The Geography of the Puranas c9.11

c9.11

Sitānta means 'end of cold', i.e., a range which marks the dividing line between the cold and hot regions. If the river Kizil-Su represents the headwaters of the Purāṇic river Sitā, Sitānta is obviously the Kashghar range, i.e., the last longitudinal range of the Pāmir region facing the Tarim basin, on the east. It is a range which, to a traveller coming from the east across the hot and sandy Tarim Basin, stands athwart the route towards the west and promises a cool climate beyond. It is an effective climatic barrier which separates a hot and dry desert on the east from a cold plateau on the west. Coming from the west it literally marks the ‘end of cold’ and is therefore rightly qualified for its name, Sitānta.