Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahabharata: Upayana Parva c5.42

c5.42

Now we come to Pasiani, another tribe who invaded Bactria according to Apollodorus. Tarn as we have already shown by a long winded argument tries to prove that they were Parsa—Parsua who played such an important part in the history of Iran. The Pasiani according to him were the remnant of these of tribes in the Eranvej. But we have in the Sabhāparva a tribe of the Paramarṣikas whose adjectival form Paramārṣika (II,24,25) has been mentioned. Could we not identify the Pasiani of Apollodoros with them? Apparently they were a separate tribe being the member of the Yüe-Chï clan with whom they fought against Arjuna.