The Turkic traditions of the Hindu Shahis of Kabul

The curious case of Toramāṇa Shahi

In al-Biruni’s catalogue of the king’s of the Hindu Shahi dynasty of Kabul, a certain Kamalu (variously mentioned as Kamaluka, Kamalavarman) is of great interest to us. This is owing to the fact that all Hindu Shahi kings had Sanskritic appellations, except for this particular king.

As superintendent of the treasury he (Prabhakaradeva, the prime minister of Gopalavarman - the successor of Shankaravarman) plundered the riches of the amorous (queen) and vanquished the Sahi kingdom at Udabhanda. He bestowed the kingdom of the rebellious Shahi upon Toramana, Lalliya's son, and gave him the (new) name Kamaluka.

— Rajatarangini, Book V, verses 232-33

The Tarikh-i Sistan mentions a certain Shahi prince Alaman, which is evidently a clerical error for Toramana. In fact, the Tarikh is replete with similar clerical errors. That Alaman here stands for Toramana is evident since the same incident is described by 'Awfi, who mentions the other form of the name, Kamalu.¹

The name Toramana is undoubtedly of Turkish or Hephthalite origin and looks rather strange when used by the member of a dynasty which, as it appears from al-Biruni’s list, strictly followed the Hindu system of nomenclature.

Changez Jan speculates this particular prince must have descended directly from Lagturman, the latter king of the Turk Shahis.² It is fitting to recount Al Biruni’s account of the preceeding Turk Shahi dynasty here and I quote —

The Hindus had kings residing in Kabul, Turks who were said to be of Tibetan origin. The first of them, Barhatakin, came into the country and entered a cave in Kabul, which none could enter except by creeping on hands and knees. The cave had water, and besides he deposited there victuals for a certain number of days. It is still known in our time, and is called Var. People who consider the name of Barhatakin as a good omen enter the cave and bring out some of its water with great trouble. [..] 

He wore Turkish dress, a short tunic open in front, a high hat, boots and arms.³

Before we proceed further, it is appropriate to know the context behind the term ‘Turk’ by early Muslim sources. The word is certainly surrounded with ambiguity. The same confusion surrounds the Chinese word T’u Chueh. According to V. Minorsky the use of the term ’Turk’ in early Muslim literature is loose, so that even the Tibetans are considered as Turks.⁴

The Arabic records are misleading by their use of the word Turk for all the non-Persian peoples of the east. They give the impression (due perhaps to circumstances of the time in which the chief histories were composed) that the opponents of the Arabs in Transoxiana were the historical Turks.⁵

The presence of ’Turks’ as the ruling power in the area stretching from Sistan to Gandhara in the centuries preceding the rise of the Hindu Shahis is well attested by the accounts of Arab chroniclers as well as by the itineraries of Chinese travellers. Many examples can be cited to uphold the truth of this statement.

Ahnaf b. Qais, a commander of Ibn ’Amar, the governor of Basrah in A.D. 649-659, was despatched by the latter to fight the Hayatila⁶ (or Turks) in Kuhistan, near modern Herat.⁷

Mural from Dilberjin Tepe, thought to represent early Hephthalites. The ruler wears a radiate crown which is comparable to the crown of the king on the Yabghu of the Hephthalites seal.

Hayatila (the plural of Haital) is the Arabic form of Hephthalites. According to one tradition the Hayatila met by Ahnaf were Turks. According to al-Khwarizmi the Hayatila were a tribe of men who had enjoyed grandeur and possessed the country of Tukharistan; the Turks called Khalaj and K•njina are their remnants.⁸

Interestingly, the brother of Kamaluka-Toraman was one Asata (restored as Asatapal) whose son was Shah Jaipal, the illustrious ruler of Kabul. The Tarikh-i Guzida gives the patronymic as Jaipal bin Haital, Haital here being an obvious corruption of Ashtpal.⁹

This association of two Hindu Shahi princes who happened to be brothers with Hephthalite traditions is quite striking in our opinion. Putting two and two together, we derive the following conclusions from this post -

1. Since the house of Turks (and Hephthalites) carried with it prestige and glory, Toraman could have been a son born out of union of a Hindu Shahi prince with a Turk Shahi princess. Al-Biruni doesn’t inform us of any disturbances carried out by the erstwhile royal family or any restlessness in the Afghan and Turkish nobility of the period who likely dominated the Shahi court (More on this latter).

2. It is also believable the Hindu Shahis had adopted certain Turkic traditions of their former patrons, but this seems unlikely in light of the fact all early Hindu Shahi kings were named in Sanskritic theonyms. If legitimacy was the desired objective, these traditions would be adapted early on.

3. It rather appears the Turk Shahi family had reconciled to the new house of Gandhara. It must be remembered that the last Turk Shahi king was detested by the general population due to general negligence in everyday duties and the cumbersome taxes imposed due to Arab dominance.

4. In addition, Lagturman was described as having bad manners and a worse behaviour on account of which people complained of him greatly to the Vizier.¹⁰ This Vizier was none other that Kallar, the primordial Hindu Shahi king. Clearly the stars were in his favour.

5. These factors indicate the house of Turk Shahi had become unpopular at this point, and had to reconcile to the new Lords of Kabul in order to potentially maintain their relevance.

1. The Last two Dynasties of the Shahis by Abdur Rehman.

2. Forgotten Kings: The Story of the Hindu Shahi Dynasty by Changez Jan.

3. Kitab al-Hind by Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni.

4. V. Minorsky in his commentary on the subject in the Hudud al-Alam.

5. The Arab Conquest of Central Asia by Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb.

6. Hayatila (the plural of Haital) is the Arabic form of Hephthalites. According to one tradition the Hayatila met by Ahnaf were Turks.

7. The Last Two Dynasties of the Shahis by Abdur Rehman.

8. Mafatih al-'Ulum by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi.

9. Refer to Abdur Rehman’s commentary on the topic.

10. Kitab al-Hind by Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni.