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Ambashtha

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Ambashtha or Ambastha may refer to an ancient Indian tribe or several communities of Hindus in present-day India and Sri Lanka.[1][2] In South India Ambastha may be rendered as Ambattan or Ambattar.[3] They have traditionally been associated with Indian medicine and the profession of physician.[4]

Ambashtha in Ayurveda

Leslie in his comparative study of Asian medical systems has detailed the role of Ambashthas in the Ayurvedic system of ancient Indian medicine. Vaidyas in ancient India were a group who were committed to human health and welfare as depicted in early medical texts. In modern times, the term Ambashtha is usually interchangeably used as Vaidya, though in earlier times it seems to be only a part of Vaidyas who were preferred by orthodox Brahmins.[4] Sahay mentions that the mythological pioneer of Ayurvedic medicine, Dhanvatari, was said to be an Ambashtha.[5]

In Bengal, the Vaidyas/Baidyas have a history of several centuries as physicians, where they hold good social position with high rate of literacy and professionalism. In Kerela, one of the six subdivisions of Nambudiri brahmins is the Vaidyams which is also a class of physicians with eight component clans. They have high social status but are looked down upon by other Nambudiri brahmins due to lesser interest in Vedic knowledge. In Madhya Pradesh, there are certain subgroup of Brahmins called Baids, who practice medicine. In Tamil Nadu, there are several such groups with more than thousand years of history. Most villages had Vaithiyans who had high social prestige and held land in service tenure. Most Ayurvedic practitioners where of higher social status but a Pariyan group with lower rank in social hierarchy also held the title of Vaithiyans. Vaidya title is adopted by all members of Ambathans in Tamil Nadu, only some of them practice medicines and are more highly esteemed than the others who are barbers. In Orissa, the Baidyos cure curses and claim to be Kshatriyas with small landholdings. In Maharashtra, the Vaidya title is used by the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu[6] and Chitpawan brahmins.[7]

In addition to these there are several untrained practitioners of local medicine in contemporary India who claim to be Vaid/Baid, are the Kusavans in South India who set fractures, Madulas in Telugu land who sell drugs, barbers extracting teeths and lancing boils and Mahawats of Uttar Pradesh who are wandering medicine-men. Their claim is not supported by any medical texts or any of the ancient philosophers like Charaka or Susruta.

Mythology and varna status

Ridgeon mentions about the myth related to the origin of the four varnas in the Rigveda,[8] and says that in order to explain "the great number of castes, a theory was developed that unions between men and women of different varnas produced offspring of various castes".[8] According to Manusmriti, an ancient Hindu text, the Ambattar or Ambashtha are the offspring of a Brahmin father and a Vaishya mother.[8] Regarding the varna status of the offspring of a brahmin father and a vaishya mother, J. Muir (1868) cites the Mahabharata and says that "A son begotten by a Brahman in the three castes [i.e. on a woman of either of the upper three classes] will be a Brahman" (also suggested by G.S. Ghurye)[9][full citation needed], and mentions that "purity of caste blood was not much regarded among Hindus in early ages".[10]

Sahay mentions that the Jatakas refers to the Ambashtha as agriculturist while the Pali work, Ambattha Sutta,[11] refers to them as Brahmins.[5] Ambattha Sutta is one of the suttas of Digha Nikaya, the Buddhist scripture.[12] S. N Mazumdar mention Ambashtha as Brahmakshatriya.[13]

Citing the Hindu text Parasara, Leslie mentions that the Ambastha is supposed to treat the Brahmins only, and hence considered as "a clean caste, definitely below the brahmin, but certainly well within the twice-born group".[14] This differentiates the Ambasthas from the average Vaidyas, who were considered "unclean" and were denied the status accorded to the Ambastha.[14]

In the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, a warrior tribe named Ambastha has been mentioned. During Alexander's invasion, they had 60000 infantry, 6000 horsemen and 500 chariots. They have been described as inhabitants of northwestern part of Indian subcontinent (near Lahore), and they were conquered by Nakula and paid tribute to Yudisthira. They fought in the Kurukhetra war (initially for the Pandavas but later for Drona). They took to different professions like priesthood, farming and medicine, and are assumed to have migrated to eastern India later on.[15][full citation needed]

Ambastha Kayasthas form a sub-caste of the larger Kayastha community of India. They may be connected with the old Ambashtha caste, as suggested by Crooke, and were supposed to be involved in the practice of surgery.[16][17] The name Ambastha may also come from the Ameth region of Oudh or their patron deity Ambaji.[17] In Bengal, the 17th century work Vaidya Kulpanji Chandraprabha and the 16th century work Suryacharita of Chandrashehar, claim that Vaidyas are regarded as Ambashtha and the author also refers to himself as a Gaud Ambashtha.[5]

Ambashtha in ancient India

Mukharji explains that in addition to the term Ambashtha used in connection with Ayurveda, the term was also used for identifying some ethnic groups in Ancient India.[18] An Ambashtha king named Narada has been mentioned in Aitreya Brahama in 500 BC. Sahay mentions that they were also called Anava Kshatriya being of the dynasty of Anu who was son of the Paurava King Yayati.[5] Greek and Roman sources also mention a republic kingdom of Ambashtha people in the Chenab region during the time of Alexander's invasion. Archeologist Chitrarekha Gupta also mentions that several references to Ambastanoi tribe of the region are found in Greek sources.[19] The epic Mahabharata mentions Ambashtha living in Punjab region and Brihaspati ArthaShashtra mentions their region between Kashmir and Sind. Later around 140 AD, Ptolemy mentions Ambashtha settlement in Mekala region, so does Markandeya Purana and Brihat Samhita. These sources support their chronological southward migration till Mekala.

Migration from Mekala

BP Sinha, an eminent archeologist, details the bifurcation in their migration from Mekala in present-day Madhya Pradesh. One eastward from Mekala and the other, southward.[1] Raychaudhari mentions that they settled in Mahakala (Mekala) region by the second century.[20] Sahay mentions that Varahmihir in Brihat Samhita also locates them in Central India and the migration trajectory suggests that after being defeated by Alexander they were forced to leave western Punjab to reach Mekala and around 150 families moved east to Magadh empire on the invitation of Chandragupta Maurya. They were settled around Rajgriha in Bihar which became their Khasghar. Traces of this migration have been found in Prayagraj.[5] BP Sinha also mentions that most of them migrated from Ujjain to Bihar along the riverbank route and from there a splinter group moved onto Bengal and Odisha.[1]

In north India and Bengal

Sinha details that from Mekala the Ambashtha appear to migrate to Bihar and concentrated today in that region, mostly in central districts of Bihar. A community called Ambashtha exists as a sub-caste of Kayastha in Bihar. Sinha further details that some migrated to Bengal also and a community called Vaidya exists there which according to the code of Manu set for the profession of physicians.[1] In the Brihaddharma Purana the Ambashthas and the Vaidyas were considered as the same caste in its list of 36 castes but another text, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana considered them as two separate sub-castes.[21] Bharatmallik (17th century), the author of the Chandraprabha and Bhattitika has introduced himself as both Vaidya and Ambashtha, which indicates both the castes were considered as one in early medieval Bengal.[22] At present, Ambashtha Kayasthas exist as a sub-caste of Kayasthas, the Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas, mainly in the Hindi-speaking areas of India mostly in U.P, Bihar and West Bengal.[17]

Tamil, Malayalam and Sri Lankan history

Sinha also details the migration of Ambashtha from Punjab and Madhya Pradesh to Tamil and Malayalam countries comparing them with Sivis and Malwas who also migrated to South from Punjab. The Ambashtha who migrated to South initially carried out the profession of physicians but later took up other professions such as that of barbers. The social life of Tamil Ambashtha is regulated by Brahminical code, who act as priest in their marriage ceremonies. Like the orthodox northern Indian upper castes, traditionally widow remarriage was not there and the dead are cremated. They perform as priests in marriage ceremonies of the Vellas of Salem district. They may be Shaiva or Vaishnava. The Vaishnava abstain from meat, fish and liqour. Their population is quite large in Salem district. Similar group is also found in South Travencore who work as physicians, midwives, barbers and priests. They have respectable social status. Ambashtha held high positions during Chalukya and Pandya kingdoms.[1] According to the folklore of the Ambattar of Sri Lanka, they arrived in the Jaffna Kingdom as attendants of warriors. Since they came without their wives, they married Sri Lankan Vellalar women.[2]

In early Tamil history, the Siddhars who were ancient Tamil physicians who claimed to have attained siddhi, hailed mostly from the Ambattar community.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Sinha, BP (2003). Kayastha in making of modern Bihar. Patna: Impression Publisher. pp. 14–15.
  2. ^ a b David, Kenneth (3 June 2011). The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia. Walter de Gruyter. p. 189. ISBN 9783110807752.
  3. ^ Raghavan, M. D. (1961). The Karāva of Ceylon: Society and Culture. K.V.G. De Sīlva. p. 89.
  4. ^ a b Leslie, Charles M. (1998). Asian Medical Systems: A Comparative Study. Motilal Banarasidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-1537-8.
  5. ^ a b c d e Sahay, Uday (2021). Kayasth Encyclopedia. Delhi: SAUV communications. p. 136. ISBN 978-81-941122-3-5.
  6. ^ "Book on Thackerays traces ghar vapasi, rivalry between brothers". DNA India. 17 September 2019. Like the Thackerays, Vaidya also belonged to the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) community. The CKPs are a small but literate and influential caste, with a high occupational status that equals the Brahmins.
  7. ^ Organiser, Volume 32. Bharat Prakashan. 1980. p. 6.
  8. ^ a b c Ridgeon, Lloyd (2003). Major World Religions: From Their Origins To The Present. RoutledgeCurzon. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-13442-935-6.
  9. ^ Ghurye, G.S. (1969). Caste and Race in India. p. 85. ISBN 9788171542055.
  10. ^ Muir, J. The People of India, Their religions and institutions.
  11. ^ "Ambattha Sutta | Buddhist text". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  12. ^ Law, Bimala Churn (1973). Tribes in Ancient India. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. p. 97.
  13. ^ Law, Bimala Churn (1973). Tribes in Ancient India. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. p. 97.
  14. ^ a b Leslie, Charles M. (1976). Asian Medical Systems: A Comparative Study. University of California Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-52003-511-9.
  15. ^ Garg, G.R. (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. p. 377. ISBN 9788170223757.
  16. ^ Gupta, Chitrarekha (1996). The Kāyasthas: a study in the formation and early history of a caste. K.P. Bagchi & Co. p. 60. ISBN 9788170741565. But Bihar was not the original homeland of the Ambashthas. The Ambashthas were a famous tribe from Western Punjab and have been mentioned in the Mahabharata.
  17. ^ a b c Russell, R.V. (28 September 2020). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume III of IV. Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-46558-303-1.
  18. ^ Mukharji, Projit Bihari (14 October 2016). Doctoring Traditions: Ayurveda, Small Technologies, and Braided Sciences. ISBN 9780226381824.
  19. ^ Gupta, Chitrarekha (1996). The Kāyasthas: A Study in the Formation and Early History of a Caste. Calcutta: K.P. Bagchi & Company.
  20. ^ Raychaudhari, Hem Chandra (1952). Political History of Ancient India. Delhi: Cosmo Publication.
  21. ^ Mukharji, Projit Bihari (14 October 2016). Doctoring Traditions: Ayurveda, Small Technologies, and Braided Sciences. ISBN 9780226381824.
  22. ^ Roy, Niharranjan (1993). Bangalar Itihas:Adiparba (in Bengali), Kolkata:Dey's Publishing, ISBN 81-7079-270-3, pp.227,246-7
  23. ^ State), Madras (India; Baliga, B. S.; Bahadur.), B. S. Baliga (Rao (1999). Madras District Gazetteers: Tiruchirappalli (pt. 1-2). Superintendent, Government Press. p. 1447.
  • Ambastha Kayastha (The Evolution of a Family and Its Socio-Cultural Dimensions)/K.N. Sahay. New Delhi, Commonwealth, 2001, xxi, 344 p. 42. ISBN 81-7169-660-0.
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