.png) Location of the Bahlikas inBactria | |
| Alternative names | Bahli, Balhika, Vahlika, Valhika, Bahlava, Bahlam, Bahlim, Bahlayana, Bahluva |
|---|---|
| Race | Indo-aryan |
| Religion | Vedic religion |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Geographical range | Bactria |
| Period | Iron Age |
| Dates | c. 1500 – 400 BCE |
| Type site | Balkh |
| Major sites | Balkh, Punjab |
| Preceded by | Indo-aryan |
| Followed by | Greco-Bactrian Kingdom |
| Cause of collapse | Conquered by Greeks (4th century BCE) |
| Defined by | Puranas,Atharvaveda,Mahabharata |
TheBahlikas (Sanskrit:बाह्लिक;Bāhlika) were the inhabitants of a location called Bahlika (Sanskrit:बह्लिक, located inBactria), mentioned in theAtharvaveda,Mahabharata,Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka ofKatyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha, and other ancient inscriptions. Other variations of Bahlika include Bahli, Balhika, Vahlika, Valhika, Bahlava, Bahlam/Bahlim, Bahlayana, and Bahluva.
According to theBhuvanakosha section of thePuranas, Bahlika was aJanapada located in theUdichya (Uttarapatha) division.[5][6][7][8]
Somehymns of the Atharvaveda invoke fever to go to theGandharis, Mahavrsas (a tribe of Punjab), Mujavants, and, further off, to the Bahlikas. Mujavant is the name of a hill (and the people) located in theHindukush/Pamir.[9]
Atharvaveda-Parisista juxtaposes the Vedic Bahlikas with theKambojas (i.e.,Kamboja-Bahlika).[10][11]
Besides the Atharvaveda Parisista, several other ancient texts also associate the Bahlikas with the Kambojas:
TheKashmir recension of the ancient Ramayana contains the following reading:
Sanskrit AcharyaKshmendra of Kashmir rendered the above text into his Ramayana Manjri as follows:
Aratta.Bahlika.Kamboja.[18]
Besides Kambojas, the Atharvaveda-Parisista also associates the Vedic Bahlikas with theSakas,Yavanas, andTusharas (Saka-Yavana-Tukhara-Vahlikaishcha).[11][19]
The fact that Puranic evidence locates the Bahlikas in Uttarapatha and further associates the Bahlikas with the Kambojas, Tusharas, Sakas, andYavanas in the Atharvaveda Parisista and other ancient sources suggests that the Bahlikas were located as close neighbors to these groups. Since the Kambojas were located inBadakshan and Pamirs, the Tusharas to the north of Pamirs, and the Sakas on the riverJaxartes and beyond, the Bahlikas or Bahlams, as neighbors to these people, should be placed inBactria.[citation needed]
TheBrahmanda Purana attests that the river Chaksu (Oxus orAmu Darya) flowed through the land of Bahlavas (Bahlikas).
TheIron pillar of Delhi inscription by KingChandragupta II also mentions the Bahlikas as living on the west side of theIndus River (Sindhu). After crossing the seven mouths of the Indus, King Chandragupta is stated to have defeated the Bahlikas.[20]
These references attest that the Bahlikas were originally located beyond the seven mouths of the Indus River in Bactria, where the land was watered by the Oxus River. However, later, a section of these people moved fromBalkh to thePunjab, while others appear to have moved to southwestern India as neighbors to theSaurashtras andAbhiras ofSauviras.[citation needed]
The people with the surname Behal, Bahal, or Bahl in Punjab are direct descendants of the Bahlikas.Salya, the king of Madra mentioned in the Mahabharata, has been called aBahlika Pungava (i.e., foremost among the Bahlikas).[21][22]
Princess Madri from the Madra Royal Family is also referred to as Bahliki (i.e., a princess of the Bahlikaclan).[23]
In the digvijay expedition ofPandavaArjuna, there is a reference to a group called the Bahlikas, whom Arjuna had to fight.[24] They are stated to have been located on the southern side of Kashmir as neighbors to the Ursa and Sinhapura kingdoms.[25]
A passage in the Ramayana attests that on the way fromAyodhya toKekaya, one had to pass through the country of Bahlikas, located somewhere in Punjab. This suggests that ancient Bahlikas had moved to and planted a settlement in Punjab.[26][27] This is also verified in the epic Mahabharata.
This evidence suggests that there was another Bahlika country besides the one in Bactria.[citation needed]
Dr. P. E. Pargiter points out that there was another Bahlika settlement in the plains of Punjab, alongside or south of Madradesa.[28][29]
A third settlement of the Bahlikas is attested in western India as neighbors to the Saurashtras. The Ramayana refers to (Saurashtrans.bahlikan.chandrachitranstathaivacha). A similar expression is found in thePadma Purana: (Surashtransa.bahlika.ssudrabhirastathaivacha). These ancient references indicate that the Bahlikas lived as neighbors to the Saurashtras and theAbhiras.[citation needed] According to thePuranas, a branch of these people ruled in theVindhyas.[28][29]
TheBaraca of thePeriplus is identified with the Bahlika of Sanskrit texts.[30][31] The Puranas attest that a branch of the Bahlikas ruled near theVindhyas.[28]
According to thePuranic traditions,Dhrshta was one of the nine sons ofManu. From him came a number of clans calledDharshtakas, who were consideredKshatriyas. According to theShiva Purana, the Dharshtaka princes became rulers of Bahlika.
TheSatapatha Brahmana mentions a king namedBahlika Pratipeya, whom it calls Kauravya (=Kaurava).[32] It has been pointed out that this Kaurava king is identical with Bahlika Pratipeya of the Mahabharata.[33][34][35]
According to the Mahabharata, the king of Bahlika was present atSyamantapanchaka inKurukshetra on the occasion of a solar eclipse. The name 'Bahlika Desa' originates from the middle son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura,Vahlika, who abandoned his paternal kingdom to live with his maternal uncle in Bahlika, eventually inheriting the kingdom. Thus, being older than KingShantanu, Bahlika was the paternal uncle of Bhishma and predated him.
The people of Balhika presented toYudhishthira as atribute ten thousand asses (donkeys), numerousblankets of woolen texture, numerous skins of the Ranku deer, clothes made from jute and woven with threads spun by insects, and thousands of other clothes possessing the color of thelotus, softsheep-skins, sharp and long swords and scimitars, hatchets, fine-edged battle-axes, perfumes, andgems 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 toYudhishtra a goldenchariot yoked with four white Kamboja studs at the time of the Rajsuya ceremony (2.53.5).
Karna fought with and vanquished the Bahlikas, along with the Kambojas of Rajpura, the Amvashthas, the Videhas, the Gandharvas, the fierceKiratas of the fastness of Himavat, the Utpalas, the Mekalas, the Paundras, theKalingas, theAndhras, the Nishadas, and the Trigartas (7.4.5-6).
King Bahlika participated in theKurukshetra War. The Mahabharata calls him a mighty (mahabali) king.[36] Along with his son Somadatta and grandson Bhurisravas, King Bahlika participated in the Mahabharata war with one Akshauhini (division) army of Bahlika soldiers and sided with the Kauravas against the Pandavas. Bahlika and his grandson Bhurisravas were among the eleven distinguished Generals or Senapatis of the Kaurava army appointed byDuryodhana.[37]
The Ramayana seems to localize theUttarakurus in Bahlika country.[38] According to the text, Ila, son of Prajapati Karddama, king of Bahli (Bahlika) country, gave up Bahli in favor of his son Sasabindu and founded the city of Pratisthana in Madhyadesa. The princes of the Ailadynasty (which is also the dynasty of the Kurus) were called Karddameya.[39][40] The Karddameyas obtained their names from the river Kardama inPersia and therefore, their homeland is identified with Bahlika or Bactria.[41][42] This suggests that Bahlika or Bactria was the original home of theKuru clans.
Vatsyayana in hisKamasutra records a peculiar custom prevalent among the Bahlikas, where several young men marry a single woman in Bahlika country and in Strirajya.[43] It is said in the Mahabharata that the Pandava brothers (i.e.,Kurus) were married to one woman,Draupadi. This suggests that the Kurus were originally from Bahlika, which was identified withUttarakuru (Dr. M. R. Singh). Since Uttarakuru of theAitareya Brahmana is said to lie beyondHimalaya, Bahlika or Bactria is also beyond the Hindukush (i.e., Himalayan range).
Besides the Kurus, theMadra (IAST:Mādra;IPA/Sanskrit:[maːdɽɐ]) were also originally from around Bahlika, as suggested by theVamsa Brahmana[44] of theSama Veda. This text refers to oneMadragara Shaungayani as a teacher ofAupamanyava Kamboja. Dr. Zimmer and the authors of the Vedic Index postulate a possible connection between theIranianUttaramadras and the Kambojas. Both these groups were close neighbors in the northwestern part of ancient India.[45][46][47][48] According to Jean Przylusky, Bahlika (Balkh) was an Iranian settlement of the Madras, known as Bahlika-Uttaramadras.[46][48][49]
In theAitareya Brahmana, the Uttarakurus and Uttaramadras are stated to live beyond the Himalayas (paren himvantam).[50]
This suggests that in remote antiquity (the 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 theAitareya Brahmana (VIII/14).[51] However, in the 4th century BC, this Bahlika/Bactria came under Yavana/Greek political control, and the land began to be referenced asBahlika-Yavana in some ancient Sanskrit texts.[citation needed]
Thus, the foregoing discussion suggests that the Uttarakurus, Uttaramadras, and Kambojas were all located beyond the Himalaya/Hindukush ranges. The Uttarakurus were likely in the northern parts of Bahlika, the Uttaramadras in the southern parts, and the Kambojas (=Parama Kambojas) to the east of Bahlika, in theTransoxiana region. The ancient Bahlika appears to have spanned a large expanse of territory. The commentator of the Harsha-Carita of Bana Bhatta also defines the Kambojas asKambojah-Bahlika-Desajah, meaning the Kambojas originated in or belonged to Bahlika. Thus, it seems likely that in remote antiquity, the ancestors of the Uttarakurus, Uttaramadras, andParama Kambojas were one people or closely allied and lived in or around Bahlika (Bactria).[citation needed]
Amarakosha makes references to theSaffron of Bahlika and Kashmira countries.[52] Similar references to Bahlika saffron are also found in the 4th-century ADRaghuvamsa play by poetKalidasa.Raghuvamsa states that saffron adhered to Raghu's horses, which they shed off by rolling on the banks of the Oxus before Raghu undertook to attack the forces of theHunas and the Kambojas located on either side of the Oxus.[53]
Brihat Samhita also references the Bahlikas and mentions them alongsideCinas, Gandharas, Sulikas,Paratas, Vaisyas, etc.
Kavyamimamsa by Rajshekhar (10th century AD) lists the Bahlikas with the Sakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Tangana, Turukshas, etc., and states that they were tribes located in the Uttarapatha division.[54]
TheBuddhist playMudrarakshas by Visakhadutta, as well as theJain worksParishishtaparvan, refers toChandragupta's alliance with aHimalayan king namedParvatka. This alliance provided Chandragupta with a composite army made up of the Yavanas, Kambojas, Sakas, Kiratas, Parasikas, and Bahlikas, as stated inMudrarakshas.[55][56][57][58][59]
TheSammoha Tantra speaks of theTantric culture of foreign countries like Bahlika, Kirata, Bhota, Cina, Mahacina,Parasika, Airaka (Iraq), Kamboja,Huna, Yavana, Gandhara, andNepal.[citation needed]
The Bahlikas have been equated toMlechchas in later Sanskrit literature. There is a distinct prophetic statement in the Mahabharata that the mlechcha kings of the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, and Bahlikas, among others, will lead anadharmic rule inKali Yuga. (3.188.34-36).[60]
Like Kamboja, the Bahlika region was famous for its horses, which were used by kings in wars.
The Brahmanda Purana refers to the horses from Bahlika.[61] Similarly, theValmiki Ramayana refers to the horses of Bahlika, Kamboja, and Vanayu countries as being of excellent breed.[16]Upamitibhavaprapanchakatha singles out horses from Bahlika, Kamboja, and Turuksha as the best.[62][63] TheAbhidhanaratnamala also mentions examples of excellent horses from Bahlika, Persia, Kamboja, Vanayu, Sindhu, and the land bordering on Sindhu.[63][64]