Upamanyu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kambojas are a very ancient Kshatriya tribe of the north-western parts of the Indian subcontinent, of what now forms north-eastern Afghanistan and southern parts of Tajikstan. They are frequently mentioned in ancient Indian texts, although not in the Rig Veda. They apparently belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-Europeans [1]. Earning a reputation as a formidable Kshatriya force (nation-in-arms)[2], there are also several references attesting to the Brahmanism and scholarship of the Kamboja people. Thus, besides excelling as fierce warriors in the battle field, the ancient Kambojas also distinguished themselves in the field of art and science by becoming distinguished Rsis and scholars and teachers of the Vedas[3] [4] [5] [6].
Upamanyu was one such Rsi of Kamboja lineage who finds frequent mention in ancient Indian Vedic as well as epic texts.
Contents |
[edit] Rsi Upamanyu was father of Kamboja Aupamnayava
Upamanyu is the name of a Vedic Rsi or Seer who finds reference in Book I, Hymn 102. 9 of the Rig Veda [1] as also in Anushasana Parava of epic Mahabharata (XIII.14-17) [7]. Sage Upamanyu is said to be the father of sage Kamboja Aupamanyava referred to in the Vamsa Brahmana (1.18) of the Sama Veda [8].
[edit] Rsi Upamanyu Composed Rig Vedic Hymn (1.102.9)
Upamanyu (jatav) is the composer of Rig Vedic Hymn 1.102.9 [9].
[edit] Rsi Upamanyu was also Epic Promulgator of the Shaivism
Scholars including Dr S. K. De write that Upamanyu (Kamboja) is also the epic promulgator of the Shaivism. His hermitage in the mountains of Kashmir (Himalayas) is pointed at since northern Kamboja affinities of Upamanyu are indicated [10]. His father was sage Vyaghrapada and teacher was sage Dhaumya [11]. Epic Upamanyu himself reveals that he was initiated into the Shaivism by his mother [12].
[edit] Aupamanayva/Upamanyu Connections with Vashisthas?
However, some scholars, on the other hand, connect this Kamboja Aupamanyava and his father sage Upamanyu with the Vashisthas and identify Rsi Upamanyu of Rig Veda (I.102. 9), the father of Kamboja Aupamnayava, as the son of Vasu who in turn was the son of Indra-Parmati and grandson of Vasistha [13].
[edit] Upamanyu/Aupamanyava Gotra
Upamanyu also is one of the gotras of Hindu brahmins. The people with Upamanyu gotra live in far western part of Nepal.
Prof B. N. Datta comments: "...In the list of Brahmana gotras mentioned in the Matsya-Purana [14], the name of (Kamboja) Aupamanyava is to be found. It is said to be an offshoot of the Vrigu (Parasara) gotras. This means that a Rishi hailing from the Kamboja tribe was also founder of a Brahmanical class.......Weber says that the appearance of the name of Kamboja (an Indian sounding name in Vedic text) as a Sama theologian[15] is analogous of the discovery of the name of Gautama in Zoroastrian Mithra-Yesht [16] [17] [18]. Upamanyu was of Kamboja descent, and Ustaxri was probably of Bactrian origin. Further, the name of prominent Rishi like Atharva sounds like Atharavan or Atharvan, the Persian fire-cult priest. The names of Atharva and Angirasa are connected with the introduction of fire-cult amongst the Vedic people. In this case, we find another infiltration of the foreign element (Kambojas etc) in the ethnic composition of the Vedic Aryas" [19].
[edit] References
- ^ Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture, 2000, p 257, John Stewart Bowman.
- ^ Hindu Polity, A Constitutional History of Hindu Times, Part I & II, 1978, p 51-52, Dr K. P. Jayswal; Ancient Kamboja, Peooe and the Country, 1981, p 202, Dr J. L. Kamboj.
- ^ Cf: "They (Kambojas) were not only famous for their furs and skins embroidered with threads of gold, their woolen blankets, 'their wonderful horses and their beautiful women', but by the epic period, they became especially renowned as Vedic teachers and their homeland as a seat of Brahmanical learning" (See: Hindu World, Vol I, p 520, Prof Benjamin Walker; See also: Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos, Bound in Comradeship: A Panoramic Study of ... , 1988, p 422, H. R. Chakrabartty - Political Science).
- ^ cf: “The earliest mention of Kambojas occurs in Vamsa Brahamana of Samaveda where a teacher Kamboja Aupamanyava is referred to. The sage Upamanyu mentioned in the Rigveda (i.102,9) is in all probability the father of this Kamboja teacher. From the fact that Kamboja Aupamanyava is stated to a pupil of Madragara, Zimmer concludes that Kambojas and Madras were close neighbors in north-west. The speech of Kambojas is referred to by Yasaka as differing from that of =other Aryans and Grierson sees in this reference the Iranian affinities of the Kambojas, but the fact that the Kambojas teachers were reputed for their Vedic learning shows them to have been Vedic Aryans, so that the Kamboja was an Aryan settlement....(See: History & Culture of Indian People, the Vedic Age, Dr A. D. Pusalkar, Dr R. C. Majumdar, Dr K. D. Munshi, 1952, pp 259-260; Also: Vedoṃ meṃ Bhāratīya Saṃskrti, 1967, Ādyādatta Ṭhākura).
- ^ See also: Location of Kamboja, Purana, Vol VI No1, Jan 1964 pp 212-213; Problems of Ancient India, 2000, p 224, K. D. Sethna; Indological Studies, 1950, p 7; The Geographical Observer, p 96, by Meerut College Geographical Society; Some Kshatriya Tribes of Ancient India, p 231, Dr B. C. Law.
- ^ Cf:The teachers of Kamboja were known for their Vedic learning. Culturally, Afghanistan then formed part of India...." (Ref: India's Contribution to World and Culture, 1970, p 216, Veveka Nanda, Lokesh Chandra).
- ^ Aspects of Sanskrit Literature, 1976, P 71, Sushil Kumar De; Linga Worship in the Mahabharata, Indian Historical Quarterly, xxiv, 1948, p 290-92, Nanimadhab Chaudhuri;
- ^ See Refs: Trans of Rig Veda, III,113, Dr Ludwig; Alt-Indisches Leben, p 102, Dr H. Zimmer; History and Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age, p 260, Dr R. C. Majumdar, Dr A. D. Pusalkar; Bhandarkar Oriental Series, 1939, p 1, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute; The Geographical Observer, p 96, Meerut College Geographical Society; Problems of Ancient India, 2000, p 6, K. D. Sethna; Some Kshatriya Tribes of Ancient India, 1924, p 231, Dr B. C. Law; Dialectics of Hindu Ritualism, 1956, pp 59, 133, Bhupendranātha Datta; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, Dr J. L. Kamboj; Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, pp 25-27, S Kirpal Singh; These Kamboja People, 1979, pp 27-28, K. S. Dardi; Purana, Vol VI, No 1, Jan 1964, p 212.13, Balocistān: siyāsī kashmakash, muz̤mirāt va rujḥānāt - 1989, P 1, Munīr Aḥmad Marrī etc; Tribes in Ancient India, 1943, p 1; Cf: The Society of the Rāmāyaṇa, 1991, p 88, Ananda W. P. Guruge. (Guruge also takes note of the ethnic connections between the ancient Kambojas, sage Upamnayu of the Rig Veda and his son/descedant Kamboja Aupamanyava of Vamsa Brahmana of Sama Veda, as implied in the Rig Vedic verse 1.102.09).
- ^ Literary History of Ancient India in Relation to Its Racial and Linguistic Affiliations – 1950, P 165; The Racial History of India - 1944, p 810,Chandra Chakraberty.
- ^ Aspects of Sanskrit Literature, 1976, P 71, Sushil Kumar De; see also: The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p 290-291, Nanimadhab Chaudhuri.
- ^ The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p 290.
- ^ Op cit., p 290.
- ^ See: Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 27; Also: These Kamboja People, 1979, p 28, Kirpal Singh; The Kambojas, 2003, pp 11-13, 26, G. S. Thind; Compare: Vashistha genealogy in: India in the Vedic Age, 1971, p 186, Purshotam Lal Bhargava.
- ^ Matasya Ourana Ch. 195, Sl. 336.
- ^ Vedic teacher Kamboja Aupamanyava mentioned in Vamsa Brahmana, 18.
- ^ Hymn to Mithra.
- ^ Windischmann, Mithra, pp 29, 79.
- ^ Indische Studien, herausg, 1858, p 356, Albrecht Friedrich Weber; Monatsberichte der Königlichen preussische Akademie des Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1858, p 5101, Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin.
- ^ Dialectics of Hindu Ritualism, 1956, p 59, 60, 132, Bhupendranātha Datta.
[edit] Books and periodicals
- Rig Veda
- Rig Veda (Trans), III.113, Dr Ludwig
- Vamsa Brahmana of Sama Veda
- Anushasana Parava of Epic Mahabharata (XIII.14-17).
- Altindisches Leben: die Cultur der vedischen Arier nach den Saṁhitā -1879, Page 102, Heinrich Zimmer
- Literary History of Ancient India in Relation to Its Racial and Linguistic Affiliations – 1950, p 165, Chandra Chakraberty
- History and Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age, Dr R. C. Majumdar, Dr A. D. Pusalkar
- Aspects of Sanskrit Literature - 1976, P 71, Sushil Kumar De - 1976
- The Indian Historical Quarterly - 1963, P 290
- The Racial History of India, 1944, Chandra Chakraberty
- Literary History of Ancient India in Relation to Its Racial and Linguistic Affiliations - 1950, P 165, Chandra Chakraberty
- The Society of the Rāmāyaṇa, 1991, Ananda W. P. Guruge
- Some Kshatrya Tribes of Ancient India, 1924, Dr B. C. Law
- Indological Studies, 1950, Dr B. C. Law
- Problems of Ancient India, 2000, K. D. Sethna
- Dialectics of Hindu Ritualism, 1956,Bhupendranātha Datta
- Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī
- The Geographical Observer, Meerut College Geographical Society, Meerut
- Balocistān: siyāsī kashmakash, muz̤mirāt va rujḥānāt, 1989, Munīr Aḥmad Marrī
- These Kamboj People, 1979, K. S. Dardi
