The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c6.s2: C

The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c6.s2

Language: English

C

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Cabul Valley—The country of the lower Cabul valley, lying along the Cabul between the Khoaspes (Kunar) and the Indus, formed what was called the Gandharvadeśa of the Rāmāyaṇa and the Gandhāra of the Mahābhārata and the Buddhist scriptures. It comprised the districts of Peshawar and Hoti-Mardan, as the district of Mardan is called, known as the Eusufzoi country Its ancient capital was Pushkalâvatî (modern Hashtanagar, eighteen miles north of Peshawar) and its second capital was Purushapura (modern Peshawar).

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Cachar—Hiramba

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Caggar—1 The river Pavanî 2 Sarasvatî, which formerly flowed through the bed of the Caggar in Kurukshetra It is also called Ghaggar or Gaggar It was incorrectly identified with the Drishadvatî See Ghaggar

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Calcutta—The name of Calcutta is derived from 1 Kâlighât 2 Kalî pîtha, one of the Pîthas

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Calicut—Dharmapattana

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Canara—South Canara was called 1 Tulunga, 2 Tuluva North Canara was called 1. Banavâsî 2 Krauñchapura

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Candahar—1 The “New Gândhâra,” where the begging pot of Buddha was removed from Kanishka’s dagoba at Peshawar (the true “Gândhâra”) and is still said to be preserved by the Mussalmans. 2 Harakhaiti of the Zendavesta 3 Harauvatish of the Behistun inscription 4 Arachosia 5 Saukuta

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Carnatic—The part of the Carnatic which lies between Ramnad and Seringapatam was called Karnâta

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Caspian Sea—1. Vâruna hrada of the Mbh (Udyoga, ch 97), which is a corruption of Vehrkâna of the Avesta 2 Kshîra sâgara of the Râmâyana (Uttara, ch 23), which is a corruption of the Sea of Shirwan 3 Surâ sâgara, which is a corruption of the Sea of Saram (see my Rasâtala in the I H Q, vols I, II)

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Central Asia—1. Sâka-dvîpa, the country of the Sakas 2 Taittiri 3 Rasâtala 4 Pâtâla Same as Tartary

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Central Provinces—The eastern portion of the Central Provinces was called Mahâ-Kosala or Dakshina-Kosala

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Ceylon—1. Simhala 2 Lankâ 3 Ratna dvîpa 4 Tâmraparnî 5 Serendvîpa 6 Pârasamudra 7 Palæsimundu of the Periplus

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Chakranagar—Ekachakrâ of the Mahâbhârata, sixteen miles south west of Itawa in the United Provinces.

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Chakra Tirtha—1 In Kurukshetra 2 In Prabhâsa in Gujarat 3 Six miles from Tryambaka, which is near the source of the Godâvarî

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Chaldia—Sâlmala dvîpa of the Purânas, bounded by the Ghrita or the Erythræan Sea (Vâyu P)

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Chambal—The river Charmanvatî in Rajputana

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Chamdor—Chandrâdityapura, in the district of Nasik in the Bombay Presidency

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Champânagar—1 Champâpurî 2 Champâ 3 Mâlinî 4 Champâ Mâlinî 5 Kâlâchampâ, near Bhagalpur in the province of Bihar, it was the capital of Anga, the kingdom of Lomapâda of the Râmâyana and Karna of the Mahâbhârata It is also associated with the story of Behulâ and Nakhindara

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Champâ nalâ—The Champâ Nadî on which Champâ was situated

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Champâran—1 Champâranya 2 Champakâranya, in the Patna division

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Champauti—1 Champâ-tîrtha 2 Champâvatî, the ancient capital of Kumâun

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Chanda—1. Lokâpura 2 Chandrapura, in the Central Provinces

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Chândan—The river 1 Chandrâvatî 2 Andomatis of Arrian 3 Chandanâ, in the district of Bhagalpur.

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Chanderi—1 Chedi 2 Tripurî 3 Chandrâvatî, the capital of Sisupâla of the Mahâbhârata in Malwa But see Teor

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Chandi Pâhâd—Nîla Parvata, a part of the Haridwar hills near Haridwar.

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Chândmâyâ—Same as Chândniâ

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Chândniâ—Champânagara, about twelve miles north of Bogra and five miles north of Mahâsthânanagar, in the district of Bogra in Bengal. It was the residence of Chând Sadâgar of the *Manasâr-Bhâsân*. But see Champâpurî in Part I of this work.

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Chandrabhâgâ—1. Koṇârka. 2. Padma-kṣhetra, in Orissa, 23 miles from Puri, celebrated for its Black Pagoda. It is called also Kanârak.

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Chandrabhâgâ Lake—The Lohitya-sarovara, the source of the river Chinab.

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Chandragiri—1. Near Belligola in Mysore not far from Seringapatam, sacred to the Jainas. 2. The river Payasvinî in the South Kanara district, Madras Presidency.

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Charsuddah—Same as Hashtanagar; ancient Pushkalâvatî.

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Chaul—Champâvatî, 25 miles south of Bombay; it is the Semylla of the *Periplus of the Erythræan Sea*.

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Chausâ—Chyavana-âśrama, in the district of Shahabad in Bihar; it was the hermitage of Ṛishi Chyavana.

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Chautang—The river Dṛishadvatî, which formed the southern boundary of Kurukshetra. It is also called Chitrang and Chitang.

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Chayenpur—Chandapura, five miles to the west of Bhabuâ, in the district of Shahabad in Bihar. It was the residence of Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa of the Chaṇḍî.

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Chenab—1. The river Asiknî. 2. The Acesines of the Greeks. 3. The Chandrabhâgâ. 4. The Chandrikâ. 5. The Marudvṛidhâ. 6. The Sîtâ, in the Panjab.

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Chhatisgaḍ—The name means ‘thirty-six forts.’ 1. Daśârna. 2. Desarena Regio of the *Periplus*. 3. Mahâ-Kośala. 4. Dakshiṇa-Kośala. Same as Gondwana.

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Chhoṭa-Gaṇḍak—1. The river Ajitavatî. 2. The Hiraṇyavatî, on the north of Kusînagara where Buddha died.

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Chhoṭa-Nâgpur—1. Muṇḍa (*Vâyu Purâṇa*). 2. Jhârakhaṇḍa (*Chaitanya-charitâmṛita*). 3. Kokrah of the Mahomedan historians. The Muṇḍâs of the present day reside particularly in the district of Ranchi in the Chhoṭa (Chuṭiâ) Nâgpur division.

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Chidambara—1. Chittambalam. 2. Svetâmbara, in South Arcot. It is 150 miles south of Madras and seven miles from the coast.

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Chikakol—1. Śrîkaṅkâlî. 2. Śrîkakola, in the Northern Circars.

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Chilanla—Chyavana-âśrama, on the Ganges in the Rai Bareli district.

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China—1. Mahâchina. 2. Chîna.

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Chinab—See Chenab.

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Chirând—Six or seven miles to the east of Chapra, in the district of Sâran on the Saraju. It has been identified by Dr. Hoey with the ancient Vaiśâlî. The ruins of an ancient “fort” exist at this place on the bank of the Saraju, which is said to have been the fort of King Mayuradhvaja, and tradition says that Chirând was his capital and that he tried to cut down his son by means of a saw in order to satisfy the craving of Kṛishṇa for human flesh, who came to him in the disguise of an old Brahmin (see the story in the *Jaimini-Bhârata*). There can be no doubt that the place was deemed very sacred by the Hindus, as is testified by the remains of a mosque which was built on the ruins of the fort by Sultan Abdul Mozaffar Hossain Shah in 909 A.D., corresponding to 1503 A.D. (909 + 622 - 28 = 1503). The hermitage of Chyavana and a small tank called Jiâch-Kuṇḍu (said to be the Brahma-Kuṇḍu of the *Chirând-Mâhâtmya*) are also pointed out. The name of Chirând itself, that is, *Chir* (*Chhid*) means a portion cut off and *Ând* which is evidently a corruption of *Ânanda*, and the tradition about the sawing of Mayuradhvaja’s son, seem, however, to point that it was at this place that the tower of Kuṭâgâra was built by the Lichchhavis of Vaiśâlî over half the body of Ânanda, the disciple and cousin of Buddha, after his death. Figures of Buddha and of the Buddhistic period have been found at this place. Chapra is still called Chiran(d)-Chhâprâ on account of the celebrity of Chirând. The other half of Ânanda’s body was enshrined by Ajātasatru, king of Magadha, at Pāṭaliputra in a relic stūpa which, according to Dr Waddell, was near Bhiknāpāhārī at Bankipur (Dr Waddell's Excavations in Pataliputra, p 56)

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Chitai Mandārpur—Sāṇḍilya āśrama, the hermitage of Ṛiṣi Sāṇḍilya in the district of Faizabad in Oudh

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Chitang—See Chautang

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Chitral—Bolor

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Chitrang—See Chautang

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Chitrarathi—The river Chitraratha, a tributary of the Northern Pennar

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Chittagong—1 Chaṭṭala 2 Phullagrāma

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Chittar—The river Tāmraparṇī in Tinnevelly is formed by the united stream of the Tāmbaravarī and the Chittar

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Chittutola—The river 1 Chitropalā 2 Chitrapalā, a branch of the Mahanadī

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Chukā—The river Mālini 2 The Erineses of Megasthenes, in Oudh The hermitage of Kaṇva was situated on the bank of the river, thirty miles to the south of Hardwar It falls into the Sarayu fifty miles above Ayodhyā

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Chukki—The river Satadru of the Ṛig Veda which joins the Bias after that stream enters the plain, it is not the Satlej

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Chuli Mahesvara—Same as 1 Mahes 2 Mahesvara

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Chunar—1 Charaṇādri 2 Chandelgada in the district of Mirzapur (U P) The fort of Chunar was built by the Pala Rājās of Bengal The portion of the fort called Bhaṭṭṛihari's palace is said to have been originally the hermitage of Bhaṭṭṛihari, the disciple of Vasurāta and author of the Vairāgya Sataka

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Circars—Included in the ancient Kaliṅga The southern portion of the Northern Circars was called Mohana desa

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Coimbatore—1 Koṅga desa 2 Koṅgu desa

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Coleroon—The river Karṇikā, a branch of the Kāverī

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Colgong—Durvāsā āśrama, the hermitage of Ṛiṣi Durvāsā was situated on a hill at the distance of two miles from Colgong in the district of Bhagalpur in Bengal Kahalgion (Colgong) is said to be a corruption of Kalahagrāma, as the Ṛiṣi Durvasa was addicted to Lalaha (quarrel)

Linked texts (9)

Vāyupurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Jaimini Bhārata (Kannada) — Lakṣmīśa 1500, Kannada
Devīmāhātmya — Sanskrit
Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Ἰνδικά — Μεγασθένης, Ancient Greek
Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa — Vālmīki, Sanskrit
চৈতন্যচরিতামৃত — Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja 1580, Bengali
Manasāmaṅgal (Kṣemānanda) — Kṣemānanda 1586, Bengali