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98
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ MAY, 1926
approximately the 18th degree, in the vicinity of Chicacole and Kalinga patam. Once more I repeat here the statement of Valentijn (1727), to which Yule drew attention (Proceed. Roy. Geogr. Soc., 1882) :-"At the beginning of February, a little boat was sailing to Pegu with a cargo loaded at Masulipatam .... From this point it followed the coast as far as the 18th degree North latitude, and there took to the open sea, in order to reach the opposite coast in about the 16th degree." As late as the seventeenth century maps of India, as for example that' of William Blaeu, continued to show a bold promontory and a sharp bend of the coast, precisely according with Ptolemy's views, between the ports of Masulipatam and Bimlipatam (to the north of Vizaga patam in 17° 53' 15" N. and 83° 29' 50' E)
"In conclusion, it would be scarcely wise to interpret Ptolemy's data for the whole of this locality too literally; but the precision of his statements should not blind us to the real value of his information. He locates Paloura a little to the north of the aphetêrion : Pliny, on the contrary, starting from the mouths of the Ganges, mentions first "the promontory of the Calingae," and secondly,--and therefore further to the south," the fortress of Dandagula." Thus Pliny places Dandagula within the country of "Calinga ” : Ptolemy ignorés. the name of Kalinga, whether inland or coastal. Possibly we may recognise an echc of this famous name in the town of Kalliga, which Ptolemy, (LII, 1, 93) mentions among the inland cities of the Maisoloi. Pitundra, of which I shall speak hereafter, also figures in Ptolemy's list. I have already had occasion to remark the curious inversion whereby he transfers Tosali from Orissa to the territory of Pegu; and I cannot help thinking that the whole of Orissa and a portion of the neighbouring countries have been subjected to a transfer of the same kind, in consequence probably of a confusion between the land-routes, running south by north, and the maritime routes, running west by east.
"Now that the name Dantakura is definitely proved to be a geographical designation analogous to or identical with Dantapura, one is hardly surprised to find the obscure word kúra occurring in the name of the kingdom of Kůraka-råstra, which included the village of Bhukkukûra granted by King Indravarman during his residence at Dantapura. The editor of the grant, Mr. Ramadas, expresses his surprise at meeting in it the term ráatra (kingdom), in view of the fact that the provinces of Kalinga are elsewhere termed visaya. Possibly 'the kingdom Küraka' or 'kingdom of Kůra,' was an ancient expression, consecrated by long usage, signifying the territory adjacent to the capital Dantapura.
"This curious word kúra, which seems to be used alternatively with the Sanskrit pura to designate, in combination with danta, the capital of Kalinga, recalls by analogy the final syllables of the name of the town which Ptolemy writes Hippokoura (VII, 1, 83). Hippokoura is situated in the southern portion of Ariake, to the south of Paithana (Paithan on the Godavari) and Tagara (Ter in Naldrug), and to the north of Banaonasei (Banavasi in Mysore). Like Dantakûra, Hippokoura is a royal capital; it is basileion Baleokourou,' the royal residence of Baleokouros'. The name of the king also appears to embody the element kúra. Baleokouros is without doubt an approximate transliteration of the mysterious Viļivayakura, --& word which appears, coupled with the name of Satakarni Vasisthiputra and Satakarni Gautamiputra, on a peculiar type of coin, differing from the usual coinage of these two kings. and found only in the southern part of the Marathå country, or more precisely in the Kolhapur State, an area which in situation corresponds very closely with the directions given by Ptolemy for Hippokoura. As to the title Viļivayakura, I can only repeat what Mr. Rapson writes in his excellent Catalogue of the Coins of the Andhra dynasty, 1908 : "No satisfactory explanation has yet been given of the forms Viļivậyakura and Sivalakura." Sivalakura, which is coupled in the same way with the name of King Madhariputra, also contains this element kura.
“The name Hippokoura reappears, in the Tables of Ptolemy (VII, 2, 6), as the name of a port situated in the immediate vicinity, and a little southward, of Simulla (Chaul, 23 miles
