Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c14.s3.81

c14.s3.81

In the west Aśoka's Empire extended to the Arabian Sea and embraced all the **Aparāntas**⁵ including no doubt the vassal state (or confederation of states) of Surāshṭra the affairs of which were looked after by the *Yavana-rāja* Tushāspha with Giri-nagara (Girnar) as his capital. Dr. Smith says that the form of the name shows that the *Yavana-rāja* must have been a Persian. But according to this interpretation the *Yavana* Dhemmadeva, the *Śaka* Ushavadāta (Risahabha-datta), the *Parthian* Suviśākha and the *Kushān* Vāsudeva must have been all native Hindus of India. If Greeks and other foreigners adopted Hindu names there is no wonder that some of them assumed Irāṇic appellations. There is, then, no good ground for assuming that Tushāspha was not a Greek, but a Persian.⁶