The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s1.t3.11

c6.s1.t3.11

marched against a neighbouring prince named Oxykanus, and took two of his chief cities at the first assault. Curtius makes *Oxycanus* the king of a people named *Præsti*,* and states that Alexander captured his chief city after a siege of three days. Diodorus and Strabo call the king *Portikanus*. Now, these various readings at once suggest the probability that the name was that of the city, which, either as *Uchcha-gám*, or *Porta-gám*, means simply the "Lofty town," in allusion to its height. The description of Curtius of the "tremendous crash" made by the fall of two towers of its citadel shows that the place must have been more than usually lofty. I would therefore identify it with the great mound of *Mahorta* on the bank of the Ghâr river, 10 miles from Larkâna. Masson describes it as "the remains of an ancient fortress, on a huge mound, named *Maihota*. "† *Mahorta*, which is the spelling adopted by the surveyors, is probably *Mahorddha*, for *mahá*+*urddha*+*gráma*, or "the great lofty city," which, as pure Sanskrit, is not likely to be a modern name. This identification appears to me to be very probable, not only on account of the exact correspondence of name, but also on account of the relative positions of Alor and Mahorta with reference to the old course of the Indus. At present Mahorta is within a few miles of the river; but in the time of Alexander, when the Indus flowed down the bed of the Nâra, the nearest point of the stream was at Alor, from which Mahorta was distant 45 miles to the south of west. Hence Alexander was obliged to leave his fleet, and to march against Oxykanus.