The Son of the King

Iranistic Notes on Gāndhārī kṣabura

Abstract

The hitherto obscure Gāndhārī word kṣabura- should be compared with the famous Middle Persian title/name /šā(h)buhr/ ‘son of the king’ and has been borrowed from one of the Iranian-speaking groups that have invaded Gāndhāra, such as the Indo-Scythians or the Indo-Parthians. The Gāndhārī kṣabura- still preserves the initial *xš- in the Iranian word, which is in accord with its ultimate etymology from *xšāyaθiya-puθra-.