Kambuja was the ancient name of Cambodia. This name is obviously derived from Sanskrit Kamboja, the name of a well-known ancient tribe of Indo-Iranian affinities, still living as Kamboj & Kamboh in northern India and Pakistan.

The "Kamboja" frequently referenced in ancient Sanskrit literature always refers to Kamboja located in the Uttarapatha of the South Asia, and not to Trans-Gangetic Kambuja or Kamboja located in Indochina, as is erroneously supposed by some writers. However, the later (Medieval) Pali chronicles Chamadevivamsa, Jinakalamali, Mulasasna etc., composed in Chiangmai (Thailand), all used Kamboja to refer to the Indochinese Kambuja.

The alternative names Kampuchea or Kampuchia for Cambodia are also clearly derived from the ancient Kambuja.

the religious leaders from the Kamboja tribe in India arrived in the Mekong Delta to preach the Hindu and Boudhist religions to the local Khmer people of the Mekong Delta, and later these Kamboja religious leaders fron India married with the local Khmer women and persuaded the local Khmer people to adopt the name Kamboja for their new nation composed of new leaders from the Kamboja tribe from India.

This does not mean that the Khmer people are the direct descendants of the Kamboja tribe from India or from the Pamirs .

See also:

• Kambojas
• Cambodia
• Kambojas and Kambodia
• Etymology of Kamboja