India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c9.2

c9.2

VṚITTI (*Economy*)—The science of economics later known as *Vārttā* may be connected with the word *Vṛitti*, or economic pursuits, such as *kṛishi* (agriculture), *vāṇijya* (trade and commerce) and *pāśupālya* (cattle-rearing), about which Pāṇini furnishes interesting particulars. Pāṇini uses the general term *jānapadī vṛitti* (IV.¹.42) to indicate the economic pursuits followed in a region or State. The term *jānapadī* was older than Pāṇini and is referred to by Yāska in the expression *Jānapadīshu vidyātaḥ purūsha-viśesho bhavati*, 'One gains celebrity by proficiency in the economic pursuits of the Janapada State' (*Nirukta*, I.16).