History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.322.3

v4.c62.322.3

vol. V p. 50) (*Continued from last page*) very detailed and accurate boundaries of a village of 200 nivartanas are given. A nivartana was equal to a square of twenty vaṁśas on each side, each vaṁśa being equal to ten cubits; so that a *nivartana* covered an area of 40000 cubits (200 x 200) i. e. about 90000 square feet, while an acre is equal to 43560 square feet. Therefore the village referred to in the above grant was over 400 acres in extent. The Mahābhāṣya (on vārtika 8 on Pāṇ. I. 1. 7) has an interesting discussion on the several meanings of the word grāma in popular language viz. a number of houses (as in 'the grāma was burnt), the village wall or ditch (as in 'he entered the grāma'), 'men' (as in 'the grāma had gone'), a village with its forests and bushes, with its boundaries (such as rivers and hills) and with embanked fields (as in 'a grāma was acquired'). 'ग्रामशब्दोयं बह्वर्थः। अस्त्येव शालासमुदाये वर्तते ... अस्ति सकारणके ससीमके सस्थण्डिलके वर्तते । तद्यथा ग्रामो लब्ध इति । As in modern times villages are found named after trees the same was the case in the days of Pāṇ. and Patañjali शिरीषाणामदूरभवो ग्रामः शिरीषाः तस्य ग्रामस्य वनं शिरीषवनम् । महाभाष्य on पा. I. 2. 51 (vol I. p. 224.).