadavas
The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Satv ...
and his youngest son Puru Puru refer to:
*Puru (Vedic tribe), a tribe, or a confederation of tribes, mentioned many times in the Rigveda
*King Puru, a Hindu king in the Rigveda and Mahabharata
*King Porus, a king of northwest India in the time of Alexander the Great
*Puru ( ...
to the Pauravas
The Pauravas were an ancient dynasty on the Indus (present-day India and Pakistan) to which King Porus may have belonged.
Porus and the Pauravas
The origins of the Pauravas are still disputed. The Pauravas may be related to the Puru tribe, due ...
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
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...
who later created the Kuru
Kuru may refer to:
Anthropology and history
* Kuru (disease), a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore people
* Kuru (mythology), part of Meithei mythology
* Kuru Kingdom, ...
and Panchala Kingdoms. They were followers of the Vedic culture
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
. The Yadavas made central and western India their stronghold. The descendants of Anu, known as the Anavas, are said to have migrated to Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Various regional terms and proper names may have originated with, or been derived from, the Tusharas including: Takhar Province
Takhar (Dari , Farsi/Pashto: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeast of the country next to Tajikistan. It is surrounded by Badakhshan in the east, Panjshir in the south, and Baghlan and Kunduz in the we ...
in Afghanistan; the Pakistani village of Thakra; the surname Thakkar Thakkar is a Hindu Indian family name under the Hindu. Alternative spellings of the name include Thakker, Thaker,Thakkar, Thakrar and Thacker. The surname is widely used in the state of Gujarat .
Society and culture
Thakkars are mainly situated ...
, found across India; the Marathi surname Thakere, sometimes anglicised as Thackeray; the Takhar
Takhar or Taahkarr (in Serer and Cangin) is a demi-god in the Serer religion worshipped by many Serers (an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania). "Folk-Lore In The old Testament. Studies In Comparative Religion Legend and L ...
Jat clan in Rajasthan, and the Thakar tribe Thakar is an Adiwasi (tribe) of Maharashtra, India. The tribe originally living in the hilly areas of Sahyadri Mountain as a whole is now found all over Maharashtra scattered in search of a livelihood over a long period of time over recent centurie ...
of Maharashtra. It is also possible that the Thakor
Thakor also known as Thakarda is subcaste of Koli community of Gujarat. Koli forms the largest caste-cluster, comprising 24% of the total population of the state. Koli Thakors in Gujarat placed in Other Backward Class including all of the Koli C ...
(or Thakore) caste of Gujarat, the Thakar caste of Maharashtra and the title Thakur
Thakur may refer to:
* Thakur (title), a feudal title and surname used by erstwhile nobility of India
* Thakar (tribe), an Adivasi tribe of Maharashtra, India
* Thakur village, a residential locality in Mumbai, India
* Thakur Anoop Singh (born 198 ...
originated with names such as Tushara/Tukhara. The Sanskrit word ''thakkura'' "administrator" may be the source of some such names or may itself be derived from one of them.
Indian literature
References in Mahabharata
The ''Shanti Parva
The Shanti Parva ( sa, शान्ति पर्व; IAST: ''Śānti parva''; "Book of Peace") is the twelfth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 3 parts and 365 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)Shanti Parva ...
'' of the Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
associates the Tusharas with the Yavanas, Kirata
The Kirāta ( sa, किरात) is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who had territory in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and Northeast India and who are believed to have been Sino-Tibetan in origin. The meaning o ...
s, 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'', ''Manu Smriti, Laws of Manu'', and the Pura ...
, 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 o ...
, Pahlava
The Pahlavas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian texts like the Manu Smriti, various Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Varāhamihira#Brihat-Samhita, Brihat Samhita. According to P. Carnegy, In the 4th century BCE, Vartika of Kat ...
s, Kankas, Sabaras, Barbaras, Ramathas etc., and brands them all as barbaric
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
s of 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 use ...
, leading lives of Dasyus.
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
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. 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. At another place they are in a list with the Shakas, Kankas and Pahlavas. And at other places are mentioned along with the Shakas, Yavanas and the Kambojas etc.
The Tushara kingdom is mentioned in the traves of Pandavas
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...
in the northern regions beyond the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
:- Crossing the difficult Himalayan regions, and the countries of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Tukhara, Darada
Daradas were a 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 (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoke ...
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
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
Hindus did not know the origins of the Mlechcha
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups.
The ...
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 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, ...
, the Kiratas
The Kirāta ( sa, किरात) is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who had territory in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and Northeast India and who are believed to have been Sino-Tibetan in origin. The meaning o ...
, the Gandharvas
A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...
, the 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'', ''Manu Smriti, Laws of Manu'', and the Pura ...
, the Savaras, the Barbaras, the Sakas
The Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharosthi, Kharoṣṭhī: ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: , ; , Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brahmi script, Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanagari, Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (An ...
, the Tusharas, the Kankas, the Pathavas, the Andhras
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, the Madrakas, the Paundras, the Pulindas, the Ramathas, the Kambojas, and several new castes of Brahmanas
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 ea ...
, Kshatriyas
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the conte ...
, Vaishyas
Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy.
The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking care ...
, and the Shudras
Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...
, that had sprung up in the dominions of the Arya
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
kings.
The kings of the Pahlavas
The Pahlavas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian texts like the Manu Smriti, various Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Varāhamihira#Brihat-Samhita, Brihat Samhita. According to P. Carnegy, In the 4th century BCE, Vartika of Kat ...
and the Daradas
Daradas were a 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 (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken alo ...
and the various tribes of the Kiratas
The Kirāta ( sa, किरात) is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who had territory in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and Northeast India and who are believed to have been Sino-Tibetan in origin. The meaning o ...
and Yavanas
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, ...
and Sakras and the Harahunas and 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'', ''Manu Smriti, Laws of Manu'', and the Pura ...
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
Kekaya (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Kekaya tribe were called the Kaikayas.
Location
The Kekayas were located between the Gāndhāra ...
and the Malavas
The Malavas (Brahmi script: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mmālava'') or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. Modern scholars identify them with the Mallian people (Malloi) who were settled in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander the Great, A ...
and the inhabitants of Kasmira, were present in the Rajasuya
Rajasuya () is a Śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king. According to the Puranas, it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti - universal monarch, in which the tributary princes may ...
sacrifice of Yudhishthira
''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his first w ...
the king of the Pandavas
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...
(3:51). The Sakas
The Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharosthi, Kharoṣṭhī: ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: , ; , Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brahmi script, Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanagari, Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (An ...
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
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, ...
and the Sakas
The Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharosthi, Kharoṣṭhī: ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: , ; , Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brahmi script, Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanagari, Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (An ...
, along with the Chulikas, stood in the right wing of the Kaurava
''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...
battle-array (6:75). The Tusharas, the Yavanas
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, ...
, the Khasas
Khasas (Devanāgarī: खश; ') were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan lite ...
, the Darvabhisaras, the Daradas
Daradas were a 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 (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken alo ...
, the Sakas
The Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharosthi, Kharoṣṭhī: ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: , ; , Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brahmi script, Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanagari, Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (An ...
, the Kamathas, the Ramathas, the Tanganas the Andhrakas, the Pulindas, the Kiratas
The Kirāta ( sa, किरात) is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who had territory in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and Northeast India and who are believed to have been Sino-Tibetan in origin. The meaning o ...
of fierce prowess, the Mlecchas, the Mountaineers
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
, 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
Duryodhana ( sa, दुर्योधन, ) also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being ...
’s sake (8:73). A number of Saka
The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
and Tukhara and 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, ...
horsemen, accompanied by some of the foremost combatants among the 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 o ...
, quickly rushed against Arjuna
Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
(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.
In the Puranas and other Indian texts
Puranic
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
texts like Vayu Purana
The ''Vayu Purana'' ( sa, वायुपुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism.
''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to pr ...
, Brahmanda Purana
The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text ...
and Vamana Purana
The ''Vamana Purana'' ( sa, वामन पुराण, IAST: ), is a medieval era Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is named after one of the incarnations of Vishnu and probably was a Vaishnava text i ...
, etc., associate the Tusharas with the Shakas, Barbaras, Kambojas, Daradas
Daradas were a 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 (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken alo ...
, Viprendras, Anglaukas, Yavanas, Pahlavas etc and refer to them all as the tribes of Udichya i.e. north or north-west. The Kambojas, Daradas, Barbaras, Harsavardhanas, Cinas and the Tusharas are described as the populous races of men outside.
Puranic literature further states that the Tusharas and other tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
s 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
''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is ...
''. And they were annihilated by king Pramiti at the end of ''Kali Yuga''.
According to Vayu Purana and Matsya Purana
The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...
, river Chakshu (Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
or Amu Darya) flowed through the countries of Tusharas, Lampakas, Pahlavas, Paradas and the Shakas, etc.
The ''Brihat-Katha-Manjari'' of Pt Kshemendra
Kshemendra (; ) was an 11th-century Sanskrit polymath-poet, satirist, philosopher, historian, dramatist, translator and art-critic from Kashmir in India.
Biography
Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family. His father was ...
relates that around 400 CE, Gupta king Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II
Chandragupta II (r.c. 376-415), also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire in India, and was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta dynasty.
Chandragupta continue ...
) (r. 375-413/15 CE), had "unburdened the sacred earth by destroying the barbarians" like the Tusharas, Shakas
The Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who histori ...
, Mlecchas, 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 o ...
, Yavanas
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, ...
, Parasikas, Hunas etc.
The ''Rajatarangini'' of Kalhana
Kalhana ( sa, कल्हण, translit=kalhaṇa) was the author of ''Rajatarangini'' (''River of Kings''), an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be d ...
records that king ''Laliditya Muktapida'', the 8th-century ruler of Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
had invaded the tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
s of the north and after defeating the 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 o ...
, he immediately faced the Tusharas. The Tusharas did not give a fight but fled to the mountain ranges leaving their horses in the battlefield. This shows that during the 8th century CE, a section of the Tusharas was living as neighbours of the Kambojas near the Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
valley.
By the 6th century CE, the Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira also locates the Tusharas with Barukachcha (Bhroach) and Barbaricum (on the Indus
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, ...
Delta) near the sea in western India. The Romakas formed a colony of the Romans near the port of Barbaricum in Sindhu Delta. 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
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" ...
mountain) in the Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
, ''Harshacharita
The ''Harshacharita'' ( sa, हर्षचरित, ) (''The deeds of Harsha''), is the biography of Indian emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of seventh-century CE India. He was the ''Asthana Kavi'', ...
'' of Bana Bhata and ''Kavyamimansa'' of Rajshekhar. ÷
Kingdom
Historical references
Early Chinese & Greek sources
Little is known of the ''Tukhara'' before they conquered theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom
The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Hellenistic Greece, Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Helleni ...
in the 2nd century BCE. They are known, in subsequent centuries, to have spoken Bactrian, an Eastern Iranian language
The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times (from c. the 4th century BC). The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. As opposed to the Middle Western Iranian diale ...
. The Yuezhi are generally believed to have had their ethnogenesis
Ethnogenesis (; ) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group".
This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification.
The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th century neologism that was later introdu ...
in Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
, 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
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
'' also associates the Tusharas with the Bahlikas
The Bahlikas ( sa, बाह्लिक; ''Bāhlika'') were the inhabitants of Bahlika ( sa, बह्लिक, located in Bactria), mentioned in Atharvaveda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka of Katyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc. ...
(Bactrians), 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, ...
s/Yona
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, ...
s (Greeks) and Saka
The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
s (Indo-Scythians), as following: "''Saka.Yavana.Tushara.Bahlikashcha''". It also places the Bahlikas as neighbors of the 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 o ...
. This may suggest suggests that the Tusharas were neighbours to these peoples, possibly in Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
.
Later Chinese sources
In the 7th century CE, theChinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
, by way of the " Iron Pass" entered Tukhara (覩貨羅 Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
''Duhuoluo''; W-G ''Tu-huo-luo''). Xuanzang stated that it lay south of the Iron Pass, north of the "great snow mountains" (Hindukush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...
), and east of Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, with the Oxus "flowing westward through the middle of it."
During the time of Xuanzang, Tukhāra was divided into 27 administrative units, each having its separate chieftain.
Tibetan chronicles
The Tukharas (''Tho-gar'') are mentioned in theTibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
an chronicle Dpag-bsam-ljon-bzah (''The Excellent Kalpa-Vrksa''), along with people like the 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, ...
s, 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 o ...
, Daradas
Daradas were a 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 (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken alo ...
, Hunas
Hunas or Huna (Middle Brahmi script: ''Hūṇā'') was the name given by the ancient Indians to a group of Central Asian tribes who, via the Khyber Pass, entered the Indian subcontinent at the end of the 5th or early 6th century. The Huna Kin ...
, Khasas
Khasas (Devanāgarī: खश; ') were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan lite ...
etc.
References in association with the Kambojas
The ''Komedai'' ofPtolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
, the ''Kiumito'' or ''Kumituo'' of Xuanzang's accounts, ''Kiumizhi'' of Wu'kong, ''Kumi'' of the ''Tang Annals
The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
'', ''Kumed'' or ''Kumadh'' of some Muslim writers, ''Cambothi, Kambuson and Komedon'' of the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
writers (or the ''Kumijis'' of ''Al-Maqidisi, Al-Baihaki, Nasir Khusau'' etc.) who lived in Buttamen Mountains (now in Tajikistan) in the upper Oxus are believed by many scholars to be the 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 o ...
who were living neighbors to the Tukhara/Tusharas north of the Hindukush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...
in the Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
valley. The region was also known as Kumudadvipa of the Puranic texts, which the scholars identify with Sanskrit Kamboja.
Before its occupation by the Tukhara, Badakshan
Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...
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.
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", though northwestern parts still retained the name of Duhuoluo or Tukharistan in Chinese at least until the time of the Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
.
There are several later references to Kamboja of the Pamirs/Badakshan. Raghuvamsha - a 5th-century 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 ...
play by Kalidasa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
, attests their presence on river Vamkshu (Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
) as neighbors to the Hunas
Hunas or Huna (Middle Brahmi script: ''Hūṇā'') was the name given by the ancient Indians to a group of Central Asian tribes who, via the Khyber Pass, entered the Indian subcontinent at the end of the 5th or early 6th century. The Huna Kin ...
(Raghu: 4.68-70). As seen above, the 7th-century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang mentions the Kiumito/Kumito living to the north of the Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
, which may refer to Komedai of Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
. which, as noted above, has been equated to Kamboja mentioned in Sanskrit texts.
The 8th-century king of Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
, King Lalitadiya, invaded the Kambojas of the "far-spreading northern region" (''uttarāpatha'') as mentioned in the Rajatarangini
''Rajatarangini'' ("The River of Kings") is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western part of India, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. The ...
of Kalhana
Kalhana ( sa, कल्हण, translit=kalhaṇa) was the author of ''Rajatarangini'' (''River of Kings''), an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be d ...
. After encountering the Kambojas, Lalitadiya's army approached the Tuhkhāras who "fled to the mountain ranges leaving behind their horses." 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
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
valley as neighbors of the Tukharas who were living in the western parts of that Valley.
The 10th century CE ''Kavyamimamsa'' of Rajshekhar lists the Tusharas with several other tribes of 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 use ...
viz: the Shakas, Kekeyas, Vokkanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Pahlavas, Limpakas, Kulutas, Tanganas, Turusakas, Barbaras, Ramathas etc. 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
Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy.
Life
Pompeius Trogus's grandfath ...
remarks that the ''Asii'' were lords of the Tochari. It is generally believed that they are same as the Rishikas of the Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
which people are equivalent to Asii
The Asii, Osii, Ossii, Asoi, Asioi, Asini or Aseni were an ancient Indo-European people of Central Asia, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Known only from Classical Greek and Roman sources, they were one of the peoples held to be responsible ...
(in Prakrit). V. S. Aggarwala also equates the Rishikas with the Asii or Asioi. In 1870, George Rawlinson commented that ''"The Asii
The Asii, Osii, Ossii, Asoi, Asioi, Asini or Aseni were an ancient Indo-European people of Central Asia, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Known only from Classical Greek and Roman sources, they were one of the peoples held to be responsible ...
or Asiani were closely connected with the Tochari and the Sakarauli (Saracucse?) who are found connected with both the Tochari and the Asiani"''.
If the Rishikas of the Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
were same as the Tukharas, then the observation from George Rawlinson is in line with the Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
statement which also closely allies the Rishikas with the Parama Kambojas
Parama Kamboja Kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata to be on the far north west along with the Bahlika, Uttara Madra and Uttara Kuru countries. It was located in parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Parama Kambo ...
and places them both in the Sakadvipa. The 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 o ...
(i.e. ''the southern branch of the Parama Kambojas''), are the same as the classical Assaceni/ Assacani ( Aspasio/ Assakenoi of Arrian
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; )
was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period.
''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
) and the Aśvayana and Aśvakayana of Panini. They are also mentioned by Megasthenes
Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but has ...
who refers to them as ''Osii'' (= ''Asii''), ''Asoi'', ''Aseni'' etc., all living on upper Indus
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, ...
in eastern Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. The names indicate their connection with horses and horse culture. These Osii, Asoi/Aseni clans represent earlier migration from the Parama Kamboja
Parama Kamboja Kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata to be on the far north west along with the Bahlika, Uttara Madra and Uttara Kuru countries. It was located in parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Parama Kambo ...
(''furthest Kamboja'') land, lying between Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
and Jaxartes
The Syr Darya (, ),, , ; rus, Сырдарья́, Syrdarjja, p=sɨrdɐˈrʲja; fa, سيردريا, Sirdaryâ; tg, Сирдарё, Sirdaryo; tr, Seyhun, Siri Derya; ar, سيحون, Seyḥūn; uz, Sirdaryo, script-Latn/. historically known ...
, which happened prior to Achamenid rule. Per epic evidence, Parama Kamboja was the land of the ''Loha-Kamboja-Rishikas''.
The Rishikas
The Rishikas (also ''Rshika'' and ''Ṛṣika'') 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 '' Markend ...
are said by some scholars to be the same people as the Yuezhi
The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...
. The Kushana
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
s are also said by some to be the same people. ''Kalhana'' (c. 1148-1149 CE) claims that the three kings he calls ''Huṣka'', ''Juṣka'' and ''Kaniṣka'' (commonly interpreted to refer to Huvishka
Huvishka ( Kushan: Οοηϸκι, ''Ooēški'', Brahmi: ', '; Kharosthi: 𐨱𐨂𐨬𐨅𐨮𐨿𐨐 ', ') was the emperor of the Kushan Empire from the death of Kanishka (assumed on the best evidence available to be in 150 CE) until the succes ...
, Vāsishka
Vāsishka (Bactrian: BAZHÞKO ''Bazēško''; Middle Brahmi ', '; Kharosthi: 𐨬𐨗𐨿𐨱𐨅𐨮𐨿𐨐 ', '; ruled c. 247–265 CE) was a Kushan emperor, who seems to have had a short reign following Kanishka II.
Rule
The rule of Vās ...
and Kanishka
Kanishka I (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, '; Greco-Bactrian: Κανηϸκε ''Kanēške''; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 '; Brahmi: '), or Kanishka, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire re ...
I) were "descended from the Turuṣka race". Aurel Stein says that the Tukharas (Tokharoi/Tokarai) were a branch of the Yuezhi. P. C. Bagchi holds that the Yuezhi, Tocharioi and Tushara were identical. 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
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
states that the Parama Kambojas, Lohas and the Rishikas were ''allied tribes''. Like the "Parama Kambojas", the Rishikas of the Transoxian region are similarly styled as "Parama Rishikas". Based on the syntactical construction of the Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
''verse 5.5.15''
and ''verse 2.27.25'', Ishwa Mishra believe that the Rishikas were a section of the 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 o ...
i.e. Parama Kambojas
Parama Kamboja Kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata to be on the far north west along with the Bahlika, Uttara Madra and Uttara Kuru countries. It was located in parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Parama Kambo ...
. V. S. Aggarwala too, relates the Parama Kambojas of the Trans-Pamirs to the Rishikas
The Rishikas (also ''Rshika'' and ''Ṛṣika'') 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 '' Markend ...
of the Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
and also places them in the Sakadvipa (or Scythia
Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.
His ...
). According to Dr B. N. Puri and some other scholars, the Kambojas were a branch of the Tukharas. Based on the above Rishika-Kamboja connections, some scholars also claim that the Kambojas were a branch of the Yuezhi themselves. Dr Moti Chander also sees a close ethnic relationship between the Kambojas and the Yuezhi .
Modern scholars are still debating the details of these connections without coming to any firm consensus.
Japan Visit
According to the '' Nihon Shoki'', the second-oldest book of classicalJapanese history
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new invent ...
, in 1654 two men and two women of the Tushara Kingdom, along with one woman from Shravasti
Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the an ...
, were drive by a storm to take refuge at the former Hyūga Province
was an old province of Japan on the east coast of Kyūshū, corresponding to the modern Miyazaki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hyūga''" in . It was sometimes called or . Hyūga bordered on Bungo, Higo, Ōsumi, and Sats ...
in southern Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
. They remained for several years before setting off for home. That is the first recorded visit of people from India to Japan.
See also
*Tokharistan
Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is an ancient Early Middle Ages name given to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources.
In the 7th and 8th century CE, Tokharistan c ...
*Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
*Tocharians
The Tocharians, or Tokharians ( US: or ; UK: ), were speakers of Tocharian languages, Indo-European languages known from around 7600 documents from around 400 to 1200 AD, found on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China). ...
*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 o ...
*Bahlikas
The Bahlikas ( sa, बाह्लिक; ''Bāhlika'') were the inhabitants of Bahlika ( sa, बह्लिक, located in Bactria), mentioned in Atharvaveda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka of Katyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc. ...
*Janapadas
The Janapadas () (c. 1500–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (saamarajya) of the Vedic period on the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to th ...
*Kingdoms of Ancient India
The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and '' janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urban ...
*Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa
Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Footnotes
External links
{{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata Kingdoms in the Mahabharata Ancient history of Afghanistan