Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c15.25

c15.25

The location of the city of Gaṅgā, capital of the Gangians or Vaṅgas, in the vicinity of the confluence of the Gaṅgā and the Sāgara (sea) suggests that it was no other than the celebrated holy city of Gaṅgāsāgara or Gaṅgāsāgarasaṅgama mentioned in Indian literature. As a personal name like Satyabhāmā is known to have been abbreviated into both Satyā and Bhāmā, a locality like Puruṣottamapurī could be and has actually been celebrated both as Puruṣottama and as Purī. The city of Gaṅgāsāgara likewise seems to have been known both as Gaṅgā (at least to foreigners of the early period) and as Sāgara (still preserved in the name of the Sāgar or Gaṅgāsāgar Island).