User:Sze cavalry01/Invasion of India by Scythian Tribes

The Invasion of India by Scythian tribes from Central Asia, often referred to as the Indo-Scythian invasion, played a significant part in the history of India as well as nearby countries. In fact, the Indo-Scythian war is just one chapter in the events triggered by the nomadic flight of Central Asians from conflict with Chinese tribes which had lasting effects on Bactria, Kabol, Parthia and India as well as far off as Rome in the west.

But these important historical events are viewed through a fog of misconceptions that scholars are only beginning to clear up.

One of these relates to the true identity of the Scythian peoples who participated in the invasion. Many historians now believe that the Scythian group that invaded India and set up various kingdoms, included not only the Sakas but other allied tribes, such as the Parama Kambojas, Bahlikas, Rishikas and Paradas. This new view is based on readings of ancient inscriptions as well as literary evidence from scholars in the region and further afar. It suggests that India's modern population is descended from a far greater range of Central Asian peoples than previously thought.

Movements among Central Asian tribes

In the second century BCE, a fresh nomadic movement started among the Central Asian tribes, producing lasting effects on the history of Rome in Europe and Bactria, Kabol, Parthia and India in the east. Recorded in the annals of the Han dynasty and other Chinese records, this great tribal movement began after the Yue-chi Chinese tribe fled westwards after their defeat by the neighbouring Hiung-nu, creating a domino effect as the Yue-chi displaced other central Asian tribes in their path.

According to these ancient sources Mao-tun of the Hsiung-nu tribe of Mongolia attacked the Yue-chi and evicted them from their homeland Kansu (Nan-shan). Leaving behind a remnant of their number, most of the population moved westwards, and following the route north of Takla Makan, entered the lands of the Haumavarka Sakas of Issyk-kul Lake through the passes of Tien-shan. Unable to withstand the assault, the Haumavarka Sakas allowed the Yue-chi to settle in their lands. In the years to come, the Haumavarka Sakas (Sakas of Wu-sun?) sought the help of the Hsiung-nu people and evicted the Yue-chi.

Even so, the initial clash with the invading Yue-chi caused a large group of the Haumavarka Shakas to leave their ancestral home. These Sakas journeyed through Tashkent and Ferghana (Sogdiana) (inhabited by the Sugud or Shulik tribe of the Iranians) and occupied the Doab of Oxus and Jaxartes, also overunning the Greek kingdom of Bactria, occupying most of its western parts.. Others suggest Tukhara (India and Central Asia, 1955, p 125, Dr P. C. Bagch). Dr D. C. Sircar reconciles the difference by suggesting that Ta-hia referred to Tukhara and the eastern parts of Bactria..

After being defeated and evicted by the joint forces of the Wu-sun and Hsiung-nu people, the Ta Yue-chis also moved southwards, overrunning in their path the Rishikas, Parama-Kambojas, Lohas and other allied Scythian clans living in the Transoxian regions as far Fargana. Many fled in a southwesterly direction and joined the Haumavarka Sakas in Bactria. The Yue-chi followed behind. Once again under extreme pressure, the Sakas and other allied Scythian groups including the Kambojas were forced to leave Bactria.

They first tried to enter India via the Kabol valley but were vigorously opposed by the Greek powers there. Rebuffed, the clans turned westwards to Herat and then took a southerly direction, reaching Helmund valley (Sigal) in south-west Afghanistan, the region later called Sakasthan or Seistan. Scholars believe that this Scythian migration through Herat to Drangiana was accompanied by groups of Kambojas (Parama-Kambojas), Rishikas and other allied tribes from Transoxiana that were also displaced by the Yue-chi. .

Scythians and Sakas in classical sources

Modern historical accounts of the Indo-Scythian wars often assume that the Scythian protagonists were a single tribe called the Saka (Sakai or Sakas). But earlier Greek and Latin texts suggest that the term Scythians referred to a much more widespread grouping of Central Asian peoples.

To Herodotus (484-425 BCE), the Sakai were the 'Amurgioi Skuthai' (i.e. Scythians from Ammyurgia). Strabo (Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo, 63 BCE-c24 AD) suggests that the term Skuthais (Scythians) referred to the Sakai and several other tribes. Arrian (Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon' , c92-175 AD), refers to the Sakai as Skuthon (a Scythian people) or the Skuthai (the Scythians) who inhabit Asia.

It is clear that the Greek and Latin scholars cited here believed, all Sakai were Scythians, but not all Scythians were Sakai. It seems likely that modern confusion about the identity of the Scythians is partly due to the Persians. According to Herodotus, the Persians called all Scythians by the name Sakas. Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus, 23–79 AD) provides a more detailed explanation, stating that the Persians gave the name Sakai to the Scythian tribes: "nearest to them". This likely explains why the Scythians began to be called Sakai.

Classical descriptions of the Scythian regions

Another clue to the true identity of the Scythians is the widespread area in which classical scholars thought they lived. The ancient Greeks wrote that the homelands of the Scythian peoples included Central Asia east of the Caspian Sea, north of Hindukush/Karakoram and west of China extending as far as Siberia. This suggests Scythia was a generic term that was loosely applied to a vast area of Central Asia spanning numerous groups and diverse ethnicities.

Approximate extent of Scythia and Sarmatia in the 1st century BC.

Strabo defined all the Central Asian clans inhabiting the area east of the Caspian Sea as Scythian in culture. Diodorus (Diodorus Siculus, c90–30 BCE) said that Mt Hemodos was the dividing line between Scythia and India, ancient Greek sources used a variety of names for this mountain, including Himaos, Imaos and Paropamisos but generally place it in the Himalayas.

Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus, c90-168 AD) writes that Skuthia was not only "within the Imaos" (the Himalayas) and "beyond the Imaos" (north of the Himalayas), but also speaks of a separate "land of the Sakais" within Scythia . Both Solinus and Pliny report that the Ganges was one of the greatest rivers of India and has its source in the Scythian mountains .

When ancient texts refer to the Sakai living in the Mt. Hemodos area or the Himalayan region, they are also talking about a much wider area than the modern Himalayas. Greek texts refer to Mt. Hemodos as Kaukasos, the Caucasus, which is the Greek word for the entire Hindukush region. In the ancient Sanskrit/Pali texts, the Himalayas spanned the eastern and western oceans and so included the Hindukush and Karakoram ranges.

Ptolemy meanwhile says that the Scythian tribes living in the Hindukush ranges were only at the southern fringe of the Scythian world. By this definition, the Parama Kambojas tribe who lived in the far off Transoxiana territory as distant as the Fargana and Zeravshan valleys were also Scythians.

With Scythia covering such a wide area, it is no wonder classical scholars like Strabo and the Historiae Philippcae writings of 1st century BC Roman historian Pompeius Trogus (Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus), classified any Asio/Asii or Asiani and Kambojan clans connected with horse culture as Scythic races.

Where did the Sakas live?

Physical map of Central Asia from the Caucasus in the northwest, to Mongolia in the northeast.

The Sakas had at least three major settlements, Saka Haumavarka, Saka Tigrakhauda and Saka Taradarya, according to inscriptions left by King Achaemenid Darius I (522-486 BCE) in the city of Hamadan and his royal seat of Perspolis. However, scholars think these three settlements may be merely remnants of a much greater civilization left by the waves of Scythian migrations back to the middle of the 8th century BCE.

The Darian inscriptions say that the Sakas Haumavarka lived 'beyond Sogdiana' (para-Sugudam) which when seen from Perspolis, seems to point to Tashkant, Fargana, Kashgar and nearby regions. The Sakas Tigrakhauda lived near the Arals in the lower valleys of the Jaxartes as well as the plains north of the Jaxartes. The third Sakas settlement,Sakas Taradarya, was located north of the Black Sea in the Russian Steppes.

There are also references to the Saka Haumavarka in ancient Indian texts. It seems likely that it was these Sakas Haumavarka and other allied tribes such as the Lohas, Parama Kambojas, Rishikas, etc that lived in, and north of the Pamir mountains as far as Kashgar, Fargana and Issyk-kul Lake, that entered into conflict with the Ta Yue-chi or Great Yue-chi and migrated into northern India. According to the evidence furnished by Mahabharata, the Transoxian Pamir mountains and regions to the north as far as Fargana were known as the lands of the allied Lohas, Parama Kambojas, Rishikas, etc tribes . All these peoples living in the Scythia of the classical writers or the Shakadvipa of Indian texts, were lumped together and given the general name Sacae by Greeks and Sakas by the Iranians. They were known as Shakas in Indian texts .

Parama Kambojas were Scythians

According to scholars, term Kamboja may be explained as Kam+boja. Boja is the Iranian equivalent of the Sanskrit Bhoja which means Lord or King or Master . Thus, Kambojas may be explained as Lords or Masters or Rulers of Kam country.

The root Kam implying place or region is reflected in the Kama valley, a region lying between the Khyber Pass and Jalalabad. It is also reflected in the place names Kama-daka, Kamma-Shilman, Kama-bela of Kabol; in the Kamdesh or Kambrom, Kamich, Kama and Kamu & Kamatol of the Kunar and Bashgul valleys. It is further reflected in the vast expanses of the region called Kazal-kam and Kara-kam lying on either side of the Oxus north of Hindukush in parts of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. There is also a river named Kama in the Russian Steppes. Kambah is also said to be name of an ancient town some destinations north-west of Samarkhand in Uzbekistan.

The Ptolemian term Kamoi also refers to a people of the region falling in the Oxus/Jaxartes doab. According to Dr Seth, it seems highly likely that the ancient Kambojas had their habitats in the doab of the river Vamksu (Oxus) and Syr (Jaxartes) (ancient Suguda) and beyond in the hilly regions of Syr. The territory is watered by numerous tributaries of the Oxus and Jaxartes and was referred to as Komdei by Ptolemy. Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (325 AD‑330 AD) labelled the mountainous region of Suguda as Komedas .

These names seem to point towards 'Komdesh' (Kambojdesh ?) which was the original home of the Kambojas . Ptolemy has also stated that there is a tribe variously called Komroi, Komedei or Komoi which occupies the plateaus of Bactria, Suguda and Sakai countries .

Al-Maqidisi in his book Al-Muqhni calls the people of this territory Kumiji a name that apparently points to the Sanskrit Kamboja. The Komdei of Ptolemy has been identified with the Kiumito of Hiun Tsang . Scholars have identified this Kiumito as the habitat of Iranian Kambojas . The Kumuda-dvipa of the Puranas is said to lie to north of Pamirs in the Tartary region and is equivalent to the Komdei of Ptolemy and the Kumadas of Ammianus Marcellinus.

The fifth century Sanskrit poet Kalidasa attests that the Hunas and Kambojas lived as neighbors in their respective west and east Oxus valleys . Rajatarangini of Kalhana also refers to Tukharas and Kambojas living respectively in the west and east Oxus valleys, during the 8th century AD.

Scholars believe that the Kiumito of Hiun Tsang is same as the Kamboja of Raghuvamsa and of Rajatarangini and represents the Iranian section of the Kambojas . The Kumuda or Kumuda-dvipa of Indian texts and the Komdei of Ptolemy lay in the Shaka-dvipa per Mahabharata and Puranic texts . Komdei apparently refers to the region which has been called Parama Kamboja in Mahabharata . This was the region where the Rishikas, Parama Kambojas, Lohas and other allied people dwelt.

Needless to say that all these people including the Parama Kambojas were Scythians by culture for obvious reasons. Writing on the Rishikas, Dr V. S. Aggarwala observes: “The name Rishika occurs in Mahabharata as a part of 'Shakadvipa'. Arjuna had conquered Rishikas across the Vakshu (Oxus) which flowed through the Shaka country.” As the Parama Kambojas, Lohas and the Rishikas were all neighborly tribes and were allied in their fight against Arjuna , this strongly suggests that the Transoxian Lohas and Parama Kambojas were also located in Shakadvipa or Scythia.

Dr Bailey lists several breeds of Kamboja horses and states that their haya- and javana- breeds ( 'swift horse') refer to the famous horses of the Farghana breed . Praja Bhata, a Kashmiri Sanskrit poet and author of the fourth Rajatarangini while writing about the history of Moghul dynasty in India, addresses emperor Babur as a Yavana king hailing from Kambhoja . Since Vabur (Babur) was native of Fargana (in Kyrgyzstan of Central Asia), this Indian reference seems to extend the Kamboja i.e the Parama Kamboja domain almost as far as to Fargana.

Thus the foregoing discussion sufficiently proves that the territory of the Parama Kambojas lay in a region beyond Imaos or Himalaya/Hindukush, the region that ancient Sanskrit texts such as Mahabharata labelled Shakadvipa and classical writers Strabo and Diodorus define as part of Scythia (see above). This allows the conclusion that the Parama Kambojas, the Rishikas and Lohas were Scythians .

“It seems from some inscriptions that the Kambojas were a royal clan of the Sakas better known under the Greek name of Scyths” .

Shaka, Kamboja references in ancient texts

Mahabharata references

Udyoga Parva of Mahabharata groups the Shakas, Pahlavas, Paradas with the ‘’Kamboja-rishikas’’ and attests them as living on sea-shore in western India. Again Udyoga Parava of Mahabharata lists the Shakas, Kambojas and the Khashas together and calls them as tribes of Udichya or Uttarapatha. The Shanti Parva of Mahabharata also associates the Shakas with the Kambojas, Yavanas, Gandharas, Pahlavas, Tusharas, Sabaras, Barbaras, etc. and addresses them all as the Barbaric tribes of Uttarapatha . More importantly, the Shaka army had joined the Kamboja army and together they had participated in the Kurukshetra war under single and supreme command of Sudakshina Kamboja .

Ramayana references

Kishkindha Kanda Sarga 43 of Valmiki Ramayana collocates the Kambojas with the Shakas, Yavanas, Paradas and the Uttarakurus in the extreme northwest. The Yavanas are in (Bactria) and Kambojas in Tajikstan, the Paradas are on river Sailoda in Sinkiang province of China. The Uttarakurus lie beyond the Pamirs. The Shakas of the Ramayana obviously refer to the Shakas of Issyk-kul Lake lying beyond Suguda . Adi-Kanda of the Ramayana , tells us that the Kambojas, Shakas, Pahlavas and some other allied tribes from northwest were 'created' at the request of sage Vasishta by the Divine cow Shavala to defend Vasishta sage from the forces of king Vishwamitra (Dr B. C. Law). All these Ramayanic references seem to closely connect the Kambojas and the Shakas together.

Puranic references

Harivamsa Purana and other Puranic literature attest that Iksvaku king Bahu of Ayodhya was driven out of his dominions by Haihayas and Talajanghas with the assistance of Shakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Pahlavas and Paradas Ayudhajivin Kshatriyas from Uttarapatha, popularly known as "five hordes" (ganah pāñca) .

Kalika Purana, one of the Upa-Puranas of the Hindus, refers to a war between Brahmanical king Kalika (supposed to be Pusyamitra Sunga) and Buddhist king Kali (supposed to be Maurya king Brihadratha (187-180 BCE)) and states the Shakas, Kambojas, Khasas, etc together as a powerful military allies of king Kali. The Purana further states that these Barbarians take the orders from their women .

The Bhuvanakosha section of Puranic texts also lists the Kambojas with the Shakas, Paradas, Yavanas, Bahlikas, Sindhus, Soviras, Madrakas, Kekayas etc and place then all in the Udychya or northwest division.

Manusmiriti reference

Manusmriti places the Shakas with the Kambojas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, Paradas and labels them all as degraded Kshatriyas defying the Brahmanical codes and rituals .

Mahabharata, too similarly groups the Shakas with the Kambojas and Yavanas and states that they were originally noble Kshatriyas but got degraded to to vrishala status on account of their non-obersvance of the sacred Brahmanical codes.

Atri-Smriti reference

In his Book of Law (Atri-Smriti or Atri-Samhita), Rsi Atri regards the Sakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Khasas, Parasikas, Natas, Svapakas etc all as Mlechchas and forbids receiving any gifts from or eating the food of or having any kinds of contacts or connections with these people .

Mudrarakshas reference

The Buddhist drama Mudrarakshas by Visakhadutta and the Jaina works Parisishtaparvan refer to Chandragupta's alliance with Himalayan king Parvatka. This Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a powerful composite army made up of the north western martial tribes including the Shakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Parasikas, Bahlikas etc .

Other references

In the Brihat Katha of Pt. Kshmendra, Vedic king Vikramaditya had fought with the joint mlechcha forces of the Shakas, Kambojas, Hunas, Sabaras, Tusharas, Parasikas and had destroyed them completely.

The Vartika of the Katyayana on Panini's Ashtadhyayi informs us that the kings of the Shakas and the Yavanas, like those of the Kambojas may similarly be addressed by their respective tribal names.

There are numerous more similar references in ancient Sanskrit literature where the Kambojas and Shakas are listed together. All these references amply prove that the Shakas were closely allied to the Kambojas and both were living as close neighbors in the extreme of northwest division of ancient India.

Strabo’s evidence

Scythian horseman from Central Asia, c. 300 BC.

According to Greek chronicler Strabo , Bactriana was taken by nomads like Asii/Asio, Pasianoi, Tokhario and Sakarauloi who had originally come from country from other side of Jaxartes (Central Asia) . The prologus XLI of Historiae Philippcae also refers to the Scythian invasion of the Greek kingdom of Bactria and Sogdiana---the invaders are described as Saraucae and Asiani . The Saraucae are Sacarauli and Asiani are Asii or Asio of Strabo . These references conceal the information that after being turned out from Issyk-kul lake and in their movements to Bactria via Sogdiana and Fargana, under pressure from Ta Yue-chih, the Issyk-kul Sakas (Sakaraulois) had been joined on the way by sections of other Scythian tribes of the intervening regions during their southerly or south-westerly movements to Bactria. The term Asio (or Asii) obviously refers to horse People and undoubtedly refers to the Kambojas of the Parama Kamboja domain whose Aswas or horses too have been glorified by Mahabharata as being of excellent quality. In fact, Asio, Asi/Asii, Asva/Aswa, Ari-aspi, Aspasios, Aspasii (or Hippasii) are variant names the Classical writers have given to the horse-clans of the Kambojas of Scythian domain . The Tokharios are assumed by some scholars to be Rishikas. But the Rishikas were a closely affiliated to the Parama-Kambojas as per Mahabharata evidence . Similarly, the Pasianois were another Scythian tribe from Central Asia. Saraucae or Sakarauloi obviously refers to the Saka proper from Issyk-kul Lake. Some scholars tend to link the Rishikas with Tukharas and later with the Ta Yue-chis themselves. If one accepts this connection, then the Tukharas (==> Rishikas ==> Yue-chihs) had controlled the eastern parts of Bactria country (Ta-hia) while the combined forces of the Sakarauloi, 'Asio' (horse people = Parama Kambojas) and the 'Pasinoi' of Strabo etc had occupied its western parts after being displaced from the original home in Fargana/Alai valley by the Ta-Yuechis. As stated earlier, Ta-hia is taken to mean Tukhara/Tokhara which also included Badakshan, Chitral, Kafirstan and Wakhan which are said to have formed eastern parts of Bactria According to other scholars, it were the Saka hordes alone who had put an end to the Greek kingdom of Bactria .

Sai-Wang Scythian hordes in Chi-pin or Ki-pin

A section of the Central Asian Scythians (under Sai-Wang) is said to have taken southerly direction and after passing through the Pamirs it entered the Chi-pin or Ki-pin after crossing the Hasuna-tu (Hanging Pass) located above the valley of Kanda in Swat country . Chipin has been identified by Dr Pelliot, Dr Bagchi, Dr Raychaudhury and some others with Kashmir but most other scholars identify it with Kapisha (Kafirstan) . The Sai-Wang had established his kingdom in Ki-pin. Dr S. Konow interprets the Sai-Wang as Saka Murunda of Indian literature, Murunda being equal to Wang i.e king, master or lord, but prof Bagchi who takes the word Wang in the sense of the king of the Scythians but he distinguishes the Sai Sakas from the Murunda Sakas . There are reasons to believe that Sai Scythians were Kamboja Scythians and therefore Sai-Wang belonged to the Scythianised Kambojas (i.e. Parama-Kambojas) of the Transoxiana region and came back to settle among his own stock after being evicted from his ancestral land located in Scythia or Shakadvipa. King Moga or Maues could have belonged to this group of Scythians who had migrated from the Sai country (Central Asia) to Chipin . The Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions attest that the members of the family of king Moga (q.v.) had last name Kamuia or Kamuio (q.v) which Khroshthi term has been identified by scholars with Sanskrit Kamboja or Kambojaka . Thus, Sai-Wang and his migrant hordes which came to settle in Kabol valley in Kapisha may indeed have been from the transoxian Parama Kambojas living in Shakadvipa or Scythian land .

Mixed hordes in Drangian/Zrangiana

Arsacid emperor Mithridates II ( c 123-88/87 BCE) had scored many successes against the Scythians and added many provinces to Parthian empire . It is pointed out that the Bactrian Scythain hordes were also conquered by him. A section of these people had moved from Bactria to Lake Helmond in the wake of Yue-chi pressure and had settled about Drangiana/Zrangiana (Sigal) which region later came to be called ‘Sakastana of the Skythian (Scythian) Sakai’ by the time of compositions Isodor of Charax, , towards the end of first century BCE . The region is still known as Seistan.

Scholars hold that Sakistan or Seistan of Drangiana was not only the habitat of the Saka alone but it also contained population of the Pahlavas and the Kambojas etc who have all been lumped together and labelled as Sakas . On the same lines, there were numerous Sakas settled in Afghanistan but the Rock Edicts of king Ashoka only refer to the Yavanas, Kambojas and the Gandharas but no mention is made of the Sakas. Thus, whatever Saka population was living in Afghanistan, it has been included and counted among the Kambojas. Cf: "The word Kamboja in early Indian literature and in king Asoka's inscriptions included the Sakas of Sakasthan as well. Sudakshina's army in Mahabharata war included the Yavanas and the Sakas contigents" . Similarly, numerous Sakas had settled in Mathura around the start of Christian era and the city was also their capital or political headquarters. But Mahabharata verses composed around this time only attest to theKambojas and Yavanas as the inhabitants of Mathura but do not make any mention of the Sakas . Obviously, the Indian epic has included the Sakas of Mathura among the Kambojas or the Yavanas here (Dr J. L. Kamboj). In fact, the term Yavana had become a common designation for the Barbarians or Mlechchas and was commonly used for all aliens or foreigners irrespective of whether they were Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas or the Sakas. The Sakastana or Sakasthana which originally denoted area commonly known as Seistan but with the movement of the Sakas in westerly direction, the Sakasthana according to the author of Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions, seems to have included the entire region comprising Kamboja, Naulibi, Nagar and Taxila also .

The nomenclature of the early Sakas in India saliantly contains a mixture of Saka, Parthian and Iranian elements . The Iranian elements here obviously implies the Iranian Kambojas. Dr Thomas also observes that the Epigraphs of Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions exhibit a mixture of Saka and Persian nomenclature .

Dr Thomas further notes: " 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. .... " .

Even the northern Kshatrapas are stated to be of mixed Saka/Persian ethnicities.

Numerous scholars believe that during centuries immediately preceding Christian era, there had occurred extensive social and cultural admixture among the Kambojas and Yavanas; the Sakas and Pahlavas; and the Kambojas, Sakas, and Pahlavas etc.... such that their cultures and social customs had become almost identical . The culture of Kambojas was modified as a result of their contacts, first with the Yavanas and later, it went further modification as a result of their contacts with the Sakas and Pahlavas etc . This extensive social and cultural admixture due to time and space proximity had led to adoption of similar customs, dress mode, language and social manners among the various frontier peoples of north-west. While living and ruling over middle and lower Indus valley--Drangiana and Archosia (Kandhahar region) -- the Sakas, Pahlavas and Kambojas were closely associated and no wonder it is sometimes impossible to distinguish as to which ruler belongs to which clan Cf: "Towards the end of second c BCE, Arachosia and Drangiana were occupied by Scythian tribes who gave their name to latter region (Sakastana - Seistan). The Parthian-Saka-Yavana-Indian-Kushana history of south eastern parts of this former Achaemenid Empire is one of the most disputed subjects among the scholars of ancient history and have to be put to one side".

In view of the foregoing discussion, it is thus quite safe to conclude that the Drangiana country and its surrounding area commonly called Sakasthana had become common habitat for the migrants from Saka, Pahlava, Kamboja and some other clans etc.

Establishment of Mlechcha Kingdoms in Northern India

The mixed Scythian hordes that migrated to Drangiana and surrounding regions, later spread further into north and south-west India via the lower Indus valley. Their migration spread into Sovira, Gujarat, Rajasthan and northern India, including kingdoms in the Indian mainland.

There are important references to the warring Mleccha hordes of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas and Pahlavas in the Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana also.

Leading Indologists like Dr H. C. Raychadhury, Dr B. C. Law, Dr Satya Shrava and others see in these verses the clear glimpses of the struggles of the Hindus with the mixed invading hordes of the barbaric Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas etc from north-west. The time frame for these struggles is second century BCE downwards. Dr Raychadhury fixes the date of the present version of the Valmiki Ramayana around/after second century CE. This picture presented by the Ramayana probably refers to the political scenario that emerged when the mixed hordes descended from Sakasthan and advanced into the lower Indus valley via Bolan Pass and beyond into the Indian mainland. It refers to the hordes' struggle to seize political control of Sovira, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Malwa, Maharashtra and further areas of eastern, central and southern India.

Mahabharata too furnishes a veiled hint about the invasion of the mixed hordes from the northwest. Vanaparava by Mahabharata contains verses in the form of prophecy deploring that "......the Mlechha (barbaric) kings of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, etc shall rule the earth (i.e India) un-rightously in Kaliyuga..." .

According to scholars like Edward Washburn Hopkins, H. C. Ray Chaudhury etc, this is too clear a statement to be ignored or explained away . In fact, when this statement was written, the people mentioned above had already ruled India. If this were the only place where the names occured, it might be regarded as a part of an interpolation in mass. But the people described here as foreign invaders are all mentioned repeatedly as barbarians and fierce warriors from the west. The Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas are portrayed as famous fighters wearing especially fine metal armors, expert cavalrymen and their overthrow is alluded to . So also the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata stigmatises the Yavanas, Kambojas, Gandharas, Kiratas and Barbaras as the sinners (un-rightous people) who are said to be wandering on this earth from the time of Treta age having customs similar to those of chandalas and wild animals .

The above Vana Parava prophetic reference from Mahabharata epic apparently alludes to the chaotic politics which followed the collapse of the Mauryan and Sunga dynasties in northern India ((second/first century BC downwards) ) and the area's subsequent occupation by foreign hordes of the Saka, Yavana, Kamboja, Pahlavas, Bahlika, Shudra and Rishika tribes from the northwest .

That the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas etc indeed became rulers and masters of the earth (Aryan India) in Kaliyuga (post Mauryan era) is also attested from the Kalki Purana where a short dialogue between the Dharma and the Kalki , woefully deplores the forced occupation of the earth (Indian mainland) by the unrighteous rulers of the Kambojas, Sakas, Savaras, Mlecchas, Barbaras etc who are blamed to have spread adharma and chaos all around .

This chaotic situation of Aryan India is said to have ended with the destruction of these Saka, Kamboja, Yavana, Parsika hordes by king Vikramaditya of Ujjaini (c. 60 BC) and the establishment of the Vikrama era .

See also: Migration of Kambojas

Kambojas-Sakas in control of Mathura

The Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions attest that Mathura fell under the control of the Sakas and the Kambojas. The inscriptions contain references to Kharaosta Kamuio and Aiyasi Kamuia. Yuvaraja Kharostes (Kshatrapa) was the son of Arta as is attested by his own coins . Arta is stated to be brother of king Moga or Maues . Princess Aiyasi Kamuia was the chief queen of Shaka Mahakshatrapa Rajuvula. After fresh and thorough critical review of Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions, Dr S. Konow has arrived at results and conclusions which are different from the earlier scholars. Dr Konow has also identified Kamuia or Kamuio of the Mathura Lion capital with Sanskrit Kamboja or Pali Kamobjika. See main article: Kamuia.

This shows that Sakas and Kambojas had jointly ruled over Mathura/Uttara Pradesh. As stated before, the Mahabharata verses, composed around the beginning of Christian era, strongly attest that the Kambojas and Yavanas were in control of Mathura country:

tatha Yavana Kamboja Mathuram.abhitash cha ye.|

ete ashava.yuddha.kushaladasinatyasi charminah || .

Dr Jayaswal writes: “Mathura was under outlandish people like the Yavanas and Kambojas... who had a special mode of fighting”.

Dr Buddha Prakash observes: "Along with the Sakas, the Kambojas had also entered Indian mainland and spread into whole of North India, especially in Panjab and Uttar Pradesh. Mahabharata contains references to Yavanas and Kambojas having conquered Mathura (12/105/5)....There is also a reference to the Kambojas in the Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions of Saka Satrap (Kshatrapa) Rajuvula found in Mathura ".

Prof Shashi Asthana comments: "Epic Mahabharata refers to the siege of Mathura by the Yavanas and Kambojas" .

According to Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona: "Mahabharata reference mentions the Yavanas-Kambojas as settled in the outlying parts of Mathura city" .

The term Kamboja in the above verses of Mahabharata seems to include both the Kambojas and Sakas.

Kamboja principalities in West/Southwest India

The Kamboja hordes of the second/first century BCE have left indelible foot prints in the names of mountains, rivers, and some geographical places in western India. The Kamb/Kambuh river and Kamboh/Kambo mountain in Sindh remind us of Sanskrit Kamboja. The Kamboi (ancient town/port) in Patan district, Khambhoj in district Anand, Kambay (port/town and Gulf) ... all in Saurashtra; Kumbhoj/Kambhoj (an ancient town) in Kolhapur in Maharashtra; and the Coimbatore city of Tamil Nadu in southern India carry unmistakable footprints of the Kambojas. There is also an ancient Kambhoj caste living near Nanded in Maharashtra (See links: [2] , [3] ) which could be a dwindling remnant of the ancient Kambojas settled in South-west India.

As noted below, there are numerous ancient Sanskrit references which profusely affirm that the Kambojas had indeed been in occupation of territories in south-western and southern India, in the post-Christian times.

Jyotirvidhbhrana, a Sanskrit Treatise on Astrology is generally attributed to Kalidasa in its last Stenzas, (but probably, it was authored by someone of Jaina persuasion around 7th century). In chapter 22, verse 14, the author writes: 'He (Sahasanka) destroyed the pride of Dravidas, also the king of Lata, defeated the king of Gauda and conquered Gurjardesa, king of Dhara (westerm Malwa) and king of Kambojas and conducted him with success' . In chapter 20, verse 46 of Jyotirvidhbhrana, the author states: 'The people of Kamboja, Gauda, Andhraka, Malava, Surajya and Gurjaras, even to this day sing the glory of Sahasanka (alias Vikarmaditya alias Chandra Gupta II), showing with the liberality of gifts of gold' . These references seem to imply that once Vikarmaditya had conquered Lata, Dhara (western Malwa), Saurashtra, Gujaradesa and as well as vanquished the Sakas, Kambojas, Gurjaras intruders of Gujarat/Saurashtra/Malawa from northwest, these aliens had become his subjects for sometime and started paying tributes to the great Gupta king Vikarmaditya (Chandra Gupta II) for his great benevolent rule—---hence this Jyotirvidbhrana tradition. From this reference, it also becomes understandable that once these foreign warlike intruders had been subjugated, many of them must have joined the armed forces of the Gupta rulers in large numbers and some of them like General Bhattarka, founder of Maitraka dynasty of Gujerat, had obtained placements in key positions. This Jyotirvidhbhrana reference definitely locates the Kambojas in south-western India i.e. near Lata, Saurashtra and western Malwa somewhere.

Markendeya Purana lists the Kambojas and Pahlavas (Indo-Parthians) among the countries of Udichya division i.e Uttarapatha, but another chapter of the same Markendeya Purana also refers to other settlements of the Kambojas and Pahlavas and locates them in the south-west of India as neighbor to Sindhu, Sauvira and Anarta (north Saurashtra) countries .

Geographical list of Brihat Samhita of Varaha Mihira (6th century CE) specifically places the Kambojas with the Pahlavas in the south-west division (nairrtyam dizi = southwest direction), Sind, Saurashtra/Kathiawar, contiguous to Malwa and Dravida countries .

Similarily, in his list of countries, Alberuni (973 AD --1048 AD) also assigns the Kamboja kingdom in the south-west (Nairita) quadrant of India .

Arthashastra of Barhaspatya refers to the Kamboja as a great country (Mahavishaya) and locates it adjacent to the Dasrana country (eastern Malwa), east of Gujarat . Distance between Kamboja and Dasarna country is stated to be 80 Yojna .

Vishnudharmottara Purana also includes the Kambojas in the list of Janapadas of south-west India .

Raajbilaas, a medieval era text also locates a Kamboj settlement in the neighborhood of Kachcha, Sorata or Saurashtra and Gurjara countries of south-west India .

Interestingly, Agni Purana locates two Kamboja settlements in India itself...(1) Kambhoja in south-west India and (2) Kamboja in southern parts of India .

The Garuda Purana which was composed comparatively late, also locates a Kamboj principality/settlement in the neighborhood of Ashmaka, Pulinda, Jimuta, Narashtra, Lata and Karnata countries, and also specifically informs us that this section of Kambojas were living in southern division of India (dakshina.path.vasinah) .

But like Agni Purana, some recensions of Garuda Purana mention two Kamboja settlements within India proper. ...one in south-west India and the second in southern India .

The above post-Christian Sanskrit references abundantly establish the historical fact that in wake of major events of second/first century BCE, some sections of Central Asian Kambojas in alliance with the Sakas and Pahlavas, had spread and settled into western and south-western parts of India .

The Kambojas in/around west, south-west India are also attested from inscriptions of king Sahasiva Raya of Sangama Dynasty (1336-1478), kings Harihara & Deva Raya of Narasinga Dynasty (1496-1567), and from the references of king Vishnuvardhana of Hoiyasala Dynasty/Mysore (of 12th c CE).

Due to the above cited literary/inscriptional evidence, some historians like Aiyangar, Banerjee etc have located their Kamboja in Sindhu and Gujarat . Obviously, their Kamboja refers to the post-Christian settlements of Kambojas in western/or south-western India and is not the original Kamboja of the Sanskrit/Pali literature.

According to History of Ceylon, 'the Kambojas who inhabited a region bordering upper Indus, had, at one time, established themselves in a country near Sind....It was from this people that a section had migrated to Ceylone and settled in the island during pre-Christian times' According to Fergusson: "The Cambojas seem to have been a people inhabiting the country between Candahar and Cabul, who when the nomadic tide was setting eastwards, joined the crowd, and sought settlements in the more fertile countries within the Indus ( or Sind)"

Biography of Shankara Acharya based on his religious itineraries refers to Kambhoja located in Saurashtra comprising Girnar, Somnath, Prabhasa and other regions and a Kamboja located in Central Asia adjacent to Daradistan but lying north of Kashmir. This eighth-century reference clearly attests two Kamboja settlements, one of which specifically fixed in Saurashtra [4] .

Kambhoja Raja Kathalu is highly popular in Andhra traditions. The story deals with the militaristic exploits of a fierce and adventurous Kambojan king. The tale probably relates to a historical brush between the Andhraites and the intruding Kamboja/Pahlavas hordes in the Christian era.

Some historians have also invested western Kshatrapas, especially the Kshahrata Kshatrapas with Kamboja ethnicity .

Evidence about joint invasions

The clans of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Paradas, etc had been invading India from Central Asia many years before the Christian era. These peoples were all absorbed into the community of Kshatriyas of mainstream Indian society .

The Bahlikas were originally people of Balkh or Bactria. Before the arrival of the Greeks, Bactria and nearby regions were inhabitated by the Uttaramadras and Uttarakurus. A later settlement of Bahlikas was also said to exist in south-west India in the neighborhood of Gujarat and Maharashtra. This is evident in some verses of Ramayana as well as the Padama Purana . These ancient references demonstrate that the Bahlikas had also migrated into south-western India as neighbors of the Saurashtra and the Abhira peoples. According to the Puranas, a branch of the Bahlikas had ruled in Vindhyas . The Baraca of the Periplus (first century AD) has been identified with the Bahlika .

The Shakas were formerly a people of trans-Hemodos region---the Shakadvipa of the Puranas or the Scythia of the classical writings. Isidor of Charax (beginning of first c AD) attests them in Sakastana (modern Seistan). First century CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c AD 70-80) also attests a Scythian district in lower Indus with Minnagra as its capital. Ptolemy (c AD 140) also attests Indo-Scythia in south-western India which comprised Patalene, Abhira and the Surastrene (Saurashtra) territories.

The Paradas anciently inhabited the mountainous region between the upper courses of Oxus and Jaxartes. Puranas attest their location on the banks of river Chaksu (Oxus) . Mahabharata too lists them among the tribes of northwest and place them on river Sailoda . But Geographer Ptolemy notes them as Pardane and attests them as living in western India in Sindhu or Gedrosia during second century CE.

The Kambojas and Pahlavas are originally attested to have been living in east Iranian regions in Central Asia. But, later evidence testifies that this people had also established some of their settlements in South-west/Southern India in post-Christian times. See Migration of Kambojas: [5]

The Rishikas were formerly attested as living in Sakadvipa as neighbors to the Parama-Kambojas of Transoxiana region which branch of theirs is known as Uttara Rishikas. But later evidence locates one of their section living as neighbors to the Asmakas and Vidarbhas in south-west India. In the Udyyoga Parva of Mahabharata, the Pahlavas, Shakas, Paradas, Kambojas and Rishikas are listed together and are placed in the west near the sea shore . This Rishika settlement lied between Godavari and Tapti rivers, east of Nasika, north of Mulaka and west of Vidarbha in what is called Khandes. Dr Sylvain Lévi had shown on strong grounds that the Yuezhi existed in the Deccan between 25 and 130 BCE, and now Lévi's claim has been supported by numerous literary sources such as the Ramayana , epic Mahabharata , Kasika, the Mahabhasya of Patanjali, Brhat Samhita of Varahamihira , Markandeya Purana and Matsya Purana etc., as well as the epigraphic evidence from the Nasik Cave Inscriptions of Queen Balasri which mentions the Risikas (Asikas) as a component of Gautamiputra Satkaranai's empire and strongly endorses the earlier migration of Risikas/Asikas (Asii or Yuezhi) in the Deccan also. The Kambojas are also abundantly attested to have migrated and settled in south-west and southern division of India.

Barbaras were originally attested to have been living in extreme northewest on the banks of river Sita apparently as neighbors to the Parama Kambojas. Puranas also attests that river Chaksu (Oxus) flowed through the janapada of the Barabaras . In Mahabharata, Barbaras are mentioned with the Kambojas, Gandharas, Yavanas and the Kiratas--- all being placed in the Uttarapatha . But in later verses of Mahabharata, the Barbaras, Pahlavas, Yavanas, Sakas etc have also been placed near the sea . According to the author of Periplus, river Sinthos (Sindhu) had seven mouths and all were shallow and unnavigable except the middle one on which was located Barbaricum, a trading seaport. Behind this tradeport was located minnagra, the capital of Skythia.

The facts presented above show that the second century BCE Scythian invasion of India, was in all probability carried out jointly by the Sakas, Pahlavas, Kambojas, Paradas, Rishikas and other allied tribes from the northwest . As a result, groups of these people who had originally lived in the northwest before the Christian era, were also found to have lived in southwest India in post-Christian times. All these groups of north-western peoples apparently entered Indian mainland following the so-called Scythian Invasion of India.

Books and Periodicals

Political History of ancient India, 1996, Dr H. C. raychaudhury
Hindu Polity, A Constitutional history of India in Hindu Times, 1978, Dr K. P. Jayswal
Geographical Data in Early Puranas, 1972, Dr M. R. Singh
Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, Dr J. L. Kamboj
Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, S Kipal Singh
India and Central Asia, 1955, Dr P. C. Bagchi
Geography of Puranas, 1973, Dr S. M. Ali
Greeks in Bactria and India, Dr W. W. Tarn
Early History of North India, Dr S. Chattopadhyava
Sakas in Ancient India, Dr S. Chattopadhyava
Development of Kharoshthi script, C. C. Dasgupta
Ancient India, 1956, Dr R. K. Mukerjee
India and the World, p 154, Dr Buddha Parkash
These Kamboj People, 1979, K. S. Dardi
Ancient India, Vol III, Dr T. L. Shah
Hellenism in Ancient India, Dr G. N. Banerjee
Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol XLIII, Part I, 1884
Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol XVI, Part III, & IV, 1930
Manu and Yajnavalkya, Dr K. P. Jayswal
Anabaseeos Alexanddrou, Arrian
Geography, by Ptolemy
Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions
Corpus Inscriptionium Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, Dr S Konow

See also

• Cheema
• Kambojas
• Parama Kamboja
• Parama Kamboja Kingdom
• Rishikas
• Asii
• Komedes
• Tusharas
• Language and ethnicity of Kambojas
• Migration of Kambojas
• India and Central Asia
• Sakas
• Indo-Scythians
• Scythians
• Yavanas
• Pahlavas
• Kamuia
• Aiyasi Kamuia
• Arta Kamuia
• Kharaosta Kamuio
• Maues
• Mathura Lion Capital

Category:Iranian peoples Category:Kambojas Category:Scythians Category:Eurasian nomads Category:History of India Category:History of Afghanistan