Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c6.3581

v1.c6.3581

Sanskrit authors speak of both Aśmakā and Aśvakā. It is not possible to say whether these represent two distinct tribes or whether they are variant names for the same people. Asaṅga mentions Aśmaka in his *Sūtrālaṅkāra* as a territory on the basin of the Indus. This would make it identical with the Assakenus of Greek writers, that is to the east of the Sarasvati, about twenty-five miles from the sea on the Swat valley. Pāṇini mentions the Aśmakas.¹¹ The *Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa* and the *Bṛhat Saṃhitā* place Assaka to the north-west. The Assaka capital, Potana, it has been suggested, is the Paudanya of the Mahābhārata.¹² In the Commentary to Kautilya’s *Arthaśāstra*, Bhaṭṭasvāmī identifies Aśmaka with Mahārāṣṭra.¹³