Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahabharata: Upayana Parva c5.45

c5.45

In the *Upāyanaparva* (*Sabhāparva*, Chapters 47 & 48) the allusions to the Śakas, Tukhāras, Kaṅkas, Cīnas, Hūṇas and the order in which they are described, and their relative positions determinable by the Chinese sources also throw considerable light on the date of the *Sabhāparva*. In a couplet (*M.B.*, II, 47, 19) the following order is given :—Cīna, Hūṇa Śaka Oḍra, the inhabitants of the mountainous country (*parvātāntaravāsinaḥ*); at another place Śaka, Tukhāra, Kaṅka (*M.B.*, II 47, 26) in their respective order are mentioned; at a third place Śauṇḍika, Kukkura and Śaka (*M.B.*, II 48, 15) appear. But before we take up the discussion any further it would be better to know something about the history of the Śakas and other tribes mentioned above.