Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c8.s4.9

c8.s4.9

Varuṇa-prastha or Vāruṇa-prastha is said to have Jagannātha (in the Puri District, Orissa) in the east, Makkeśvara (at Mecca) in the west, Hiṅgulā (in Sind) in the north and Trailokyavijayā in the south. The seven Sāgaras and Samudras (seas and oceans?) are placed beyond or near this *prastha*. Trailokyavijayā appears to indicate some deity or pilgrim-spot in Ceylon. There is reference also to a place called Rājāvarta. Thus Varuṇa-prastha was evidently connected with the sea and comprised most of the districts on the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. This was probably the seat of the *Gajapati* or the lord of elephants (cf. the Gajapatis of Orissa).