Kuchavara

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Kuchavara (कूचवार) or Kucha was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin and south of the Muzat River.

Variants

• Kuchatara (कूचतार) (AS, p.219)
• Kuchavara (कूचवार) (Panini in Ashtadhyayi (IV.3.94)
• Kuchika (कूचिक) (Varahamihira)

Mention by Panini

Kuchavara (कूचवार) is mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi (IV.3.94). V S Agarwal mentions Kuchavara (कूचवार): it was Kucha,the old name of Turkestan appearing in a Sanskrit manuskript. Varahamihira mentions Kuchika among the people of the north.

History

For a long time Kucha was the most populous oasis in the Tarim Basin. As a Central Asian metropolitan center, Kucha was part of the Silk Road economy, and was in contact with the rest of Central Asia, including Sogdiana and Bactria, and thus eventually with the peripheral cultures of India, Persia, and China.

The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited Kucha in 630 AD and in the 630s described Kucha at some length.

The Kizil (Thousand Buddha) Caves lie about 70 km northwest of Kucha and were included within the rich fourth-century kingdom of Kucha. The caves claim origins from the royal family of ancient Kucha, specifically a local legend involving Princess Zaoerhan, the daughter of the King of Quici (Kucha).

Visit by Xuanzang in 630 AD

• Xuanzang persuaded some Buddhist guards at Yumen Pass and slipped out of the empire through Liangzhou (Gansu) and Qinghai in 629.

• He subsequently travelled across the Gobi Desert to Kumul (modern Hami City), thence following the Tian Shan westward, arriving in Turpan in 630. Here he met the king of Turpan, a Buddhist who equipped him further for his travels with letters of introduction and valuables to serve as funds.

• Moving further westward, Xuanzang escaped robbers to reach Karasahr, then toured the non-Mahayana monasteries of Kucha.

कूचवार

कूचवार पाणिनिकालीन एक नगर था। यह चीनी तुर्किस्तान में उत्तरी तरिम उपत्यका का नाम था, जिसका अर्वाचीन नाम कूचा है। चीनी भाषा में आजकल इसे 'कूची' कहते हैं। कूचा से प्राप्त अभिलेखों में कूचा के राजाओं को कूचीश्वर, कूचि महाराज, कौचेय, कौचेय वरेंद्र कहा गया है। कूचा बहुत प्राचीन राज्य था। चीन से पश्चिम जाने वाले रेशम पथों पर कूचा प्रसिद्ध केंद्र था। चीनी यात्री तुरफान से कूचा होकर काशगर आते थे और वहाँ से कम्बोज (पामीर) और बाल्हीक (बल्ख) होते हुए भारतवर्ष में प्रवेश करते थे। कूचा या मध्य एशिया से कौचप या कोजव नामक ऊनी वस्त्र (कालीन या नम्दे) आया करते थे।

कूचतार

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है ...कूचतार (AS, p.219) पाणिनि 4,3,94 में उल्लिखित, वर्तमान कूचा (चीनी तुर्किस्तान या सिक्यांग).

See also

• Kucha