Etymology of Kamboja

Kamboja (or Kambuja) is the name of an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe whose spoken language belongs in the Indo-European family of languages. They are believed to have been located originally in Pamirs and Badakshan in Central Asia. The Sanskrit name "Kamboja" is also sometimes found written as "Kambuja", "e.g." in Vedic texts like "Paraskara Grhya Sutra" [Grhya Sutra verse 2.1.23.] .

Etymology of Kamboja, Kambuja or Kambujiya

The etymology of Kamboja (or "Kambuja" , "Kambujiya") is unclear. There are several views regarding how the name may have originated.

*Yaska (seventh century BCE) attempted to trace "Kamboja" by etymologyzing it as both "Kambal.bhojah" and "Kamaniya.bhojah". According to Nirukta [:Sanskrit: :Shavtirgatikarma Kambojesveva bhasyate........ :Kambojah kambal.bhojah kamaniya.bhoja va :kambalaha kamaniyo bhavati :vikaramasy. Aryesu bhasyante shava iti :(Nirukta II.2.] , the Kambojas enjoy "kambalah" (blankets) i.e. they are "Kambal.bhojah", and also they enjoy beautiful ("kamaniya") things, hence they are 'kamaniya.bhojah'. Therefore they are called "Kambojas" [Some Ksatriya Tribes of Ancient India, 1975, p 233, Dr B. C. Law.] .

*According to scholars like Dr. Moti Chandra, the "Kamaniya.bhoja" of Yasaka literally means "Handsome Bhoja" [Geographical and Economical Studies, J.U.P.H.S., Part II, 1943, p 39.] . The word "Bhoja" is an aspirated Sanskrit equivalent of Iranian "Boja", and means 'king' [ Ancient Kamboja, Iran and Islam, 1971, p 68-71, H. W. Bailey; Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian, 2007, pp 18-19, J. Tavernier - History; Historicité des forces du mal dans la Rgvedasamhita, Journal Asiatique 286.2, 1998, p.542, Eric Pirart; Linguistic aspects of the Aryan non-invasion theory, Part 1, Dr. Koenraad ELST etc.] . This suggests that the Kambojas may have been so called because they were a very handsome race, or at least because their kings were very handsome. This view is abundantly reinforced by Valmiki Ramayana [Ramayana of Valmiki, v 1/55/2] , as well as by several verses of the Mahabharata [MBH 7/23/43; 7/82/74; 8/56/113-114] etc., which strongly testify that the ancient Kambojas and their princes were very handsome. But according to Bailey's interpretation, Kambujiya or Kamboja would would mean the "king ruling at will" or ultimately, "king at will" [Ancient Kamboja, Iran and Islam, 1971, p 67-71, H. W. Bailey; Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian, 2007, p 19, J. Tavernier.]

*According to another view, the name "Kamboja" is derived from expression "Kam + Bhuj", where "Kam" implies "region" and "Bhuj" or "Bhoja" (Iranian Boja) implies owner, lord or king [Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian ..., 2007, p 19, J. Tavernier - History - 2007; Ancient Persian Lexicon and the Texts of the Achaemenidan Inscriptions, 1908, p 80, Herbert Cushing Tolman - Old Persian language; Historicité des forces du mal dans la Rgvedasamhita, Journal Asiatique 286.2, 1998, p.542, Eric Pirart.] . Thus the Kambojas are thought of as the "Owners", "Kings" or "Lords" of a certain region or country called "Kam" [Central Asiatic provinces of the Maurya Empire, p403, Dr H.C. Seth; See also: The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p 403; Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian ..., 2007, p 19, J. Tavernier - History - 2007; Ancient Persian Lexicon and the Texts of the Achaemenidan Inscriptions, 1908, p 80, Herbert Cushing Tolman - Old Persian language.] [; Pre-Aryan and Pre-Dravidian in India, 1993 (edition), p 122, Dr Sylvain Lévi, Jules Bloch, Jean Przyluski, Asian Educational Services - Indo-Aryan philology; Die Sprache, 1949, p 215, Wiener Sprachgesellschaft - Philology.] . The element "Kam" is also reflected in the Kama valley lying between the Khyber Pass and Jalalabad; in place names like Kama-daka, Kamma-Shilman, Kama-bela of Kabol; the Kamdesh/Kambrom, Kamich, Kama and Kamu of the Kunar and Bashgul valleys; as also the vast expanses of region called Kazal-"Kam" and Kara-"Kam" lying on either side of the Oxus, north of Afghanistan. The Ptolemian names "Kamoi" and "Komdei" also refer to these territories. It is also important to note that ancient Kamboja was located precisely in, and contiguous to, these "Kam" localities [Cf: "The etymology of the word Kamboja (Kam + bhuj) suggests that it refers to a people who were the masters (enjoyers) of the country known as Kum or Kam (Rai & Dev). This line of thought suggests a possible identification of the country of Kambojas with mountainous regions between the Oxus and the Jaxartes (i.e. the old Sogdian strapy)...... The mountainous highlands where Jaxartes and many other rivers which meet this great river arise, are called by Ptolemy as the "the Highlands of Komdei". Ammianus Marcellinus also call these Sogdian mountains as Komedas. The word Komedai and Komedas suggest Kom-desa or land of Kome. We learn from Ptolemy that a tribe variously called by him as Komaroi, Komedai, Khomaroi, Komoi and Tambyzoi was wide spread in the Highlands of Bactriana, Sogdiana and Sakai. It is difficult to say, at present, how far the vast tracts of land on either side of Oxus called as Kyzyl Kum or Kizil Kum, Kok-kum and Kara Kum may yet bear the traces of the name of this once a great and powerful people" (Ref: Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p 403; Central Asiatic provinces of the Maurya Empire, p403, Dr H.C. Seth; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp 48-49, Dr J. L. Kamboj; cf: History and Archaeology of India's Contacts with Other Countries, from Earliest Times to 300 B.C., 1976, p 152, Shashi Asthana) .] [Cf: "Parts of Baktriane in the north towards the river Oxus are inhabited by the Salaterai and the Zariaspai, and to the south of these up towards Salaterai the Khomaroi, and below these are the Komoi, then the Akinakai, then the Tambyzoi and below the Zariaspai the Tokharoi a great people and below them the Marykaioi and the Skordai and the Ouranoi (Varnoi) and still below those are the Sabadioi and the Oreisitoi and the Amareis" (See: Ancient India as Described by Ptolemy: Being a Translation of the Chapters, 1885, pp 268-69, (Alexandrinus Claudius Ptolemy), Trans. John Watson McCrindle; Indian Studies, V-7, p 386, Indo-Aryan philology).] [On Kamboja or Kambujia etymology compare also: Ancient Persian Lexicon and the Texts of the Achaemenidan Inscriptions Transliterated and... 1908, p 80, Herbert Cushing Tolman.] [cf also: "The Town of Darwaz in Badakshan is sill called Khum (Kum) or Kala-i-Khum. It stands for the valley of Basht. The name Khum or Kum (=Kam) conceals the relics of ancient Kamboja (Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1956, p 256, Dr Buddha Prakash (Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India), Asiatic Society of Bengal); Studies in Indian History and Civilization, 1962, p 351, Dr Buddha Prakash).] [ "The etymology of the word Kamboja indicates that they originated in the country known as Kum " " (History and Archaeology of India's Contacts with Other Countries, from Earliest Times to 300 B.C., Edition 1976, p 152, Shashi Asthana; Mahabharata, Myth and Reality, 1976, p 232, S. P. Gupta, K.S. Ramachandran).] [cf: "... the root Kam continually occurs in Kafiristan and a more specific use of it is to be sought. There is a tribe called the Kamoz (=Kamboj), and one of the affluents of the Indus is the Khama..." (Primitive Aryans of American: Origin of the Aztecs and Kindred Tribes, 2003, p 141, T. S. Denison, Kessinger Publishing).] .

*Scholars like Casey suppose that Kambuja lineage of the ruling family of ancient Cambodia originated from their legendary patriarch figure called Svayambhuva Kambu. According to Casey, "Kambuja" is etymologically deived from "Kambu+ja", where "ja" in Sanskrit is said to mean "son or descendant". Hence, Kambujas means "descendants of Kambu" [Casey, Robert. Four Faces of Siva. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1934, p 88-100.] . On similar lines, some argue that the name of the Indo-Iranian "Kambojas" may have eponymously originated from some ancient patriarchal figure known as "Kambo". The "Kambu" as a name of an Asura (Iranian) clan is attested in ancient Hindu texts like "Markendeya Purana" [ verse 8.1-6] and "Devi Mahatam" [verse 5.28.1-12] , where the "Kambu" (Kamboja) clan is portrayed "in clash with" the Indo-Aryans. It is notable that King Ashoka's Rock Edicts (3rd century BCE) located in Peshawar also write "Kamboy" (i.e. "Kambo") for Sanskrit "Kamboj". It is also notable that the terms "Kambo" and "Kambu" were used in medieval Muslim writings for the Kamboj population of greater Panjab.

*Prof Skalmowski has suggested that the name Kamboja or Kambujiya is an adjectival form from a compound like "*kamp + auj-ias-" (cf. Sanskrit "kampate" "=he trembles", Avestan *auj, as in "aojvah", "stronger than"), meaning "unshaken, stronger than trembling, undaunted, intrepid (intrepidus)" [See Refs: Two old Persian names, 1993, OLP 24, pp 74-75, W Skalmowski; Birth of the Persian Empire: The Idea of Iran, Volume I, 2005, p 21, Pierre Briant, John Curtis, Albert de Jong, Frantz Grenet, Daniel Potts, Shapur Shabazi, Vesta Sarkhoush Curtis, and Sarah Stewart; Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian, 2007, p 19, J. Tavernier.] . Therefore, this would give the Kambojas meanings like "powerful, mighty, fearful, undaunted, valiant" etc.

*According to Dr Wilson, part of the name Kamboja (i.e Kambi) is in the Cambistholi of Arrian: the last two syllables, no doubt, represent the Sanscrit Sthala, 'place,' 'district;' and the word denotes the dwellers in the "Kamba" or "Kambis" country: so Kamboja may be explained as those born in Kamba or Kambas [Ref: Vishnu Purana, p 194, fn 146, Dr H. H Wilson.] . [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp061.htm] . In the like manner, the name Kambavati or Kambhavati or Khambavati ("-vati means residence, pura") has also been connected with the Kambojas. In English, the name Kambavati or Kambhavati appears as Cambay [ Name "Kambaya" of Arab Geographers' stands for Cambay; Kambaet; Khambat; Khambayat; Khambavati" (located in Gujerat) (See: Die Reise des Arabers Ibn Batūta durch Indien und China(14. Jahrhundert), 1911, p 471, Ibn Batuta); cf: "Ancient name of Cambay (Khambat) was Kamboj (i.e Kamboja)" (Asiatick Researches: Or, Transactions of the Society Instituted in Bengal, for Inquiring Into the... 1801, p 129, Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India); cf: "A trtace of their (i.e Kambojas') settlement in Saurashtra/Gujarat still survives in the name of Cambay" (See: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, p 232, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; cf: “The ancient name of Camaby in Gujarat was Kambhoj" (See: Sharad Keskar's notes on Kim, Chapter XI, Macmillan Uniform Edition, 1901, Rudyard Kipling). "There are numerous other scholars who have also connected Cambay/Kambay or Kambhavati with the Kambojas of north-west" (See: Glossary of tribes, pp 443-444, H. A. Rose; The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 416, S Kirpal Singh; Vanger Jatya Itihaas, (Bangla), Rajyakanda, Nagendra Nath; Epigraphia Indica, XXIV, pp 45-46; Punjabi Mahankosh, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 332, Dr J. L. Kamboj); Asiatick Researches: Or, Transactions of the Society Instituted in Bengal, for Inquiring Into the...1801, p 129, Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India)]

*Bordering on the Caucasus mountains west of Armenia, there was an ancient region which Strabo attests as Kambysene [Strabo Geog., 11.14.4] . It comprised a rugged region through which a road connecting Caucasian Albania and Caucasian Iberia passed [Strabo Geog., 11.4.5; cf. 11.3.5; see also Fabricius, pp. 146, 160, and map; Trever, p. 113 and map] . The Greek form of the name Kambysene is believed to have been derived in the Hellenistic period from an indigenous name corresponding to Armenian "Kamboean" or Georgian "Kambeovani". In Arabic, it has been attested as "Qambzan"/"Kambzan". Though not attested prior to Strabo, the region is believed to have born this name since remote antiquity. The tribal people living around this region were also called by the same name. Strabo also attests two rivers viz: Cyrus (modern Kura) and Cambyses or Kambyses (modern Jori or Jora), [A. Herrmann, in Pauly-Wissowa, X/2, col. 1810, s.v. Kambysene; See also: Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature..., 1907, p 648.] the latter was a tributary of the former. These territorial and river names Kambysene and Cambyses which occurred north of Iran have been linked to ethno-geographical name Kambuja/Kamboja of Sanskrit tradition [Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature..., 1907, p 648 .] . According to Ernst Herzfeld, the names of Cyrus and Cambyses rivers, as well as the Achaemenid names Kurush and Kambujiya, were derived from two ethnics [The Persian Empire' Studies in Geography and Ethnography of the Ancient Near East, Ernst Herzfeld, ed. G. Walser, Wiesbaden, 1968, esp. pp. 344-46);See entry Cambysene in Encyclopaedia Iranica: See link: [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v4f7/v4f7a011.html] ] . The name Kambujiya occurs in Egypt as Kambuza, Kambatet (rather Kambuzia ) as well as Kambunza [ Ein neuer Kambyses text, p 5; op. cit, 1907, p 548.] . The two ethnics of Ernst Herzfeld are believed to be ancient Kurus and Kambojas of the Sanskrit traditions [Literary History of Ancient India in Relation to Its Racial and Linguistic Affiliations – 1950, p 149, 165, Chandra Chakraberty; Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature..., 1907, p 648; Eranische Alterthumskunde, Vol II, p 294; Die altpersischen Keilinschriften: Im Grundtexte mit Uebersetzung, Grammatik..., 1881, p 86, Friedrich Spiegel - Old Persian inscriptions.] . Dr Chandra Chakravarty states that the hordes, who had participated in the ancient invasion of Iran along with Yautiyas were the Nordic Scythians ("Kuru-Kambojas") from around the Kambysene region near Mt Caucasus. A branch of these Kambysene Scythians later mixed with the "Xsatyatia Parsas" (=Puru Khattis) thus giving birth to the well known Achaemenians [Literary History of Ancient India in Relation to Its Racial and Linguistic Affiliations – 1952, p 32-33, 149, 165, Chandra Chakraberty; The Racial History of India, 1944, p 225, Chandra Chakraberty; Paradise of Gods, 1966, p 330, Qamarud Din Ahmed.] . However, a section of them also settled on north-west of India. These Kambysene hordes later came to be known as Kambojas and their province as Kamboja in ancient Indian traditions [The Racial History of India – 1944, p 810, Chandra Chakraberty] . A section of these Scythianised Kambojas is believed to have reached Tibetan plateau where they mixed with the locals; as a result some Tibetans are still called Kambojas [op cit, p 165, Dr C. Chakravarty.] . Through Tibet, they went further to Mekong valley where they were called Kambujas (Cambodians), now represented by the Chams, still a tall, fair, dolichocephelic people with non-mongoloid eyes, of the Mon-Khmers [op cit, p 165, Dr C. Chakravarty. ] . In Zend Avestan, Kambyses or Kambujiya takes the form of Kavaus and in modern Persian as Kavus and Kaus [ Op cit., 1987, p 646.] [ While discussing Kambujiya of the old Persian Inscriptions (Cambyses/Kambyses of the Greeks, Kamboja of Sanskrit or Kamoj of Kafirstan/Nurestan), Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1990, observes as under: "Kambujiya, Kabujiya, Cambyses is the true vernacular orthography of name which was written Kambyses by the Greeks and Kauvays in Zend....From the name of a king Kambyses was derived the geographical title of Kamboja (Sanskrit), which is retained to present days in the Kamoj of Cafferstan....the Persian historians do not seem to be aware that the name "Kabus", which was born by the Dilemite sovereigns is the same with the Kaus of Romance; yet the more ancient form is Kaubus or Kabuj, for latter name renders the identification also most certain. The Georgians, even to the present day, name the hero of romance Kapus, still retaining the labial which has merged in the Persian…." (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Published 1990, p 97, Cambridge University, Press for the Royal Asiatic Society [etc.] , By Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Cf: Reisen im indischen Archipel, Singapore, Batavia, Manilla und Japan, 1869, p 216; Die Voelker des Oestlichen Asien: Studien und Reisen, 1869, p 216, Dr Philip Wilhelm Adolf Bastian).] . In modern times, the name appears as Kamoj in Kafiristan and Kamboj/Kamboh in Punjab. Spiegel regards the personal name Kambujiya as originally an adjective, meaning belonging to the Kambuja or Kamboja [Eranische Alterthumskunde, Vol II, p 294; Die altpersischen Keilinschriften: Im Grundtexte mit Uebersetzung, Grammatik..., 1881, p 86, Friedrich Spiegel - Old Persian inscriptions See Link: [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC03557512&id=a8Qg_N_uGAsC&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86&dq=Kamoj+Kamboja&as_brr=1] ; Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1907, p 648.] .

*Probably a more acceptable, and similar view is that the name of the tribe and their country had originated eponymously from their illustrious ancient warrior king called "Kamboja". This legendary Kamboja warrior had won the prized "Daivi Khadga" or (Divine Sword) from the celebrated king Kuvalashava of Kosala [MBH 12/166/77.] . The sword legend of the "Mahabharata" points to very remote antiquity, since the same king Kuvalashava who is a contemporary of this Kamboja, has been placed at the twelfth generation after Swayambhuva Manu of Hindu traditions [Ancient Indian Historical Traditions, pp. 114 ff., Dr. P. E. Pargiter] . It is now accepted that the royal name Kambujiya (or "Kamboujiya") is the Iranian version of Sanskrit "Kamboja" and Greek Cambyses, and it was a very popular name among ancient Iranians. It is probable that the legendary warrior "Kamboja" referenced in "Shantiparva" ("Mahabharata") was some earlier "Kambujiya" from the royal line of ancient Iranian Achaemenids, who had given his name to his clan.

References

ee also

Kambojas, Cambyses

Books & Articles

*Mahabharata
*Valmiki Ramayana
*Yaska’s Nirukta II.2
*Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963

*Central Asiatic provinces of the Maurya Empire, Dr H.C. Seth

*History and Archaeology of India's Contacts with Other Countries, from Earliest Times to 300 B.C., 1976, Shashi Asthana
*Ancient Persian Lexicon and the Texts of the Achaemenidan *Inscriptions Transliterated and... 1908, Herbert Cushing Tolman
*Central Asiatic provinces of the Maurya Empire, Dr H.C. Seth

*History and Archaeology of India's Contacts with Other Countries, from Earliest Times to 300 B.C., 1976, Shashi Asthana

*Ancient Persian Lexicon and the Texts of the Achaemenidan *Inscriptions Transliterated and... 1908, Herbert Cushing Tolman
*Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian, 2007, J. Tavernier
*Ancient Kamboja, Iran and Islam, 1971, p 68-71, Dr H. W. Bailey;
*Historicité des forces du mal dans la Rgvedasamhita, Journal Asiatique 286.2, 1998, p.542, Eric Pirart;
*Linguistic aspects of the Aryan non-invasion theory, Part 1, Dr. Koenraad ELST
*Some Ksatriya Tribes of Ancient India, 1975, Dr B. C. Law
*Sharad Keskar's notes on Kim, Chapter XI, Macmillan Uniform Edition, 1901, Rudyard Kipling
*Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and *Ireland, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland

*Asiatick Researches: Or, Transactions of the Society Instituted in Bengal, for Inquiring Into the... 1801, Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India)
*Birth of the Persian Empire: The Idea of Iran, Volume I (Idea of Iran)(2005), I. B. Tauris
*Casey, Robert. Four Faces of Siva. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1934,
*Geographical and Economical Studies, J.U.P.H.S., Part II, 1943
*Vishnu Purana, p 194, fn 146, Dr H. H Wilson
*Glossary of tribes, pp 443-444, H. A. Rose

*The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, S Kirpal Singh

*Vanger Jatya Itihaas, (Bangla), Rajyakanda, Nagendra Nath

*Epigraphia Indica, XXIV, pp 45-46

*Punjabi Mahankosh, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha

*Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, Dr J. L. Kamboj
*Ancient Indian Historical Traditions, Dr. P. E. Pargiter

ee Link

*Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian Proper Names and Loanwords [http://books.google.com/books?id=kQ6zTASmo6kC&pg=PA18&dq=Harmatta+two+most+cited+readings&sig=MLzfVWvuYZFnaS6BN3wnFurlKhc]