Prakrit Proper Names (Agamic Index I) v2.c8.s2.276

v2.c8.s2.276

1. Malaya An Aṇāriya tribe and its habitat.¹ It is perhaps the Mallai, Malloi or Malli tribe which maintained its tribal organisation from the time of Pāṇini up to the time of Samudragupta. It was then settled in the Punjab in the district of Multan. Later on it migrated towards the south and carved out its own territory which came to be known as Mālaya or Mālava.² It seems that Malaya and Mālaya are mentioned as two different peoples on account of their two settlements which came into being in two different times. Malaya seems to be a reference to the country of that name in the Punjab and Mālaya or Mālava stands for Malwa in Central India. It is just probable that this Malaya might be a reference to the Purāṇic Maladas who lived to the east of Prayag and to the west of Shahbad district of Bihar.³