Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c7.s1.174

c7.s1.174

5. Vy, Mts, Bmd—गन्धर्वान् किन्नरान् यक्षान्. Al-Bīrūnī explains the Gandharvas as musicians. These names originally indicated certain tribal peoples, although later they came to imply classes of mythical beings. The Kinnaras and Yakṣas were probably names applied to some Himalayan tribes, while Gandharva appears to have been the original name of the people later called Gandhāra (cf. Rām., VII, 101, 11 : तक्षं तक्षशिलायां तु पुष्कलं पुष्कलावते । गन्धर्वदेशे रुचिरे गान्धारविषये च सः ।। etc.). The names however seem to have been used in the present context in the sense of mythical tribes.