Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c20.52

c20.52

It will be less astonishing to meet in a section of the *Sutta-nipāta* with some details, so precise, of the geography of the regions that encircle the Gulf of Cambay, if it is remembered that one of the pearls of the Collection, viz. the admirable *Dhaniyasutta*,² has the bank of the Mahī for its scene. The shepherd Dhaniya is settled here (*anutīre Mahiyā samāna-vāso*). The Buddha passes a night on the bank of the river (*anutīre Mahiy=eka-ratti-vāso*). The audacity of a poet and a local inspiration must have been necessary for bringing the Buddha in these exotic quarters so far from his real activity, in close contact of the sea frequented by the barbarians.³