A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.118

c5.118

APARĀNTA. ‘On the western border.’ A country which is named in the Vishnu Purāna in association with countries in the north; and the Vāyu Purāna reads the name as Aparita, which Wilson says is a northern nation. The Hari-vansa, however, mentions it as “a country conquered by Parasu-rāma from the ocean,” and upon this the translator Langlois observes: “Tradition records that Parasu-rāma besought Varuna, god of the sea, to grant him a land which he might bestow upon the Brāhmans in expiation of the blood of the Kshatriyas. Varuna withdrew his waves from the heights of Gokarna (near Mangalore) down to Cape Comorin” (As. Researches, v. 1). This agrees with the traditions concerning Parasu-rāma and Malabar, but it is not at all clear how a gift of territory to Brāhmans could expiate the slaughter of the Kshatriyas by a Brāhman and in behalf of Brāhmans.