The Geography of the Puranas c11.s5.15

c11.s5.15

*Asmaka and Maulika, Paurika (Paunika), Vidarbha*. The basin of the river Godāvarī forms an important unit in the historical geography of Southern India. The river drains a large area mainly composed of Deccan lavas and flows through a wide fertile valley towards the east. Its catchment area is bounded in the north by the Sahyadri Parvata or Ajanta range, the Nirmal and Satmala ranges and the hills of Bastar and Orissa known to the Purāṇics as the Mahendra Parvata. Through the gaps between these hills the affluents of the Godāvarī, the most important of which is the Waingangā, collect the drainage of the regions beyond these hills, virtually up to the Satpura, Mahadeo and Maikal hills. The ranges to the south of the basin are less pronounced except the Balaghat range which separates it from the valley of the river Bhīma.