The Geography of the Puranas c12.91
The Geography of the Purāṇas c12.91
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c12.91
Alberuni in his *India* (p. 157, transl. i. 303) says, "Yama Koti is, according to Yaqub (b. Tariq) and Al Fazari (c. 754-775 A.D.) the country of which the city "Tara" (read as Bara) is in the sea. I have not found the slightest trace of this name (i.e., Tara or Bara) in Indian literature. As "Koti" means "castle" and Yama is the "Angel of Death", the word reminds me of Kangdiz, which according to the Persians, had been built by Kay-Kaus or Jam, in the most remote east, behind the sea...." Reinand has shown that the Indian Yama Koti represents the Persian Jamgard. Alberuni puts it at 190° 51' longitude on the equator, which indicates that Yama Koti is locted somewhere in Sumātrā, Malaya or Jāvā.