Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c16.86

c16.86

On the other hand, names may not be explained as eponymous or personifications without more ado (p. 13). Thus countries are said sometimes to have been named after kings, such as Gāndhāra,² Ānarta,³ and Sauvīra;⁴ and similarly towns, such as Śrāvastī,⁵ Hastināpura⁶ and Vaiśālī⁷ from the kings who founded them. To assert that such kings are merely eponymous is to disregard the evidence supplied by many countries and all times. One might equally assert that Alexander, Seleucus and Constantine were merely eponymous heroes of Alexandria, Seleucia and Constantinople; or that Columbus, Tasman and Rhodes were mythical persons invented to account for Columbia, Tasmania and Rhodesia. It has been a universal practice to name countries, towns, mountains and rivers, especially in newly developed regions, after discoverers, conquerors, founders and celebrated men, and the same method must have been adopted by the Aryans who conquered North India and founded new kingdoms and towns there.