Kharahostes

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Coin of Kharahostes (c. 10 BCE?). Obv: King on horseback, with levelled spear. Greek legend XAPAHWCTEI CATPAΠEI ARTAYOY ("Satrap Kharahostes, son of Arta"). Kharoahthi mint mark sam Rev: Lion. Kharoshthi legend Chatrapasa pra Kharaustasa Artasa putrasa ("Satrap Kharahostes, son of Arta").
Coin of Kharahostes (c. 10 BCE?).
Obv: King on horseback, with levelled spear. Greek legend XAPAHWCTEI CATPAΠEI ARTAYOY ("Satrap Kharahostes, son of Arta"). Kharoahthi mint mark sam
Rev: Lion. Kharoshthi legend Chatrapasa pra Kharaustasa Artasa putrasa ("Satrap Kharahostes, son of Arta").

Kharahostes or Kharaostasa was an Indo-Scythian ruler (probably a satrap) in the northern Indian subcontinent around 10 BCE- 10 CE. He is known from his coins, often in the name of Azes II, and from an inscription on the Mathura lion capital.

According to view proposed by F. W. Thomas, Kharahostes, the heir apparent, was son of Nadadi (or Nadasi) Akasa [1], the chief queen of Mahakshatrapa Rajuvula, who in turn, was the daughter of Kamusa or Kamuia [2]. Dr Rapson, Dr Luders, Dr Leeuw agree with Dr Thomas.

According to Dr Fleet, Yuvaraja Kharaosta was son of Nada Diaka and a grandson of Mahaksatrapa Rajuvula. Dr Fleet therefore thinks that Nada Diaka was daughter of Rajuvula by his chief queen, Aiyasi Kamuia (Dr Fleet 1907a: 1024-25)[3].

But according to Dr Sten Konow, Sir Johm Marshall, Pandit Bhagwan Lal Indraji, Dr R. K. Mookerji etc, the chief queen of Mahaksahtrapa Rajuvula was Aiyasi Kamuia (q.v.) [4] and not Nadasi Akasa (or Nada Diaka)[5]. Dr Sten Konow, Sir John Marshall, Dr Richard Salomon, Dr R. K. Mookerji, Dr A. H. Dani, Dr B. N. Puri etc think that Aiyasi Kamuia was the daughter of Yuvaraja Kharaosta (or Kharahostes), himself a Kamuio (q.v.) [6].

Kharohostes' coinage bear a dynastic mark (a circle within three pellets), which is rather similar, although not identical, with the dynastic mark of the Kushan ruler Kujula Kadphises (three pellets joined together), which has led to suggestions that they may have been contemporary rulers.

Contents

[edit] Kharahostes of the Coins is same as Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio

It is now almost unanimously agreed among the scholars that Kharaosta of the Lion Capital inscriptions is the same Strap Kharaostas (in Kharoshthi legend) or Kharahostes (in Greek Legend) whose coins have been investigated by Dr Rapson and Dr Lüders [7]. Dr Bühler, who initially doubted the identity of two persons (1894a: 532), later changed his views and accepted/suggested the identification of Kharaostes of the coinage with the Yuvaraja Kharaosta of the Mathura Lion Capital [8]. Dr Lüders asserts that there is no reason for doubting the identification of Kharahostes of the coins with Kharaosta of the Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions [9] [10] [11] [12].

The Inscriptions A and E on the Mathura Lion Capital attaches an appellation of Yuvaraya with the name of Kharaosta [5]. See also: Mathura Lion Capital. The Lion Capital twice refers to Kharaosta in inscription A and E and refers to him as Yuvaraya Kharaosta. Kharaosta appears to be an important person in the inscriptions since Aiyasi Kamuia, the princess making the endowments, expressly discloses her close relationship with him and also states that the permission for making the sacred endowments has duly been obtained from him. According to noted scholars, Kharaosta was the legitimate inheritor (heir-apparent) to the position as King of Kings after king Maues or Moga of Gandhara [13].

Kharaosta’s known coins are of two types, presenting legends in Greek characters on the obverse and in Kharoshthi in the reverse.

The Kharoshthi legend in the coins runs thus:

Kharahostei satrapei Artauou, Kṣatrapasa Pra Kharaoṣtasa Artasa Putrasa (i.e. Of Chhatrapa Kharaosta, son of Arta) [14].

Some of his coins write Ortas in place of Artas.

The coinage evidence shows that Kharaosta (i.e Yuvaraja Kharaosta of the Lion Capital inscriptions) was not a son or heir-apparent to Mahaksatrapa Rajuvula but to somebody else instead. Kharaosta was actually an heir to king Maues or Moga and for this reason, great strap Rajuvula had married Aiyasi Kamuia, the daughter of Kharaosta Kamuio. Dr S Konow has closely examined and re-analyzed the Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions and has discovered some new facts and drawn new conclusions. Based on a close analysis of the estimated ages of various people mentioned in the inscriptions, Dr Konow concludes that (1) Aiyasia Kamuia was the chief queen (Agra-Mahisi, Inscription A2, A3) of the great Saka Strap Rajuvula and (2) Yuvaraja Kharaosta (Inscription E1) was the father of the princess Aiyasi Kamuia. The fact that last name 'Kamuia' (Kambojaka) has been used for both Yuvaraja Kharaosta as well as princess Aiyasi, clearly proves the father vs daughter relationship. This is because family-name designations are naturally inherited from the father's side and not from the mother [15] [16] [17]. Thus, Kharaosta was in fact, the father-in-law of Mahakshatrapa Rajuvula and on the other hand, he was also a legitimate heir to king Moga or Maues. Arta, father of Kharaosta, was elder brother of king Moga [18] and is said to have died prior to Moga's death. King Moga is stated to have been issueless, hence, his nephew, Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio, was indeed the legitimate inheritor to the position as King of Kings for the kingdom of Gandhara.

Saka governor Rajuvula had married Kharaosta Kamuio's daughter, princess Aiyasi Kamuia probably to strengthen his political position and also his claim to the throne (of Taxila) [19].

It appears, for some reasons, that Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio (Kharaostes of the coins) did not avail the position of king of kings after Moga's death. King Moga had died while on a military expedition to Mathura [20].

It is notable that the real heir to Mahaksatrapa Rajuvula was his own son called Sodasa and not the Yuvaraja, Kharaosta of the Lion Capital Inscriptions.

[edit] King Kharayosta of the Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary

A recently discovered "Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary", found from Shinkot in Bajaur (Pakistan), and edited and published for the first time by Richard Saloman, in Journal of the American Oriental Society (Jully- September, 1996), refers to a king named Kharayosta, believed to belong to the later quarter of first century BCE. According to its editor Dr Richard Salomon (University of Washington), king Kharayosta of the "Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary", in all probability, is the same Kharaosta who finds reference as Yuvaraja Kharosta in the Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions and as Kharaostasa or Kharahostes in the coins [21]. If this view is correct, and also, if Dr Konow's recognition of Kamuia and Kamuio of Lion Capital with Sanskrit Kambojaka or Kamboja is correct, then it can be confidently believed that the Apraca kings of Bajaur were connected with Kharaosta Kamuio, Aiyasia Kamuio and Arta Kamuio etc and, therefore, were also probably from a Kamboja lineage. Interestingly, Arta (Kamuio) of the coins also finds an indirect reference in the Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary wherein Kharayosta is addressed as son of Mahaksatrapa. This is second important, though indirect reference to Arta. In Kharaosta's coins, Arta is mentioned by name as the father of the former but no title is indicated.[22] [23]

[edit] On Term Kamuia or Kamuio

The term Kamuia or Kamuio appearing as family-name after the names of Yuvaraja Kharosta (Kharahostes of the coins) and princess Aiyasi--- the family members of king Maues or Moga--, is simply a dialectical variation of Sanskrit Kambojika or Kamboja [24]. See Main Article: Kamuia.

[edit] Epilogue

Coin of the family of Kharahostes (c. 10 BCE?)[4], in the name of Azes. Obv: Horsemounted king holding a whip. Monogram to right with circle within three pellets, and letter in left field. Greek legend. Rev: Goddess standing left. Nandipada symbol in left field. Flower and monogram in right field.
Coin of the family of Kharahostes (c. 10 BCE?)[4], in the name of Azes.
Obv: Horsemounted king holding a whip. Monogram to right with circle within three pellets, and letter in left field. Greek legend.
Rev: Goddess standing left. Nandipada symbol in left field. Flower and monogram in right field.

[edit] Epilogue 1

The family of king Moga was apparently a Scythianised section of the Trans-Pamirian Kambojas (Parama Kambojas) who had been living in trans-Hindukush Scythian region as neighbors to the Rishikas [25]. The vast Central Asian region lying on the north of Mt Hemodos (Hindukush/Himalayan) was known as Scythia to the classical writers [26]. In fact, the classical writers further say that river Ganges rises in the Scythian mountains. This attests that even the Mt Himalayan lied in the Scythian belt of the classical writers [27].

The vast trans-Himavantam region, the Scythia of classical writers, was known as Saka-dvipa in ancient Sanskrit literature.

It is understandable that the Parama Kambojas were obviously located in Scythia of the classical writings. And therefore, they have been indiscriminately considered as part of the Scythian population both in the Greek as well as the Chinese writings.

To all probability, in the wake of the great tribal movement of second century BCE occasioned by pressure from Yuezhis, a section of these Parama Kambojas, including the family of king Moga, were displaced and consequently moved from the Parama-Kamboja of Transoxiana to south side of Hindukush in Kabol valley. The Kamboja family of king Moga immigrating from the Scythian cultural belt was obviously Irano-Scythian in culture, social customs and manners. This scenario appears to have caused confusion among scholars in attributing Saka identity to king Maues and his family who otherwise belonged to Kamboja lineage as is sufficiently attested by last name Kamuia/Kamuio born by members of Moga's family.

[edit] Epilogue 2

The first five lines of the Mathura Lion Capital have been interpreted by Dr S. Konow in sense different from the older view. According to the older view, the principal donor was Nada Diaka (or Nada Siaka), the chief-queen of Mahakshatrapa Rajuvula, the daughter of Aiyasi Kamusa and mother of Yuvaraja Kharaosta. If the Yuvaraja Kharaosta is identical with Kshatrapa Kharaostes of the coins, as is almost unanimously agreed among the scholars, it follows that Arta, father of Kharaosta was first husband of Rajuvula's chief queen who married Rajuvula after Arta's death.

But this view has been ably and logically refuted by the newer view of Dr S Knonow. According to view propounded by Dr S. Konow, the name of the principal donor was Aiyasi Kamuia (Kambojaka, belonging to Kambuja/Kamboja tribe) who was daughter of Yuvaraja Kharaosta, also Kambojaka and the mother of Nada Diaka (or Siaka) [28] [29].

The fact that the last name 'Kamuia' (Kambojaka) has been used both by Yuvaraja Kharaosta as well as princess Aiyasi, this clearly proves that Aiyasi Kamuia was the daughter and not mother of Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio (Kambojaka), since such designations are naturally inherited from the father's side and not from the mother's [30] [31]. Hence, Dr Konow's view is more convincing and has been accepted by numerous later scholar community.

[edit] References and Notes

  1. ^ Comment: Dr Thomas has read this name as Nadadi (Nadasi)- Akasa (Epi.Ind., IX, p 135), Dr Bühler has read it as Nadasia Kasaye, but Dr Sten Konow reads it as Nada Diaka (Corpus, II, I, p 47).
  2. ^ Epigraphia Indica, Vol IX, p 135, F. W. Thomas; Ancient India: From the Earliest Times to the First Century AD, 1995 Edition, p 158, Dr E. J. Rapson - History; See also quote in: An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 439, Richard Salomon, University of Washington.
  3. ^ See quote in: An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 439, Richard Salomon, University of Washington.
  4. ^ See: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, p 36 & xxxvi; Khroshthi Inscriptions, No 15, A3; Notes on Indo-Scythian chronology, Journal of Indian History, xii, 21; Comprehensive History of India, 1957, Vol II, p 270, Dr K. A. Nilakanta Sastri; History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, p 201, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1905, p 795, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Journal of Indian History - 1921, p viii, University of Kerala, University of Allahabad Department of Modern Indian History, University of Travancore; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp 41, 306-09, Dr J. L. Kamboj; Cultural Contours of India: Dr. Satya Prakash Felicitation Volume, 1981, p 99, Satya Prakash, Vijai Shankar Śrivastava; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 141, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 394, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee; Kunst aus Indien: Von der Industalkultur im 3. Jahrtausend V. Chr. Bis zum 19. Jahrhundert n ..., 1960, p 9, Künstlerhaus Wien, Museum für Völkerkunde (Vienna, Austria); History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, 201/ 207, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Aspects of Ancient Indian Administration, 2003, 58, D.K. Ganguly; District Gazetteers, 1959, p 33, Uttar Pradesh (India); Five Phases of Indian Art, 1991, p 17, K. D. Bajpai; History of Indian Administration, 1968, p 107, B. N. Puri; The Śakas in India, 1981, p 119, Satya Shrava; Ṛtam, p 46,by Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; Indian Linguistics, 1964, p 549, Linguistic Society of India; A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana, 1998, p 230, Akira Hirakawa.
  5. ^ Quoted in: Early Inscriptions of Mathurā: A Study, 1980, p 27, K. Das.
  6. ^ Corpus Insriptionum Indicarum, II. I, pp xxxvi, 36, 47; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 142, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Kunst aus Indien: Von der Industalkultur im 3. Jahrtausend V. Chr. Bis zum 19. Jahrhundert..., 1960, p 9, Künstlerhaus Wien, Museum für Völkerkunde (Vienna, Austria); Ṛtam, p 46, Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow; Cf: Buddhist Sects in India, 1998, p 132, Nalinaksha Dutt - Religion; Cf: An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 439, Richard Salomon, University of Washington. The author Richard Salomon accepts Dr Konow's views as probably correct.
  7. ^ Kshatrapasa pra Kharaostasa Artasa putrasa (i.e. Kshatrapa Kharaosta, son of Arta), See: Political History of ancient India, 1996, p 397/98, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee; Philologica indica, 1940, p 252, Dr Heinrich Lüders; Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1905, p. 792, Dr E. J. Rapson; Caucasica, 1967, p 105, Dr Adolf Dirr, Gerhard Deeters, A. Major; Malwa Through the Ages, p 166, ISBN 812080824X; Early Inscriptions of Mathurā: A Study, 1980, p 27, Kalyani Das; The Śakas in India, 1981, p 97, Satya Shrava; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1907, pp 1029/1036, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, p 201, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1905, p 795, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Provincial Administration in Ancient India, 600 B.C.-550 A.D., 1981, p 283, Arun Kumar Sinha; Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency ... -, 1896, p 23, Sir James MacNabb Campbell, Reginald Edward Enthoven; Ṛtam, p 46, Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow; See: Comprehensive History of India, 1957, Vol II, p 270, Dr K. A. Nilakanta Sastri; History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, p 201/207, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Deyadharma: Studies in Memory of Dr. D.C. Sircar, 1986, p 15, G (Gouriswar) Bhattacharya, Dineshchandra Sircar; etc.
  8. ^ See: Bühler's note: Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1894, p 53.
  9. ^ Philologica indica, 1940, p 252, Heinrich Lüders.
  10. ^ Rtam, p 46, Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow
  11. ^ "..Sur le Kharaosta du Lion, identifié avec le Kharahostes des monnaies" (Dynasties et histoíre de l'Inde depuis Kanishka jusqu'aux invasions musulmanes, 1935, p 270, Dr Louis de La Vallée Poussin).
  12. ^ See also: An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 439-40, Richard Salomon, University of Washington. Dr Saloman also accepts Dr S Konow's view that Yuvarja Kharaosta was the father and not the son of Aiyasi Kamuia (Ibid.).
  13. ^ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1996, p 549, by Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Corpus Inscrioptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, pp xxxvi, 36, Dr S. Konow; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 397, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury; Ancient INdia, 1956, p 220, Dr Radha Kumud Mookerji; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 308/09, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh; History of Indian Administration, 1968, P 91, Dr B. N. Puri; History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, p 201, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Indian Linguistics, 1966, p 549, Linguistic Society of India; cf:Kharoshthi Primer, 1979, p 32, Dr Ahmad Hasan Dani.
  14. ^ Philologica indica , 1940, p 252, Dr Heinrich Lüders; Caucasica, 1967, p 105, Dr Adolf Dirr, Gerhard Deeters, A. Major; Provincial Administration in Ancient India, 600 B.C.-550 A.D., 1981, p 283, Arun Kumar Sinha; History of Indian Administration, 1968, p 91, Dr Baij Nath Puri; Early History of North India, from the Fall of the Mauryas to the Death of Harsa, C. 200 B.C., 1958, p 62, Dr Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya; Political History of ancient India, 1996, p 397/98, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee; The Śakas in India, 1981, p 97, Dr Satya Shrava.
  15. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, part I, p 36 & xxxvi, Dr Stein Konow; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 141, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, p 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī.
  16. ^ See also: The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh.
  17. ^ Ancient India, 1956, p 220, Dr Radha Kumud Mookerji. On Aiyasi Kamuia/Kharaosta relationship, also see Links: [1] ; [2] and [3].
  18. ^ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland - 1834, p 142, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Corpus Inscrioptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, pp xxxvi, 36, S Konow; Early Inscriptions of Mathurā: A Study, 1980, p 27, Kalyani Das; Ancient India, 1956, p 220, Dr Radha Kumud Mukerjee; History of Indian Administration - 1968, p 94, Dr B. N Puri; These Kamboja People, 1979, p 142; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpaql Singh; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; Cf: Göttingische Gelehrte Anzeigen - 1931, p 12, Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Göttingische anzeigen von gelehrten sachen; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp 306-09.
  19. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, p 36 & xxxvi; Ancient India, 1956, p 220, Dr Radha Kumud Mookerji; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, p 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh; See quote in: Early Inscriptions of Mathurā: A Study, 1980, p 27, K. Das.
  20. ^ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 140, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland - 1990; A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana, 1998, p 230, Akira Hirakawa; Mathurā and Its Society: The ʼSakæ-Pahlava Phase, 1981, p 16, B. N. Mukherjee.
  21. ^ An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (July - September, 1996), pp. 418-452, Richard Salomon.
  22. ^ Op cit, Richard Salomon, pp 424, 440-41.
  23. ^ COMMENT: King Ashoka's Rock Edict no XIII, written around 250-60 BCE, mentions the Kambojas with the Yonas as very prominent political people of the frontiers. In Rock Edict no V, they are again mentioned prominently along with other important nations of the western borders of India (Ref: Indian Historical Quarterly, 1931, p 631, Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 256, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukerjee). Furthermore, Arthashastra of Kautiliya (XI.1.1-4), written around third/fourth century BCE, also singles out the Kambojas (and only the Kambojas) as very important martial nation on the extreme north-west frontiers i.e north-eastern Afghanistan. And last but not the least, we have Mudra-rakshasa evidence which testifies that the Kambojas along with Parasikas, Sakas, Kiratas etc had formed an important part of the composite army which had helped Ashoka's grand father found the Mauryans dynasty in India. It is therefore, quite reasonable to conclude that, the Kambojas had not all of sudden, evanished from the political scenes in the north-west within a short span of less than 200 years. We get very important clues from the Mathura Lion Capital, the coins and the "Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary" found from Bajaur that the Kambojas were still superem around the start of Christian era and, were still exactly posited at the same location which had always been the stronghold of the Kambojas and their sub-sections, the Ashvakas. Due to prolonged close contacts between the Sakas, Kambojas and Pahlavas etc of Central Asia, there had understandably occurred an extensive political and social intercourse and admixture among them which had also resulted in blood mixing through matrimonial alliance etc. Their social customs and mannerism, political institutions and religious observances had become almost similar. It is, therefore, not very easy to differentiate apart the various ancient historical personages of these allied nations. To put it succinctly, the Kambojas had become somewhat scythianized due to their extensive exposure to and intimate socail admixture with the Sakas, Pahlavas and the Yavanas and thus, it is neigh impossible to differentiate the members of the Kamboja lineage from that of the other nations. The identity of Kamboja family of Arta (Kamuio), Kharosata Kamuio, Aiyasi Kamuia and king Maues (all Kamuias or Kambojas) has been wrongly confused with the Scythians by the earlier scholars simply due to the above reasons. It seems therefore, highly probable, as Richard Salomon has suggested, that the Aparaca rulers of Bajaur and the Kamuia (Kamboja) family of yuvaraja Kharaosta (Kamuio), Arta, princess Aiyasi Kamuia and for that matter king Maues-- all belonged to the same family-tree and all came from the Kamboja background, located in eastern Afghanistan.
  24. ^ Cf: "The Kamuiyas, who are associated with the familiy of the Saka Mahakshatrapa Rajuvula of the Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions, are in fact, the Kambojas; Kamuia being just the form we would expect in the dialect for an old Kambojika" (Ref: Indian Culture, 1934, p 193, Indian Research Institute; See also: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, p xxxvi; also p 36, Dr Sten Konow.
  25. ^ MBH II.27.25; MBH 10.14.1-2 etc.
  26. ^ See: Diodorus II.37.
  27. ^ Pliny Hist Nat., VI.22; Indika, Fragment LVI.
  28. ^ See: Comprehensive History of India, 1957, Vol II, p 270, Dr K. A. Nilakanta Sastri.
  29. ^ See also: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, p 36 & xxxvi; Khroshthi Inscriptions, No 15, A3; Notes on Indo-Scythian chronology, Journal of Indian History, xii, 21; Ancient Kamboja in Iran and Islam, 1971, Editor C. E. Bosworth, Edinburgh, 1971, pp. 66, H. W. Bailey; Five Phases of Indian Art, 1991, p 17, K. D. Bajpai; Indological Studies: Prof. D.C. Sircar Commemoration Volume, 1987, p 106, Prof. D.C. Sircar Commemoration Volume, Upendra Thakur, Sachindra Kumar Maity - Social Science; Female Images in the Museums of Uttar Pradesh and Their Social Background, 1978, p 162, Padma Upadhyaya; Ṛtam, p 46, Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad, Lucknow; Literary History of Ancient Indiain Relation to its Racial, and Linguistic Affiliations, 1952, pp 46,165, Chandra Chakravarty; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland - 1834, p 141, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; The Śakas in India, 1981, p 97, Satya Shrava; History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, p 201, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1905, p 795, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Journal of Indian History - 1921, p viii, University of Kerala, University of Allahabad Department of Modern Indian History, University of Travancore; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp 41, 306-09, Dr J. L. Kamboj; These Kamboj People, 1979, p 141; Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, pp 168-69, Kirpal Singh Dardi; Balocistān: Siyāsī Kashmakash, Muz̤mirāt Va Rujḥānāt, 1989, Munīr Aḥmad Marri;تاريخ قوم كمبوه: جديد تحقيق كى روشنى ميں, 1996, p 221, Yusuf Husain; Aspects of Ancient Indian Administration, 2003, p 58, D. K. Ganguli etc.
  30. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, part I, p 36 & xxxvi, Dr Stein Konow; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 141, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, p 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh.
  31. ^ Dr S. Konow convincingly argues that Yuvaraja Kharaosta is respectfully mentioned twice (II A.1 and E.1) in prominent positions in the Capital record, and this would befit only a senior relative of the family of the queen making the endowments, and not a junior member like a son or grand son. Moreover, the Aiyasi Kamuia expressly states a close relationship with Kharaosta and also claims that latter's concurrence for making the endowments has been obtained (See: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum II, I, pp xxxv-vi, 36; An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 440, Richard Salomon, University of Washington; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 227/228, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 168, Kirpal Singh.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^  Coins of the family of Kharahostes (10 BCE?)

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, part I, Dr Stein Konow
  • Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research society, Vol XVI, 1930, parts III, IV, Dr K. P. Jayswal
  • Ancient India, 1956, Dr R. K. Mukerjee
  • Comprehensive History of India, 1957, Vol II, Dr K. A. Nilkantha Shastri
  • Ancient Kamboja People & Country, 1981, Dr J. L. Kamboj
  • Political History of ancient India, 1996, Dr H. C. raychaudhury
  • India and the World, 1964, Dr Buddha Parkash
  • India and Central Asia, 1929, Dr P.C. Bagchi
  • Sculptures of Mathura and Sarnath, 2002, Usha Rani Tiwari
  • The Sakas in India, Dr S. Chattopadhyaya
  • The development of Kharoshthi Script, Dr C. C. Dasgupta
  • Hellenism in Ancient India, G. N. Bannerjee
  • Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol Xvi Parts III, IV, 1930.
  • Female Images in the Museums of U.P. and their Social Background, P. Upadhyava
  • An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman,Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), Richard Salomon