Cunningham's Ancient Geography of India c7.14

c7.14

At a somewhat later date the shape of India is described in the 'Mahâbhârat' as an equilateral triangle, which was divided into four smaller equal triangles.† The apex of the triangle is Cape Comorin, and the base is formed by the line of the Himâlaya mountains. No dimensions are given, and no places are mentioned; but, in fig. 2 of the small maps of India in the accompanying plate, I have drawn a small equilateral triangle on the line between Dwâraka, in Gujarat, and Ganjam on the eastern coast. By repeating this small triangle on each of its three sides, to the north-west, to the north-east, and to the south, we obtain the four divisions of India in one large equilateral triangle. The shape corresponds very well with the general form of the country, if we extend the limits of India to Ghazni on the north-west, and fix the other two points of the triangle at Cape Comorin, and Sadiya in Assam. At the presumed date of the composition of the ‘Mahâbhârata,’ in the first century A.D., the countries immediately to the west of the Indus belonged to the Indo-Scythians, and therefore may be included very properly within the actual boundaries of India.