________________
514
A CRITICAL STUDY OF PAUMACARIYAM
situated in the valley of Vamśagiri (39.4). On that hill he sojourns for some time. At the request of Rama, the king of that place gets some Jina temples built on the hill. It then comes to be known as Ramagiri after the name of Rama (40.16). After some days Rāma tells Laksmana to proceed to some other place beyond the river Karparava (known as the Dandaka forest). He further says that the forest lies in the vicinity of the great ocean and expresses his desire to sojourn there1. Accordingly they start from there and enter the Daṇḍakaranya and sojourn on the bank of the river Karparava (41.2). They proceed further towards the interior and come across the big river Kuñcarava (42.15), or Koñcarava (43,21). They stay there for a long period of time. The river is called Krauñcarava in the PCR (42.61). At the time of departing from Ayodhya, Rama tells his mother that he will return to her after settling some abode on the Vindhya hills or on the Malaya mountains or in the vicinity of the ocean3. Further while departing from Ujjain, Lakṣmaņa tells that he along with Rama and Sita is going to the Malayaparvata3. From the last reference it can be inferred that Rama might have entered the Malayadeśa or the region near about the Malaya mountains which are the southern parts of the Western Ghats or the region of Malabar coast. The ancient Malayaparvata has been identified with the portion of the Western Ghats from the Nilgiris to Cape Comorin'.
The VR (3.69.5) refers to the Krauñca forest and locates it at a distance of some miles to the west and then south of Pañcavați. As one proceeds further to the south the source of river Kṛṣṇā comes nearer, It is presumable that the Karṇarava or Kroñcarava of the PCV is the Kṛṣṇa river. Vamśagiri should be some hill in that area and Vamśapura, a town situated in the foot of the hills. But they are not identified. The ocean also falls in the vicinity and thus the Dandakaranya is the region lying on both the sides of the Kṛṣna flowing from the north towards the south i.e. in the Kokan and Maharastra region. R.G. Bhandarkar identifies the Dandaka
1. Nisunijjai Kannarava mahānai tie atthi paracṇam, maṇuyana duggamam ciya tarubahalam Dandayaraṇṇam 40.13; Tattha mahāsamuddāsanne kāūņa ālayam parivasamo, bhaniyo ya Lakkhanenam jahanavesi tti eveyar 40.14.
2. Viñjhagirimatthae và Malae va sayarassa vasanne; Kauņa paitthanam tujjha, phuḍam agamisse ham-31.100.
Bharahassa sayaladesam mottuņam Malayapavvae amhe, Kauņa Paitthāṇam niyayapuram agamissamo 33.141.
4. HGAI, p.22.
3.
