The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c7.s2.1

c7.s2.1

The capital of the kingdom of *Samatata*, or *San-mo-ta-cha*, is placed at from 1200 to 1300 *li*, or from 200 to 217 miles, to the south of *Kâmrup*, and 900 *li*, or 150 miles, to the east of Tâmralipti, or Tamluk.[*] The first position corresponds almost exactly with *Jasar*, or Jessore, which is most probably the place intended. The bearing and distance from Tamluk would take us to the uninhabited part of the *Sundari-vana*, or Sundarbans, between the Huranghâta river and Bakarganj. But in a country so much intersected by watercourses as Lower Bengal, the road distance is about one-fourth greater than the direct distance, measured on the map. Thus, Jessore, which is 103 miles from Dhakka, and 77 miles from Calcutta by road, is only 82 and 62 miles distant from them by direct measurement. Accordingly, Hwen Thsang’s distance of 150 miles by route will not be more than 120 miles by direct measurement on the map, which is only 20 miles in excess of the actual direct distance between Jessore and Tamluk. But as Tamluk is not approachable by land from the east, the pilgrim must have travelled at least one-half of the route by water, and his distance of 150 miles may be accepted as a fair estimate of the mixed route by land and water, which could not be actually measured. The name of Jasar, or “The Bridge,” which has now supplanted the ancient name of Murali, shows the nature of the country, which is so completely intersected by deep watercourses, that before the construction of the present roads and bridges, the chief communication was by boats. Murali, or Jasar, is most probably the Gange regia of Ptolemy.