Early History of the Dekkan down to the Mahomedan Conquest c8.2

c8.2

[1] THE word "Dakkhan" represents the vernacular pronunciation of the Sanskrit word Dakshiṇa, meaning "southern," used to designate the portion of the Indian Peninsula lying to the south of the Narmadâ The name more usually met with in Sanskrit works and elsewhere is Dakshiṇâpatha or "the Southern Region " That this name was in ordinary use in ancient times is shown by the fact that the author of the Periplus calls that portion of the country Dakhinabades¹ In the vernacular or Prâkṛit speech of the time, the Sanskrit Dakshiṇâpatha must have become Dakkhiṇâbadha or Dakkhiṇâvadha by the usual rules, and the Greek writer must have derived his name from this popular pronunciation The shorter form of the name also must have been in use, since in the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era, Fah-Hian,² the Chinese traveller, was told at Benares that there was a country to the south called Ta-Thsin, which word corresponds to the Sanskrit Dakshiṇa