Rishikas
Encyclopedia
Rshikas were an ancient tribe
living in the northern division of ancient India. They find references in the Mahabharata
, Ramayana
, Brhat Samhita, Markendeya Purana
etc. Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini does not mention the Rishikas, but Mahabhasya of Patanjali
does make reference to this people. Mahabharata refers to the Rishikas as Uttara Rishikas as well as Parama Rishikas. Rishikas are stated to have been living as neighbors to the Parama-Kambojas and the Lohas in Transoxiana
region, in Saka-dvipa
. In 2nd century prior to Current
era, a section of them is believed to have migrated to south-west India via Afghanistan
, Balochistan
, Sindhu, Sovira and settled in a region, later known as Khandesh (north-western Maharashtra
). This settlement of the Rishikas is known as Southern Rishikas. The southern Rshikas are also attested as Saha.isikas, Saha.chaisika and Saha.vaisikyas in Puranic literature. The Prakrit
form of Rishika is said to be Isika/Ishika, Esika/Eshika or Asika/Ashika (Dr Motichandra). The Prishakas of Al biruni, are stated to be same as the Rishikas. The Uttara Rishikas were the military allies as well as the cultural & geographical neighbors of the Parama Kambojas.
Some scholars hold that the Rishikas are same as the Yuezhi
s. Prof Stein thinks that the Tukharas or Tusharas were a branch of the Yue-ches (Yuezhi
), whereas Dr P. C. Bagchi holds that the Yue-ches, Tokharoi/Tokarai and the Tukharas/Tusharas were identical. Dr J. C. Vidyalankar believes that the Kushanas or Kanishka
s are same as Rishikas. Thus, according to above several equations, the Rishikas are also identifiable with the Tusharas/Kushanas. On the other hand, based on the syntactical construction of the Mahabharata
verse 5.5.15
and verse 2.27.25, the outstanding Sanskrit
scholar Ishwa Mishra believes that the Rishikas were a section of the Kambojas
i.e. Parama Kambojas. Dr V. S. Aggarwala also relates the Parama Kambojas of the Trans-Pamirs to the Rishikas of Mahabharata
located in the Shakadvipa (or Scythia
). According to Dr B. N. Puri, the Kambojas were a branch of the Tukharas. Based on the above Rishika-Kamboja connections, some scholars also claim that the Kambojas were a branch of the Yuezhi themselves. Dr Moti Chander also sees a close ethnic connections between the Kambojas and the Yuezhi.
The Rishikas are also stated to be same as the Asioi
or Asii
of Strabo
. The name Asioi/Asii, according to one view, alludes to their connections with Asva or Assa (horses). Based on the earlier information from Indika of Megasthenes
(350 BCE- 290 BCE), Pliny
(23 AD–79 AD) also mentions Osii/Orsi, Asoi, Aseni, Taxillae, Peucolaitae etc. among the Indian races living in the upper Indus valley south of Hindukush. The Taxillae and Peucolaitae are obviously the Gandharans of the Indian traditions while the Asoi, Osii/Orsi and Aseni appear yet other variants of the Assaceni/Aspasioi and Assacani/Assakenoi (Asvayana and Asvakayana of Pāṇini and Katyayana
). The Aspasios and Assakenois (q.v.) were important clan
s of the Kambojas exclusively engaged in horse culture. It is therefore, very likely that the Asioi/Asii or Asiani of Strabo
may have been or part of the people of Parama-Kamboja (the bigger and the further branch of the Kambojas
and Parama-Rishikas living in Scythia
or Shaka-dvipa, across the Hindukush/Himalaya) in Transoxiana
region. Thus, the Assakenoi and Aspasioi (the Asvakas) of Swat/Kunar valley appear to have been the earlier migrants from the Transoxian
Parama Kambojas/Parama Rishikas.
wants to make us believe that the Rishikas were so called since they had descended from the Rishis
or wisemen or learned parentage.
Since Sarasvati, in ancient times, was connected with people of scholarly lineage, Dr M. R. Singh tends to locate the Rishikas of the Puranic accounts on Sarasvati in Haryana
.
as a part of Saka-dvipa
.
These northern Rishikas have been addressed as Uttara Rishikas (i.e. Rishikan.uttaranapi) and Parama Rishikas and are shown to be very close neighbors of the northern division of the Kambojas i.e. the Parama-Kambojas and the Lohans.
Per Mahabharata evidence, the allied tribes of the Lohans, Parama-Kambojas, northern Rishikas and Parama Rishikas had fought a fierce war with the forces of Pandava
Arjuna
during latter's Digvijay expedition against the tribes of Uttarapatha
or northern division.
The Kishikindha Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana
also refers to these northern Rishikas and locates them in Saka-dvipa, in the neighborhood of the Sakas, Kambojas
, Yavanas, Bahlikas, Tanganas, Chinas
, Parama-Chinas etc. of the Central Asia
.
invasion of India in 2nd century BCE was a joint military venture in which the allied tribes of the Shaka
s, Pahlavas, Kambojas
, Parada
s, Rishikas, Bahlikas etc. seem to have participated. These tribes had spread into and occupied the parts of western and south-western India.
Thus, the Rishikas are attested in later literature as living in south-western/southern parts of India also.
Some verses in Karanaparava and Bhishmaparava of Mahabharata
composed and edited during post-Current
times (400 AD) refer to the Rishikas in the Dakshinapatha
or southern India and show them as a Janapada located in close vicinity to the Vidarbhas and the Ashmaka
s.
The Kishikindha Kanda of Valmiki
Ramayana
also refers to this second branch of the Rishikas and also places them in Dakshinapatha
in the neighborhood of the Vidarbhas.
Many scholars assume that the current version of the Valmiki Ramayana was a creation of 200 BCE to 200 CE, hence this reference to the southern Rishikas .
Post-Current creation Markendeya Purana
also attests the Rishikas of the Dakshinapatha or southern division.
Likewise, a 6th century creation Brhat Samhita by Varaha Mihira also attests the Rishikas in Dakshinapatha or southern division.
The geographical location of these Rishikas is said to fall on river Krsnavena. Rishika country laid on south of Vindhya, north of Mulakas, north-east of Nasika, west of Vidharba and south of Anupa or Anupadesha.
Modern Khandesh is stated to have formed part of southern Rishika country.
It is notable that the same Brhat Samhita and the Markendeya Purana also attest some Kamboja and Pahlava settlements located in south-west India.
The geographical location of these Kambojas
and Pahlavas is thought to be around Gujarat/Maharashtra
somewhere, thus in close neighborhood of the southern Rishikas.
The following evidence from Udyogaparava of Mahabharata associates the Rishikas with the Kambojas
, Shakas and Pahlavas and states them all living around Anupa region or Anupadesha.
Trans:
The kings of the Shakas, Pahlavas and the Daradas, and the Kamboja Rishikas live in the west in Anupadesa or sea coast regions.
The Daradas
in the verse above appears to be a copyist
's mistake for Daradas since it were the Paradas, not the Daradas, who have, most often, been associated with the corporated military confederation of the Shakas, Kambojas and Pahlavas etc. (Pānca-ganah or five hordes of Kshatriyas in the Puranic texts, for instance).
Anupadesha of Sanskrit
traditions is stated to have comprised Doab of rivers Narbada and Tapti. It lay on east of Gujarat, north of Vindhya and south of the Avanti
Janapada.
Whatever may be the context, these verses probably reflect on the post-Current scenario when mass encroachment of interior India had occurred due to invasion of India by these foreign horde
s.
But it looks like there is somehow, a connection between the ancient Rishikas and the ancient Kambojas. Some notable observations follow:
Parama Kambojas
Uttara Madras
Kurus
Uttara Kurus
Indo-Scythians
Sakas
Scythians
Yona
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
living in the northern division of ancient India. They find references in the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, Brhat Samhita, Markendeya Purana
Markandeya Purana
The Markandeya Purana is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It is written in the style of a dialogue between the ancient sage Markandeya and Jaimini, a disciple of Vyasa.-Contents:...
etc. Ashtadhyayi of Pāṇini does not mention the Rishikas, but Mahabhasya of Patanjali
Patañjali
Patañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...
does make reference to this people. Mahabharata refers to the Rishikas as Uttara Rishikas as well as Parama Rishikas. Rishikas are stated to have been living as neighbors to the Parama-Kambojas and the Lohas in Transoxiana
Transoxiana
Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
region, in Saka-dvipa
Scythia
In antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
. In 2nd century prior to Current
Current
- Science and Mathematics :* Electric current* Current , including** Ocean currents** Air currents** Current - currents in rivers and streams* Current density, mathematical concept unifying electric current, fluid current, and others...
era, a section of them is believed to have migrated to south-west India via Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Balochistan
Balochistan (region)
Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid, mountainous region in the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia; it includes part of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes, Iranian peoples who moved into the area from the west...
, Sindhu, Sovira and settled in a region, later known as Khandesh (north-western Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
). This settlement of the Rishikas is known as Southern Rishikas. The southern Rshikas are also attested as Saha.isikas, Saha.chaisika and Saha.vaisikyas in Puranic literature. The Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
form of Rishika is said to be Isika/Ishika, Esika/Eshika or Asika/Ashika (Dr Motichandra). The Prishakas of Al biruni, are stated to be same as the Rishikas. The Uttara Rishikas were the military allies as well as the cultural & geographical neighbors of the Parama Kambojas.
Some scholars hold that the Rishikas are same as the Yuezhi
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi, or Rouzhi , also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi , were an ancient Central Asian people....
s. Prof Stein thinks that the Tukharas or Tusharas were a branch of the Yue-ches (Yuezhi
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi, or Rouzhi , also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi , were an ancient Central Asian people....
), whereas Dr P. C. Bagchi holds that the Yue-ches, Tokharoi/Tokarai and the Tukharas/Tusharas were identical. Dr J. C. Vidyalankar believes that the Kushanas or Kanishka
Kanishka
Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
s are same as Rishikas. Thus, according to above several equations, the Rishikas are also identifiable with the Tusharas/Kushanas. On the other hand, based on the syntactical construction of the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
verse 5.5.15
and verse 2.27.25, the outstanding Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
scholar Ishwa Mishra believes that the Rishikas were a section of the Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
i.e. Parama Kambojas. Dr V. S. Aggarwala also relates the Parama Kambojas of the Trans-Pamirs to the Rishikas of Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
located in the Shakadvipa (or Scythia
Scythia
In antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
). According to Dr B. N. Puri, the Kambojas were a branch of the Tukharas. Based on the above Rishika-Kamboja connections, some scholars also claim that the Kambojas were a branch of the Yuezhi themselves. Dr Moti Chander also sees a close ethnic connections between the Kambojas and the Yuezhi.
The Rishikas are also stated to be same as the Asioi
Asii
Asii, also written Asioi, were one of the nomadic tribes mentioned in Roman and Greek accounts as responsible for the downfall of the state of Bactria circa 140 BCE. These tribes are usually identified as "Scythian" or "Saka" peoples....
or Asii
Asii
Asii, also written Asioi, were one of the nomadic tribes mentioned in Roman and Greek accounts as responsible for the downfall of the state of Bactria circa 140 BCE. These tribes are usually identified as "Scythian" or "Saka" peoples....
of Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
. The name Asioi/Asii, according to one view, alludes to their connections with Asva or Assa (horses). Based on the earlier information from Indika of Megasthenes
Megasthenes
Megasthenes was a Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica.He was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I of Syria possibly to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra, India. However the exact date of his embassy is uncertain...
(350 BCE- 290 BCE), Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(23 AD–79 AD) also mentions Osii/Orsi, Asoi, Aseni, Taxillae, Peucolaitae etc. among the Indian races living in the upper Indus valley south of Hindukush. The Taxillae and Peucolaitae are obviously the Gandharans of the Indian traditions while the Asoi, Osii/Orsi and Aseni appear yet other variants of the Assaceni/Aspasioi and Assacani/Assakenoi (Asvayana and Asvakayana of Pāṇini and Katyayana
Katyayana
Kātyāyana was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India.-Works:He is known for two works:...
). The Aspasios and Assakenois (q.v.) were important clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
s of the Kambojas exclusively engaged in horse culture. It is therefore, very likely that the Asioi/Asii or Asiani of Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
may have been or part of the people of Parama-Kamboja (the bigger and the further branch of the Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
and Parama-Rishikas living in Scythia
Scythia
In antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
or Shaka-dvipa, across the Hindukush/Himalaya) in Transoxiana
Transoxiana
Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
region. Thus, the Assakenoi and Aspasioi (the Asvakas) of Swat/Kunar valley appear to have been the earlier migrants from the Transoxian
Transoxiana
Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
Parama Kambojas/Parama Rishikas.
Rishikas on Sarasvati/Greater Panjab
Matsya PuranaMatsya Purana
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya Avatar to save the seeds of all lives and Manu...
wants to make us believe that the Rishikas were so called since they had descended from the Rishis
RSI
-Business:*RADARSAT International, a subsidiary of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates*Red Sector Incorporated, a demo and "warez" group*Resource Software International Ltd., a communication management call accounting software company* Resin Systems Inc....
or wisemen or learned parentage.
Since Sarasvati, in ancient times, was connected with people of scholarly lineage, Dr M. R. Singh tends to locate the Rishikas of the Puranic accounts on Sarasvati in Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
.
Rishikas in Saka-dvipa
The name Rishika ans well as Parama Rishika occurs in MahabharataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
as a part of Saka-dvipa
Scythia
In antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
.
These northern Rishikas have been addressed as Uttara Rishikas (i.e. Rishikan.uttaranapi) and Parama Rishikas and are shown to be very close neighbors of the northern division of the Kambojas i.e. the Parama-Kambojas and the Lohans.
Per Mahabharata evidence, the allied tribes of the Lohans, Parama-Kambojas, northern Rishikas and Parama Rishikas had fought a fierce war with the forces of Pandava
Pandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
during latter's Digvijay expedition against the tribes of Uttarapatha
Uttarapatha
Ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the northern part of Jambudvipa, one of the "continents" in Hindu mythology.The name is derived from the Sanskrit terms uttara, for north, and patha, for road...
or northern division.
The Kishikindha Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
also refers to these northern Rishikas and locates them in Saka-dvipa, in the neighborhood of the Sakas, Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
, Yavanas, Bahlikas, Tanganas, Chinas
CINA
CINA is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts multicultural programming at AM 1650 in Mississauga, Ontario.Approved by the CRTC on April 23, 2007, the station is owned by Neeti Prakash Ray and began testing at 1650 kHz in late 2008....
, Parama-Chinas etc. of the Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
.
Rishikas in South-west India
The SakaSaka
The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
invasion of India in 2nd century BCE was a joint military venture in which the allied tribes of the Shaka
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
s, Pahlavas, Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
, Parada
Parada
-Portugal:* Parada , a civil parish in the municipality of Alfândega da Fé* Parada , a civil parish in the municipality of Almeida* Parada , a civil parish in the municipality of Arcos de Valdevez...
s, Rishikas, Bahlikas etc. seem to have participated. These tribes had spread into and occupied the parts of western and south-western India.
Thus, the Rishikas are attested in later literature as living in south-western/southern parts of India also.
Some verses in Karanaparava and Bhishmaparava of Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
composed and edited during post-Current
Current
- Science and Mathematics :* Electric current* Current , including** Ocean currents** Air currents** Current - currents in rivers and streams* Current density, mathematical concept unifying electric current, fluid current, and others...
times (400 AD) refer to the Rishikas in the Dakshinapatha
Dakshinapatha
Ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts use the term Dakshinapatha as a name for both the southern high road of the Indian subcontinent, and for the region lying south of Majjhimdesa or middle India. It is derived from the two Sanskrit roots dakshina for south, and patha for road.The first reference to...
or southern India and show them as a Janapada located in close vicinity to the Vidarbhas and the Ashmaka
Mahajanapadas
Mahājanapadas , literally "great realms", were ancient Indian kingdoms or countries...
s.
The Kishikindha Kanda of Valmiki
Valmiki
Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e...
Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
also refers to this second branch of the Rishikas and also places them in Dakshinapatha
Dakshinapatha
Ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts use the term Dakshinapatha as a name for both the southern high road of the Indian subcontinent, and for the region lying south of Majjhimdesa or middle India. It is derived from the two Sanskrit roots dakshina for south, and patha for road.The first reference to...
in the neighborhood of the Vidarbhas.
Many scholars assume that the current version of the Valmiki Ramayana was a creation of 200 BCE to 200 CE, hence this reference to the southern Rishikas .
Post-Current creation Markendeya Purana
Markandeya Purana
The Markandeya Purana is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It is written in the style of a dialogue between the ancient sage Markandeya and Jaimini, a disciple of Vyasa.-Contents:...
also attests the Rishikas of the Dakshinapatha or southern division.
Likewise, a 6th century creation Brhat Samhita by Varaha Mihira also attests the Rishikas in Dakshinapatha or southern division.
The geographical location of these Rishikas is said to fall on river Krsnavena. Rishika country laid on south of Vindhya, north of Mulakas, north-east of Nasika, west of Vidharba and south of Anupa or Anupadesha.
Modern Khandesh is stated to have formed part of southern Rishika country.
It is notable that the same Brhat Samhita and the Markendeya Purana also attest some Kamboja and Pahlava settlements located in south-west India.
The geographical location of these Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
and Pahlavas is thought to be around Gujarat/Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
somewhere, thus in close neighborhood of the southern Rishikas.
The following evidence from Udyogaparava of Mahabharata associates the Rishikas with the Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
, Shakas and Pahlavas and states them all living around Anupa region or Anupadesha.
- Shakanam Pahlavana.n cha Daradanam cha ye nripah |
- Kamboja Rishika ye cha pashchim.anupakash cha ye ||5.5.15||
Trans:
The kings of the Shakas, Pahlavas and the Daradas, and the Kamboja Rishikas live in the west in Anupadesa or sea coast regions.
The Daradas
Daradas
Daradas were a people who lived north and north-east to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region in Kashmir along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken along with the Kambojas...
in the verse above appears to be a copyist
Copyist
A copyist is a person who makes written copies. In ancient times, a scrivener was also called a calligraphus . The term's modern use is almost entirely confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript.-Music...
's mistake for Daradas since it were the Paradas, not the Daradas, who have, most often, been associated with the corporated military confederation of the Shakas, Kambojas and Pahlavas etc. (Pānca-ganah or five hordes of Kshatriyas in the Puranic texts, for instance).
Anupadesha of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
traditions is stated to have comprised Doab of rivers Narbada and Tapti. It lay on east of Gujarat, north of Vindhya and south of the Avanti
Avanti (India)
Avanti was an ancient Indian janapada , roughly corresponded to the present day Malwa region. According to the Buddhist text, the Anguttara Nikaya, Avanti was one of the solasa mahajanapadas of the 6th century BCE...
Janapada.
Whatever may be the context, these verses probably reflect on the post-Current scenario when mass encroachment of interior India had occurred due to invasion of India by these foreign horde
Horde
Horde may refer to:* Ordo * a clan or army of steppe nomads . See Orda * the Blue and White Horde, formed 1226, 1227* the Golden Horde, a Turkic-Mongol state established in the 1240s...
s.
On Kamboja Rishika Connection?
There are not enough references in ancient literature on Rishika clan.But it looks like there is somehow, a connection between the ancient Rishikas and the ancient Kambojas. Some notable observations follow:
- The Sabhaparava of MahabharataMahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
portrays the Lohas, Kambojas and the Rishikas as very close neighborly and allied tribes and places them all in Saka-dvipaScythiaIn antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
in trans-HimalayanHimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
territory. - Adiparva of Mahabharata collates the Kambojas and the Rishikas together and views them both as despised people. Chandravarma, the king of Kambojas is branded as an incarnation of Daitya Chandra and also the sage Rishika (from the Rishika tribe), likewise is branded as an incarnation of Danva Arka. One version of Mahabharata substitutes Chandravarma as Risika king in place of Kamboja. The Kambojas and Rishikas here are placed side-by-side in the same verse, thus implying them as possibly related or else closely connected together, geographically and culturally, at least.
- The Udyogaparava of MahabharataMahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
also connects the Kambojas and Rishikas together and treats them as if they are one people (Kambojarishika). Based on the wording of this verse of Mahabharata, Prof Ishwa Misra, a very outstanding Sanskrit scholar and notable contributor on Indiancivilization forum, identifies the Rishikas as a sub-section of the Kambojas themselves. - As noted above, both the Brhat Samhita as well as Markendeya Purana locate one section of the Rishikas in DakshinapathaDakshinapathaAncient Buddhist and Hindu texts use the term Dakshinapatha as a name for both the southern high road of the Indian subcontinent, and for the region lying south of Majjhimdesa or middle India. It is derived from the two Sanskrit roots dakshina for south, and patha for road.The first reference to...
(south/south-west India), on river Krsnavena, probably in Khandesh (MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
). Interestingly, the same two texts also locate one section of the Kambojas and the Pahlavas in south-west India, in Anupadesha, which region borders on this south-western Rishika country. All these people are obviously sections of the invading hordes who had come and settled in India in the wake of 2nd century BCE SakaSakaThe Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
invasion of India. - Some scholars say that the tribal name Rishika implies scholarly class of people as Matsya Purana and the Vayu Purana would like us to believe. Thus Rishikas had either sprung from Rishis i.e. the scholarly parentage or else they, themselves, were a scholarly people. This may compare well with the Kambojas who, in Dronaparava section of Mahabharata, are also portrayed as a scholarly people.
- And so forth and so on.
Conclusions
The firm ethnical connection between the ancient Rishikas and the Kambojas may not be easy to establish due to inadequacy of sufficient reliable references, but whatever limited evidence we have with us definitely points towards this connection and at least attest the fact that the ancient Rishikas and the Kambojas were culturally, militarliy, politically and geographically connected together. Therefore, it may be possible that the Rishikas were a furthermost tip of the Parama-Kambojas.Books and Megazines
- Mahabharata, Tans: Kisari Mohan Ganguli.
- Matsya Purana
- Vayu Purana
- Brhat Samhita of Varaha Mihira
- Markendeya Purana
- Mahabhasya of Patanjali
- India as Known to Pāṇini, Dr V. S. Aggarwala
- Geographical Data in Early Puranas 1972, Dr M. R. Singh
- Ancient Kamboja, People and Country, 1981, Dr J. L. Kamboj.
- The Mahabharata, Volume 2 : Book 2; Book 3: 1981, J. A. B. Van Buitenen
- The Ramayana of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India, Volume 4 Kiskindhakanda 1994, Rosalind Lefeber.
- Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India: (a Study on the Puranic Lists of the Peoples of Bharatavarsa), 1955, p 71, Dr Sashi Bhusan Chaudhuri
See also
KambojasKambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
Parama Kambojas
Uttara Madras
Kurus
Uttara Kurus
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE....
Sakas
Scythians
Yona
Yona
"Yona" is a Pali word used in ancient India to designate Greek speakers. Its equivalent in Sanskrit, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil is the word "Yavana" and "Jobonan/Jubonan" in Bengali...