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352
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(NOVEMBER, 1884.
account was traversed by Alexander before he crossed the Khoaspôs and laid siege to Mazaga. Yule in his map places it doubtfully at Dudhal on the Khaghar River to the east of Bhatneer, near the edge of the great desert.
Ardonê:-Ahroni acording to Yule, a place destroyed by Timor on his march, situated be. tween the Khaghar and Chitang rivers, both of which lose themselves in the great desert.
Indabara is undoubtedly the ancient In. dra prastha, a name which in the common dialects is changed into Indabatta (Indopat), and which becomes almost Indabara in the cerebral pronunciation of the last syllable. The site of this city was in the neighbourhood of Dehli. It was the capital city of the Pandavas. The Prakrit form of the name is Indrabattha. (Lassen, vol. III, p. 151).
Modoura, the city of the gods :-There is no difficulty in identifying this with Mathuri (Muttra) one of the most sacred cities in all India, and re. nowned as the birthplace of Kfishna. Its temples struck Mahmnd of Ghaznt with such admiration that he resolved to adorn his own capital in a similar style. The name is written by the Greeks Methora as well as Modoura. It is situated on the banks of the Jamna, higher up than Agra, from which it is 35 miles distant. It is said to have been founded by Satrughna, the younger brother of Rama. As already mentioned it was a city of the Pandavas whose power extended far to westward.
Gagas mira:-Lassen and Saint-Martin agree in recognizing this as Ajmir. Yule, however, objects to this identification on the ground that the first syllable is left unaccounted for, and proposes Jajhar as a substitute. Gegasius, he argues, represents in Plutarch Yay&ti, the great ancestor of the Lunar race, while Jajhpur in Orissa was properly Yayatipära. Hence probably in Jajhar, which is near Dehli, we have the representative of Gagasmira.
Erarasa :-Ptolemy calle this a metropolis. It appears, says Yule, to be Giriraja, royal hill,' and may be Goverdhan which was so called, and was a capital in legendary times (Ind. Antiq., vol. I, p. 23). Saint-Martin suggests Varanasi, now Banaras, which was also a capital. He thinks that this name and the next, which ends the list, were additions of the Roman copyists.
51. Still further to the east than the Kaspeiraioi are the Gymnosophistai, and after these around the Ganges further north are the Daitikhai with these towns :Konta ........ .............133° 30' 34° 40' Margara ... ...............135° 34°
Batang kaissara and east of
the river............. .........132° 40' 33° 20' Passala ...........................137° 34' 15' Orza .................
..............136° 33° 20' Gymnosophistai:-This Greek word means Naked philosophers,' and did not designate any ethnic or political section of the population, but a community of religious ascetics or hermits located along the Ganges probably, as Yule thinks in the neighbourhood of Hardwar and also accord ing to Benfey, of Dehli, Indien, p. 95. For an account of the Gymnosophists see Ind. Antiq., vol. VI, pp. 242-244.
Daitik hai:-This name is supposed to repre. sent the Sanskrit jatika, which means 'wearing twisted or plaited hair.' The name does not occur in the lists in this form but Kern, as Yule states, has among tribes in the north-east "Demons with elf locks” which is represented in Wilford by Jati-dhara.
Konta, says Saint-Martin (Btude, p. 321) is probably Kunda on the left bank of the Jamna to the south-east of Saharanpor.
Margara :-Perhaps, according to the same authority, Marhára near the Kalindi River to the north-east of Agra.
Batangkai 88 ara :-Yule objecting to Saint-Martin's identification of this place with Bhatkashaur in Saharanpur pargana, on the ground of its being a modern combination, locates it, but doubtingly, at Kesarwa east of the Jamna, where the position suits fairly.
Passala:-Pliny mentions a people called Passala e, who may be recognized as the inhabitants of Panchåla or the region that lay between the Ganges and the Jamni, and whose power, according to the Mahabharata, extended from the Himalayas to the Chambal River. Passala we may assume was the capital of this important state, and may now, as Saint-Martin thinks, be represented by Bisauli. This was formerly a considerable town of Robilkhand, 30 miles from Sambhal towards the south-east, and at a like distance from the eastern bank of the Ganges.
Orza is perhaps Sarsi situated on the Ram. gangå river in the lower part of its course.
52. Below these are the Anikhai with these towns : Persakra.
.........134° 32° 40' Sannaba ............
.135° 32° 30' Toana to the east of the river...136° 30' 32°
53. Below these Prasia kê with these towns :Sambalaka ........
........132° 15' 31° 50' Adisdara ........
310-30 Kanagora .. .......
.........135°
30° 40'
