Kamboh

This article is about the "Kamboh"; Caste in Pakistan and India '

Unveiling the Legacy and Identity: Kamboh (Kamboj) Caste

The Kamboh, also spelled as Kamboj (Nastaliq: کمبوہ ALA-LC: Kamboh), constitutes a caste and community that can be found in both India and Pakistan. Their influence extends across a territory ranging from the Sutlej Valley in the north to Multan in the west and the Karnal area of the Yamuna valley in the east.

Concise Summary

1. Origin of Term

Kai was a royal dynasty of Persia and Amboh means ‘a family’. Thus its means the royal family of Kai kings.

2. Origins of Kamboh

Kamboj people (Cavalry soldiers & Indo-Aryan) trace their linkage to Kamboja I (Cambyses II), the second prince of the Achaemenid Empire in 521 BC. Subsequently, they migrated to Indo-Asia around 2/3 AD. Kambohs are said to be the modern representatives of ancient Kambojas originated from the Kamboja-Pala Dynasty around 10 AD, with ancestral connections to the royal Kai Dynasty of Persia. The original home of the Kambojas was Pamir, Badakshan and northern parts of Tajikstan, but now are mostly confined to northern parts of India, Pakistan, Iran, Eastern Afghanistan and Cambodia.

3. Religious Transformation

Originally following Zoroastrianism, now they are found as Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Persians, Jaina and Buddhists. Around 1000 AD during Mehmood Ghaznavi's rule, a significant number of Kambohs converted to Islam and were especially favored for high military and civil positions during Mughal rule.

4. Modern Identities:

In contemporary times, the Kamboh people are known as Kamboh (Pakistan) and Kamboj (India). In Pakistan, they have been predominantly settled in eastern Punjab and Multan area since 1200 AD.

Comprehensive Overview: Reclaiming Kamboh History - Our Untold Tale

Foreigners and non-Kamboja Indian authors have primarily penned historical accounts. While outsiders may offer more favorable perspectives, they often overlook crucial aspects of our tribes. Unfortunately, many remain unaware of the existence of modern descendants of the once-dominant Kambojas, primarily scattered across North India and Pakistan.

The Kamboja Aryan people, renowned as frontier highlanders in bygone eras, significantly influenced the spread of Aryan culture in Ceylon, Cambodia, and ancient India and Iran. These Kamboja people resided in the remotest outskirts of mainland India, particularly in the extreme north and even beyond the Gandhara region. Consequently, their limited presence in the post-epic Sanskrit and Pali writings can be attributed to the geographical distance between them and the writers, resulting in a lack of awareness about the Kamboja people, their lands, and their rulers.

As a result, historical accounts often treat Kambojas as lesser-known or foreign tribes, marginalizing their role in the Aryan population of mainland India. However, by analyzing references to Kambojas in various Sanskrit and Pali scriptures, epigraphic inscriptions, and foreign sources, scholars have drawn intelligent inferences and established a more accurate understanding of Kamboja's political, social, and economic systems. Yet, there is much more to uncover about the history of these ancient Kamboja people, who undoubtedly played a significant role in both Indo-Aryan and Iranian Aryan societies. This journey through the term 'Kamboj' and its various facets reveals the rich historical tapestry of this fascinating culture.

Origin of Term

The term "Kamboh - کمبوہ" is often used as a surname or last name by Muslim Kamboh residing in Pakistan.

• The term "Kamboh" and its synonyms, such as "Kambocha" (found in Ashoka's Dhauli Rock inscriptions), "Kamboya" (seen in Ashoka's Shahbajgari rock inscriptions), "Kabo," "Kambo," "Kammo," "Kamo" (in Punjabi), "Kambhu," "Kambhi," "Kambe," "Kambey," or "Cambey," "Kamboi" (in Gujarat), "Kaam," "Kam," "Kamma," "Kaum," "Camoje" or "Kamoj," "Camojee," "Camoz" or "Kamoz," "Kamtoz" (in Pushtu, the name of Shiaposh tribes in Kafirstan, south-east of Hindukush), "Kambodha," "Kamuda," "Kumuda" (found in the Vayu Purana), "Komde," "Komdei," "Tamboza" (according to Ptolemy), "Kieufieu" (in the Tathagataguhya-Sutra), "Kambu" or "Kaofu," "Kipin," "Chipin" (in Chinese), "Kampoce," "Kampoch," "Kapoce," "Kapoch," "Kampotes," "Kampochih" (as seen in Tibetan religious texts), "Kambojka," "Kamboika," "Kamui," "Kamoi," "Kamuia" (found in Kharoshti), and so forth, represent various Prakritic and other forms, variations, or derivatives of the original Sanskrit term "KAMBOJ," which signifies both the Kamboja people and the Kamboja region. Ancient and medieval Indian literature is brimming with abundant mentions of the Kamboja or Kamboj, encompassing references to the Kamboj people, Kamboj royalty, and the Kamboj land.

• The term "Kamboj," pertaining to the Kamboja Vamsa, Kamboja Kings, and the Kamboja region, recurs repeatedly in India's Buddhist and Sanskrit religious texts, including the Vedas, Puranas, Shastras, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Manusmriti, Jatakas, Mudrarakshasa, Rajatarangini, and numerous other renowned works of ancient and medieval India, such as those by Panini, Yasaka, Kautilya, Bhasa, Kalidasa, and many more.

• The usage of the term "Kambhoja" for the Kamboja people in Kautilya's Arthashastra is evidently influenced by Persian customs, language, and nomenclature. This refers to the Kamboja people of the 3rd and 4th centuries B.C. who inhabited the Pamir/Badakhshan region and the Parapamisadaen area south of the Hindukush mountain range. Additionally, certain shlokas in the Mahabharata make use of the term "Kambujana" to denote the Kamboja people of Epic India. Furthermore, the words "Kampoj," "Kamboj," "Kambu," and "Kambuj" in reference to the Kamboja country, Kamboja Kings, and Kamboja Vamsa are found in numerous ancient and medieval rock inscriptions throughout India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia, as noted by Dr. J. L. Kamboj of Delhi University.

• In the Persian language, this term appears as "Kambujia" or "Kambojia" in the ancient Persian rock inscriptions related to the Achaemenian (Kainad) kings and their lineage. Subsequently, the Kamboja people migrated northwestward, crossing Sindh and extending into Iran, where their name is preserved as "Kambujia" in the old Persian rock inscriptions associated with the Achaemenian Kings.

• In the rock inscriptions written in Sanskrit, Pali, and Khmer languages found in Cambodia, we encounter terms such as "Kambu," "Kambuj," "Kampuchih," "Kamboja," "Kambodscha," "Kambodja," "Camboja," and others, referring to the region known as Kambodge, Cambodge, Kambuj, or Kamboj Desh (e.g., Kambupuri, Kambuja, etc., as seen in King Yaso Varman's rock inscriptions at Angkor Thom in Cambodia). These inscriptions have been translated as "Indianized States of South-East" in 1964, and the term has been transliterated into French as "Kambodge" or "Cambodge" by French writers. It is from this French transliteration that the modern name "Kambodia" or "Cambodia" in English has its origins.

• The Pali chronicles, including Chamadevivamsa, Jinakalamali, and Mulasasna in Chiangmai, refer to the Kamboja people, using "Kamboja" and "Kambojaraja" for the Kamboja king of Siridhammanagara (Ligor) in the southern basin of Cambodia. Thai chronicles left by Thai principalities in the 12th century AD, in the upper Menam region of Indo-China, mention the people of Lova in the upper basin as the "Kambojas of Lova." Sylvain Levi identifies Tambuza or Tamboza in Ptolemy's geography with the Sanskrit "Kamboj," and the term "Cape Camboj" appears to have been used to refer to Cambodia.

• The Tathagataguhya-Sutra from the Ratnakuta Collection within the Buddhist religious tradition employs the term "Kieufieu" to refer to the Kamboja people and the Kamboja country. The reference to "Kieufieu" in the Tathagataguhya-Sutra is variously translated as "Kampoce," "Kampochih," "Kapoch," "Kapoce," and "Kampotse" in Tibetan religious texts. According to the Tibetan religious text "Paag-Saam-Jone-Zang," the region between Bengal and Burma was known as "Kampotse." The Kamboja country mentioned in the Brahma Purana of Sanskrit literature corresponds to this very "Kampotse" country located in the eastern parts of India, near Assam, situated between Burma and Bengal.

• The author of the Vayu Purana uses "Kumuda-dvipa" to refer to "Kusha-dvipa." This "Kusha-dvipa" or "Kumuda-dvipa" corresponds to the region of Alexandrian Sugadha Strapi (Sogdiana) located on the northwest frontiers of India, encompassing the northern parts of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This region is variously mentioned in ancient writings as "Kumuda," "Komuda," "Komdai," "Komdei," "Kamdei," "Kamdesh," or "Kambojdesh," among others. Both "Kumuda" and Ptolemy's "Komdei" (Kamdesh or Kambojdesh) are synonymous terms and refer to "Komdesh," "Kamdesh," or "Kamboj desh," which represents the Kamboja country inhabited by the Kamboja people with Iranian affinities, living on the borders of ancient India and ancient Iran, specifically in the Badakshan/Pamirs and surrounding regions, as stated by Dr. Buddha Parkash.

• In the Mathura lion Capital Inscriptions written in Kharoshti language, we find an altered rendition of Kamboj, described as Kamusa, Kamuda, Kamuia, Kamoia, Kambuja, Kambujaka, and Kambojaka, among others. According to the renowned Indian historian Dr. Nil Kanth Sastri, these references to "Kamusa, Kamuda, Kamuia, Kambojaka," and so forth, indicate the name of the Kambuja (Kamboja) tribe.

• Several Greek historians use Cambysis for Kamboj or Kambujia (O.P.) while referring to several Kamboja kings (Cambysis I, Cambysis II or Kambojia I, Kambojia II.. etc) of Achaemenian dynasty. The word Kamboj appearing in IRDA Copper Plate (i.e Kamboj-Vamsa-Tilak) and the Kamboja appearing in Dinaaj Pore Capitol Inscriptions (i.e Gaudesewara Kamboja) are used for the Kamboja Vamsa of several Kamboja Kings of Gaur Desa as well as a compellation used by one victorious Kamboja King i.e. Gaudeswara Kamboj ruling also over Gaur desh in the 9 th century AD. In the Mathura Lion Capitol Inscriptions, we find this word inscribed in Khroshti as Kambojka/Kamuia (Queen Aiyasi Kambojka/Kamuia) and Kamui/Kamudha (Prince Khrosta Kamui/Kamudha etc). We can also find the term Kamboja in its Perkritized form in the Kamaon hills of the Himalyan foothill spurs, adjoining Pauri-Garhwal area, where the Kamboja once held their own and gave their own name to these hills. Some writers and historians have used word Kanauj in the same context as the word Kamboj (Idrisi) while others opine that the word Kanyakubja from which word Kanauj evolved is yet another variation of the original Sanskritic word Kamboj (H. S. Thind etc). In Kathiawar, Gujrat, we find some Indo Aryan Kasatrya caste now engaged mainly in Agriculture and are refered to as Kambhi, Kambhe etc.

• These terms are unmistakably Prakritic adaptations of the original Sanskritic word 'Kamboja' and evoke the memory of the Western Rajayapalas (Kshatrapas). After the passing of Kamboja emperor Mause or Moga of Taxilla (20 BC - 22 AD), these Western Rajayapalas gained independence and subsequently governed over Malwa and Kathiawar, beginning from the commencement of the Christian era until the conclusion of the 3rd century AD. Historians have recognized these Western Rajayapalas as Kamboja people.

• In Gujarat, there is a multitude of Kamboja subcastes, including Jammu, Gandhi, Chandi, Chandna, Dhote, Vinayak, Patnayak, Torna, Taruna, Sarang, Nagpaul, Soni, Asoi, Kaura, Juj, and others that remain distinct and well-preserved. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, when referring to the invasion led by Alexander of Macedonia, uses the term "Kamboj" to denote the frontier people or Uttarpatha people residing on the northwestern borders of India.

• The word Kamboj referring to Kamboja People appears also in Ashoka’s Girnar, Kalsi and Mansehra rock inscriptions, though we also find Kambocha in Ashoka’s Dhauli Rock inscriptions and Kamboya in Shahbajgarhi rock inscriptions, in reference to the same people. “The name Kambo (Kamboj) of numerous Hindu caste found in Panjab is derived from this Kamboya of Ashoka’s Shahbajgarhi rock inscription”.

References

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