The Rishikas (also ''Rshika'' and ''Ṛṣika'') was an ancient Kingdom of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, who are mentioned in

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

literary texts, including the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'', the ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'', the '' Brhat-Samhita'', the '' Markendeya Purana'' and

Patanjali Patanjali (, , ; also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra) was the name of one or more author(s), mystic(s) and philosopher(s) in ancient India. His name is recorded as an author and compiler of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these a ...

's '' Mahabhashya''. Some historians believe the Rishikas were a part of, or synonymous with, the

Kambojas The Kambojas were a southeastern Iranian peoples, Iranian people who inhabited the northeastern most part of the territory populated by Iranian tribes, which bordered the Indian subcontinent, Indian lands. They only appear in Indo-Aryan langua ...

. However, the ''Mahabharata'' not only suggests a distinction, but also adds an internal division – sub-divisions within the Rishikas known as the ''Uttara'' ("northern") and the ''Parama'' ("supreme") . Classical literary texts state that the Rishikas were neighbors of the Parama Kambojas and the Lohas in ''

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

-dvipa'' ("Sakaland") (most likely

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

). According to traditional accounts, during the 2nd century BCE a subgroup of Rishikas migrated to southwestern India and settled there, crossing

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

Sindhu The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...

and Sovira.

Historical identity

Kamboja–Rishika connection

Sanskrit scholar Ishwa Mishra believes that the Rishikas were synonymous with the Parama Kambojas. V. S. Aggarwala also relates the Parama Kambojas of the

Pamir Mountains The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...

to the Rishikas of the ''Mahabharata'', located in Shakdvipa. According to B. N. Puri, the Kambojas were a branch of the Tukharas. Similarly, Moti Chandra sees a close ethnic connection between the Kambojas and the

Yuezhi The Yuezhi were an ancient people first described in China, Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defea ...

. And other scholars believe that the Kambojas were a branch of the Yuezhi. The Sabhaparava of the ''Mahabharata'' describes the Lohas, Kambojas and Rishikas as neighboring tribes west of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

. The Adiparva of the ''Mahabharata'' compares the Kambojas and the Rishikas, describing them both as "despised" people. The Kambojan king Chandravarma is described as an incarnation of Daitya Chandra and the sage, Rishika ("from the Rishika tribe"), is described as an incarnation of Danva Arka. In one version of the ''Mahabharata'' Chandravarma is a Rishikan, rather than a Kambojan, king. The Kambojas and Rishikas appear side-by-side in a verse. In the Udyogaparava of the ''Mahabharata'', the Kambojas and Rishikas are described as one people (''Kambojarishika''). A

scholarly The scholarly method or scholarship is the body of principles and practices used by scholars and academics to make their claims about their subjects of expertise as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly pu ...

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

of people is implied, according to some authorities, by the name "Rishika" in the Matsya and Vayu Puranas. The Kambojas, in the Dronaparava section of the ''Mahabharata'', are also described as a scholarly people:

Other Evidences

Some scholars have proposed that the Rishikas are the

of ancient Chinese sources, or the

Asii The Asii, Osii, Ossii, Asoi, Asioi, Asini or Aseni were an ancient Indo-European people of Central Asia, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Known only from Classical Greek and Roman sources, they were one of the peoples held to be responsibl ...

cited by the ancient Greeks. J. C. Vidyalankar believes that the Rishikas are the Kushans in general (or perhaps only the dynasty founded by

Kanishka Kanishka I, also known as Kanishka the Great, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (–150 CE) the empire reached its zenith. He is famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. A descendant of Kujula Kadp ...

). The name "Asii" (or "Asioi" mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, according to one view, alludes to their connections with horses (''asva'' or ''assa''). Based on the earlier information from Megasthenes' (350-290 BC) '' Indica'',

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

(23–79 AD) mentions Osii (Orsi), Asoi, Aseni, Taxillae and Peucolaitae as Indian peoples living in the upper Indus valley south of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

. The Taxillae and Peucolaitae are Gandharans of the Indian traditions while the Asoi, Osii/Orsi and Aseni appear yet other variants of the Assaceni (Aspasioi) and Assacani (Assakenoi)—the Asvayana and Asvakayana of

Pāṇini (; , ) was a Sanskrit grammarian, logician, philologist, and revered scholar in ancient India during the mid-1st millennium BCE, dated variously by most scholars between the 6th–5th and 4th century BCE. The historical facts of his life ar ...

and Katyayana). The Aspasios and Assakenois were notable Kamboja groups engaged in

horse culture A horse culture is a tribal group or community whose day-to-day life revolves around the herding and breeding of horses. Beginning with the domestication of the horse on the steppes of Eurasia, the horse transformed each society that adopted it ...

Ancient Indian literary references

''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana''

The Rishikas fought in the war described in the ''Mahabharata''. The allied Lohan, Parama-Kamboja, northern and Parama Rishika tribes fought with the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

during their Digvijay expedition against the tribes of

Uttarapatha Ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts use Uttarapatha as the name of the Northern part of Jambudvipa (equivalent of present-day North India), one of the " continents" in Hindu mythology. In modern times, the Sanskrit word ''uttarapatha'' is sometimes u ...

. The Kishikindha Kanda of the ''

'' also refers to northern Rishikas.

Matsya Purana

According to Matsya Purana the Rishikas were descendants of the

Rishi In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...

s, or inspired poets.

Rishikas in southwestern India

Verses in Karanaparava and Bhishmaparava of the ''Mahabharata'' refer to Rishikas in Dakshinapatha as a Janapada near

Mahajanapada The Mahājanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period. History The 6th–5th centuries BCE are often regarded as a ...

. The Kishikindha Kanda of

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

's ''Ramayana'' refers to this second branch of the Rishikas, placing them in Dakshinapatha near the Vidarbhas. The

Markandeya Purana The ''Markandeya Purana'' (; IAST: ) is a Sanskrit text of Hinduism, and one of the eighteen major Puranas. The text's title Markandeya refers to a sage in Sanatana Dharma, who is the central character in two legends, one linked to Shiva and oth ...

also attests to the Rishikas of the Dakshinapatha. Varāhamihira identifies Rishikas in Dakshinapatha in the ''Brhat Samhita''. ''Brhat Samhita'' and Markendeya Purana identify Kamboja and Pahlava settlements in southwestern India. Evidence from Udyogaparava of the ''Mahabharata'' associates the Rishikas with the Kambojas, Shakas and Pahlavas near the Anupa region (Anupadesha):

''Shakanam Pahlavana.n cha Daradanam cha ye nripah'' ''Kamboja Rishika ye cha pashchim anupakash cha ye'' (5.5.15) "The kings of the Shakas, Pahlavas, Daradas and the Kamboja Rishikas live in the west in Anupadesa, or the seacoast regions."

The Daradas in the verse above appear to be a

copyist A copyist is a person who makes duplications of the same thing. The modern use of the term is mainly confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript. However, the ...

's mistake, since the Paradas, not the Daradas, are associated with the military confederation of the Sakas, Kambojas and Pahlavas (''Pānca-ganah'' or "five hordes" of Kshatriyas in the

Puranic Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

texts, for instance).Cultural History from Vayu Purana, 1973, p 27, fn 185, Reprint of 1946 Edition, published by Deccan College Post Graduate Research Institute, Poona; Foreign Elements in Ancient Indian Society, 2nd Century BC to 7th Century AD – 1979, p 125, Uma Prasad Thapliyal.

References

{{morecat, date=August 2024 Ancient peoples