Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c9.s2.t1.3

c9.s2.t1.3

The land described above presents great varieties of scenery. The eyes meet in the north the snow-clad speaks and glaciers of the Himalayas and the luxuriant vegetation that clothes the submontane region. A striking contrast to this is afforded by the plains of the Indus, which look like an “interminable waste”, overgrown with tamarisk scrubs and ultimately merging in the great desert of Rajputana, the Registan of Sind and the sandy, surf-beaten shore of the Arabian Sea. The dreary and monotonous sight is only redeemed by the green verdure of the riverine fringes and “endless expanse of waving crops of different shades of colour” that covers the country at the approach of the harvest season.