The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c28.21

v1.c28.21

Towns were numerous, in so much that the Greeks report as many as two thousand placed under the rule of Porus, and Megasthenes ascribes some thirty to the Andhra country alone¹¹. They ranged from the market town (*saṃgrahaṇa*), serving the uses of ten villages, through the county towns (*khārvaṭaka* and *droṇamukha* at a river's mouth) for 200 or 400 villages, the provincial capital (*sthānīya*, or Thānā), the great city (*nagara*, *pura*) or port (*paṭṭana*) to the royal capital (*rājadhānī*), all provided with defences of varying solidity¹. There were also forts on the frontiers or in special situations, such as in the middle of lakes or swamps, hidden in forests, or perched on heights².