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ravichaudhary
December 31st, 2002, 04:15 AM
IT WERE INDEED THE NORTH INDIAN KAMBOJAS WHO FOUNDED CAMBODIA KINGDOM: - author- L S Thind


.Kambuja/Kamboja is the ancient name of Mekong valley basin of Indo-China. This fact is abundantly confirmed from numerous epigraphic inscriptions which have been found in Cambodia over the years.

During French/Dutch researches carried out during 19th c AD, it was discovered that this part of the world had deep historical and cultural connections with Indian sub continent. Ironically, before these findings of these French/Dutch researcher were made public, the Indians were totally unaware of this ancient historical connection.

The researches these European scholars being originally in French and Dutch language, the Indian scholars could only lately and gradually exploit these researches to know about their grand past.

The first thing that struck the researchers most was the similarity of name Kambuja with the ancient Kamboja of North West India. Ferrand was of the opinion that the name Kambuja was derived from the name of flower called Samboj which is now abundantly found in Cambodia. (JA., II, 1919, p 158).

But Dr. Sylvain Levi has shown that this flower Samboj is exotic to Cambodia. It was only brought to Cambodia during 14/15c AD from central America. This flower, actually called Plumeria acutifolia, is native to Central America. So this view was unacceptable and was soon dropped. (Pre-Aryan and Pre-Dravidian in India, p 121 by S. Levi).

But Dr. S. Levi had suggested that the name Kambuja used for that part of Indo-china is the corruption of the Sanskrit name `Shri-vijaya'. According to Dr Levi, the Sri Lankan and Tibetan writers later changed this Kambuj to Kamboj.. (op cit). But this view was also rejected in its entirety by other scholars.

Since time the researches of 19th c revealed these cultural and historical relations of India with SE Asia, the scholars have come round to the view that the Indian people who had gone and settled in these far lands of SE Asia also took the names of the geographical regions from which they came from India. This is the reasons we find names like Avanti, Gandhar, Varanasi, Ayudhya, Dravati, Kailash, Kusumpura, Mithila, Rajgriha, Utkal, Meru and Vaisali etc in legends, anecdotes and traditions of Java and Kambuja.


All these above names are taken after the people, Cities or the Janapadas of the then India.

Thus, according to numerous scholars, it is reasonable to expect that the some clans of Kamboja who had also transplanted themselves in Indo China in 3/4c AD had carried the name from their Kamboja land and had lent it to the land they had colonized in Mekong valley.


Dr D. Spooner was the first to link the Kambuja/Kambodia name with the Kamboja people living on the north-west frontiers of India in ancient times. "May I not also surmise that the name Kambodia seems reminiscent of the Persian border land Kamboja people" (JRAS., 1915, p 447).

But the question which bothered the scholars in the case of all these names of North-west Indian regions including Gandhar and Kamboj for long time was the following: "Do these geographical names of northern India indeed represent some historical and political connection of north-west Kambojas with Indo-china Kambuja? Or else, do they merely represent the `religious Sanskritization' of these north-west names for some regions in Indo China, as few writers from Tamilnadu tend to think"?

Of course, we know that there are certain names like Ayudhya, Varanasi, Vaisali, Mithila, Kusumpura etc in Indo-China, which might have been named after the `religious cities' or `sacred/holi places' of the parental India. But what about Gandhara, Romdasha, Kamboja, Kabul and Peshawar lands of north-west India????????


These lands have always been unsparingly branded as the lands of the Mlechchas and its people have been addressed as Mlechchas, Barbarians, Sudras or a Degraded People simply because they had stopped to consult the Brahminas and had ceased to follow the Vedic Hindu religion.

Just see these examples from Mahabharata and Manusmriti respectively: KAMBOJAS, YAVANAS, SAKAS ETC DECLARED AS MLECHCHA TRIBES BY ARYAVARTAN CLERGY.

EXAMPLE 1 Brahmanah yam parshansanti purush: ma parvadhartai: Brahmanarya: prakrishat: Prabhuyaat kshanadhy Sa: Saka-Yavana-KAMBOJAstasta: Kasatrya Jatyah: Vrishaltam parigta brahmanahnamdrashnaat (MBH 13/33/20-22)


EXAMPLE 2 Uttarapatha-janmanh: Kirtayishyami tan api: Yauna KAMBOJA Gandhara: Kirata: Barbaraih saha: Aitey Paapkrittastaat charint prithvimimmam: Shavpakbalgridharnhanm sadharmanho naradhip: MBH 12/207/43-44)


EXAMPLE 3 Shankaistu kiryalopad emah: Kasatrya jatyah: I Vrishalatam gata lokai brahamanahdarshnayan ch II: Paundarka-chodr-dravida: KAMBOJA Yavana Saka: I Parda: Pahlava China: Kirata darda: Khasha II (Manusmariti 10/43-44)


Just because these tribes from north had started following the Buddhist way of life and had started consulting the Buddhist Srahmanas and neglecting the Vedic Brahmanas that the Madhyadesha people had started calling these Kamboja, Saka, Yavana Parthians Kasatrya tribes as Mlechchas or Degraded Kasatryas, or the Fallen People.

Not only this, even the great reformer Gautama Buddha and his Buddhist Bhikshus were also similarily branded by Vedic clergy as mlechchas (Ref MBH III, 190, 65, MBH III, 190, 67).

Adiparava of Mahabharata by implications refers to great Indian king Asoka as the incarnation of Mahasura or great DEMON (Ref: I, 67, 13-14. cf also MBH XII, 5, 7, where Asoka is mentioned as Satadhanava or great Demon ).

Apparently, all these north-western tribes had thus become out-caste people, to be despised at, to be shunned away and to be looked down upon by the conservative people of Madhyadesha (land of Aryavarta or Brahma varta).

There was no love lost between these people of north India and that of the Madhyadesha around the turn of AD.

Everything north-western or connected with north-west people was unsparingly played down. So there was no reason these Uttarapatha Mlechcha names like Gandhara, Romdasha, Kamboja, Kabul and Peshawer could ever find a RESPECTABLE mention in these far flung lands of Indo-China, unless, of course, the settlers themselves hailed from those geographical areas of Uttarapatha. and named them after the names of the land they had left behind. (cf: Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 358, by Dr Jiya Lal). ************************************************** ********************************* IMPORTANT REMINDER: How badly the people of the entire Uttarapatha including those from Punjab were regarded by the rest of Indians is very much clear from several shlokas of Mahabharata ( MBH 8/40/2-40, 44, 6-44, 45, 5-38).

These shlokas contain severest indictments of the social customs and practices of all people of north-west including Kambojas, Sakas, Yavnas, Pardas etc and those living in the land of five rivers (Punjab).


References are especially made to general immorality and laxity of its people concerning food, men and women. The impure practices of the women of the region in matter of sex are unreservedly mentioned and elaborated by Vatsyana (11,5,25).


Yavnas and Kambojas have been unsparingly degraded as fierce Barbaric tribes of Uttarapatha. (MBH 6/9/65). Yavanas Gandharas, Kambojas and Sakas, together, are reckoned among the sinful people having the nature of Svapakas and vultures (MBH 12/207/43-44). Abhiras (Ahirs) are degraded as sinful and very greedy/mean people (MBH 16/7/47-9). The countries of Arttas (modern Aroras), the Kaskers (Khokhars) etc are also unilaterally declared as the forbidden lands.(ref: Baudhayan Dharama Sutra, 1/1/2/15).


The customs of Madras (upper Punajb) are despised at, stating that these uncivilized people mourned the deaths of their dear ones under influence of liquor. (MBH 8/40/27).

These Madras are also described as the people who would often feel no scruples to betray their friends. "Amongst the Madrakas, all acts of friendship are lost……". Similarily, some shlokas of Mahabharata also use very unacceptable language for the ancient Jartika (modern Jat tribe?) and treat them also as a degraded tribe. In the earlier Vedic times, the Gandharah people were looked down upon as highly despised or hateful people. But during later epic times, the angle of vision of the priestly class of Madhyadesha (mid India) changed and Gandharah land became a resort of scholars of all classes who would flock to its capital for philosophical instructions in three Vedas and 18 branches of knowledge".

Yet around the turn of century, the same Gandhara people were again included in the list of un-approved, non-Aryan or Mlechcha tribes as is clear from the above shloka of Mahabharata: (Ref: Political History of Ancient India 1996 page 55 by Dr. H. C. Chaudhury, Comprehensive History Of ancient India, 1957, p 472/473, Dr K. A. Nilkanta Sastri). It has to be noted here that all these Artta, Jartaka, Madraka, Gandhara etc tribes, like the Kambojas, are stated to form a respectable Kashatryas tribes of the Epic era (ref: Op Cit 127; MBH chapter 7/112/43-44)..

**************


This indicates that the Kushan Jat empire spread from Central Asia to SE Asia, and would also throw some light on how the Dharan Jats ( wrongly called the 2nd Guptas by Indian Historians), came to rule north India.

For balance of this lengthy article visit

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/files

and click on Indian Kamboja and Cambodia.doc


Happy reading
Ravi