The Geography of the Puranas c7.s5.68

c7.s5.68

There, however, appears to be a discrepancy. The Purāṇas say that all these ranges extend from sea to sea. This is literally true in the case of the Himavān only. Why and where did the Purāṇics make this obvious mistake in the case of other ranges? If we look at the map of Asia closely we find that the Śṛṅgavān, Śveta and Nila end on the west in the Kizil Kum and Kara Kum deserts, and on the east in the Gobi desert. The Niṣadha extends from the Caspian to the China Sea (taking Tsinling Mountain as its eastern extension). The Hemakūṭa extends from the sea on the east to the Iranian desert on the west. Thus in each case, the range extends from sea to sea—if we define 'sea' as a large expanse of sand or water. Did the Purāṇics hold the view that as barriers to human settlement and movement, the sea of sand and that of water, were synonymous when considering the geography of the inhabited world?