Āryāvarta: Difference between revisions

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The approximate extent of *Āryāvarta* during the late Vedic period (ca. 1100-500 BCE). *Aryavarta* was limited to northwest India and the western Ganges plain, while Greater Magadha in the east was habitated by non-Vedic Indo-Aryans and other people, who gave rise to Jainism and Buddhism.^[1]^[2]

Cemetery H, Late Harappan, OCP, Copper Hoard and Painted Grey ware sites.

Āryāvarta (Sanskrit: आर्यावर्त, lit. 'Land of the Aryans',^{[lower-alpha 1]}^{[web 1]}^{[web 2]} sa) is a term for the northern Indian subcontinent in the ancient Hindu texts such as Dharmashastras and Sutras, referring to the areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and surrounding regions settled during and after the Indo-Aryan migrations by Indo-Aryan tribes and where Indo-Aryan religion and rituals predominated. The limits of Āryāvarta extended over time, as reflected in the various sources, as the influence of the Brahmanical ideology spread eastwards in post-Vedic times.^[3]^[4]

Geographical boundaries[edit | edit source]

Ganges-Yamuna doab[edit | edit source]

Course of the Ganges; Ganges-Yamuna doab western part of the green area.

The Baudhayana Dharmasutra (BDS) 1.1.2.10 (perhaps compiled in the 8th to 6th centuries BCE) declares that Āryāvarta is the land that lies west of Kālakavana, east of Adarsana, south of the Himalayas and north of the Vindhyas, but in BDS 1.1.2.11 Āryāvarta is confined to the doab of the Ganges-Yamuna. BDS 1.1.2.13-15 considers people from beyond this area as of mixed origin, and hence not worthy of emulation by the Aryans. Some sutras recommend expiatory acts for those who have crossed the boundaries of Aryavarta. Baudhayana Srautasutra recommends this for those who have crossed the boundaries of Aryavarta and ventured into far away places.^[5]

The Vasistha Dharma Sutra (oldest sutras ca. 500–300 BCE) I.8-9 and 12-13 locates the Āryāvarta to the east of the disappearance of the Sarasvati River in the desert, to the west of the Kālakavana, to the north of the Pariyatra Mountains and the Vindhya Range and to the south of the Himalayas.^[6]

Patanjali's Mahābhāṣya (mid-2nd century BCE) defines Āryāvarta like the Vashistha Dharmasutra.^{[citation needed]} According to Bronkhost, he "situates it essentially in the Ganges plan, between the Thar Desert in the west and the confluence of the rivers Ganges (Ganga) and Jumna (Yamuna) in the east."^[3]

From sea to sea[edit | edit source]

The Manusmṛti (dated between 2nd cent. BCE to 3rd cent. CE) (2.22) gives the name to "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya Ranges, from the Eastern Sea (Bay of Bengal) to the Western Sea (Arabian Sea)".^[7]^[8]

The Manava Dharmasastra (ca.150-250 CE) gives aryavarta as stretching from the eastern to the western seas, which Bronkhorst directly associates with the growing sphere of influence of the Brahmanical ideology.^[3]

Greater Magadha and its association with Aryavarta[edit | edit source]

Following the description of Aryavarta in early Brahmanical sources, Bronkhorst notes that the Greater Magadha area was outside Aryavarta, the heartland of Vedic Brahmanism, and proposes that "Greater Magadha" had a distinct culture.^[9] According to Bronkhorst, Aryavarta was primarily associated with a single state, the Kuru kingdom. According to Bronkhorst, the various emperors of Magadha had little interest in Brahmanism,^{[lower-alpha 2]} and the conquest of the Vedic heartland by the Nanda and Maurya rulers deprived the Brahmins of their patrons, threatening the survival of the Vedic ritual tradition and creating opportunities for Buddhists and Jains to spread their religions outside the confines of Magadha.^[14] According to Bronkhorst, the Brahmins overcame their deprivation of patrons by providing new services^[15] and by incorporating the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain along with local religious traditions, giving rise to the Hindu synthesis.^[14]

Geoffrey Samuel, following Thomas Hopkins, also proposed that the Central Gangetic region formed a "distinct but related cultural complex," as exemplified by the Painted Grey Ware, which did not spread past the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.^[16]^{[lower-alpha 3]} It was the area of the earliest known rice cultivation in South Asia,^[16] and had reached the Chalcolithic when the Aryans first entered northwestern India.^[16] According to Hopkins, the Aryan societies and this eastern Gangetic culture formed two separate sources for the development toward iron-working and urbanisation.^[17] According to Hopkins, the Brahmins of the Aryan, Vedic cultural sphere perceived this eastern, non-Aryan, Jain-Buddhist cultural sphere as wholly different,^[17]^{[lower-alpha 4]} with a "world of female powers, natural transformation, sacred earth and sacred places, blood sacrifices, and ritualists who accept pollution on behalf of their community."^{[lower-alpha 5]} Yet, Samuel notes that the distinction "was cultural, not racial," assuming that "populations in both regions were mixtures of earlier Indo-Aryan and non-Indo-Aryan speaking populations."^[18] While forming different cultural spheres, they also interacted, and shared some common Indo-Aryan elements."^[18]

Critics have questioned some of these assertions.^[19] The claim of a sharp cultural divide between east and west was questioned by Konrad Klaus in his 2011 review of "Greater Magadha."^[19]^[20] According to Norelius, Wynne and Witzel questioned the supposed lesser influence of Brahmanisation in early Magadha, or Bronkhorst's proposed revision of textual chronology, while Fynne criticised Bronkhorst for overlooking the role of socioeconomic and political developments in shaping new ideological trends.^[19]^[9]^[21]

In his 2011 review, Wynne calls Bronkhorst's argument "compelling" and "persuasive,"^{[lower-alpha 6]} but also notes that "Bronkhorst [...] argues that the ideas of karma, rebirth, and liberation originated within Greater Magadha," proposing later dates for some Upanishads to make this possible. Yet according to Wynne, "[t]his is problematic, however, because these ideas are stated in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya Upaniṣads--texts usually assigned to the sixth or fifth century BCE, early enough to suppose an origin within the sphere of Vedic religion."^[9] Instead, Wynne proposes that the Yājñavalkya-kāṇḍa (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad chapters 3-4) was composed in the Videha-Kosala region by a Vedic school which was isolated from the Vedic mainstream, circulated as a separate work outside Aryavarta, and "was an important source for the ideas of karma, rebirth, and liberation,"^[9] "eventually trigger[ing] the culture of world renunciation, asceticism, and meditation" as an "unintended consequence of the early Videhan kings’ attempt to legitimize their rule through the Vedic tradition."^[9]

Additionally, Patrick Olivelle, writing in 1993, is critical of scholars who portray the Śramaṇa seers of Magadha as non-Brahmanical, anti-Brahmanical, or even non-Aryan precursors of later sectarian ascetics. According to Olivelle, scholars who attempt to draw such sharp divisions are reaching conclusions that far exceed the available empirical evidence.^[22]

Other regional designations[edit | edit source]

The Manusmṛti mentions Brahmavarta as the region between the Sarasvati and the Drishadvati in northwest India. The text defines the area as the place where the "good" people are born, the twice-born who adhere to the Vedic dharma, in contrast to the mlecchas, who live outside the Aryan territory and Vedic traditions.^[23] The precise location and size of the region has been the subject of academic uncertainty.^[24] Some scholars, such as the archaeologists Bridget Allchin and Raymond Allchin, believe the term Brahmavarta to be synonymous with Aryavarta.^[25]

Madhyadesa extended from the upper reaches of the Ganges and the Yamuna to the confluence of the two rivers at Prayaga, and was the region where, during the time of the Mahajanapadas, the Kuru kingdom and Pañcāla existed. The entire region is considered sacred in the Hindu mythology as gods and heroes mentioned in the two epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, lived here.^[26]^[27]

Political history[edit | edit source]

Kanyakubja or modern day Kannauj was a central city of Aryavarta and was used as capital-city from 510 CE to 1197 CE under Maukharis, Harshavardhana, Varmans, Pratiharas and Gahadavala dynasty.^[28]^[29]^[30]^[31]^[32]

The Gurjara-Pratihara king in the tenth century was titled the Maharajadhiraja of Aryavarta.^[33] Devapala, the emperor of Pala Empire was known to be the Overlord of Aryavarta.^[34]

Notes[edit | edit source]

↑ The Sanskrit word ā́rya (आर्य) was originally an endonym and a cultural term designating those who spoke Vedic Sanskrit and adhered to Vedic culture (including religious rituals and poetry), in contrast to an outsider, or an-ā́rya ('non-Arya').By the time of the Buddha (5th–4th century BCE), it took the meaning of 'noble'.
↑ In contrast to the Jain legends which developed 900 years later,^[10] contemporary Greek evidence states that Chandragupta Maurya, the founder and first emperor of the Maurya Empire and grandfather of Ashoka, was associated with Vedic Brahminism.^[11] Chandragupta sponsored Vedic sacrifices^[12] and Brahmanical rituals.^[13] He also delighted in hunting,^[11] an activity not typically associated with the strict non-violence of later sectarian ascetic sects such as Jainism and Buddhism.
↑ Witzel (2009) makes the same observation (p.9): "Kosala, Videha, Magadha are not characterized by the expanding western, Kuru-dominated Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh [...] the East was characterized by the indigenous Black and Red Ware/Ochre Colored Pottery (BRW/OCP) culture that had only two-tiered settlements (villages and market places) during the pre-450 BCE period."
↑ Hopkins, as quoted by Samuel (2010, p. 50): To say that there was tension between those two worlds - the non-Aryan/Buddhist/Jain world on the one hand, and the Aryan/Brahmanical/Vedic world on the other - is to understate the case. In the sixth century BCE there were really two different worlds, at least as perceived by their main representatives, or perhaps - as ssen especially by the Brahmins - two opposite worlds.""
↑ Hopkins, as quoted by Samuel (2010, p. 51)
↑ Wynne: "it can hardly be doubted that a distinct religious culture based on them emerged in and around the kingdom of Magadha. An overwhelming amount of evidence suggests that this rival to Vedic India dominated the growing urban civilization of the eastern Gangetic plains during the early Buddhist period, without any significant contribution from orthodox Brahminism."

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Bronkhorst 2007.
↑ Samuel 2010.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Bronkhorst 2011, p. 4.
↑ Scharfe, Hartmut (1989). Handbuch der Orientalistik: Indien. BRILL. p. 12. ISBN 9004090606.
↑ Agarwal, Vishal: Is there Vedic evidence for the Indo-Aryan Immigration to India
↑ Neelis 2010, p. 194.
↑ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 70.
↑ Michael Cook (2014), Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective, Princeton University Press, p.68: "Aryavarta [...] is defined by Manu as extending from the Himalayas in the north to the Vindhyas of Central India in the south and from the sea in the west to the sea in the east."
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 ^9.4 "Wynne on Bronkhorst, 'Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India' | H-Net". networks.h-net.org. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
↑ Jansari 2023, pp. 20–22.
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 Majumdar, Raychauduhuri & Datta 1960.
↑ Eraly 2002, pp. 414–415.
↑ Sastri 1988, pp. 163–164.
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 Bronkhorst 2016, p. 9-10.
↑ Bronkhorst 2015, p. 2.
↑ ^16.0 ^16.1 ^16.2 Samuel 2010, p. 49.
↑ ^17.0 ^17.1 Samuel 2010, p. 50.
↑ ^18.0 ^18.1 Samuel 2010, p. 61.
↑ ^19.0 ^19.1 ^19.2 Norelius 2023, p. 459.
↑ Konrad Klaus (2011), Review of J. Bronkhorst: Greater Magadha, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 161, 216-21, 2011
↑ Witzel, Michael, 2009. “Moving Targets? Texts, Language, Archaeology and History in the Late Vedic and Early Buddhist Periods.” IIJ 52(2–3), 287–310.
↑ Olivelle, Patrick (1993). The Aśrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution. Oxford University Press. p. 68-70. ISBN 978-0-19-534478-3 – via Archive.org.
↑ Killingley, Dermot (2007). "Mlecchas, Yavanas and Heathens: Interacting Xenologies in Early Nineteenth-Century Calcutta". In Franco, Eli; Preisendanz, Karin (eds.). Beyond Orientalism: The Work of Wilhelm Halbfass and Its Impact on Indian and Cross-cultural Studies. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 125. ISBN 978-8-12083-110-0.
↑ Scharfe, Hartmut (1989). The State in Indian Tradition. BRILL. p. 12. ISBN 900-4-09060-6.
↑ Allchin, Bridget; Allchin, Raymond (1982). The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-52128-550-6.
↑ Mukhopadhyay, Mihir Mohan (1984). Sculptures of Ganga-Yamuna Valley. Abhinav Publications. p. 5. ISBN 9788170171898.
↑ Singh, Pitam (2003). Women Legislators in Indian Politics. Concept Publishing Company. p. 62. ISBN 9788180690198.
↑ Hussain jafri, Saiyid Zaheer (2016). Recording the Progress of Indian History. Primus Books. p. 148. ISBN 978-93-80607-28-3.
↑ Wink, Andre (2002). Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries. E.J. Brill. p. 288. ISBN 0-391-04173-8.
↑ Wink, Andre (1989). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: The slave kings and the Islamic conquest, 11th-13th centuries. E.J. Brill. p. 240. ISBN 90-04-09249-8.
↑ Warder, Anthony Kennedy (1992). Indian Kāvya Literature. Motilal Banarsidas. p. 240. ISBN 978-81-208-0445-6.
↑ Wink, Andre (2021). Al-Hind, Volume 1 Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th-11th Centuries. E.J. Brill. p. 241. ISBN 978-90-04-48300-2.
↑ André Wink (2002). Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries. BRILL. p. 284. ISBN 978-0-391-04173-8.
↑ D.), Mukhalesura Rahmāna (Ph (1998). Sculpture in the Varendra Research Museum: A Descriptive Catalogue. Varendra Research Museum. pp. XXXV.

Sources[edit | edit source]

Printed sources

Bronkhorst, Johannes (2007). Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India. BRILL. ISBN 9789004157194.
Bronkhorst, Johannes (2011), Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism, BRILL
Bronkhorst, Johannes (2015), "The historiography of Brahmanism", in Otto; Rau; Rupke (eds.), History and Religion:Narrating a Religious Past, Walter deGruyter
Bronkhorst, Johannes (2016), How the Brahmains Won, BRILL
Bronkhorst, Johannes (2017), "Brahmanism: Its place in ancient Indian society", Contributions to Indian Sociology, 51 (3): 361–369, doi:10.1177/0069966717717587, S2CID 220050987
Eraly, Abraham (2002), Gem In The Lotus, Penguin, ISBN 978-93-5118-014-2
Jansari, Sushma (2023), Chandragupta Maurya: The creation of a national hero in India, UCL Press, ISBN 9781800083882
Majumdar, R. C.; Raychauduhuri, H. C.; Datta, Kalikinkar (1960), An Advanced History of India, London: Macmillan & Company Ltd; New York: St Martin's Press
Michaels, Axel (2004). Hinduism. Past and present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Norelius, Per-Johan (2023). Soul and Self in Vedic India. BRILL. p. 459. ISBN 978-90-04-54600-4.
Samuel, Geoffrey (2010). The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University Press.
Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta (1988), Age of the Nandas and Mauryas, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0466-1

Web-sources

↑ Aryavarta, Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary (1899)
↑ Apte, Vaman Shivaram (1957). "Revised and Enlarged Edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary". Retrieved 1 November 2018.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{distinguish|Aryabhatta}}
+{{Short description|Historical landscape}}
-{{EngvarB|date=October 2019}}
+{{distinguish|Aryabhata}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
+{{EngvarB|date=November 2025}}
-[[File:Late Vedic Culture (1100-500 BCE).png|thumb|The approximate extent of ''Āryāvarta'' during the late [[Vedic period]] (ca. 1100-500 BCE). ''Aryavarta'' was limited to northwest India and the western Ganges plain, while [[Greater Magadha]] in the east was habitated by non-Vedic Indo-Aryans, who gave rise to Jainism and Buddhism.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2007}}{{sfn|Samuel|2010}}]]
+{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}
-[[File:Painted_Grey_Ware_sites_map_1.svg|alt=|thumb|Cemetery H, Late Harappan, OCP, Copper Hoard and Painted Grey ware sites]]
-'''Āryāvarta''' ([[Sanskrit]]: आर्यावर्त, lit. "abode of the [[Aryans|Aryas]]",{{efn|The [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] word ''ā́rya'' ([[wiktionary:आर्य|आर्य]]) was originally a cultural term designating those who spoke [[Vedic Sanskrit]] and adhered to Vedic cultural norms (including religious rituals and poetry), in contrast to an outsider, or ''an-ā́rya'' ('non-Arya').By the time of the [[Buddha]] (5th–4th century BCE), it took the meaning of 'noble'.}}<ref group=web>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/indexcaller.php?input=HK&output=SktRomanUnicode&citation=AryAvarta Aryavarta], Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary (1899)</ref><ref group=web>{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?page=356|title=Revised and Enlarged Edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary|last=Apte|first=Vaman Shivaram|date=1957|access-date=1 November 2018}}</ref> {{IPA-sa|aːrjaːˈʋərtə}}) is a term for northern parts of the [[Indian subcontinent]] in the ancient [[Hindu texts]] such as [[Dharmasastra|''Dharmashastras'']] and ''Sutras'', referring to the area of the Indian subcontinent settled by [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] tribes and where Indo-Aryan religion and rituals predominated. The limits of ''Āryāvarta'' extended over time, as reflected in the various sources, as the influence of the [[Brahmanism|Brahmanical ideology]] spread eastwards in post-Vedic times.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2011|p=4}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbuch der Orientalistik: Indien|last=Scharfe|first=Hartmut|publisher=BRILL|year=1989|isbn=9004090606|pages=12|language=en}}</ref>
+[[File:Late Vedic Culture (1100-500 BCE).png|thumb|The approximate extent of ''Āryāvarta'' during the late [[Vedic period]] (ca. 1100-500 BCE). ''Aryavarta'' was limited to [[Northwest India (pre-1947)|northwest India]] and the western Ganges plain, while [[Greater Magadha]] in the east was habitated by non-Vedic Indo-Aryans and other people, who gave rise to Jainism and Buddhism.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2007}}{{sfn|Samuel|2010}}]]
+[[File:Map of Vedic India.png|thumb|Vedic India{{source needed|date=November 2025}}]]
+[[File:Painted_Grey_Ware_sites_map_1.svg|alt=|thumb|Cemetery H, Late Harappan, OCP, Copper Hoard and Painted Grey ware sites.]]
+'''Āryāvarta''' ([[Sanskrit]]: आर्यावर्त, {{lit|Land of the [[Aryans|Aryans]]}},{{efn|The [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] word ''ā́rya'' ([[wiktionary:आर्य|आर्य]]) was originally an endonym and a cultural term designating those who spoke [[Vedic Sanskrit]] and adhered to Vedic culture (including religious rituals and poetry), in contrast to an outsider, or ''an-ā́rya'' ('non-Arya').By the time of the [[Buddha]] (5th–4th century BCE), it took the meaning of 'noble'.}}<ref group=web>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/indexcaller.php?input=HK&output=SktRomanUnicode&citation=AryAvarta Aryavarta], Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary (1899)</ref><ref group=web>{{Cite web|url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?page=356|title=Revised and Enlarged Edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary|last=Apte|first=Vaman Shivaram|date=1957|access-date=1 November 2018}}</ref> {{IPA|sa|aːrjaːˈʋərtə}}) is a term for the northern [[Indian subcontinent]] in the ancient [[Hindu texts]] such as [[Dharmaśāstra|''Dharmashastras'']] and ''[[Sutras]]'', referring to the areas of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] and surrounding regions settled during and after the [[Indo-Aryan migrations]] by [[List of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes|Indo-Aryan tribes]] and where [[Historical Vedic religion|Indo-Aryan religion and rituals]] predominated. The limits of ''Āryāvarta'' extended over time, as reflected in the various sources, as the influence of the [[Brahmanism|Brahmanical ideology]] spread eastwards in post-Vedic times.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2011|p=4}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbuch der Orientalistik: Indien|last=Scharfe|first=Hartmut|publisher=BRILL|year=1989|isbn=9004090606|pages=12|language=en}}</ref>
 ==Geographical boundaries==
 ===Ganges-Yamuna doab===
-[[File:GangesValley&Plain.jpg|thumb|right|Course of the Ganges river; Ganges-Yamuna doab western part of the green area.]]
+[[File:GangesValley&Plain.jpg|thumb|right|Course of the Ganges; Ganges-Yamuna doab western part of the green area.]]
 [[File:DoabUnitedProvincesIGI1908.jpg|thumb|right|The Ganges-Yamuna doab.]]
 The [[Baudhayana sutras|Baudhayana ''Dharmasutra'' (BDS) 1.1.2.10]] (perhaps compiled in the 8th to 6th centuries BCE) declares that Āryāvarta is the land that lies west of Kālakavana, east of Adarsana, south of the [[Himalayas]] and north of the Vindhyas, but in BDS 1.1.2.11 Āryāvarta is confined to the [[doab]] of the [[Ganges]]-[[Yamuna]]. BDS 1.1.2.13-15 considers people from beyond this area as of mixed origin, and hence not worthy of emulation by the Aryans. Some sutras recommend expiatory acts for those who have crossed the boundaries of Aryavarta. Baudhayana ''Srautasutra'' recommends this for those who have crossed the boundaries of Aryavarta and ventured into far away places.<ref>Agarwal, Vishal: ''Is there Vedic evidence for the Indo-Aryan Immigration to India''</ref>
 The ''[[Kalpa (Vedanga)#Dharmasūtras|Vasistha Dharma Sutra]]'' (oldest sutras ca. 500–300 BCE) I.8-9 and 12-13 locates the Āryāvarta to the east of the disappearance of the [[Sarasvati River]] in the desert, to the west of the Kālakavana, to the north of the [[Pariyatra Mountains]] and the Vindhya Range and to the south of the Himalayas.{{sfn|Neelis|2010|p=194}}
-[[Patanjali]]'s {{IAST|[[Mahābhāṣya]]}} (mid 2nd century BCE) defines Āryāvarta like the ''Vasistha [[Dharmaśāstra|Dharmasutra]]''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} According to Bronkhost, he "situates it essentially in the Ganges plan, between the [[Thar desert]] in the west and the confluence of the rivers Ganges (Ganga) and Jumna (Yamuna) in the east."{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2011|p=4}}
+[[Patanjali]]'s {{IAST|[[Mahābhāṣya]]}} (mid-2nd century BCE) defines Āryāvarta like the ''[[Vashistha Dharmasutra]]''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} According to Bronkhost, he "situates it essentially in the Ganges plan, between the [[Thar Desert]] in the west and the confluence of the rivers Ganges (Ganga) and Jumna (Yamuna) in the east."{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2011|p=4}}
 ===From sea to sea===
-{{See also| Sanskritization|Hindu synthesis}}
+The ''[[Manusmṛti]]'' (dated between 2nd cent. BCE to 3rd cent. CE) (2.22) gives the name to "the tract between the [[Himalayas|Himalaya]] and the [[Vindhya Range]]s, from the Eastern Sea ([[Bay of Bengal]]) to the Western Sea ([[Arabian Sea]])".<ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/70 70]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref><ref>[[Michael Cook (historian)|Michael Cook]] (2014), ''Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective'', Princeton University Press, p.68: "Aryavarta [...] is defined by Manu as extending from the Himalayas in the north to the Vindhyas of Central India in the south and from the sea in the west to the sea in the east."</ref>
-The ''[[Manu Smriti|Manusmṛti]]'' (dated between 2nd cent. BCE to 3rd cent. CE) (2.22) gives the name to "the tract between the [[Himalayas|Himalaya]] and the [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya ranges]], from the Eastern Sea ([[Bay of Bengal]]) to the Western Sea ([[Arabian Sea]])".<ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/70 70]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref><ref>[[Michael Cook (historian)|Michael Cook]] (2014), ''Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective'', Princeton University Press, p.68: "Aryavarta [...] is defined by Manu as extending from the Himalayas in the north to the Vindhyas of Central India in the south and from the sea in the west to the sea in the east."</ref>
+The ''Manava Dharmasastra'' (ca.150-250 CE) gives ''aryavarta'' as stretching from the eastern to the western seas, which Bronkhorst directly associates with the growing sphere of influence of the Brahmanical ideology.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2011|p=4}}
-The ''Manava Dharmasastra'' (ca.150-250 CE) gives ''aryavarta'' as stretching from the eastern to the western seas, reflecting the growing sphere of influence of the Brahmanical ideology.{{sfn|Brinkhorst|2011|p=4}}
+===Greater Magadha and its association with Aryavarta===
+{{See also|Sanskritisation|Hindu synthesis|Greater Magadha}}
-===Loss of northwest India===
+Following the description of ''Aryavarta'' in early Brahmanical sources, Bronkhorst notes that the Greater Magadha area was outside Aryavarta, the heartland of Vedic Brahmanism, and proposes that "Greater Magadha" had a distinct culture.<ref name="Wynne_review"/> According to Bronkhorst, ''Aryavarta'' was primarily associated with a single state, the Kuru kingdom. According to Bronkhorst, the various emperors of Magadha had little interest in Brahmanism,{{efn|In contrast to the Jain legends which developed 900 years later,{{sfn|Jansari|2023|pp=20–22}} contemporary Greek evidence states that [[Chandragupta Maurya]], the founder and first emperor of the [[Maurya Empire]] and grandfather of [[Ashoka]], was associated with Vedic Brahminism.{{sfn|Majumdar|Raychauduhuri|Datta|1960}} Chandragupta sponsored [[Yajna|Vedic sacrifices]]{{sfn|Eraly|2002|pp=414–415}} and Brahmanical rituals.{{sfn|Sastri|1988|pp=163–164}} He also delighted in hunting,{{sfn|Majumdar|Raychauduhuri|Datta|1960}} an activity not typically associated with the strict non-violence of later sectarian ascetic sects such as Jainism and Buddhism.}} and the conquest of the Vedic heartland by the Nanda and Maurya rulers deprived the Brahmins of their patrons, threatening the survival of the Vedic ritual tradition and creating opportunities for Buddhists and Jains to spread their religions outside the confines of Magadha.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2016|p=9-10}} According to Bronkhorst, the Brahmins overcame their deprivation of patrons by providing new services{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2015|p=2}} and by incorporating the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain along with local religious traditions, giving rise to the [[Hindu synthesis]].{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2016|p=9-10}}
-The post-Vedic period of the Second Urbanisation saw a decline of Brahmanism.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=37-39}}{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2017|p=363}} With the growth of cities, which threatened the income and patronage of the rural Brahmins; the rise of Buddhism; and the [[Indian campaign of Alexander the Great]] (327-325 BCE), the rise of the [[Mauryan Empire]] (322-185 BCE), and the [[Indo-Scythians|Saka]]  invasions and rule of northwestern India (2nd c. BC - 4th c. CE), Brahmanism faced a grave threat to its existence.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2016|p=9-10}}{{sfn|Michaels|2014}}
-The decline of Brahmanism was overcome by providing new services{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2015|p=2}} and incorporating the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan religious heritage of the eastern Ganges plain and local religious traditions, giving rise to the [[Hindu synthesis]].{{sfn|Bronkhorst|2016|p=9-10}}
+Geoffrey Samuel, following Thomas Hopkins, also proposed that the Central Gangetic region formed a "distinct but related cultural complex," as exemplified by the [[Painted Grey Ware]], which did not spread past the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=49}}{{efn|Witzel (2009) makes the same observation (p.9): "Kosala, Videha, Magadha are not characterized by the expanding western, Kuru-dominated Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh [...] the East was characterized by the indigenous Black and Red Ware/Ochre Colored Pottery (BRW/OCP) culture that had only two-tiered settlements (villages and market places) during the pre-450 BCE period."}} It was the area of the earliest known rice cultivation in South Asia,{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=49}} and had reached the Chalcolithic when the Aryans first entered northwestern India.{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=49}} According to Hopkins, the Aryan societies and this eastern Gangetic culture formed two separate sources for the development toward iron-working and urbanisation.{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=50}} According to Hopkins, the Brahmins of the Aryan, Vedic cultural sphere perceived this eastern, non-Aryan, Jain-Buddhist cultural sphere as wholly different,{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=50}}{{efn|Hopkins, as quoted by {{harvtxt|Samuel|2010|p=50}}: To say that there was tension between those two worlds - the non-Aryan/Buddhist/Jain world on the one hand, and the Aryan/Brahmanical/Vedic world on the other - is to understate the case. In the sixth century BCE there were really two different worlds, at least as perceived by their main representatives, or perhaps - as ssen especially by the Brahmins - two opposite worlds."" }} with a "world of female powers, natural transformation, sacred earth and sacred places, blood sacrifices, and ritualists who accept pollution on behalf of their community."{{efn|Hopkins, as quoted by {{harvtxt|Samuel|2010|p=51}}}} Yet, Samuel notes that the distinction "was cultural, not racial," assuming that "populations in both regions were mixtures of earlier Indo-Aryan and non-Indo-Aryan speaking populations."{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=61}} While forming different cultural spheres, they also interacted, and shared some common Indo-Aryan elements."{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=61}}
+Critics have questioned some of these assertions.{{sfn|Norelius|2023|p=459}} The claim of a sharp cultural divide between east and west was questioned by Konrad Klaus in his 2011 review of "Greater Magadha."{{sfn|Norelius|2023|p=459}}<ref>Konrad Klaus (2011), ''Review of J. Bronkhorst: Greater Magadha'', Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 161, 216-21, 2011</ref> According to Norelius, Wynne and Witzel questioned the supposed lesser influence of Brahmanisation in early Magadha, or Bronkhorst's proposed revision of textual chronology, while Fynne criticised Bronkhorst for overlooking the role of socioeconomic and political developments in shaping new ideological trends.{{sfn|Norelius|2023|p=459}}<ref name="Wynne_review"/><ref>Witzel, Michael, 2009. “Moving Targets? Texts, Language, Archaeology and History in the Late Vedic and Early Buddhist Periods.” IIJ 52(2–3), 287–310.</ref>
+In his 2011 review, Wynne calls Bronkhorst's argument "compelling" and "persuasive,"{{efn|Wynne: "it can hardly be doubted that a distinct religious culture based on them emerged in and around the kingdom of Magadha. An overwhelming amount of evidence suggests that this rival to Vedic India dominated the growing urban civilization of the eastern Gangetic plains during the early Buddhist period, without any significant contribution from orthodox Brahminism."}} but also notes that "Bronkhorst [...] argues that the ideas of karma, rebirth, and liberation originated within Greater Magadha," proposing later dates for some Upanishads to make this possible. Yet  according to Wynne, "[t]his is problematic, however, because these ideas are stated in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya Upaniṣads--texts usually assigned to the sixth or fifth century BCE, early enough to suppose an origin within the sphere of Vedic religion."<ref name="Wynne_review"/> Instead, Wynne proposes that the ''Yājñavalkya-kāṇḍa'' ([[Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad]] chapters 3-4) was composed in the Videha-Kosala region by a Vedic school which was isolated from the Vedic mainstream, circulated as a separate work outside ''Aryavarta'', and "was an important source for the ideas of karma, rebirth, and liberation,"<ref name="Wynne_review"/> "eventually trigger[ing] the culture of world renunciation, asceticism, and meditation" as an "unintended consequence of the early Videhan kings’ attempt to legitimize their rule through the Vedic tradition."<ref name="Wynne_review">{{Cite web |title=Wynne on Bronkhorst, 'Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India' {{!}} H-Net |url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/6060/reviews/16094/wynne-bronkhorst-greater-magadha-studies-culture-early-india |access-date=3 July 2024 |website=networks.h-net.org}}</ref>
+Additionally, Patrick Olivelle, writing in 1993, is critical of scholars who portray the Śramaṇa seers of Magadha as non-Brahmanical, anti-Brahmanical, or even non-Aryan precursors of later sectarian ascetics. According to Olivelle, scholars who attempt to draw such sharp divisions are reaching conclusions that far exceed the available empirical evidence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |year=1993 |title=The Aśrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534478-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/TheAsramaSystem/page/68/mode/1up?q=Bronkhorst |url-access=limited |via=Archive.org|page=68-70}}</ref>
 ==Other regional designations==
-These texts also identify other parts of the Indian subcontinent with specific designations. The ''Manusmṛti'' mentions ''[[Brahmavarta]]'' as the region between the rivers [[Saraswati River|Saraswati]] and [[Drishadwati]] in north-western India. The text defines the area as the place where the "good" people are born, with "goodness" being dependent on location rather than behaviour.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Mlecchas, Yavanas and Heathens: Interacting Xenologies in Early Nineteenth-Century Calcutta |first=Dermot |last=Killingley |title=Beyond Orientalism: The Work of Wilhelm Halbfass and Its Impact on Indian and Cross-cultural Studies |editor1-first=Eli |editor1-last=Franco |editor2-first=Karin |editor2-last=Preisendanz |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2007 |isbn=978-8-12083-110-0 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tv-4tyO9u_QC&pg=PA125 |page=125}}</ref> The precise location and size of the region has been the subject of academic uncertainty.<ref name="Scharfe">{{cite book |title=The State in Indian Tradition |first=Hartmut |last=Scharfe |publisher=BRILL |year=1989 |isbn=900-4-09060-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AQ4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA12 |page=12}}</ref> Some scholars, such as the archaeologists [[Bridget Allchin|Bridget]] and [[Raymond Allchin]], believe the term ''Brahmavarta'' to be synonymous with the [[Aryavarta]] region.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan |first1=Bridget |last1=Allchin |first2=Raymond |last2=Allchin |author-link1=Bridget Allchin |author-link2=Raymond Allchin |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-52128-550-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4s-YsP6vcIC&pg=PA250 |page=250}}</ref>
+The ''Manusmṛti'' mentions ''[[Brahmavarta]]'' as the region between the [[Sarasvati River|Sarasvati]] and the [[Drishadvati River|Drishadvati]] in [[northwest India]]. The text defines the area as the place where the "good" people are born, the twice-born who adhere to the Vedic dharma, in contrast to the ''[[mleccha]]''s, who live outside the Aryan territory and Vedic traditions.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Mlecchas, Yavanas and Heathens: Interacting Xenologies in Early Nineteenth-Century Calcutta |first=Dermot |last=Killingley |title=Beyond Orientalism: The Work of Wilhelm Halbfass and Its Impact on Indian and Cross-cultural Studies |editor1-first=Eli |editor1-last=Franco |editor2-first=Karin |editor2-last=Preisendanz |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2007 |isbn=978-8-12083-110-0 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tv-4tyO9u_QC&pg=PA125 |page=125}}</ref> The precise location and size of the region has been the subject of academic uncertainty.<ref name="Scharfe">{{cite book |title=The State in Indian Tradition |first=Hartmut |last=Scharfe |publisher=BRILL |year=1989 |isbn=900-4-09060-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AQ4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA12 |page=12}}</ref> Some scholars, such as the archaeologists [[Bridget Allchin]] and [[Raymond Allchin]], believe the term ''Brahmavarta'' to be synonymous with Aryavarta.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan |first1=Bridget |last1=Allchin |first2=Raymond |last2=Allchin |author-link1=Bridget Allchin |author-link2=Raymond Allchin |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-52128-550-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4s-YsP6vcIC&pg=PA250 |page=250}}</ref>
+''[[Madhyadesa]]'' extended from the upper reaches of the [[Ganges]] and the [[Yamuna]] to the [[confluence]] of the two rivers at [[Triveni Sangam|Prayaga]], and was the region where, during the time of the [[Mahajanapadas]], the  [[Kuru kingdom]] and [[Pañcāla]] existed. The entire region is considered sacred in the [[Hindu mythology]] as gods and heroes mentioned in the two epics, the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Mahabharata]]'', lived here.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V2_pPqhm2mwC&dq=madhyadesa&pg=PA5|title=Sculptures of Ganga-Yamuna Valley|last=Mukhopadhyay|first=Mihir Mohan|date=1984|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=9788170171898|pages=5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldhazU_vvQcC&dq=madhyadesh&pg=PA62|title=Women Legislators in Indian Politics|last=Singh|first=Pitam|date=2003|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788180690198|pages=62|language=en}}</ref>
-''[[Madhyadesa]]'' extended from the upper reaches of the [[Ganges|Ganga]] and the [[Yamuna]] to the [[confluence]] of the two rivers at [[Triveni Sangam|Prayaga]], and was the region where, during the time of the [[Mahajanapadas]], the  [[Kuru Kingdom|Kurus]] and the [[Panchala|Panchalas]] existed. The entire region is considered sacred in the [[Hindu mythology]] as gods and heroes mentioned in the two epics, the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Mahabharata]]'', lived here.
+==Political history==
+[[Kannauj|Kanyakubja]] or modern day [[Kannauj]] was a central city of Aryavarta and was used as capital-city from 510 CE to 1197 CE under [[Maukhari dynasty|Maukharis]], [[Harsha|Harshavardhana]], [[Varman dynasty (Kannauj)|Varmans]], [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Pratiharas]] and [[Gahadavala dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hussain jafri|first=Saiyid Zaheer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4SzQL1uds4C |title=Recording the Progress of Indian History|page=148|date=2016 |publisher=Primus Books|isbn=978-93-80607-28-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&dq=kanyakubja+became+the+highest+subcaste&pg=PA290|title=Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries|last=Wink|first=Andre|publisher= E.J. Brill|year=2002|page=288|isbn=0-391-04173-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCVyhH5VDjAC|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: The slave kings and the Islamic conquest, 11th-13th centuries|last=Wink|first=Andre|publisher= E.J. Brill|year=1989|page=240|isbn=90-04-09249-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jTlLXw46g-cC&dq=kanyakubja+capital+aryavarta&pg=PA257|title=Indian Kāvya Literature|last=Warder|first=Anthony Kennedy|publisher= Motilal Banarsidas|year=1992|page=240|isbn=978-81-208-0445-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PPH7EAAAQBAJ|title=Al-Hind, Volume 1 Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th-11th Centuries|last=Wink|first=Andre|publisher= E.J. Brill|year=2021|page=241|isbn=978-90-04-48300-2 |language=en}}</ref>
-==Rulers==
+The [[Gurjara-Pratihara]] king in the tenth century was titled the ''Maharajadhiraja of Aryavarta''.<ref>{{cite book |author=André Wink |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA284 |title=Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries |publisher=BRILL |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-391-04173-8 |page=284}}</ref> [[Devapala of Bengal|Devapala]], the emperor of [[Pala Empire]] was known to be the ''Overlord of Aryavarta''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=D.) |first=Mukhalesura Rahmāna (Ph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PuQOAQAAMAAJ |title=Sculpture in the Varendra Research Museum: A Descriptive Catalogue |date=1998 |publisher=Varendra Research Museum |pages=XXXV |language=en}}</ref>
-The [[Gurjara-Pratihara]] king in the tenth century was titled the ''Maharajadhiraja of Aryavarta''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries|author=André Wink|publisher=BRILL|year=2002|isbn=978-0-391-04173-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA284|page=284}}</ref>
-==See also==
+== See also ==
 *[[Names of India]]
+* [[Indo-Aryan migrations]]
+* [[List of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes]]
 *[[Bharata Khanda]]
 *[[Airyanem Vaejah]], its [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] counterpart
@@ Line 57: / Line 70: @@
 * {{Cite book| last =Bronkhorst | first =Johannes | date =2007 | title =Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India | publisher =BRILL | isbn =9789004157194}}
 * {{Citation | last =Bronkhorst | year =2011 | first =Johannes  |title =Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism | publisher =BRILL | url =https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294688170}}
-* {{Citation | last =Bronkhorst | first =Johannes | year =2017 | title =Brahmanism: Its place in ancient Indian society | journal =Contributions to Indian Sociology 51, 3 (2017): 361-369 | doi =10.1177/0069966717717587 | url =https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319562898}}
+* {{Citation | last =Bronkhorst | first =Johannes | year =2015 | chapter =The historiography of Brahmanism | editor-last1 =Otto | editor-last2 =Rau | editor-last3 = Rupke | title =History and Religion:Narrating a Religious Past | publisher =Walter deGruyter}}
+* {{Citation | last =Bronkhorst | first =Johannes | year =2016 | title =How the Brahmains Won | publisher =BRILL | url =https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309179849}}
+* {{Citation | last =Bronkhorst | first =Johannes | title =Brahmanism: Its place in ancient Indian society | journal =Contributions to Indian Sociology |volume=51 |issue=3 |year=2017 |pages=361–369 | doi =10.1177/0069966717717587 | s2cid =220050987 | url =https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319562898}}
+<!-- E -->
+* {{citation |last=Eraly |first=Abraham |title=Gem In The Lotus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YokatCwNG90C |year=2002 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-93-5118-014-2 }}
+<!-- J -->
+* {{citation |last=Jansari |first=Sushma |title=Chandragupta Maurya: The creation of a national hero in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BOG9EAAAQBAJ |year=2023 |publisher=UCL Press |isbn=9781800083882}}
 <!-- M -->
+* {{citation|last1=Majumdar|first1=R. C.|author-link1=R. C. Majumdar|last2=Raychauduhuri|first2=H. C.|author-link2=H. C. Raychaudhuri|last3=Datta|first3=Kalikinkar|title=An Advanced History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyIWMwEACAAJ|year=1960|publisher=Macmillan & Company Ltd; New York: St Martin's Press|location=London}}
 * {{cite book |last=Michaels |first=Axel |year=2004 |title=Hinduism. Past and present |place=Princeton, New Jersey |publisher=Princeton University Press }}
+<!-- N -->
+* {{Cite book | last= Norelius | first= Per-Johan| date =2023 | title =Soul and Self in Vedic India | publisher =BRILL |isbn =978-90-04-54600-4 | pages =459 | language =en | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOr7EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA459 }}
 <!-- S -->
 * {{Cite book | last =Samuel | first =Geoffrey | year =2010 | title =The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century | publisher =Cambridge University Press }}
+* {{citation |last=Sastri |first=Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta |title=Age of the Nandas and Mauryas |url=https://indianculture.gov.in/ebooks/age-nandas-and-mauryas-0 |year=1988 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0466-1 }}
 {{refend}}
@@ Line 74: / Line 97: @@
 [[Category:Ancient Indian geography| ]]
 [[Category:Vedic period]]
-[[Category:Locations in Hindu mythology]]
+[[Category:Places in Hindu mythology]]
-[[Category:Ancient India]]
+[[Category:Historical regions in India]]
+[[Category:North India]]