Articles on Ancient Indian Geography
Itinerary of Mahavira (Being a Geography of the Towns of Monsoon Retreat of Mahavira)
By Otto Stein · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology, 1967
The document discusses the towns mentioned in the Kalpa Sutra in relation to Mahavira's monsoon retreat and the geographical locations where he stayed or visited. The key towns include: 1. Asthikagrama: Previously known as Vardhamana, its significance is…
Place-Names in the Vamana Purana
By Sibadas Chaudhuri · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1962
In this contribution the author compiles an alphabetical index of place‑names and tirthas mentioned in the Vamana Purana, using the Vangavasi edition as a base and cross‑checking other recensions. Each entry lists the chapter and verse numbers where the place…
Ancient Indian Geography in Banabhatta
By Dileep Kumar Kanjilal · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1958
In this study the author combs Bāṇabhaṭṭa’s literary works—principally the Kādambarī and the Harṣacarita—for geographical references and interprets them in light of historical sources. Bāṇa’s narratives are rich in descriptive passages that mention regions,…
The Picture of Ancient India as revealed in Patañjali’s Mahābhāṣya
By Dileep Kumar Kanjilal · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1955
This article reconstructs aspects of ancient Indian society using the Mahābhāṣya, a 2nd century BCE commentary on Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī attributed to Patañjali. The author mines the text’s numerous examples and anecdotes to illuminate social categories,…
Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India
By Benoy Chandra Sen · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1955
This review assesses a study that examines ethnic settlements in ancient India through the lens of Puranic geography. The book analyses the Bhuvana‑kosa sections of Purāṇas such as the Visnu Purana, Kurma Purana and Vayu Purana, which group peoples and…
Geographical Data in Panini
By Vasudeva S. Agrawala · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1953
Panini’s Astadhyayi is not merely a grammatical treatise; it is also a rich repository of geographical information. The author’s explanation of place‑names allows historians to reconstruct the political and cultural landscape of early India. He classifies…
Ancient Indian Geography
By Vasudeva S. Agrawala · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1952
This article surveys the wealth of geographical information preserved in ancient Indian literature. The author notes that sources span many languages, including Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and even Greek, Latin, Chinese and Arabic. By systematically collecting…
The Malaya Mountain in Kālidāsa
By C. Kunhan Raja · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1946
Classical Sanskrit poetry abounds in geographical allusions whose identification has exercised generations of commentators. This article investigates one such toponym—the Malaya Mountain—that appears repeatedly in the works of Kālidāsa. The poet refers to…
Yādavaprakāśa on the Ancient Geography of India
By Dhirendra Chandra Ganguly · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1943
This article surveys Yādavaprakāśa’s extensive comments on the ancient geography of India and collates them with evidence from other authors and inscriptions. Yādavaprakāśa, a commentator on the Amarakośa, often identifies ancient tribal and regional names…
Studies in Ancient Geography (Markandeya Purana)
By Harihara V. Trivedi · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1934
The article presents a systematic study of the geographical material contained in the Markandeya Purana. It notes that Canto LVII of this Purana features a geographical chapter that lists various place-names, including rivers, mountains, regions and peoples.…
A Note on Simhapura—Arya Deva’s Birth-Place
By Bhaskar Anand Saletore · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1934
The article examines the historical location of Simhapura, the birthplace of the Buddhist scholar Arya Deva, challenging Nalinaksha Dutt’s claim that the Simhapura in Kalinga (eastern India) is less historically significant than a hypothetical Simhapura in…
Topography in the Puranas �Pnrusottamaksotra
By Sashi Bhusan Chaudhuri · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1929
The Skanda Purana provides detailed topographical descriptions of sacred sites (Purushottamaksetra) in ancient India, particularly in present-day Orissa. It characterizes Purusottamaksetra as a ten-yojana area bounded by the ocean (Bay of Bengal) to the south…
The Study of Ancient Indian Geography
By Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1928
The study of Ancient Indian Geography emphasizes the necessity of geographical knowledge for understanding India's history, including political, social, literary, and religious contexts. Key sources for this study include indigenous texts like the Vedas…