The Geography of the Puranas c8.62

c8.62

The ‘Gaṅgā-Avtāra Varṇana’ in the opening paragraph fixes the position of Mount Kailāsa north of the Himālaya on the Hemakūṭa (modern Kailāsa) range. The position of other mountains, rivers and lakes in the Trans-Himālayan region is then given with reference to this focal point (i.e., Mt. Kailāsa). This is logical, since, in the absence of latitudes and longitudes, reference to a fixed known point is absolutely necessary for locating the features around it.