Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s18.18

v1.c3.s18.18

Dakṣiṇā-patha (lit., ‘the road to the south’), ‘the south country,’ is found, as a designation of the Deccan, as early as the Baudhāyana Dharma Sūtra,¹ coupled with Surāṣṭra. A similar expression is dakṣiṇā padā, ‘with southward foot,’ in the Rigveda,² referring to the place where the exile (parā-vṛj) goes on being expelled. This no doubt simply means ‘the south’ beyond the limits of the recognized Āryan world, which even as late as the Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad³ appears as bounded by the Vindhyas on the south.