Kambojas
Categories: Kambojas | Indo-European
| Articles related to Kambojas |
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| Location |
| Language and ethnicity |
| Etymology |
| In Indian Traditions |
| Horsemen |
| Ashvakas |
| Kambojas of Panini |
| Parama Kamboja |
Kambojas are a very ancient people of north-western parts of ancient India, frequently mentioned in ancient texts, although not in the Rig Veda. They are known to belong to the ancient Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family.
The Kambojas still live as Kamboj and Kamboh in the greater Panjab, and as Kams/Kamoz and Katirs/Kamtoz of the Siyaposh tribe in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan. Their numbers have greatly dwindled, and the total population still known by these forms their ancient name is currently estimated to be about 1.5 million.
Ethnicity & Language of Kambojas
- Main article: Ethnicity of Kambojas
Numerous classical sources including the Buddhist Jatakas, Yasaka's Nirukata, Herodotus (I.140), Brahmanical literature, and Avestan texts all indicate that ancient Kamboja was a center of Iranian and Zoroastrian civilization. This is evident from the Mazdean religious customs of the ancient Kambojas tribe, as well as from the Avestan dialect they spoke.
It is now widely accepted among scholars that the Kambojas were an Avestan-speaking group of East Iranians, and were located mainly in north-eastern Afghanistan and parts of Tajikstan. Some scholars also believe that the Zoroastrian religion originated in eastern Iran in the land of the Kambojas.
Noted authorities like Dr. Christian Lassen, Dr. E. Kuhn, Dr S. Levi, Dr. M. Witzel, and numerous others have traced the tribal name Kamboja to the royal name Kambujiya of the Old Persian Inscriptions (known as Cambyses to the Greeks). Kambujiya was the name of several great Persian kings of the Achaemenid line. This name also appears written as C-n-b-n-z-y in Aramaic, Kambuzia in Assyrian, Kambythet in Egyptian, Kam-bu-zi-ia in Akkadian, Kan-bu-zi-ia in Elamite, and Kanpuziya in Susian language.
Cambyses III, son of Cyrus the Great, is famous for his conquest of Egypt (525 BCE), and for the havoc he wrought upon that country.
Original Home of Kambojas
- Main article: Kamboja Location
Along with the Gandharas, Yavanas, Madras, and Sakas, analysis of ancent Sanskrit texts[1] and inscriptions place the Kambojas in Uttarapatha - the northern division of Jambudvipa (the innermost concentric island continent in Hindu scripture). Geographically this area sat along, and was named for, the main trade route from the mouth the Ganges to Balkh, now a small town in Northen Afghanistan. Some writers suggest that Uttarapatha included the whole of Northern India.
Linguistic evidence, combined with this literary and inscriptional evidence, has led many noted scholars to conclude that ancient Kambojas originally belonged to the Galcha-speaking area of Central Asia. For example, Yasaka's Nirukata (II/2) attests that verb shavati in the sense "to go" was used by only the Kambojas. It has been proved that the modern Galcha dialects, Valkhi, Shigali, Sriqoli, Jebaka (also called Sanglichi or Ishkashim), Munjani, Yidga and Yagnobi, mainly spoken in Pamirs and countries on the headwaters of Oxus, still use terms derived from ancient Kamboja shavati in the sense "to go". The Yagnobi dialect spoken in Yagnobe around the headwaters of Zeravshan in Sogdiana, also still contains a relic from ancient Kamboja shavati in the sense "to go". Further, the former language of Badakshan was also a dialect of Galcha, said to have been replaced by Persian only in the last few centuries[2]. Thus, the ancient Kamboja probably included the Pamirs, Badakshan, and possibly parts of Tajikstan, including Yognobi region in the doab of the Oxus. On the east it was bounded roughly by Yarkand and/or Kashgar, on the west by Bahlika (Uttaramadra), on the northwest by Sogdiana, on the north by Uttarakuru, on the southeast by Darada, and on the south by Gandhara.
Later, some sections of the Kambojas crossed the Hindukush and planted Kamboja colonies in Paropamisadae and as far as Rajauri. This view is fully supported by the Mahabharata[3], which specifically draws attention to the Kambojas in the cis-Hindukush region as being neighbors to the Daradas, and the Parama-Kambojas across the Hindukush as being neighbors to the Rishikas (or Tukharas) of Ferghana/Sogdiana.
The two separate Kamboja settlements are also substantiated from Ptolemy's Geography, which references a geographical term Tambyzoi located on the river Oxus in Badakshan, and an Ambautai people living on the southern side of Hindukush in the Paropamisadae. Scholars have identified both the Ptolemian Tambyzoi and Ambautai with Sanskrit Kamboja. The Yidga sub-dialect of Galcha Munjani is still spoken on the southern sides of Hindukush in Paropamisadae, further strengthening the view that some Kambojas crossed south of the Hindukush.
With time, the trans-Hindukush Kambojas remained essentially Iranian in culture and religion, while those in the cis-Hindukush region came under Indian cultural influence. This is probably why the ancient Kambojas are attested as having Indian as well as Iranian affinities.
Still later, some sections of the Kambojas apparently moved even farther, to Arachosia, as attested by the Aramaic version of Greco-Aramaic inscriptions of king Ashoka found in Kandahar. Some scholars have identified the original Kamboja with Arachosia, but this view does not seem to be correct.
Kambojas: A Warrior Clan
In India, the Kambojas seem to have belonged to the Kshatriya caste of Indo-Aryan society.
The earliest and most powerful reference endorsing the Kshatriya-hood of the Kambojas is Panini's fifth century BCE Ashtadhyayi. Panini refers to the Kamboja Janapada, and mentions it as "one of the fifteen powerful Kshatriya Janapadas" of his times, inhabited and ruled by Kamboja Kshatriyas (Ashtadhyayi, 4.1.168-175). See: Kambojas of Panini
The Harivamsa attests that the clans of Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas etc. were "formerly Kshatriyas". It was king Sagara who had deprived the Kambojas, and other allied tribes, of their Kshatiya-hood (Harivamsa 14/19) and forbidden them to perform Svadhyayas and Vasatkaras (Harivamsa, 14/17).
The Harivamsa also calls this group of Sakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Pahlavas and Paradas "Kshatriya-pungava", i.e., foremost among the Kshatriyas.
The Manusmriti further attests that the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas etc were originally "noble Kshatriyas", but were gradually degraded to the status of Sudras, on account of their omission of the sacred rites without consulting the Brahmanas (X/43-44).
The Mahabharata likewise specifically notes that the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, et al. were originally "noble Kshatriyas", who later got degraded to barbaric status due to their neglect of the Brahmanas (MBH 13/33/31-32).
The Arthashastra of Kautiliya (11/1/04) attests Kshatriya Shrenis (Companies of Warriors) of the Kambojas, Surashtras, and some other nations, and notes them as living by agriculture, trade and warfare.
The legend of Daivi Khadga or Divine Sword detailed in Shantiparva of Mahabharata (12/166/1-81) also powerfully endorses the Kshatriya-hood of the Kambojas. The sword as the "symbol of Kshatriya-hood" was wrested by the warrior king Kamboja from the Kosala king Kuvalashava alias Dhundhumara, from whom it went to a Yavana king, Muchukunda (MBH 12/166/77-78).
Bhagavata Purana (2.7.35) references a king of the Kambojas, and calls him a "powerfully armed mighty warrior" (samiti-salina atta-capah Kamboja).
Kalika Purana (20/40) refers to a war between the Buddhist king Kali (Maurya Brihadratha) and the Brahmanical king Kalika (Pusyamitra Sunga), where the Kambojas came as military supporters to Brihadratha, (187-180) BCE. The Purana notes the Kamboja warriors as Kambojai...bhimavikramaih, i.e. the Kambojas of terrific military prowess", again suggesting the Kshatriya-hood of the Kambojas.
There are more such references in the Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and other ancient Sanskrit and Pali literature, that further document the Kshatriya-hood of the Kambojas.
Kambojas: Master Horsemen
- Main article: Kamboja Horsemen
The horses of the Kambojas were famous throughout all periods of ancient history. Ancient literature is overflowing with excellent references to the famed Kamboja horses. The Puranas, the Epics, ancient Sanskrit plays, the Buddhist Jatakas, the Jaina Canon, and numerous other ancient sources, all agree that the horses of the Kambojas were a foremost breed.
In Buddhist texts like Manorathpurani, Kunala Jataka and Samangavilasini, the Kamboja land is spoken of as the "birth place of horses" (Kambojo assánam áyatanam.... Samangalavilasini, I, p. 124).
The Aruppa-Niddesa of Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa mentions Kamboja as the "base of horses" (10/28).
The Jaina Canon Uttaradhyana-Sutra (11/16) tells us that a trained Kamboja horse exceeded all other horses in speed and no noise could ever frighten it.
The Bhishamaparva of Mahabharata (6/90/3-4) lists the best horses from various lands, but places the steeds from Kamboja at the head of the list, and specifically designates them as the leaders among the best horses (Kamboja....mukhyanam).
In the great battle fought on the field of Kurukshetra, the fast and powerful steeds of Kamboja were of greatest service (Dr. B. C. Law).
The Ramayana (1/6/22), Kautiliya's Arthashastra (2/30/32-34), the Brahmanda Purana (II,2.16.16), Somes'ara's Manasollasa (4.4.715-30), Ashva.Chakitsata by Nakula (p. 415), Raghuvamsha (4/70) and Mandakraanta of Kalidasa, Karanabhaar (19) of Bhaasa, Vamsa-Bhaskara, Madhypithika, and numerous other ancient texts and inscriptions make highly laudatory references to Kamboja horses, and state them the finest breed.
Vishnuvardhana, the real founder of Hoysala greatness, who later on became ruler of Mysore, made the earth tremble under the tramp of his powerful Kamboja horses.
These references amply demonstrate that Kamboja horses were sleek, very powerful and a foremost breed. They have been especially noted for their great fleetness and remarkable behavior on the battle field. No doubt, Kamboja steeds were the prized possession of kings and warriors in ancient times.
It was on account of their supreme position in horse (Ashva) culture that the ancient Kambojas were also popularly known as Ashvakas, i.e. horsemen. Their clans in the Kunar andSwat valleys have been referred to as Assakenois and Aspasios in classical writings, and Ashvakayanas and Ashvayanas in Panini's Ashtadhyayi.
The Mahabharata specifically refers to the Kambojas as Ashva-Yudha-Kushalah, i.e., expert cavalrymen (MBH 12/101/5).
Dronaparva highly applauds the Kamboja cavalry as extremely fast and fleet (Kambojah... yayur.ashvair.mahavegaih... MBH 7/7/14).
The Mahabharata, Ramayana, numerous Puranas and some foreign sources amply attest that "Kamboja cavalry-troopers were frequently requisitioned in ancient wars" (see Ashvaka#Kamboja_cavalry_in__ancient_wars).
Therefore, there is no exaggeration in the Mahabharata statement portraying the ancient Kambojas as horse-lords and masters of horsemanship.
Kambojas in Indian Literature
See Kambojas in Indian Traditions
The Kambojas and Alexander the Great
Because the Kambojas were famous for their horses (ashva) and as cavalry-men (ashvaka) they were also popularly called "Ashvakas". The Ashvakas inhabited Eastern Afghanistan, and were included within the more general term Kambojas[4].French scholars like Dr. E. Lamotte also identify the Ashvakas with the Kambojas[5]. According to one line of scholars, the name Afghan is evidently derived from Ashvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian.[6]
The Kambojas entered into conflict with Alexander the Great as he invaded Central Asia: "The Macedonian conqueror made short shrifts of the arrangements of Darius and over-running Achaemenid Empire, dashed into Afghanistan and encountered stiff resistance of the Kamboja tribes called Aspasios and Assakenois known in the Indian texts as Ashvayana and Ashvakayana"[7]. These Ashvayana and Ashvakayana Kamboja clans fought the invader to a man. When worse came to worse, even the Ashvakayan Kamboj women took up arms and joined their fighting husbands, thus preferring "a glorious death to a life of dishonor"[8]. The Ashvakas fielded 30,000 strong cavalry, 30 elephants and 20,000 infantry against Alexander.
The Ashvayans (Kambojas) were also good cattle breeders and agriculturists. This is clear from large number of bullocks, 230,000 according to Arrian, of a size and shape superior to what the Macedonians had known, that Alexander captured from them and decided to send to Macedonia for agriculture [9]
See also List of country name etymologies
The Kambojas and the Mauryan Empire
The Mudrarakshas play of Visakhadutta as well as the Jain work Parisishtaparvan refers to Chandragupta's alliance with the Himalayan king Parvatka. The Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a composite army made up of Yavanas, Kambojas, Sakas, Kiratas, Parasikas and Bahlikas (Bactrians) (Mudrarakshas, II).
With the help of these frontier martial tribes from the northwest, Chandragupta was able to defeat the Greek successors of Alexander the Great, as well as the Nanda rulers of Magadha, and succeeded in founding the Maurya Empire in northern India.
The Kambojas find prominent mention as a unit in the 3rd century BCE Edicts of Ashoka. Rock Edict XIII tells us that the Kambojas had enjoyed autonomy under the Mauryas. The republics mentioned in Rock Edict V are the Yonas, Kambojas, Gandharas, Nabhakas and the Nabhapamkitas. They are designated as araja vishaya in Rock Edict XIII, which means that they were kingless i.e. republican polities. In other words, the Kambojas formed a self-governing political unit under the Maurya Emperors.
King Ashoka sent missionaries to the Kambojas to convert them to Buddhism, and recorded this fact in his Rock Edict V.
Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa attest that Ashoka sent thera Maharakkhita to Yona, and Majjhantika to Kashmra and Gandhara, to preach Dharma among the Yonas, Gandharas and Kambojas.
Sasanavamsa specifically attests that Maharakkhita thera went to Yonaka country and established Buddha's Sasana "in the lands of the Kambojas and other countries" (Sasanavamsa (P.T.S.), p. 49)
Thus, the Zoroastrian as well as the Brahmanised Hindu Kambojas appear to have embraced Buddhism in large numbers, due to the efforts of king Ashoka and his envoys.
See also: Edicts of Ashoka
Kambojas' migration to India and beyond
- Main article: Migration of Kambojas
Modern Kamboj and Kamboh
The population of the modern people who still call themselves Kamboj (or prikritic Kamboh, or Kamoz) or Kambhoj is estimated to be around 1.5 million and the rest of their population, over the time, submerged with other occupationalized castes/groups of the Indian subcontinent.
The Kambojs, by tradition, are divided into 52 and 84 clans. 52 line is stated to be descendants of Cadet branch and 84 from the elder Branch. This is claimed as referring to the young and elder military divisions under which they had fought the Bharata war. Numerous of their clan names overlap with other Kshatriyas and the Rajput castes of the north-west India, thereby suggesting that some of the Rajput clans of north-west must have descended from the Ancient Kambojas[10].
The Kambojs/Kambohs practiced weapon-worship in the past but the practice is now going out of vogue[11].
Diaspora
The Kamboj or Kamboh living in upper India (Greater Panjab) are identified as the modern representatives of the ancient Kambojas. They are found as Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists and the Jains. Kambojs are known as adventurous and enterprising people. Therefore, as a colonists, servicemen, and businessmen, they have also spread, after the partition, into various parts of India, including a belt of Haryana from Karnal to Yamunanagar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Ganganagar in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. A minuscule agrarian community called Kambhoj is stated to be living since olden times in Maharashtra, which may have descended from those Kambojas who had settled in South-West India around Christian era.
The Tajiks, Siyaposh tribe (Kam/Kamoz, Katir/Kamtoz) of Nuristan, Yashkuns and the Yusufzais of Eastern Afghanistan and NWFP of Pakistan are said by various scholars to have descended from the ancient Kambojas.
Traditions
The Kambohs are stated to be the ancient inhabitants of Persia [12]
The Sikh Kamboj of Kapurthala & Jullundur (Punjab) claim descent from Raja Karan. They also have a tradition that their ancestors came from Kashmir.
Hindu Kambohs claim to be related to the Rajputs and to have come from Persia through southern Afghanistan. The Kambohs of Bijnor claim to have come from Trans-Indus country and Mr Purser accepts this as evidently true. The Hindu Kambohs from Karnal claim their origin from Garh-Gajni. Their Pandits still pronounce the following couplet at the phera during their marriage ceremony to give information about their original home: Garh Gajni nikaas, Lachhoti Ghaggar vaas (Trans: Originated from the fort of Gajni, and settled down in Ghaggar region (in Haryana or Punjab)). One Gajni or Ghazni is located in Afghanistan, but based on another tradition of the Karnal Kamboj, the eminent ethnographers like H. A. Rose and several other scholars have identified this Gajni in Kambay in Saurashtra (port of Vallabhi).
Muslim Kambohs have a tradition that they descended from ancient Kai dynasty of Persia, to which the emperors Kaikaus, Kaikhusro, Kaikubad, Kai-lehrashab and Darius all belonged. On the last king of the dynasty having been dethroned, and expelled from the country, he wandered about some time with his family and dependents in the neighboring countries and finally settled in Punjab [13]
During Muslim Rule
Muslim Kambohs/Kambojs were very influential and powerful in the early days of Moghul rule. General Shahbaz Khan Kamboh was the most trusted general of Akbar. Sheikh Gadai Kamboh was the Sadar-i-Jahan in Akbar's reign[14]. Numerous other Kamboj are known to have occupied very key civil and military positions during Lodhi, Pathan and the Moghul reign in India. The Sayyids and the Kambohs among the Indian Muslims were specially favored for high military and civil positions during Moghul rule[15][16][17].
The Kambohs held Nakodar in Jullundur and Sohna in Gurgaon some centuries ago; and the tombs and mosques that they have left in Sohna show that they must have enjoyed considerable position[12][13]
Agriculturists
The modern Kamboj are still found living chiefly by agriculture, business and military service which were the chief professions followed by their Kamboja ancestors some 2500 years ago as powerfully attested by Arthashastra[18] and Brhat Samhita[19]. Numerous foreign and Indian writers have described the modern Kambojs/Kambohs as one of the finest class of agriculturists of India. British colonial writers like Rose and Denzil note the Kamboj and Ahir agriculturists as the first rank husbandmen and they rate them above the Jatts[20]. They occupy exactly the same position in general farming as the Ramgarhias occupy in general industry.
The Kambojs have made great contributions in agriculture and military fields. The majority of Krishi Pandit awards in Rajasthan/India have been won by the Kamboj agriculturists[21] . Col Lal Singh Kamboj, a landlord from Uttar Pradesh, was the first Indian farmer to win the prestigious Padam Shri Award for progressive farming in 1968 from President of India. According to Dr M. S. Randhawa (Ex-Vice Chancellor, Punjab University), the Kamboj farmers have no equals in industry and tenacity[22]
Physical Characteristics
Several foreign observers have described the modern Kambojs as a very industrious, stiff-necked, turbulent, skillful, provident and enterprising race[23]. Some British ethnologists have described the Kambohs as ethnically more akin to the Afghans than to any of the Hindu races among whom they have now settled for generations[24]
| Agar kuht-ul-riajl uftad, azeshan uns kam geeri, |
| Eke Afghan, doum Kamboh, seum badzat Kashmiri. |
| — (Persian proverb) |
There is a medieval Persian proverb current in the north-west to the effect that of the Afghans, the Kambohs (Kamboj) and the Kashmiris... all three are rogues . This old proverb conveys the indisputable fact that in the distant past, the Persians, the Afghans, the Kambojs/Kambohs and the Kasmiris lived more or less as neighbors and were one inter-related racial group.
The Kambojs have been noted for their courage, tenacity and stamina for fighting. They (Kamboj) make excellent soldiers, being of very fine physique and possessing great courage.....They have always been noted for their cunning strategy, which now, being far less 'slim' than in former times, has developed into the permissible strategy of war[25]
The modern Kamboj are a generally tall, well-built, sharp featured, and generally very fair (gaura varna) race, with brown, sometimes reddish hair, brown or sometimes gray eye color, and long sharp noses. Kamboj women are noted for their beauty from ancient times[26][27]. In ancient references also, the Kambojas have been described as a very handsome race[28]. Ancient Kamboj princes have also been noted as tall[29], exceedingly handsome[30], of gaura varna, with faces illustrious like the full moon[29], lotus eyed[29], handsome like the lord-moon among the stars[31]. Even Ramayana calls the Kambojas ravisanibha i.e with faces illustrious like the Sun[32].
Kamboj in Sports
- The Kamboj have made outstanding contributions in wrestling, hockey and Kabaddi.
- Jodh Singh, Natha Singh, Hazara Singh, Santa Kharasia, Bakshisha, Chhiba, Khushal, Chanan and Maula Bakhsh are the few foremost Punjabi Kamboj wrestlers of yester-years who had earned great name and fame in wrestling.
- Olympian Prithipal was probably the greatest hockey full-back of the 20th century. Known as King of short-corner and the Mahabahu of Indian hockey, Prithipal was the first Indian to win the Arjuna Award, and later Padma Shri Award for his achievements in hockey.
- Rasool Akhtar, President of Pakistan Hockey Federation, is one of the greatest hockey Olympians from Pakistan.
- A fifteen year old Chandita is the most brilliant emerging roller hockey player of India.
- Rattan Singh alias Rattu has been the greatest defender in freestyle Kabaddi.
See also
Notes
- ^ The Epics, the Puranas, and other Sanskrit literature specifically state that the Kambojas are a tribe located in Uttarapatha or Udichya, i.e., "northern division."
- ^ Linguistic Survey of India, X, p. 456
- ^ Mahabharata 2/27/23-25
- ^ Dr. K. P. Jayswal; Dr. Raychaudhury, Dr. B. N. Mukherjee; Dr. Singh, Dr. L.M. Joshi, etc
- ^ Histoire du Bouddhisme Indien, p 110, E. Lamotte
- ^ C. Lassen, J. W. McCrindle, Saan Martin, Phillip Smith, etc.
- ^ Panjab Past and Present, pp. 9-10; History of Porus, pp. 12, 38, Dr. Buddha Parkash
- ^ Diodorus in McCrindle, p 270
- ^ History of Panjab, I, p 226
- ^ cf: Glossary, II, p 444, fn. iii.
- ^ Jatt Tribes of Zira, p 138; Glossary , II, p 444
- ^ a Denzil Ibbetson, H. A. Rose, S. S. Gill, Chaudhri Wahhab Ud-Din.
- ^ a H. A. Rose, A. H. Bingley, H. M. Elliot, Dr G. S. Mansukhani, R. C. Dogra, etc.
- ^ Akbar Nama by Abu-L-Fazl, Trans H. Blochman, p 122
- ^ The composition of the Mughal nobility, Concise Encyclopedia Britannica, Online;
- ^ The Mughal Nobility Under Aurangzeb, 2002, p 21, M. Athar Ali;
- ^ Cultural History of India, 1975, p 261, A. L. Basham.
- ^ Arthashastra(11/1/04)
- ^ Brhat Samhita(5/35)
- ^ Panjab Castes, 1974, p 149, D. Ibbetson; Glossary, II, pp 6, 442, H. A. Rose.
- ^ Origin of names of Castes and Clans, 2004,Principal Sewa Singh.
- ^ Out of Ashes,p 60,Dr M. S. Randhawa.
- ^ Bingley, Rose
- ^ The Sikhs, A. H. Bingley, p 57.
- ^ The Sikhs and the Wars by Reginald Holder From Panjab: Past & Present Vol IV, Part I, 1970, S. No 7, Edited by Dr Ganda Singh
- ^ Hindu World, p 520, Benjamin Walker;
- ^ Mahabharat 11/25/1-8
- ^ Mahabharat 7/23/43
- ^ a b Mahabharat 8/56/113
- ^ Mahabharat, 7/92/74, 8/56/113
- ^ Mahabharat 1/67/31
- ^ Ramayana 1/55/2