China in the Mahābhārata

The Chinas or Chīnaḥ (Sanskrit चीन:) are a people mentioned in ancient Indian literature from the first millennium BC, such as the Mahabharata, Laws of Manu, as well the Puranic literature.

The name "Cina" is commonly believed to have been derived from the Qin (Tsin or Chin in older transliterations) dynasty which ruled in China from 221 BC, or the preceding state of Qin which existed since the 9th century BC. The Greco-Romans referred to China as Sina, or Sinae.

There are however a number of other suggestions for the origin of the word. Some Chinese and Indian scholars argued for the state of Jing (荆) as the likely origin of the name. Another theory by Geoff Wade is based on a polity known as Yelang, in what is now China's Guizhou province. The inhabitants of this region referred to themselves as zina.

The Sanskrit epic work Mahabharata written between the 8th and 9th centuries BC contains certain references to China, referring to its people as the Chinas tribe.

In the Mahabharata, the Chinas appear together with the Kiratas among the armies of king Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisa (Assam). In the Sabhaparvan, the same king is said to be surrounded by the Kiratas, and the Cinas. Also in the Bhismaparvan, the army of Bhagadatta is said to consist of the Kirtas and the "yellow-colored" Cinas.

Bhishamaparva of Mahabharata also lists the Cinas with the Mlechha tribes of the north like the Yavanas, Kambojas, Kuntalas, Hunas, Parasikas, Darunas, Ramanas, Dasamalikas. These verses date to fifth century AD when the Hunas came into contact with Sassanian dynasty of Persia

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