The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c28.3

v1.c28.3

As regards the land itself, we may distinguish the forest, the pasture or grazing-ground, and the cultivated area¹. The forests must have been much more extensive than at present, and they clearly comprised both relatively inaccessible tracts inhabited by wild unsubdued tribes and others which were within the reach of the administration, visited by trappers and hunters, utilised for raw material, reserved for elephant-grounds, state hunting-grounds, parks, and Brāhman settlements. The pasture must have included both large spaces (*vīvīta*) occupied by the nomad, tent-dwelling² ranchers, who were the direct descendants of the old Vedic tribes³, and also more restricted areas in the neighbourhood of the villages. The latter, which then as now were the main feature of the country, had their definite boundaries, their village halls,—no doubt representing the forts of ancient times,—and their independent internal economy. Less, if at all, organised were the stations (*ghosha*)⁴, or hamlets which formed the headquarters of the ranching class.