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Historical Geography of Ancient India c5.s4: IV. Physical Features

Historical Geography of Ancient India c5.s4

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IV. Physical Features

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Geographically India occupies a position of great advantage. It lies in the centre of the eastern hemisphere and forms the central peninsula of Southern Asia. Its sea position is thus well adapted for trade with lands around the Indian ocean. No country, again, has been favoured more by nature than India in providing it with well-marked natural boundaries. Its three sides on the east, west and south are washed by the waters of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean respectively. On its north, north-west and north-east the country is cut off by a huge mountain-wall from the Chinese Turkestan and Tibet, the Iranian Plateau and Baluchistan and from the Chindwin and the Irrawaddy Valleys of Burma. The entire area comprised within the boundaries of the pre-partitioned India is about a million and a half square miles, which is more than one-third of the size of Europe. The surf-beaten coast extends over nearly 3,000 miles. It is almost unbroken and there are very few bays or gulfs which can be used as natural harbours.

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The enormity of the size of India is quite in keeping with the extraordinary variety of its physical features. Along with the climatic variations that can be marked from the majestic heights of the Himalayas to the low-lands imperceptibly merging into the sea, and from the dripping hills of Assam to the waterless desert of Sind, India has been favoured with a luxuriant variety of flora and fauna. No less remarkable are the numerous races of mankind inhabiting this historic land and speaking countless languages. India is really the epitome of the whole world. The history of India, like that of other countries, has been affected by its geography. It is therefore necessary to notice in detail some of the major physical features.

A. Mountains

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The mountain wall in the north to which we have referred above includes the Himalayas, the Trans-Himalayas and their eastern and western offshoots.

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*Hemavata* (Pali Himavā, Himācala and Himavantapadesa, Sanskrit Haimavata).—This mountain which is called Nagādhirāja by Kālidāsa (*Kumārasambhava*, I) is mentioned in the *Atharvaveda* (XII. 1. II) as well as in the *Rgveda* (X. 121. 4). The *Taittirīya Saṃhitā* (V. 5. 11. 1), *Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā* (XXIV. 30; XXV, 12) and *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* (VIII. 14. 3) also refer to it. According to the Great Epic (*Mahābhārata*, Vanaparva, Ch. 253) the Haimavata region was situated just to the west in Nepal (*Nepal-viṣaya*) and according to the same Epic it mainly comprised the Kulindaviṣaya (Ptolemy's Kunindrae), representing the region of high mountains in which the sources of the Ganges, Jumna and Sutlej lay. It may thus be taken to include the Himachal Pradesh and some parts of Dehra Dun. The *Bhāgavata Purāṇa* and the *Kūrmapurāṇa* (30. 45-48) refer to it. The *Yoginītantra* mentions this mountain (1/16). The *Kālikāpurāṇa* (Ch. 14. 1) also refers to it. It is described as the king of mountains according to the *Kālikāpurāṇa* (Ch. 14. 51). In the Epics and Purāṇas the Himavanta is classed both as a *Varṣaparvata* and a *Maryādāparvata*. The author of the *Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa* knew the Himavat to have stretched from the eastern to the western sea like the string of a bow (*Kārmukasya Yathāguṇaḥ* 54, 24; 57, 59). The statement of the *Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa* is supported by the *Mahābhārata* (VI. 6. 3) and *Kumārasambhava* (I. 1). The eastern Himalayan region extending up to Assam and Manipur roughly constituted the Haimavata division of the Jambudvipa in respect of which Aśoka introduced the Nābhakas and Nābhapamtis in his Rock Edict XIII (Barua, *Asoka and His Inscriptions*, Pt. I, p. 101). The Himalayan region (*Himavantapadesa* in Pāli) of the Jambudvipa extended northward, according to the Pali accounts, as far as the south side of the Mount Sumeru (Pali *Sineru*). The southern boundary of the Haimavata division of India is indicated by the Kālsi set of Rock Edicts, the Asokan monoliths at Nigliva, Lumbinī, and those in the district of Champaran (*Ibid.*, pp. 81-82). The Haimavatapadesa has been identified by some with Tibet, by Fergusson with Nepal, and by Rhys Davids with the Central Himalayas. According to ancient geographers the name Himavanta was applied to the entire mountain range stretching from Sulaiman along the west of the Punjab and the whole of the northern boundary of India up to the Assam and Arakan hill ranges in the east. The Śākyas and the Koliyas were transported by the Buddha to the Himalaya, and the Buddha pointed out to them the various mountains in the Himalayan region. The Kailāsa mountain formed a part of the Himalayan mountain but the *Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa* takes it to be a separate mountain. According to Alberuni Meru and Niṣadha were connected with the Himalayan chain. The Himalayan mountain is the source from which the ten rivers have their rise (*Milinda*, 114). Ptolemy points out that the Imaos (the Himalayan mountain) is the source of the Ganges and the Indus as well as the Koa and the Swat rivers. The *Apadāna* mentions a few other mountains in the neighbourhood of the Himavanta which is also called the *parvatarāja* (*Ang.*, I, 152):

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Kadamba (p. 382), Kukkura or Kukkuṭa (p. 178), Bhūta-gaṇa (p. 179), Kosika (p. 381), Gotama (p. 162), Paduma (p. 362), Bharika (p. 440), Lambaka (p. 15), Vasabha (p. 166), Samaṅga (p. 437) and Sobhita (p. 328). The Himalayan mountain is the only varṣaparvata which is placed within the geographical limits of Bhāratavarṣa. (Vide B. C. Law, *Geography of Early Buddhism*, 27, 41-42; for further details, vide B. C. Law, *India as described in the Early Texts of Buddhism and Jainism*, pp. 5ff.; B. C. Law, *Geographical Essays*, p. 82; B. C. Law, *Mountains of India*, pp. 4ff.) The Himavanta mountain occurs in Luders' List, No. 834. The Monghyr grant of Devapāla refers to Kedāra, which is situated in the Himalayas. The Kālikāpurāṇa (Ch. 14. 31) says that Śiva and Pārvatī went to the fall of the Mahākauśikī river in the Himalaya mountain.

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The Himalaya which is the loftiest mountain range in the world forms a circular arc with its convexity turned towards India in between the banks of the Indus and the Brahmaputra in the west and the east. It consists of three almost parallel ridges of varying altitude, viz., the Great Himalaya, the Lesser Himalaya, and the Outer Himalaya. The Great Himalaya comprises the northernmost high range and rises to over 20,000 feet above the sea-level, i.e., above the limits of the perpetual snow. More than 100 peaks exceed this limit, and the most famous among them are the Nagnaparvata or the Bare Hill (26,620 ft.), Numkum (23,410 ft.), Nanda-devī (25,645 ft.), Triśūl (23,360 ft.), Nandakoṭ (22,510 ft.), Dunagiri (23,184 ft.), Badrināth (23,190 ft.), Kedārnāth (22,770 ft.), Nilakaṇṭa (21,640 ft.), Gaṅgotrī (21,700 ft.), Śrikaṇṭa (20,120 ft.), Brandarpunch (20,720 ft.), Gaurīśṛṅga or the Mount Everest (29,002 ft.), which is the loftiest peak in the whole world, Kāñcaṅjaṅgā (28,146 ft.), Dhaulagiri (26,795 ft.), Makalu (22,790 ft.), Gosainthan (26,291 ft.), and Namcha Barwa (25,445 ft.). The Gaurīśṛṅga or Gaurīśaṅkar, Kāñcaṅjaṅgā and Dhaulagiri are the highest peaks of the Nepal Himalaya which extends as far as the Tista river from the eastern boundary of the Kumaon Himalaya. Namcha Barwa is included in the Assam Himalaya which extends from the Tista to the easternmost frontier of India. The Gaurīśaṅkara is really situated on the Nepal Tibet border. It is known by various names, e.g., Devadhuṅga, Como Kankar, Como Lungma, Como Uri, Chelungon and Mi-ti-gu-ti-ca-pu Longnga. This Himalayan peak has defied any attempt at finality both as regards its height and local name. Opinions differ as to the real discoverer of this highest mountain peak. Some claim Radhanath Sikdar to be the discoverer, but others hold that the discovery was due to the combined effort of the department of the Survey of India. Tenzing, an Indian and Hillary, a Newzealander, both members of the British Mt. Everest Expedition Party, were the first to climb to the top of Mt. Everest in 1953.

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The Lesser Himalaya consists of the southern spurs of the Great Himalaya, and the ranges of lower elevations which run parallel to the Great Himalayan range extending as far as the outer Siwalik ranges. Its average width is 50 miles. The Pir Panjal extends eastward from south of the Kashmir Valley across the source of the Beas joining with the Great Himalayan range a little farther east. The Dhaoladhar range is situated to the south of the Pir Panjal range extending from near Udampur in Jammu to the Simla Hills in the West, joining the Great Himalayan range near Badrināth. The Outer Himalaya consists of low hills which run almost parallel to the Great Himalayan range from the Indus to the Brahmaputra. On the west it is known as the Siwalik hills which extend for about 200 miles from the Beas to the Ganges and were known to the ancient geographers as Mainākaparvata. Beyond the foot-hills there are belts of low land and behind the Siwalik lies the well-known Dehra Dun district of the Uttara Pradeśa. The Trans-Himalayan zone comprises the Hindukush, the Kārākoram and the Kailāsa mountains. The Hindukush mountain, known to the ancient Indians as the Mālyavat and as the Indian Caucasus to the Greeks, starts from the north-western extremity of the Himalayas and extends south-westwards, first dividing India from Afghanistan, and then through north-eastern Afghanistan. A number of spurs run from the main range, such as the Badakhshan spur separating the Oxus from the Kokcha, and the Kokcha spur dividing the Kokcha range from that of the Kunduz. The height of the Hindukush varies between 14,000 and 18,000 ft. in the eastern section. The Karakoram, known as the Kṛṣṇagiri to ancient geographers, is continuous with the Hindukush in the west. It forms the northern boundary of Kashmir. It nestles within it the lofty peak of Godwin Austen (28,250 ft.). Following a spur of the Karakoram to the south-east we come to the Mount Kailāsa overlooking the Mānasa Sarovara. According to the modern geographers this mountain was uplifted earlier, and hence is older than the Himalaya proper. It is of Hercynian age and got considerably folded and faulted subsequent to its uplift. To the east of the Mānasa Sarovara lake there runs a lofty range known as the Ladakh range parallel to the Greater Himalaya. It is composed mainly of granite and is separated from the Greater Himalaya by a valley some fifty miles wide. The Kailāsa range runs parallel to the Ladakh range 50 miles behind the latter. It contains a number of groups of joint peaks. One such group stands near the Mānasa Sarovara, the highest of the groups being Kailāsa (22,028 ft.), known to the ancient geographers as the Vaidyūtaparvata. The Zaskar range bifurcates from the great Himalayan range near Nampa. It contains the Kamet peak (25,447 ft.). There are other peaks, too, and this range extends across the Indus north-westwards.

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In the north-west of India, a lofty range runs dividing the Indus Valley from the hills of Baluchistan and extending from the west of Dehra-Ismail Khan to the sea-coast. The northern portion of this range is called the Sulaiman mountain, known to the ancient geographers as Añjana, and the southern part, the Kirthār mountain, extends southwards from Mūla river gorge in a series of parallel ridges for 190 miles.

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In the north-east of India an almost continuous ridge of folded mountains, similar in structure to the Himalaya, extends right up to the coast of the Bay of Bengal, and separates Burma from India. From north to south it consists of the Mishmi mountain, the Patkai hills, the Naga hills, the Barail range, the Lushai hills and the Arakan Yoma. We do not find reference to these hills and mountains in ancient Indian literature, as these were not thoroughly explored by the geographers of the olden times. The mountain-wall in the north-east sends out a great branch westward into Assam. This branch forms the Jaintia, Khasi and Garo hills.

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Since the main crest rises above the line of perpetual snow, the name Himavanta or Himalaya was well conceived by the ancient geographers of India. The comparison of the shape of the Himalaya with the string of a gigantic bow fits admirably with our modern knowledge of the trend of the Himalaya. This arcuate disposition of the Himalaya, the convex side facing towards the Indian plains, can be ascribed to the main tangential thrust coming from the south.

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The Himalayan rivers are seen cutting through the main chains in deep transverse gorges after long flowing parallel to the trend of the chain. The Indus and the Brahmaputra are the best examples of this.

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[Figure: 450 miles to 1 inch. Miles 500 400 300 200 100 0 500 1000 Miles Some Mountains and Rivers of India]

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The *fraternities* of the Middle Ages, which were so numerous and so varied in their objects, were not all of the same origin. Some were religious, some social, some charitable, and some industrial. The religious guilds, or *gilds*, as they were often called, were associations of laymen for the purpose of performing religious duties, such as the maintenance of a chaplain, the celebration of masses, or the support of a hospital. The social guilds were formed for the purpose of mutual aid and good fellowship, and often included in their objects the relief of the poor, the sick, and the aged. The charitable guilds were established for the purpose of supporting hospitals, almshouses, and other institutions of mercy. The industrial guilds, or *craft guilds*, were associations of men engaged in the same trade or industry, and were formed for the purpose of regulating the trade, protecting the interests of the members, and maintaining the quality of their work.

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The craft guilds, which became so powerful in the later Middle Ages, were the successors of the earlier *collegia* of the Roman Empire. The *collegia* were associations of artisans and tradesmen, which were recognized by the state and had a legal existence. When the Roman Empire fell, these associations were largely destroyed, but the idea of association for mutual protection and the regulation of trade survived. In the early Middle Ages, the *gilds* began to reappear, and by the twelfth century they were firmly established in many of the cities of Europe.

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The craft guilds were organized on a democratic basis, and every member had a voice in the management of the guild's affairs. The officers were elected by the members, and the rules and regulations were made by the guild as a whole. The guilds had the power to fix prices, to regulate the hours of labor, and to determine the conditions of apprenticeship. They also had the power to punish members who violated the rules, and to expel those who were guilty of serious offenses. The guilds were thus a powerful force in the economic life of the Middle Ages, and they played an important part in the development of the modern industrial system.

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The decline of the craft guilds began in the sixteenth century, when the rise of the factory system and the growth of international trade made it difficult for the small, local guilds to compete with the larger and more efficient industrial organizations. The guilds were also weakened by the growth of the power of the state, which began to regulate trade and industry directly, and by the rise of the capitalist class, which sought to break the power of the guilds and to establish a system of free competition. By the end of the eighteenth century, the craft guilds had largely disappeared, but their influence lived on in the trade unions and other labor organizations of the modern world.

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Geologically the Himalaya may be divided into three zones: the Tibetan zone, the Himalayan zone and the Sub-Himalayan zone. The fossiliferous beds of the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic ages are well developed in the Tibetan zone. The Himalayan zone is composed chiefly of crystalline and metamorphic rocks. The Sub-Himalayan zone consists entirely of tertiary beds.

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On the north side of the Everest the Rongbuk glacier ends at about 16,500 ft. In the Kanchengungā group the glacier may come down to 13,000 ft., while in Kumaon they reach 12,000 ft. and in Kashmere under special circumstances they may come as low as 8,000 ft.

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A valuable study may be made of the Himalayan plants and animals. The European flora of the Mediterranean reaches the Himalaya. The observations made by the Everest expeditions have added much to our knowledge of the plant-life of the Himalayan region. The bird-life of the Himalayas is rich. The butterflies are renowned for their beauty and grandeur. The python, the cobra, the lizard and the frog are found in various kinds.

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The importance of the Himalayan system in shaping the destiny of India seems to be great. It shuts off the country from other parts of Asia and acts as an effective barrier against the outside world on land. There are several passes in the north which may be divided into three groups, viz., the Shipki group, the Almora group and the Darjeeling-Sikkim group. These allow trade to be carried on between India and Tibet. In the north-east there are several back-doors to Burma leading through the north-eastern corner of Assam, Manipur State and the Arakans. Chief among the numerous passes that lead across the north-western frontier to India are the Khyber, Kurram, Tochi, Gomal and Bolan.

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A group of forest-clad hills forming themselves into a wide plateau runs obliquely along the west of India from the Gulf of Cambay to Rājmahal in the east, and divides the country into two separate parts, viz., the Indo-Gangetic basin in the north and the Deccan tableland in the south. The northern section of them from west to east consists of the Vindhyas, and the connected ranges of Bharner and Kaimur which passing through the neighbourhood of Gayā, terminate near Rājmahal. In the south and in the same direction stretch almost in a parallel line the Satpurā, the Mahādeva hill, the Maikāl range and the hills of Chota Nagpur. Beyond the Vindhyan ranges in the west in the centre of the Kathiawar Peninsula is situated mount Girnar also known as Raivataka near Junagarh in Gujarat. The Aravalli range, which runs across Rajputana in the west-easterly direction and cuts the country into two halves is closely connected with the Vindhyan system by the rocky ridges of Southern Rajputana and Central India. Although regarded as a part of the Aravalli range, but completely detached from it by a narrow valley in the south-west stands the rock-island of Abu also known as Arbuda in the Sirohi State of Rajputana. According to Megasthenes and Arrian Mt. Abu is identical with Capitalia which attains an elevation of 6,500 ft. It rises far above any other summit in the Aravalli range.¹

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¹ McCrindle, *Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian*, p. 147.

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The Pāripātra or Pāriyātra, the Ṛkṣavat, and the Vindhya are the mountains of Central India. The earliest mention of the Pāripātra is found in the *Dharmasūtra* of Baudhāyana² who refers to it as being situated on the southern limit of Āryāvarta. The *Skanda Purāṇa* refers to it as the farthest limit of Kumārīkhaṇḍa, the centre of Bhāratavarṣa.

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² *Baudhāyana*, 1. 1. 25.

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Pargiter identifies the Pāripātra with that portion of the modern Vindhya range which is situated west of Bhopal in Central India together with the Aravalli mountains identified with the Apokopa by Ptolemy.¹

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¹ McCrindle, Ancient India as described by Ptolemy, S. N. Majumdar's ed., p. 355.

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The Ṛkṣavat has been identified with the Ouxenton of Ptolemy. It is the source of the rivers Toundis, Dosaran and Adamas. The Dosaran has been identified with the river Daśārṇa (modern Dhasan near Saugar in C.P.) which is said to have issued from the Ṛkṣa according to Ptolemy. By the Ṛkṣa or the Ṛkṣavant he meant the central region of the modern Vindhya range north of the Narmadā.

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The Vindhya corresponds to Ptolemy’s Ouindon, the source of the Namados and Nanagouna identified with the Narmadā and the Tāptī. According to Ptolemy the Ouindon stands for only that portion of the Vindhya wherefrom rise the Narmadā and the Tāptī. Different parts of the Vindhya mountain are known under different names. The Vindhyapāda-parvata is the mountain Sardonyx of Ptolemy. It may be identified with the Satpurā range from which rises the Tāptī.

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The Satpurā is the Vaidūrya Parvata which is associated with the rivers Payoṣṇī (an affluent of the Tāptī) and the Narmadā in the Mahābhārata.² The mountain which runs south of the Narmadā is at present known as the Sātpurā. The Maikāl range stands for the ancient Mekala-parvata in Gondwana in Central Provinces. Hence the Narmadā is called the Mekalasutā.³ Its eastern peak Amarakantaka is also known as the Soma-parvata and Surathādri or Surathagiri.⁴ The Amarakantaka is the source of three great rivers, viz., Narmadā, Soṇa and Mahānadī.

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² III, 121, pp. 16-19.

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³ Padma Purāṇa, Ch. 6.

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⁴ Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Ch. 57.

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The Citrakūṭa mountain has been identified with Kāmptānāth-giri in Bundelkhand. It is an isolated hill on a river called the Paisuni or Mandākini. It is about four miles from the Citrakūṭa Station of the G.I.P. Railway. The Kālañjara identified with Kalinjar, a hill fort in the Banda district, Bundelkhand, was located between the Ganges and the Vindhya mountain. The Jain texts refer to it (Āvaśyaka Cūrṇi, p. 461).

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The forest-clad mountains of Central India stood as a serious obstacle to the unification of the whole country in ancient times, for it was not easy in those days to lead an invading army across this wide belt of stone and jungles.

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The Gayāśīrṣa (Gayāsīra, Gayāsisa) is the principal hill of Gayā. Gayāsisa, the chief hill of Gaya, according to the Vinaya Piṭaka⁵ is the modern Brahmayoni and identical with what is called Gayāśīra in the Mahābhārata⁶ and in the Purāṇas.⁷ The early Buddhist commentators account for the origin of its name by the striking resemblance of its shape with the head of an elephant (gajasīsa).

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⁵ Vinaya Piṭaka, I, 35ff.; II, 199.

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⁶ Mbh., III. 95. 9.

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⁷ Barua, Gayā and Buddha Gayā, I, 68.

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A group of five hills encircling the ancient capital of Magadha is known to the early Pali texts as Isigili (Ṛsigiri), Vebhāra (Vaiḥāra), Paṇḍava, Vepulla (Vipula) and Gijjhakūṭa (Gṛdhrakūṭa) which stood to the south of Vepulla. In the Mahābhārata we have two lists, one naming the hills as Vaiḥāra, Vārāha, Vṛṣabha, Ṛsigiri and Subhacaityaka,⁸ and the other as Pāṇḍara, Vipula, Vārāhaka, Caityaka and Mātaṅga.⁹ To the north of Gayā and west of Rājagṛha stands the Gorathagiri (modern Barabar hills)¹⁰ mentioned as the Khalatika Parvata in the Cave Inscriptions II and III of Aśoka and the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali.¹ From the Gorathagiri or Goradhagiri one could have a view of Girivraja, the earlier capital of Magadha.² The Śuktimat range, according to Beglar, lies to the north of the Hazaribagh district.³ There is a difference of opinion as to its location. Cunningham identifies it with the hills south of Sehoa and Kanker separating Chattisgarh from Bastar.⁴ According to Pargiter it may be identified with Garo, Khasi and Tippera hills.⁵ Some have located it in Western India and identified it with Kāthiāwāḍ range.⁶ Others have identified it with the Sulaiman range.⁷ Rai Chaudhuri applies the name with the chain of hills, extending from Sakti in Raigarh in C.P. to the Dalma hills in Manbhum drained by the Kumārī river and perhaps even to the hills in the Santal Parganas washed by the affluents of the Bāblā.⁸ The Kukkuṭapādagiri or the Gurupāda mountain has been identified by Stein with Sobhanath peak. Some have identified it with Gurpa hill, above 100 miles from Bodh-Gayā.⁹ The Antaragiri identified with the Rajmahal hills in the Santal Parganas, the Makulaparvata identified with the Kaluhā hill, about 26 miles to the south of Buddhagayā, and about 16 miles to the north of Chātrā in the Hazaribagh district, the Pātharghāṭā hill which was ancient Śilā-saṅgama or Vikramaśilā-saṅghārāma, the Mallaparvata identified with the Pareshnath hill in Chota Nagpur also known as the Mount Maleus¹⁰ by the Greeks, and the Mandara hill known to Megasthenes and Arrian as Mallus in the Bāṅkā sub-division of the Bhagalpur district are some other hills and mountains in Eastern India, worthy of notice.

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⁸ Sabhāparva, Ch. XXI, v. 2.

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⁹ Ibid., Ch. XXI, v. 11.

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¹⁰ Vide Jackson's identification of Goradhagiri in J.B.O.R.S., Vol. I, Pt. II, p. 162; B. M. Barua, Old Brāhmī Inscriptions on the Udayagiri and Khaṇḍagiri Caves, p. 224.

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¹ I. ii, 2.

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² Mbh., Sabhāp., Ch. XX, vv. 29-30: Goratham girim āsādya dadrśur Magadham-puram; of. Beal, Records of the Western World, II, p. 104.

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³ A.S.R., VIII, 124-5.

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⁴ Ibid., XVII, 24, 26.

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⁵ Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, 285, 306 notes.

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⁶ C. V. Vaidya, Epic India, 276.

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⁷ Z.D.M.G., 1922, p. 281 note.

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⁸ Studies in Indian Antiquities, 113-20.

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⁹ J.A.S.B., 1906, p. 77.

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¹⁰ McCrindle, Megasthenes and Arrian, pp. 62, 139.

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The South Indian mountain system consists of the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and the Nilgiris. The Western Ghats run close to the west coast almost without a break for about 1,000 miles from the pass of Kundaibari in Khandesh to Cape Comorin with an average elevation of 4,000 ft. above the sea-level. They send several spurs into the interior of the Deccan Plateau, the most important of which are the Ajaṇtā and the Bālāghāt ranges. The sea side is extremely steep and of difficult ascent. Communication with the interior is carried on through the passes of the Thal Ghat near Nasik, the Bor Ghat near Poona and the Palghat or the Coimbatore gap below the Nilgiris. The continuity of the mountain to the Cape after the southern gap is carried through the Annamalai and the Cardamom hills.

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The Western Ghats above the Coimbatore gap were known to the ancient geographers of India as the Sahyādri. The Sahyādri hills run almost parallel to the west coast from the Cape Comorin to the Tapti Valley. Ptolemy divides it into two parts, the northern part is called the Oroudian (identified with the Vaiḍūryaparvata) and the southern part, the Adeisathron. Among the hills associated with the Western Ghats mention may be made of Trikūṭa (from which the Traikūṭakas derive their name), Govardhana (Nasik Hill),¹¹ Kṛṣṇagiri¹² (modern Kaṇheri), Ṛṣyamūka (overlooking Pampā which has been identified with Hampe), Mālyavat in the Kiṣkindhyā country (identified by Pargiter with the hills near Kupal, Mudgal and Raichur), Praśravaṇa (associated with the Godāvarī and the Mandākinī¹) and Gomanta. Ṛṣyamūka and Gomanta may also be associated with the Sahya mountain. Pargiter identifies the former with the range of hills stretching from Ahmadnagar to beyond Naldrug and Kalyāṇi. He identifies the Gomanta with the hills south or south-east of Nasik.² According to Rai Chaudhuri to the north of Gomanta was Vanavāsī so that the hill might be placed in the Mysore region.³

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¹¹ Rapson, Andhra Coins, pp. xxix, xlvii, lvi.

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¹² Rāmāyaṇa, VI, 26, 30.

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¹ Rāmāyaṇa, Āraṇyakāṇḍa, 64. 10–14.

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² Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, p. 289 note.

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³ Studies in Indian Antiquities, p. 133.

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The Eastern Ghats run as detached hills, more or less parallel to the eastern coast of India, with an average elevation of about 2,000 ft. The detached hills are known by different names in different parts of the country. In their northern extremity the hills are known as the Maliahs, which approach the sea. The Maliahs in Ganjam, Vizagapatam and Godāvarī regions are much dissected and widened considerably in the district of Kurnool. In the latter district the Eastern Ghats are known as the Nallamalai hills. Further south the Eastern Ghats take the name of Palkonda hills, and the southern extremity of the Eastern Ghats joins the Nilgiri plateau in the Coimbatore district of the Madras State. This extremity is locally known as the Biligiri Rangan hills. The Shevaroy hills are a detached range in the Salem district.

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It appears from the Rāmāyaṇa⁴ that the Eastern Ghats are known as the Mahendraparvata. The Mahendra range seems to indicate the whole range of mountains extending from Ganjam as far south as the Pāṇḍya country to the whole of the Eastern Ghat range. The Mahendrādri or the Mahendra mountain is situated between the Gaṅgāsāgara-saṅgama and the Saptagodāvarī.⁵ A portion of the Eastern Ghats near Ganjam is still called the Mahendra hill. There is also a Mahendragiri in the Tinnevelly district.⁶ Pargiter thinks that the name should be limited to the hills between the Mahānadī, Godāvarī, and Wain-Gaṅgā, and may perhaps comprise the portion of the Eastern Ghats north of the Godāvarī.⁷ According to Pargiter the Mahendra hills of the Rāmāyaṇa and those of the Purāṇas are the two different ranges. But Rai Chaudhuri thinks that the same range of hills is meant by the authors of the Rāmāyaṇa and the Purāṇas.⁸ Some minor hills associated with the Mahendra mountain are the Śrīparvata overhanging the river Kṛṣṇā in the Kurnool district,⁹ Puṣpagiri (north of Cuddapah), Veṅkaṭādri (Tirumalai mountain near Tripati or Tirupati in the North Arcot district, about 72 miles to the north-west of Madras), Aruṇācala (on the river Kampā)¹⁰ and Ṛṣabha (in the Pāṇḍya country according to the Mahābhārata).¹¹

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⁴ Kiṣkindhyākāṇḍa, 41. 18–20; Laṅkākāṇḍa, 4. 92–94.

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⁵ Cf. Bhāgavata Purāṇa, X, 79.

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⁶ Tinnevelly District Gazetteer, I, p. 4.

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⁷ Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, p. 305 note.

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⁸ Studies in Indian Antiquities, pp. 108-109.

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⁹ Agni Purāṇa, CXIII, 3-4; Pargiter, Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, p. 290 notes.

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¹⁰ Skanda Purāṇa, Ch. III, 59–61; IV, 9, 13, 21, 37.

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¹¹ Mahābhārata, III, 85. 21; Bhāgavata Purāṇa, X, 79.

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The Eastern and the Western Ghats meet in the south in a knot of rocks known as the Nilgiris. The ancient Malayaparvata has been correctly identified by Pargiter with the portion of the Western Ghats from the Nilgiris to the Cape Comorin. The southern extension of the Western Ghats below the Kāverī, now known as the Travancore hills, really forms the western side of the Malayagiri. That the Malayagiri was joined by the Mahendra hills which extended as far south as Madura is proved by the Caitanya-caritāmṛta and the Harṣacarita¹ respectively. The Malayaparvata was also known as the Śrīkhaṇḍādri and Candanādri.² It is the same as Tamil Podigei or Podigai, the Bettigo of Ptolemy. On the summit of the Malayakūṭa or the Malaya range there was the hermitage of the sage Agastya.³ Associated with the Malaya is the hill called Dardura⁴ which is identical with the Nilgiris or the Palni hills.

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¹ Harṣacarita, VII.

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² Cf. Dhoyi’s Pavanadūta.

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³ Bhāgavata Purāṇa, XI, 79.

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⁴ Mahābhārata, II, 52, 34; Ibid., XIII, 165, 32; Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkākāṇḍa, 26, 42; Raghuvamśa, IV, 51.

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The group of mountains known as Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Śuktimat, Ṛkṣa, Vindhya and Pāripātra is known to ancient Indian geographers as the Kulācalas.⁵ They were so called because each of them was associated with one particular country or tribe. ‘Thus Mahendra is the mountain par excellence of the Kaliṅgas, Malaya of the Pāṇḍyas, Sahya of the Aparāntas, Śuktimat of the people of Bhallāṭa,⁶ Ṛkṣa of the people of Māhiṣmatī,⁷ Vindhya of the Āṭavyas and other forest folks of Central India, and Pāripātra or Pāriyātra of the Niṣādas.’⁸

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⁵ Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, 57. 10.

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⁶ Mahābhārata, II, 30. 5f.

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⁷ Harivaṃśa, 38. 19.

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⁸ Rai Chaudhuri, Studies in Indian Antiquities, pp. 105-106.

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The Bhāgavata Purāṇa⁹ refers to some mountains which are difficult to be identified. They are as follows: Surasa, Śata, Śṛṅga, Vāmadeva, Kuṇḍa, Kumuda, Puṣpa, Varṣa, Sahośra, Devānika, Kapila, Īśāṇa, Śatakeśara, Devapāla and Sahasraśrota.

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⁹ Skandha V, Ch. 20.

B. Caves

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The caves in prehistoric times discovered all over the world, mostly represent natural caves partly improved by human hand. Some of them contain ante-chambers and the walls of many of them are decorated with pictures of animals and natural objects. These caves served as shelters of men in life and death. It was in them that our remote ancestors developed in different ways our culture and civilization. The caves as religious retreats are referred to for the first time in the early texts of Buddhism. The cave (guhā) of the Upaniṣads is not a religious retreat but the cavity of the heart. The forests, open spaces, roads, tree-shades, deserted houses, cemeteries and mountain caves (giriguhā) became important as temporary shelters and retreats of the Indian ‘runaways’, the recluses, and wanderers as distinguished from the hermits (tāpasas). The caves also served as suitable places for meditation of the recluses. They were really the means of protection against heat and cold, wind and sunlight, ferocious animals and showers of rain.¹⁰ The early caves and caverns are mostly associated with the hills around the ancient city of Rājagriha. Only one of them is located in the neighbourhood of Kauśāmbī. The Indrasāla-guhā and the Saptaparṇi cave are the most noted among the caves and caverns of Rājagriha. According to the Vinayapiṭaka a natural cave deserves to be called a leṇa when it is touched by human hand and improved by human skill. It is difficult to take the early caves to be the examples of cave architecture. The Indian caves acquired an architectural significance from the days of Aśoka. They continued to be so up till the reign of King Khāravela of Orissa. The four caves dedicated by Aśoka to the Ājivikas in the Khalatika or Barabar hills, about 20 miles north of the town of Gayā, the three caves dedicated by Daśaratha in the Nāgārjuni hills, and the caves dedicated to the Jain recluses on the twin hills of Udayagiri and Khaṇḍagiri, were all intended to serve as shelters during the rains, while some of them in South India came to serve the sepulchral purpose in mediaeval times. From the time of the Śātakarṇis of the Andhra dynasty the Indian caves began to develop as vihāras (monastic abodes) and caityas or shrines. This observation holds true of the caves of Kārle, Bhāja, Ajaṇtā, Ellorā, Aurangabad, Elephanta and Bāgh. The Kailāsa temple of Ellora was a magnificent rock-cut temple which developed in the tradition of the caves as religious shrines. As compared and contrasted with the caves of India, the leṇas of Ceylon which do not strictly deserve the name of guhā, are nothing but the slanting slopes of rocks barely touched and rudely dressed by human hand. It is worthwhile to give a short account of some important Indian caves.

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¹⁰ Vinaya Cullavagga, VI. 1. 3-4.

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Indasālaguhā.—As explained by Buddhaghosa¹ this cave took its name from an Indasāla tree marking its entrance. The cave with this tree is represented in one of the Barhut sculptures. Later it also became known by the name of Indraśailaguhā evidently for the reason that it is made the scene of action of the famous Pali discourse called Sakkapañha Sutta, the discourse in which Sakka or Inda, the king of the gods, interviewed the Buddha to have satisfactory replies to his questions. In the Dīgha Nikāya we find that this cave is located in the Vediyaka mountain situated at a short distance to the north of the village of Ambasaṇḍa (Mango-grove).² The Vediyaka mountain is now identified with the Giriyak Hill, six miles from the city of Rājagaha, modern Rājgir.³ According to Buddhaghosa it was a pre-existing cave between two hills with an Indrasāla tree at its door. The particular hill with which it was connected was called Vediyaka or Vediya since it was surrounded by altar-shaped blue rocks.⁴

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¹ Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, III, 697.

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² Dīgha, II. 263-4.

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³ Cunningham, Ancient Geography of India, pp. 540-41.

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⁴ Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, III, 967.

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We read in the Pali text⁵ that at the time when the Buddha stepped into it, the cave which was uneven became even, which was narrow became wide, and which was dark became lighted as if by the supernatural power of the gods. The element of the miracle is altogether dispensed with by Buddhaghosa when he describes that cave as being surrounded by a wall fitted with doors and windows covered with chunam plaster decorated with scrolls and floral designs, done up on the whole into picturesque cave-dwelling.⁶ The Barhut medallion represents it as a mountain cave with a rocky floor and open-mouthed hall inside having an arched roof. It is polished inside. The Indrasāla tree is shown above it. The monkeys sit on cubical rocks, while two bears peep out through the piled up rocks.⁷ On the Bodh-Gayā stone railings the cave has an open mouth and an arched hall inside,⁸ and it is enclosed by a Buddhist railing. It is difficult to infer from the description given in the Pali text that the cave received any improvement by human hand.

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⁵ Dīgha N., II. 269-70.

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⁶ Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, III, 697.

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⁷ Cunningham, Stupa of Bhārhut, plate XXVII, 4, pp. 88-89.

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⁸ Barua, Gayā and Buddha Gayā, II, figs. 55, 73, 73A.

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Pipphali guhā.—This solitary cave which took its name from a Pippali or Pipphali tree⁹ near its entrance was a favourite resort of Thera Mahā-Kassapa.¹⁰ It was used for the purpose of lonely meditation.¹¹ According to Fa-Hien this rocky cave was regularly resorted to by the Buddha for silent meditation after his midday meal.¹² It is known to the Chinese travellers as Pipphala cave and to the author of the *Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa*¹ as Paipala guhā. The location of the cave is open to dispute. There is no evidence as yet to show that the cave was fashioned in any way by human hand.

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⁹ Udānavannanā (Siamese ed.), p. 77.

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¹⁰ Udāna, I, p. 4.

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¹¹ Dhammapada Commentary, II, 19-21.

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¹² Legge, Fa-hien, p. 85.

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¹ Paṭala liii, p. 588: Magadhānaṃ jane śreṣṭhe Kuśāgrapurivāsinaṃ parvataṃ tatsamipan tu varāhaṃ nāma nāmataḥ. Tatrāsau dhyāyate bhikṣuḥ guhālino 'tha paipale.

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*Sattapaṇṇi cave.*—It is also known as Sattapaṇṇa (Sapta-parṇa) guhā. It apparently derived its name from saptaparṇī creeper serving as its cognizance. All traditions connected with the Vebhāra or Vaihāra mountain, the *Mahāvastu*² and the Chinese pilgrims³ definitely locate it on the north side of this hill. The later accounts represent this spacious cave as the venue of the First Buddhist Council. The Vinaa yaccount does not however refer particularly to any single cave as the place where the *theras* (Elders) of the First Council met. On the other hand, it suggests that while the Council was in session, its five hundred delegates were required to stay in Rājagaha and in all the retreats, *vihāras*, *guhās* and *kandaras* which were then available. We are also told that these retreats were caused to be repaired so as to make them serve as shelters during the rainy season. According to Ceylon chronicles the Saptaparṇī cave alone was repaired for the purpose. The location of this cave is still doubtful. Fa-hien places it about a mile to the west of the Pippala or Pipphala cave.⁴ Cunningham identifies it with the Son-Bhāṇḍār cave on the southern side of the Vaihāra mountain.⁵ The Pali evidence in support of this identification is to be found in the *Dīgha Nikāya*⁶ in which the cave is placed adjacent to the Isigili (Rishigiri) mountain. Although the Pali account connects the cave with the Vaihāra mountain and locates it on a side of it (*Vebhārapasse*), it does not definitely mention on which side the cave stood. The present situation of the Son-Bhāṇḍār cave is ideal for the purpose of a Council. It is moreover a commodious cave-dwelling with clear signs of construction by human skill. There is no other cave in Rājagriha which is so ideally situated and so beautifully made.

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² Vol. I, p. 70.

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³ Legge, *Fa-hien*, p. 85; Watters, *On Yuan Chwang*, II, 160.

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⁴ Ibid., pp. 84-5.

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⁵ Cunningham, *Ancient Geography of India* (S. N. Majumdar's ed.), p. 531.

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⁶ *Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta*. (*Dīgha*, II.)

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*Varāha guhā.*—This was a natural cave (*Sukarakhāta*) on the Gijjhakūṭa mountain, which served as the retreat to the wandering ascetics including the Buddhist recluses. The wanderer named Dīghanakha met the Buddha in this cave.⁷ It came to be known as the boar’s cave evidently for the reason that it was a place for the boars to live in.

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⁷ *Majjhima Nikāya* I, *Dīghanakha Sutta*; Malalasekera, *Dictionary of Pali Proper Names*, II, pp. 1271-1272; *Papañcasūdanī*, III, p. 203; *Sāratthappakāsinī*, III, p. 249.

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The *Kandaras* were all natural caverns in the rocks. The Tinduka Kandara was marked out by a Tinduka tree⁸ standing near it. The Tapoda kandara received its name from its proximity to the Tapodas or hot springs. Why Gomata Kandara was so called is not known. The Kapota Kandara was undoubtedly a favourite resort of the pigeons.⁹ The *Udāna*¹⁰ locates it at some distance from Rājagaha while Hiuen Tsang places it about 9 or 10 miles north-east of the Indraśaila cave.¹¹

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⁸ This tree cannot be accurately identified. It may be *Diospyros embryopteris* or *Strychnos Nux Vomica*.

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⁹ *Udānavannanā* (Siamese ed.), p. 307.

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¹⁰ IV. 4.

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¹¹ Watters, *On Yuan Chwang*, II, p. 175.

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The Pali canonical texts refer to the *Pilakkhaguhā* or a cave which was marked by the Pilakkha tree (Plakṣa, the wave-leaved fig tree, *Ficus Infectoria*). It is said to have been a pit or hollow in the earth caused by rain water. The water accumulated there during the rains made it look like a pool which became dried up in summer. A wanderer named Sandaka used to live in it with his 500 followers in summer by providing it with a temporary roof supported on pillars or posts.¹

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¹ *Papañcasūdanī* (Sinhalese ed.), II, p. 687.

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We then meet with several rock-cut caves, some of which are situated in Orissa, and some in southern and western India. Those in eastern India are associated with king Khāravela, the great Jain Emperor of Kaliṅga, his chief queen, son, other royal personages, and officers. Those in western and southern India are associated with the name of the Śātakarṇi rulers. Almost to the same age may be relegated the Pabhosā cave, about two miles west of Kosam, the site of ancient Kauśāmbī dedicated to the Kāśyapiyas, a religious community of the time, by king Āṣāḍhasena of Ahicchatra.

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The evidence of the religious faith of the donors of the Jain caves in the twin hills of Udayagiri and Khaṇḍagiri lies in the dedicatory inscriptions as also in the mediæval cult statues of the Tīrthaṅkaras in two of the Khaṇḍagiri caves. Some 35 excavations are now visible. The Anantagumphā on the Khaṇḍagiri and the Rāṇīgumphā, Gaṇeśagumphā and Jayavijaya caves on the Udayagiri hills are the most remarkable from the architectural and artistic points of view. The Hāthigumphā which was caused to be excavated by Khāravela himself is a natural cavern enlarged by an artificial cutting. It is a wide-mouthed slanting slope of a big boulder. On its left side stands the two-storied Mañcapurī cave. The lower storey has a pillared verandah with chambers hollowed out at the back. Its upper storey is of similar design and dimension. The verandah of the ground floor contains a frieze representing a flying angel. The verandah of the upper storey has a pent-roof, which served the purpose of a shelf. A complete *leṇa* consisted of *pāsāda*, meaning a verandah or façade, pillared or not, *koṭhā*, meaning chamber or chambers hollowed out at the back and at one end, and *jiyā* or pent-roof. At the left wing of the lower storey there are two caves donated by Prince Vaḍukha. The courtyard has a wall in front. Near about the Hāthigumphā there are a few small caves. One of them, called Vyāghragumphā, looks like the face of a tiger with its distended jaws. Another known as Sarpagumphā shows a snakehood carved on its upper edge. Two of them are called Ajāgaragumphā and Bhekagumphā for similar reasons. On the slope of the Udayagiri hills there is to be seen a single-storied and building-like cave called Choṭahāthigumphā having two small figures of elephants in its courtyard. The Anantagumphā of the Khaṇḍagiri group is a single storied cave planned on the model of the Mañcapurī. The ornamental arches in the doorways of the cave show various reliefs. The Rāṇīgumphā on the Udayagiri is most elaborately decorated.

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The Nasik caves, described as *paṇḍuleṇas*, are situated about 300 ft. above the road level. They were excavated for the Bhadrayānikas, a Hinayāna sect of the Buddhists. We see altogether 23 excavations. The earliest of them is the Caitya cave. The cave No. 1 is an unfinished *vihāra*. The cave No. 2 is an excavation with many later additions. It has a verandah with two wooden pillars. The cave No. 3 is a big *Vihāra* with many cells and a big hall. The entrance is sculptured in the style of the Sāñci gate. It was an excavation of Śātakarṇi Gautamīputra. The cave No. 10, too, is a *vihāra*. It has a pillared verandah. The cave No. 17 contains a hall 23 ft. wide and 32 ft. deep. Its verandah is reached by half a dozen steps in front between the two central octagonal pillars. Its back wall shows a standing figure of the Buddha.

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The Kārli and Bhāja caves are the well-known Buddhist cave temples in the Borghata hills between Bombay and Poona. The inscriptions in the caves go to show that they were donated at the time of Nahapāṇa and Uṣavadāta. The Karle caves have at their entrance a pillar which, like the Sarnath pillar of Aśoka, is surmounted by four lions with gaping mouths and facing four quarters. There is on their right side a Śiva temple, and close to it there is a second pillar surmounted by a wheel, the symbol of *Dharmacakra*. Its entrance consists of three doorways under a gallery. The Bhāja cave No. 1 is a natural cavern. The caves Nos. 2–6 are all plain *vihāras*. There is a *caitya* which is one of the finest specimens of cave architecture. Buddhist emblems are distinctly traceable in four of the pillars. The roof is arched. There are decorated arches in front and double railings and many small *vihāras*.

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The caves of Ellora which are located in the north-west of the Nizam’s territory about 16 miles from Aurangabad and 10 miles to the north-west of Daulatabad are important Buddhist caves. Three different religions are represented here: the southern group comprising 14 caves is Buddhist, the middle one belongs to Brahmanism and the northernmost to Jainism. The Buddhist group contains one real temple, a large *caitya* hall which is a large *caitya* temple of the same type as the two halls of Ajantā (Nos. 19 and 26). Some of the Buddhist caves contain distinct signs of later Mahayanism. The cave No. 3 is a *vihāra* cave. The cave No. 5 is of the type of a large *vihāra*. There are Brahmanical and Jain caves also. The cave No. 10 is a beautiful *caitya* cave. The façade is highly ornamental and the carvings are very beautiful. The caves Nos. 11 and 12 have cells in the wall and show signs of Mahayanism.

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The Bagh caves form an interesting group of Buddhist caves, situated about 40 miles west of Dhar in Malwa. They were excavations of the Gupta period. They are all monastic caves hewn out of the rocky slope of a hill-side which rises on the north from the valley of the Narmadā. The images of the Buddha found here and there in these caves are evidently of a later age. The architecture is not of the same type as that of Nāsik caves.

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The Ajantā caves form another notable group of Buddhist rockcut caves situated 60 miles north-west of Aurangabad in the Nizam’s territory. All the 26 caves were not excavated and decorated at one and the same time. The seven of them forming a central group are the primitive type, while the rest display a wealth of ornament in sharp contrast to the simplicity of older days. According to V. A. Smith, the bulk of the Ajantā paintings must be assigned to the sixth century A.D., i.e., the time of the great Chālukya kings. The earliest caves, Nos. 9 and 10, may be dated at the first and second century B.C. The caves of Ajantā belong to the *Caitya* and *Vihāra* types.

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The caves of Aurangabad represent, according to Dr. Vogel, the final phase in the long development through which monastic cave-temple architecture has passed. With the exception of one dilapidated *Caitya*-temple of a primitive type, these little known monastery caves are evidently synchronous in point of time with the latest caves of Ajantā. A striking feature of these later caves is the increasing prominence of the *Bodhisattvas* who take their place beside the numberless Buddha images.

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The Elephanta caves, which are situated about six miles to the north-east of the Appollo Bunder, show the influence of Buddhism and Brahmanism. Trimūrti or Brahmanical Trinity has been carved on the wall of the main hall. One of the caves contains a Buddhist caitya.

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Though the caves were no longer used for the purpose for which they were built or donated, they still stand with full memories of the glorious past of India.

C. Rivers

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Innumerable are the rivers of India which are really the arteries that carry and distribute the water or life-blood of a country. They flow down in various directions seeking the level, cutting valleys sometimes through the mountain ranges, sometimes on land and occasionally changing their beds. They form diverse streams of water (sarit), producing ripples (taraṅginī) and murmuring sounds (kalanādinī) and create waterfalls, lakes and islands. The prosperity of India to a large extent depends upon her river systems. It is along the banks of the rivers and in close proximity to them that we can trace the growth of tribal settlements and mighty kingdoms, prosperous towns and fertile villages, religious shrines and peaceful hermitages. India owes much of her productiveness to her rivers and many of them also constitute highways of trade and commerce. Not unnaturally the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (LVII. 30) says, ‘All the rivers are sacred, all flow towards the sea. All are like mothers to the world, all purge away sins.’ The Bhāgavata Purāṇa (Skandha V, Ch. 20) mentions some rivers which seem difficult to be identified. They are as follows:— Anumatī, Sinivātī, Kuhu, Rajanī, Nandā, Madhukulyā, Mitravindā, Mantra-mālā, Āyurdā, Aparājitā, Śrutavindā, Sahasraśruti and Devagarbhā.

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It is interesting to note that since the Vedic times it became almost a convention to describe the gradually widening Aryandom by the seven rivers called Sindhus, Sarasvatīs, Gaṅgās or Nadīs. Thus the entire country occupied by the Rgvedic Aryans has been described in the Rgveda¹ as Saptasindhavah, ‘the land of seven rivers’, namely, the five rivers of the Punjab together with Sindhu (Indus) and another river whether it be the Sarasvatī or the Kubhā (Kābul) or even the Oxus. When the Aryandom embraced the whole of India it came to be represented by the seven principal streams called the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Sarasvatī, Narmadā, Sindhu and Kāverī.² The seven sacred rivers of the Buddhist Midland are enumerated as Bāhukā (Bāhudā), Adhikakkā, Gayā (Phalgu), Sundarikā, Sarassatī, Payāgā (confluence of the Ganges and the Yamunā), and Bāhumati.³ Another version has Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarabhū (Sarajū), Sarassatī, Aciravatī, Mahī and Mahānadī.⁴

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