Talk:Ancient history of Sri Lanka/Workpage

The earliest colonists of Sri Lanka migrated from northern India but from where exactly is not agreed. The traditions contain evidence for both the northwestern and the northeastern parts of the Indo-Gangetic plain. The first colonists probably hailed from the Saurashtra in Gujarat. Their ancestors are believed to have migrated earlier from Sinhapura of upper Indus near Kamboja/Gandhara region to the Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat via lower Indus. Before arriving in Sri Lanka, these earliest known colonists called at Soparaka on the west coast of India and landed in Sri Lanka at Tambapanni, near Puttalam on the day of Parinibhana ("decease") of the Buddha (542 BCE or 486 BCE).

"Several early Brahmi Inscriptions of Ceylon refer to a community of people called Kambojas who lived in various parts of Ceylon  and Sihalavatthu, a Pali text of the fourth century refer to a Kambojagama in Rohana, south-east of the island" Nandadeva Wijesekera: "It is believed that the people who arrived in Lanka from time to time came from the region of Ancient Kamboja. These people could have belonged to Indus center. [...] The relics of that culture may be bathing ponds and drainage system at Anuradhapura city. The symbols and signs (like Swastika) found in Caves, pottery and coins may have been introduced by these yet unknown arrivals (from Kamboja)" There are  at least six Kamboja Settlements in Sri Lanka, as follows:


 * According to Sihalavatthu, a Pali text of about the fourth century, a group of people called the Kambojas are attested to be living in Rohana province. The name of the town is Kamboja-gama and it is said to be located in south-east Tambrapanai in the Janapada of Rohana.
 * According a Cave Inscription found in  Kurunagala district in south-west Anuradhapura, the Kambojas are attested to have been living south-west Anuradhapura who had been constituted into a Sangha or Corporation (Gote-Kabojhiya= Sangha of Kambojas).
 * There is yet another settlement of Kambojas on the southern border of Amparai district a few miles from north-east the limit of Hamantota in the Province of Rohana. This is evidenced from the cave inscription found at this location which attests that one Kambojiya Mahapugiyana = A Grand Sangha or Guild of the Kambojas located in this region.
 * Fourth settlement of the Kambojas in Sri Lanka is found in Hambantota district again in Rohana Province on southern coast of Tamabapani. A Kamboja village Councillor (Gamika Kamboja= head of the town) is attested in at least three cave inscriptions at this location.
 * One Inscription belonging to mediaeval era found in Polonnaruva district in middle-eastern Sri Lanka attests the name of the southern gate of a Charity House (located near a Visnu temple) named after the Kambojas as Kamboja Vassala i.e Kamboja Gate. The name of the Charity House is Nissanka-Malla Dana Griha and it was constructed by Maharaja Kalingeshawara Bahu Veer-raja Nissanka-Malla Aprati Malla Chakravarty.
 * Another ancient inscription located in Ruvanneli Dagha attests mediaeval era Muslim Kamboja population called Kambodjin settled in Ruvaneli in Anuradhapura. This inscription relates to time when a section of the Kambojas had come under the sway of Islam.

Evidence exists that horse merchants from Kamboj were in active trade with eastern, southern, and western India, and as far as Ceylon. This trade had been going as late as the medieval ages. King Devapala (810-850 CE) of Bengal, King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala dynasty (1106 - 1152 CE) of Mysore, and King Vallabhadeva of Pandya kingdom (12th century CE) located in extreme southern tip of India, had powerful fleets of Kamboja horses in their cavalry.

According to History of Ceylon, plenty of evidence exists there that the Kambojas who inhabited a region bordering the upper Indus, had at one time, established themselves in a country near Sind (and Kathiawar) from where, accompanied by Yavanas, they finally reached Ceylon in pre-Christian times.

There is also a tradition in Ceylon (recorded in the Pūjāvaliya) that Tapassu and Bhalluka, the two merchant brothers from Pokkharavati (=Pushkalavati now Charasaddha) in Uttarapatha  in  what is now North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan  (the ancient land of the Kambojas and Gandharas), "visited the east coast of Ceylon and built a Cetiya there. An inscription also makes a similar record".

'The diffusion of Indian Civilization and its "great tradition" to the extreme south of the peninsula occurred in the earliest stages not by land but by sea... In the half millennium before Christ there was sea traffic between the coasts of Gujarat and Sind, and Ceylon, which laid the basis for the development of civilization in that island... The earliest attractions of the far southern coasts were pearls and gems, which brought merchants, and ultimately the script, religions and the dynastic traditions... Hiun Tsang refers to the international trading activities of the Simhalas and several early Brahmi inscriptions in Ceylon mention the Kamboja merchants in Sinhala'.

Don Martino write the horse dealers from north-west Kamboja had been carrying out trade in horses with Sri Lanka following west-coast of India since remote antiquity. "The Kambojas came  to Sri Lanka probably as horse-dealers and a colony of them may have settled permanently in  Anuradhapura in company with Yavanas when the city was in zeninth of its glory".

E. Muller also writes that (with time) the Kambojas had adopted the Mussalman creed and used to trade all along the west coast of India from Persian Gulf down to Ceylone and probably further-east.

There is also mention of a merchant from Bharukaccha arriving in Ceylon in the court of a king named Candragupta.

More evidence exists which points to closer links of north-west Kambojas/Gandharas with the ancient Sinhalese.

Kambojas in Sri Lanka
Inscriptional, archaeological and literary evidence exists which sufficiently proves that the merchant class from Kambojas, Yonas and some other communities of the northwest had reached Sri Lanka and settled there centuries before the Christian era.

Epigraphic evidence
Four Sinhalese inscriptions from Koravakgala at Situlpahuwa in the Hambantota district in Rohana province contain the word "Kaboja"' (Sanskrit: Kamboja) and refer to a Kamboja village Chief or Councillor. Another inscription found from Kaduruvava in Kurunagala District south-west of Anuradhapura attest the existence of one "Kamboja Sangha or Corporation" (Gote-Kabojhyana). There is yet another very important cave inscription located in Bovattagala in Amparai district in Rohana province which attests one "Grand Trade Guild of the Kambojas" (Kabojhya Mahapugyana). A Mediaeval era Inscription found from Polonnaruva in 1887 near Vishnu Temple relates to Maharaja Kalinglankeshwara Bahu Veer-raja Nissanka-Malla Aprati Malla Chakravarati who caused one Charity House to be constructed and named after him as Nissankamalla-Daan-Griha. The southern gate of this Charity House is named as Kamboja Vasala. And lastly, an inscription relating to king Kirti-Nissanka Malla (1187-96) was found in 1884 AD at Ruvanveli Dagva in Anuradhapura which refers to a group of people called Kambodjin whom the scholars have linked to the Kamboja group which had embraced Muslim faith during mediaeval age.

These ancient Brahmi inscriptions attest that a 'Great Trade Corporation of the Kambojiyas' (Kabojhiya-mahapugiyana) and a 'Sangha or Corporation of the Kambojyas' (Gota-Kabojhi(ya]na) were located in different provinces of Sri Lanka. These inscriptions additionally make reference to republican titles or appellations like Praumaka ("chief of the Sangha") and Gamika (Gamini or Gramini, the Village Councilor, Head, the Chieftain) of the Kambojiyas. Specialists have determined that Kabojhiya, Kabojha or Kambodjin are corrupted forms of Sanskrit Kamboja or Persian Kambaujiya/Kambujiya. Similarly, Gamika/Gamini is a corruption of the Sanskrit Gramini or Gramaneya and Parumaka is a corruption of the Sanskrit Pramukha meaning Chieftain or Head.

Scholars believe that these inscriptions date back to the third or second century BCE or earlier. . Scholars also assert that the Kamboja of ancient Sinhalese inscriptions can not be an indicative of the Kambuja of the Indo-China since the later name came into existence about 1000 years after the date of these inscriptions.

Literary sources

 * There is a Buddhist reference to one Kamboja-gama i.e. a village named Kamboja in the Rohana province of Anuradhapura. The Pali text Sihalavatthu of about the fourth century CE attests that a group of people called the Kambojas were living in Rohana on the island of Tambapanni i.e. Sri Lanka .   'In the past, the story goes, in the island of Tambapanni, (also) called the isle of Lanka, where the (three) Jewels were established, a certain elder by the name of Maleyyadeva, famous for the excellence of his supernatural power and knowledge, lived in Rohana province supported by (alms given in) the village of Kamboja' 
 * Buddhist text Sasanvamsa attests one Bhikshu Tamalinda thera, son of Kamboja, living in ancient Sinhala. It also attests that Kamboja king Srihamsya came from Kamboja, took possession of the city of Ratanapura in south-west Sinhala and slaughtered about three thousand Bhikshus.
 * According to Chinese Buddhist records, Guna Varman, grandson of the king of Kabol, arrived in China by way of Ceylon and Java in AD 424 and made his way to Capital of the Sung Dynasty of China. This ancient evidence abundantly shows that there were Hindu kings in Kabol more than two centuries before Hiuen Tsang arrived in about 631 AD when he also found a Kshatriya king upon Kabol throne. See link:. This ancient evidence powerfully proves that Kabol, the land of the Kambojas was in direct intercourse with not only the Ceylon but also with Malaya/Java, and further beyond with Indochina. Moreover, last part -Varman, in the name Guna Varman is indicative of Kshatriya lineage of prince Guna Varman of Kabol and hence conclusively establishes that the Kambuja Varman kings of Kambodia were indeed from the north-west Kamboja.
 * Ravana, pre-historic king of Sri Lanka and the adversary of Rama is stated to have been a fan of raga Kambhoji. Per Tamil tradition, Ravana had once played this raga to praise god Siva. This south Indian tradition, though apparently rooted in mythology still seems to hold a clue that the Kambojas colonists had influenced the cultural and social lives of the ancient Sinhalese.
 * Ravana is also said to have in his stable the horses from north-western countries including Indus Valley, Aratta, Kamboja and Valhika etc. See link:. The above literary evidence again seems to verify ancient links of northwest Kambojas with Sri Lanka.
 * Several Iranian records speak of an embassy from Sri Lankan king to Iranian emperor Anusharwan who ruled 531 AD-578 AD. Sri Lankan king is reported to have sent the Persian emperor ten elephants, two hundred thousand pierces of teakwood and seven pearl divers. This again verifies the political and commercial intercourse of the northwest with Sri Lanka.

Archeological evidence

 * Sir James Fergussan observes that "the region of Kabol (Kamboj), Taxila (Gandhar) and Kashmir had been, since ancient times, the center of snake worship which is evident from the wood and stone carvings found in this region". Fergussan further writes that "snake-worship has also been practiced in ancient Sri Lanka. There are also ancient inscriptions in Sri Lanka which attest the presence of Kambojas in the island. One of the city-gate of Polonnaruva was named as Kamboja-vassala. Evidence exists that there was a Naga-temple in Polonnaruva. Besides, the archaeological remains of ancient Naga-temples have been found in other places in Sri Lanka also. Therefore, it is probable that the Kambojas who had founded Kambuja colony in Mekong had reached Indo-china via Sri Lanka".
 * The most famous and only known locale for lapis lazuli since ancient times was in Badakshan in north Afghanistan which has been mined for over 6000 years. The Badakshan province undoubtedly formed a part of ancient Kamboja (See: Kamboja Location). Archeological finds of lapis lazuli (of Badakshan type) from Sri Lanka conclusively connect it to Badakshan in Afghanistan, the home of lapis lazuli. Numerous coins, beads and the intaglios belonging to Bactria/Afghanistan have also been discovered in Sri Lanka. Apart from lapis lazuli, coins and intaglios, the contacts between Sri Lanka and the Kamboja/Gandhara/Bactria region are further revealed by other articles of archaeological evidence from recent excavations at various sites. A fragment of a Gandhara Buddha statue in schist, (yet unpublished), was unearthed from the excavations at Jetavanarama in Anuradhapura. All these archaeological finds conclusively establish a very close relationship between Sri Lanka and the north-west communities, especially, the Kambojans/Gandharans of Afghanistan/Central Asia.

Sinhala vs Kamboja relationship
Mahavamas attests that the earliest colonists of the island (Vijaya and his 700 followers) had gotten their heads shaved (aradh-mundak= wearing short hair style) before boarding the ship. Scholars see in this reference a social custom of supporting short-cut hair among the ancestors of the Sinhalas. Based on this social custom of the Sinhalese, S. Paranavitana sees close relations of the Sinhalese with the northwest Kambojas and says that the Sinhalese had copied their short-hair style from their close allies, the Kambojas.

The appellation Sinhala was applied to the Indo-Aryan speaking colonists of Sri Lanka in commemoration of their past connections with Sinhapura. Curiously enough, there are over 1200 ancient inscriptions in Sri Lanka belonging to 3rd century and downwards but not a single one has any reference to the name Sinhala or Sinhalese as a distinct ethnic group or tribe during this time. Leslie Gunawardana, a leading Sri Lankan historian has advanced the thesis that the Sinhala ethnicity has been a later phenomenon. Parnavitana's argument that if the Sinhalas were the dominant group in the island, it was not necessary to mention their Sinhala identity in the inscriptions, does not sound very logical and convincing. It is pure pleading. The first ever reference to Sinhala occurs in 4th c AD text Dipavamsa. This shows that the Sinhala appellation for the Aryan speaking population of the island is of much later origin. But who were these original colonists and what tribes did they belong to? Unfortunately, neither Mahavamsa nor Dipavamsa, nor any ancient inscriptions of Sri Lanka furnishes any definitive clue on the ethnic identity of the Sinhalese. According to scholars, the custom of supporting short-hair style among the earliest colonists seems to connect them to the Kamboja, Yavana or the Saka group since only this ancient group is known to have supported short hair styles as is evidenced by numerous Puranas". Short hair style among the Kambojas and Yavanas is also attested by Mahabharata. as well as by Ganapatha on Panini's rule II.1.72.