mlechchha

mlechchha

▪ ancient Indian class

      people of foreign extraction (i.e., non-Aryans) in ancient India. A Sanskrit term, mlechchha was used by the Aryans much as the ancient Greeks used barbaros, originally to indicate the uncouth and incomprehensible speech of foreigners and then extended to their unfamiliar behaviour. Mlechchhas were found in northwestern India, and there is reason to believe that the people known in Akkadian as Mlakkha were the original mlechchhas. As a mlechchha, any foreigner stood completely outside the caste system and the ritual ambience. Thus, historically, contact with them was viewed by the caste Hindu as polluting.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mlechchha dynasty — Mlechchha Kingdom Mlechchha dynasty ← 650 CE–900 CE …   Wikipedia

  • mlechchha — mlech·chha …   English syllables

  • mlechchha — məˈlechə noun ( s) Etymology: Sanskrit mleccha chiefly India : one who does not practice Hinduism; specifically : foreigner …   Useful english dictionary

  • Middle kingdoms of India — History of South Asia and India Stone age (7000–1300 BCE) …   Wikipedia

  • Mleccha — For the dynasty of Kamarupa, see Mlechchha dynasty. Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit म्लेच्छ mleccha, meaning non Vedic, barbarian ), also spelt as Mlechchha, people of foreign extraction (non aryans) in ancient India. Mleccha was used by the Aryans… …   Wikipedia

  • Kamarupa (Historical kingdom) — Kamarupa, also called Pragjyotisha, was the first historical kingdom in Assam that existed between the 4th to the 12th century CE. Ruled by three dynasties from their capitals in present day Guwahati and Tezpur, it covered the entire Brahmaputra… …   Wikipedia

  • Kambojas — The Kambojas were a Kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in ( post Vedic ) Sanskrit and Pali literature, making their first appearance in the Mahabharata and contemporary Vedanga literature (roughly from the 7th century BCE).… …   Wikipedia

  • Ancient India and Central Asia — have long traditions of social cultural, religious, political and economic contact since remote antiquity [ Alberuni s India, 2001, p 19 21, Edward C. Sachau History; Dates of the Buddha, 1987, p 126, Shriram Sathe; Foundations of Indian Culture …   Wikipedia

  • Language and ethnicity of Kambojas — The Kambojas of Indian literature have been speculated to have been an Iranian people, perhaps cognate with the later Indo Scythians or Sakas.History of the hypothesisBased on Yaska s Nirukta and a gatha from Buddhist Bhuridatta Jataka , one… …   Wikipedia

  • Shahi — For a town in Bareilly District, India see Shahi, Uttar Pradesh. Obv: Recumbent bull facing left, trishula on bulls rump, Devnagari Legends : Sri Spalapati Deva. Rev: Rider bearing lance on caparisoned horse facing right. Obv: Rider bearing lance …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”