The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c5.s3.34

c5.s3.34

Daśârṇa—The name means "ten forts ; *ṛiṇa* = a fort." 1. The *Mahâbhârata* mentions two countries by the name of Daśârṇa, one on the west, conquered by Nakula (Sabhâ P. ch. 32) and the other on the east, conquered by Bhîma (Sabhâ P., ch. 30). Eastern Malwa, including the kingdom of Bhopal, was Western Daśârṇa, the capital of which was Vidiśâ or Bhilsa (Dr. Bhandarkar's *History of the Dekkan*, sec. III). It is mentioned in Kâlidâsa's *Meghadûta* (Pt. I, vs. 25, 26). Its capital at the time of Asoka was Chaityagiri or Chetiyagiri Eastern Daśârṇa (the Dosarene of the *Periplus*) formed a part of the Chhattisgarh ("thirty-six forts") district in the Central Provinces (Prof. Wilson's *Vishṇu P.*, Hall's ed., Vol. II, p. 160, note 3) including the Native State of Patna (*JASB.*, 1905; pp. 7, 14). 2. The river Dasan which rises in Bhopal and falls into the Betwa (*Mârkaṇḍeya P.*, ch. 57); Garrett identifies the river with "Dhosaun" in Bundelkhand (Garrett's *Classical Dictionary*). It is the Dosaran of Ptolemy.