Khasas
Khasas were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan literature. European sources described the Khasa tribe living in the Northwest Himalayas and the Roman geographer Pliny The Elder specifically described them as "Indian people". They were reported to have lived around Gandhara, Trigarta and Madra Kingdom as per the Mahabharata.
Image:EpicIndia.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Tribes and nations in the ancient Epic Map of India; Khasas are described to have lived around Gandhara, Trigarta and Madra Kingdom
Origin
The Kassites of Mesopotamia, suggesting eastward migrations through Iran and Central Asia. The Khasas became significant early settlers in the Himalayas.Names and variants
The original spelling for the name in Sanskrit literature is Khaśa while variants of the name also used are Khasa, Khaṣa and Khaśīra.There are various theories on how Khasas got their name :
- Suggests that they came from the Caucasus Mountains, hence they got the suffix Khas.
- Suggests that they got their names from Iranians, as a combination of two Persian words, kho, and Shah. Thus, khoshah got corrupted into Khoshiya.
Modern sources
Irish Linguist George Abraham Grierson quoted that the Khasas that Pliny wrote about were one of the warriors "Kshatriya tribe of Aryan origin" with linguistic connections to both Sanskrit and Iranian languages, who lost claim to Vedichood due to non-observance of Vedic rules:According to E.T. Atkinson, the Jaunsar-Bawar is the representative Khasiya tract and it
Indian sources
Ancient literature
As per the research conducted by political scientist Sudama Misra, the Khasa Janapada was a late Janapada under the broad division of Parvata-spraying Āryāvarta of the ancient Indian Iron Age.The Manusmṛiti mentions the Khaśa as Kṣatriya-s formerly, due to omission of the sacred-rites and neglect of Brāhmaṇā-s.
But by the omission of the sacred rites, and also by their neglect of Brāhmaṇas, the following Kṣatriya castes have gradually sunk to the position of the low-born.—
The Puṇḍrakas, the Coḍas, the Draviḍas, the Kāmbojas, the Yavanas, the Śākas, the Pāradas, the Pahlavas, the Cīnas, the Kirātas, the Daradas and the Khaśas.—
The Manusmriti describes them as descendants of outcast Kshatriyas.
The Bhagavata Purana gives a list of various outcast tribes, the Khaśas also one of them, which have recovered salvation by adopting the religion of Viṣṇu Vaishnavism. The Mahabharata mentions the Khasas as one of the northern tribes who fought on the side of the Kaurava against Satyaki. In the Karna Parva of Mahabharata, Khasas are mentioned living in the Panjab region between Āraṭṭa and Vasāti: In the Sabhaparvan of the Mahabharata, they are mentioned between Meru and Mandara along with Kulindas and Tanganas, who brought presents of Piplika gold to Yudhisthira. In Dronaparvan of the Mahabharata, they are mentioned with other northwestern tribes such as Daradas, Tanganas, Lampakas and Kulindas. The Vaishnava text Harivamsa describes that the Khasas were defeated by the King Sagara. The Markandeya Purana states that the Khasa is a country against the mountain. The Markandeya Purana, Vayu Purana and Kalki Purana describe that Khasas together with Sakas and other tribes have penetrated to the northwest of India. The Skanda Purana mentions the region of Himachal Pradesh and Kumaon-Garhwal as Kedare-Khasa-Mandale.
Medieval literature
The Brihat Samhita authored by Indian polymath Varāhamihira grouped Khasas with Kulutas, Kashmiras, Tanganas, and Kunatas. The Mudrarakshasa of Indian poet Vishakhadatta mentions that Khasas and Magadhas were Ganas in the army of Rakshasa and Malayaketu. According to an ancient Kashmiri text Nilamata Purana compiled by Indian scholar Ved Kumari Ghai, the Khasa tribe occupied This assertion is also corroborated by the later 12th century text Rajatarangini translated by British archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein. The Bharata Nātyaśāstra by the Indian musicologist Bharata Muni mentions that the mother tongue language of Khaśas was Bāhliki language in the phrase The Kavyamimamsa of Rajashekhara mentions the Kuluta king with the title Khasadhipati. The inscription of Dadda II mentions about the Khasas in the phrase "...Yascopamiyate - sat - kataka - samunnata vidhyadharavasa taya Himachale na Khasa parivarataya."European sources
Greek Geographer Ptolemy contended that the country of Khasas was located near the Trans-Himalayan range of Northwest India. Roman Geographer Pliny noted that E.T. Atkinson speculated that Pliny referred to the terms, Cesi and Catriboni in the above quotations to Khasa and Kshatriya. Irish linguist Sir George Abraham Grierson in his work Linguistic Survey of India mentions the remarks by the Roman Geographer Pliny on the Khasa tribe with the imputations of cannabalism. Pliny further stated them as "an Indian people":Indian sociologist R.N. Saksena explains that this imputation was due to the existing suspicion towards Khasas by the Vedic Aryans, though he regards them as the earlier wave of the same 'Aryan settler' group.
Tibetan sources
The Mongolian-Tibetan historian Sumpa Yeshe Peljor lists the Khasas alongside other peoples found in Central Asia since antiquity, including the Yavanas, Kambojas, Tukharas, Hunas and Daradas.Descendants
Irish linguist Sir G.A. Grierson asserted that "..the great mass of the Aryan speaking population of the lower Himalaya from Kashmir to Darjeeling is inhabited by tribes descended from the ancient Khasas of Mahabharata." The Khasa peoples are the Khakhas of Jhelum Valley, the Kanets of Kangra and Garhwal, Khŏś/Khośyā of Jaunsar-Bawar and regions adjacent to it in Uttarkashi and Tehri districts of Uttarakhand and Shimla and Sirmaur districts of Himachal Pradesh, the bulk population of Garhwal and Kumaon referred as "Khasia" and the Nepali speaking Khas people of Nepal.Khasas under Katyuris
The Katyuris were of the Khasha origin as agreed by most scholars. They belonged to the Khasha people that entirely dominated the inner Himalayan belt up to Nepal and they extensively populated the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand. Previously, Khashas had strongly established themselves from Afghanistan to Nepal in the ancient period and as per internal evidence, they managed the village-level theocratic republics like Gram-Rajya and Mandals under various local clans and identities. Katyuri was one of the ruling houses of Joshimath that claimed sovereignty over other Gram Rajyas of the entire territory. The Katyuris ruled from Joshimath in the Alaknanda Valley and later they shifted their capital to Baijnath.Khasas of Nepal
Khasas are thought to be connected to the medieval Khasa Malla kingdom and the modern Khas people of Nepal. The modern Khas people of Nepal have also been connected with the ancient Khasas, although their period of migration in Nepal remains ambiguous. In Nepal the Khas people first settled around present-day Humla and Jumla. The Khasa kings of Nepal formed the famous Malla Kingdom, which ruled Humla from the eleventh century before collapsing and splintering into local chiefdoms during the fourteenth century. The Khasas are also mentioned in several Indian inscriptions dated between 8th and 13th centuries CE. The 954 AD Khajuraho Inscription of Dhaṇga states Khasa kingdom equivalent to Gauda of Bengal and Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. The Nalanda inscription of Devapala and Bhagalpur; a copper plate of Narayanapala also mentions Khasas. The three copper plates from Pandukeshavara explain the territories of Khasas.List of Khasa surname:
1. Awasthi
2. Bhandari
3. koirala
4. Dixit
5. Negi
6. Tiwar
7. Tripathee
8. Sharma
9. Upadhyay
10. Ojha
11. Mishra
12. Rawal
13. Rijal
Khasas of Jammu
The 12th-century text Rajatarangini translated by British archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein links the Khasas with northwestern affiliations. It describes atRajatarangini describes the rulers of Rajapuri as the "lord of the Khasas". It also describes the chiefs of the Lohara as Khasas. The Khasa chiefs of Rajapuri freely intermarried with Kshatriya rulers of Kashmir while the Khasa chief of Lohara, Simharaja, married a daughter of Shahi Kings of Kabul. The descendants of the royal family of Rajauri later became Muslim Rajput chiefs and they retained the rulership of the territory till the 19th century. Stein also identified the modern Khakhas as descendants of Khasas mentioned in the Rajatarangini. The Bomba clan are descended from the medieval Khas people of Kashmir that inhabited the entire Karnah region of Kashmir. The region of khaśāli which M.A. stein identifies as Khaśalaya is situated in the left bank of the chenab river was identified and studied by Siddheshwar Varma in 1938 in his linguistic survey.