Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c13.s2.21

c13.s2.21

Recruitment. The horses of Chandragupta's cavalry, considering its numerical strength, had to be recruited from various places which are thus named by Kauṭilya [II. 30]: Kamboja [Afghanistan, the Kaofu of Hiuen-Tsang], Sindhu (Sind) Āraṭṭa (Panjab), Vanāyu (Arabia), Balhīka [Balkh], Sauvīra (Sind or Indus delta), Pāpeya, and Tāitala (unknown). 'Western horses' in general are highly prized in the *Mahābhārata*, but those of Sindhu and Kamboja are most mentioned [*Mbh.* III. 71, 12]. Equally famous were the steeds from Balhi [*Mbh.* I, 221, 51; v. 86, 6., etc.]