Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c19.s4.66

c19.s4.66

*Deśa*, too, is often used as a synonym of *Rāshṭra*, or *Janapada*. It was under a *Deśādhikṛita*, the *Deshmukh* of mediaeval times, an officer mentioned in the Hīrahaḍagalli grant of Śiva-Skanda-varman. The next smaller unit was apparently the *Vishaya* governed by the *Vishayapati*.⁴ But sometimes even ‘*Vishaya*’ was used as a synonym of *Deśa* or *Rāshṭra*, and there were cases in the Post-Gupta period of the use of the term to designate a larger area than a *Rāshṭra*.⁵