Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.489

v1.c3.489

Abhyāvartin is also referred to as a Pārthava. Ludwig⁴ and Hillebrandt⁵ maintained that he is thus a Parthian, the latter using the evidence of the two places mentioned in the description⁶ of Daivavāta’s victories, Hariyūpīyā and Yavyāvatī, as proofs for the western position of Abhyāvartin’s people in Arachosia, in Iran. But Zimmer⁷ is probably right in holding that the name Pārthava merely means ‘a descendant of Pṛthu,’ and that its similarity to the Iranian Parthians is only on a par with the numerous other points of identity between the Indian and Iranian cultures.