Asii

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Asii, also written Asio, Osii, Asiani, etc., is the name of a people, believed to be followers of Scythian culture, a section of whom had moved out from Alai valley during the second century BCE under pressure from Ta Yuezhi, and in association with Pasiani and Sacarauloi (Sacae) tribes, they had wrested Sogdiana and western parts of Bactria from the Greeks. The Asii are stated to have been Central Asian people who were celebrated horse-men and were also an expert cavalrymen. Later, a section of this people are believed to have entered the Indian mainland in alliance with the Sakas, Pahlavas, etc. and setup their respective kingdoms in south-western India in Gujarat/Saurashtra and Malava.

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[edit] Strabo’s evidence

According to Geographika of Greek historian, geographer and philosopher Strabo (63 BCE/64 BCE - c. 24 CE), Greek Bactriana was taken over by nomads like Asii/Asio, Pasianoi, Tokhario and Sakarauloi who had originally come from country from other side of Jaxartes (Central Asia) [1]. See link: [6];

[edit] Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus' evidence

The prologus XLI of Historiae Philippcae of Pompeius Trogus (Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus), 1st century BCE Roman historian, [2] also refers to the Scythian invasion of the Greek kingdom of Bactria and Sogdiana---the invaders are described as Saraucae and Asiani [3]. The Saraucae are regarded as Sacarauli and Asiani as Asii or Asio of Strabo [4].

[edit] Megasthenes's & Pliny’s evidence

Based on evidence from Indika of Megasthenes (c. 350-290 BCE), Pliny (Gaius Plinius Secundus) (23-79 CE) also refers to clans like Aseni, Osii (=Asii) and Asoi in his Historia Naturalis [5] but he locates them all in southern side of the Hindukush. Bucephala was the capital of Aseni which stood on Hydaspes (Jhelum) [6]. Alexander had named this city after his horse Becephalus when it had died sometime in June of 326 BC after being fatally wounded at the Battle of Hydaspes with king Porus (Paurava) of Punjab. Similarly he refers to Osii and Asio as two other clans among the numerous tribes of upper Indus [7][7]. The clan names Osii, Asio and Aseni obviously equate to Asii referred to by Strabo and Asiani as referred to in Historiae Philippcae by Pompeius Trogus. The Aseni, Osii, Asoi living in upper Indus valley in north-west India were none else than the Ashvayana and Ashvakayana Kambojas of the Indian texts.

[edit] Beyond Geographical ken of Classical writers

Strabo's statement that the Asii/Asio, Pasianoi, Tokhario and Sakarauloi originally came from country from other side of Jaxartes does not seem a perfect statement so far as the Asii/Asio people are concerned. Scholars like I. P’iankov have rightly observed that the territory through which the displaced nomads had passed was beyond the geographical ken of the Greek writers [8]. Thus, one can understandably see discrepancies in the geographical situations of the Asii/Asio of Strabo and Osii/Asoi/Aseni of Pliny etc. The only clear point in Strabo's statement is that the Sakas of the trans-Jaxartes region also were of the Haumavarga Saka class i.e Amyrgians of the classical writings. The important point to see here is that one should not treat each and every statement of the classical writers as if it were a gospel truth or as if it were a mathematical equation.

[edit] Asii/Asio tribe followed horse culture

Scholars believe that the term Asii/Asio is equivalent to Aswa/Asva and refers to horse as well as people connected with horse-culture [8] [9] [10] [11]. Other related names for horse-clans are Assacene, Assaceni, Assacani, Hispasii, Aspasii clans (i.e. Kambojas) of Paropamisadae. It appears that the Asii of Strabo’s Geographika, or the Asiani of Historiae Philippcae of Pompeius Trogus refers to Kambojas of Parama-Kamboja domain which was the ancientmost habitat of the Kamboja clan. The Mahabharata refers to the Lohas, Parama Kambojas and Rishikas etc as an affiliated tribes [12] ( See link: [9] ) and places them in transoxian region in Shakadvipa of the Hindu texts [13] which is the Scythia of the Classical writers. These Indian names have been mentioned differently by the Greek as well as in the Chinese records. Komdei or Komedes of Ptolemy and of Ammianus Marcellinus apparently translates into the region which has been called Parama Kamboja in Mahabharata [14]. It is notable that the Indian traditions locate the Lohas, Parama Kambojas and the Rishikas exactly in the same geographical region wherein the Greek writers place the Haumavarga Sacae as well as the Komedes, Homodotes (Asii) etc and the Chinese records place the Sai, Xiuxun etc.

Since the Kambojas had always been celebrated for their horses as well as a cavalrymen, they had alternatively been known also as Asvakas, Aśvayanas, or Aśvakayanas in Indian texts. The Asii/Osii, Asoi/Asio, Asiani or Aseni [15] appear to be other classical equivalents for the above Sanskrit nicknames by which the Parama Kambojas were also known in general parlance.

[edit] Asii/Asioi/Asiani were Parama Kambojas of Alai valley

Main article: Invasion of India by Scythian Tribes
Approximate extent of Scythia and Sarmatia in the 1st century BCE.
Approximate extent of Scythia and Sarmatia in the 1st century BCE.

After being displaced from Issyk-kul lake and in their movements to Bactria via Sogdiana and Fargana under pressure from Ta Yue-chis, the Issyk-kul Sakas (Sakaraulois) had been joined on the way by sections of other Scythian tribes from the intervening regions during their southerly or south-westerly movements to Bactria. In all probability, this included the transoxiana tribes like the Parama Kambojas, Lohas, Rishikas and others. The Sacarauloi appear to be Saca proper from Fargana and beyond. The Parama Kambojas appear to be Asii or Aswa (horse-people) from Alai valley and similarly, the Pasianois were another Scythian tribe from Transoxiana region [16]. Pasianoi are identified by some scholars with Parsas and by others with Parama Rishikas of the Mahabharata [17] and are said to be allied tribes of the Parama Kambojas [18].

The Rishikas are said to be same people as the Yuezhi.[19] The Kushanas or Kanishkas are also the same people.[20] Aurel Stein says that the Tukharas (Tokharois/Tokarais) were a branch of the Yuezhi.[21] P. C. Bagchi holds that the Yuezhi, Tocharioi and Tushara were identical.[22] Thus, the Rishikas, Tusharas/Tukharas (Tokharoi/Tokaroi), Kushanas and the Yuezhi were probably either a single people, or members of a confederacy. George Rawlinson observes that: "The Asii or Asiani were closely connected with the Tochari and the Sakarauli (Saracucse?) who are found connected with both the Tochari and the Asiani".[23]

If the Rishikas were Tukharas, then the observation from Rawlinson is in line with the Mahabharata[24] statement which closely allies the Parama Kambojas (=Asii/Asio) with the Rishikas [10] and locates them both in the Sakadvipa.

Also, based on the syntactical construction of the Mahabharata verse 5.5.15 [25] and verse 2.27.25 [26], the outstanding Sanskrit scholar Ishwa Mishra believes that the Rishikas were a section of the Kambojas i.e. Parama Kambojas. Dr V. S. Aggarwala also relates the Parama Kambojas of the Trans-Pamirs to the Rishikas of Mahabharata [27] and locates them in Sakadvipa (or Scythia) [28]. According to B. N. Puri, the Kambojas were a branch of the Tukharas.[29]. Based on the above Rishika-Kamboja connections, some scholars also claim that the Kambojas were a branch of the Yuezhi themselves[30] [31].

There are other references which also equate Kamboja = Tokhara. A Buddhist Sanskrit Vinaya text [32] has the expression satam Kambojikanam kanyanam i.e. 'a hundred maidens from Kamboja'. This has been rendered in the Tibetan as Tho-gar yul-gyi bu-mo brgya and in Mongol as Togar ulus-un yagun ükin. Thus Kamboja has been rendered as Tho-gar or Togar. And name Tho-gar/Togar is Tibetan or Mongolian form of Tokhar/Tukhar [33].

Scholars tend to link the Rishikas or Tukharas with the Kushanas and the latter with the Ta Yue-chis themselves [34]. If one accepts this connection, then the Tukharas or Tusharas ( => Rishikas => Kushanas = > Yue-chis) had controlled the eastern parts of Bactria country (Ta-hia) while the combined forces of the displaced Sakarauloi, 'Asio' (horse people = Parama Kambojas) and the 'Pasinoi' of Strabo etc had occupied its western parts after being dislocated from their original home in Fargana/Alai valley by the Ta-Yuechis. The Ta-hia (Daxia in Pinyin) of the Chinese records is taken to mean Tukhara/Tokhara which also is believed to have included Badakshan, Chitral, Kafirstan and Wakhan which districts had formed eastern parts of Bactria [35] [36] [37] According to other scholars, it were the Scythian hordes alone (Asii/Asio, Pasianoi, and Sakarauloi) who had put an end to the Greek kingdom of Bactria [38] [39] [40].

H. W. Bailey lists several classes of the Kamboja horses and states that their haya- and javana- breed ( 'swift horse') implies the famous horses of the Farghana breed [41], thus indicating Fargana connections with Kamboja. Praja Bhata, a Kashmiri Sanskrit poet and author of the fourth Rajatarangini, while writing about history of Moghul dynasty in India, addresses emperor Babur as a Yavana king hailing from Kambhoja [42]. Since Vabur (Babur) was native of Fargana (in Kyrgyzstan of Central Asia), this Indian reference seems to extend the Kamboja boundaries i.e the Parama Kamboja domain almost as far as to Fargana. Obviously, the Alai valley, north of Pamirs, had formed important part of Parama Kamboja.

Thus, the foregoing sufficiently proves that the territory of the Parama Kambojas lied in a region beyond Mt Hemodos or Imaos or Himalaya/Hindukush, which region the ancient Sanskrit texts like Mahabharata labels as Shakadvipa and the classical writers like Strabo and Diodorus define it as part of Scythia.

These mixed hordes of Sacarauloi (Sakas), Asii/Asio (Parama Kambojas), Pasianoi etc from Scythia ---i.e. the Scythian invaders of western Bactria, were soon over-powered by Parthian rulers and became their subjects and settled in Drangiana in Helmond valley. This settlement became known as Sakasthana (modern Seistan) after the appellation of the dominant clan i.e Sakas. Later these mixed hordes entered south-western Indian sub-continent via Bolan Pass and spread into Sindhu, Sovira, Gujarat, Rajputana, Malwa, Maharashtra, Punjab, UP and eastern, central and southern India as well.

[edit] Sai-Wang Scythian hordes in Chipin or Kipin (Kamboj)

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 Chipin or Kipin after crossing the Hasuna-tu (Hanging Pass) located above the valley of Kanda in Swat country [43]. Chipin has been identified by Dr Pelliot, Dr Bagchi, Dr Raychaudhury and some others with Kashmir [44] while other scholars identify it with Kapisha (Kafirstan) (=in Kamboja) [45] [46]. The Sai-Wang had established his kingdom in Kipin. Dr S. Konow interprets the Sai-Wang as Saka Murunda of Indian literature, Murunda being equal to Wang i.e king, master or lord [47], but prof Bagchi who takes the word Wang in the sense of the king of the Scythians but he distinguishes the Sai Scythians from the Murunda Scythians [48]. There are reasons to believe that Sai Scythians were also a section of Parama Kambojas or Asii/Asio/Asoi Scythians and, king Sai-Wang propbably belonged to the Scythianised Kambojas (i.e. Parama-Kambojas) of the Transoxiana region who had come to settle among his own stock after being evicted from his ancestral Asii country (=Parama Kamboja) located in Scythia or Shakadvipa. Dr B. N. Mukerjee also writes that king Moga or Maues could have belonged to this group of Sai Scythians who had migrated from the Sai (Central Asia) to Chipin [49]. Chinese term Sai could easily be related to the Greek Asii/Asio/Asoi, linguistically. Moreover, 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 [50]. Thus, Sai-Wang and his migrant hordes which came to settle in Kabol valley in Kapisha may indeed have been a section from the transoxian Parama Kambojas living in Shakadvipa or Scythian land whom we have equated to Asii/Asio of classical writings [51]. The Kambojas are said by scholars to be a royal clan of the Scythians [52].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Writes Strabo: "But the best known of the nomads are those who took away Bactriana from the Greeks, I mean the Asii, Pasiani, Tochari, and Sacarauloi, who originally came from the country on the other side of the Iaxartes River that adjoins that of the Sacae and the Sogdiana and was occupied by the Sacae. And as for the Däae, some of them are called Aparni, some Xanthii, and some Pissuri. Now of these the Aparni are situated closest to Hyrcania and the part of the sea that borders on it, but the remainder extend even as far as the country that stretches parallel to Aria "(Strabo – Geographika, 11.8.1); History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Unity, p 11, (Editors) Dr R. C. Majumdar, Dr A. D. Pusalkar; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, pp 692,717, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee.
  2. ^ Lost history of Pompeius Trogus år 1 e. Kr
  3. ^ History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Unity, p. 111, (editors) Dr. R. C. Majumdar, Dr A. D. Pusalkar; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 692, Dr. H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee
  4. ^ History and Culture of Indian People, Age of Imperial Unity, p. 111 (editors) Dr. R. C. Majumdar, Dr. A. D. Pusalkar; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p. 692, Dr. H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr. B. N. Mukerjee.
  5. ^ Pliny: Historia Naturalis, VI.21.8-23.11, List of Indian races
  6. ^ See: Alexander the Great, Sources and Studies, p. 236, Dr W. W. Tarn; Political History of Indian People, 1996, p. 232, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee
  7. ^ "Then next to these towards the Indus come, in an order which is easy to follow, the Amatae, Bolingae, Gallitalutae, Dimuri, Megari, Ordabae, Mese; after these the Uri and Sileni. Immediately beyond come deserts extending for 250 miles. These being passed, we come to the Organagae, Abaortae, Sibarae, Suertae, and after these to deserts as extensive as the former. Then come the Sarophages, Sorgae, Baraomatae, and the Umbrittae, who consist of twelve tribes, each possessing two cities, and the Aseni, who possess three cities. Their capital is Bucephala, built where Alexander's famous horse of that name was buried. Hillmen follow next, inhabiting the base of Caucasus (Hindukush), the Soleadae, and the Sondrae; and if we cross to the other side of the Indus and follow its course downward we meet the Samarabriae, Sambruceni, Bisambritae, Osii, Antixeni, and the Taxillae with a famous city. Then succeeds a level tract of country known by the general name of Amanda, whereof the tribes are four in number the Peucolaitae, Arsagalitae, Geretae, Asoi. Many writers, however, do not give the river Indus as the western boundary of India, but include within it four satrapies,--the Gedrosi, Arachotae, Arii, Paropamisadae, making the river Cophes its furthest limit; though others prefer to consider all these as belonging to the Arii." (Megasthenes: Indika FRAGM. LVI. Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. 21. 8-23. 11. List of the Indian Races)
  8. ^ "In Aswa, we have ancient race peopled on both sides of Indus and probable etymon of Asia. The Assaceni, the Ari-aspii, the Aspasians and (the Asii) whom Strabo describes as Scythic race have same origin. Hence Asi-gurh (Hasi/Hansi) and Asii-gard, the first settlements of Scythic Asii in Scandinavia" (see: Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Reprint (2002), Vol I, p. 64. Also see: pp. 51-54, 87, 95; Vol-2, P 2, James Tod; The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial ..., 1885, p 196, Edward Balfour - India.
  9. ^ Cf also with the following refs: India in Greece: Or, Truth in Mythology: Containing the Sources of the ... , 1852, p. 49, Edward Pococke - Mythology, Greek; Literary History of Ancient India in Relation to Its Racial and Linguistic ..., 1954, p 148, Chandra Chakraberty - Vedas; The Poetics of Myth, 2000, p. 420, Eleazar M. Meletinsky - Social Science; Padmāvata: An Etymological Study, 1974, p 268, Ramesh Mathur - Awadhi dialect; The Gentleman's Magazine, 1852, 338, Printed by F. Jefferies etc.; See also: The Theosophist: Monthly Journal Devoted to Oriental Philosophy, Art ..., 2004, p. 130, H. P. Blavatsky, India Theosophical Society (Madras).
  10. ^ For Asii = Assi = Asvaka - a tribe connected with Asvas or horses, See also : The Racial History of India - 1944, pp. 815, 122, Chandra Chakraberty.
  11. ^ For Aspasii, Hipasii, see: Olaf Caroe, The Pathans, 1958, pp. 37, 55-56, .
  12. ^
    Lohan. Parama. Kambojan.Rishikan.uttaranapi ||II.27.25||
  13. ^ India as Known to Panini, p 70, Dr V. S. Aggarwala; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, S. Kirpal Singh; See also Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p. 157, Dr J. L. Kamboja.
  14. ^ See: The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, pp. 59, 91-92, 159, S. Kipral Singh; See also: India and Central Asia, 1955, p. 25, Dr P. C. Bagchi; Central Asiatic Provinces of Mauryan Empire, p. 403, Dr H. C. Seth; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp. 48-49, 155, 300, Dr J. L. Kamboj; cf: Studies in Indian History and Civilization, Agra, p 351; India and the World, 1961, p 71, Dr Buddha Prakash; These Kamboj People, 1979, p. 355, K. S. Dardi; Sidhant Kaumudi Arthaprakashika, 1966, pp 20-22, Acharya R. R. Pande etc etc.
  15. ^ Other classical names for the same clans are Assacene, Assaceni, Assacani, Hippasii, Aspasii etc.
  16. ^ For Isa = Isap = Asapa = Asi = Aswa connection with Kamboj/Kamboh and their derived clans in Afghanistan, see also: An Inquiry Into the Ethnography of Afghanistan, 1891, p. 80, Henry Walter Bellew - Ethnology.
  17. ^ Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahābhārata: Upāyana Parva, 1945, p. 19, Dr Moti Chandra - India.
  18. ^ Mahabharata II.26.25 of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa: Translated Into English Prose, 1962, p 66, Pratap Chandra Roy; The Mahabharata, Book 2: Sabha Parva, section XXVI, p 58, Kisari Mohan Ganguli, trans. [1883-1896]; cf: Asoka and His Inscriptions, 1968, p. 95, Beni Madhab Barua, Ishwar Nath Topa; Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahābhārata: Upāyana Parva, 1945, p 13, Moti Chandra - India. According to Dr Moti Chandra, Sanskrit Rishika has its Prakritic Arsika. Arsika ==> Arsi ==> Asi/Asii. Similarly, Parama-Rishikas, could easily have become Pasianoi of classical writings i.e. Parama Rishika ==> Parama + Arsika ==> Pa + Asii = Pasii = Pasiaoi or Pasianoi in Greek writings.
  19. ^ India as Known to Panini, p. 64, V. S. Aggarwala.
  20. ^ Bhartya Itihaas ki Ruprekha, 1941, J. C. Vidyalnkara
  21. ^ Rajatarangini of Kalhana, I, p 6, Trans. by M. A. Stein.
  22. ^ India and Central Asia, 1955, p 24.
  23. ^ See: The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia, by George Rawlinson). [1]
  24. ^ Mahabharata 2.27.25-26.
  25. ^
    Shakanam Pahlavana.n cha Daradanam cha ye nripah |
    Kamboja Rishika ye cha pashchim.anupakash cha ye ||5.5.15||
    Trans: The kings of the Shakas, Pahlavas and the Daradas, and the Kamboja-Rishikas live in the west in the Anupa region.
  26. ^ LohanParamaKambojanRishikanuttaran api ||v 2.27.25||
  27. ^ The Deeds of Harsha: Being a Cultural Study of Bāṇa's Harshacharita, 1969, p 199, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala.
  28. ^ India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī, 1953, p. 64, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala - India.
  29. ^ Buddhism in Central Asia, p. 90.
  30. ^ Journal of Tamil Studies, 1969, pp 86, 87, International Institute of Tamil Studies - Tamil philology.
  31. ^ According to A. Cunningham, "Kaofu was the appellation of one of the five tribes of the Yuechis or Tochari who are said to have given their names to the town which they occupied towards the end of second century BCE" (The Ancient Geography of India, p 15, A. Cunningham). Dr J. L. Kamboj inferes from this statement that the fifth clan mentioned among the Tochari/Yuechis may rather have been a clan of the Kambojas (Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 43, Dr J. L. Kamboj). Sanskrit equivalent of Kaofu is Kabol and name Kabol is anciently connected with the Kambojas rather than the Kushanas or the Tukharas. Thus, if the Kaofu tribe (Kaofu) had indeed moved along with the 'four Yue-chi tribes (i.e Hshiumi, Shuangmi, Hsitun & Tumi) from across the Hindukush to Kabol valley', then the higher probability is that this Kaofu clan was a Kamboja clan from the Parama Kamboja domain which may have joined or followed the Yue-chis to southern side of the Hindukush in later part of second century BCE .
  32. ^ N. Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, III, 3, 136, quoted in B.S.O.A.S. XIII, 404
  33. ^ See refs: Irano-Indica III, H. W. Bailey, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1950, pp. 389-409; see also: Ancient Kamboja, Iran and Islam, 1971, p 66, H. W. Bailey.
  34. ^ But, James Tod considers the Asii (Horse-race) as separate from the Tuchari or Tukhara and equates identifies them variously with Takshac, Tak, Tusta, Tak-i-uk, Tanuk, Tajuk, Tahia etc (Annals and Antiquities, 2002, Vol I, pp 45, 52, 55, 76, 86, 88 etc ).
  35. ^ Political History of Ancient India, 1996, Commentary, p 719, Dr B. N. Mukerjee.
  36. ^ It is also notable that before its occupation by the Tukhara Yue-chis, Badakshan had formed a part of ancient Kamboja i.e. it was a part of Parama Kamboja country. But after its occupation by the Tukharas during second century BCE, it became a part of Tukharistan. Around 4th - 5th century AD, when the fortunes of the Tukharas finally died down, the original population of Kambojas re-asserted themselves and the region again started to be called by its former name i.e. Kamboja (See: Bhartya Itihaas ki Ruprekha, p 534, Dr J. C. Vidyalankar; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp. 129, 300 Dr J. L. Kamboj; Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 159, S Kirpal Singh). There are several later-time references to these Kambojas of Pamirs/Badakshan. Raghuvamsha, a 5th c Sanskrit play by Kalidasa, attests their presence on river Vamkshu (Oxus) as a neighbors to the Hunas (Raghu: 4.68-70). They have also been attested as Kiumito by 7th c Chinese pilgrim Xianzang. Eighth century king of Kashmir, king Lalitadiya had invaded the Oxian Kambojas as is attested by Rajatarangini of Kalhana (See: Rajatarangini 4.163-65). Here, they are mentioned as living in the eastern parts of the Oxus valley as neighbors to the Tukharas who were living in western parts of Oxus valley (See: The Land of the Kambojas, Purana, Vol V, No, July 1962, p 250, Dr D. C. Sircar). These Kambojas apparently were the descendents of that section of the Kambojas who, instead of leaving their ancestral land during second c BCE under pressure from Ta Yue-chi, had rather compromised with the invaders and had decided to stay put in their ancestral land instead of moving to Helmond valley or to the Kabol valley.
  37. ^ There is yet another evidence which equates the Kamboja = Tokhara. A Buddhist Sanskrit Vinaya text (Gilgit Manuscripts, III, 3, 136, Dr N. Dutt, quoted in B.S.O.A.S XIII, 404) has the expression Satam Kambojikanam kanayanam i.e a hunderd maidens from Kamboja. This has been rendered by Tibetan as Tho-gar yul-gyi bu-mo brgya and in Mongol as To-gar ulus-un yagun ükin. Thus, the proper name Kamboja has been rendered as Tho-gar or To-gar. And Tho-gar/To-gar are Tibetan/Mongolian names for Tokhar/Tukhar. See refs: Irano-Indica III, H. W. Bailey Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1950 , pp. 389-409; see also: Ancient Kamboja, Iran and Islam, 1971, p 66, Dr H. W. Bailey.
  38. ^ Cambridge History of India, Vol I, p. 510; Taxila, Vol I, p 24, Marshal, Early History of North India, p 50, Dr S. Chattopadhyava.
  39. ^ The Tocharios/Tukharas are assumed by some scholars to be Rishikas. Others believe that the Rishikas were a clan of the Ta Yue-chis. Dr J. C. Vidyalankar assumes that Kushanas were Rishikas. If all this is true, then the Tukharas = Rishikas = Kushanas = Ta-Yuechis. Interestingly, Mahabharata attests that the Rishikas were closely allied or affiliated to the Parama-Kambojas. Lohan Parama Kambojan Rishikan uttaran api:MBH 2.27.25
  40. ^ George Rawilson observes that: "The Asii or Asiani were closely connected with the Tochari and the Sakarauli (Saracucse?) who are found connected with both the Tochari and the Asiani" (See: The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia, by George Rawlinson). [2]). If the Rishikas were Tukharas, then the observation from Rawilson is in line with the Mahabharata (2.27.25-26) statement which also closely allies the Parama Kambojas (=Asii/Asio) with the Rishikas [3] and locates them both in the Sakadvipa.
  41. ^ Ancient Kamboja, in Iran and Islam, 1971, p 65, H. W. Bailey
  42. ^
    Kaambhoja.yavaneshen Vabhore.n vipatitah |
    tadaiva hastinapuryamebhrahemo nripeshavra || 223 ||
    (Raghu Nath Sinha, Shukarjatrangini tatha Rajatarangini Sangraha: p 110).
  43. ^ Serindia, Vol I, 1980 Edition, p. 8, M. A. Stein
  44. ^ Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 693, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee; Early History of North India, p. 3, Dr S. Chattopadhyava; India and Central Asia, p 126, Dr P. C. Bagchi.
  45. ^ Epigraphia Indica XIV, p 291 Dr S Konow; Greeks in Bactria and India, p 473, fn, Dr W. W. Taran; Yuan Chwang I, p 259-60, Watters; Comprehensive History of India, Vol I, p 189, Dr N. K. Sastri; History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Unity, 122; History and Culture of Indian People, Classical Age, p 617, (ed) Dr R. C. Majumdar, Dr A. D. Pusalkar.
  46. ^ Scholars like Dr E. J. Rapson, Dr L. Petech etc also connect Kipin with Kapisha. Dr Levi holds that prior to 600 AD, Kipin denoted Kashmir, but after this it implied Kapisha. See Discussion in The Classical Age, p 671.
  47. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, II. 1. XX f; cf: Early History of North India, pp 54, Dr S Chattopadhyaya.
  48. ^ India and Central Asia, 1955, p. 124, Dr P. C. Bagch; Geographical Data in Early Puranas, 1972, p 47, Dr M. R. Singh.
  49. ^ See: Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p fn 13, Dr B. N. Mukerjee; See also: Chilas, Islamabad, 1983, nos. 72, 78, 85, pp 98, 102, A. H. Dani
  50. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part 1, p xxxvi, see also p 36; Bihar and Orisaa Research Society, Vol XVI, 1930, part III and IV, p 229 etc.
  51. ^ Dr Buddha Prakash has identified some of the modern castes of the Punjab with ancient tribes which came from Central Asia and settled in India. Dr Prakash has correctly related the modern Kamboj/Kamboh to the Iranian Kambojas who belonged to the domain of Kumuda-dvipa of the Puranas or the Komdei of Ptolemy’s Geography (Political and Social Movements in Ancient Punjab, Dr. Buddha Prakash; See: Studies in Indian History and Civilization, Agra, p 351; India and the World, 1964, p. 71, Dr Buddha Prakash; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, pp. 92, 59/159, S. Kirpal Singh). This was the habitat of the Parama Kambojas referred to in Mahabharata (MBH 2.27.25) and were located in Transoxiana territory in Shakadvipa (Ibid, S Kirpal Singh). Dr Buddha Prakash further states that the people of Soi clan of Punjab are descended from the Sai-Wang (Saka). It is not mere coincidence that modern Kamboj of Punjab have prominent clan names like Soi, Asoi and Sahi/Shahi: See link for Kamboj clan names: [4]. Therefore, the Kamboj clan name Soi can be linked to Sai-Wang as Dr Buddh Prakash has shown. Similarly, Asoi clan of the modern Kamboj can similarly be related to or connected with Asii or Asio of Strabo (See: Strabo XI.8,2.) which clan name undoubtedly represents people connected with horse-culture, which the ancient Kambojas pre-eminently were. The above evidence thus again points to a connection of the Sai/Sai-wang mentioned in Chinese chronicles and the Asii/Asio clan mentioned in Strabo’s accounts with the Scythian Kambojas i.e Parama Kambojas.
  52. ^ Ref: La vieille route de l'Inde de Bactres à Taxila, p 271, Dr A Foucher; See entry Kamboja in online "Heritage du Sanskrit Dictionnaire, sanskrit-francais", 2008, p. 101, Gerard Huet, which defines Kamboja as: clan royal [kṣatriya] Kamboja des Śakās. See link: [5]; See also Serge Thion: On Some Cambodian Words, Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter (NEWSLETTER is edited by Scott Bamber and published in the Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific Studies; printed at Central Printery; the masthead is by Susan Wigham of Graphic Design (all of The Australian National University); Cf: Indian Culture, 1934, p 193, Indian Research Institute - India; cf: Notes on Indo-Scythian chronology, Journal of Indian History, xii, 21; Corpus Inscrioptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, pp xxxvi, 36, Dr. S. Konow; Cf: History of Indian Administration, p 94, Dr B. N. Puri.

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