Pahlavas

Ethnic group mentioned in historic Indian texts

Figure of a foreigner, found in Sarnath. This is a probable member of the West Asian Pahlava or Saka elite in the Gangetic plains during the Mauryan period.[a]

The Pahlavas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian texts. According to Patrick Carnegy,[3] a Raj-era ethnographer, the 4th-century BCE Vartika of Katyayana mentions the Sakah-Parthavah, demonstrating an awareness of these Saka-Parthians, probably by way of commerce.[4] Knowledge of the Pahlavas is distilled from the literary references in texts like the Manu Smriti, various Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Bṛhat Saṃhitā.

Eastern border of the Achaemenid Empire and the kingdoms and cities of ancient India (circa 500 BCE), around the time of the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley. [5][6][7][8] Pahlava kingdom alongside other locations of kingdoms and republics mentioned in the Indian epics or Bharata Khanda

## In Puranic texts

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Pahlavas are referenced in various Puranic texts such as Vayu Purana, the Brahmanda Purana, the Markandeya Purana, the Matsya Purana, and the Vamana Purana.

Kirfel's list of Uttarapatha countries of the Bhuvanakosha locates the Pahlavas along with the Tocharians (or Tusharas), Chinas, Angalaukikas, Barbaras, Kambojas, Daradas, Bahlikas and other countries of the "Udichya" (Sanskrit: "northern") division of ancient India:[citation needed]

> ete desha udichyastu
>  Kambojashchaiva Dardashchaiva Barbarashcha Angaukikah
>  Chinashchaiva Tusharashcha Pahlavadhayata narah

— From Kirfel's text of Bhuvanakosha

The Vayu Purana, Brahmanda Purana and several other Puranas mention the Pahlavas with the tribes of Uttarapatha or north-west. The 6th-century CE text Markandeya Purana[α] lists the Pahlavas, Kambojas, Daradas, Bahlikas, Barbaras, Tusharas, Paradas, Chinas, Lampakas, as the countries of Udichya division (Uttarapatha). However, the 58th chapter of the Markandeya Purana also refers to yet other settlements of the Pahlavas and the Kambojas and locates them both specifically in the south-west of India as neighbors to the Sindhu, Sauvira and Anarta (north Saurashtra) countries. The 6th-century Bṛhat Saṃhitā of Varāhamihira also locates the Pahlavas and Kamboja kingdoms in south-west India, around Gujarat-Saurashtra.[9]

Puranas like Vayu also state that the Uttarapatha (Udichyas) including the Pahlavas, Paradas, Gandharas, Sakas, Yavanas, Tusharas, Kambojas, Khasas, Lampakas, Madhyadesis, Vindhyas, Aprantas, Dakshinatyas, Dravidas, Pulindas, Simhalas, would be proceeded against and annihilated by Kalki in Kali Yuga. And they are stated to have been annihilated by king Pramiti at the end of Kali age as per Puranic evidence.

According to Vayu Purana and Matsya Purana, the river Chakshu (Oxus or Amu Darya) flowed through the countries of Pahlavas, Tusharas, Lampakas, Paradas and the Sakas.[β]

### Pānca Ganahas or five hordes

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Puranas associate the Pahlavas with the Kambojas, Sakas, Yavanas and Paradas and brands them together as Panca-ganah (five hordes). These five hordes were military allies of the Haihaya or Taljunga Kshatriyas of Yadava line and were chiefly responsible for dethroning king Bahu of Kosala.

Later, king Sagara, son of king Bahu, was able to defeat the Haihayas or Taljungas together with these five-hordes. According to Puranic accounts, king Sagara had divested the Paradas and other members (the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas and Pahlavas) of the well-known Pānca-gana of their Kshatriyahood and turned them into the Mlechchas. Before their defeat at the hands of king Sagara, these five-hordes were called Kshatriya-pungava ('foremost among the Kshatriyas').

## In the Ramayana and Mahabharata

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The Balakanda of the Ramayana groups the Pahlavas with the Sakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Mlechhas and the Kiratas and refers to them as military allies of sage Vasishtha against Vedic sage king Vishwamitra.[γ]

The Kiṣkindhā Kāṇda of the Ramayana associates the Pahlavas with the Yavanas, Shakas, Kambojas, Paradas (Varadas), Rishikas and the Uttarakurus, and locates them all in the trans-Himalayan territories, that is, in the Sakadvipa.[δ]

Figurines of foreigners in Mathura

"Ethnic head", Mathura, c. 2nd century BCE. Mathura Museum.[10]

"Persian Nobleman clad in coat dupatta trouser and turban", Mathura, c. 2nd Century BCE. Mathura Museum.[10]

### The Uttarapatha

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Mahabharata attests that Pandava-putra Nakula had defeated the Pahlavas in the course of his western expedition. The kings of Pahlava were also present at the Rajasuya sacrifice of king Yudhishtra.

The Mahabharata also associates the Pahlavas with the Sakas, Yavanas, Gandharas, Kambojas, Tusharas, Sabaras, Barbaras, and addresses them all as the barbaric tribes of Uttarapatha.

### The Udyoga-Parva

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But the Udyoga-Parva of Mahabharata groups the Pahlavas with the Sakas, Paradas and the Kambojas-Rishikas and locates them all in or around Anupa region in western India.

Mahabharata[ε] reads: These kings of the Shakas, Pahlavas and Daradas (i.e. the Paradas) and the Kamboja Rshikas, these are in the western riverine (Anupa) area.

This epic reference implies that sections of the Pahlavas, Sakas, Paradas, Kambojas were also located in western India near Saurashtra-Maharashtra.

### The Kurukshetra War

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The Pahlavas along with the Sakas, Kiratas, Yavanas, amongst others, joined Saradwat's son Kripacharya, the high-souled and mighty bowman, and took up their positions at the northern point of the army.[ζ][b]

## In other texts

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### Manusmriti

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The Manusmriti[η] states that the Pahlavas and several other tribes like the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Paradas, Daradas, Khasas. were originally noble Kshatriyas, but later, due to their non-observance of valorous Kshatriya codes and neglect of chivalry, they had gradually sunken to the status of Mlechchas.

### The Mudrarakshasa drama

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The Buddhist drama Mudrarakshasa by Visakhadutta and the Jaina works Parishishtaparvan refer to Chandragupta's alliance with Himalayan king Parvatka. This Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a powerful composite army made up of the frontier martial tribes of the Shakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, Bahlikas, which he utilized to expanded his Mauryan Empire in northern India.[θ]

### Brihat-Katha-Manjari

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The Brihat-Katha-Manjari of Kshmendra[ι] relates that around 400, the Gupta king Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) had "unburdened the sacred earth of the barbarians" like the Shakas, Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Tusharas, Parasikas, Hunas, by annihilating these "unrighteous people" completely.

### Kavyamimamsa

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The 10th century Kavyamimamsa[c] of Pt Raj Shekhar still lists the Sakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Pahlavas, Tangana, Turukshas, together and states them as the tribes located in the Uttarapatha division.[citation needed]

## See also

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* Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley

## Notes

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1. ^ According to Gupta (1980)[1] this is a non-Indian face of a foreigner with a conical hat: "If there are a few faces which are non-Indian, such as one head from Sarnath with conical cap, they are due to the presence of the foreigners, their costumes, tastes and liking for portrait art and not their art styles."

Regarding the Masarh lion, Gupta (1980) says:[2] "This particular example of a foreign model gets added support from the male heads of foreigners from Patna city and Sarnath since they also prove beyond doubt that a section of the elite in the Gangetic Basin was of foreign origin. However, as noted earlier, this is an example of the late Mauryan period since this is not the type adopted in any Ashoka pillar. We are, therefore, visualizing a historical situation in India in which the West Asian influence on Indian art was felt more in the late Mauryan than in the early Mauryan period. The term West Asia in this context stands for Iran and Afghanistan, where the Sakas and Pahlavas had their base-camps for eastward movement. The prelude to future inroads of the Indo-Bactrians in India had after all started in the second century B.C. ..."
2. ^ Since the armies of the Sakas, Yavanas, Tukharas, Khasas, Daradas had fought under the supreme command of Sudakshin Kamboja,[11] it is highly likely that the Pahlavas too fought under Sudakshina Kamboj.
3. ^ In Chapter 17

### Ancient texts cited

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Part of a series on the

History of South Asia

Outline

Palaeolithic (2,500,000–250,000 BC)

|  Madrasian culture|

|

Soanian culture|

Neolithic (10,800–3300 BC)

|  Bhirrana culture|  (7570–6200 BC)

|

Mehrgarh culture|  (7000–3300 BC)
Edakkal culture|  (5000–3000 BC)

Chalcolithic (3500–1500 BC)

|  Anarta tradition|  (c. 3950–1900 BC)

|

Ahar-Banas culture|  (3000–1500 BC)
Pandu culture|  (1600–750 BC)
Malwa culture|  (1600–1300 BC)
Jorwe culture|  (1400–700 BC)

Bronze Age (3300–1300 BC)

|  Indus Valley Civilisation| (3300–1300 BC)

|

– Early Harappan culture| (3300–2600 BC)
– Mature Harappan culture| (2600–1900 BC)
– Late Harappan culture| (1900–1300 BC)
Vedic Civilisation| (2000–500 BC)
– Ochre Coloured Pottery culture| (2000–1600 BC)
– Swat culture| (1600–500 BC)

Iron Age (1500–200 BC)

|  Vedic Civilisation| (1500–500 BC)

|

– Janapadas|  (1500–600 BC)
– Black and Red ware culture| (1300–1000 BC)
– Painted Grey Ware culture|  (1200–600 BC)
– Northern Black Polished Ware|  (700–200 BC)
Pradyota dynasty|  (799–684 BC)
Haryanka dynasty|  (684–424 BC)
Three Crowned Kingdoms|  (c. 600 BC – AD 1600)
Maha Janapadas|  (c. 600–300 BC)
Achaemenid Empire|  (550–330 BC)
Shaishunaga dynasty|  (424–345 BC)
Nanda Empire|  (380–321 BC)
Macedonian Empire|  (330–323 BC)
Maurya Empire|  (321–184 BC)
Seleucid India|  (312–303 BC)
Sangam period|  (c. 300 BC – c. 300 AD)
Pandya Empire|  (c. 300 BC – AD 1345)
Chera Kingdom|  (c. 300 BC – AD 1102)
Chola Empire|  (c. 300 BC – AD 1279)
Pallava Empire|  (c. 250 AD – AD 800)
Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire|  (c. 250 BC – c. AD 500)
Parthian Empire|  (247 BC – AD 224)

Middle Kingdoms (230 BC – AD 1206)

|  Satavahana Empire|  (230 BC – AD 220)

|

Kuninda Kingdom|  (200 BC – AD 300)
Mitra Dynasty|  (c. 150 – c. 50 BC)
Shunga Empire|  (185–73 BC)
Indo-Greek Kingdom|  (180 BC – AD 10)
Kanva Empire|  (75–26 BC)
Indo-Scythian Kingdom|  (50 BC – AD 400)
Indo-Parthian Kingdom|  (AD 21 – c. 130)
Western Satrap Empire|  (AD 35–405 )
Kushan Empire|  (AD 60–240)
Bharshiva Dynasty|  (170–350)
Nagas of Padmavati|  (210–340)
Sasanian Empire|  (224–651)
Indo-Sassanid Kingdom|  (230–360)
Vakataka Empire|  (c. 250 – c. 500)
Kalabhras Empire|  (c. 250 – c. 600)
Gupta Empire|  (280–550)
Kadamba Empire|  (345–525)
Western Ganga Kingdom|  (350–1000)
Kamarupa Kingdom|  (350–1100)
Vishnukundina Empire|  (420–624)
Maitraka Empire|  (475–767)
Huna Kingdom|  (475–576)
Rai Kingdom|  (489–632)
Kabul Shahi Empire|  (c. 500 – 1026)
Chalukya Empire|  (543–753)
Maukhari Empire|  (c. 550 – c. 700)
Harsha Empire|  (606–647)
Tibetan Empire|  (618–841)
Eastern Chalukya Kingdom|  (624–1075)
Rashidun Caliphate|  (632–661)
Gurjara-Pratihara Empire|  (650–1036)
Umayyad Caliphate|  (661–750)
Mallabhum kingdom|  (694–1947)
Bhauma-Kara Kingdom|  (736–916)
Pala Empire|  (750–1174)
Rashtrakuta Empire|  (753–982)
Paramara Kingdom|  (800–1327)
Yadava Empire|  (850–1334)
Somavamshi Kingdom|  (882–1110)
Chaulukya Kingdom|  (942–1244)
Western Chalukya Empire|  (973–1189)
Lohara Kingdom|  (1003–1320)
Hoysala Empire|  (1040–1347)
Sena Empire|  (1070–1230)
Eastern Ganga Empire|  (1078–1434)
Kakatiya Kingdom|  (1083–1323)
Zamorin Kingdom|  (1102–1766)
Kalachuris of Tripuri|  (675–1210)
Kalachuris of Kalyani|  (1156–1184)
Chutiya Kingdom|  (1187–1673)
Deva Kingdom|  (c. 1200 – c. 1300)

Late medieval period (1206–1526)

|  Ghaznavid Dynasty|  (977–1186)

|

Ghurid Dynasty|  (1170–1206)
Delhi Sultanate|  (1206–1526)
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Ahom Kingdom|  (1228–1826)
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Reddy Kingdom|  (1325–1448)
Vijayanagara Empire|  (1336–1646)
Bengal Sultanate|  (1352–1576)
Garhwal Kingdom|  (1358–1803)
Mysore Kingdom|  (1399–1947)
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Keladi Kingdom|  (1499–1763)
Koch Kingdom|  (1515–1947)

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1. ^ Markandeya Purana 57.35.
2. ^ Vayu Purana I.58.78-83
3. ^ Ramayana, 55/2-3
4. ^ Ramayana § Kiṣkindhā Kāṇda, 43-12.
5. ^ Mahabharata 5.4.15
6. ^ Mahabharata Bhishma Parva, Ch. 20.
7. ^ Manu-samhita, X.43-44
8. ^ Mudrarakshasa, II
9. ^ Brihat-Katha-Manjari 10/1/285-86[citation needed]

### References

[edit]

1. ^ Gupta 1980, p. 318.
2. ^ Gupta 1980, p. 122.
3. ^

* Carnegy, Patrick (1868). Notes on the races tribes and castes inhabiting the province of Avadh [Oudh]. Lucknow: Government of Oudh. p. 4\. "Native ethnologists ... say that of the six remaining original races of which they take cognizance [...] that the Pahluv are probably those people who spoke Pahluvi or Pehlvi, a language of Persia ..."[failed verification]
* Notes on the Races, Tribes and Castes Inhabiting the Province of Avadh [Oudh]. Lucknow: Oudh Government Press. 1868. p. 4.
* See:

* Singh, M. R. (1972). Geographical data in the early Purāṇas: A critical study. Calcutta: Punthi Pustak. LCCN 72903450. OCLC 736935. A revision of the author's thesis, University of Rajasthan, 1967.
* "Introduction". The Laws of Manu, with extracts from seven commentaries. Sacred Books of the East. Vol. XXV. Translated by Bühler, Georg (1886 ed.). p. cxv.
* Rapson, Coins of Ancient India, p. 37, n. 2.
4. ^ V. S. Agarwala (1954). India as Known to Panini. p. 444
5. ^ Sen 1999, pp. 116–117.
6. ^ Philip's Atlas of World History (1999)
7. ^ O'Brien, Patrick Karl (2002). Atlas of World History. Oxford University Press. p. 43\. ISBN 9780195219210.
8. ^ Barraclough, Geoffrey (1989). The Times Atlas of World History. Times Books. p. 79\. ISBN 9780723009061.
9. ^ Singh 1972, pp. 134–135.
10. ^ a b Vishnu, Asha (1993). Material Life of Northern India: Based on an Archaeological Study, 3rd Century B.C. to 1st Century B.C. Mittal Publications. p. 141\. ISBN 9788170994107.
11. ^ F. E. Pargiter (1908). "The Nations of India at the Battle Between the Pandavas and Kauravas", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. pp. 313, 331 (Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland).

### Sources

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* Gupta, Swarajya Prakash (1980). The Roots of Indian Art: A Detailed Study of the Formative Period of Indian Art and Architecture, Third and Second Centuries B.C., Mauryan and Late Mauryan. B.R. Publishing Corporation. pp. 88, 122. ISBN 978-0-391-02172-3.
* Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. ISBN 9788122411980.

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