The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s1.t15: Oritæ, or Horitæ.

The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s1.t15

Language: English

Oritæ, or Horitæ.

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On crossing the river Arabius, Alexander marched for a whole night through a desert, and in the morning entered a well-inhabited country. Then coming to a small river, he pitched his tents, and waited for the main body of the army under Hephæstion. On its arrival, says Arrian, Alexander "penetrated further into the country, and coming to a small village which served the Oritæ instead of a capital city, and was named Rambakia, he was pleased with its situation, and imagining that it would rise to be a rich and populous city, if a colony were drawn thither, he committed the care thereof to Hephæstion."* On the approach of Alexander, the Oritæ made their submission to the conqueror, who appointed Apollophanes their governor, and deputed Leonatus with a large force to await the arrival of Nearchus with the fleet, and to look after the peopling of the new city. Shortly after Alexander's departure, the Oritæ rose against the Greeks, and Apollophanes, the new governor, was slain, but they were signally defeated by Leonatus, and all their leaders killed.* Nearchus places the scene of this defeat at Kokala, on the coast, about halfway between the rivers Arabius and Tomerus. Pliny calls the latter river the Tonberos,† and states that the country in its neighbourhood was well cultivated.

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∗ Arrian, ‘Indica,’ p. 22.

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† Hist. Nat., vi. 25.

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From these details I would identify the Oritæ, or Horitæ, or Neoteritæ, as they are called by Diodorus, with the people on the Aghor river, whom the Greeks would have named Agoritæ, or Aoritæ, by the suppression of the guttural, of which a trace still remains in the initial aspirate of Horitæ. In the bed of this river there are several jets of liquid mud, which, from time immemorial, have been known as *Râm-Chandar-ki-kúp*, or “Râm Chandar’s wells.” There are also two natural caves, one dedicated to *Kâli*, and the other to *Hinguláj*, or *Hingulá Devi*, that is, the “Red Goddess,” who is only another form of *Kâli*. But the principal objects of pilgrimage in the Aghor valley are connected with the history of Râma. The pilgrims assemble at the *Rámbágh*, because Râma and Sita are said to have started from this point, and proceed to the Gorakh Tank, where Râma halted; and thence to *Tonga-bhera*, and on to the point where Râma was obliged to turn back in his attempt to reach Hingulâj with an army. *Rámbágh* I would identify with the *Rambakia* of Arrian, and *Tonga-bhera* with the river *Tonberos* of Pliny, and the *Tomerus* of Arrian. At Rambakia, therefore, we must look for the site of the city founded by Alexander, which Leonatus was left behind to complete. It seems probable that this is the city which is described by Stephanus of Byzantium as the “sixteenth Alexandria, near the bay of *Melane*.”* Nearchus places the western boundary of the Oritæ at a place called *Malana*, which I take to be the bay of *Malan*, to the east of *Rás Málán*, or Cape *Málán* of the present day, about twenty miles to the west of the Aghor river. Both Curtius and Diodorus† mention the foundation of this city, but they do not give its name. Diodorus, however, adds that it was built on a very favourable site near the sea, but above the reach of the highest tides.

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∗ Arrian, Anab., vi. 21, 22; and 'Indica,' 23; Curtius, ix. 10, 34.

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∗ In voce Alexandria, κατὰ τὸν Μέλανα κόλπον. † Curtius, Vita Alex., ix. 10:—“In hac quoque regione urbem condidit.” Diodorus, Hist. xvii.

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The occurrence of the name of *Rámbágh* at so great a distance to the west of the Indus, and at so early a period as the time of Alexander, is very interesting and important, as it shows not only the wide extension of Hindu influence in ancient times, but also the great antiquity of the story of Râma. It is highly improbable that such a name, with its attendant pilgrimages, could have been imposed on the place after the decay of Hindu influence.* During the flourishing period of Buddhism many of the provinces to the west of the Indus adopted the Indian religion, which must have had a powerful influence on the manners and language of the people. But the expedition of Alexander preceded the extension of Buddhism, and I can therefore only attribute the old name of *Rambakia* to a period anterior to Darius Hystaspes.

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These districts are described by Hwen Thsang under the general name of *Lang-kie-lo*, which M. Julien renders by Langala. M. de St. Martin, however, refers it to the tribe of *Langa*, but it is extremely doubtful whether this is an ancient name. The other name of *Langalas*, quoted from the Vishnu Purâna, is only a variant reading of *Jángalas*, which is almost certainly the correct form, as it is immediately followed by *Kuru-Jángalas*. Hwen Thsang fixes the capital of *Lang-kie-lo* at 2000 *li*, or 333 miles, to the west of Kotesar in Kachh. But as this bearing would place it in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the true direction must be north-west. Now this latter bearing and distance correspond with the position of the great ruined city of *Lákorián*, which Masson* found between Khozdar and Kilât. In older maps the name is written simply *Lakúra*, which appears to me to be very fairly represented by the Chinese *Lang-kie-lo*, or *Lánkara*.† Masson describes the ruined fortifications as “remarkable for their magnitude, as well as for the solidity and the skill evident in their construction.” From the size and importance of these ruins, I conclude that they are the remains of a large city, which has at some former period been the capital of the country. The Chinese pilgrim describes the province as being many thousands of *li* in breadth as well as in length. It is clear, therefore, that it corresponded, as nearly as possible, with the modern district of Biluchistan, of which the present capital, Kilât, is only 60 miles to the north of *Lákura*. In the seventh century, the capital was called *Su-neu-li-shi-fa-lo*, and was 30 *li*, or 5 miles, in circuit. The Chinese syllables are rendered by M. Julien as *Sunuriswara*, of which he offers no translation. But as Hwen Thsang describes a magnificent temple of Siva in the middle of the city, I infer that the Chinese transcript may be intended for *Sambhuriswara*, which is a well-known title of Siva as the “lord of divine beings,” or the “god of gods.” By assuming that this name belongs properly to the temple, the other name of *Lang-kie-lo*, or *Lákara*, may be applied to the capital as well as to the province.

Linked texts (3)

Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Viṣṇupurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Rambagh