Tribes in Ancient India c44.2

c44.2

The Purāṇas make a mess in the mention of this people. The *Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa* in one context reads it as Naiṣikas (LVII, 48), but in the same canto in another context reads it as Nāsikyāvas (LVII, 51), and still in another place correctly as Nāsikyas (LVIII, 24). There is no doubt that at all these places one and the same people of ancient Nasik is meant. The *Vāyupurāṇa* reads Nairṇikas (XLV, 127) which the *Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa* reads Naiṣikas, and instead of Nāsikyāvas of the same source, it reads Nāsikyas. The *Matsyapurāṇa* reads Vāsikas (CXIII, 50). This confusion makes it evident that the people and the region were not so widely celebrated. This people moreover does not seem to have been known to the authors of the Epics.