Hindu Polity: A Constitutional History of India in Hindu Times c15.33

c15.33

§ 58. The other two states—the Kshatriyas⁴ and the Śreṇīs⁵—appear as neighbours in Sind in the records of the Macedonian writers.⁴ The Kshatriyas are called by them Xathroi. European scholars have taken it as a caste denomination; that it is a proper name of a political body is now disclosed by the Artha-Śāstra. Ptolemy also mentions the nation or community Xathroi. Various terms have been used by Classical writers to denote what seems to be Agra-Śreṇīs or the First Śreṇīs⁵ Apparently, the Śreṇīs were sub-divided into internal units, and the one which came in contact with Alexander was that of the “First Śreṇis."¹ Such divisions seem to have existed among the Yaudheyas, whose coins, marked "2" and "3," have been found.²