The Kambojas were a people of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in (post-Vedic) Sanskrit literature, making their first appearance in the Mahabharata and contemporary Vedanga literature (roughly from the 5th century BCE). Their Kamboja Kingdom was likely located in the area of the Hindukush (see Kamboja Location). They apparently qualify as an Indo-Iranian people, Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture, 2000, p 257, John Stewart Bowman. better as Iranians, cognate with the Indo-Scythians. Kambojas are said by scholars to be a royal clan of the Scythians 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 Śak�s. See link: [1]; 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..

Together with the Indo-Scythian invasion of India during the pre-Kushana period, Kambojas appear to have migrated to Bengal, Sri Lanka and Cambodia in the period spanning the 2nd century BCE and the 5th century CE. Their descendants held various principalities in Medieval India, the one in north-west Bengal being seized, around middle of tenth century CE, from the Palas in Bengal.

The Kamboj/Kamboh tribe of the Greater Punjab An Inquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan, 1891, pp. 2, 146, 150, H. W. Bellew; Supplementary Glossary of Tribes, 1844, p 304, H. M. Ellot; The Tribes and Castes of North-western and Oudh, 1906, pp 119-120, 458, William Crooke; Report on the Settlement of Land Revenue of Sultanpur Distt. (With) Accompaniment; 1873, p 88, A. F. Millet; Die Holztempel Des Oberen Kulutales in Ihren Historischen, Religiosen Und Kunstgeschichtlichen ..., 1974, p 26, Gabriele Jettmar; Report on the settlement of the land revenue of the Sultánpur district. [With] Accompaniments, 1873, p 88, A F. Millett; Paradise of Gods, 1966, p 331, Qamarud Din Ahmed; Literary History of Ancient India, 1952, p 165, Dr Chandra Chakraverty; Problems of Indian Society, 1968, p 69, Dr D. Bose; Bhartiya Itihaas ki Mimamsa, p 230, Dr J. C. Vidyalankar; Bani Kanta Kakati Memorial Lecturers, p 21, Gauhati University; "India and the World", 1964, p 154, Dr Buddha Prakash; Geographical Data in Early Purana, A Critical Study, 1972, p 168, Dr M. R. Singh; Tribes of Ancient India, 1977, p 322, Dr M. Choudhury; Early History of India, 1942, p 2, Roshan Rai; History of Poros, 1967, p 12, Dr Buddha Prakash; Kirata-Kriti: The Indo-Mongloloids, Their Contribution to History and Culture of India, 1974, p 113, Dr S. K. Chatterjee; Cf: Indo-Aryans: contributions towards the elucidation of their ancient and mediæval history, 1881, 187, RÄ�jendralÄ�la Mitra; Geography from Ancient Indian Coins & Seals, 1989, p 24, Parmanand Gupta; PrÄ�cÄ«na Kamboja, jana aura janapada (Ancient Kamboja, people and country), 1981, Dr JiyÄ�lÄ�la KÄ�mboja, Dr Satyavrat ÅšÄ�strÄ« ; History of Origin of Some Clans in India, with Special Reference to Jats, 1992, p 149, Mangal Sen Jindal; BalocistÄ�n: siyÄ�sÄ« kashmakash, muz̤mirÄ�t va rujḥÄ�nÄ�t, 1989, MunÄ«r Aḥmad MarrÄ«; تاريخ قوم كمبوه: جديد تحقيق كى روشنى ميں, چوهدرى محمد يوسÙ� حسن, 1996, CauhdrÄ« Muḥammad YÅ«suf Ḥasan; Folklore of the Punjab, 1971, p 7, Sohindara Singh WanajÄ�rÄ� BedÄ«; Cf: Inscriptions of A�soka: Translation and Glossary, 1990, p 86, Beni Madhab Barua, Binayendra Nath Chaudhury etc. and the Kamoz and Katirs of the Siyahposh tribe in the Nuristan province of AfghanistanSee refs: Mountstuart Elphinstone, "An account of the kingdom of Caubol", fn p 619; Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1843, p 140; Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1874, p 260 fn; Die altpersischen Keilinschriften: Im Grundtexte mit Uebersetzung, Grammatik und Glossar, 1881, p 86, Friedrich Spiegel; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 133, fn, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Banerjee; The Achaemenids and India, 1974, p 13, Dr S Chattopadhyaya . Cf: There is an apparent trace of their (Kambojas\') name in the Caumogees of Kaferistan, who may have retreated to the mountains before the advance of the Turk tribes (Dr. H. H. Wilson). See fn 374:15: [2] . are believed to be their descendants.

Ethnicity & Language of Kambojas

Main article: Ethnicity of Kambojas

Numerous classical sources indicate that ancient Kamboja was a center of Iranian civilizationThe Kamboja Janapada, January 1964, Purana, Vol VI, No 1, Dr V. S. Aggarwala, p 229; Jataka edited by Fausboll, Vol VI, p 210.. This is evident from the Zoroastrian religious customs of the ancient Kambojas Jataka, VI, p 110, Trans. E. B. Cowell; cf: Videvati XIV.5-6; cf: Herodotus I.140; Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1912, p 256, Dr G. A. Grierson. as well as from the Avestan language they spoke. Yaska (700 BC), in his Nirukta, contrasts the speech of the Kambojas with that of the Aryans i.e Indo-Aryans

Sanskrit:

shavatir gatikarmaa Kamboje.sv eva bhaa.syate...vikaara enam Aaryaa bha.sante shava iti.||

(Nirukuta II/2)

English Trans:

"The verb \'shavati\', meaning \'to go\', is used by the Kambojas only..... but its root \'shava\' is used by the Indo-Aryans".

Almost similar information on Kambojas is provided by Patanjali\'s Mahaabhaasya (2nd c BC).

Sanskrit:

zavatir gatikarmaa kamboje.sv eva bhaa.sito bhavati, vikaara enam aaryaa bha.sante zava iti ||

(Patanjali\'s Mahaabhaa.sya is p. 9, in Vol. 1 Kielhorn\'s Edition).

English Trans:

"The verb \'zav\' in the sense of \'going\' is used only among the Kambojas. The same verb in the nominal form \'zava\' is used by the Aaryas in the sense of \'transformation\'" (Ref: Patanjali\'s Mahaabhaa.sya is p. 9, in Vol. 1 Kielhorn\'s Edition).

It is notable that this evidence by Yasaka (~7th c BC) and Patanjali (2nd c BC) puts the Kambojas in direct contrast to the Indo-Aryans and further, the word shavati, in the sense "to go" is not found in ancient Sanskrit literature but it is a well known Iranian word. (See: The Language of the Kambojas, Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1911, p 802, Dr G. A. Grierson)

Cf: Kamboja verb shavati represents, sound by sound, the Young Avestan sauuaiti \'to go\'. (Ref: Persica, 9, 1980, p 92, Dr Michael Witzel. Dr Michael Witzel also thinks that the Kambojas were east Iranians speaking Avestan language (See:Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies,Vol. 7 (2001), issue 3 (May 25), Art. 9).

Thomas Oberlies comments: "Yaska and Patanjali both record that the Kambojas of eastern Iran had a word Śavati for "to go" (Nirukta II.2; Mah�bh�sya I 9, 25.26.), which answers to Avestan word \'Ś(ii)auua(itē)\' and not to old Indo-Aryan cyáva(ti)" (Ref: P�li: A Grammar of the Language of the Therav�da Tipiṭaka, 2001, p 7, Thomas Oberlies - Foreign Language Study).

Mary Boyce, Frantz Grenet remarks: "The earliest piece of evidence (on Kambojas) is a reference by the grammarian Yaska (who lived before 4th c BCE) to the Kambojas\' use of the verb \'Åšav\' for "to go", which establishes that they spoke an Iraniann language (Ref: Das Volk Der Kamboja bei Yaska, First Series of Avesta, Pahlavi and Ancient Persian Studies in honour of the late Shams-ul-ulama Dastur Peshotanji Behramji Sanjana, Strassberg & Leipzig, 1904, pp 213 ff, Dr Ernst Kuhn). In the Mahabharata and Pali literature, they appear in the characteristic Iranian roles of horsemen and breeders of notable horses. And in a passage in Buddhist Jataka, it is remarked that, unlike Indians, the Kambojas held it a religious duty to kill insects, snakes, worms and frogs (Jataka Ed V, Fauseball, VI, p 208, II, pp 27-28; Cf Kuhn i.e Charpentier Art cited, p 145). This alone shows that the Kambojas were Zoroastrians, acting in accord with the precepts in the Vendidad XIV.5-6. These precepts have their basis in Zoroastrian dualism...." (Ref:A History of Zoroastrianism, 1991, p 129-130, Mary Boyce, Frantz Grenet - Religion)., which fact offers a powerful clue to their being from the Persa Aryan stock The History of Indian Literature, 2005 edition, p 178, Albrecht Weber - Sanskrit literature; The History of Indian Literature, 1882, p 178, Albrecht Weber - Sanskrit literature.. "In the Mahabharata and Pali literature, the Kambojas appear in the characteristic Iranian roles of horsemen and breeders of notable horses" Ref: A History of Zoroastrianism, 1991, p 129, Mary Boyce, Frantz Grenet - Religion.. The Bhishamaparava and Shantiparava of the epic Mahabharata sufficiently reveal that the Kambojas were living beyond the Uttara (north); and with other people of the Uttarapatha, they are also addressed as Mlechchas (Barbarian people) or Asuras, lying outside the Indo-Aryans fold. They are repeatedly bracketed with other north-western non-Vedic people like the Yavanas, Sakas, Tusharas, Darunas, Parasikas, Hunas, Kiratas and the like

HrishIvidarbhah kantikasta~Nganah parata~Nganah. |

uttarashchapare mlechchhA jana bharatasattama. || 63 ||

YavanAshcha sa Kamboja Daruna mlechchha jatayah. |

Sakahaddruhah Kuntalashcha Hunah Parasikas saha.|| 64 ||

Tathaiva maradhAahchinastathaiva dasha malikah. |

Kshatriyopaniveshashcha vaishyashudra kulani cha.|| 65 ||

(Mahabharata 6.9.63-65)

Uttarapatha janmanah kirtayishyami tanapi

Yauna Kamboja Gandharah Kirata Barbaraih saha

(Mahabharata 12.201.40)

ete.dharmah.sarva.varna.ca.viirair.utkrastavyah.Ksatriyair.esa.dharmah. |

tasmaj.jyestha.raja.dharmaa.na.ca,anye.viirya.jyesthaa.viira.dharmaa.mataa.ye.

Yavana.Kirata.Gandhara.Cina.Sabara.Barbarah. |

Saka.Tusarah.Kahvas.ca.Pahlava.ca.Andhra.Madrakah.||

Odrah.Pulinda.Ramatha.Kamboja.mleccha.ca.sarvazah.|

Brahma.Ksatria.prasutas.ca.vaisyah.sudras.ca.manavah.||

katham.dharmam.careyus.te.sarve.viSaya.vaasinah.|

madvidhaiz.ca.katham.sthaapyaah.sarve.te.dasyu.jiivinah.||

(Mahabharata 12.65.12-15) (See also: Indian Caste, 1877, p 266, John Wilson; Original Sanskrit Texts, I, p 180).. Majjhima Nikaya reveals that in the lands of Yavanas, Kambojas and some other frontier nations, there were only two classes of people...Aryas and Dasas...the masters and slaves. The Arya could become Dasa and vice versa

Yona-Kambojaseu annesu cha panchchantimesu janapadesu dvea vanna,

ayyo ceva daaso ca ayyo hutva daaso hoti daaso hutva ayyo hoti ti

(Majjhima Nikaya 43.1.3).. which social custom was alien to the Indo-Aryan society where four class social structure was prevalent. And in a passage in Buddhist Jataka, it is remarked that, unlike the Indo-Aryans, the Kambojas held it a religious duty to kill insects, snakes, worms and frogs which fact alone proves that the Kambojas were Zoroastrians, acting in accord with the precepts in the Vendidad Vendidad XIV.5-6. Refs: Ibid, Mary Boyce, Frantz Grenet; Jataka, VI, p 110, Trans. E. B. Cowell; cf: Videvati XIV.5-6; cf: Herodotus I.140; Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1912, p 256, Dr G. A. Grierson.. Non-Indo-Aryan customs of the Kambojas are also hinted at in Shanti Paravan of the Mahabharata Mahabharata 12.207.43-44..

Faravahar symbol of Zoroastrianism.

Fourth/fifth century Buddhist commentator and great scholar Buddhaghosa According to other source, Buddhaghosa belonged to second century AD (See: Freedom, Progress and Society: Essays in honor of Prof K. Satchidananda Murty, 1966, p 109, B. Subramanian, K. Satchidananda). has expressly described the Kambojas as being of Parasaka-vanna (i.e of Parasa or Persian affinties). Quoted in: Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1940, p 256, by India Asiatic Society (Calcutta, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. See also: Foreign Elements in Ancient Indian Society, 2nd Century BC to 7th Century AD, 1979, p 16, Dr Uma Prasad Thapliyal; Studies in Indian History and Civilization, 1962, p 351, Dr Buddha Prakash; Cultural Heritage of India, p 625, Dr Debala Mitra; Indological Studies, 1950, p 78, Dr Bimala Churn Law. Inscriptions of A�soka: Translation and Glossary, 1990, p 84, Beni Madhab Barua, Binayendra Nath Chaudhury. Cf: The Śikh Gurus and the Śikh Society: A Study in Social Analysis, 1975, p 139, Niharranjan Ray..

It is now widely accepted among scholars that the Kambojas were an Avestan speaking group of East Iranians Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1912, p 256, Dr G. A. Grierson; Purana, Vol V, No 2, July 1963, p 256, Dr D. C. Sircar; Journal Asiatique, CCXLVI 1958, I, pp 47-48, E. Benveniste; A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire, 1989, p 10, fn 1, M. A. Dandamaev; Ivanovich Abaev, V. I. 1967, p 288ff; Aryan and non-Aryan Names in Vedic India, Data for the linguistic situation, c. 1900-500 B.C., 1999, p 5, Michael Witzel, Harvard University; The Afghans (Peoples of Asia), 2001, p 127, also Index, W. J. Vogelsang and Willem Vogelsang; Also Fraser 1979; The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 4, Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean, (c.525 to 479 BC), Volume 4, 1988, p 199, John Boardman, N. G. L. Hammond, D. M. Lewis, and M. Ostwald; cf Early Eastern Iran and the Atharvaveda, Persica-9, 1980, fn 81, p 114, Dr Michael Witzel who however, locates the Kambojas in Archosia and Kandhahar and were located mainly in north-eastern Afghanistan and parts of Tajikstan Ref: Proceedings and Transactions of the ... All-India Oriental Conference, 1930, p 118; cf: Linguistic Survey of India, Vol X, pp 455-56, Dr G. A. Grierson; cf: History and Archeology of India\'s Contacts with Other Countries from the ... , 1976, p 152, Dr Shashi P. Asthana - Social Science; Pr�cīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, p 128, Dr Jiy�l�la K�mboja, Dr Satyavrat Ś�strī - Kamboja (Pakistan). Scholars like Dr V. S. Aggarwala etc locate the Kamboja country in Pamirs and Badakshan (Ref: A Grammatical Dictionary of Sanskrit (Vedic): 700 Complete Reviews.., 1953, p 48, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala, Surya Kanta, Jacob Wackernagel, Arthur Anthony Macdonell, Peggy Melcher - India; India as Known to P�ṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭ�dhy�yī, 1963, p 38, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala - India; The North-west India of the Second Century B.C., 1974, p 40, Mehta Vasishtha Dev Mohan - Greeks in India; The Greco-Sunga Period of Indian History, Or, the North-West India of the ..., 1973, p 40, India) and the Parama Kamboja further north, in the Trans-Pamirian territories (See: The Deeds of Harsha: Being a Cultural Study of B�ṇa\'s Harshacharita, 1969, p 199, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala).. Some scholars even believe that the Zoroastrian religion originated in east Iran in the land of the Kambojas Cf: "Zoroastrian religion had probably originated in Kamboja-land (Bacteria-Badakshan)....and the Kambojas spoke Avestan language" (Ref: Bharatiya Itihaas Ki Rup Rekha, p 229-231, Dr Jaychandra Vidyalankar; Bhartrya Itihaas ki Mimansa, p 229-301, Dr J. C. Vidyalankar; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 217, 221, Dr J. L. Kamboj)..

The tribal name Kamboja has been traced to the royal name Kambujiya of the Old Persian Inscriptions (known as Cambyses to the Greeks) This view is held by scholars like C. Lassen, S. Levi, M. Witzel, J. Charpentier, La Valle Poussin, A. Hoffman, A. B. Keith, A. A. Macdonnel, G. K. Nariman, E. Kuhn, H. W. Bellow, A. D. Pusalkar, S. Sen, D. R. Bhandarker and numerous others; See also: An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan H. W. Bellow; also see: Sectarianism and Ethnic Violence in Afghanistan, Musa Khan Jalza H. W. Bellow writes: "Darius succeeded, about 521 BC to the empire founded by Cyrus (Kurush), and enlarged and consolidated by his son and successor Cambyses (Kambojia, Kambohji). Cyrus, whose mother was called Mandane (Mandana; perhaps a princess of the Mandan tribe), and said to be a Mede, and whose father was called Cambyses (Kambohji; probably a chieftain of the Kamboh tribe) having reduced the Medes and conquered the kingdom of Croesus the Lydian (Lùdi), thereby became master of all the territory extending from the Indus to the Hellespont".

— (An enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan H. W. Bellow; See also: Sectarianism and Ethnic Violence in Afghanistan, Musa Khan Jalzai).   Cf: “Historians tend to believe Kambojas were in fact an Iranian tribe. (Old Iranian and old Sanskrit are very close languages. All these people called themselves Aryan, from which comes the name Iran). Panini, the Indian genius of grammar, observed (Panini\'s Grammar, IV, 1, 175.) that the word Kamboja meant at the same time the tribe and its king. Later historians identified the same word in the name of several great Persian kings, Cambyse (Greek version) or Kambujiya (in Persian) (See: La Valle Poussin, L\'Inde aux temps des Maurya, p. 15 and 40.). Cambyse the Second is famous for his conquest of Egypt (525 B.C.) and the havoc he wrought upon this country (ON SOME CAMBODIAN WORDS, Serge Thion, [3]). James Hope Moulton writes: “The names Kuru and Kamboja are of disputed etymology, but there is no reason whatever to doubt their being Aryan. I do not think there has been any suggestion more attractive than that made long ago by Spiegel (Altpers. Keilinsch.\'-, 96) that they attach themselves to Sanskrit Kura and Kamboja, originally Aryan heroes of the fable, whose names were naturally revived in a royal house.  Spiegel thinks that the myths about Cyrus may have originated in confusion between the historical and the mythical heroes.  (Kamboja is a geographical name, and so is Kuru often: hence their appearance in Iranian similarly to-day as Kur and Kamoj".  (Early Zoroastrianism, 2005, Page 45, James Hope Moulton - Kessinger Publishing). Dr Chandra Chakraverty writes: "The Achaemenids were Kamboja-Kuru Scythian people on the base of Parsa (\'Khatti-Puru\') tribe. It was a marvelous racial blend and their culture was a similar good synthesis...."(See: The Racial History of India, 1944, p 225, Chandra Chakraberty) Dr Ranajit Pal: " Toynbee wrote that the Achaemenian universal state belonged also to the Hinduis, the Pathavis etc. - the Indian Kurus and Kambojas were linked with Achaemenian history – Kurush (Cyrus) was a Kuru. (Also See: C. Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism,, part III, pp .652, 654, 449) �. Dr Michael Witzel wrote in one of his research articles: "The Old Persian -s- (as in < asa \'horse\') <*śś <śv  śś with Saka -śś-, while the rest of Iranian has -sp- (aspa) and Vedic has -śv- (Aśva). This feature and others (cf. further grammatical features in Witzel 1989, Ch 10) may point to an ultimately north-eastern (Bactria?) rather than north-western (Urartu/Median) origin of the Old Persian and thus to a track of immigration from the North-east via Media to the Persis, somewhat like Nichols\' (1997-98) \'southern trajectory\'. A North-eastern origin would be close to the location of the Vedic Parśu".

COMMENT: Dr Michael Witzel (Harvard University) seems to convey that the Persians may have migrated to Persipolis from Balkh or Bactria in remote antiquity. This is quite a valid and scientific reasoning as the above extract from Dr Michael Witzel seems to show. This shows that the Parsa Achaemenids may have off-shot from the Kambojas in remote antiquity. The remote connection of the Achaemenids to the Kambojas and Kurus is indeed reflected in the royal name Kuru and Kambujiya/Kambaujiya which several of the great monarchs of the Achamenean line of rulers had adopted. Seeing close connections of the Kambojas (Parama-Kambojas), the Madras (Bahlika-Madras or Uttaramadras) and the Kurus (Uttarakurus) which tribes were all located in/around Oxus in Central Asia in remote antiquity, it can be thought that the Kurus, the Kambojas and the Parśus were a related people. Cf: "Kambujiya Kambujiyam, Kabujiya, Cambyse. This is the true vernacular orthography of name which was written Kambyses by the Greeks and Kauvays in Zend ……From the name of a king Kambyses was derived the geographical title of Kamboja (Sanskrit), which is retained to present days in the Kamoj of Cafferstan……The Persian historians do not seem to be aware of the name Kabus, which was born by the Dilemite sovereigns, is the same with the Kaus of Romance; yet the more ancient form of Kaubus or kabuj for latter name, renders the identification also most certain. The Georgians, even to the present day, name the hero of romance Kapus still retaining the labial which has merged in the Persian…." (See: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Published 1990, p 97, Cambridge University, Press for the Royal Asiatic Society [etc.], By Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland).. Kambujiya or Kambaujiya 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, Kambuza, Kambatet/Kambythet (rather Kambuzia ) as well as Kambunza in Egyptian Ein neuer Kambyses text, p 5; Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature, 1907, p 648., Kam-bu-zi-ia in Akkadian, Kan-bu-zi-ia in Elamite, and Kanpuziya in Susian language. The Khmer of Angkor believed their ancestors to be the people of "Kamboja" and traced their lineage to Kambujiya, hence the modern name of Cambodia, "Kampuchea". 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.

According to one line of scholars, "Kambojas were probably the descendants of the Indo-Iranians (East Iranians) popularly known later on as the Sassanian and Parthians who occupied parts of north western India in first second centuries of the Christian era " D. D. Kosambi Commemoration Volume, 1977, p 287, Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, Lallanji Gopal, Jai Prakash Singh, Nisar Ahmed, Dipak Malik, Banaras Hindu University, Dept. of Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology, Banaras Hindu University; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 139 seqq, Kirpal Singh; See also: These Kamboja People, 1979, p 162 seqq..

Original Home of Kambojas

Main article: Kamboja Location

Analysis of ancient Sanskrit textsSee Mahabharata verses (12/201/40), (6/11/63-64), 5/5/15, 5/159/20 etc; Also Kirfels text of Uttarapatha countries of Bhuvankosha; See: Brahama Purana 27/44-53, Vayu Purana 45/115; Brahmanda Purana 12/16-46; Vamana Purana 13/37 etc and inscriptionsAshoka’s Rock Edicts, V and XIII etc place the Kambojas, Gandharas, Yavanas (Greeks), Madras, and the Sakas in the 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 Northern Afghanistan. Some writers hold that Uttarapatha included the whole of Northern India and comprised very area of Central Asia, as far as the Urals and the Caspian Sea to the Yenisei and from Turkistan and Tien Shan ranges to as far as the Arctic (Dr S. M. Ali).

Linguistic evidence, combined with this literary and inscriptional evidence, has led many scholars of note to conclude that ancient Kambojas originally belonged to the Ghalcha-speaking area of Central Asia. For example, Yasaka\'s Nirukata (II.2) attests that verb Śavati in the sense "to go" was used by only the Kambojas. It has been proven that the modern Ghalcha 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 Śavati in the sense "to go". The Yagnobi dialect spoken in Yagnobi around the headwaters of Zeravshan in Sogdiana, also still contains a relic "Śu" from ancient Kamboja Śavati in the sense "to go" Proceedings and Transactions of the ... All-India Oriental Conference, 1930, p 118; Indian Culture, 1934, p 193, Indian Research Institute; Linguistic Survey of India, Vol X, pp 455-56, Dr G. A. Grierson; cf: History and Archeology of India\'s Contacts with Other Countries from the... , 1976, p 152, Dr Shashi P. Asthana - Social Science; Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mah�bh�rata: Up�yana Parva, 1945, p 39, Dr Moti Chandra - India; Pr�cīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, p 128, Dr Jiy�l�la K�mboja, Dr Satyavrat Ś�strī - Kamboja (Pakistan).. Further, according to Sir G Grierson, the speech of Badakshan was a Ghalcha till about three centuries ago when it was supplanted by a form of Persian Linguistic Survey of India, X, p. 456, Sir G Grierson; Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference, 1930, pp 107-108..

Thus, the ancient Kamboja probably included the Pamirs, Badakshan, and possibly parts of Tajikstan, including Yagnobi region in the doab of the Oxus (Dr J. C. Vidyalankara, Proceedings and Transactions of 6th A.I.O. Conference, 1930, p 118; cf: Linguistic Survey of India, Vol X, pp 455-56, Dr G. A. Grierson). .. 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,Mahabharata 2/27/23-25 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 Numerous scholars now locate Kambojas in the southern side of the Hindukush ranges (Kabul/Swat/Kunar valleys) and Parama Kambojas in the Transoxiana/Trans-Pamirian territories on the north of the Hindukush, including Badakshan/Pamirs (See: Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mah�bh�rata: Up�yana Parva, 1945, p 11-13, Dr Moti Chandra - India; Geographical Data in the Early Pur�ṇas: A Critical Study, 1972, p 165/66, Dr M. R. Singh; Problems of Ancient India, 2000, pp 1-8, K. D. Sethna; Purana, Vol VI, No 1, Jan 1964, p 207 sqq; Inscriptions of Asoka: Translation and Glossary, 1990, p 86, Beni Madhab Barua, Binayendra Nath Chaudhury - Inscriptions, Prakrit). Scholars like Dr V. S. Aggarwala, Dr J. C. Vidyalankara, Dr J. L. Kamboj, Kirpal Singh etc locate Kambojas in Pamirs and Badakshan and the Parama Kambojas in the Trans-Pamirian territory, in the Sakadvipa, the Scythia of the classical writers (See: The Deeds of Harsha: Being a Cultural Study of B�ṇa\'s Harshacharita, 1969, p 199, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala; Pr�cīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, Dr Jiy�l�la K�mboja, Dr Satyavrat Ś�strī - Kamboja (Pakistan); Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference, 1930, p 118, Dr J. C. Vidyalankara; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 92, Kirpal Singh etc. Note: Kirpal Singh surmises that the Kommdei of Ptolemy was the Parama Kamboja of the epic Mahabharata..

Dr J. C. Vidyalanakara, Dr V. S. Aggarwala, Dr J. L. Kamboj etc locate Kamboja in Pamirs and Badakshan and the Parama Kamboja further north, in the Trans-Pamirian territories comprising Zeravshan valley, towards Sogdhiana/Fargana--in the Sakadvipa or Scythia of the classical writers See: The Deeds of Harsha: Being a Cultural Study of B�ṇa\'s Harshacharita, 1969, p 199, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala; Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference, 1930, p 118, Dr J. C. Vidyalankara; Pr�cīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, Dr Jiy�l�la K�mboja, Dr Satyavrat Ś�strī - Kamboja (Pakistan).. Dr H. C. Seth identifies the mountainous region between the Oxus and Jaxartes (old Sogdiana) as the locale of the ancient Kambojas Central Asiatic Provinces of the Mauryan Empire", p 403, H. C. Seth; See also: Indian Historical Quarterly, Vol. XIII, 1937, No 3, p. 400; Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1940, p 37, (India) Asiatic Society (Calcutta, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal - Asia; cf: History and Archeology of India\'s Contacts with Other Countries from the ... , 176, p 152, Shashi P. Asthana - Social Science; Cf: India and Central Asia, p 25, Dr P. C. Bagchi.. This primarily equates to the Parama Kambojas of the Mahabharata.

The two separate Kamboja settlements are also substantiated from Ptolemy\'s Geography, which references a geographical term Tambyzoi located on the river Oxus in Bactria,Ancient India as Described by Ptolemy: Being a Translation of the Chapters ... 1885, p 268, John Watson McCrindle - Geography, Ancient; Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, History - 2000, p 99,(Editors) Richard J.A. Talbert. and an Ambautai people living on the southern side of Hindukush in the Paropamisadae. Geography 6.18.3; See map in McCrindle, p 8. Scholars have identified both the Ptolemian Tambyzoi and Ambautai with Sanskrit Kamboja.For Tambyzoi = Kamboja, see refs: Indian Antiquary, 1923, p 54; Pre Aryan and Pre Dravidian in India, 1993, p 122, Dr Sylvain Lévi, Dr Jean Przyluski, Jules Bloch, Asian Educational Services; Cities and Civilization, 1962, p 172, Govind Sadashiv Ghurye; Problems of Ancient India, 2000, p 1, K. D. Sethna; Asiatic Society, Calcutta, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1956, p 37; Purana, Vol VI, No 2, January 1964, pp 207-208; Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1956, p 88, Asiatic Society (Calcutta, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal); Geographical Data in the Early PurÄ�ṇas: A Critical Study, 1972, p 165, Dr M. R. Singh; Asoka and His Inscriptions, 1968, p 96, Beni Madhab Barua, Ishwar Nath Topa;Geographical and Economic Studies in the MahÄ�bhÄ�rata: UpÄ�yana Parva, 1945, p 38, Dr Moti Chandra - India;Journal asiatique, 1923, p 54, Société asiatique (Paris, France), Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) - Oriental philology; Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, 2000, p 99, edited by Richard J.A. Talbert - History; Neuro-ophthalmology, 2005, p 99 Leonard A. Levin, Anthony C. Arnold; Purana-vimar\'sucika -: Bibliography of Articles on Puranas, 1985, p 133, P. G. Lalye.For Ambautai = Kamboja, see Refs: Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, Vol. 5,1999, issue 1 (September), Dr. M. Witzel; Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History, 2005, p 257, Laurie L. Patton, Edwin Bryant; The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: : Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity, 1995, p 326, George Erdosy; Linguistic Aspects of the Aryan non-invasion theory, Part I, Dr. Koenraad Elst, See Link: [4]; The official pro-invasionist argument at last, A review of the Aryan invasion arguments in J. Bronkhorst and M.M. Deshpande: Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia, Dr. Koenraad Elst, See link: [5].

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. Still further, Ptolemy Geography attests a tribal people called Khomaroi and Komoi located north of Bactria in Sogdiana Geography 6.18.3; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, p 199; Ancient India as Described by Ptolemy: Being a Translation of the Chapters, 1885, p 268, John Watson McCrindle - Geography, Ancient.. It has also been pointed out that the Ptolemian Komoi is classical form of Kamboi (or Kamboika: from Pali Kambojika, Sanskrit Kamboja) The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p 403; Central Asiatic Provinces of Maurya Empire, p 403, Dr H. C. Seth.. This settlement of the Kamboj may have resulted in the wake of tribal movement of the Scythian Komedes (which included Parama Kambojas) from the Alai Valley/Alai Mountains into the west around second century BCE.

Scholars like Dr Buddha Parkash identify the Ptolemian Komedei Tartary region north of the Oxus, i.e the southern tip of the Saka-dvipa of the Puranas. with the Komudha-dvipa of the Puranic literature and also connect it with the Iranian Kambojas India and the World, p 71, Dr Buddha Parkash; also see Central Asiatic Provinces of Maurya Empire, p 403, Dr H. C. Seth..

With time, the trans-Hindukush Kambojas remained essentially Iranian in culture and religion, while those in the cis-Hindukush region came partially (or partly) under Indian cultural influence. Numerous scholars have remarked that the ancient Kambojas had both Indian as well as Iranian affinities Vedic Index I, p 138, Dr Macdonnel, Dr Keith. Ethnology of Ancient Bh�rata – 1970, p 107, Dr Ram Chandra Jain. The Journal of Asian Studies – 1956, p 384, Association for Asian Studies, Far Eastern Association (U.S.). Balocist�n: siy�sī kashmakash, muz̤mir�t va rujḥ�n�t – 1989, p 2, Munīr Aḥmad Marrī. India as Known to P�ṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭ�dhy�yī – 1953, p 49, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala. Afghanistan, p 58, W. K. Fraser, M. C. Gillet. Afghanistan, its People, its Society, its Culture, Donal N. Wilber, 1962, p 80, 311 etc.Iran, 1956, p 53, Herbert Harold Vreeland, Clifford R. Barnett. Geogramatical Dictionary of Sanskrit (Vedic): 700 Complete Revisions of the Best Books..., 1953, p 49, Dr Peggy Melcher, Dr A. A. McDonnel, Dr Surya Kanta, Dr Jacob Wackmangel, Dr V. S. Agarwala. Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mah�bh�rata: Up�yana Parva, 1945, p 33, Dr Moti Chandra - India. A Grammatical Dictionary of Sanskrit (Vedic): 700 Complete Reviews of the ..., 1953, p 49, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala, Surya Kanta, Jacob Wackernagel, Arthur Anthony Macdonell, Peggy Melcher - India..

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 (Kandahar), but this view does not seem to be correct.

According scholars like Vladimirovich Gankovskiĭ, \'Ancient Kamboja confederation (Mahajanapada) extended from Hindukush to Rajaury valley (in south-west parts of Kashmir), and the south-western borders of this confederation extended probably as far as the regions of Kabul, Ghazni and Qandahar. It also included Kapishi\' The Peoples of Pakistan: An Ethnic History, 1971, pp 64-67, I︠U︡riĭ Vladimirovich Gankovskiĭ - Ethnology.. Dr Michael Witzel also extends it from Kabul valleys to Archosia/Kandahar Persica-9, p 92, fn 81.. B. M. Barua and I. N. Topa however, localize the Kambojas and the Parama Kambojas in the areas spanning Balkh, Badakshan, Pamirs and Kafiristan Asoka and His Inscriptions, 1968, pp 93-96, Beni Madhab Barua, Ishwar Nath Topa..

Kambysene/Cambyses & Kamboja connection?

Historians believe that, there was a movement of the Eurasian nomads in Iran in the early centuries of first millennium BCE, in which the Cimmerians and Yautiya figured prominently. Driven by Medes, these Eurasian nomads bifurcated into two wings, the right one pushing north-westwards up to Transcaspiana and the left one wheeling towards the south-east and penertrating into Afghanistan and Punjab. Closely allied to the Iranian Yautiya were the Kurus, Kambojas and some other clans of the Scythians, which in later centuries, had sided with Achaemenid Teispes (Cispi), and contributed to the formation of Achaemenian empire in Iran (Dr Buddha Prakash, Dr C. Chakravarty, Qamarud Din Ahmed etc). Soon these early Scythians merged with sedentary population of Iranians and became an integral part of them thus losing all traces of this ancient incursion except for some place-names, noted by a grammarian, interested in linguistics or some faint traditions lost in the multitudinous amalgam of legendary lore. According to Dr Buddha Prakash, the Indian epic Mahabharata, in reality, is a record of Scytho-Iranian invasion of Vedic India of the 9th c BCE.See: Political and Social Movements in Ancient Panjab (from the Vedic Age Upto [sic] the Maurya Period) – 1964, p 125-128, Dr Buddha Prakash Paradise of Gods – 1966, p 323-24, Qamarud Din Ahmed. Mahabharata abundantly attests that the Kambojas and their kindered Scythian tribes like the Sakas, Tusharas, Khasas etc had played a very prominent role in the Kurukshetra war where they had all fought under the supreme command of Sudakshina Kamboja See: Sudaksina.ca.Kambojo.Yavanaih.ca.zakaih.tatha (Mahabharata 5.19.21); Also: Shaka.Tushara.Yavanashcha sadinah sahaiva.Kambojavaraijidhansavah; Kritavarma tu sahitah Kambojarvarai.......Tushara.Yavanashchaiva.Shakashcha saha Chulikaih; See also: The Nations of India at the Battle Between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1908, pp 313, 331, Dr F. E. Pargiter..

Scholars believe that the nomadic invaders who had invaded Iran several centuries prior to Christian era were Scythian tribes of the "Kambysene" territory from west of Caspian region i.e. ancient Armenia. Name Kambysene has been attested anciently by Strabo which he specifies as a region bordering on Caucasus mountains.Strabo Geog., 11.14.4; Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature..., 1907, p 648 It comprised a rugged region through which a road connecting Albania and Iberia passed.Strabo Geog., 11.4.5; cf. 11.3.5; Also see: Theophanes von Mytilene, Ph.D. dissertation, by Fabricius, pp. 146, 160, and map; Ocherki po istorii i kul\'ture Kavkazsko¥ Albanii, Essays on history and culture of Caucasian Albania, Moscow, 1959, p 113, Trever, p. 113 and map. The Greek form of the name is believed to have been derived in the Hellenistic period from an indigenous name, corresponding to Armenian Kamboean. In Georgian, it is written Kambeovani, in Arabic, Qambzan. In Sanskrit, it was transliterated as Kamboja. Though not attested prior to Strabo, the region Kambysene is believed to have born this name since remote antiquity. The tribal people living around this region were also called by the same name. Strabo also attests two rivers viz: Cyrus (modern Kura) and Cambyses (modern Jori or Jora),A. Herrmann, in Pauly-Wissowa, X/2, col. 1810, s.v. Kambysene; See also: Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature..., 1907, p 648. the latter being a tributary of the former. The territorial name Cambysene or Kambysene as well as the river names Cyrus and Kambyses of Strabo\'s Geography occurring north of Iran, and the ethnics inhabiting therein have been connected to the ethno-geographical name Kambuja/Kamboja and Kuru of the Sanskrit texts Literary History of Ancient India in Relation to Its Racial and Linguistic Affiliations – 1950, p 149, 165, Chandra Chakraberty; Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature..., 1907, p 648; Eranische Alterthumskunde, Vol II, p 294; Die altpersischen Keilinschriften: Im Grundtexte mit Uebersetzung, Grammatik..., 1881, p 86, Friedrich Spiegel - Old Persian inscriptions.. According to Ernst Herzfeld also, Cyrus and Cambyses, the names of two rivers, as well as the Achaemenid names Kurush and Kambujiya, were derived from two ethnics The Persian Empire\' Studies in Geography and Ethnography of the Ancient Near East, Ernst Herzfeld, ed. G. Walser, Wiesbaden, 1968, esp. pp. 345); See entry Cambysene in Encyclopaedia Iranica: See Link: [6] i.e Kurus and Kambojas of ancient Sanskrit texts. The name Cambyses occurs in Old Persian as Kambujiya or perhaps Kambaujiya, in Egypt as Kambuza, Kembatet (or rather Kambuzia) and Kambunza Ein neuer Kambyses text, p 5; Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature, 1907, p 648., in Elemite Kanbuziya, in Akkadian Kambuziya and Aram. Knbwzy etc Encyclopaedia Iranica, See entry 3150: Cambyses, Dandamayev, M.. In Zend Avestan, the name takes the form of Kavaus and in modern Persian as Kavus and Kaus. Kabus, which was born by the Dilemite sovereigns is the same with the Kaus of Romance; yet the more ancient form is Kaubus or "Kabuj" which latter name renders the identification with Sanskrit Kamboja also most certain. The Georgians, even to the present day, name the hero of romance Kapus, still retaining the labial which has merged in the Persian Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature..., i907, p p 648. While discussing Kambujiya of the old Persian Inscriptions (Cambyses/Kambyses of the Greeks, Kamboja of Sanskrit or Kamoj of Kafirstan/Nurestan), Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1990, observes as under: "Kambujiya, Kabujiya, Cambyses is the true vernacular orthography of name which was written Kambyses by the Greeks and Kauvays in Zend....From the name of a king Kambyses was derived the geographical title of Kamboja (Sanskrit), which is retained to present days in the Kamoj of Cafferstan....the Persian historians do not seem to be aware that the name Kabus, which was born by the Dilemite sovereigns is the same with the Kaus of Romance; yet the more ancient form is Kaubus or Kabuj, for latter name renders the identification also most certain. The Georgians, even to the present day, name the hero of romance Kapus, still retaining the labial which has merged in the Persian…." (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Published 1990, p 97, Cambridge University, Press for the Royal Asiatic Society [etc.], By Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Cf: Reisen im indischen Archipel, Singapore, Batavia, Manilla und Japan, 1869, p 216; Die Voelker des Oestlichen Asien: Studien und Reisen, 1869, p 216, Dr Philip Wilhelm Adolf Bastian).. In modern times, the name appears as Kamoj in Kafiristan and Kamboj/Kamboh in Punjab.

Scholars like Chandra Chakravarty also say that Kambysene of the Greeks transliterates into Kamboja and the Cyrus into Kuru of the Sanskrit texts.Literary History of Ancient India in Relation to Its Racial and Linguistic Affiliations – 1950, p 149, 165, Chandra Chakraberty. They further note that the hordes, who had participated in the earlier invasion of Iran along with Yauteyas were the Nordic Scythians, living around the Kambysene region, near Mt Caucasus in ancient Armenia. They were the Kuru-Kambojas of the Sanskrit texts op cit, pp 37, 149, Dr C. Chakravarty.. These Nordic Kuru-Kamboja hordes later got mixed with the Alpine base "Parsa-Xsayatia" (Purush-Khattis) Iranians op cit, pp 32-33, Dr C. Chakravarty; The Racial History of India, 1944, p 225, Chandra Chakraberty: e.g: "The Achaemenids were Kamboja-Kuru Scythian people on the base of Parsa (\'Khatti-Puru\') tribe. It was a marvelous racial blend and their culture was a similar good synthesis...."; See also: Paradise of Gods – 1966, p 330, Qamarud Din Ahmed: e.g: “It seems therefore, that the Achaemenidae were mixed with the Scythian Kuru-Kambojas with the Alpine base Khatti-Purus" (i.e. Parsa-Xsayatia). and gave birth to the famous Achaemenian dynastic line of Persia. This might explain as to why the Achemenians chose to name their famous kings as Kambujiya (Cambyses) and Kurush (Cyrus).

James Hope Moulton however, remarks: “The names Kuru and Kamboja are of disputed etymology, but there is no reason whatever to doubt their being Aryan. I do not think there has been any suggestion more attractive than that made long ago by Spiegel Die altpersischen Keilinschriften: Im Grundtexte mit Uebersetzung, Grammatik ..., 1881, p 86, Friedrich Spiegel - Old Persian inscriptions that they attach themselves to Sanskrit Kura (Kuru) and Kamboja, originally Aryan heroes of the fable, whose names were naturally revived in a royal house (in Persia)....Kamboja is a geographical name, and so is Kuru often: hence their appearance in Iranian similarly to-day as Kur and Kamoj" Early Zoroastrianism, 2005, Page 45, James Hope Moulton; Zoroastrian and Israel, The Thinker: A Review of World-wide Christian Thought, 1892, p 490, fn, Theology..

Chandra Chakravarty also states that the Kambohs of NW Punjab are the modern representatives of these Scythian Kambysene, whom he calls Scythian Kambojas.op cit, pp 37, 149, 165, Dr C. Chakravarty. Chandra Chakravarty further asserts that a branch of these Scythian Kambysenes which had settled in the north-west India (in northern Afghanistan) became known in ancient Sanskrit/Pali texts as Kamboja; and yet another branch of them reached Tibetan plateau where they mixed with the locals; and some Tibetans are still called Kambojas.op cit, p 165, Dr C. Chakravarty. And through Tibet, they went further to Mekong valley where they were called Kambujas (Cambodians), now represented by the Chams, still a tall, fair, dolichocephelic people with non-mongoloid eyes of the Mon-Khmers op cit, p 165, Dr C. Chakravarty; Cf also: History of Origin of Some Clans in India, with Special Reference to Jats, 1992, p 153, Mangal Sen Jindal..

Kambojas in Sanskrit literature

Main article: Kambojas in Indian literature

Kambojas as Kshatriyas (warriors)

In anciant Indian traditions, the Kambojas obviously 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

Sanskrit:

[4.01.168] Janapada.shabdat.kshatriyad aÑ

[4.01.169] Salveya. Gandhari.bhyan cha

[4.01.170] dvinaC.Magadha. Kalinga. Surama.sadn

[4.01.171] vrddhait. Kosala. Ajada.Ñyan

[4.01.172] Kuru.nadi.bhyo.rayah

[4.01.173] Salvaavayava. Pratyagratha. Kalakuta. Asmakad iÑ

[4.01.174] te tadrajah

[4.01.175] Kambojal.luK

[4.01.176] striyam Avanti. Kunti.kurubhyas.cha

[4.01.177] aTascha

— (Panini\'s Ashtadhyayi, 4.1.168-177)..

See: Kambojas of Panini

The Harivamsa attests that the clans of Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas etc. were "formerly noble Kshatriyas". It was king Sagara who had deprived the Kambojas, and other allied tribes, of their Kshatiya-hood

Saka Yavana Kambojah Paradasca dvijottamah |

Konisarpa Mahisaka Darvascolah sakeralah || 14.19|

Sarve te Kshatriya vipra dharmastesam nirakrtah |

Vasisthavacanadrajna Sagarena mahatmana || 14.20|

— (Harivamsa, 14.19-20). and forbade them from performing Svadhyayas and Vasatkaras.Harivamsa, 14.17..

The Harivamsa calls this group of Sakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Pahlavas and Paradas as "Kśatriya-pungavah", i.e., foremost among the Kśatriyas. Vayu Purana calls them as "Kśatriya ganah" (Kshatriya hordes).Vayu Purana: v 88.127-43.Cultural History from Vayu Purana, 1973, p 27, fn 185, Reprint of 1946 Edition, published by Deccan College Post Graduate Research Institute, PoonaForeign Elements in Ancient Indian Society, 2nd Century BC to 7th Century AD - 1979, p 125, Uma Prasad Thapliyal.

The Manusmriti attests that the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas etc were originally "noble Kśatriyas", but were gradually degraded to the status of "Vriśalah" (degraded Kśatriyas), on account of their neglect of sacred rites and non-entertainment of the Brahminas in their countries

Sanskrit:

shanakaistu kriya-lopadimah Kshatriya-jatayah |

vrashalatvam gata loke brahmna-darshanen cha || 43 ||

Paundrash-Chaudra-Dravidah-Kamboja-Yavanah-Shakah |

Paradah Pahlavash-Chinah Kirata Daradah Khashah || 44 ||

— (Manusmritti, X.43-44)..

The Mahabharata likewise, also notes that the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, et al. were originally "noble Kshatriyas", who later got degraded to barbaric status due to the wrath of the Brahmanas

Sanskrit:

Brahmana yam prasha.nsanti purushah sa pravardhate |

brahmanairyah parakrushtah parabhuyatkshanaddhi sah || 20 ||

Shaka Yavana Kambojas tastah Kshatriya-jatayah |

vrishalatvam parigata Brahmananamadarshanat || 21 ||

— (Mahabharata 13.33.20-21). Cf also: (Mahabharata 13.35.17-18)..

Furthermore, while making a reference to a Kamboja king called Kamatha, the Sabha Parva of Mahabharata also styles the Kamboja prince as one of the foremost Kshatriya princes present among the princely invitees of the Pandava king Yudhisthira on the inauguration ceremony of the royal palace

Tathaiva Kshatriya shreShThA dharmarAjamupAsate.

ShrImAnmahAtmA dharmAtmA mu~nja keturvivardhanaH ||18 ||

Sa~NgrAmajiddurmukhashcha ugrasenashcha vIryavAn.

KakShasenaH kShitipatiH kShemakashchAparAjitaH.

KambojarAjaH KamathaH kampanashcha mahAbalaH ||19||

— ( Mahabharata 02.5.18-19)..

The legend of Daivi Khadga or Divine Sword detailed in Shantiparva of MahabharataMBH 12.166.1-81 again 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 another warrior king called Muchukunda.

Sanskrit:

Dhundhumarachcha Kambojo Muchukundastato.alabhat

MuchukundanMaruttashcha Maruttadapi Raivatah

— (MBH 12.166.77-78). .

See: Mahabharata Sword

The Arthashastra of Kautiliya attests the Kshatriya Shrenis (Corporations of Kshatriyas or Warriors) of the Kambojas, Surashtras, and some other nations, and mentions them as living by agriculture, trade and warfare

Sanskrit:

Kamboja.Suraastra.Ksatriya.shreny.aadayovartasastra.upajiivinah|

Licchivika.Vrjika.Mallaka.Madraka.Kukura.Kuru.Panchala.adayo raaja.shabda.upajiivinah||

— (Kautiliya Arathashastra, 11.1.03)..

See: Kambojas in Kautiliya\'s Arthashastra

Also, according to numerous Puranas, the military Corporations of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas and Paradas, known as five hordes (p�nca-ganah), had militarily supported the Haihaya and Talajunga Kshatriyas in depriving Ikshvaku king Bahu (the 7th king in descent from Harishchandra), of his Ayodhya kingdom. A generation later, Bahu\'s son, Sagara recaptured Ayodhya after totally destroying the Haihaya and Talajangha Kshatriyas in the battle. Story goes that king Sagara had punished these foreign hordes by changing their hair-styles and turning them into degraded Kshatriyas.Harivamsa 14.1-19

Bhagavata PuranaBHagavata Purana 2.7.35 references a king of the Kambojas, and calls him a "powerfully armed mighty warrior" (samiti-salina atta-capah Kamboja).

Kalika PuranaKalika Puranna 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 confirming the Kshatriya-hood of the Kambojas.

Brahmanda Purana talks of 21 battles waged by Brahma-Kshatriya sage Parsurama against the ancient Haihaya dynasty clans of the Indian subcontinent. The list of Haihaya dynasty clans whom sage Parsurama fought with includes the Kambojas as well.Brahmanda Purana, 3.41.36; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 19, Dr J. L. Kamboj; Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 15, S. Kirpal Singh This ancient evidence again verifies that Kambojas were a Kshatriya clan.

There are numerous similar references in the Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and other ancient Sanskrit and Pali literature, that further document the Kshatriya-hood of the Kambojas.

Passages in Mahabharata, Puranas and other ancient texts indicate that the Kambojas were \'valiant warriors\' ete Durvarana nama Kambojah (=Kamboja warriors, difficult to be resisted like wild elephants), Mahabharata 7.112.43; The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p 124.; particularly \'hard to fight with\' Journal of the American Oriental Society - P 295, American Oriental Society.; invincible Kambojasainyan vidravya durjayam yudhi bharata.; expert in the use of \'diverse weapons\' Ibid.; See also: The Social and Military Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India, as Represented by the Sanskrit Epic, Edward W. Hopkins, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 13, 1889 (1889), pp. 57-376.; \'wrathful, ferocious and shaved-headed warriors\' ibid.; Mahabharata 7.112.43-45; mundanetan ....Kambojan.eva... MBH 7.119.23.; expert cavalarymen Ashva.yuddha.kushalah: Mahabharata 7.7.14; Vishnudharmotra Purana, Part II, Chapter 118; Post Gupta Polity (AD 500-700): A Study of the Growth of Feudal Elements and Rural Administration 1972, p 136, Ganesh Prasad Sinha; Wisdom in the Puranas 1969, p 64, prof Sen Sarma etc.; \'deadly like cobras\' tikshnai.rashivishopamah: Mahabharata 7.112.48-49.; \'strikers of fierce force\' tigmavega.praharinam.; \'Death-personified\' samana.mrityavo.; \'of a fearful bearing like Yama\' (the god of death) Kambojah Yama vaishravan.opamah: MBH 7,23.40-42.; and \'the war-loving Kambojas\' damshitah krurakarmanah Kamboja yuddhadurmadah i.e. lip-biting, hardy and war-intoxicated Kambojas: Mahabarata 7.119.26-28; Traditional History of India: A Digest – 1960, p 136, Govinda Krishna Pillai. etc.

Kambojas as a learned clan

Chudakarma Samskaara of Paraskara Grhya-Sutram Paraskara Gryya-sutram verse 2.1.2; Commentary: Pt Harihar., Vamsa Brahmana Vamsa Brahmana verse 1.18-19. of the Sama Veda[7], the Epic Ramayana as well as Mahabharata and some other ancient references profusely attest that a section of the ancient Kambojas also practiced Brahmanism i.e they had adopted the profession of learning and teaching. Thus we see that the ancient Kambojas are known to have been great scholars and teachers. Undoubtedly, they were intimately connected with ancient famous University of Taxila in Gandhara.

In Paraskara Grhya-sutram (verse 2.1.2), the Kambojas have been listed at par with the Vasishthas--the cultural heroes of ancient India. Their social customs are stated to be identical. Rsi Upamanyu, the composer of Rigvedic Hymn (1. 102. 9); and his son/descendent Kamboja Aupamanyava-- a hallowed sage and teacher mentioned in Vamsa Brahmana of the Sama Veda-- are some of the very distinguished ancient philosophers/scholars and teachers born of the Kamboja lineage.

Drona Parva section of Mahabharata amply attests that, besides being fierce warriors, the entire Kamboj soldiery which participated in the Kurukshetra war was also noted as learned people .

Sanskrit:

ye tvete rathino rajandrishyante kanchanadhvajah |

ete durvarana nama Kamboja yadi te shrutah || 43 ||

shurashcha kritavidyashcha dhanurvede cha nishthitah |

sa.nhatashcha bhrisha.n hyete anyonyasya hitaishinah || 44 ||

akshauhinyashcha sa.nrabdha dhartarahhtrasya bharata. |

(Mahabharata 7.12.43-44)

Translation:

"Those other car-warriors with golden standards, O king, whom you see, and who, like the wild elephants are difficult of being resisted, they are called the Kambojas. They are brave, a learned people and are firmly devoted to the science of weapons. Desiring one another\'s welfare, they are all highly united and mutually cooperative. They constitute a full Akshauhini of wrathful warriors"..

Benjamin Walker observes:

"Kambojas were not only famous for their furs and woolen blankets embroidered with threads of gold, their wonderful horses and their beautiful women, but by epic period, they had become especially renowned as Vedic teachers and their homeland as a seat of Brahmanical learning" Hindu World, Vol I, Benjamin Walker, p. 520..

Dr A. D. Pusalkar observes:

“The speech of Kambojas is referred to by Yaska as differing from that of other Aryans and Grierson sees in this reference the Iranian affinities of the Kambojas, but the fact that the Kambojas teachers were reputed for their Vedic learning shows them to have been Vedic Aryans, so that the Kamboja was an Aryan settlemen�History & Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age, Dr A. D. Pusalkar, Dr R. C. Majumdar, Dr K. D. Munshi, 1952, pp 259-260; cf: Location of Kamboja, Purana, Vol VI No1, Jan 1964 pp 212-213; Problems of Ancient India, 2000, p 224, K. D. Sethna.

Viveka Nanda and Lokesh Chander write:

"The teachers of Kamboja were known for their Vedic learning. Culturally, Afghanistan then formed part of India...." India\'s Contribution to World and Culture, 1970, p 216, Veveka Nanda, Lokesh Chandra..

See also : Brahmanism of Ancient Kambojas.

Kambojas as master horsemen

Main article: Kamboja Horsemen

The horses of the Kambojas were famous throughout all periods of ancient history The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p 103; Some Ká¹£atriya Tribes of Ancient India, 1924, p 239, Dr B. C. Law .. 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).

In the Mahavastu, the superb horses of Kambojas (Kambojaka Asvanara) are also referred to and glorified Mahavastu, II. 185..

The Jaina Canon Uttaradhyana-Sutra:Prakrit

jaha se Kamboyanam aiiyne kanthai siya |

assai javeyan pavre ayam havayi bahuassuye ||

— (Uttaradhyana Sutra XI.17 20).

tells us that a trained Kamboja horse exceeded all other horses in speed and no noise could ever frighten it. “....And such a monk practising the rigours of an ascetic for the sake of a fuller and more perfect life here and here-after-is superior to all others like a trained \'Kamboja steed\' whom no noise frightens, Iike a strong irresistible elephant, like a strong bull and a proud lion ". (See ref: Jivaraja Jaina Granthmala, No. 20, JAINA VIEW OF LIFE: BY T. G. Kalghati, M.A., Ph.D. Reader in Philosophy, Karnatak University, and Principal, Karnatak Arts College, Dharwar General Editor Dr. A. N. Upadhya & Dr. H. L. Jain and Pt. Kailaschand Shastri Published by LAL CHAND HIRACHAND DOSHI Jaina Sanskriti Samraksaka