A vishaya (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: Viṣaya) was a historical administrative unit of India, generally equivalent to a modern
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
.
Several other terms for units equivalent to a modern district appear in historical inscriptions, including ''āhāra'', ''rashtra'' (''rāṣṭra''), ''maṇḍala'', and ''deśa''. The exact meaning of these terms varies by the period, the ruling dynasty, and the region. For example:
* In the early medieval inscriptions of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
region:
** Paranayi-''vishaya'' is mentioned as a part of the
Samatata
Samataṭa (Brahmi script: ''sa-ma-ta-ṭa'') was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman account of ''Sounagoura'' is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corresponded to much ...
-''mandala''
** Gokalika-''mandala'' is mentioned as a part of the Kotivarsha-''vishaya''
** Khadi-''vishaya'' is another name for Khadi-''mandala''
* Some inscriptions mention units with multiple designations, such as ''
Gopa-rashtra-vishaya'' and ''
Khetak-ahara-vishaya'' (presumably, the territory called "Gopa" was formerly designated as a ''rashtra'' and then re-designated as a ''vishaya'').
* Sometimes, a ''vishaya'' referred to a subdivision larger than a district.
The governor of a ''vishaya'' was called a ''vishaya-pati'' or a ''vishayadhyaksha''.
A ''vishaya'' was often included in a larger subdivisions such as a ''bhukti'' (province). It was often divided into smaller units such as a ''bhoga''.
References
{{India-hist-stub
Types of administrative division