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THE AMBASTHAS
97 Sabarņas, Ambasthas, Ugras, Nişādhas, Dausyantas or Păraśaras. The Ambasthas would thus be descendants of Brāhmaṇas by Ksatriya, Vaisya or Sūdra wives. In the Ambattha Sutta, an Ambattha (= Ambaștha) is called a Brāhmaṇa; but, according to the Jātakas,2 the Ambașthas were farmers, while Manu describes them as a people who practised the art of healing. 3 S. N. Mazumdar thinks 4 that they were a tribe of Brahma Ksatriyas' (i.e. Brahmins by descent but warriors by profession); while Ray Chaudhuri 5 is of the opinion that they were a'tribe who were at first mainly a fighting race, but some of whom took to other occupations, viz. those of priests, farmers, and, according to the Smrti writers, physicians'.
The Ambasthas are the same as the Abastanoi (Arrian), Sambastai (Diodoros), Sabarcae (Curtius) or Sabagrae (Orosius) of Alexander's historians. In Alexander's time the tribe was settled on the lower Akesines (Asikni), and had a democratic government, and an army consisting of 60,000 foot, 60,000 cavalry and 500 chariots.? The Ambasthas are referred to by Ptolemy as Ambastai, a tribe which is described as settled in the east of the country of the Paropanisadai,--Paropanisadai being a collective name for the tribes that were located along the southern and eastern sides of the Hindukush'.8 Lassen' thinks that the Ambastai may have been connected in some way with the Ambastai, another tribe mentioned by Ptolemy as dwelling along the country of the Bettigoi' and the mountain range of the same name (i.e. southern portion of the Western Ghats).
The Ambasthas seem to have migrated in later times to some place near the Mekala hill which is the source of the Narmadā (see Mekala chapter). In the Kūrmavibhāga of the Byhatsamhitā (XIV, 7) they are associated with the Mekalas who dwelt on the Mekala hill; and the mention of Mekhalāmusta (which is in all probability a misreading for Mekalāmbastha) in the Mārkandeya Purāna (LVIII, 14) would seem to prove that the two were neighbourng tribes. The tribe seems to have migrated eastwards as well, however, for even today a class of Kāyasthas known as Ambastha Kāyasthas can be traced in Bihar; while the Vaidyas of Bengal claim to be designated as Ambașthas. 10
1 Dīgha, I, p. 88; Dialogues of the Buddha, I, p. 109. 2 Jātaka, IV, No. 363. 3 Manu, X, 47: 'Ambasthānām cikitsitām'. 4 C.A.G.I., notes, p. 670.
5 P.H.A.I., 4th Ed., p. 207. 6 McCrindle's Invasion of Alexander, pp. 292ff.
7 Ibid., p. 252. 8 McCrindle, Ancient India as described by Ptolemy, Majumdar's Ed., pp. 311-12. 9 Indische Alterthumskunde, pp. 159, 161.
10 They are described as such in Bharata Mallika's commentary on the Bhatti kāvya.
