History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c19.s1.2

v1.c19.s1.2

Chhattisgarh corresponds with the modern Raipur and Sambalpur districts of C. P. On the north-west corner of it is the Maikala range a continuation of Satpura and from it rises the Nerbudda flowing west and the Soṇa flowing north. Amarakantaka peak is thus in this country and the Mahānadi also flows through it. There are mountain ranges surrounding it and the whole country is drained by the "Great river". The enclosed area is plain, for the most part culturable, and in places very rich. It is called Chhattisgarh because there are 36 divisions of it, each with a garh of its own. Its chief divisions are: I the valley of the Sheonath river and the tract between that river and the Sāle-tekdi hill; II the tract between the Sheonath and Hasda rivers; III the tract between the Sheonath and the Mahānadi and IV the tract south of Raipur extending towards the Mahānadi. The chief products are rice, wheat, pulses and oilseeds. The jungles on the borders are full of tigers, boars and buffalos and in the north towards Bengal side there were wild elephants. The population in the jungles consists chiefly of Gonds, Bhumias and Bigas The latter are purely jungly tribes never mixing with the plain people and fly into the jungles further if Europeans approach them. In the plains a prepondering portion of the people are chamārs who are however agriculturists and being better off than usual, they have thrown off latterly Brahminism and started a new religion of their own akin to Hinduism. They are called Satnāmis. Of the rest Brahmins, Rajputs, Kurmis and Rāuts are prominent. The country is now being opened up by railways. Formerly immense amounts of corn were produced only to lie undisposed of. In ancient days the carriers of the country were the Banjaras who kept hundreds and thousands of bullocks and carried grain to Jubbulpore in the west, Benares in the north, Nagpur in the south and Cuttack or Orissa in the east.