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A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NISITHA CURNI
boats navigating through the rivers,2 These rivers must have served as important trade-routes of the time and were a source of great cultural contact between the different regions of India.
Journey by water was not very safe because of the fear of the large acquatic animals, yet water-route must have been more convenient for the traders than the landroute. Falapattanas, as mentioned before, were the large commercial towns where trade was carried by water-routes.' Very often the Vaniks can be seen going out for trade after loading their boats. Sometimes they boarded a common vessel or exchanged their old boats with the new ones which could sail faster. Travellers could also cross the rivers by paying the proper ferry-charges,5 The monks, however, were considered as undesirable burdens, since they had nothing to pay as ferry charges.
Sea-Voyages-- A few stories mentioned in the text reveal that sea-voyages were frequently undertaken by the merchants. We find a goldsmith anouncing to pay a million rupees to a pilot who could lead him to Pañcaśaila island. The ship (pavahana ) of a merchant (vaniya ) is mentioned to have remained lost at the sea for over six months before it could reach Vítibhayapattana.? Another ship of a merchant, who went out for trade ( vānijja ) along with his wife, was shipwrecked because of the terrible cyclone in the sea. Taking resort to a plank ( phalaga ) the lady reached an island from where she could reach her home-town after a number of years by boarding a vessel which had reached the island in course
1. कोंकणविसए णदीसु अंतो जलस्स कल्लुगा पासाणा भवति ते पादं अचेयणं करेंति
fgf-NC. 3, p. 370. 2. 472973it go O TET-HTC-Hostia -NC. 2, p. 210. 3. TOUTH HEAMEET Å U NC. 3, p. 346; NC. 2, p. 32. 4. NC. 3, p. 206. 5. Tit f-TEQUi quel-NC. 4, p. 206. 6. NC. 3, p. 140. 7. NC. 3, p. 142; Uttarā. T7. 18, p. 252.
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