Dear colleagues,

I am working with some inscriptions from 5th-century Bengal where it seems the word gohāla/gohālī (ultimately from Sanskrit gośāla) is used in the meaning 'hamlet', or in any case to indicate something larger than 'cow-shed'. But I have so far not found any dictionary, whether for Sanskrit, Prakrit or NIA wors, that gives clear support for any such meaning. The closest to anything like support is Sheth's Prakrit Dictionary, where the first meaning indicated for gosāla is deśaviśeṣa. Can anyone help me determine on what textual passages this meaning is based? Can anyone cite other examples from any Indo-Aryan languages where a word related to Sanskrit gośāla means something like 'hamlet'?

Thank you.

Arlo Griffiths