and I started to wonder if, without any geographical knowledge
whatsoever, the syntax of the construction would tell us the
relationship between the various places.
Is it normal for the city to be first and thus be placed in front of the
verb "viharati"? or is it simply that the place that includes the other
places--is more encompassing--comes first in the sentence?
One example might be if the sentence were re-written to include
something like "the north country" or some such place that is larger
than the city. Would the order then shift with the "north country"
being positioned in prior to "viharati" and "saavatthiya.m" then being
placed first after the verb?
Accordingly, can we tell from the order of the final members, i.e.
"jetavane" and "aaraame" whether one is in the other simply based on syntax?
In an attempt to guess the answer, I would assume that the more
encompassing location would precede the verb, with the others following,
and that they would then continue in order from largest to smallest.
Thus, Saavatthi contains Jetavane which contains the aarame of
Anaathapi.n.dika.