Uttarapatha is one of the five geographical divisions of
India and it is mentioned in Bhuvanakosha section of Puranas. Uttarapatha is
the present day North India. The other divisions are madhyadesha (central India),
prachya (eastern India), dakshinapatha (south India) and aparanta (western
India).
Uttarapatha includes the entire valley of the Indus
according to Kavyamimamsa of Rajashekhara.
Dharmasutras of Vasishta and Baudhayana, as well as
Dharmashastra of Manu state that Uttarapatha lies to the west of the place
where Saraswati River disappears.
As per Banabhatta, Uttarapatha included modern day western
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and the northwestern provinces of India.
Inscriptions indicate that Uttarapatha was a great trade
route which extended from Saraswati to Taxila in Gandhara.
The region as mentioned in Pali literature included the
whole of northern India from Anga (east) to Gandhara (northwest) and from the
Himalayas (north) to the Vindhyas (south).