A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.882

c5.882

KIRĀTAS. Foresters and mountaineers living in the mountains east of Hindustan. (There is a tribe in the Central Himālayas called Kirāntis.) They are described in the Rāmāyana as “islanders, who eat raw fish, live in the waters, and are men-tigers” (men below and tigers above, according to the commentator). Their females are described as “gold-coloured and pleasant to behold,” and as having “sharp-pointed hair-knots.” They are perhaps the Cirrhadæ placed on the Coromandel coast by classic writers.