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): /ˈkʰɐ.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 (khaśa)
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	खशः khaśaḥ	खशौ / खशा¹ khaśau / khaśā¹	खशाः / खशासः¹ khaśāḥ / khaśāsaḥ¹
Vocative	खश khaśa	खशौ / खशा¹ khaśau / khaśā¹	खशाः / खशासः¹ khaśāḥ / khaśāsaḥ¹
Accusative	खशम् khaśam	खशौ / खशा¹ khaśau / khaśā¹	खशान् khaśān
Instrumental	खशेन khaśena	खशाभ्याम् khaśābhyām	खशैः / खशेभिः¹ khaśaiḥ / 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
Notes	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