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The Geography of the Puranas c10: Chapter VIII Bharatavarsa : Physical

The Geography of the Purāṇas c10

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Chapter VIII Bharatavarsa : Physical

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BHĀRATAVARṢA is commonly identified with the Indian sub-continent.¹ But, in fact, no comprehensive designation was given to the Indian sub-continent in ancient Indian or foreign literature. 'Sapta Saindhava' was the name given to the Punjab plains by Vedic Aryans; 'Āryāvarta' was the designation of Āryan domain in the days of Baudhāyana and Manu; the word 'Ind' or 'Indu' (Hindu) was applied by Darius and Herodotus to the Indus Valley and the Upper Gangetic region with which they were acquainted. It is only in or about the 4th century B.C. that Kātyāyana and Megasthenes give an account of approximately the whole country down to the Pāndya region in the extreme south. The Epics also mention the Pāndya realm in the south and the peninsulas and islands beyond the Bay of Bengal.

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With the extension of the domains of Indian monarchs (for instance, Aśoka), Bhārata acquired a wider significance and it came to include the north-western lands up to the Hindūkush and south-eastern lands up to Sumātrā and Jāvā. Cunningham names it Greater India and prefers to identify the traditional nine dwipas (or regions) of Bhāratavarṣa with regions within the Indian sub-continent as well as the peninsula and islands beyond the two Indian seas, i.e., the Bay of Begal and the Arabian Sea.

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The shape and bulk of Bhāratavarṣa is given in various Purāṇas and contemporary literature where it has been variously described as a half moon, a triangle, a rhomboid or an unequal quadrilateral or like a drawn bow. Ptolemy ignores the Indian peninsula altogether and in his map the Indian coastline is represented by almost a straight line from the Gangetic delta to Makran. These various shapes have at least one common feature, the concave shape of the Himālayas (along its northern borders) which occupy the base of these figures. The shape of the Indian peninsula, i.e., the country south of the Vindhyas and its n.w. corner, i.e., North Afghani-stan, were variously conceived and this gave rise to discrepancies in various descriptions. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (Kūrmavibhāga, Ch. 58) compares the shape of the country with that of a tortoise floating on water and facing the east. It places the various population groups on or near its face, legs, tail and body. Obviously the 'tortoise' in the above description covered the whole of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Kabu' Valley, the western coastal region up to the source of the Godāvarī, the eastern coastal plain up to and including Kalinga and the Central Indian Plateau up to the crest of the Satpuras. The rest of the Peninsula beyond these limits is not represented in this scheme. The different shapes of Bhāratavarṣa as given in ancient literature therefore represent various stages in the process of the extension of the occupied or known areas of the country during the course of history. To say that there are inconsistencies in the Purāṇas regarding the shape of the country is thus unfair.

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The topography of the country finds a prominent place in our ancient literature. This is but natural. High or steep mountains and broad and perennial rivers control and guide human movements and influence human settlement; thus from the human point of view they are very significant. The Purāṇas, therefore, always introduced regions, lands or countries, big or small by means of their important mountains and rivers. They also found it necessary to classify mountains according to their functional significance, for instance we have Maryāda parvatas (boundary mountains), Varṣa parvatas (regional mountains) Viṣkambha parvatas (subjacent mountains), Kula-parvatas (group or class mountains) and Kṣudra-parvatas (small hills). This classification is helpful in the identification of land features on a relief map of the country.

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Many scholars, including those mentioned earlier, have attempted to identify and locate on a modern map of India, the relief features of Bhāratavarṣa as given in the Purāṇas. In general, they take cognizance of:

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(i) The rivers which flow from particular mountains mentioned in the Purāṇas.

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(ii) The tribes, people or territories (janpadas) which are associated with those features.

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(iii) Corresponding description of features or reference to mountains, rivers or tribes in the Epics and contemporary Sanskrit and Pāli literature.

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(iv) Description of the country by the Greek, the Chinese and other foreign writers and travellers.

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(v) Archaeological records.

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It is not intended to repeat the investigations of these scholars here and to treat each feature independently. It is felt that it would be more profitable to add short notes on the rivers of Bhāratavarṣa in a tabular form for the sake of convenience and ready reference and to map the important natural and cultural features of Bhāratavarṣa, keeping in view the following broad principles:

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(a) The major rivers have always been the main lines of communication in the country particularly in the Great Northern Plains and as man had to depend on them for communication as well as perennial water supply, all settlements tended to occupy a site on or as near the high banks of the rivers as possible. These were the areas which have been frequented by man for a long time. Hence the accounts of features in the vicinity of river valleys should be fairly correct.

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(b) On the other hand the regions of difficulty or negative areas discouraged population and settlement. Deserts, snow-clad or glaciated regions, areas of steep slopes and rugged topography, dense forests and swamps retard the processes of human occupation, therefore the accounts of such areas or topographical features situated in these environments are likely (not necessarily) to be inaccurate. Reported distances and directions in such regions have to be carefully considered and revised or discarded if necessary.

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(c) A map of ancient routes particularly across difficult country is very helpful in the location of features. Generally the topographical features described in ancient literature occur on or near well established routes. Conversely, wherever two similar features answer a particular description, the one nearer the common route is more probable.

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(d) To identify features with the help of the tribes or population groups which are associated with them in ancient literature is often misleading. Tribes or groups may have migrated and settled down in other regions thus associating themselves with new environments described variantly in different works.

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Two base maps, one of negative areas (i.e., showing areas of dense forests, steep mountains and deserts, etc., as they were about a thousand years back) (Fig. 12) and the other of ancient routes were therefore first prepared and superimposed on a relief map in which account was taken of possible changes which the rivers might have suffered during the last 1000-1500 years. The Purāṇic topographic features were then plotted with help of these maps. In doing so, all these features which are obviously correct according to Purāṇic accounts and have been unanimously identified by scholars, have been adopted as such and plotted. Other features which required consideration have been thoroughly examined and marked in the light of the above principles. The result is the Purāṇic maps of rivers and mountains, population centres and regions. These maps which depict the major geographical features (physical, human and regional) represent the most probable picture of the land which our ancient writers had in their mind.

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The mountains and rivers (not all) which have been identified and tabulated below have shown on the accompanying physiographic maps of Bhārata. The maps thus bring out the location of the seven ranges of Bhārata mentioned in the Purāṇas besides Himavat. Of these, the Sahya, the Malaya and the Mahendra Giri present no difficulty. The Pāripātra is the ring of ranges north of the Narmadā which nearly encircle the catchment areas of the Chambal and the Betwā. It corresponds with the Aravallis and the Western Vindhyas. Riksa-parvat represents the modern Vindhyas from the source of the Sonar to the eastern limit of the ranges which mark the cathment area of the Riven Son. The Vindhya proper of the Purāṇas included the Satpuras (south of the Narmadā), the Mahadeo Hills, the Hazaribagh Range and Rajmahal Hills and their spurs which fan out towards the Gaṅgā. It is to be noted that the three ranges Rikṣa, Vindhya and Sukhtimat (which is discussed in the following paragraphs) meet in the Mandla Knot. In this knot three corresponding E-W ranges, the Southern Maikal, the Northern Maikal and the Central ridge can be easily noticed on a modern contour map of this region (see Fig. 13).

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Sūktimat, Suktimān or Suktimanta (Matsya) is one of the seven principal ranges of Peninsular India (cf. Rājaśekhara's Kāvyamīmāṃsā). One of the principal rivers coming down this mountain, Ṛṣikulyā has been included among the rivers flowing from the Mahendra mountain by the majority of Purāṇas while Matsya Purāṇa excludes it from the former. The Kūrma Purāṇa speaks of Trisāmā, Ṛṣika (Ṛṣikulyā) and Vaṃśadhāriṇī as flowing from the Sūktimat and not from Mahendra as other Purāṇas say. This means that the Ṛṣikulyā, Pitrisomā and Vaṃśadhārā are doubtful rivers in the sense that they may be associated either with the Mahendra mountain or Sūktimat mountain. They were border cases, hence it may safely be concluded that the Mahendra and Sūktimat mountains are so close to, and so mixed up with, each other that a river or rivers may be taken as coming from one or the other mountain. Such cases are not uncommon in Purāṇic descriptions. For instance, the majority of the Purāṇas mention the Payoṣṇī, the Nirvindhyā and the Tāpī as rivers rising in the Vindhyas while the Viṣṇu Purāṇa considers them as rising in the Rikṣa mountain. Thus the inference is that the two mountains are so close to each other and their extent so undefined that some rivers may be associated with either of them. In fact the two ranges, the Vindhya and Rikṣa are so mixed up with each other that some Purāṇas give instead of a separate list of rivers from each, a composite list of rivers having their sources in both these mountains. It is also possible that there may be rivers of the same name in two entirely different regions but the Purāṇic descriptions are so clear on this point that one would like to favour the earlier conclusion, that the same rivers have been included in both the lists.

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The Purāṇic list of important mountains of Bhārata follows a simple [This page is blank]

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BHADRAVARSA

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[Figure: BHĀRATAVARṢA NEGATIVE AREAS (AS PROBABLY EXISTED IN ANCIENT TIMES)

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ICE CAPPED DENSE FOREST THIN FOREST DESERT NEGATIVE AREAS(UNINHABITABLE)

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SCALE: 0 50 100 150 200 MILES]

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Fig. 13

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BHĀRATAVARṢA

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BHĀRATAVARṢA PHYSICAL

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HILLS 1 MAINĀKA 2 KALINDA-GIRI 3 GANDA PARVATA 4 GOURI-ŚANKARA 5 KAŃCANA MOUNTAIN 6 UNCHA PAHĀR 7 GOVARDHANA 8 CITRAKŪṬA 9 VINDHYĀCALA 10 SUKṢUMAR GIRI 11 GORATHAGIRI 12 PRETAKŪṬA 13 NĀGĀRJUNI 14 GṚDHRAKŪṬA 15 KHALLU PAHĀD 16 ANTARGIRI 17 ROHITAGIRI 18 GAVĀŚIRṢA 19 HAKULA PARVATA 20 MALLA 21 NĪLAGIRI 22 RAIVATAKA HILLS 23 ŪRJAYANTA PARVATA 24 ŚATRUÑJAYA 25 ASIRGARH 26 KAILĀSA 27 TRĪKŪṬA 28 BRAHMAGIRI 29 ELLORA 30 UDAIGIRI 31 RATNAGIRI 32 LALITAGIRI 33 MAHĀNILAYAKA 34 UDAYAGIRI 35 DHAULI 36 ŚRIŚCANDRAGARH 37 PURAN-DHARA 38 MAHENDRA-CALA 39 KOMRONDA 40 ANANDABANDI HILLS 41 JATINGA-RAMEŚVARA 42 CANDRAVALLI 43 TIRUPATI 44 DEVADURGA 45 PAÑCĀPĀNDAMALAI 46 BAVA HILL 47 HATHIRACALA 48 PUṢPAGIRI 49 STHĀCALAM 50 VENKAṬĀCALAMALAI 51 OṆDHĀCALAM 52 ANAMALAI 53 AGASTYAMALAI

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Legend: ABOVE 3000 METRES; 1500-3000 METRES; BELOW 1500 METRES

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Scale: MILES 100 0 100 200 300 400 MILES

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Fig. 14 BHARATAVARSA RIVERS PURANIC NAMES ARE IN RED MILES 0 50 100 150 200 MILES

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This image is blank. There is no text to transcribe.

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but natural pattern. These ranges are nothing but the watersheds which bound wholly or partly the catchment areas of important rivers of Bhāratavarṣa. For instance, the catchment areas of the Gaṅgā, the Sindhu and the Lohitā (Brahmaputrā) are associated with the Himavat; those of the Godāvarī, the Kṛṣṇā and the Kāverī with the Sahya; those of the Tāptī, Narmadā (Viṣṇu Purāṇa) and the Baitaranī with the Vindhyas, etc. The only important river whose catchment area is not covered by the Himavat, the Sahya, the Mahendra, the Malaya, the Rikṣavat and the Vindhya is the Mahānadī, a considerable river system which is not accounted for in the general pattern of Purāṇic topographical description. Therefore the Sūktimat, the remaining range from the Purāṇic list is very likely the one which is associated with the basin of the Mahānadī.

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In the topographical map of Bhārata, the Sūktimat mountain is shown as a ring of ranges that encircle the Mahānadī basin which very nearly concides with the present Mahākosala and the Purāṇic Dakṣina-Kosala. The northern and north-western portion of this divide coincides with the southern Maikala range, the southern and eastern with the hills of Kanker and Sambalpur. The rivers which flow from the Sūktimat are given by the Purāṇas as the Ṛṣikulyā or the Kā'sika (Matsya), the Kumārī or the Sūkamārī, the Mandagā, the Manda Vāhinī, the Kṛpā or Kūpā and the Palaśinī (Paiṣinī). The Vāmana Purāṇa adds two more, the Sunī and the Sudāmi (see Table below). Of these the Mandagā is probably the river Mand, a left-bank tributary of the Mahānadī which itself is represented in the list as the Manda Vāhinī. The Kṛpa is the Arpa which joins the Seonath or the Sūnī, a considerable river, and their combined waters fall into the Mahānadī from the north. The Palaśinī is either the Jonk, a right-bank tributary of the Mahānadī on which the town Paraswani stands and reminds one of the name of the river Palaśinī or the bigger river Pairi which after joining the Sandur (or Sudami?) meets the Mahānadī at Rajim. The former is more probable since the main route from the coast into the Mahānadī basin crossed the river at Sankra while the latter was far away from the established route.

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These and other rivers of Bhāratavarṣa listed in the Purāṇas have been tabulated on the following pages. The Table gives their names as given in different Purāṇas as well as short notes where necessary on some of them. These notes are intended to supplement those already given in earlier works. It will be seen that in the identification of features, geographical relationships are given more importance than the accounts of these features found elsewhere.

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RIVERS FROM THE HIMAVAT PARVATA

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| Purāṇic names of rivers | | | | | Present names | Notes |
| Mārk | RV | Vy | Mts | Br | | |
| Gaṅgā | S | S | S | S | Gaṅgā | |
| Saraswatī | S | S | S | S | Saraswatī | { Bet. the Yamunā and the Sutlej. In ancient times the Saraswatī-Ghaggar-Hakra-Nara formed a considerable stream, known as the Saraswatī. |
| Sindhu | S | S | S | S | Sindhu (Indus) | { Candra and Bhāgā are its headwaters. |
| Candrabhāgā | | | | | Chenāb | |
| Yamunā | | S | S | S | Yamunā | |
| Śatadrū | S | S | S | S | Sutlej | |
| Vitastā | | S | S | S | Jhelum | |
| Irāvatī | | S | S | S | Rāvi | |
| Kuhū | | S | S | S | Kābul | |

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The abbreviations used in this table and other following tables are as under: S = Same as in the first column O = Omitted RV = Ṛgveda Mārk = Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa Mts = Matsya Purāṇa Vy = Vāyu Purāṇa Br = Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa Krm = Kūrma Purāṇa Var = Varāha Purāṇa

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Note: The names of the rivers and their order of enumeration vary slightly in different Purāṇas. The RV list of the Himalayan rivers runs as follows: Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Saraswatī, Śutudrī, Vipāś, Paruṣṇī, Asiknī, Marudvṛdhā, Vitastā, Arjīkiyā, Suṣomā, Trisāmā, Susartu, Svetī, Sindhu, Kubhā, Gomatī, Krumu, Mehatnu (RV, X, 75, 5, 6). Here the order is from Gaṅgā towards the west and all the rivers of the north-west and their major tributaries occur in the same order.

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| Gomati | S | S | S | Gomati | | On which Lucknow is situated. It is different from the RV. Gomatī (= Gomal). |
| Dhutapāpā | O | S | S | Sārada | | With its head-streams. |
| Bāhudā | O | S | S | Rapti | | |
| Dṛṣadvatī | S | S | S | Chitang | | A tributary of the Ghaggar between the Yamunā and the Sutlej. |
| Vipāśā | S | S | Viśālā | S | Beas | |
| Devikā | O | S | S | S | Deeg | A tributary of the Ravi (right bank). |
| Sarayū | O | S | S | S | Gogra | |
| Raṅksu | O | Iksu | Iksu | | Rāmaṅgā | Iksu appears to be correct reading. |
| Niścīrā | O | S | Niścalā | Nirvīrā | | |
| | | | | Nisvīrā | | |
| | | | | Nicitā | | |
| Gaṇḍakī | O | S | S | S | Gaṇḍak | With its three headwaters Dudh Kośī, Sun Kośī and Tamba Kośī. |
| Kausikī | O | S | S | S | Kośī | |
| | O | Tritvā | Tritvā | Tritvā | | |
| | O | Lohityā | Lohityā | Lohityā | Brahmaputra | |

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In the list. Except the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, no river of the Gangetic system is represented here. Alberuni's list of these rivers is based on the Purāṇas but in it we find a sequence from west to east. This sequence has been helpful in identifying some of the rivers in the Purāṇic list. His list runs as follows: Siṅh, Biyatta, Candraba, Biyāha, Irāvatī, Śatarudra, Sarsat (Saraswatī), Jaun (Yamunā), Gaṅga, Sarayū, Devikā Kuhn, Gomati, Dhutpāpā, Viśālā, Bāhudāsu, Kausikī, Niścīrā, Gaṇḍakī, Lohitā. For the identification of these rivers, the following two facts were kept in mind:
(a) These rivers are perennial, they rise from 'snow-clad' ranges and
(b) they rise from the Himalayas. Rivers which do not fulfil these conditions were discarded.

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RIVERS FROM THE PĀRIPĀTRA PARVATA

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| | Purāṇic names of rivers | | | | | | |
| **Mārk** | **Vy** | **Mts** | **Br** | **Others** | **Present names** | **Notes** |
| Vedasmṛti | S | S | S | Vedāsinī Veda | Banās | It is surprising that scholars who attempted to identify the rivers issuing from the Pāripātra Parvata did not realise that their identifications ignored the rivers of the Matsya Country—one of the most ancient, flourishing and important janapadas of Madhyadeśa. In the past, the rivers of this region carried more water and were perennial. Vairat, the capital of the Matsyas was located where the headwaters of the Bangangā and Sabi meet. |
| Vedavatī | S | Vetravatī | S | Vedarata (Krm) | Berach | |
| Vṛtaghnī | S | S | S | Vrataghnī (Krm) | Bangangā Utangan | |
| Sindhu | S | S | S | Tridivā | Kālī Sindh | |
| Veṇvā | S | Parṇāśā | Parṇāśā | | W. Banās | Which flows west of the Aravallis. |
| Nandanī | | | | Candanā | Candanā | Sābarmatī | |
| Sadānīrā | Satīrā | Kāverī | S | Sadātīrā, Pāvanī | Saraswatī | The Saraswatī was once an important stream. It formed the boundary between the 'Western' and 'North-Western' countries of the Purāṇas. |

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RIVERS FROM THE PĀRIPĀTRA PARVATA (Contd.)

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| Mahī | Mahatī | S | S | Manoramā, Rohī | Mahī | |
| Pārā | S | S | S | | Parbatī | |
| Carmanvatī | S | Dhanvatī | S | | Chambal | Like a rainbow (Dhanvatī). |
| Nūpā | O | Rūpā | O | Sura Sūrya Tapi Lūpā | Gambhīr | Rūpā appears to be correct. Tributary of the Yamunā on which Rupabas is located. |
| Vidīśā | S | Viduṣā | S | | Bes | Besnagar (Vidīśā) is situated on it. |
| Vetravatī | S | Veṇumatī | S | | Betwa | |
| Siprā | S | S | S | | Siprā | Of Ujjain. |
| Avanti | Avanti | Avanti | Avanti | | Avanti | Rises near Mhow. |

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RIVERS FROM THE ṚKṢA PARVATA (FROM PĀRIPĀTRA : VĀYU)

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| Purāṇic names of rivers | | | | | Present names | Notes |
| Mārk | Vy | Mts | Br | Others | | |
| Soṇa | S | S | S | | Soṇa | It is obvious that none of these rivers rises from the Purāṇic Ṛkṣa Mt. (see Map). The Matsya Purāṇa very correctly omits them altogether. However, whenever these rivers are named, they are qualified by the expression ‘Suratha-Adri’ which means that (although they are mentioned in this list) they actually rise from or near about Amarkantak or (Suratha-Adri). |
| Mahānadā | S | S | S | Jyotiratha (Var.) | Mahānadī | |
| Narmadā | S | S | S | | Narmadā | |
| Mandākinī | S | S | S | | Mandākinī | |
| Daśārṇā | S | S | S | | Dhasan | |
| Citrakūṭā | S | S | S | | Citrakūṭā | |
| Tamasā | S | S | S | | Tons | All these rivers belong to the Bundelkhand Region. As they carry ‘coloured stones or gravel’, they are all qualified by the expression Citrotpalā which is added at the end of their list. |
| Pippalīśroṇī | S | -śyenī | S | | Paisunī | |
| Piśācikā | Piśābikā | O | S | | Pippala | |
| Karamodā | Kartoyā | O | Kartoyā | | Karam-nāśā | |

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RIVERS FROM ṚKṢA PARVATA (Contd.)

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| Citrotpalā | Nilotpalā | Citrotpalā | Citrotpalā | Citrotpalā | | | | |
| Vipaśā | S | Vimalā | S | Viśālā | Bewas | | Near Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. | |
| | | | | Mahīvegā | | | | |
| Vañjulā | | Jambūlā | Cañcalā | Jambūlā | Jamnī | | A tributary of the Betwa. Jambūlā is more correct. | |
| | | | | Vañjulā | | | | |
| O | | Bāluvāhinī | Dhūtvāhinī | Bāluvāhinī | Ratnavāhinī | Baghain | A tributary of the Yamunā, on which Kalinjar is situated. | |
| Sume-Rujā | | Siterajā | Sumilajā | Siterajā | O (Krm) | Sonar-Bearma | Tributaries of the Ken river. | |
| Suktimati | | S | S | S | O (Krm) | Ken | | |
| Sakuli | | Makṣuṇā | Mukuṭā | Makṣuṇā | Pankinī | Sakri | Meets the Gaṅgā between Patna and Monghyr | |
| | | | | | Makṣuṇā | | | |
| Tridivā | | S | Hradikā | S | | | | |
| Kramu | | Kramāt | O | Kramāt | Kramah | | | |

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RIVERS FROM THE VINDHYA PARVATA

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| | Purāṇic names of rivers | | | | | Present names | Notes |
| | Mārk | Vy | Mts | Br | Others | | |
| Siprā | | | Kṣiprā | Madrā | Sīghrodā Sīghra | Siprā | |
| Pyoṣṇī | | S | S | S | From Ṛkṣa (Vāman) Payoṣī | Newuj | On which Ujjain is situated. The first three rivers actually rise in the Pāripātra Range and not from the Vindhyas. |
| Nirvindhyā | S | | S | S | Newaj | Between Ujjain and Vaitravatī (Meghadūta). |
| Tāpī | | S | S | S | Tāptī | |
| Niṣadhāvatī | | Niṣadhā | Ṛṣabhā | Niṣada-nadī | Mahānadī (Krm) | Sind | The river on which Narwar, the capital of Niṣadhas was located. |
| Veṇvā | | S | Veṇā | S | Vinna | Wain-gaṅgā | |

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RIVERS FROM THE VINDHYA PARVATA (Contd.)

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| Vaitaraṇī | S | S | S | Baitraṇī | |
| Sirivālī | Sītibāhu | Viśva-mālā | Sītibāhu | Satabala Vedipala | |
| Kumudvatī | S | S | Toyā | S | Suvarṇa-rekha |
| Karatoyā | Toyā | Toyā | Brāhmaṇī | Brāhmaṇī | Although Karatoyā is the present name of a Himalayan river in West Bengal, it is not indicated here since this river rises from Vindhya. |
| Mahāgaurī | S | S | S | Damodar | This is the only river which is 'full of rocks' (Antasira) and is 'difficult to encounter' (Durgama) on account of floods, etc. |
| O | O | O | O | Purna (Padma) | Purna | A tributary of the Tāpti |

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RIVERS FROM THE SAHYA PARVATA

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| | Purāṇic names of rivers | | | | | Present names | Notes |
| Mārk | Vy | Mts | Br | Others | | | |
| Godāvarī | S | Bhīma-rathi | S | S | | Godāvarī | |
| Bhīmarathā | S | Bhīma-rathi | S | Bhīma-rathi | | Bhīmā | |
| Kṛṣṇaveṇyā | S | Kṛṣṇa-veṇī | S | S | | Kṛṣṇa | |
| Veṇvā | S | Vaiṇī | O | Veṇu Viṇū, Viṇṇa | Veṇā, | Veṇā | Veṇā appears to be the correct reading. It is a headwater tributary of the Kṛṣṇa. It cannot be the Penner which does not rise from the Sahya Parvata. |
| Tuṅgabhadrā | S | | S | S | | Tuṅga-bhadra | |
| Suprayogā | S | | S | S | | Vedavatī (Hagari) | Easy to bathe in', i.e., shallow with low banks and free from floods and gravel. |
| Bāhyā | O | | S | O | Varada (Agni) | Varadā | The reading in Agni Purāṇa is correct. |
| Kāverī | S | | S | S | | Kāverī | |
| O | S | | Vañjulā | Vañjulā | | Mañjirā | |

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RIVERS FROM THE MALAYA PARVATA

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| Purāṇic names of rivers | | | | Present names | Notes |
| Mārk | Vy | Mts | Br | Others | | |
| Kṛtamālā | S | S | S | Ṛtamālā Satamālā Katamālā | Vaigai | It is a river which makes a broad 'garland-like' semi-circle. This points to Vaigai R. Besides, its alternative name 'Katamālā' points to its source, the Kottai-Malai Peak at the junction of the Varushnad and Cardamom Hills. |
| Tāmraparṇi | Tāmra-varṇā | S | S | | Tāmraparṇi | It is the most important river of Tamilnad in the sense that it is the only perennial river of this region. |
| Puspajā | Puspajāti | S | Puspajāti | Puspavati | Pambiar | Puspagiri is a part of the Malaya Range from which the Kṛtamālā rises (Mārk. and Viṣṇu). Puspajā ('full of flowers') represents the river which flows down the flowery western slope of the range. |
| Satpalāvatī | Utpalāvatī | Utpalāvatī | Punpalvati | Utpalavati | Periyar | This river which does not contain much silt but carries 'stones' or small boulders along its bed (Utpalvati) represents the Periyar in Kerala which is a hilly perennial stream rising from the western slopes of the Uttamapalaiyam trough. |

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RIVERS FROM THE MAHENDRA PARVATA

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| Purāṇic names of rivers | | | | | Present names | Notes |
| Márk | Vy | Mts | Br | Others | | |
| Pitsoma | | Trisāmā | Tribhāgā | Trisāmā | Trisāmā | Ghodahada Bhagava Patama | The three headwaters of the Ṛṣikulya collectively known as Tribhāgā. |
| Ṛṣikulya | S | Ṛṭukulya | S | S | Ṛṣikulya | (See also under Sūktimat Mt.) |
| Ikṣukā | | Ikṣulā | Ikṣudā | Ikṣulā | Ikṣulā | Bahuda | On which Iechapuram is located. |
| Tridivā | | S | S | S | Vegavati Nagavati Suvarṇa-mukhi | The three headwaters of the Lāṅgūlini collectively known as Tridivā. |
| Lāṅgūlini | | O | O | S | Mulini Lamulni | Lāṅgulī | |
| Vamśakarā | | | S | S | Vamśa-dharā | |

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RIVERS FROM THE SŪKTIMAT PARVATA

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| Purāṇic names of rivers | | | | | Present names | Notes |
| Mārk | Vy | Mts | Br | Others | | |
| Ṛṣikulyā | Ṛṣikā | Kāśikā | Ṛṣikā | | Ṛṣikulyā | Same as for Mahendra Parvata river of the same name. |
| Kumārī | Sukumārī | Sukumārī | Sukumārī | | Suktel | With a narrow valley. Joins Mahānadī at Sonpur (Orissa). |
| Mandagā | S | S | S | | Mand | |
| Mandavāhinī | S | S | S | | Mahānadī (Proper) | |
| Kṛpā | Kūpā | S | S | | Arpa | |
| Palāśinī | S | Piśinī | S | | Jonk | On which Paraswani is located (Raipur Dist., M.P.). |
| O | O | O | O | Sunī (Vāmana) | Seonath | |
| Q | O | O | O | Sandur (Vāmana) | Sudāmā | Which meets the Mahānadī at Rajim. |

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CHAPTER IX Bharatavarsa: Regional Classification

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BHĀRATAVARṢA, according to Purāṇic cosmography, was divided into 'nava khaṇḍas' or nine divisions or units. According to Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa they are:

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*Indradvīpaḥ Kaserumāns-Tāmraparṇo Gabhastimān*
*Nāgadvīpa stathā Saumyo Gandharvo Varuṇas tathā*
*Ayam tu navamastesām dvīpaḥ sāgarasortaḥ*¹
*Yojanānām sahasram vai dvīpo yam dakṣinottarāt*
*Brāhmaṇaḥ Kṣatriyā Vaiśyāḥ Śūdraścantahs Thitā dvijāḥ*²

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These nine 'bhedas' or 'khaṇḍas' of Bhāratavarṣa are mentioned also in the famous astronomical work, the Siddhānta Siromaṇi (III. 41) of the celebrated astronomer Bhāskarācārya, as well as in the majority of Purāṇas. The Vāmana and the Garuḍa Purāṇas, however, replace Saumya and Gandharva by Kataha and Simhala. The ninth dvīpa which is described as 'encircled by seas', 'extending over a thousand yojanas from north to south',³ with Kiratas at the eastern extreme and Yavanas (or Ionians) at the western end and Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and Śudras residing in between', is not mentioned by name in the majority of the Purāṇas. The name is supplied by the Vāmana Purāṇa as Kumāra (XIII. ii) and by the Kumarika Khaṇḍam of the Skanda Purāṇa as Kumarika (30, 60). The Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara also gives the name of the ninth dvīpa as Kumārī (Daśavibhāga, p. 92). The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa along with other Purāṇas describes the nine dvīpas as 'separated by seas and as being mutually inaccessible' (Samudrantarita jneyaste tvagamyah parasparam, Mārk. 575).

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As details of these nine khaṇḍas are lacking in the Purāṇas, there has been a lot of speculation and a great deal of disagreement among scholars regarding their identification. Thus, Alberuni identifies Indradvīpa with Madhyadeśa, i.e., the Middle Country (Indica I, p. 296), while Abul Fazl in his Ain-i-Akbari places it between Laṅka and the Mahendra hills (III. p. 31) which somewhat agrees with the location of the dvīpa as described in Skanda Purāṇa. Majumdar identifies it with Burma. The next dvīpa, Kaserumat, is placed by Alberuni to the east of Madhyadeśa, and by Abul Fazl, between the Mahendra and Sukti hills. Majumdar identifies it with the Malay Peninsula. The third dvīpa, Tāmravarṇa or (Tāmraparṇa or Tāmraparṇi) is placed in the south-east by Alberuni and between Sukti and Malaya by Abul Fazl. It has been identified by some scholars with the region drained by the river Tāmraparṇi in the extreme south, and by others with Ceylon which the Greek geographers knew as Taprobane, and is referred to in the inscriptions of Asoka as Tāmbapaṇṇi. Gabhastimat, according to Abul Fazl, lay between the Rakṣa and the Malaya, and according to Alberuni, to the south of the Madhyadeśa. According to Smith, Nāgadwipa seems to be identical with the Jāffna Peninsula of Ceylon.⁴ Saumya has not been identified, but Kataha which is the substitute reading in the Vāmana Purāṇa has been identified by some with Kedah in the Malaya Peninsula. Gandharva is placed by Alberuni to the north-west of the Madhyadeśa; it could be the well-known and ancient region of Gandhara. Garuḍa Purāṇa reads Simhala (instead of Gandharva) which probably indicates Ceylon. Varuṇa, the eighth dwipa, is placed by Abul Fazl between the Sahya and the Vindhya. Cunningham⁵ suggests that these nine khaṇḍas belong to greater India, i.e., Greater Bhāratavarṣa which included the islands and peninsula of the East Indies and not to Bhārata proper. Thus he identifies the nine khaṇḍas with Burma, Malaya Peninsula, Jāvā, Sumātrā, Ceylon, etc.

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⁴ ‘They (the khaṇḍas) are all surrounded by sea and are therefore mutually inaccessible’ (45, 78).

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The above paragraphs show that there is much confusion about the location of the nine khaṇḍas of the Purāṇas. To make sense out of this confusion, it will first be necessary to marshall all the facts which are given in any Purāṇa and which are directly or indirectly related to the extent and location of Bhāratavarṣa and its ‘nava khaṇḍas’. For this purpose we tentatively select Vāyu Purāṇa since it gives practically all the details necessary for our discussion in a logical sequence. The Vāyu Purāṇa mentions the following facts:

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¹ Bhāratavarṣa lies north of the ‘sea’ and south of Himavān (45, 75).

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² ‘It is 9,000 yojanas in extent from Kumarikya to the Gaṅgā and from north to south’ (45, 81). This statement is in accordance with the general regional pattern of Jambū Dwīpa in which each regional belt between the principal mountain chains is 9,000 yojanas in width.

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³ Indradwīpa, Kaserumat, Tāmravarṇa, Gabhastimān Nāgadwipa, Saumya, Gandharva and Varuṇa are the eight khaṇḍas of Bhāratavarṣa (45, 79). Although the name of the ninth khaṇḍa is not given, the total number of the khaṇḍas is nine (45, 78). The ninth khaṇḍa extends for 1,000 yojanas (45, 80). On its east live Kiratas, on its west, Yavanas, and in its centre, Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras.

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5. 'He who conquers and holds all of them is called Samrāt or Emperor' (45, 86).

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6. Thereafter paras 86-137 of chapter 45 of the Vāyu Purāṇa give details of the regional mountains (Kul-Parvatas), rivers and people of Bhāratavarṣa. Then follow chapters 46 and 47 which deal with the regions lying north of Bhāratavarṣa, i.e. the Trans-Himalayan regions. Chapter 48 specifically describes 'the lands south of Bhāratavarṣa' which clearly implies that these lands are not included in Bhāratavarṣa but lie outside its limits to its south. The contents of this chapter have been examined and fully discussed in a later chapter. It brings out the important fact that the islands and peninsulas of South-Eastern Asia lay beyond the limits of Bhāratavarṣa.

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Para 6 above, therefore, at once disproves the contention of Cunningham, Majumdar and others who supposed that Bhāratavarṣa, in the context of its nine divisions, meant Greater India and included the Malay Peninsula and the islands of the East Indies. It is true that the Indian monarchs at one time ruled over South-Eastern Asia but the facts enumerated above show that the Purāṇas clearly distinguished between India proper or Bhāratavarṣa and the islands or dwīpas which lie to the south-east of it.

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We have therefore to find the nine khaṇḍas of Bhāratavarṣa within India proper which satisfy statements 1-4 mentioned above. But, statement 4, if taken literally as it has been taken by many scholars, apparently presents an anomaly. How can we divide Bhāratavarṣa into regions 'surrounded by sea' and 'mutually inaccessible'? This anomaly is resolved if we take a broader and more rational view of the statement which may be analysed as follows:

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(i) 'Surrounded by sea' actually means 'surrounded wholly or partially by a sheet of water'. This sheet of water may be a sea, an arm of a sea or even a broad and deep river which is normally difficult to cross.

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(ii) 'Inaccessible' means 'difficult of access' wholly, on account of a vast or deep expanse of water surrounding the region or partly on account of water and partly on account of other natural obstacles (e.g., thick forests, high mountains, swamps or deserts). For example, the Makran coast is 'inaccessible' to the rest of India since it is surrounded on one side by a sea, on another side by the water of the Indus and on the remaining sides by barren hills or sandy plains. Again, the land beyond the lower Brahmaputra is 'difficult of access', since its broad and deep valley separates the eastern region from the rest of India.

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Let us, therefore, first of all find those regions of India which are difficult of access from the Gangetic plain by virtue of the fact that they are bounded by a large river or a sea and are normally 'inaccessible' on account of these alone or in conjunction with other natural obstacles. The physical map of India, read with the map of 'Negative Areas', shows that these regions are:

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(a) the Trans-Indus and the Trans-Brahmaputra regions of India;

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(b) the western and the eastern coastal plains; and

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(c) Peninsular India.

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To the above-mentioned observations let us add the following information which may be helpful in the identification of many (if not all) of the 'nava khandas' of Bharatavarsa:

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(i) The Western or Arabian Sea has long been known as the abode of Varuna just as the Eastern (or Bay of Bengal) was considered as the abode of Laksmi. Therefore, Varuna Khanda is likely to have been located on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

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(ii) Gandharva Khanda appears to be related to the ancient Gandharva land and may therefore be located in the Trans-Indus region of India.

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(iii) Tamraparna Khanda (Tamraparna according to Kurma and Tamraparni according to Matsya) appears to be associated with the River Tamrapani which rises in the Malaya range.

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(iv) Indra is the god of rain. The monsoonic rain-bearing winds in northern India come from the east. The track of tropical cyclones which cause rains there runs from the apex of the Bay of Bengal up the Gangetic Delta to the Gangetic Plains from east to west. Indradwipa, therefore, in all likelihood, indicates a region beyond the Brahmaputra in the east. Garuda Purana expressly mentions that it lies beyond the Mahendra range.

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(v) The Vamana and Garuda Puranas substitute Kataha and Simhala for Saumya and Gandharva. This most probably implies that in a later period of Indian history, the Trans-Indus regions were lost to India, were consequently considered extra-Indian and dropped from the list. Their place was taken by regions added by territorial acquisitions in the south and west. Kathiawar (Kataha) and Ceylon (Simhala), it appears, were added to the traditional list as the two new khandas or regions of India.

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(vi) The Nagas or serpent-worshippers figure in a semi-mythical way in the early epic traditions. In protohistoric times, they are mentioned as people associated with various mountainous regions called after the names of serpent-kings like Vasuki, Karkotaka, Ananta, Sesa, Samkhacuda, Pundarika and Taksaka. Their daughters were married to epic heroes like Arjuna and Kuśa, son of Rāma. Nāga colonies and kingdoms therefore extended all over the mountainous belt between the Narmadā and the Godāvarī along the Vindhya and the Satpura up to the Chhoṭā-Nāgpur plateau.

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Considering all the points mentioned above and the inaccessible or partly-accessible natural regions of India detailed above, we may conclude that:

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Tāmravarṇa = the sector of the Indian peninsula south of the Kāverī.

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Indra = the Trans-Brahmaputra region.

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Kaserumat = the coastal plain between the deltas of Godāvarī and Mahānadī.

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Gabhistimān = the hilly belt between the Narmadā and the Godāvarī.

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Saumyo = the coastal belt west of the Indus.

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Gandharva = the cis-Indus region.

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Varuṇa = the western coast of India.

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The Purāṇic ‘nava khaṇḍas’ mentioned above are comparable to the division of Bhāratavarṣa into nine bhedas by the celebrated astronomers Parasara and Varāhamihira.⁶ These astronomers conceived the shape of India as that of a tortoise (Kūrma) lying outspread; they therefore describe the country as Kūrma-cakra. Each of the nine bhedas is called a ‘varga’ by Varāhamihira; Bhāratavarṣa is thus divided into nine parts conforming to nine of the ten points of the compass, e.g., the central, eastern, southern, western, northern, south-eastern or Agneya, south-western or Nairata, north-western or Vayava and north-eastern or Arsana. Pāñcāla was the main district in the central division, Magadha in the eastern, Pulinda in the north-eastern, Madra in the northern, Harahaura (Hara Huna) in the north-western, Sindhu in the western, Anarta in the south-western, Avanta in the southern and Kaliṅga in the south-eastern (Bṛhat Saṃ., XIV, 32, 33.). But when Varāhamihira describes details, he assigns Sindhu and Sauvira in the south-western division (Nairata) along with Pahlava and Kamboja and evidently Anarta also (ibid, XIV. 17). These details are also supported by the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, which assigns both Sindhu-Sauvira and Anarta to the south-west.

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The Purāṇas as well as the Mahābhārata give and follow a simpler though less scientific regional division of Bhāratavarṣa, i.e., its division into 5 or 7 regions. The division of India into five regions is as old as the Atharvaveda (XIX. 17. 1-9) and the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa (VIII. 14), and was adopted by the later Brāhmaṇical and Buddhistic authorities.7 Thus Smṛti writers like Baudhāyana seem to suggest a fivefold division while Rājaśekhara in his Kāvyamīmāṃśa actually adopts it. Buddhist writers like Yuan Chwang and the authors of earlier texts also follow the same division. The Mahābhārata also describes five divisions in detail, the central or Madhyadeśa, the eastern, southern, western and northern and at least three Purāṇas, the Matsya, Vāyu and Viṣṇu, agree with it. According to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Madhyadeśa was occupied by the Kurus and Pāñcālas, the east by the people of Kāmarūpa, the south by the Puṇḍras, Kaliṅgas and Magadhas, the west by the Saurāṣṭras, Suras, Abhiras, Arbudas, Karusas, Mālavas, Sauviras and Saindhavas, and the north (?) by the Huṇas, Salvas, the people of Sakala, Ambasthas, Parasikas, Ramas, etc. (Wilson's Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Vol. II. Bk. II. 3. p. 132); there is, however, no mention of the northern division in the text but it is nevertheless evident. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa list of countries is very meagre; the Mahābhārata has a much longer catalogue, but it is without any arrangement; so also is the Padma Purāṇa.

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The longest list of countries and peoples of India given under this regional scheme is, however, contained in the Mārkaṇḍeya, the Brahmāṇḍa and the Vāyu Purāṇas. Both the Mārkaṇḍeya and the Brahmāṇḍa refer to the territorial divisions of India (Kumaridwipa) as numbering seven, the latter expressly stating that in ancient times Bhāratavarṣa was divided into seven regions (sapta khaṇḍam).8 But this division into seven regions is not in any way fundamentally different from the division into five which is adopted by the majority of the Purāṇas, and the Mahābhārata. This will be evident from the lists of the divisions which are as follows: the Madhyadeśa, the Udicya or north, the Prācya or east, the Dakṣiṇāpatha or south the Aparānta or west, the Vindhyan region and the Himālayan region (Parvatasreyinah).

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The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa has also a second classification, apart from this seven, into nine, adopted certainly from the astronomical and astrological work of Varāhamihira and Parasara. As mentioned earlier, India is described as resting on Viṣṇu in the form of a tortoise looking eastward; the various countries and peoples of Bhāratavarṣa are distributed accordingly over the different parts of his body, together with corresponding lunar constellations. The majority of the names of countries and peoples is very much the same as we find in the Nadyadi Varnana section of the same Purāṇa, but there are also many names that are entirely new and original.

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It has already been pointed out that, geographically speaking, the division of our country into seven regions is simple and is easily comprehended. We, therefore, propose to follow the account as given in the Nadyadi Varṇana section (Ch. 58) of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. The Brahmāṇḍa and the Vāyu Purāṇas, and as a matter of fact other Purāṇas also, give us nothing more than what is presented in these two sections of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.

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The Madhyadeśa or central region (see the relief map of India) covered approximately the upper and middle Gangetic basin and the Yamunā-Cambal catchment area up to and including the Sone valley on the east, Sutlej on the north-west, Himālayas on the north, Āravallis on the west and the Satpura in the south. The Northern (or rather north-western) region comprised the whole of the Indus Basin including that of the river Kābul up to the Hindūkush. Its southern boundary may be taken as the River Sutlej. West of the Āravallis and south of the Sutlej up to and including the Baluchistān ranges on the west and the northern portion of the western coastal plain up to the Tāpti was the western region of the Purāṇics. The eastern region extended from the eastern limit of the central region up to the Assam hills from east to west and from the Himālayas to the eastern coastal plain, up to Mahendri. The rest of the peninsula south of the Satpuras was the southern region of Bhāratavarṣa.

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