Town Planning (2): Shop and Market

Amarakośa gives āpaṇa, niṣadyā, vipaṇi and paṇyavīthikā as synonyms. From Kṣīrasvāmin's derivations one can infer these to denote shop or market as observed under:

(a) Āpaṇa and Niṣadyā (II. 2. 2; p. 74)–

[Shop:]

Kṣīrasvāmin explains these as a place of merchandise where goods are stored and sold–

āpaṇante'sminnāpaṇaḥ gocarasaṃcareti (Pā. III. 3. 119) sādhuḥ |
niṣīdantyasyāṃ niṣadyā saṃjñāyāṃ samajaniṣadeti (Pā. III. 3. 99) kyap |

(b) Vipaṇiḥ and Paṇyavīthikā (II. 2. 2; p. 74)–

[Market:]

Kṣīrasvāmin explains them to mean a market or a market street–

vipaṇyante'syāṃ vipaṇigvīthī |

Hence Kṣīrasvāmin opines that āpaṇa and niṣadhyā are shops and vipaṇiḥ and paṇyavīthikā^[1] undoubtedly refer to market–

ādyau vaṇiksthāne'nyau haṭṭavartanyāmāhuḥ |

In support of his derivations Kṣīrasvāmin quotes the text of Śāśvata (v. 325):

yacchāśvataḥ āpaṇaḥ paṇyavīthī ca dvayaṃ vipaṇisaṃjñakam |

Kṣīrasvāmin further remarks that some take all the five words viz., vipaṇiḥ, paṇyavīthikā, rathyā, pratolī, and viśikhā to denote a highway and illustrates the word viśākhā quoting Kauṭilya (II. 14)–

vipaṇyādīnpañcaikārthānāhuḥ yathā kauṭilyaḥ-viśikhāyāṃ sauvarṇikapracāraḥ |

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

In the modern Sanskrit dictionaries of Monier Williams and Apte, all the four words are used to denote a shop or a market. There is no clear demarcation or strict adherence to a single meaning. It is thus inferred that the words have been used in their expanded sense too.