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ADMINISTRATION
bhoga1 for, Vatanagara, modern Vadner, is not far from Nasik. The terms ahara and bhoga
are sometimes noticed outside the aforementioned limits also. We finds, for instance, that
Gorajja bhoga was a subdivision of the Bharukachchha Vishaya in Gujarat,2 while Maha-
girihara in Konkan was probably so called because Mahagiri was the headquarters of that
ahara.3 Some aharas had the same name as the Vishayas in which they were included, and so
the two technical terms are often found combined; see e.g., Karmaney-ahara-vishaya4
and Treyann-ahara-Vishaya.5 Some sub-divisons of vishayas may have been known as
rashtras. Kalachuri inscriptions mention the mahattaras of rashtras among persons to whom
the royal order about a grant was to be communicated.6 Some rashtras may have been
large enough to be known as vishayas. Gopa-rashtra, for instance, is mentioned as one of
the vishayas of Puri-Konkana.7 An ahara contained smaller territorial units called pathakas.
Very few pathakas have, however, found a mention in our records. Korilla pathaka8
and Lohikaksha pathaka9 lay in Gujarat, while Nagarika pathaka10 was in Khandesh.
Bahirika,11 which is mentioned in the Eran inscription as a subdivision of Nagendra ahara,
was probably a pathaka. Bhogas and pathakas contained several towns12 (nagaras or puras)
and villages (gramas). Capital cities were called rajadhani and were distinguished by prefixing sri or vijaya to their names.13 Other towns were called nagaras, puras or adhishthanas.14
The village was, of course, the smallest territorial unit. The names of villages generally
ended in Kheta padra, padraka or palli, as, for example, Pippalakheta,15 Sirishapadraka16 and
suvarnarapalli17 Villages granted to Brahmanas were known as agraharasâ see Sraddhikagrahara18 mentioned in the Navasari plates. Some of the larger villages had hamlets
attached to them; see, e.g., Sriparnaka19 included in Tandulapadraka, and the three
pallikas 20 attached to samagiripattana.
In the later period some of these technical terms fell into disuse and were supplanted
by others. Desa continued to signify the largest territorial unit, viz., a country or a province.21 Vishaya, which in the earlier period was the common term denoting a district is,
rarely noticed in this period.22 Its place was taken by mandala in the south and pattala
____________________
1No. 14, 1. 19. Vatanagara was also the name of a vishaya which was included in the Nasika
desa. Ind. Ant., VoI. XI, pp. 156 ff.
2No. 15,1.19.
3No.31,1.27.
4No. 29, 1.21; No. 30, 1.38.
5No. 26, 1.20.
6No.12,1.17.
7No. 31,1.26.
8No. 21,1.22. This is probably identical with Korella-chaturasiti mentioned in No. 121. 1. 16.
9No. 24,1.35.
10No. 2,1.3.
11No. 119,1.4.
12Towns which had predominantly a merchant population were called vanin-nagaras.
13Cf. Vijay-Aniruddhapurat in No. 9.1. I.
14No. 119, 1.4.
15No. 25, 1.20.
16No. 16, 1.33 and No. 17, 1.33.
17No. 19, 1.10.
18No.21,1.19.
19No.13.1.8.
20No. 32,1.30.
21See Vadahara desa mentioned in No. 88, 1.1.
22Some instances of vishaya are Gunakala vishaya mentioned in the Kahla plates (N0.17,1.36) and
Anarghavalli vishaya in the Sheorinarayan plates (No.82, 1.19). In some stray records other terms like
bhumi and uddesa are noticed ; see No. 48, 1.37 and No. 56., II. 27-28. These did not, however become
common.
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