India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c7.s1.6

c7.s1.6

Another class of geographical names is that of regions or provinces (*vishaya*, IV.2.52-54), called after their peoples, e.g., *Śaiba*, the region of the Śibis; *Āprītaka*, the region of the Āprītas (=Afridis); *Mālavaka*, the region of the Mālava people. Similarly, *Rājanyaka* (of the Rājanya tribe), *Traigartaka* (Kangra), *Vāsātika* (of the *Vasātis* or the Ossadioi, Sibi in Baluchistan), *Vairāṭaka* (Bairāṭ in Jaipur), *Audumbaraka*, and so forth. The names according to *vishaya* seem to be based on the ethnic distribution of population over particular areas for the time being without reference to the form of government.