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In the first nine maṇḍalas of the Rigveda there is hardly anything which deals directly with local government or which, even indirectly, could give us an idea of the constitution and working of local government institutions of the period. The only terms which we find used in the sense of a locality of some sort are: (1) Gaya, (2) Gṛha, (3) Pastya, (4) Harmya, (5) Grāma, (6) Pūr, (7) Viś, and (8) Rāṣṭra. Of these the first four are all used in the sense of a house or household. The term Grāma is used both in the sense of a village (that is a locality) and a body of men (that is a division of the Āryan people). The term Pūr, though understood by some to mean a town, is distinctly used in the sense of a fortification.