The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s4.t24.9

c5.s4.t24.9

I will now examine the different names of the people who made their submission to Alexander during his halt at the confluence of the Panjâb rivers. According to Curtius they were called Sambracæ or Sabracæ;* according to Orosius Sabagræ; and according to Diodorus, who placed them to the east of the river, Sambastæ.† They were a powerful nation, second to none in India for courage and numbers. Their forces consisted of 60,000 foot, 6000 horse, and 500 chariots. The military reputation of the clan suggests the probability that the Greek name may be descriptive of their warlike character, just as Yaudheya means "warrior or soldier." I think, therefore, that the true Greek name may have been Sambagræ, for the Sanskrit Samvâgri, that is, the "united warriors," or Σύμμαχοι, which, as they were formed of three allied tribes, would have been an appropriate appellation. In confirmation of this suggestion, I may note the fact that the country of which Bikaner is now the capital was originally called *Bágar-des*, or the land of the *Bágri*, or “Warriors,” whose leader was Bâgri Rao.* *Bhaṭi* also means “warrior or soldier.” We thus find three tribes at the present day, all calling themselves “warriors,” who form a large proportion of the population in the countries to the east of the Satlej; namely, *Johiyas* or *Yaudheyas* along the river, *Bágris* in Bikaner, and *Bhaṭis* in Jesalmer. All three are of acknowledged Lunar descent; and if my suggested interpretation of *Sambágri* be correct, it is possible that the name might have been applied to these three clans, and not to the three tribes of the Yaudheyas. I think, however, that the Yaudheyas have a superior claim, both on account of their position along the banks of the Satlej, and of their undoubted antiquity. To them I would attribute the foundation of the town of *Ajudhan*, or *Ayodhanam*, the “battle-field,” which is evidently connected with their own name of *Yaudheya*, or *Ajudhiya*, the “warriors.” The latter form of the name is most probably preserved in the *Ossadii* of Arrian, a free people, who tendered their allegiance to Alexander at the confluence of the Panjâb rivers. The *Ossadii* of Arrian would therefore correspond with the *Sambastæ* of Diodorus and the *Sambracæ* of Curtius, who made their submission to Alexander at the same place. Now *Ossadioi* or *Assodioi* is as close a rendering of *Ajudhiya* as could be made in Greek characters. We have thus a double correspondence both of name and position in favour of my identification of the Sabagræ or Sambracæ with the Johiyas of the present day.