The Geography of the Puranas c9.16

c9.16

The Purāṇic account of the river Sītā does not end here. It presumes that the river traverses the Devakūṭa, the Altin Tagh–Nai Shan Block through underground channels, reappears on its eastern margin and flows through Bhadravaṛṣa to the Eastern Sea. Obviously the continuation of the Tarim towards the east refers to the Hwangho river of China. Thus the Purāṇic Sītā represents the Tarim-Hwangho rivers taken as one—uninterrupted in its career from the Pāmirs to the Pacific Ocean.