India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c8.s13.t1.11

c8.s13.t1.11

*THE NATURE OF EASTERN SPORTS*—Some of these sports relating to the plucking of flowers (*prāchya-krīḍās*) are illustrated in early Indian art. According to Dr. Vogel: "It is interesting that these games are said to be peculiar to Eastern India, as this tallies with the mention of the *Śāla-bhañjikā* festival in Buddhist literature. It is evidently Magadha, the cradle of Buddhism, and the neighbouring countries, that may be taken to have been its home.” (The Woman and Tree or Śālabhañjikā in Indian Literature and Art, *Acta Orientalia*, Vol. VII. pp. 203-204).