ABSTRACT
The works of some scholars who have researched on place names in India have used the term Sanskritization. Sanskritization impacted place names in many and varied forms. Two of these are most discerning. First is through language and the second through religion. The evidence of the impact of Sanskritization on place names is more on record in South India. With the firm grip of Hinduism, Brahmanas began to occupy prominent places in society and there started the custom of giving large grants of land not only as a gift to temples but also as a gift to these priests. The earliest temples in India were built in the fifth century CE, but the most impressive ones in North India were built in the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE and those in South India were built between the eighth and thirteenth centuries CE.
