Komedes

Kumud-dvipa

The author of Vayu Purana uses the name "Kumuda-dvipa" for Kusha-dvipa. Kumuda is also a Puranic name of a mountain forming the northern buttress of Mount Meru, also known as Sumeru (Pamirs). It extended between headwaters of Oxus and Jaxartes. In anterior Epic Age, Kumuda was also the name given to high "table-land" of the Tartary located to north of the Himavata from which the Aryan race may have originally pushed their way southwards into the Indian peninsula and preserved the name in their traditions as a relic of old mountain worship (Thompson). Thus, the Kumuda-dvipa lay close to the Pamirs and, in fact, name Kumuda-dvipa applied to southern territory of Shakadvipa or Scythia. It lay north to Hemavata (Hindukush) and probably comprised Badakshan, Alay Valley/Alay Mountains range, Tienshan, Kerategin and probably extended northwards as far as Zeravshan valley and Fargana.

Kumuda

Ancient geographer Ptolemy calls the region fed by Jaxartes and its tributaries as Komdei. Ptolemy refers to the people of Komdei as Komedes. Ptolemy also refers to one tribal people whom he variously calls Komoi (=Kamoi) or Komroi/Khomroi or Komedei and locates them in the mountainous regions of Sogdiana as far as Jaxartes. In fact, as per Ptolemy’s evidence, the Komedes (people) inhabited the entire land of the Sakas. Julius Honorius’ Cosmography too mentions the Komedes people as Traumeda (from Caumedes) and also mentions Mt Caumedes as the source of river Oxus. Per evidence of Ptolemy and of Julius Honorius, Mt Caumedes or Komedes extended from the head-waters of Oxus to Jaxartes. Ammianus Marcellinus too calls the Sogdian mountainous regions as Komadas

Komedes/Komoi or Kumiji

Ptolemian reference to Komdei or Komedes as a region probably alludes to Komdesh or Kamdesh Kambodesh (?), probably "Kambojdesh"). It is the Kiumito or Kumito of Xuanzang and Kumed or Kumadh of the Muslim writers, Kiumiche of Wu'k ong, Kumi of T'ang and Cambothi, Kambuson and Komedon of some other Greek writings. Al-Maqidisi, in his book Al-Muqhni, calls the people of this territory as Kumiji which seems equivalent to Sanskrit Kamboji or Kambojas. Numerous scholars have connected Komedes/Komedei of classical writings with the Kambojas of Iranian affinities.

The classical sources further indicate that the south-western section of the Komedes (people) living within Mt Hemodos were known as Homodotes. Thus, Homodotes were a section of the Komedes living within Mt Hemodos or Emode, a part of Hindukush or Pamirs.

As the name itself indicates, the Komedes people occupied Kumuda-dvipa or Kumuda region of Indian traditions. The various classical sources indicate that Komedes, Traumeda/Caumedae, Homodotes/Homodoti/Homodontes, Komoi, Komroi/Khomroi are the variant names of the same people inhabiting this region. The Komoi of Ptolemy apparently refers to Kamboi—a vulgo variant of Kamboja/Kambojika, Kamboika, Kamboy or Kambo. Other classical sources call the Komedes people also as Asii/Asio while the Chinese equivalent was Xiuxun/Sai etc. On the north of Kumuda-dvipa was the mainland of the Sacarauloi/Saraucae (Sacaraucae) and probably of the Pasiano in Fargana, Tashkant and Issyk-kul etc. The Indian text Mahabharata indicates that the southern parts of Shaka-dvipa was the habitat of the Lohas, Parama Kambojas and Rishikas etc.

Thus Parama Kambojas of Mahabharata apparently occupied what has been referred to as the Kumuda or Kumuda-dvipa in the Indian texts and Komedei/Komedes/Caumedes in classical writings.

Linguistic evidence

Nirukata (II.2) of Yasaka attests that verb shavati in the sense "to go" was used only and only by the Kambojas. It has been proven that the modern Pamir languages, mainly spoken in Pamir Mountains and countries on the head-waters of Oxus, still use terms derived from ancient Kamboja shavati in the sense "to go". The Yaghnobi language spoken in the Yaghnob Valley around the headwaters of Zeravshan in Sogdiana, also still contains a relic from ancient Kamboja shavati in the sense "to go". Further, the former language of Badakshan was also a dialect of Galcha which has been replaced by Persian only in the last few centuries.

The above linguistic evidence indicates that ancient Kamboja probably included the Pamirs, Badakshan, and parts of Tajikistan extending as far as the source of Zarafshan, to the north of Pamirs and separated from them . 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. Further, Prof Tomaschek has stated that of all the dialects of Galcha, the Munjani is most closely related to the language of Zend Avestan of the ancient Iranians Scholars connect name Munjan/Munjani to ancient 'Mujavat' (people/region) which name has been referred to in Atharvaveda and Mahabharata. Term shiya in Munjani/Munji dialect of Galcha, used in the sense 'to go' , still shows very marked influence of ancient Kamboja verb shvati. According to other version, Munjan is derived from root 'Murg' of Amyurgio Sacae (Haumavarga Saka of Persian inscriptions), which according to scholars, translates into Soma-twisting Sakas (Dr Michael Witzel). This again connects Munjan with Mujavat, the home of Haoma/Soma i.e. Pamirs/Hindukush.

The foregoing discussion indicates that the ancestors of Munjani people were speakers of Kamboja language and belonged to the Parama Kamboja domain. This also shows that the Komedes of the classical writings translates into Parama Kamboja of the Mahabharata tradition.

Parama Kambojas vs Haumavarga Scythians

As seen from the foregoing discussion, the clans of the Parama Kambojas (Asii), Lohas and Rishikas (Tukharas?) also fell into the Scythian region, said to belong to Amyurgian Scythians of Herodotus. Majavat, the land of Soma, apparently fell within the domain of Parama Kambojas in Pamirs (Munjan or Muztagh Atta?). Like other Scythian clans, the Parama Kambojas also may have practiced Soma cult and thus they fell within the Persian/Herodotean definition and scope of Haumvargas/Amyurgios. Otherwise, they were a distinct tribe from the Sakas but were undoubtedly Scythian if one follows the classical definition of Megasthenes, Diodorus, Ptolemy, Pliny the Elder and Strabo etc. No doubt, that the linguistic traces of ancient Kamboja language have been seen in several modern languages of the Pamirs, Khotan and Sogdiana. The Parama Kambojas were obviously living within Scythia of the classical writers or the Shakadvipa of the Indian texts. Their land was also alternatively known as Kumuda-dvipa. And they were known by other names like Asii (from Aswa), Homodites (from Mt Hemodos, Emode, Oimode/Oemeda) of classical and, Xiuxun, Wai- etc. of the Chinese writings. They have been lumped together with other tribes of south-east Scythia and all called by the general name Sacae by Greeks and Sakas by the Iranic sources. They were known as Shakas in Indian texts.

It is worth noting that many scholars describe the Kambojas as a Royal Clan of the Sakas or Scythians. This also seems to be confirmed from Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions of Mahaksatrapa Rajuvula and the Rock Edict XIII of King Aśoka

Migration of Komedes

During the second quarter of the 2nd century BCE, the Homodotes/Komedes or Asii (Parama Kambojas) appear to have participated in the tribal migration to Bactria and Sugugda and then further to Helmond valley. The later distribution of Komedes who are mentioned in the itinerary of Maes Titianus (1st century CE) used by Ptolemy in his treatise on Geography attest this fact. Ptolemy gives a relatively full account of this people: the Komedes inhabited the entire mountainous land of the Sakas, whereas formerly, they are known to have been confined to only Pamirs, its northern valleys and Badakshan.

Scholars believe that the land of Parama Kamboja of Indian texts was taken over during the 2nd century by the Tukharas, and as a result, some sections of their population had dispersed to other places while other population stayed put there and became subjects of the Tukharas. The former Parama Kamboja thus became Tukharistan.

According to Strabo, Greek Bactriana was taken over by nomads like Asii/Asio, Pasianoi, Tokhario and Sakarauloi who had originally come from country from other side of Jaxartes. In fact, there seems to be a factual error in Strabo's statement since only Sacaraulois i.e. the proper Amyurgian Sakas appear to have come from the Jaxartes and the northern Fargana regions. The Asii or Asio (Parama Kambojas) belonged to the Pamirs/Alay Valley and southern parts of Fargana. Similarly, the Pasianois also belonged to Fargana or about region. They had joined the displaced Sacaraulois in their south-westerely movements or else they were also displaced by the invading hordes of the Ta Yue-chis.

Some scholars tend to link the Rishikas of Mahabharata with the Tukharas and the latter with the Kushanas and the Ta Yue-chis themselves. If one accepts this connection, then the Tukharas or Tusharas ( => Rishikas => Kushanas = > Yue-chis) had controlled the eastern parts of Bactria country (Ta-hia) while the combined forces of the displaced Sakarauloi, 'Asii/Asio' (horse people = Parama Kambojas) and the 'Pasinoi' of Strabo etc. had occupied its western parts after being dislocated from their original homes in Issyk-kul, Fargana, the Alay Valley and Tienshan by the Ta-Yuechis. The Ta-hia of the Chinese records is taken to mean Tukhara/Tokhara which also is believed to have included Badakshan, Chitral, Kafirstan and Wakhan which districts had formed eastern parts of Bactria. The Kambojas of Trans-Hindukush territories (i.e. Parama Kambojas) again come into limelight and find important references in the 5th-century Sanskrit play Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa; in the itineraries of 7th-century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang; in the victories of 8th-century King Lalitadutya Muktapida of Kashmir; as well as in the writings of Arabic geographer Al-Idrisi (1099-1166 CE) etc. These Kambojas apparently were the descendants of that section of the Kambojas who, instead of leaving their ancestral land during the 2nd century BCE under pressure from Ta Yue-chi, had rather compromised with the invaders and had decided to stay put in their ancestral land instead of moving to Helmond valley or to the Kabol valley. According to other scholars, it were the Scythian hordes alone (i.e. Asii/Asio, Pasianoi, and Sakarauloi) who had put an end to the Greek kingdom of Bactria

Interestingly, Mahabharata attests that the Rishikas were closely allied or affiliated to the Parama-Kambojas. George Rawilson observes that: "The Asii or Asiani were closely connected with the Tochari and the Sakarauli (Saracucse?) who are found connected with both the Tochari and the Asiani". If the Rishikas were indeed the Tukharas, then the observation from Dr Rawilson is in line with the Mahabharata statement (2.27.25-26) which too closely allies the Parama Kambojas (=Asii/Asio) with the Rishikas, and locates them both in the Shakadvipa.

However, based on the syntactical construction of the Mahabharata verse 5.5.15, outstanding Sanskrit scholar Prof Ishwa Mishra states that the Rishikas were also Kambojas. Dr V. S. Aggarwala also identifies the Parama Kambojas with the Rishikas and locates them in Sakadvipa (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 relationship between the Kambojas and the Yuezhi .

Dr H. W. Bailey lists several classes of the Kamboja horses and states that their haya- and javana- breed ( 'swift horse') implies the famous horses of the Farghana breed. Praja Bhata, a Kashmiri Sanskrit poet and author of the fourth Rajatarangini, while writing about history of Moghul dynasty in India, addresses emperor Babur as a Yavana king hailing from Kambhoja. Since Vabur (Babur) was native of Fargana (in Kyrgyzstan of Central Asia), this Indian reference seems to extend the Kamboja boundaries i.e. the Parama Kamboja domain almost as far as to Fargana. Obviously, the Alay valley, north of Pamirs, had formed important part of Parama Kamboja.

Thus, the foregoing discussion sufficiently proves that the territory of the Parama Kambojas lied within and beyond Mt Hemodos or Imaos or Himalaya/Hindukush and that during 2nd century BCE major parts of it were occupied by the Tukharas. The displaced Kambojas (Asii/Asio) in alliance with Sacaraulois and Pasianois had moved to Bactria and put an end to Greek kingdom there. Little later, these mixed hordes were over-powered by Parthian rulers and thus became their subjects and settled in Drangiana in Helmond valley and about region. This settlement became known as Sakasthana (modern Seistan) after the appellation of the dominant clan i.e. Sakas. Later, these mixed hordes entered south-western Indian sub-continent via Bolan Pass and spread into Sindhu, Sovira, Gujarat, Rajputana, Malwa, Maharashtra, Punjab, UP and eastern, central and southern India as well.

Amyurgians

According to Herodotus, the Sakai (i.e. the Sakas) were, in truth, the Amurgio Skuthai i.e. the Amyurgian Scythians. Herodotus’s Amyurgians or Amyrgians are the Saka Haumavarga of the Persian inscriptions. Amyrgians apparently got their name from their association with Haoma (Sanskrit Soma). 'Haumavarga Sakas' literally means Soma pressing Sakas. The ancient Indo-Iranians made use of Haoma (Indic Soma). The leaves of the plant were pressed/squeezed and the juice so produced was mixed with milk or water and consumed. The place famous for Soma/Haoma plant was Mujavata or Munjavata parvata. According to Atharvaveda, it lay close to Bahlika and Gandhara in the north-west (Central Asia). Mahabharata (14.8.1) also locates Mujavat in the snow-laden mountains (Himavata) of north-west.

The Bahlikas are undoubtedly the Bactrians. Scholars have determined that the Mujavat (the land of Soma) refers to Hindukush-Pamirs

According to Perspolis and Hamadan inscriptions of Achaemenid Darius I, there were at least three major settlements of the Sakas viz. Saka Haumavarga, Saka Tigrakhauda and Saka Taradarya. In the days of Achaemenid Darius I (522 BCE - 486 BCE), the Sakas Haumavarga lived 'beyond Sogdiana' (para-Sugudam) which when seen from Perspolis (the seat of power of king Darius, the royal author of these inscriptions), seems to point to Tashkant, Fargana, Alai Mountains, Tian Shan, Kashgar and the regions about. But according to Mahabharata, the Transoxian Pamirs and regions north of it as far as Fargana are known to have been the habitat of the allied tribes of the Lohas, the Parama Kambojas, the Rishikas etc. Thus, broadly speaking, the Persian term Haumavarga applied probably to the Saka proper as well as the Lohas and Parama Kambojas and Rishikas tribes settled north of Oxus etc. In all probability, this settlement of the Haumavarga Sakas finds numerous references as Shakas in ancient Indian texts and are known to have been closely associated with the Kambojas (or Parama Kambojas) etc. This was same the people who had formed the constituent of the Kamboja army of Kamboja Sudakshina in Mahabharata war. And undoubtedly, this was people who had become the target of the tribal aggression of the Ta Yue-chi or Great Yue-chi.