History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v1.c6.s14.43

v1.c6.s14.43

Among the countries and peoples frequently mentioned by Kauṭilya, several are interesting. He speaks of silks from the land of the Cīnas¹⁷⁹ and blankets from Nepal. Keith says that the name Cīna being derived from the Thsin dynasty in China (which began its rule in 247 B. C.) this would show that the Kauṭilīya could not have been composed about 300 B. C. No one however knows how the word Cīna was derived and besides as Keith admits the passage may be an interpolation. He speaks of the *Saṅgha* of the Vṛṣṇis (1. 6) and the *Śreṇis* (corporations) of Kṣatriyas in the countries of Kāmbhoja and Surāṣṭra that lived by vārtā (agriculture and trade) and by the profession of fighting and the corporations of the Licchcivika, Vṛjika, Mallaka, Madraka, Kukura, and the Kurupañcālas that live on the title ‘rāja’ (XI. 1). Some of these tribes such as the Licchavis, Vṛjis (Vajjis in Pāli) and Mallas are well-known from ancient Buddhist works. What is meant by ‘rājaśabdopajīvinaḥ’