Historical Geography of Ancient India c9.172

c9.172

*Nāsika (Nasik)*.—It is mentioned in the two oldest inscriptions (20 and 22) in the caves. The people of Nāsika are described as making a grant in the inscription No. 20 and a cave also is described in the same inscription and a cave is described in the inscription No. 22 as the gift of a śramaṇa minister of Nāsika. Nāsika also occurs in the Barhut votive label No. 38. It is the same as Nāsiki or Naisika of the Purāṇas and Janasthāna of the *Rāmāyaṇa*. It is Nāsikya of the *Bṛhatsaṃhitā* (XIV. 13). It occurs in Luders' List (Nos. 799, 1109) as Nāsika, a town. According to the *Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa* it was situated on the Narmadā. Janasthāna was within the reach of Pañcavaṭī on the Godāvarī. It came to be known as Nāsika due to the fact that here Śūrpaṇakhā’s nose was cut off by Lakṣmaṇa. Nāsika is modern Nasik which is about 75 miles to the north-west of Bombay. Nasik, the headquarters of the Nasik district, lies on the right bank of the Godāvarī, about four miles north-west of the Nasik Road station. During the reign of the Sātavāhana kings of Andhra, Nāsika was a stronghold of the Bhadrayānīya school of the Buddhists (Barua and Sinha, *Barhut Inscriptions*, pp. 16, 128; cf. Luders' List Nos. 1122–1149).