1902,] S. C. Vidyabhusana —Yratya and Samkara Theories of Caste . 163 
only different forms of the same word. Now the Kushana tribe, to 
which King Kanishka belonged, has been designated by Chinese authors 
as Kwei-sliwang, which was a branch of the very powerful race called 
by Chinese writers as Yuechi that lived in Central Asia on the Chinese 
borders. It is therefore not altogether improbable that Karana, Korana 
Kushana, Kwei-shwang, and Khaurana were names of one and the same 
tribe that lived in Central Asia. 
_ >. ■ ■ w • . ^ f . 
Now Karana is the name of a well-known Indian caste. People 
belonging to that caste live in various parts of India, occupying social 
position below the Rajputs. 
The people called Karana also live in the eastern hills of Assam, in 
Burma, and Siam. 
Khasa .—The Khasas came from Kasia (Kashgar F ) in Skythia (in 
Central Asia) and settled in large numbers in the Upper Punjab, where 
they were, according to the Buddhist chronicles of Ceylon, subdued by 
Asoka about 260 B.C. They were chief among the mountain tribes that, 
according to the Rajatarangini, bordered on Kasmira. 
McCrindle observes:— 
“ Baber knows also that a people of the name of Khas is indigenous 
to the high valleys in the neighbourhood of the eastern Hindu-Koh ; 
and with every reason, we attach to this indigenous people the origin of 
the name of Kashgar, which is twice reproduced in the geography (of 
Ptolemy) of these high regions.* 
The Khasas live in great number in Northern India under the name 
of Khas or Khasiya. Referring to the Khasiyas, Rev. Mr. Sherringf 
observes:— 
“ This is an extensive tribe of Rajputs inhabiting the hill country 
of Garhwal, Kumaon, and Dehra Dun. Their right to the rank of 
Rajputs is questioned by some Hindus.The natives of 
Kumaon look upon the Khasiyas as the oldest inhabitants of the pro¬ 
vince. ” 
Dravida .—The Dravidians of Southern India, consisting of innumer¬ 
able tribes of diverse social positions, have been collectively designated 
as Ksatriyas (Yratya) in as much as they were noted for their valour 
even before the rise of the Andhra, Chola, Pandya, and other dynasties. 
Greek legends as Kanyski Korano, and in the Baetrian Pali legends and Mani Kyala 
inscription he is called Kanishka the Kushana, or “of the Gushana family’’ con¬ 
necting him with the tribe called by Chinese Kwei-shwang. Korano and Kushana 
are only different forms of the same word. (Beal’s Records, Yol. I, p. 56, note.) 
* McCrindle’s Ptolemy, p. 304. 
t Sherring’s Hindu Castes and Tribes, Yol. I, pp. 242-43, 
J. i. 22 
