DISCLAIMER: I do not support or oppose any of the things said here. This blog post is supposed to present facts in an informative manner and is not meant to offend, discriminate against, or criticize anyone. Have fun reading!
‘Mleccha’ is the Sanskrit word for ‘barbarian’ or ‘uncouth person’ and it features prominently in many of the ancient Hindu texts, especially the Itihasas or epics. The Mahabharata makes a lot of reference to the Mlecchas during the conquests of the “entire earth” by the Pandavas. (Here, the entire earth realistically refers to Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent + parts of East Asia; or what Indians knew of in the 2nd century AD.) For context, anyone who wasn’t strictly Indo-Aryan was a Mleccha in those times. Later, the meaning changed to include the common people who spoke Prakrits and not the refined noble Sanskrit.
Mlecchas are said to rule the earth in the end of Kali Yuga (the 4th and final era of Hindu cosmology, in which we are in just now) and follow non-Dharmic principles where the caste system is reversed and everyone does religious sacrifices and people don’t respect Brahmins. Due to this, the lifespan of people will be only 16 years and they will be physically stunted and weak. At the end of Kali Yuga, Kalki, the avatar of Vishnu, is born. He will be dressed in white with a white horse and the symbols of Vishnu drawn on his chest. He will also carry a sword to kill all the enemies of Dharma and restart the Universe. This is the story told in the Kalki Purana about the destruction of the world, and ‘Mlecchas’ are very negatively portrayed in this story.
The Mlecchas are not, as some people believe, completely at the bottom the caste system. While they are considered unclean, many of the peoples would have been counted as Kshatriyas were it not for their non-Brahmanical practices. According to the Hindu texts, the lists of Mlecchas are: Dakshinatyas, Keralas, Dravidas, Andhras, Karnatas, Pulindas, Vindhyas, Tusharas, Sakas, Khasas, Guhyakas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Gandharas, Dasas, Bahlikas, Pahlavas, Sinhalas, Chinas and Hunas. Many of these tribes are connected with the Asuras, Yakshas, and Rakshasas, malevolent deities that fight against the Devas.
Many of these peoples are Iranians, such as the Pahlavas (Persians), Dasas (Dahae), Kambojas, Sakas (Scythians), Guhyakas, etc., and the Tushara represents the Tocharians of Xinjiang. Many Dravidian peoples are mentioned as well, such as the Andhras (Telugus), Dravidas (Tamils) Keralas (Malayalis), Dakshinatyas (Kannadigas), and possibly the Pulindas and Vindhyas. The Nepali Khasas and the Sri Lankan Sinhalas, while ethnically Aryan, are also Mleccha because they were culturally and linguistically very different. The Chinas (Chinese) and Hunas, or the Huns, are also considered Mlecchas.
According to the Mahabharata, during the spat between sage Vasishta and the king Vishwamitra, the Mlecchas were sprung from the tail of Kamadenu, Vasishta’s magical cow that Vishwamitra coveted. The hordes overran Vishwamitra’s army after the king killed all of Vasishta’s 100 sons and Vishwamitra himself was forced to retreat to a mountain where he meditated for a thousand years. After this battle, the Mlecchas spread to the far reaches of the earth and practiced ‘sinful’ practices such as eating beef and worshipping false gods (as everyone else does for any given religion). Later, the Mleccha kings were defeated by both the Pandavas and Karna in their respective world campaigns.
The word ‘Mleccha’ has some interesting and particularly specific origins. The word itself isn’t an Indo-European word and has no cognates in non-Indic languages. The most popular theory suggests that ‘mleccha’ was used to designate the Indus Valley people. The main evidence we have is that the Mesopotamians called the Indus Valley ‘Meluhha’ which also is a foreign word. The etymology for both these words come from the Dravidian words ‘mel-akam’ or high country, referring to the Balochistan highlands that was the north-western border of the Indus Valley civilization. An interesting origin, and a meaning which carried over to the descendants of the Indus Valley and other peoples.
Today ‘mleccha’ has plenty of descendants in various North Indian languages, with the various meanings of dirty, bad, or uncouth. Just goes to show how stereotypes can actually influence the language we use. Anyway, come back next time for new articles!
Anay Ganesh 