The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c26.64

v1.c26.64

the Indus to the Bay of Bengal—Patrocles put at 15,000 stades (1724 miles) and Megasthenes at 16,000 stades (1838 miles)¹. The actual distance is about 1360 miles, but the figure of Megasthenes was got apparently by combining the 10,000 stades measured along the Royal Road from the Indus to Pāṭaliputra with the estimated distance from Pāṭaliputra by way of the Ganges to the sea, 6000 stades. Eratosthenes, the great geographer, a generation later (born 276 B.C.), who is followed by Strabo, accepted the 16,000 stades of Megasthenes as the extent of India from the Indus to the mouth of the Ganges. But the western side of the quadrilateral—the course of the Indus—he reduced to 13,000 stades (1493 miles). The real projection of India to the south, however, from the mouth of the Indus was unknown to him, and he made Cape Comorin project east of the mouth of the Ganges. India was represented by a quadrilateral whose southern side was 3000 stades longer than the northern and the eastern 3000 stades longer than the western². The accompanying figure will show that the general shape of the quadrilateral is fairly true to the reality. What is wrong is (1) the orientation, and (2) the exaggerated size.