Historical Geography of Ancient India c6.270

c6.270

Hemavata.—The Himalaya mountain was known in ancient times as Himavān, Himācala,⁶ Himavantapadesa, Himādri, Haimavata and Himavat. It is mentioned in ancient Indian texts.⁷ It is called the Parvatarāja¹ and Nagādhirāja.² According to the Great Epic,³ the Haimavata region was situated just to the west of Nepal (Nepāla-viṣaya). According to the same Epic, it mainly comprised the Kulinda-viṣaya (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 parts of the modern Himachal Pradesh and adjoining tracts, and some parts of Dehra Dun. The author of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa (54, 24; 57, 59) knew the Himalayan mountain (Himavat) to have stretched from sea to sea like the string of a bow (Kārmukasya yathā guṇaḥ). The statement of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa is supported by the Mahābhārata (VI. 6. 3) and Kumārasambhava (1, 1). The two loftiest mountains the Kailāsa⁴ and the Himalaya (Himavān) stand to the south of the Meru mountain.⁵ These two mountains stretch east and west and extend into the ocean.⁶ The Kailāsa mountain frequently mentioned in Sanskrit literature was on the north of the middle portion of the Himalayan range.⁷ According to Bāṇa’s Harṣacarita (Ch. VII) Arjuna subdued the Mount Hemakūṭa in order to complete the Rājasūya sacrifice. In Bāṇa’s Kādambarī (śl. 16) this mountain was white with crystals or made up of crystal rocks. The Himalaya is described in the Kuṇāla Jātaka⁸ as a vast region, 500 leagues in height, and 3,000 leagues in breadth. Aśvaghoṣa refers to the Himalaya (Himavān) and places the Madhyadeśa between this mountain and the Pāripātra.⁹ The Lord Śiva who dwelt on the peaks of the Kailāsa and the Himalaya was propitiated by the songs of the two nāgas.¹⁰