The History and Culture of the Indian People v1.c19.s3.t1.7

v1.c19.s3.t1.7

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.