Bahlikas

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South Asia circa 500 BCE, with location of the Bahlikas in Bactria.[1][2]

The Bahlikas (

Katyayana
, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc. and in the ancient Inscriptions. The other variations of Bahlika are Bahli, Balhika, Vahlika, Valhika, Bahlava, Bahlam/Bahlim, Bahlayana and Bahluva.

Geographical locations

Bharata Khanda
.

Bahlikas or Bactria

According to the Bhuvanakosha section of the

Puranas, Bahlika was a Janapada located in the Udichya (Uttarapatha) division.[3][4][5][6]

Some

Hindukush/Pamir.[7]

Atharvaveda-Parisista juxtaposes the Vedic Bahlikas with the Kambojas (i.e. Kamboja-Bahlika--).[8][9]

Besides Atharvaveda Parisista, several other ancient texts also associate the Bahlikas with the Kambojas.

Shakah.Kamboja.Bahlika.Yavanah.Paradastatha | [10]
Kritavarma tu sahitah KambojaivarBahlikaih |.[11][12]
VanayujanParvatiyanKamboj.Aratta.Bahlikan |.[13]
Kamboja.vishhaye jatair Bahlikaishcha hayottamaih | [14]

Kashmir recension of ancient Ramayana has the following reading:

Aratta.Kapisham.Balhim....[15]

Kshmendra
of Kashmir has rendered the above text into his Ramayana Manjri as follows:

Aratta.Bahlika.Kamboja ... ...[16]

Besides Kambojas, Atharvaveda-Parisista also associates the Vedic Bahlikas with the

Tusharas (Saka-Yavana-Tukhara-Vahlikaishcha).[9][17]

The fact that Puranic evidence locates the Bahlikas in Uttarapatha and further the close association of the Bahlikas with the Kambojas as well as with Tusharas, Sakas and

Jaxartes and beyond, the Bahlikas or Bahlams, as neighbors to these people should be placed in Bactria
.

The

Oxus or Amu Darya
) flowed through the land of Bahlavas (Bahlikas).

The

Sindhu). After crossing the seven mouths of the Indus, King Chandragupta is stated to have defeated the Bahlikas.[18]

These above several references attest that the Bahlikas were originally located beyond the seven mouths of river Indus in the country of Bactria and the land was watered by the river Oxus. But later, a section of these people had moved from

Sauviras
.

Bahlikas in plains of Punjab

The people having surname of Behal,Bahal,Bahl in Punjab are the direct descendant of Bahalikas. Salya, the king of Madra referred to in the Mahabharata has been called a Bahlika Pungava i.e. foremost among the Bahlikas.[19][20]

Princess Madri from the Madra Royal Family has also been referred to as Bahliki i.e. princess of Bahlika clan.[21]

In the digvijay expedition of Pandava Arjuna, there is a reference to a people called Bahlikas whom Arjuna had to fight with.[22] They are stated to be located on the southern side of Kashmir as neighbors to the Ursa and Sinhapura kingdoms.[23]

A passage in Ramayana attests that on the way from Ayodhya to Kekaya, one had to pass through the country of Bahlikas, located somewhere in Punjab. This shows that ancient Bahlikas had moved to and planted a settlement in Punjab too.[24][25] This is also verified from the epic Mahabharata.

This shows that there was yet another Bahlika country besides the one located in Bactria.

Dr P. E. Pargiter points out that there was also another Bahlika settlement in the plains of Punjab alongside or south of Madradesa.[26][27]

Bahlikas in Saurashtra

A third settlement of the Bahlikas is attested in western India as neighbors to the Saurashtras. Ramayana refers to (Saurashtrans.bahlikan.chandrachitranstathaivacha). There is also a similar expression in the

Vindhyas.[26][27]

The Baraca of the

Vindhyas.[26]

Legendary Bahlika kings

According to the

Puranic traditions, Dhrshta was one of the nine sons of Manu. From him came a number of clans called Dharshtakas who were reckoned as Kshatriyas. According to Shiva Purana
the Dharshtaka princes became rulers of Bahlika.

Satapatha Brahmana knows of a king named Bahlika Pratipeya whom it calls Kauravya (=Kaurava).[30] It has been pointed out that this Kaurava king is identical with Bahlika Pratipeya of Mahabharata.[31][32][33]

According to Mahabharata evidence, the king of Bahlika was present at Syamantapanchaka at Kurukshetra on the occasion of a solar eclipse. Also the name 'Bahlika Desa' originates from the name of the middle son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura, Vahlika, abandoned his paternal kingdom and started living with his maternal uncle in Bahlika and inherited the kingdom from him.. Hence, being the elder to King Shantanu, Bahlika was the paternal uncle of Bhishma and pre-dates him.

The people of Balhika had presented to

lotus, soft sheep-skins by thousands, sharp and long swords and scimitars, and hatchets and fine-edged battle-axes, perfumes and gems
of various kinds (2.50)

Darada, the king of Bahlika was the incarnation of Asura Surya. At the time of his birth, the earth was cleaved because of his weight. (1.67), (2.43)

The King of Bahlika presented to

Yudhishtra a golden chariot
yoked with four white Kamboja studs at the time of Rajsuya ceremony (2.53.5).

Andhras
, the Nishadas and the Trigartas (7.4.5-6).

King Bahlika had participated in the Kurukshetra War. Mahabharata calls him a mighty (mahabali) king.[34] Along with his son Somadatta and grandson Bhurisravas, King Bahlika had participated in the Mahabharata war with one Akshauhini (division) army of Bahlika soldiers and had sided with the Kauravas against the Pandavas. Bahlika and his grandson Bhurisravas were amongst the eleven distinguished Generals or Senapatis of the Kaurava army appointed by Duryodhana.[35]

Kurus-Bahlikas-Kambojas-Madras remote connection?

The Ramayana seems to localize the

Kuru
clans.

Himalaya
, the Bahlika or Bactria is also beyond Hindukush (i.e. Himalayan range).

Besides the Kurus, the

Uttaramadras and the Kambojas. Both these people were close neighbors in the north-western part of ancient India.[43][44][45][46] According to Jean Przylusky, the Bahlika (Balkh) was an Iranian settlement of the Madras who were known as Bahlika-Uttaramadras.[44][46][47]

In Aitareya Brahmana, the Uttarakurus and Uttaramadras are stated as living beyond Himalaya (paren himvantam).[48]

This suggests that in the remote antiquity (Vedic age), the (Iranian settlement of) the Madras was located in parts of Bahlika (Bactria)--the western parts of the Oxus country. These Madras were, in fact, the Uttaramadras of the Aitareya Brahmana (VIII/14).[49] However, in the 4th century BC, this Bahlika/Bactria came under Yavana/Greek political control and thus the land started to be referenced as Bahlika-Yavana in some of ancient Sanskrit texts.

Thus, the foregoing discussion suggests that the Uttarakurus, Uttaramadras and Kambojas—all were located beyond the Himalaya/Hindukush ranges. Probably, the Uttarakurus were located in the northern parts of Bahlika, the Uttaramadras were in the southern parts of it and the Kambojas (=Parama Kambojas) were to the east of Bahlika, in the

Parama Kambojas
were one people or otherwise were closely allied and had lived in/around Bahlika (Bactria).

Bahlikas in other references

Amarakosha makes references to the

Raghuvamsa play of poet Kalidasa. Raghuvamsa states that saffron got adhered to Raghu's horses which they had to shed off by rolling on the banks of Oxus before Raghu undertook to attack the forces of the Hunas and the Kambojas located on either side of Oxus.[51]

Paratas
, Vaisyas etc.

Kavyamimamsa of Rajshekhar (10th century AD) lists the

Bahlikas with the Sakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Tangana, Turukshas, etc. and states them as the tribes located in the Uttarapatha division.[52]

The

Jaina works Parishishtaparvan refers to Chandragupta's alliance with Himalayan king Parvatka. The Himalyan alliance gave Chandragupta a composite army made up of the Yavanas, Kambojas, Sakas, Kiratas, Parasikas and Bahlikas as stated in the Mudra-rakashas.[53][54][55][56][57]

Bahlikas as mlechcha kings in Kali Yuga

The Bahlikas have been equated to

Mlechchas in the later Sanskrit literature. There is a distinct prophetic statement in the Mahabharata that the mlechcha kings of Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Bahlikas etc. will lead an adharmic rule in Kali Yuga. (3.188.34-36).[58]

Bahlika horses

Bahlika horses in Mahabharata

Like Kamboja, Bahlika region was famous for its horses. They were used by kings in wars.

Bahlika horses in other references

Brahmanda Purana refers to the horses from Bahlika.[59] Similarly, Valmiki Ramayana refers to the horses of Bahlika, Kamboja and Vanayu countries as of excellent breed.[14] Upamitibhavaprapanchakatha singles out horses from Bahlika and those from Kamboja and Turuksha as the best.[60][61] The Abhidhanaratnamala also mentions examples of excellent horses from Bahlika, Persia, Kamboja, Vanayu, Sindhu and the land bordering on Sindhu.[61][62]

Bahlika and 'Sammoha Tantra

The Sammoha Tantra speaks of the

Huna, Yavana, Gandhara and Nepal
.

References

  1. ISBN 0226742210
    .
  2. ^ Content mirrored from this map
  3. ^ Vayu I.45.115
  4. ^ Vamana 13.37
  5. ^ Garuda 55.16
  6. ^ Brahamanda, 27.24-52v etc
  7. ^ Early Eastern Iran and the Atharvaveda, Persica-9, 1980, p 87, Dr Michael Witzel
  8. ^ AV-Par, 57.2.5
  9. ^ a b Early East Iran and the Atharvaveda, Persica-9, 1980, p 106, Dr Michael Witzel
  10. ^ MBH 7/98/13
  11. ^ MBH 6/75/17
  12. ^ MBH 2/27/23-23 etc
  13. ^ Mahabharata 7.36.36
  14. ^ a b Valmiki Ramayana I.6.22.
  15. ^ Ramayana, 4/44/23
  16. ^ Ramayana Manjri, 4/252
  17. ^ Atharvaveda Pari. 51.33
  18. ^ Indian Historical Quarterly, XXVI, 118n
  19. ^ MBH I. 67.6
  20. ^ MBH I.112.3
  21. ^ MBH I. 124. 21
  22. ^ Tatah paramavikrantoBahlikankurunandanah..MBH 2.27.22
  23. ^ Mahabharata, II.27.20-23
  24. ^ Ramayana II.54.18-19
  25. ^ Geographical Data in Early Puranas, p 120, Dr M. R. Singh
  26. ^ a b c The Puranas Text of the Dynastics of the Kali Age, p 50, Dr P. E. Pargiter
  27. ^ a b Geographical Data in Early Puranas, p 127, Dr M. R. Singh
  28. ^ Periplus, p 74
  29. ^ Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India, p 174.
  30. ^ Satapatha Brahamana XII 9.3.3
  31. ^ MBH V, 23.9
  32. ^ MBH 149.27
  33. ^ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1910, p 52
  34. ^ Bahlikan cha mahabalam : 5.155.33.
  35. ^ Mahabharata 5.155.30-33
  36. ^ Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India, p 110
  37. ^ Ramayana, (Lahore Edition), Uttarakanda, 89-3-2, pp 299-300, 309
  38. ^ cf: Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India, p 110
  39. ^ Studies in Indian Antiquaries, p 234
  40. ^ Geographical Data in Early Puranas, 1972, p 123-24, Dr M. R. Singh
  41. ^ Kamasutra of Vatsyayana, p 385
  42. ^ Vamsa Brahmana 1.18-19.
  43. ^ Vedic Index, I, p 84-85, 138
  44. ^ a b India as Known to Panini, 1953, p 50, Dr Aggarwal
  45. ^ Some Kshatriya Tribes, p 232, Dr B. C. Law
  46. ^ a b Geographical Data in Early Puranas, pp 65, 164, Dr M. R. Singh.
  47. ^ The Udumbras, Journal Asiatique, 1926, p 11, Jean Przylusky, showing that Bahlika (Balkh) was an Iranian settlement of the Madras who were known as Bahlika-Uttaramadras
  48. ^ Aitareya Brahmana, VIII/14.
  49. A. A. Macdonell
    , Dr V. S. Aggarwal, Dr M.R. Singh, Dr J. L. Kamboj
  50. ^ Amarkosha, p 159, Amarsimha.
  51. ^ Raghuvamsa IV.67-70.
  52. ^ Kavyamimamsa, Ch 17, Rajshekhar.
  53. ^ History and Culture of Indian People, Age of Imperial Kanauj, p 57, Dr Pusalkar and Dr Majumdar
  54. ^ Ancient India, 1956, pp 141-142, Dr R. K. Mukerjee
  55. ^ Political and Social Movements in Ancient Panjab, 1964, p 202, Dr Buddha Parkash
  56. ^ The Culture and Art of India, p 1959, p 91
  57. ^ Comprehensive History of Ancient India, Vol II, 1957, p 4, Dr K. A. N. Sastri
    Original text from Mudrarakshasa in Sanskrit:
    asti tava Shaka-Yavana-Kirata-Kamboja-Parsika-Bahlika parbhutibhih
    Chankyamatipragrahittaishcha Chandergupta Parvateshvara
    balairudidhibhiriva parchalitsalilaih samantaad uprudham Kusumpurama
    (See: Mudrarakshasa 2)
  58. ^
    viparite tada loke purvarupa.n kshayasya tat.34
    bahavo mechchha rajanah prithivyam manujadhipa .
    mithyanushasinah papa mrishavadaparayanah. 35.
    Andhrah ShakAh Pulindashcha Yavanashcha naradhipah .
    Kamboja Bahlikah Shudrastathabhira narottama. 36.
    (MBH 3/187/28-30)
  59. ^ Brahmanda (V), III, Upodghata-Pada, Ch 16.17.
  60. ^ Upamiti 474
  61. ^ a b History and Culture of Indian People, The age of Imperial Kanauj, p 405, Dr R. C. Majumdar, Dr A. D. Pusalkar.
  62. ^ II, No 511, 284

External links

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