Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahabharata: Upayana Parva c5.87

c5.87

Another allusion which is of some importance in determining the date of the Sabhāparva refers to the conquest of the Vāṭadhāna Brāhmaṇas in Madhyamikā by Nakula in his expedition to the west (M.B., II, 29, 7). The first line of the verse (Ib.) says, तथा मध्यमिकांश्च वाट धाना- न्द्विजानथ ‘and in Madhyamikā he conquered the Vāṭadhāna Brāhmaṇas’. The statement looks quite simple but its import is of considerable importance. The siege of Madhyamikā by the Yavanas was such a famous event in the second century B.C., in the reign of Puṣyamitra Śuṅga, as to merit its being cited as a grammatical example by Patañjali. We shall return to the events presently. In this connection a few words about the Śuṅgas would not be out of place here.