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India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c7.s5: Section 5. Towns and Villages

India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī c7.s5

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Section 5. Towns and Villages

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The units of settlement comprised (1) *nagara* (town) (2) *grāma* (village) (3) *ghosha* (abode of herdsmen (VI.2.85) and (4) *kheṭa* (hamlets, VI.2.126). Pāṇini mentions separately the villages and towns of Eastern India (*Prāchām grāma-nagarāṇām*, VII.3.14), but with reference to Vāhīka and Udīchya country he uses the term *grāma* in a generic sense to include all centres of population (IV.2.117 and IV.2.109). Patañjali in commenting on the distinctions between the terms *grāma* and *pura* remarks that these should not be settled by rules of grammar but by local usage (*tatrāti-nirbandho na lābhaḥ*, III.321).

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The two terms *grāma* and *nagara* were used indiscriminately in the Vāhīka country, whereas the distinction between them in eastern India was much more sharp. This may be due to the fact that in the Punjab the villages also had grown in prosperity like the towns, and hence the word *grāma* there included *nagara* also in its connotation. The Greek accounts testify to the existence of about five hundred towns, all rich and prosperous, in the Vāhīka country, where naturally the old distinction of *grāma* and *nagara* must have lost its sharpness as reflected in the *Ashṭādhyāyī*.

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*Endings of place-names*—Pāṇini uses these various endings to frame rules for explaining the formation of certain words derived from the places concerned, and this is explained by the following examples:—

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¹ *Nagara* (IV.2.142), e.g., Mahānagara and Navanagara, as names of towns 'not in the north' (*anudīchām*, VI.2.89) but in the east. Mahānagara as an eastern town is to be identified with Mahāsthāna, capital of north Bengal or Puṇḍra, and Navanagara with Navadvīpa, capital of west Bengal or Vaṅga. The latter seems to have sprung up as a 'new town'

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when the southern route from Rājagṛiha to the sea outgrew in importance the route along the north bank of the Gaṅgā, from Mithilā and Aṅga to Puṇḍra. In between Mahānagara and Navanagara lay Gauḍapura (VI.2.100), modern Gauḍa, an important town on the route from Champā to Mahāsthāna and a trading centre for *guḍa* manufactured in the Puṇḍra country.

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2. *Pura* (IV.2.122), which is mentioned by Pāṇini as an ending in the following names of towns, e.g., Arishṭapura (Pāli Ariṭṭhapura, a city in the kingdom of Śivi in Vāhīka), Gauḍapura (VI.2.100, Gauḍa in Maldah in Bengal); Hāstinapura (the well-known epic town in Meerut district), Phalakapura (Phillaur on the Sutlej in Jullundhar district.); Mārdeyapura (VI.2.101), probably Maṇḍāwar in Bijnaur district where the ancient route to Hastinapur crossed the Gaṅgā on its opposite bank.

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Patañjali mentions Nāndīpura (IV.2.104; II.298) as a *Vāhīkagrāma*.

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The *Kāśikā* adds the following names: Kāntipura (IV. 2.122); Lalāṭapura (probably in the region called Lalāṭāksha, modern Ladakh; Sabhāparva, 47.15), Kārṇipura, Nārmapura, Śivadattapura (VI.2.99) and Śivapura (a northern town, probably in the Śivi country).

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3. *Grāma* (IV.2.142). Patañjali mentions a *grāma* called Ishukāmaśamī, both eastern and western (*pūrva, apara* (VI.1.85, III.62) to which the *Kāśikā* adds the name Kṛishnamṛittikā (VII.3.14), both situated in Eastern India (*Prāchām*).

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4. *Kheṭa* (VI.2.126), a small hamlet; Hindi and Gujrati *kheṛā*.

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5. *Ghosha* (VI.2.85), a settlement of cowherds (*ābhīrapallī*).

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6-9. *Kūla, Sūda, Sthala, Karsha* (VI.2.129), endings applied to names of villages according to the *Kāśikā* (*grāmanāmadheyāni*) which gives the following examples: Dākshikūla, Māhakikūla; Devasūda, Bhājīsūda; Dākshikarsha. Kalhaṇa refers to *sūda* as a place-name ending (*Rāj.* I.157, 167). *Karsha* of Pāṇini might be the same as *karshū* (pit or hollow) of older literature (*Drāhyāyaṇa Gṛihya*, III.2.31; *Khādira*, III.5.36).

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The ending *sthala* occurs in the name Kapisthala implied in *sūtra* (VIII.3.91, modern Kaithal in Karnal district). It may be noted that the ending *sthala* had an alternative form *sthalī* (IV.1.42). Pāṇini takes it in the sense of a natural (*akṛitrima*) dry land. The *Kāśikā* instances under *sthalī* Dāṇḍāyanasthalī and Māhakisthalī.

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10-11. *Tīra and Rūpya* (IV.2.106). In another *sūtra* Pāṇini gives the name Kāstīra as that of a *nagara* (VI.1.155). Patañjali takes it to be a *Vāhīka-grāma* (IV.2.104, II.293).

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The *Kāśikā* mentions Kākatīra, Palvalatīra, and Vṛikarūpya, Śivarūpya, respectively as examples of these endings.

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12-15. *Kachcha, Agni, Vaktra, Garta* (IV.2.126). No examples of these names are found in the *sūtras* and in Patañjali, but there was the well-known seaport called Bhṛigukachchha (Bharukachchha, *Jāt.* No. 463) called Broach. The *Kāśikā* instances under *kachchha* Dāru-kachchha and Pippalī-kachchha (Rajpipla near the mouth of the Narbada); under *agni* Kāṇḍāgni and Vibhujāgni (modern Bhuj); under *vaktra* Indravaktra and Sindhuvaktra; under *garta* Bahugarta and Chakragarta.

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Here we have four pairs of eight geographical names, preserved as grammatical examples from antiquity. A careful glance at the map of western India affords clue to their identification. Standing at the head of the Gulf of Cambay, we have to our left Pippalī-kachchha, the sea-coast of Pippalī, comprising the delta areas of Sābarmatī, Mahī, Narmadā and Tāptī rivers, of which the old name is still preserved in Pīplā or Rāj-Pīplā. To our right is the sea-coast of Kathiawar, literally equivalent of Dāru-kachchha (*Dāru*=*Kāshṭa*).

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*Agni* refers to a burning sandy tract, equivalent to Skt. *Iriṇa* or Rann. Vibhujāgni refers to the great Rann of Cutch- Bhuj in the north-west, and Kāṇḍāgni to the Little Rann of Cutch towards the north-east, traces of its name being preserved in the sea-port of Kāṇḍalā.

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Of the pair of names ending in *vaktra*, Sindhu-vaktra clearly refers to the Indus Delta in lower Sindh depending for its irrigation on that river, and therefore a *nadīmātṛika* region. Opposed to it were the *deva-mātṛika* tracts of Baluchistan where the parched soil depends for irrigation on whatever it gets as scanty rainfall. The country was therefore called Indra-vaktra as opposed to Sindhu-vaktra. The Mahābhārata mentions the exact nature and location of these two regions (Sabhāparva, 51.11-12), the agricultural produce in one being called *Indrakṛishṭa* and in the other *nadīmukha* (*Indrakṛishṭair-vartayanti dhānyair-ye cha nadīmukhaiḥ*). The former lay across the river Indus (*Pāre-Sindhu*, Sabhā., 51.11); and comprised the peoples of Kej-Makran named *Kitavāḥ* (=Kej), *Pāradāḥ* (=Hingulaj) and *Vairāmāḥ* (=Rambakia of Alexander's historians; Sabhāparva, 51.12).

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The last pair of names refers to Bahugarta and Chakragarta. Bahugarta refers most likely to the valley of the Sābarmatī, Skt. Śvabhramatī, literally the river of holes or pits (*śvabhra*=hole, pit). Chakragarta refers to the region of Chakra-tīrtha on the Gomatī near Dvārkā in Prabhāsa-kshetra. The two indicated the peculiarity of the natural terrain formed by undulating loessic dunes.

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Pāṇini refers to *garta*-ending names again in *sūtra* IV.2. 137 and separately mentions Trigarta. Patañjali names Śvāvidgarta as a *Vāhīka-grāma* (IV.2.137), to which the *Kāśikā* adds Śṛigālagarta, Vṛikagarta, both *Vāhīka-grāmas*.

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¹⁶ *Palada* (IV.2.142) found in such names as Dākshipalada. This word in the *Atharvaveda* (IX.3.17) denotes straw and may have denoted a place in the vicinity of which stumps of various weeds and grasses were found.

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¹⁷ *Arma* (VI. 2. 90). Pāṇini mentions Bhūtārma,

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Adhikārma, Sañjīvārma, Madrārma, Aśmārma and Kajjalārma (VI.2.91), to which the *Kāśikā* adds Dattārma, Guptārma, Kukkuṭārma, Vāyasārma, Bṛihadarma, Kapiñjalārma, Mahārma and Navārma. The *Tāṇḍya Brāhmaṇa* mentions a lake (*hrada*) called Sthūlārma north of the Sarasvatī, where on its pasture-lands 100 cattle had grazed and increased to 1,000 (XXV.10.8). The word *arma* in the *Baudh. Śrauta Sūtra* (ix.1; ix.3) is explained by the commentator as a village in ruins (*vinaṣhṭagrāma*) and deserted (*śūnya*).

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18. *Vaha* (IV.2.122). Pāṇini mentions Pīluvaha in *sūtra* VI.3.121, on which the *Kāśikā* adds Ṛishīvaha, Kapīvaha, Munīvaha, Piṇḍavaha, Dāruvaha and Phalgunīvaha (probably modern Phagwara, IV.2.122). Patañjali names Kaukkuḍīvaha as a *Vāhīka-grāma*.

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19. *Hrada* (IV.2.142). The *Kāśikā* repeats the stock-examples Dākshi-hrada and Māhaki-hrada. The *Mahābhārta* knows Rāma-hrada in Kurukshetra (Āraṇyakaparva, 81.22).

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20. *Prastha* (IV.2.122; IV.2.110). Pāṇini mentions Karkīprastha and Mālāprastha in *sūtras* VI.2.87-88, and in the *Gaṇa-pāṭha* adds: Maghī-, Makarī-, Karkandhū-, Śamī-, Karīra-, Kaṭuka-, Kavala-, Badarī, (VI.2.87), Śālā-, Śoṇā- (Sonepat), Drākshā-, Kshaumā-, Kāñchī-, Eka- and Kāma-. To these the *Kāśikā* adds: Indraprastha (well-known epic town), Kuṇḍa-, Hrada-, Suvarṇa-, Dākshi-and Māhaki, the latter two being stock-examples.

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In *Pāli* the term *prastha* is thus explained by Buddhaghosha: 'It denotes a place outside the *grāma*, a wasteland not used by men either for ploughing or sowing (*Dhammapada-Aṭṭhakathā*, 1.210; *Dīgh.* 1.71). It may be noted that the places ending with *prastha* (Hindi, *pat*) are confined mostly to the Kuru country, such as Panipat, Sonepat, Baghpat, Tilpat, etc., and to the region of the Himalayas watered by the Ganges.

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²¹ *Kanthā* (IV.2.142). Pāṇini gives the interesting information that this ending was in use in Uśīnara (II.4.20)

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and Varṇu (Bannu) (IV.2.103). He names the following places:—

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Chihaṇakantha, Maḍarakantha, Vaitulakantha, Paṭatkakantha, Vaiḍālikarṇakantha, Kukkuṭakantha, Chitkaṇakantha, the first one in *sūtra* VI.2.125 and the rest in *gaṇa*. The ending and the place-names seem to show that Pāṇini was drawing upon the linguistic material of the frontier country and its non-Aryan dialects. *Kanthā* was a Śaka word for a town as in the expression *kadhavara=kanthāvara* occuring in a Kharoshṭhī inscription: "Here belongs Sogdian expression *kanda-* "city", and Śaka *kantha* "city", earlier attested in *Markantha*" (Lüders, *JRAS.*, 1934, p. 516; also Sten Konow, *Corpus of Kharoshṭhī Inscriptions*, p. 43; *Śaka Studies*, pp. 42, 149, *kantha* "town" in feminine gender). H. W. Bailey also points out that the Persion word *kand*, Khotanese *kanthā*, Sogdian Buddhist Sanskrit *kndh*, Pashto *kandai*, Asica (the dialect of the Ṛishikas or Yue-chis) *kandā*, are all akin to Sanskrit *kanthā* (H. W. Bailey, Asica, *Transactions of the Philological Society*, 1945, pp. 22-23).

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It may be noted that in the time of Pāṇini and as stated by Darius I, in his inscriptions, the Śakas were living beyond the Oxus (*Śaka tyiy paradraya* 'the Śakas to the east of the Caspian Sea, Naksh-i-Rustam Ins.). That region naturally still abounds in *kanthā*-ending place-names, as Samar-kand, Kho-qand, Chim-kand, Tash-kent, Panj-kand, Yar-kand, all indicating Śaka influence.

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The *Mahābhārata* speaks of the Śakas as living in this region, named by it as Śākadvīpa, and particularly mentions its places like *Chakshu* (=Oxus), Kumud (=*Komedai* of Herodotus, a mountain in the Śaka country), *Himavat* (=Hemodan mountain), *Sītā* (=Yarkand river), *Kaumāra* (=Komarai of Herodotus), *Maśaka* (=Massagetai of Strabo), *Ṛishika* (=Asioi), *Tushāra* (=Tokarai).

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Pāṇini also must have known the Śakas, not in Seistan but in their original home in Central Asia. How a string of *kanthā*-ending place-names was found in the Uśīnara country in the heart of the Panjab, is an unexplained problem. It points to an event associated with Śaka history even before Pāṇini, possibly an intrusion which left its relics in place-names long before the Śaka contact with India in the second century B.C. Kātyāyana mentions *Śakandhu*, *Karkandhu*, two kinds of wells of the Śakas and the Karkas (*Karkians*), which may be identified as the stepped well (*vāpī*) and the Persian wheel (*arghaṭṭa*) well respectively.

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Lastly we owe to the *Kāśikā* the following names ending in *kanthā*; Sauśamikantha, Āhvarakantha, both in the Uśīnara country in Vāhīka (II.4.20).

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TOWNS—Pāṇini's geography mentions towns which may be grouped under two divisions, called *Udīchyagrāma* (IV.².109) and *Prāchyagrāma* (VII.³.14). Among the *Udīchya* towns some lay in the *Vāhīka* country (*Vāhīka-grāmas*, IV.2.117), and some in its southerly part known as Uśīnara (IV.2.118), while others were located outside Vāhīka towards the west (the present North-West Frontier Province).

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² *Sauvāstava* (IV.2.77) capital in the valley of the Suvāstu or Swat.

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³ *Varaṇā* (IV.2.82). It may be identified with the place called Aornos by the Greeks as a fort in the country of the Assakenoi (*Āśvakāyanas*). It may correspond to modern Ūṇa, pronounced Ūṇra in Pashtu, situated a few miles west of the Indus, as pointed out by Sir Aurel Stein who gave its conjec-

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The *sūtras* mention the following towns which naturally figure in them as being the most important in those days:

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¹ *Kāpiśī* (IV.2.99). It was a town known for its wine *Kāpiśāyana* as already stated. According to Pliny Kāpiśī was destroyed by the Achaemenian emperor Cyrus (Kurush) in the sixth century B.C. It is identified with modern Begram, about 50 miles north of Kābul on the ground of a Kharoshṭhī inscription found there naming the city (Sten Konow, *Ep. Ind.*, Vol. XXII (1933), p. 11).

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tural restoration as *Avarṇa*. It really corresponds to Varaṇā mentioned by Pāṇini (*Arch. Survey Memoir.*, No. 42, pp. 89-90).

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⁴ *Vārṇava* (IV.2.77; IV.2.103). It was so called from its situation in the Varṇu or Bannu valley.

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⁵ *Śalātura* (IV.3.94), modern Lahur situated at a distance of four miles from Ohind on the right bank of the Indus, in the northern angle of the junction of the Kabul river, identified as the birthplace of Pāṇini.

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⁶ *Tūdī* (IV.3.94), not identified.

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⁷ *Varmatī* (IV.3.94), Bimran (Masson, *Ariana Antiqua*, p. 69), or possibly Bamian.

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⁸ *Kūchavāra* (IV.3.94); it was Kūchā, the old name of Turkestan appearing in a Sanskrit manuscript and inscriptions from that region (Lüders, *Zur Geschichte und Gographie Ostturkestans*, p. 246). Varāhamihira mentions the Kūchikas amongst the people of the north.

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⁹ Takshaśilā (IV.3.93); Pāṇini applies the term *Tākshaśila* to those whose ancestors (*abhijana*) lived at Takshaśilā. Takshaśilā existed in all its glory at the time of Alexander's invasion and is described by the Greek writers as "a great and flourishing city, the greatest, indeed, of all the cities which lay between the Indus and the Hydaspes" (*Alexander's Invasion*, p. 92).

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¹⁰ *Śārkara* (IV.2.83), modern Sukkur in Sind on the Indus opposite Rori. The *Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa* knows of a western people called Śarkarāḥ (Pargiter, *Mārk. P.*, p. 373).

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¹¹ *Sāṅkala* (IV.2.75) probably the same as the town Sangala, the capital of the republican peoples called Kaṭhoi (Kaṭhas) by the Greeks, which was strongly fortified; modern Sāngalāwālā Ṭibā in Jhang district (*Alexander's Invasion*, p. 115).

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¹² *Kāstīra* (VI.1.155), mentioned as a Vāhīka city by Patañjali.

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¹³ *Ajastuṇḍa* (VI.1.155), not identified.

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14. *Chihanakantham* (VI.2.125), a town in the Uśīnara country where the word *kanthā* was a popular ending.

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15. *Arishṭapura* (VI.2.100), same as Ariṭṭhapura, a city of Sivi kingdom referred to in Buddhist literature.

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16. *Gauḍapura* (VI.2.100), Gauḍa, the well-known town in Maldah district in Bengal.

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17. *Kapisthala* (VIII.3.91), modern Kaithal in Karnal district.

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18. *Katri* (IV.2.95).

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19. *Hāstinapura* (VI.2.101), same as Hastinapur on the Gaṅgā in Meerut district.

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20. *Phalakapura* (VI.2.101), probably Phillaur in Jullundhur district.

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21. *Mārdeyapura*, (VI.2.101), probably Maṇḍāwar in Bijnaur district.

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22. *Paladi* (IV.2.110).

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23. *Roṇī* (IV.2.78), probably Roḍi in Hissar district.

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24. *Sāṅkāśya* (IV.2.80), modern Sankissā, situated on the north bank of the river Ikshumatī in Farrukhabad district. The Sāṅkāśyādi group also includes Kāmpilya, modern Kampil in Kaimganj Tehsil of Farrukhabad.

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25. *Āsandīvat* (VIII.2.12; IV.2.86), name of the royal city of Janamejaya Pārīkshita, in which the horse for his famous sacrifice was bound (*Vedic Index*, I. 72); the *Kāśikā* equates it with Ahisthala.

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26. *Śikhāvala* (IV.2.89), name of a *nagara* according to the *Kāśikā*; probably Sihawal on the left bank of the Son in Rewa State. Pāṇini again refers to Śikhāvala as a proper name (*Danta-Śikhāt saṁjñāyām* (V.2.113).

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27. *Mahānagara* and *Navanagara* (VI.2.89), names of two eastern towns; the former may be identified with Mahāsthāna and the latter with Navadvīpa, both ancient towns in Puṇḍra and Vaṅga, i.e. North and West Bengal.

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*TOWNS IN THE GAṆAS*—The *gaṇas* mention the names of about 500 towns. Of these the more famous are noticed here, while a full list is given in an Appendix:

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1. *Saunetra*, modern Sunet in Ludhiana district, three miles south-west of Ludhiana town, with a large mound and other ruins indicative of an old city; here were found Yaudheya, Āgreya and other coins of the pre-Christian period (Cunningham, ASR., Vol. XIV., p. 65; Pāṇini *Saṅkalādi-gaṇa*).

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2. *Śairīshaka* (IV.2.80); same as Sirsā, headquarters of a subdivision of the same name in Hissar district, and situated on the north side of a dry bed of the Ghaggar, having considerable ancient ruins.

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3. *Taushāyana* (*Pakshādi-gaṇa*, IV.2.80); modern Ṭohānā, a place of historical and archaeological interest in the Fathabad Tehsil of Hissar district.

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4. *Śrāvastī* (IV.2.97).

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5. *Vārāṇasī* (IV.2.97).

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6. *Kauśāmbī* (IV.2.97).

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7. *Pāvā* (IV.2.97), probably Pāwā of the Pāli texts, capital of the Malla country.

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8. *Saubhūta* (IV.2.75), usually identified with the kingdom of the Sophytes mentioned by the Greek writers (M'Crindle, *Alexander*, p. 280). The place is especially noted by the Greeks for a ferocious breed of dogs whose fame spread to Greece even before Alexander's time (*ibid.*, p. 364). The *Rāmāyaṇa* also refers to similar dogs bred in the Kekaya country of the Salt Range. It describes them as bred in the royal kennels (*antaḥpuréti-saṁvṛiddhān*), strong like tigers *vyāghra-vīrya-balopamān*), big in size (*mahākāyān*) and with big teeth (*mahādaṁshṭrān*, *Rāmāyaṇa*, II. 70.20). It was probably this breed of dogs that was referred to by Pāṇini as *kauleyaka* (IV.2.96). Saubhūta was thus a part of Kekaya in the Salt Range.

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The *Kāśikā* gives the following examples of towns with the ending *nagara*: Nāndīnagara, Kāntinagara in the north (*udīchām*); Suhmanagara and Puṇḍranagara (the capitals of Suhma and Puṇḍra provinces in eastern India, VI.2.89); Pāṭaliputra and Ekachakrā (VII.3.14; IV.2.123 in the east); Madranagara (in the north, VII.3.24); and Dākshingara (in the country of Pāṇini's kinsmen, a citizen of which was called Dākshinagarīya, IV.2.142); Māhakinagara (IV.2.142).

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With reference to Pāṭaliputra it is interesting to note that it was a vast metropolis with two divisions which the *Kāśikā* records as Pūrva-Pāṭaliputra (eastern, on the Ganges) and Apara-Pāṭaliputra (western, on the Son, VII.3.14). A citizen of Pāṭaliputra was called Pāṭaliputraka (*Ropadhetoḥ Prāchām*, IV.2.123).

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That ancient India possessed a large number of flourishing centres of population in the form of cities or towns is also attested to by Greek writers. According to them the Panjab was full of towns, centres of industry and economic prosperity. Many of these figured as forts or centres of defence such as the famous town of Massage (Maśakāvatī) or Aornos (Varaṇā) in the country of the Aśvakas. The free clan called the Glaukanikoi (identical with the Glauchukāyanakas of the *Kāśikā* on Pāṇini IV.3.99) whose country lay in the fertile and populous regions lying in the south of Kāśmīr (the Bhimber and Rajauri districts) between the upper courses of the Jhelum and the Chenab and the Ravi, had as many as thirty-seven cities, the smallest of which contained not fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, while many contained upwards of 10,000. There were also a great many villages which were not less populous than the towns (M'Crindle, *Alexander*, p. 112). Strabo affirms that in the territories of the nine nations situated between the Jhelum and the Beas, such as the Malloi, Oxydrakai and others, there were as many as 500 cities (*Ibid*, p. 112). Megasthenes makes the following general statement on the cities of Mauryan India: "Of their cities it is said that the number is so great that it cannot be stated with precision" (M'Crindle's *Megasthenes and Arrian*, p. 209).

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The above accounts of Greek historians do not seem to suffer from exaggeration, as only in the lists attached to the two *sūtras* IV.2.75 and IV.2.80 we have about 500 names, and these may be further augmented if we add the testimony of the other *gaṇas*, as those headed by Suvāstu (IV.2.77), Varaṇa (IV.2.82), Madhu (IV.2.86), Utkara (IV.2.90), Naḍa (IV.2.91), Kattri (IV.2.95), Nadī (IV.2.97), Kāśi (IV.2.116), Dhūma (IV.2.127), Karkī (VI.2.87), Cihana (VI.2.125), etc. This gives us a substantial list of about 750 town names, a case of curious coincidence with Greek evidence. Probably both Pāṇini and the Greek geographers depended on a common source or tradition. The grammatical literature is now a valuable source of information regarding the old and forgotten cities of India. This literature like Yuan Chwang's *Travels* has preserved landmarks in the light of which arahaeological old sites may be verified. It may be further noted that certain names of tribes and *gotras* as recorded in the *gaṇas* (cf. Aśvādi, IV.1.110) point to places with which they were connected.

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