Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c8.s3.178

c8.s3.178

The great country called Saindhava, *i.e.* Sindhu, is described as extending from Laṅkā-pradeśa as far as Makkā. Makkā may indicate here the Muslim lands of Western Asia in general. But Laṅkā is not easy to identify. It is difficult to determine whether the country called Siṃhala=Siṃhapura of the Punjab is intended by the author. Of course it is possible, in consideration of the travellers’ point of view, to identify it with Ceylon. They might have reached Sind from Ceylon which was on the way to Mecca. The ancient Sindhu-deśa lay to the west of the Lower Indus and was not exactly the same as modern Sindh.