Bahlikas.
Bahlikas in plains of Punjab
Salya, the king of Madra referred to in the Mahabharata has been called a
Bahlika Pungava i.e. foremost among the Bahlikas.
[17][18]
Princess Madri from the Madra Royal Family has also been referred to as Bahliki i.e. princess of Bahlika
clan.
[19]
In the digvijay expedition of
Pandava Arjuna, there is a reference to a people called Bahlikas whom Arjuna had to fight with.
[20] They are stated to be located on the southern side of Kashmir as neighbors to the Ursa and Sinhapura kingdoms.
[21]
A passage in Ramayana attests that on the way from
Ayodhya to
Kekaya, one had to pass through the country of Bahlikas, located somewhere in Punjab. This shows that ancient Bahlikas had moved to and planted a settlement in Punjab too.
[22][23] This is also verified from the epic Mahabharata.
This shows that there was yet another Bahlika country besides the one located in Bactria.
Dr P. E. Pargiter points out that there was also another Bahlika settlement in the plains of Punjab alongside or south of Madradesa.
[24][25]
Bahlikas as mlechcha kings in Kali Yuga
The Bahlikas have been equated to
Mlechchas in the later Brahmanical literature. There is a distinct prophetic statement in the Mahabharata that the mlechcha kings of Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Bahlikas etc. will rule unrighteously in
Kali yuga. (3.188.34-36).
[56]