Divisions
39-450: Kambojan is an extinct and poorly attested Indo-Iranian language spoken by the Kambojas tribe , a group of people that inhabited Northern Afghanistan and Central Asia . The features and the characteristics of the language is unknown. The classification of Kambojan is conflicting as the word "Kambojan" is vague. Toybee, Herzfeld, Walser and Chakraberty believe the word is connected to Cambyses
78-567: A glossary and oldest surviving writing about Indian lexicography , is the first source to mention them. In his book about etymology—the Nirukta —the ancient Indian author Yaska comments on that part of the Naighaṇṭukas , in which he mentions that "the word śavati as a verb of motion is used only by the Kambojas", a statement that is more or less repeated in the exact same way by later authors, such as
117-487: A king; Rāja-pura- (meaning "King's town") was the name of their capital, but its site remains unknown. As was typical of Iranians, the Kambojas were renowned for their skill in horse breeding, and it is believed that the horses they produced were the most suitable for use in battle. These horses were brought into India in large quantities and also given as tribute. Indologist Etienne Lamotte further suggests that reputation of Kambojas as homeland of horses possibly earned
156-517: A portion of the Buddhist Jataka tales . Insects, snakes, worms, frogs, and other small animals had to be killed according to the Kambojas' religious beliefs. This practice has been linked by academics to the Avestan Vendidad for a long time, leading them to the conclusion that the Kambojas were adherents of Zoroastrianism . These beliefs are based on Zoroastrian dualism, which attributes
195-537: A practice mentioned in the Avestan Vendidad . Kamboja- (later form Kāmboja- ) was the name of their territory and identical to the Old Iranian name of *Kambauǰa- , whose meaning is uncertain. A long-standing theory is the one proposed by J. Charpentier in 1923, in which he suggests that the name is connected to the name of Cambyses I and Cambyses II ( Kambū̌jiya or Kambauj in Old Persian ), both kings from
234-751: A result, the Greek population of those areas were once again under the dominion of their Greek countrymen, while the Kambojas met other Iranians, as the Bactrians were likely a major component of the conquering army along with the Greeks. Some historians consider the Kambojas to have established the Kamboja Pala dynasty in Bengal , but this remains uncertain. Some historians consider it to have founded by Kambojas who had settled in Bengal,
273-558: A theory which may be supported by the attestation of a Kambojadeśa in the Lushai Hills by the Tibetan book Pag Sam Jon Zang . Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri proposed that the Kambojas may have travelled to Bengal from the northwestern frontier in the wake of Gurjara-Pratihara conquests during the lifetime of Narayanapala . He adds that those Kambojas perhaps acquired positions and, at a suitable time, seized power. Richard Strand considers
312-691: A wife desiring her husband. The meaning of Speech, is its fruit and flower. — Yaska, Nirukta 1.18-1.20 A central premise of Yaska was that man creates more new words to conceptualize and describe action, that is nouns often have verbal roots. However, added Yaska, not all words have verbal roots. He asserted that both the meaning and the etymology of words are always context dependent. Words are created around object-agent, according to Yaska, to express external or internal reality perceived by man, and are one of six modifications of Kriya (action) and Bhava (dynamic being), namely being born, existing, changing, increasing, decreasing and perishing. A sentence
351-412: Is a collection of words, a word is a collection of phonemes, according to Nirukta scholars of Hindu traditions. The meaning of Vedic passages has to be understood through context, purpose stated, subject matter being discussed, what is stated, how, where and when. The only basic Nirvacana shastra (Nirukta-related text) that has survived from ancient times into the modern era is the one by Yaska, and it
390-560: Is an example from the opening verse of his commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama . The opening verse includes Gaṇanātha as a name for Ganesha . The simple meaning of this name, which would have seemed obvious to his readers, would be "Protector of the Ganas", parsing the name in a straightforward way as gaṇa (group) + nātha (protector). But Bhaskararaya demonstrates his skill in nirukta by parsing it in an unexpected way as
429-449: Is from the 14th-century. Yaska, in his famous text titled Nirukta , asserts that Rigveda in the ancient tradition, can be interpreted in three ways - from the perspective of religious rites ( adhiyajna ), from the perspective of the deities ( adhidevata ), and from the perspective of the soul ( adhyatman ). The fourth way to interpret the Rigveda also emerged in the ancient times, wherein
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#1732855435492468-542: Is not a dictionary, a genre of texts that developed in later centuries and was called a Kosha in Sanskrit. Yaska's Nirukta extensively refers to the Nighantu . The three commentaries on Yaska's Nirukta text are by Hindu scholars named Durgasinha (also known as Durga) who likely lived before the 6th-century CE, Skanda-Mahesvara who may be two scholars who probably lived before the 5th-century CE, and Nilakantha who probably
507-506: Is one of the six ancient Vedangas , or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism . Nirukta covers etymology , and is the study concerned with correct interpretation of Sanskrit words in the Vedas. Nirukta is the systematic creation of a glossary and it discusses how to understand archaic, uncommon words. The field grew probably because almost a quarter of words in
546-542: Is probably related to the Avestan word "Kan" meaning "to long, want" cognate to the Sanskrit word Kama , "desire, lust". Indologist Sylvain Lévi believed that the word is of Austroasiatic origin but this is dismissed by scholars. Gerard Fussman suggests that the unknown language in the inscriptions of Dasht-e-Nawar was perhaps spoken by Kambojas possibly an earlier Ormuri language. French linguist, Emile Benveniste believed that
585-426: Is simply called Nirukta . Three bhasya (commentaries) on Yaska's Nirukta have also survived. Additionally, a related work that is extant and is more ancient than the 5th-century BCE Nirukta by Yaska, is the Nighantu which is a lexicographic treatise. The Nighantu is a glossary or compilation of words in the Vedas, and is an example text of Abhidhanashastra (literally, science of words). However, Nighantu
624-571: The Achaemenid ruler or the region Kambysene. H. W. Bailey analyzes the word "Kamboja" and believes that it can interpreted as "Kam-bauja" or "Kan-bauja" the second root word "Bauja" believes to be related to the Avestan word "baug" meaning to "bend, free, loose, deliver, save, possess or rule" related to the Sanskrit word "bhuj" meaning "rule, use, possess and govern" Bailey also believes the first word "Kam"
663-516: The Achaemenid dynasty . The theory has been discussed several times, but the issues that it posed were never persuadingly resolved. In the same year, Sylvain Lévi proposed that the name is of Austroasiatic origin, though this is typically rejected. The Kambojas only appear in Indo-Aryan inscriptions and literature, being first attested during the later part of the Vedic period . The Naighaṇṭukas ,
702-475: The Bahuvrīhi compound gaṇana + atha meaning "the one the enumeration ( gaṇanaṁ ) of whose qualities brings about auspiciousness. The word atha is associated with auspiciousness ( maṅgalam )." This rhetorical flourish at the opening of the sahasranama demonstrates Bhaskaraya's skills in nirukta at the very beginning of his commentary on a thousand such names, including a clever twist appropriate to
741-550: The Nirukta field of study are also called Nirvacana shastra . A critical edition of the Nighantu and the Nirukta was published by Lakshman Sarup in the 1920s. The critical edition by Lakshman Sarup places it between 700 and 500 BCE, i.e., before Gautama Buddha . Nirukta (Sanskrit), states Monier-Williams, means "uttered, pronounced, explained, expressed, defined, loud". It also refers to
780-567: The Ashokan Kandahar inscriptions had two non-indo-aryan languages. He believed that the Aramao-Iranian language may have been used by Kambojas. Iranlogists Mary Boyce and Frantz Grenet also support the idea saying "The fact that Aramaic versions were made indicates that the Kambojas enjoyed a measure of autonomy, and that they not only preserved their Iranian identity, but were governed in some measure by members of their own community, on whom
819-549: The Evil Spirit to creatures like these and others that are poisonous or repulsive to humans. Hence, Zoroastrians were commanded to destroy them, and careful pursuit of this goal has been observed by outside spectators since the 5th-century BCE to the present. Nirukta Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas Nirukta ( Sanskrit : निरुक्त , IPA: [n̪iɾuktɐ] , "explained, interpreted")
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#1732855435492858-469: The Kambojas enjoyed a measure of autonomy, and that they not only preserved their Iranian identity, but were governed in some measure by members of their own community, on whom was laid the responsibility of transmitting to them the king's words, and having these engraved on stone." Gérard Fussman suggested that the unidentified Iranian language of the two rock-inscriptions (IDN 3 and 5) in Dasht-e Nawar
897-567: The Kambojas, alongside the Greeks, Gandharas , Bactrians and Indo-Scythians . Geographical texts in Sanskrit and the Aṅguttara Nikāya include the Kambojas as one of the sixteen kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent during the lifetime of the Buddha . Various characteristics of the Kambojas are also described in different types of Sanskrit and Pali literature; they shaved themselves bald; they had
936-608: The Nuristani Kom people (aka Kamôzî or Kamôǰî) to be the descendants of the Kamboja people. The Kambojas inhabited the northeastern most part of the territory populated by Iranian tribes, which bordered the Indian lands. In 1918, Lévi suggested it to be Kafiristan , but later retracted it in 1923; B. Liebich suggested they lived in the Kabul Valley ; J. Bloch suggested that they lived to
975-530: The Vedic texts composed in the 2nd-millennium BCE appear just once. The study of Nirukta can be traced to the last centuries of the 2nd-millennium BCE Brahmanas layer of the Vedic texts. The most celebrated scholar of this field is Yāska , who wrote the Nighaṇṭu (book of glossary), the first book on this field. His text is also referred simply as Nirukta . The study of Nirukta has been closely related to
1014-428: The ancillary Vedic science of Vyakarana , but they have a different focus. Vyakarana deals with linguistic analysis to establish the exact form of words to properly express ideas, while Nirukta focuses on linguistic analysis to help establish the proper meaning of the words, given the context they are used in. Yaska asserts that the prerequisite to the study of Nirukta is the study of Vyakarana . The texts of
1053-435: The context they were used to propose what the archaic words could have meant. Don't memorize, seek the meaning What has been taken [from the teacher's mouth] but not understood, is uttered by mere [memory] recitation, it never flares up, like dry firewood without fire. Many a one, [although] seeing, do not see Speech, many a one, [although] hearing, do not hear Her, and many a one, She spreads out [Her] body, like
1092-453: The etymological interpretation of a word, also the name of such works. The related Sanskrit noun niruktiḥ means "poetical derivation" or "explanation of a word." The field of Nirukta deals with ascertaining the meaning of words, particularly of archaic words no longer in use, ones created long ago and even then rarely used. The Vedic literature from the 2nd millennium BCE has a very large collection of such words, with nearly 25% of
1131-533: The fifth edict says "of Greeks, Kambojas and Gandharians". It is uncertain if Ashoka was only referring to just the Kambojas or all the Iranian tribes in his empire. Regardless, the mentioned groups of people were part of the Maurya Empire, being influenced by its politics, culture and religious traditions, and also adhered to ideology of "righteousness" set by Ashoka. The major Indian epic Mahabharata also mentions
1170-488: The gods mentioned were viewed as symbolism for legendary individuals or narratives. It was generally accepted that creative poets often embed and express double meanings, ellipses and novel ideas to inspire the reader. Nirukta enables one to identify alternate embedded meanings that poets and writers may have included in old texts. Many examples of the rhetorical use of nirukta occur in Bhaskararaya 's commentaries. Here
1209-471: The grammarian Patanjali (2nd-century BCE) in his Mahabhashya . The word śavati is equivalent to š́iiauua- in Younger Avestan , which demonstrates that the Kambojas spoke an Iranian tongue with close ties to it. Modern historian M. Witzel surmised that grammarians and lexicographers must have first become acquainted with the word around 500 BCE or perhaps earlier, due to Yaska and Patanjali both using
Kambojan language - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-495: The horse-breeders known as Aspasioi (from Old Persian aspa ) and Assakenoi (from Sanskrit aśva "horse") their epithet. Following the death of Ashoka, the Maurya Empire fell into decline. During the start of the 2nd-century BCE, they lost their Indian-Iranian frontier lands (including Gandhara and Arachosia ) to the forces of Demetrius I ( r. 200–180 BCE ), the king of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom . As
1287-573: The later part of the Vedic period . They spoke a language similar to Younger Avestan , whose words are considered to have been incorporated in the Aramao-Iranian version of the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription erected by the Maurya emperor Ashoka ( r. 268–232 BCE ). They were adherents of Zoroastrianism , as demonstrated by their beliefs that insects, snakes, worms, frogs, and other small animals had to be killed,
1326-569: The north-east of Kabul ; Lamotte considered them to live them from Kafiristan to the southwestern part of Kashmir . In 1958, a new suggestion was put forward by the French linguist Émile Benveniste . He drew a comparison between the Kambojas and Greeks described in Ashoka's edicts in Kandahar and the two languages it was written in; Greek and "Aramao-Iranian", which refers to the Iranian language hidden in
1365-469: The same example known amongst grammarians and lexicographers. According to Arthashastra of Kautilya , Kambojas were known as vartta-sastropajivinah , meaning they were a class of Kshatriya guilds which lived upon both trade and war. The Major Rock Edicts of the Maurya emperor Ashoka ( r. 268–232 BCE ) contain the first attestations of the Kambojas that can be precisely dated. The thirteenth edict says "among Greeks and Kambojas" and
1404-609: The text of the Aramaic alphabet . Ashoka wanted to use these two languages to convey his religious message to the inhabitants of what is now present-day eastern Afghanistan , around the Gandhara area, approximately between Kabul and Kandahar. Because of this, Benveniste considered the Iranian language used in Ashoka's inscriptions to be spoken by the Kambojas. The Iranologists Mary Boyce and Frantz Grenet also support this view, saying that "The fact that Aramaic versions were made indicates that
1443-492: The words therein being used just once. By the 1st millennium BCE, interpreting and understanding what the Vedas meant had become a challenge, and Nirukta attempted to systematically propose theories on how words form, and then determine their meaning in order to understand the Vedas. Yaska, the sage who likely lived around the 7th–5th century BCE, approached this problem through a semantic analysis of words, by breaking them down into their components, and then combined them in
1482-558: Was laid the responsibility of transmitting to them the king's words, and having these engraved on stone." There are many Kambojan names and words found in the inscription in the Rock Edits attributed to King Ashoka. Kambojas The Kambojas were a southeastern Iranian people who inhabited the northeastern most part of the territory populated by Iranian tribes, which bordered the Indian lands . They only appear in Indo-Aryan inscriptions and literature, being first attested during
1521-517: Was spoken by the Kambojas, perhaps an early stage of the Ormuri language . According to Rüdiger Schmitt; "If this hypothesis should prove to be true, we would be able to locate the Kambojas more precisely in the mountains around Ghazni and on the Upper Arghandab ." The Indo-Aryans considered the Kambojas to be "non-Aryan" ( anariya- ) strangers with their own peculiar traditions, as demonstrated in
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