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DECEMBER, 1891.)
GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA.
419
BN account of the works he had consulted, which were apparently valuable, but not very widely circulated. Some of these are the Kshetra-samásas, - one purely mythological, another (written by order of Raja Bijjala of Patna, who died A.D. 1648) is entirely geographical and "a most valuable work;" the Muñija-pratidéia-vyavasthá, by Raja Muñja, and its redaction the Bhoja-pratidésa-vyavasthá, - both large works; a work written by order of Bukkaraya of Vijayanagar Vik.-Sam. 1341, which Wilford supposes is the same as the Bhuvana-ságara; a commentary on the geography of the Mahábhárata, written in Bengal by order of a Raja Panlastya, in the time of Husain Shah (A.D. 1493-1518); the Vikrama-ságara, considered a valuable work; and the Bhuvana-kisa, - said to be a section of the Bhavishya-Purana, but revised and greatly angmented, - probably subsequent to 1550.
In the Search for Sanskrit MSS., it might be well to make enquiry for these and similar treatises and tracta. Among them may be found much that would be of great importance for the elucidation of the mediæval, as well as the earlier, geography of India.
In 1824 Professor H. H. Wilson found some fragments of a geographical work, which formed the subject of a paper he contributed to the Oriental Magazine for that year (Vol. II., pp. 186 ff). As this paper has not been republished in his collected works, and the Oriental Magasine is now practically inaccessible to most, I venture to submit his version of the fragments, with so much of his prefatory remarks and footnotes as is of interest :
· The work," he says, "from which they are taken, is professedly a section of the Bhavishyat Purána : it is not, however, found in the entire copies of that Purana, and is, no doubt, & distinct composition. Much of the work is either of some antiquity, or is made op of ancient materials; but there is a very large proportion that is clearly quite modern, mention being made of several Muhammadan cities. The style of the description, in conformity to the prophetic character of the Purana, of which it pretends to be a section, is also prophetic, and annonces what countries and towns will exist in the Kali age. We shall take the liberty however, to substitute the present or the past, for the future tense.
"Divisions of Pundre-Dets, from the Bramanda Section of the Bhavishyat Purana.
“That part of Bharada or India known by the name of Pundra, consists of seven principal divisions, Gaur, Varondra, Nivritti, near the country of Sambha, the forest tract called NArikhands, Varahabhumi, Varddhamana, and Vindhya-Parswa or the country along the foot of the Vindbya monntains. These we shall severally describe.
"Gaura, in which Gaureba is situated, lies to the north of Varddhamana, and south of the Padma. The Ganges here assumes a southerly direction. The country is populous, abounds with villages, and contains several considerable towns, the principal of which are the following:
" Gaureka, situated on the borders, Ramakeli, Maulapattan on the Bhagirathi or Hugli river. In the vicinity of Kiritebwari is MorasudAhad, founded by a Yavana; Kanthakakhya and Santipura on the banks of the river. The cities of Gaura have been often destroyed.
- The inhabitants of Gaura are, in general, worshippers of Vishņu, and assiduons in repeating his name. They are, however, immoral, licentious, and dishonest, and no man may call
1 "From the following description it appears, that Pandra is the collective name of a country, following a curiously circuitous direction. It is bounded on the north-east chiefly by the Barhamputra, north of Daoca, and the eastern portion of the HimAlaya. It then follows a course south-west across the Ganges, paupes to the south of Bihar; and again comes to the Ganges about Mirsapar, being bounded on the west by Rewa and Dandelkhand. Gondwana, Chutia Nagpur, Orissa, and Lower Bengal, therefore, are the limits of its southern com P consequently comprises the following districts: in Bengal, Rajshahi, Murshid Abad, Dindjpur, Rap pert of Nadiys, Birbhum, Bardwen, part of Midnapur, and the Jungle Mahals. In Bihor, part of Ramgir, Bukit, and Palaman; and in Allahabad (P N.-W. Provinces), part of Chunar." -[Allowance must be made for the less accurate method of transliteration that prevailed at the time when the paper, from which these extracts are given, W46 written, - EDITORS.)
: The PeddA or main stream of the Ganges after giving off the Hugli.
