The Geography of the Puranas c8.161

c8.161

As the Syr approaches Kara-Tau (the western extension of Śṛṅgavān) it turns north and receives the combined waters of the Bugun, Aris and others. The main stream of the Aris rises in the Mandantal massif with its three high snow-capped peaks, rightly designated as Triśṛṅga by the Purāṇas. The river therefore after ‘falling on this Saṃyukta Triśṛṅga’ sweeps in a north-westerly direction away from Triśṛṅga, and running south of Kara-Tau approaches the Ashikal depression in which the River Chu from the east and Sarysu from the north disappear. The Sarysu rises from the Ula-Tau Mountain (or Jarudhi of the Purāṇas). Naturally Jarudhi is the last mountain on which Bhadrasomā ‘falls’ before falling into the Western or the Aral Sea.