Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahabharata: Upayana Parva c5.85

c5.85

The reference to Rome or its exact Latin feminine form Romā is somewhat difficult to explain in the 2nd century B.C. as no Indian embassy reached the Romans until Augustus in the 1st century B.C.⁵⁶ It seems however possible that the Indians who had frequent intercourse with the Seleucids of Syria were acquainted with the name of Rome and perhaps also with its growing power, and the author of the Mahābhārata could not restrain himself from adding the name of Rome in the conquests of the Pāṇḍavas. But this is a pure suggestion and must be treated as such.