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The History and Culture of the Indian People v1.c19.s3.t1: 1. Geographical Names

The History and Culture of the Indian People v1.c19.s3.t1

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1. Geographical Names

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We may form a fair idea of the Aryan settlements in the post-Rigvedic period, by utilizing the geographical data of the later Vedic texts and following the same line of enquiry as in the last two sections.

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The word *Samudra* in later Vedic texts generally, if not invariably, means the sea. The reference in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* (1. 6. 3. 11) to the eastern and western oceans probably suggests that the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean were known to the people of that period.

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Trikakud (i.e. having three peaks), as the name of a mountain in the Himālayas, has been identified with modern Trikota. Krauñcha, which occurs only in the *Taittirīya Āraṇyaka* (1. 31. 2), has been identified with that part of the Kailāsa mountain on which Mānasa Sarovara is situated.²¹ Maināka is mentioned in the same text as a mountain in the Himālayas. Though not directly mentioned, Vindhya has been definitely alluded to in the *Kaushītaki Upanishad* by the term “southern mountain.”

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Turning to the rivers, the most striking fact is the disappearance of the Sarasvatī. The place where the river vanished in the desert was known as Vinaśana (Patiala District), and it reappeared at Plaksha Prāsravaṇa at a distance of forty-four days’ journey from Vinaśana.

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Naturally enough, the rivers further to the east find a prominent mention in this period. Revā, the name of the Narmadā which occurs only in post-Vedic literature, is traced by Weber in the word Revottaras found in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*; but the interpretation is doubtful. The Sadānīrā has been mentioned in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* (I. 1. 1. 14 ff.) as the boundary between the Kosalas and Videhas. Some lexicographers have identified it with the Karatoyā, but according to the *Vedic Index*, it is too far east. Weber and Eggeling identify it with the Gandak, and Pargiter with the Rāptī. Though the *Mahābhārata* (Cr. Ed. II. 18. 27), by placing the Sadānīrā between the Gaṇḍak and Sarayu, distinguishes between the Sadānīrā and Gandak, the *Vedic Index* pronounces the identification of the two as “probably correct.”²²

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The later Vedic texts mention various place-names which can be identified with reasonable certainty. Parichakrā, mentioned in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* (XIII. 5. 4. 7) as the name of a Pañchāla town where king Kraivya Pañchāla performed his horse-sacrifice, has been identified by Weber with the later Ekachakrā which was near Kāmpila. Āsandīvat is the title of the capital of Janamejaya Pārikshita where the horse for his famous Aśvamedha was bound (*Śat. Br.*, XIII. 5. 4. 2; *Ait Br*, VIII. 21) It was apparently in the Kurukshetra. It was probably identical with Nāgasāhvaya (Hastināpura) which was abandoned by Nichakshu, a descendant of Parikshit, on its being washed away by the Ganges, and the capital was removed to Kauśāmbī.²³ Kāmpīla, found in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*, has been identified with modern Kampil on the old Ganges between Budaun and Farrukhābād. Naimisha forest, mentioned as being clearly of special sanctity, has been identified with Nimsar at a short distance from the Nimsar station of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway. The *Taittirīya Āraṇyaka* (V. 1. 1) mentions the Manus as the *Utkara* (heap) of Kurukshetra. This can be identified with the later Marusthala (Maru deserts) as it stood in the relation of *Utkara* to the sacred altar Kurukshetra. The existence of Kauśāmbī which plays an important part in the life of king Udayana Vatsarāja can be inferred from the word Kauśāmbeya in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* (XII. 2. 2. 13). The town has been identified with modern Kosam on the Yamunā.

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The later Vedic literature refers to the three broad divisions—Brahmāvarta or Āryāvarta, Madhyadeśa, and Dakshiṇāpatha. There is also a five-fold division with the enumeration of the residents therein which we come across for the first time in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* (VIII. 14), though it has, in a way, been anticipated by the *Atharvaveda* (XIX. 17. 1. 9). The *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* divides the whole country into five parts, viz. 1. *Dhruvā Madhyamā Pratishṭhā diś* or Madhyadeśa or middle country, 2. *Prāchīdiś* or the eastern quarter, 3. *Dakshiṇādiś* or the southern quarter, 4. *Pratīchīdiś* or the western quarter, and 5. *Udīchīdiś* or the northern quarter. The extent and limits of these divisions cannot be defined with any degree of plausibility.

Cites (6)