Ethnic Profile of Gandhāra

Abstract

The word Gandhāra (not Gandhārā, with a medial long ā at the end, as it is generally mispronounced at present) is often translated as ‘the Land of Fragrance’ – gandha being ‘fragrance’ and hāra, the land. It is interesting to note that in the fairly vast stretching from Jalālābad (in Afghanistan) to Khushāb in the Punjāb (Pakistan), the pattern of nomenclature to denote different lands is the same. Thus, the plateau like tract of land to the east of the Indus, particularly around Rāwalpindī, is, on the pattern of Gandhāra called Poṭhohāra. The Poṭho (Poṭhohāra) is derived from a well known Indo- European root which becomes post in English (as in post-modern) and Pusht in Persian, meaning back or behind. In India it takes the form Pīṭha. Thus, the word Poṭhohāra would bean ‘the land at the back’, i.e. back of the mountains, or, metaphorically, simply the ‘Highland’ which it certainly is. The regions Vanahāra, i.e. Woodland. Coming to the western side of Gandhāra we know that ancient name of the present Jalālābād (in Afghanistan) was Nagarahāra, often corrupted as Nangnehār. These names clearly show that they follow a consistent pattern and were given on account of the topographical features of the lands they cover. But, strangely, the meaning given to Gandhāra, i.e. ‘the land of fragrance’, is inconsistent with the general pattern of nomenclature, for, fragrance is an abstract quality, not topographical feature. This creates a sneaky suspicious regarding the accuracy of this meaning.