Aparanta, or Aparantaka (meaning "Western border") was a geographical region of ancient India. It corresponded to the northern part of the Konkan region on the western coast of India. English civil servant-turned-historian J. F. Fleet believed that the Aparanta region included Kathiawad, Kutch, and

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, beside Konkan. However, historical records make it clear that the extent of Aparanta was much smaller. The Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman mentions that during Ashoka's reign, a ''Yonaraja'' (literally; Ionian, or Greek, King),

Tushaspha Tushaspa (Brahmi: ) was a "Yavanaraja" (Greek King or Governor) for Emperor Ashoka, in the area of Girnar, near Junagadh, in Gujarat, India. He is only known from the Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman, in which the Western Satrap king Rudr ...

was the governor of Aparanta. A Buddhist text, the Mahavamsa states (xii.5) that at the conclusion of the Third Buddhist Council (c.250 BCE), a ''Yona'' (Greek) ''Thera'' (monk) Dhammarakkhita was sent here by the emperor Ashoka to preach Dhamma and 37,000 people embraced Buddhism due to his effort (''Mahavamsa'', xii.34-6). According to Buddhist scholar

A.K. Warder Anthony Kennedy Warder (8 September 1924 – 8 January 2013) was a British Indologist. His best-known works are ''Introduction to Pali'' (1963), ''Indian Buddhism'' (1970), and the eight-volume ''Indian Kāvya Literature'' (1972–2011). Life Wa ...

, the

Dharmaguptaka The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, depending on the source. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas. The Dharmaguptakas had a p ...

sect originated here.Indian Buddhism by A.K. Warder Motilal Banarsidass: 2000. pg 278
/sup> Aparanta is regarded as an umbrella term for '' Shurparakadesha'' for Konkan, to include in the North and Gomantaka in the south with the river ''Kundalika'' to serving as a dividing line in between the two.

Notes

Ancient Indian geography Historical Indian regions History of Palghar district {{India-hist-stub