The Afghan Connection
Afghanistan was part and parcel of the socio-religious-political ethos of India. Close cultural ties of Afghanistan and India go back to 4500 B.C. It enjoyed the cultural and trade relations with the Indus-Saraswati culture that flourished in the Indus valley. The deities of the Vedic culture like Apam Napat, Ahirbudhnya, Maruts, and the lost recension, the Bashkala Samhita of the Rg Veda can be linked to Afghanistan. The Arya-Dasa conflicts in the Rig Veda occurred in the Seistan province of southern Afghanistan. The purs destroyed by Indra were the mounds or butts formed in the region due to the erosive action of Bad-i-sad-o-bist, ie. wind of 120 days.
Many tribes of Afghanistan today are traced back to the Vedic period. They participated in the famous Ten kings war of the Rig Veda lore. The name of the nation itself is rooted in ancient Indian literature. The celebrated text of Brhatsamhita by Varahamihira (6th century A.D.) refers to a group of people named avagana along with Huns and Chinese (brhatsamhita 11.61) which in the later period turned into Avagana and then to Afghan. The Afghan identity is closely associated with Sanskrit origin. The Pakhtoons are the most dominating tribal group in Afghanistan. The oldest text of the world, the Rig Veda refers to the tribal enemies of the king Sudasa who had formed a federation against the king. The tribal federation against the king Sudasa included Pakhtha, Bhalanasa, Alinasa, Visani and Siva tribes.
Panini, the great grammarian was a Pathan by birth. His contribution to the Sankrta grammar is beyond comparison. Being a resident of the North-western Frontier Province, his unique grammar astadhyayi contains several references to the locations, tribes and geographical landmarks in the region. The roots of abhiras tribes can be traced to Afghanistan. They were defeated by Nakula as mentioned in the Mahabharata. (MHB Sabha 32.9-10). They participated in the Mahabharata War.
Language similarity between the Kafiri language in Northern Afghanistan and Sanskrit
Sanskrit - Kafiri
totta (father) - tata
istri (female) - stri
angura (finger) - anguli
basana (cloth) - vasana
asta (is) - asti
In the ancient period Afghanistan was closely linked with Indo-Aryan and Indo-Iranian civilization. Geographically Afghanistan lies at the center of two great civilizations, namely, the Indian and the Iranian. Both have influenced the cultural ethos of the region. Legend has it that the kingdom of Gandhaar was established by Taksha, grandson of Bharat of Ayodhya. Gandhaar's borders extended from Takshashila to Tashkent (corruption of 'Taksha Khand') in the present day Uzbekistan. In the later period, Mahabharat relates Gaandhaari as a princess of Gandhaar and her brother, Shakuni as a prince and later as Gandhaar's ruler.
The north Afghanistan lay on the famous ancient 'Silk Route.' The commercial activity and spread of Buddhism gave impetus to the closer interactions with the Indian civilization.
The word "Sthan" is actually a Sanskrit derivative that means place or land. There are a string of countries to the west of India with the suffix of "sthan," including Afghanisthan, Baluchisthan, Kurdisthan, Siwisthan, Arvasthan and Turgasthan (Turkey). Until the 10th century A.D. Hindu kings ruled over Afghanistan, and thereafter still in parts of it. As mentioned in Albiruni's India, Hindu kings continued to have their coronation in Kabul, although Kabul had passed out of their hands. India's interest in the West and Central Asian region isn't new either, with historic and cultural ties dating back centuries. At its peak during the 1800s, the sweep of the greater Indian empire extended from Kabul to Burma. Parts of Afghanistan were ruled by Indian kings and later the British, and even after Afghanistan became a separate nation, it continued to regard India as "the mother country," according to Monu Nalapat, professor of geopolitics at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in south India. The famous “Kabuliwala” story by Rabindranath Tagore is a symbol of India’s emotional and cultural ties with Afghanistan.
(source: The Afghan Connection - By P. V. Pathak and Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence - By Stephen Knapp)
In the ancient period Afghanistan was closely linked with Indo-Aryan and Indo-Iranian civilization. Geographically Afghanistan lies at the center of two great civilizations, namely, the Indian and the Iranian. Both have influenced the cultural ethos of the region. Legend has it that the kingdom of Gandhaar was established by Taksha, grandson of Bharat of Ayodhya. Gandhaar's borders extended from Takshashila to Tashkent (corruption of 'Taksha Khand') in the present day Uzbekistan. In the later period, Mahabharat relates Gaandhaari as a princess of Gandhaar and her brother, Shakuni as a prince and later as Gandhaar's ruler.
The north Afghanistan lay on the famous ancient 'Silk Route.' The commercial activity and spread of Buddhism gave impetus to the closer interactions with the Indian civilization.
The word "Sthan" is actually a Sanskrit derivative that means place or land. There are a string of countries to the west of India with the suffix of "sthan," including Afghanisthan, Baluchisthan, Kurdisthan, Siwisthan, Arvasthan and Turgasthan (Turkey). Until the 10th century A.D. Hindu kings ruled over Afghanistan, and thereafter still in parts of it. As mentioned in Albiruni's India, Hindu kings continued to have their coronation in Kabul, although Kabul had passed out of their hands. India's interest in the West and Central Asian region isn't new either, with historic and cultural ties dating back centuries. At its peak during the 1800s, the sweep of the greater Indian empire extended from Kabul to Burma. Parts of Afghanistan were ruled by Indian kings and later the British, and even after Afghanistan became a separate nation, it continued to regard India as "the mother country," according to Monu Nalapat, professor of geopolitics at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in south India. The famous “Kabuliwala” story by Rabindranath Tagore is a symbol of India’s emotional and cultural ties with Afghanistan.
(source: The Afghan Connection - By P. V. Pathak and Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence - By Stephen Knapp)
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