The Geography of the Puranas c18.4

c18.4

1 There is sufficient literature on the geography of Bhāratavarṣa. An exhaustive list of the source material appears in B.C. Law's *Historical Geography of Ancient India* and Cunningham's *Ancient India*. Dr. D. C. Sircar in his *Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India* mainly deals with the physiographic and regional content of Bhāratavarṣa as given in the Purāṇic and later literature. It also contains extracts from the Purāṇas which are relevant to the geography of the country. These and other works of N. L. Dey (*Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval India*), Ray Chowdhury (*Studies in Indian Antiquities*), Dikshiter (*Puranic Index*) and other scholars are helpful in visualising the extent, topography and population pattern of Bhāratavarṣa as described in the Purāṇas.