Geography of Early Buddhism c10.2

c10.2

According to the Brahmanical tradition as contained in the *Kāvyamīmāṃsā*, Dakshiṇāpatha is the region lying to the south of Māhismatī ('Māhiṣmatyaḥ parataḥ Dakshiṇāpathaḥ') which has been identified with Māndhātā on the Narmadā. From the definitions of Madhyadeśa as given by Vasiṣṭha and Baudhāyana (I, 8; I, 1, 2, 9, etc., respectively) it seems that the Dakshiṇāpatha region lay to the south of Pāripātra which is generally identified with a portion of the Vindhyas. The Dharmaśāstra of Manu seems, however, to corroborate the boundary as given by the Sūtra writers, for, from Manu's boundary of the Madhyadeśa, it is evident that the Southern Country or the Dakshiṇa janapada lay to the south of the Vindhyas (see ante: Boundaries of the Madhyadeśa).