Social Life in Ancient India: Studies in Vatsyayana's Kamasutra c6.302

c6.302

Sindh was included in Kālidāsa's Aparānta. Sir R. G. Bhandarkar was the first to identify Aparānta with the western coast: he says, "Aparānta must be the western coast below the Sahyādri; for, Kālidāsa represents Raghu, in the fourth canto of the Raghuvamśa to have crossed the Sahya to conquer that country, and to have by means of his immense army made the sea appear 'as if it touched the Sahya mountain.'"¹ Dr. Bhagavanlal Indraji following him, says, "It corresponds with modern Konkaṇa, the district extending from Gokarna, in the Karwar collectorate to the Damān Gaṅgā, the frontier river of Gujrāt, or perhaps even further north to the Tāptī."² He quotes in support of his statement a passage from the Commentary to the Kamasutra and a passage in the Mahābhārata, where it is asserted that Arjuna visited all the holy places in Aparānta up to Prabhāsa in Kāthiāwār. Dr. G. Bühler in a note also accorded his agreement with this view.⁴ Pundit Indraji also observes⁵ on the authority of the Viśvakoṣa quoted by Mallinātha that Sūrpāraka or Sopārā was the capital of Aparanta. Dr. Burgess also agrees with this view.⁶