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CHAPTER XXIV
THE AMBAŞTHAS
The Ambasthas 1 as a tribe existed at least as early as the time of the Aitareya Brāhmana, when they were probably settled in the Punjab; and they can be traced up to the present day in parts of Bengal and Bihar, whither they migrated in later times. In the Aitareya Brāhmana (VIII, 21-3), King Ambasthya (= 'of Ambaştha') is mentioned as having been consecrated with the Aindra Mahābhiseka along with nine other kings. The Mahābhārata 2 mentions the Ambasthas along with the Sivis, Kșudrakas, Mālavas and other north-western tribes. In the Bhīşma (Chap. 20, 10) and Drona (Chap. 119, 14) Parvans, the Ambasthas are referred to as having taken part in the Kuruksetra war, on the side of the Kurus; while in the Karnaparvan,3 Srutāyuh, the valiant Ksatriya, who was killed by Arjuna, is described as a king of the Ambaşthas. The Ambaşthas were also once defeated by Nakula, the fourth Pāņdava, along with the Sivis, Trigarttas and Mālavas 4; and Śrutāyuh was among those who did homage to Yudhisthira after the defeat.5
In the Purāņas, the Ambasthas are represented as Anava Ksatriyas, and are said to have originated from Suvrata, son of Uśīnara; they were thus intimately related to the Vaudheyas and the Sivis, 6 and were settled on the eastern border of the Punjab.? The country is mentioned in the Bārhaspatya Arthaśāstra,8 where it is associated with Sind (Kāśmīra-Hūna-Ambastha-Sindhavah); while the tribe is included in the list derived by Colonel Wilford from the Varāha Samhitā.
The Purāṇas seem to represent the Ambasthas as Ksatriyas, descended as they were from Usinara; and, as we have seen, the Mahābhārata refers to their King Śrutāyuh as 'the best of Ksatriyas'. But the evidence of Smrti literature seems to point to their mixed origin. According to the Gautama-Dharmasūtra (IV, 16), children born of wives of the next, second or third lower castes become
1 According to Goldstücker, the older denomination of the tribe was probably Ambastha, not Ambastha. 2 II, 52, 14-15.
3 Chap. 5, 18. 4 Sabhāparvan, Chap. 32, 7.
5 Ibid., Chap. 52, 14-15. 6 Pargiter, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, p. 109. 7 Ibid., p. 264.
8 Ed. F. W. Thomas, p. 21. 9 Asiatic Researches, Vol. VIII, pp. 344, 346.
