However, the Mahabharata not only suggests a distinction, but also adds an internal division – sub-divisions within the Rishikas known as the Uttara ("northern") and the Parama ("supreme") .
[2] Classical literary texts state that the Rishikas were neighbors of the Parama Kambojas and the Lohas in Saka-dvipa ("Sakaland") (most likely Transoxiana).
According to traditional accounts, during the 2nd century BCE a subgroup of Rishikas migrated to southwestern India and settled there, crossing Afghanistan, Balochistan, Sindhu and Sovira.
[14] The name "Asii" (or "Asioi" mentioned by Strabo, according to one view, alludes to their connections with horses (asva or assa).
Based on the earlier information from Megasthenes' (350-290 BC) Indica, Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) mentions Osii (Orsi), Asoi, Aseni, Taxillae and Peucolaitae as Indian peoples living in the upper Indus valley south of the Hindu Kush.
[15][16] The Taxillae and Peucolaitae are Gandharans of the Indian traditions while the Asoi, Osii/Orsi and Aseni appear yet other variants of the Assaceni (Aspasioi) and Assacani (Assakenoi)—the Asvayana and Asvakayana of Pāṇini and Katyayana).
"The kings of the Shakas, Pahlavas, Daradas and the Kamboja Rishikas live in the west in Anupadesa, or the seacoast regions."