Historical Geography of Ancient India c9.216

c9.216

*Seriva*.—It is mentioned in the *Jātaka*. In the kingdom of Seri there were two merchants dealing in pots and pans. They used to sell their wares in the streets (*Jātaka*, I, pp. 111–114). According to some it has been identified with Seriyāpuṭa (a seaport town of Seriya), which is mentioned in a votive label on the stūpa of Bārhut. According to others it may be identified with Śrīrājya or the later Gaṅga kingdom of Mysore (Ray Chaudhury, *P.H.A.I.*, p. 64; Barua and Sinha, *Barhut Inscriptions*, p. 32). Barua and Sinha are right in holding that Seriyāpuṭa was like Sūrpāraka and Bharukaccha, an important port on the western coast of India and that it may be identified with Seriva (*Ibid.*, p. 132).