खश

Sanskrit

Etymology

The name is of uncertain origin, partly because accounts disagree on where the tribe originated. In the Mahāmāyūrī text, they are placed somewhere between Bactria and Kapisi (modern Afghanistan), suggesting an Iranian origin; while other inner-Indian texts describe them as aborigines/barbarians from the Himalayas.

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /kʰɐ.ɕɐ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /kʰɐ.ɕɐ/

Proper noun

खश • (khaśa) stem, m

1. northern tribe living in the Punjab region between Āraṭṭa and Vasāti
   • c. 400 BCE, Mahābhārata
     • प्रस्थला मद्रगन्धार आरट्ट नामतः खशाः वसाति षिन्धुसौवीरा

       prasthalā madragandhāra āraṭṭa nāmataḥ khaśāḥ vasāti ṣindhusauvīrā

2. descendants of outcast Kshatriyas who adopted Vaishnavism

Declension

Masculine a-stem declension of खश

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	खशः (khaśaḥ)	खशौ (khaśau) खशा¹ (khaśā¹)	खशाः (khaśāḥ) खशासः¹ (khaśāsaḥ¹)
vocative	खश (khaśa)	खशौ (khaśau) खशा¹ (khaśā¹)	खशाः (khaśāḥ) खशासः¹ (khaśāsaḥ¹)
accusative	खशम् (khaśam)	खशौ (khaśau) खशा¹ (khaśā¹)	खशान् (khaśān)
instrumental	खशेन (khaśena)	खशाभ्याम् (khaśābhyām)	खशैः (khaśaiḥ) खशेभिः¹ (khaśebhiḥ¹)
dative	खशाय (khaśāya)	खशाभ्याम् (khaśābhyām)	खशेभ्यः (khaśebhyaḥ)
ablative	खशात् (khaśāt)	खशाभ्याम् (khaśābhyām)	खशेभ्यः (khaśebhyaḥ)
genitive	खशस्य (khaśasya)	खशयोः (khaśayoḥ)	खशानाम् (khaśānām)
locative	खशे (khaśe)	खशयोः (khaśayoḥ)	खशेषु (khaśeṣu)

• ¹Vedic

Descendants

• Dardic:
  • Kashmiri: khāh

    Arabic script: کھاہ

    Devanagari script: खाह

• Prakrit: 𑀔𑀲 (khasa)
  • Northern:
    • Khasa Prakrit:
      • Central Pahari:
        • Kumaoni: खस (khas), खसिया (khasiyā)
      • Eastern Pahari:
        • Nepali: खस (khas)
      • Western Pahari:
        • Bhadrawahi: खश (khaś), खाशा (khāśā)
        • Dogri: खस (khas)
          • ⇒ Dogri: खस्साली (khassālī)
  • Northwestern:
    • Paisaci Prakrit:
      • Sindhi:
        • Jadgali: [script needed] (khauś)

References

• Laxman S. Thakur (1990) K. K. Kusuman, editor, The Khasas An Early Indian Tribe‎^[1], Mittal Publications, →ISBN, pages 285–293
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “khasa”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 203