The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s1.t1: Upper Sindh.
The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s1.t1
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Upper Sindh.
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The single principality of Upper Sindh, which is now generally known as *Siro*, that is the "Head or Upper" division, is described as being 7000 *li*, or 1167 miles, in circuit, which is too great, unless, as is very probable, it comprised the whole of Kachh Gandâva on the west. This was, no doubt, always the case under a strong government, which that of Chach’s predecessor is known to have been. Under this view Upper Sindh would have comprised the present districts of Kachh-Gandâva, Kâhan, Shikârpur, and Larkâna to the west of the Indus, and to the east those of Sabzalkot and Khairpur. The lengths of the frontier lines would, therefore, have been as follows:— on the north 340 miles; on the west 250 miles; on the east 280 miles, and on the south 260 miles; or altogether 1030 miles, which is a very near approximation to the estimate of Hwen Thsang.
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In the seventh century the capital of the province was named *Pi-chen-po-pu-lo*, which M. Julien transcribes as *Vichava-pura*. M. Vivien de St. Martin, however, suggests that it may be the Sanskrit *Vichála-pura*, or city of "Middle Sindh," which is called *Vicholo* by the people. But the Sindhi and Panjâbi *Vich* and the Hindi *Bích*, or "middle," are not derived from the Sanskrit, which has a radical word of its own, *Madhya*, to express the same thing. If Hwen Thsang had used the vernacular terms, his name might have been rendered exactly by the Hindi *Bichwá-pur*, or “ Middle City ;” but as he invariably uses the Sanskrit forms, I think that we must rather look to some pure Sanskrit word for the original of his *Pi-chen-po-pu-lo*. Now we know from tradition, as well as from the native historians, that Alor was the capital of Sindh both before and after the period of Hwen Thsang’s visit; this new name, therefore, must be only some variant appellation of the old city, and not that of a second capital. During the Hindu period it was the custom to give several names to all the larger cities,—as we have already seen in the case of Multân. Some of these were only poetical epithets; as *Kusumapura*, or “ Flower City ” applied to Pâtaliputra, and Padmavati, or, “ Lotus Town ” applied to Narwar; others were descriptive epithets as *Varanâsi*, or Banáras, applied to the city of Kâsi, to show that it was situated between the *Varana* and *Asi* rivulets; and *Kányakubja*, the “hump-backed maiden,” applied to Kanoj, as the scene of a well-known legend. The difference of name does not, therefore, imply a new capital, as it may be only a new appellation of the old city, or perhaps even the restoration of an old name which had been temporarily supplanted. It is true that no second name of Alor is mentioned by the historians of Sindh; but as Alor was actually the capital in the time of Hwen Thsang, it would seem to be quite certain that his name of *Pi-chen-po-pu-lo* is only another name for that city.
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It is of importance that this identification should be clearly established, as the pilgrim places the capital to the west of the Indus, whereas the present ruins of Alor or Aror are to the east of the river. But this very difference confirms the accuracy of the identification, for the Indus formerly flowed to the east of Alor, down the old channel, now called Nára, and the change in its course did not take place until the reign of Raja Dâhir,* or about fifty years after Hwen Thsang’s visit. The native histories attribute the desertion of Alor by the Indus to the wickedness of Raja Dâhir; but the gradual westing of all the Panjâb rivers which flow from north to south, is only the natural result of the earth’s continued revolution from west to east, which gives their waters a permanent bias towards the western banks.† The original course of the Indus was to the east of the Alor range of hills; but as the waters gradually worked their way to the westward, they at last turned the northern end of the range at Rori, and cut a passage for themselves through the gap in the limestone rocks between Rori and Bhakar. As the change is assigned to the beginning of Dâhir’s reign, it must have taken place shortly after his accession in A.D. 680;—and as Muhammad Kasim, just thirty years later, was obliged to cross the Indus to reach Alor, it is certain that the river was permanently fixed in its present channel before A.D. 711.
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† All streams that flow from the poles towards the equator work gradually to the westward, while those that flow from the equator towards the poles work gradually to the eastward. These opposite effects are caused by the same difference of the earth’s polar and equatorial velocities which gives rise to the trade winds.
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The old bed of the Indus still exists under the name of Nâra, and its course has been surveyed from the ruins of Alor to the Ran of Kachh. From Alor to Jakrao, a distance of 100 miles, its direction is nearly due south. It there divides into several channels, each bearing a separate name. The most easterly channel, which retains the name of Nâra, runs to the south-east by Kipra and Umrkot, near which it turns to the south-west by Wanga Bazar and Romaka Bazar, and is there lost in the great Ran of Kachh. The most westerly channel, which is named Purâna, or the “Old River,” flows to the south-south-west, past the ruins of Brahmanabad and Nasirpur to Haidarabad, below which it divides into two branches. Of these, one turns to the south-west and falls into the present river 15 miles below Haidarabad and 12 miles above Jarak. The other, called the Guni, turns to the south-east and joins the Nâra above Romaka Bazar. There are at least two other channels between the Purâna and the Nâra, which branch off just below Jakrao, but their courses are only partially known. The upper half of the old Nâra, from Alor to Jakrao, is a dry sandy bed, which is occasionally filled by the flood waters of the Indus. From its head down to Jâmiji it is bounded on the west by a continuation of the Alor hills, and is generally from 200 feet to 300 feet wide and 20 feet deep. From Jâmiji to Jakrao, where the channel widens to 600 feet with the depth of 12 feet, the Nâra is bounded on both sides by broad ranges of low sand-hills. Below Jakrao the sand-hills on the western bank suddenly terminate, and the Nâra, spreading over the alluvial plains, is divided into two main branches, which grow wider and shallower as they advance, until the western channels are lost in the hard plain, and the eastern channels in a succession of marshes. But they reappear once more below the parallel of Hala and Kipra, and continue their courses as already described above.[*]
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∗ Postans, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1838, p. 103.
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∗ See Map No. IX.
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In Upper Sindh the only places of ancient note are *Alor*, *Rori-Bhakar*, and *Mahorta*, near *Larkâna*. Several other places are mentioned in the campaigns of Alexander, Chach, Muhammad bin Kâsim, and Husen Shah Arghun; but as the distances are rarely given, it is difficult to identify the positions where names are so constantly changed. In the campaign of Alexander we have the names of the *Massanæ*, the *Sogdi*, the *Musikani*, and the *Præsti*, all of which must certainly be looked for in Upper Sindh, and which I will now attempt to identify.