________________
SAP
179
SAP
by Ibn Batuta in 1346 A.D. He calls it by the name of Sudkawân which he describes as a large place" on the shore of the great sea," but says it was close to the junction of the Ganges and the Yamuna (evidently at Triveni). According to him, Sâtgaon was not only a port, but the residence of Fakruddin, the then Sultan of Bengal (Ind. Ant., III, p. 210). Merchants from various parts of India as Kalinga, Trailanga, Gujerat, etc., used to come to Saptagrama for trade (K. ch., pp. 196, 229; Schoff's Periplus, p. 26; McCrindle's Ptolemy). Sapta-Kausika-See Mahakausika.
Sapta-Konkana-The following territories in the Malabar coast were called the seven Konkaņas: Kerala, Tulu, Govarâshtra, Koikana proper, Karahâṭaka, Barâlâttâ and Barbara (Wilson, As. Res., XV, p. 47; Dr. Stein's Rajatarangini, Vol. 1, p. 136). See Parasurama-kshetra.
Sapta-Kulachala-The seven principal mountains, which are Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Suktimana, Gandhamadana, Bindhya and Pâripâtra. For the Gandhamadona, the Matsya P. (ch. 144) has Rikshavâna and the Agni P. (ch. 118) has Hema-parvata. Sapta-Mokshadapuri-The seven holy towns are Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kâsî, Kañchi, Avanti and Dvârâvatî (Brihat-Dharmma Purana, Madhya kh., ch. 24).
Sapta-Patala-See Rasâtala.
Saptårsha-Satara in Maharashtra (Vishnu-Samhita, ch. 85).
Sapta-sagara-The seven seas are (1) Lavana (salt) or the Indian Ocean surrounding Jambu-dvipa or India (Padma P., Kriyayogasára, ch. 1); (2) Kshira (inspissated milk), it is a corruption of Shirwan Sea, as the Caspean Sea was called (Yule's Marco Polo, Vol. I, p. 59 note), and it formed the northern boundary of Saka-dvipa (Baráha P., ch. 86); (3) Surd (wine), it is a corruption of the Sea of Sarain which is another name for the Caspean Sea (Yule's Marco Polo, Vol. II, p. 494), and it formed the southern or south-eastern boundary of Kusa-dvipa (Brahmanda P., ch, 51; the Bardha P., ch. 87, has Kohîra Sâgara instead of Sura); (4) Ghrita (clarified butter), it is a corruption of the Erythræan Sea or the Persian Gulf, and it formed the boundary of Salmala-dvipa or Chal-dia, that is Assyria (Baráha P., ch. 89); (5) Ikshu (sugarcane juice); Ikshu is another name for the Oxus (Vishnu P., Pt. II, ch. 4), here the river is taken as a sea. It formed the southern boundary of Pushkara-dvipa (Baráha P., ch. 89), Pushkara being evidently a variant of Bhushkara or Bokhara; (6) Dadhi (curd) or the sea of Aral, Dadhi is the Sanskritised form of Dahi (Dahee) the name of a Scythic tribe which lived in the Upper Jazartes (JBBRAS., Vol. XXIV, p. 548) and evidently on the shores of this lake, it formed the boundary of Krauñcha-dvipa (Bardha P., ch. 88); (7) Svâdu-juice (sweet-water), it is perhaps a corruption of Tchadun, a river in Mongolia, it formed the boundary of or rather flowed through Plaksha-dvipa-. See my Rasátala or the Under-world. Sapta-baila-Yelu-mala, a cluster of hills 16 miles north of Cannanore in the Malabar Coast, the first Indian land seen by Vasco-da-Gama in 1498 (Yule's Marco Polo, Vol. II, p. 321). Sapta-Sarasvata-1. The collective name of seven rivers: Kâñchanâkshi in Naimisharanya, Bisâlâ in Gaya, Manaurama in Kosala, Oghavati in Kurukshetra, Sureņu in Haridvara, Bimalodâ in the Himalaya and Suprabha in Pushkara (Mbh., Śalya P., ch. 39). 2. A place of pilgrimage in Kurukshetra (Mbh., Vana, ch. 83). Sapta-Sindhu-The Panjab, where the early Aryans, who were afterwards called the Hindus, first settled themselves after their migration to India. The seven Sindhus (rivers) are the Irâvatî, Chandrabhaga, Bitasta, Bipasa, Satadru, Sindhu and Sarasvati or the Kabul. The word Sapta-Sindhu of the Rig Veda (VIII, 24, 27) is the Hapta Henda of the Vendidad