Everything about Indo-scythian totally explained
The
Indo-Scythians are a branch of the
Indo-Iranian Sakas (
Scythians), who migrated from southern
Siberia into
Bactria,
Sogdiana,
Arachosia,
Gandhara,
Kashmir,
Punjab, and into parts of Western and Central
India,
Gujarat and
Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE. The first Saka King in India was
Maues or Moga who established Saka power in Gandhara and gradually extended supremacy over north-western India. Indo-Scythian rule in India ended with the last
Western Satrap Rudrasimha III in
395 CE.
The invasion of India by Scythian tribes from
Central Asia, often referred to as the
Indo-Scythian invasion, played a significant part in the
history of India as well as nearby countries. In fact, the
Indo-Scythian war is just one chapter in the events triggered by the nomadic flight of
Central Asians from conflict with Chinese
tribes which had lasting effects on
Bactria,
Kabol,
Parthia and India as well as far off as
Rome in the west.
The
Scythian groups that invaded India and set up various
kingdoms, may have included besides the
Sakas other allied
tribes, such as the
Parama Kambojas,
Bahlikas,
Rishikas and
Paradas.
Origins
The ancestors of the Indo-Scythians are thought to be
Sakas (
Scythian) tribes, originally settled in southern
Siberia, in the
Ili river area.
Yuezhi expansion
In the second century BCE, a fresh
nomadic movement started among the
Central Asian
tribes, producing lasting effects on the history of
Rome in
Europe and
Bactria,
Kabul,
Parthia and India in the east. Recorded in the annals of the
Han dynasty and other
Chinese records, this great tribal movement began after the
Yuezhi tribe was defeated by the
Xiongnu, fleeing westwards after their defeat and creating a
domino effect as they displaced other central Asian tribes in their path.
According to these ancient sources
Mao-tun of the
Hsiung-nu tribe of
Mongolia attacked the
Yuezhi and evicted them from their homeland
Kansu (Nan-shan). Leaving behind a remnant of their number, most of the population moved westwards, and following the route north of
Takla Makan, entered the lands of the
Haumavarka Sakas of Issyk-kul Lake through the passes of Tien-shan. Unable to withstand the assault, the Haumavarka Sakas allowed the Yue-chi to settle in their lands. In the years to come, the Haumavarka Sakas (Sakas of Wu-sun?) sought the help of the Hsiung-nu people and evicted the Yue-chi.
Even so, the initial clash with the invading Yue-chi caused a large group of the Haumavarka Shakas to leave their ancestral home. These Sakas journeyed through
Tashkent and
Ferghana (
Sogdiana) (
inhabited by the Sugud or Shulik tribe of the Iranians) and occupied the
Doab of
Oxus and
Jaxartes, also overrunning the western parts of the
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Others suggest Tukhara (India and Central Asia, 1955, p 125, Dr P. C. Bagch). Dr D. C. Sircar reconciles the difference by suggesting that Ta-hia referred to Tukhara and the eastern parts of Bactria.
After being defeated and evicted by the joint forces of the
Wu-sun and
Hsiung-nu people, the Ta Yue-chis also moved southwards, overrunning in their path the
Rishikas,
Parama-Kambojas, Lohas and other allied Scythian
clans living in the
Transoxian regions as far Fargana. Many fled in a southwesterly direction and joined the Haumavarka Sakas in Bactria. The Yue-chi followed behind. Once again under extreme pressure, the Sakas and other allied Scythian groups including the Kambojas were forced to leave Bactria.
They first tried to enter India via the
Kabul valley but were vigorously opposed by the
Indo-Greek powers there. Rebuffed, the clans turned westwards to
Herat and then took a southerly direction, reaching
Helmund valley (Sigal) in south-west Afghanistan, the region later called Sakasthan or Seistan. Scholars believe that this
Indo-Scythian migration through
Herat to Drangiana was accompanied by groups of Kambojas (
Parama-Kambojas),
Rishikas and other allied tribes from Transoxiana that were also displaced by the Yue-chi.
Around
175 BCE, the
Yuezhi tribes (probable related to the
Tocharians) who lived in eastern
Tarim Basin area, were defeated by the
Xiongnu (Hsiung-nu or
Hun) tribes, and fled West into the
Ili river area. There, they displaced the
Sakas, who migrated south into
Ferghana and
Sogdiana. According to the Chinese historical chronicles (who call the Sakas, "Sai" 塞):
"The Yuezhi attacked the king of the Sai who moved a considerable distance to the south and the Yuezhi then occupied his lands" (
Han Shu 61 4B).
Sometime after
155 BCE, the Yuezhi were again defeated by an alliance of the
Wusun and the
Xiongnu, and were forced to move south, again displacing the Scythians, who migrated south towards
Bactria, and south-west towards
Parthia and
Afghanistan.
The Sakas seem to have entered the territory of the
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom around
145 BCE, where they burnt to the ground the Greek city of
Alexandria on the Oxus. The Yuezhi remained in Sogdiana on the northern bank of the
Oxus, but they became
suzerains of the Sakas in Bactrian territory, as described by the Chinese ambassador
Zhang Qian who visited the region around
126 BCE.
In Parthia, between
138-
124 BCE, the Sakas tribes of the
Massagetae and
Sacaraucae came into conflict with the
Parthian Empire, winning several battles, and killing successively king
Phraates II and king
Artabanus I.
The Parthian king
Mithridates II finally retook control of Central Asia, first by defeating the Yuezhi in Sogdiana in
115 BCE, and then defeating the Scythians in Parthia and
Seistan around 100 BCE.
After their defeat, the Yuezhi tribes migrated into Bactria, which they were to control for several centuries, and from which they later conquered northern India to found the
Kushan Empire. The area of Bactria they settled came to be known as
Tocharistan, since the Yuezhi were called
Tocharians by the Greeks.
Settlement in Sakastan
The Sakas settled in areas of southern
Afghanistan, still called after them
Sakastan. From there, they progressively expanded into the Indian subcontinent, where they established various kingdoms, and where they're known as "Indo-Scythians".
The
Arsacid emperor
Mithridates II (c 123-88/87 BCE) had scored many successes against the
Scythians and added many provinces to the
Parthian
empire, and apparently the Bactrian Scythian hordes were also conquered by him. A section of these people moved from
Bactria to Lake
Helmond in the wake of Yue-chi pressure and settled about
Drangiana (
Sigal), a region which later came to be called "Sakistana of the Skythian (Scythian) Sakai", towards the end of first century BCE. The region is still known as
Seistan.
Sakistan or Seistan of Drangiana may not only have been the habitat of the Saka alone but may also have contained population of the
Pahlavas and the
Kambojas. The
Rock Edicts of king
Ashoka only refer to the
Yavanas,
Kambojas and the
Gandharas in the northwest, but no mention is made of the Sakas, who imigrated in the region more than a century later. It is thus likely that the immigrant Saka populations who settled in Afghanistan did so among or near the Kambojas and nearby Greek cities. Numerous scholars believe that during centuries immediately preceding
Christian era, there had occurred extensive social and cultural admixture among the
Kambojas and
Yavanas; the
Sakas and
Pahlavas; and
the Kambojas, Sakas, and Pahlavas etc.... such that their cultures and social customs had become almost identical.
The presence of the Sakas in Sakastan in the 1st century BCE is mentioned by
Isidore of Charax in his "Parthian stations". He explained that they were bordered at that time by Greek cities to the east (
Alexandria of the Caucasus and
Alexandria of the Arachosians), and the Parthian-controlled territory of
Arachosia to the south:
» "Beyond is Sacastana of the Scythian Sacae, which is also Paraetacena, 63
schoeni. There are the city of Barda and the city of Min and the city of
Palacenti and the city of
Sigal; in that place is the royal residence of the Sacae; and nearby is the city of Alexandria (and nearby is the city of Alexandropolis), and six villages." Parthian stations, 18.
Indo-Scythian kingdoms
Abiria to Surastrene
The first Indo-Scythian kingdom in the Indian subcontinent occupied the southern part of
Pakistan (which they accessed from southern Afghanistan), in the areas from Abiria (
Sindh) to Surastrene (
Gujarat), from around
110 to
80 BCE. They progressively further moved north into Indo-Greek territory until the conquests of
Maues, circa
80 BCE.
The 1st century CE
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the Scythian territories there:
» "Beyond this region (
Gedrosia), the continent making a wide curve from the east across the depths of the bays, there follows the coast district of Scythia, which lies above toward the north; the whole marshy; from which flows down the river
Sinthus, the greatest of all the rivers that flow into the Erythraean Sea, bringing down an enormous volume of water (...) This river has seven mouths, very shallow and marshy, so that they're not navigable, except the one in the middle; at which by the shore, is the market-town,
Barbaricum. Before it there lies a small island, and inland behind it's the metropolis of Scythia,
Minnagara."
The Indo-Scythians ultimately established a kingdom in the northwest, based in
Taxila, with two Great
Satraps, one in
Mathura in the east, and one in
Surastrene (
Gujarat) in the southwest.
In the southeast, the Indo-Scythians invaded the area of
Ujjain, but were subsequently repelled in
57 BCE by the
Malwa king
Vikramaditya. To commemorate the event Vikramaditya established the
Vikrama era, a specific Indian calendar starting in
57 BCE. More than a century later, in 78 CE the Sakas would again invade Ujjain and establish the
Saka era, marking the beginning of the long-lived Saka
Western Satraps kingdom.
Gandhara and Punjab
The presence of the Scythians in north-western India during the 1st century BCE was contemporary with that of the
Indo-Greek Kingdoms there, and it seems they initially recognized the power of the local Greek rulers.
Maues first conquered
Gandhara and
Taxila around 80 BCE, but his kingdom disintegrated after his death. In the east, the Indian king
Vikrama retook
Ujjain from the Indo-Scythians, celebrating his victory by the creation of the Vikrama Era (starting
58 BCE). Indo-Greek kings again ruled after Maues, and prospered, as indicated by the profusion of coins from kings
Apollodotus II and
Hippostratos. Not until
Azes I, in 55 BCE, did the Indo-Scythians take final control of northwestern India, with his victory over Hippostratos.
Sculpture
Several stone sculptures have been found in the Early Saka layer (Layer No4, corresponding to the period of Azes I, in which numerous coins of the latter were found) in the ruins of
Sirkap, during the excavations organized by
John Marshall.
Several of them are toilet trays (also called
Stone palettes) roughly imitative of earlier, and finer, Hellenistic ones found in the earlier layers. Marshall comments that "we have a praiseworthy effort to copy a Hellenistic original but obviously without the appreciation of form and skill which were necessary for the task". From the same layer, several statuettes in the round are also known, in very rigid and frontal style.
Bimaran casket
Azes II is connected to the
Bimaran casket, one of the earliest representations of the
Buddha. The casket was used for the dedication of a
stupa in Bamiran, near
Jalalabad in
Afghanistan, and placed inside the stupa with several coins of Azes II. This event may have happened during the reign of Azes II (30-10 BCE), or slightly later. The Indo-Scythians are otherwise connected with Buddhism (see
Mathura lion capital), and it's indeed possible they'd have commended the work.
Mathura area ("Northern Satraps")
In central India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the area of
Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE. Some of their
satraps were Hagamasha and Hagana, who were in turn followed by the Saca Great Satrap
Rajuvula.
The
Mathura lion capital, an
Indo-Scythian sandstone capital in crude style, from
Mathura in Central India, and dated to the
1st century CE, describes in
kharoshthi the gift of a
stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by Queen
Nadasi Kasa, the wife of the
Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura,
Rajuvula. The capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura.
Rajuvula apparently eliminated the last of the Indo-Greek kings
Strato II around 10 CE, and took his capital city,
Sagala.
The coinage of the period, such as that of Rajuvula, tends to become very crude and barbarized in style. It is also very much debased, the silver content becoming lower and lower, in exchange for a higher proportion of bronze, an alloying technique (
billon) suggesting less than wealthy finances.
The
Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions attest that
Mathura fell under the control of the Sakas. The
inscriptions contain references to
Kharaosta Kamuio and
Aiyasi Kamuia. Yuvaraja Kharostes (
Kshatrapa) was the son of
Arta as is attested by his own coins. Arta is stated to be brother of king Moga or Maues. Princess Aiyasi Kambojaka, also called
Kambojika, was the chief queen of
Shaka Mahakshatrapa
Rajuvula. Kamboja presence in Mathura is also verified from some verses of
epic Mahabharata which are believed to have been composed around this period. This may suggest that Sakas and Kambojas may have jointly ruled over Mathura/Uttara Pradesh. It is revealing that
Mahabharata verses only attest the
Kambojas and
Yavanas as the inhabitants of
Mathura, but don't make any reference to the Sakas. Probably, the epic has reckoned the Sakas of Mathura among the Kambojas (Dr J. L. Kamboj) or else have addressed them as Yavanas, unless the Mahabharata verses refer to the previous period of invasion occupation by the Yavanas around 150 BCE.
The Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura are sometimes called the "Northern Satraps", in opposition to the "
Western Satraps" ruling in
Gujarat and
Malwa. After Rajuvula, several successors are known to have ruled as vassals to the
Kushans, such as the "Great Satrap"
Kharapallana and the "Satrap"
Vanaspara, who are known from an inscription discovered in
Sarnath, and dated to the 3rd year of
Kanishka (circa 130 CE), in which they were paying allegiance to the Kushans.
Pataliputra
The text of the
Yuga Purana describes an invasion of
Pataliputra by the Scythians sometimes during the
1st century BCE, after seven greats kings had ruled in succession in
Saketa following the retreat of the Yavanas. The Yuga Purana explains that the king of the
Sakas killed one fourth of the population, before he was himself slain by the
Kalinga king
Shata and a group of
Sabalas (Sabaras).
Kushan and Indo-Parthian conquests
After the death of
Azes II, the rule of the Indo-Scythians in northwestern India finally crumbled with the conquest of the
Kushans, one of the five tribes of the
Yuezhi who had lived in Bactria for more than a century, and were now expanding into India to create a Kushan Empire. Soon after, the
Parthians invaded from the west. Their leader
Gondophares temporarily displaced the
Kushans and founded the
Indo-Parthian Kingdom that was to last towards the middle of the 1st century CE.
The
Kushans ultimately regained northwestern India from around 75 CE, and the area of Mathura from around 100 CE, where they were to prosper for several centuries.
Western Kshatrapas legacy
The Indo-Scythians continued to hold the area of
Seistan until the reign of
Bahram II (276-293 CE), and held several areas of India well into the 1st millennium:
Kathiawar and
Gujarat were under their rule until the
5th century under the designation of
Western Kshatrapas, until they were eventually conquered by the
Gupta emperor
Chandragupta II (also called Vikramaditya).
The Brihat-Katha-Manjari of the Kshmendra (10/1/285-86) informs us that around
400 CE the
Gupta king Vikramaditya (
Chandragupta II) had unburdened the sacred earth of the
Barbarians like the Shakas, Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Tusharas, Parasikas, Hunas, etc. by annihilating these sinners completely.
The 10th century CE
Kavyamimamsa of Raj Shekhar (Ch 17) still lists the Shakas, Tusharas, Vokanas,
Hunas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Pahlavas, Tangana, Turukshas, etc. together and states them as the tribes located in the Uttarapatha division.
Indo-Scythian coinage
Indo-Scythian coinage is generally of a high artistic quality, although it clearly deteriorates towards the disintegration of Indo-Scythian rule around 20 CE (coins of
Rajuvula). A fairly qualitative but rather stereotypes coinage would continue with the
Western Satraps until the 4th century CE.
Indo-Scythian coinage is generally quite realistic, artistically somewhere between Indo-Greek and Kushan coinage. It is often suggested Indo-Scythian coinage benefited from the help of Greek celators (Boppearachchi).
Indo-Scythian coins essentially continue the Indo-Greek tradition, bu using the Greek language on the obverse and the
Kharoshthi language on the reverse. The portrait of the king is never shown however, and is replaced by depictions of the king on horse (and sometimes on camel), or sometimes sitting cross-legged on a cushion. The reverse of their coins typically show Greek divinities.
Buddhist symbolism is present throughout Indo-Scythian coinage. In particular, they adopted the Indo-Greek practice since
Menander I of showing divinities forming the
vitarka mudra with their right hand (as for the mudra-forming
Zeus on the coins of
Maues or
Azes II), or the presence of the Buddhist lion on the coins of the same two kings, or the
triratana symbol on the coins of
Zeionises.
Depiction of Indo-Scythians
Besides coinage, few works of art are known to indisputably represent Indo-Scythians. Indo-Scythians rulers are usually depicted on horseback in armour, but the coins of
Azilises show the king in a simple, undecorated, tunic.
Several Gandharan sculptures also show foreigner in soft tunics, sometimes wearing the typical
Scythian cap. They stand in contrast to representations of Kushan men, who seem to wear thicks, rigid, tunics, and who are generally represented in a much more simplistic manner
Buner reliefs
Indo-Scythian soldiers in military attire are sometimes represented in Buddhist friezes in the art of Gandhara (particularly in
Buner reliefs). They are depicted in ample tunics with trousers, and have heavy straight sword as a weapon. They wear a pointed hood (the Scythian cap or
bashlyk), which distinguishes them from the Indo-Parthians who only wore a simple fillet over their bushy hair, and which is also systematically worn by Indo-Scythian rulers on their coins. With the right hand, some of them are forming the
Karana mudra against evil spirits. In Gandhara, such friezes were used as decorations on the pedestals of Buddhist
stupas. They are contemporary with other friezes representing people in purely Greek attire, hinting at an intermixing of Indo-Scythians (holding military power) and Indo-Greeks (confined, under Indo-Scythian rule, to civilian life).
Another relief is known where the same type of soldiers are playing musical instruments and dancing, activities which are widely represented elsewhere in Gandharan art: Indo-Scythians are typically shown as reveling devotees.
Image:IndoScythiansDyonisos.jpg|Indo-Scythians pushing along the Greek god Dyonisos with Ariadne.
Image:SoldiersBattllingAnimals.jpg|Hunting scene.
Image:SoldiersBattllingAnimals2.jpg|Hunting scene.
Image:SoldiersBattllingAnimals5.jpg|Hunting scene.
Stone palettes
Numerous
stone palettes found in Gandhara are considered as good representatives of Indo-Scythian art. These palettes combine Greek and Iranian influences, and are often realized in a simple, archaic style. Stone palettes have only been found in archaeological layers corresponding to Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian rule, and are essentially unknown the preceding
Mauryan layers or the succeeding
Kushan layers.
Very often these palettes represent people in Greek dress in mythological scenes, a few in Parthian dress (head-bands over bushy hair, crossed-over jacket on a bare chest, jewelry, belt, baggy trousers), and even fewer in Indo-Scythian dress (Phrygian hat, tunic and comparatively straight trousers). A palette found in
Sirkap and now in the
New Delhi Museum shows a winged Indo-Scythian horseman riding winged
deer, and being attacked by a lion.
The Indo-Scythians and Buddhism
The Indo-Scythians seem to have been followers of Buddhism, and many of their practices apparently continued those of the Indo-Greeks. They are known for their numerous Buddhist dedications, recorded through such epigraphic material as the
Taxila copper plate inscription or the
Mathura lion capital inscription.
Butkara Stupa
Excavation at the
Butkara Stupa in
Swat by an Italian archaeological team have yielded various Buddhist sculptures thought to belong to the Indo-Scythian period. In particular, an
Indo-Corinthian capital representing a Buddhist devotee within foliage has been found which had a reliquary and a coins of
Azes II buried at its base, securely dating the sculpture to around
20 BCE. A contemporary pilaster with the image of a Buddhist devotee in Greek dress has also been found at the same spot, again suggesting a mingling of the two populations. Various reliefs at the same location show Indo-Scythians with their characteristics tunics and pointed hoods within a Buddhist context, and side-by-side with reliefs of standing Buddhas.
Gandharan sculptures
Other reliefs have been found, which show Indo-Scythian men with their characteristic pointed cap pushing a cart on which is reclining the Greek god
Dionysos with his consort
Ariadne.
Mathura lion capital
The
Mathura lion capital, which associates many of the Indo-Scythian rulers from
Maues to
Rajuvula, mentions a dedication of a relic of the Buddha in a
stupa. It also bears centrally the Buddhist symbol of the
triratana, and is also filled with mentions of the
bhagavat Buddha
Sakyamuni, and characteristically Buddhist phrases such as:
» "sarvabudhana puya dhamasa puya saghasa puya"
"Revere all the Buddhas, revere the
dharma, revere the
sangha"
» (
Mathura lion capital, inscription O1/O2)
Image:PilarImage4.jpg|Indo-Corinthian capital from Butkara Stupa, dated to 20 BCE, during the reign of Azes II. Turin City Museum of Ancient Art.
Image:DancingIndoScythians.jpg|Dancing Indo-Scythians (top) and hunting scene (bottom). Buddhist relief from Swat, Gandhara.
Image:ButkaraDoorJamb.jpg|Butkara door jamb, with Indo-Scythians dancing and reveling. On the back side is a relief of a standing Buddha
Indo-Scythians in Western sources
The presence of Scythian territory in northwestern India, and especially around the mouth of the Indus is mentioned extensively in Western maps and travel descriptions of the period. The
Ptolemy world map, as well as the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mention prominently Scythia in the Indus area, as well as Roman
Tabula Peutingeriana. The Periplus states that
Minnagara was the capital of Scythia, and that Parthian king were fighting for it during the 1st century CE. It also distinguishes Scythia with
Ariaca further east (centered in
Gujarat and
Malwa), over which ruled the
Western Satrap king
Nahapana.
Indo-Scythians in Indian literature
Saka used by the Persians to designate Scythians. From the time of the
Mahabharata wars (1500-500 BCE) Shakas receive numerous mentions in texts like the Puranas, the Manusmriti, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Mahabhasiya of Patanjali, the Brhat Samhita of Vraha Mihira, the Kavyamimamsa, the Brihat-Katha-Manjari, the Katha-Saritsagara and several other old texts. They are described as part of an amalgam of other war-like tribes from the northwest.
Sai-Wang Scythian hordes of Chipin or Kipin
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. Chipin has been identified by Dr Pelliot, Dr Bagchi, Dr Raychaudhury and some others with
Kashmir while other scholars identify it with Kapisha (
Kafirstan). 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 for example king, master or lord, but prof Bagchi who takes the word Wang in the sense of the king of the Scythians but he distinguishes the Sai Sakas from the Murunda Sakas. There are reasons to believe that Sai Scythians were Kamboja Scythians and therefore
Sai-Wang belonged to the
Scythianised Kambojas (for example
Parama-Kambojas) of the
Transoxiana region and came back to settle among his own stock after being evicted from his ancestral land located in
Scythia or
Shakadvipa. King
Moga or
Maues could have belonged to this group of Scythians who had migrated from the
Sai country (
Central Asia) to Chipin. The
Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions attest that the members of the family of king
Moga (q.v.) had last name
Kamuia or
Kamuio (q.v) which
Khroshthi term has been identified by scholars with
Sanskrit Kamboja or
Kambojaka. Thus, Sai-Wang and his migrant
hordes which came to settle in
Kabol valley in
Kapisha may indeed have been from the
transoxian Parama Kambojas living in
Shakadvipa or Scythian land.
Establishment of Mlechcha Kingdoms in Northern India
The mixed
Scythian hordes that migrated to Drangiana and surrounding regions, later spread further into north and south-west India via the lower Indus valley. Their migration spread into Sovira, Gujarat, Rajasthan and northern India, including kingdoms in the Indian mainland.
There are important references to the warring
Mleccha hordes of the
Shakas,
Yavanas,
Kambojas and
Pahlavas in the
Bala Kanda of the
Valmiki Ramayana also.
Leading
Indologists like Dr H. C. Raychadhury glimpses in these verses the struggles between the
Hindus and the invading hordes of Mlechcha
barbarians from the
northwest. The time frame for these struggles is the second century BCE onwards. Dr Raychadhury fixes the date of the present version of the
Valmiki Ramayana around or after the second century CE.
This picture presented by the
Ramayana probably refers to the political scenario that emerged when the mixed hordes descended from
Sakasthan and advanced into the lower
Indus valley via
Bolan Pass and beyond into the Indian mainland. It refers to the hordes' struggle to seize political control of
Sovira,
Gujarat,
Rajasthan,
Punjab,
Malwa,
Maharashtra and further areas of eastern, central and southern India.
Mahabharata too furnishes a veiled hint about the invasion of the mixed hordes from the northwest.
Vanaparava by
Mahabharata contains verses in the form of
prophecy deploring that "......the Mlechha (
barbaric) kings of the
Shakas,
Yavanas,
Kambojas,
Bahlikas, etc shall rule the earth (i.e India) un-rightously in Kaliyuga..".
According to Dr H. C. Ray Chaudhury, this is too clear a statement to be ignored or explained away.
Mahabharata's epic reference apparently alludes to the chaotic politics which followed the collapse of the
Mauryan and
Sunga dynasties in northern India and the area's subsequent occupation by foreign
hordes of the
Saka,
Yavana,
Kamboja,
Pahlavas,
Bahlika, Shudra and
Rishika tribes from the
northwest.
See also:
Migration of Kambojas
Evidence about joint invasions
The
clans of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Paradas, etc had been invading India from Central Asia many years before the Christian era. These peoples were all absorbed into the
community of
Kshatriyas of mainstream Indian society.
The Shakas were formerly a people of
trans-Hemodos region---the
Shakadvipa of the
Puranas or the
Scythia of the classical writings.
Isidor of Charax (beginning of first c AD) attests them in Sakastana (modern Seistan). First century CE
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c AD 70-80) also attests a Scythian district in lower Indus with Minnagra as its capital. Ptolemy (c AD 140) also attests Indo-Scythia in south-western India which comprised Patalene, Abhira and the Surastrene (Saurashtra) territories.
The second century BCE Scythian invasion of India, was in all probability carried out jointly by the
Sakas,
Pahlavas,
Kambojas,
Paradas,
Rishikas and other allied tribes from the
northwest. As a result, groups of these people who had originally lived in the northwest before the Christian era, were also found to have lived in southwest India in post-Christian times. All these groups of north-western peoples apparently entered Indian mainland following the Scythian invasion of India.
Main Indo-Scythian rulers
Northwestern India:
- Maues, c. 90-60 BCE
- Vonones, c. 75-65 BCE
- Spalahores, c. 75-65 BCE, satrap and brother of king Vonones, and probably the later king Spalirises.
- Spalirises, c. 60-57 BCE, king and brother of king Vonones.
- Spalagadames c.50 BCE, satrap, and son of Spalahores.
- Azes I, c. 57-35 BCE
- Azilises, c. 57-35 BCE
- Azes II, c. 35-12 BCE
- Zeionises, c.10 BCE-10 CE
- Kharahostes, c.10 BCE- 10 CE
- Indravarman
- Hajatria
Kshaharatas:
Liaka Kusuluka, satrap of Chuksa
Kusulaka Patika, satrap of Chuksa and son of Liaka Kusulaka
Abhiraka
Bhumaka
Nahapana (founder of the Western Satraps)
Apracarajas (Bajaur area):
Vijayamitra (12 BCE - 15 CE)
Itravasu (c.20 CE)
Aspavarma (15 - 45 CE)
Paratarajas:
Kuvhusuvhume
Spajhana
Spajhayam
Bhimajhuna
Yolamira, son of Bagavera (2nd century)
Arjuna, son of Yolamira (2nd century)
Karyyanapa
Hvaramira, another son of Yolamira(2nd century)
Mirahvara, son of Hvaramira (2nd century)
Miratakhma, another son of Hvaramira (2nd century)
"Northern Satraps" (Mathura area):
Hagamasha (satrap, 1st century BCE)
Hagana (satrap, 1st century BCE)
Rajuvula, c.10 CE (Great Satrap)
Sodasa, son of Rajuvula
"Great Satrap" Kharapallana (circa 130 CE)
"Satrap" Vanaspara (circa 130 CE)
Minor local rulers:
Bhadayasa
Mamvadi
Arsakes
Western Satraps
Nahapana (119-124)
Chastana (c 120), son of Ghsamotika
Jayadaman, son of Chastana
Rudradaman I (c 130-150), son of Jayadaman
Damajadasri I (170-175)
Jivadaman (175 d 199)
Rudrasimha I (175-188 d 197)
Isvaradatta (188-191)
Rudrasimha I (restored) (191-197)
Jivadaman (restored) (197-199)
Rudrasena I (200-222)
Samghadaman (222-223)
Damasena (223-232)
Damajadasri II (232-239) with
Viradaman (234-238)
Yasodaman I (239)
Vijayasena (239-250)
Damajadasri III (251-255)
Rudrasena II (255-277)
Visvasimha (277-282)
Bhratadarman (282-295) with
Visvasena (293-304)
Rudrasimha II, son of Lord (Svami) Jivadaman (304-348) with
Yasodaman II (317-332)
Rudradaman II (332-348)
Rudrasena III (348-380)
Simhasena (380- ?)
Rudrasena IV (382-388)
Rudrasimha III (388-395)
"Degraded Kshatriyas" from the northwest
The Manusmriti, written about 200, groups the Shakas with the Yavanas, Kambojas, Paradas, Pahlavas, Kiratas and the Daradas, etc., and addresses them all as "degraded warriors" or Kshatriyas" (X/43-44). Anushasanaparva of the Mahabharata also views the Shakas, Kambojas, Yavanas etc... in the same light. Patanjali in his Mahabhashya regards the Shakas and Yavanas as pure Shudras (II.4.10).
The Vartika of the Katyayana informs us that the kings of the Shakas and the Yavanas, like those of the Kambojas, may also be addressed by their respective tribal names.
The Mahabharata also associates the Shakas with the Yavanas, Gandharas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Tusharas, Sabaras, Barbaras, etc. and addresses them all as the Barbaric tribes of Uttarapatha. In another verse, the same epic groups the Shakas and Kambojas and Khashas and addresses them as the tribes from Udichya i.e north division (5/169/20). Also, the Kishkindha Kanda of the Ramayana locates the Shakas, Kambojas, Yavanas and Paradas in the extreme north-west beyond the Himavat (for example Hindukush) (43/12).
Military actions
Ancient wars (1500-500 BC)
According to numerous Puranas, the military corporations of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas and Paradas, known as "five hordes" (pānca-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 managed to recapture Ayodhya after defeating these foreign hordes. Sagara punished them by meting out to them weird punishments. He made the Shakas shave half of their heads, the Kambojas and the Yavanas the totality, the Pahlavas to keep their beards and the Paradas to let their hair go free.
The Kalika Purana, one of the Upa-Puranas of the Hindus, refers to a war between Brahmanical king Kalika (supposed to be Pusyamitra Sunga) and Buddhist king Kali (supposed to be Maurya king Brihadratha (187-180 BC)) and states the Shakas, Kambojas, Khasas, etc. as a powerful military allies of king Kali. The Purana further states that these Barbarians take the orders from their women (Ref: Kalika Purana, III(6), 22-40).
The Balakanda of the Ramayana also groups the Shakas with the Kambojas, Yavanas, Pahlavas and Mlechhas and refers to them as military allies of sage Vashistha against Vedic king Vishwamitra (55/2-3).
The Udyogaparva of the Mahabharata (5/19/21-23) tells us that the composite army of the Kambojas, Yavanas and Shakas had participated in the Mahabharata war under the supreme command of Kamboja king Sudakshina. The epic repeatedly applauds this composite army as being very fierce and wrathful.
Military alliance with Chandragupta (circa 320 BC)
The Buddhist drama Mudrarakshas by Visakhadutta and the Jaina works Parisishtaparvan refer to Chandragupta's alliance with Himalayan king Parvataka.
This Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a powerful composite army made up of the frontier martial tribes of the Shakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Parasikas, Bahlikas etc which he utilised to defeat the Nanda rulers of Magadha, and thus establishing his Mauryan Empire in northern India (See: Mudrarakshas, II).
Invasion of India (circa 180 BC)
The Vanaparva of the Mahabharata contains verses in the form of prophecy that the kings of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Bahlikas and Abhiras etc shall rule unrighteously in Kaliyuga (MBH 3/188/34-36).
This reference apparently alludes to the precarious political scenario following the collapse of Mauryan and Sunga dynasties in northern India and its occupation by foreign hordes of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas and Pahlavas.
Extinction
The Brihat-Katha-Manjari of the Kshemendra (10/1/285-86) relates that around 400 AD, the Gupta king Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) had "unburdened the sacred earth of the barbarians" like the Shakas, Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Tusharas, Parasikas, Hunas, etc., by annihilating these "sinners" completely.
The 10th century Kavyamimamsa of Raj Shekhar (Ch. 17) still lists the Sakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Pahlavas, Tangana, Turukshas, etc. together, and states them as the tribes located in the Uttarapatha division.
Theorized Indo-Scythian descendants:
Many communities in Asia are speculated to be the descendants of the Indo-Scythians. These include:
Dards
Gujjars
Jats
Kambohs
Khatris
Kodavas
Lohars
Nairs
Pashtuns
Sakha
Tarkhans
Rajputs
Further Information
Get more info on 'Indo-scythian'.
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