Full text of "Ancient India As Described By Megasthenes And Arrian by Mccrindle, J. W"

ANCIENT* INDIA

AS DE&BIBED BY

ifEGASTHENES AND AKRIAN;

BBDTO

A TRANSLATION OF THE FRAGMENTS OF THE INDIKA OF

MECASTHENES COLLECTED BY DR. SCHWANBECK, AND

OF THE FIRST PART OF THE INDIKA OF ARRIAN,

J. W. McCRINDLB, M.A.,

PMKCIPAL Ot THB nOVBBXMBMT COII.KOB, PAT1TA,
XEXB8K OV THB (JElfBKAh COUNCIL OF THB UKIVBR8ITT -
07 MDIKBUKOH,
"'BLLOW 07 THB TJKIVBHJITr 07 CALCUTTA.

H INTRODUCTION, NOTES, AND MAP OF ANCIENT
INDIA.

JReprmfei (with additions) from the " Indian
Antiquary," 1876-7o*.

^EB, SPINK % (ft, THlpjfeHE 4;C

TKUBNBR 4.GS

II II L... I J I M., |

The Ramakrishna Mission
Institute of Culture Library

Presented by

Dr. Baridbaran Mukerji

unot-a

16321

ANCIENT* INDIA

AS DE&BIBED BY

ifEGASTHENES AND AKRIAN;

BBDTO

A TRANSLATION OF THE FRAGMENTS OF THE INDIKA OF

MECASTHENES COLLECTED BY DR. SCHWANBECK, AND

OF THE FIRST PART OF THE INDIKA OF ARRIAN,

J. W. McCRINDLB, M.A.,

PMKCIPAL Ot THB nOVBBXMBMT COII.KOB, PAT1TA,
XEXB8K OV THB (JElfBKAh COUNCIL OF THB UKIVBR8ITT -
07 MDIKBUKOH,
"'BLLOW 07 THB TJKIVBHJITr 07 CALCUTTA.

H INTRODUCTION, NOTES, AND MAP OF ANCIENT
INDIA.

JReprmfei (with additions) from the " Indian
Antiquary," 1876-7o*.

^EB, SPINK % (ft, THlpjfeHE 4;C

TKUBNBR 4.GS

BOMBAY:
PRINTED AT THK EDUCATION SOCIKTY's l'RKfS, BVCUM.A.

RMTC I.TBRAUY

N«.

V U E F A a

i ^lt<3

i;t. Card

ll»iv. > ! i

GhccUoil

Tint account of India written by Megas-
thenfis from his porsonal knowledge of the
country is justly lield to bo almost invalu-
able fot the light which it throws upon the.
obscurity of early Indian history. Though,
unfortunately, not extant in its original
form, it has nevertheless been partially
preserved by means of epitomes and quota-
tions to bo found scattered up and down
the writings of various ancient authors,
both Greek and Roman. Dr. Schwanbcck,
of Bonn, rendered historical literature a good
service by collecting and .arranging in their
proper order these detached fragments.
The work thus reconstructed, and entitled
Megaslhcnis Inillea, has now been before
tho world for upwards of thirty years. It has
not, however, so far as I know, been as yet
translated, at least into our language, and
Jjgggo it is but little known beyond the
circles of tho learned. Tho translation now
offered, which goes forth from the very birth-
place of the original work, will therefore for
the first time place it within the reach'of the
general public.

H£J

IV f PKEFACB.

A translation of the first part of the
Indilea of Arrian has been subjoined, both
bocauso it gives in a connected form a
general description of Infta, and because
that description was based chiofly on the
work of Megasthenfis.

Tho notes, which turn for tho most part on
points of history, geography, archaoology,
and the identification of Greek proper
names with their Sanskrit originals, sum up
the views of the best and most recent
authorities who have written on these sub-
jects. This feature of the work will, I hope,
recommend it to the attention of native
scholars who may be pursuing, or at least
be interested in, inquiries which relate to
the history and antiquities of their own
country.

In tho spelling of classical proper names

I have followed throughout the system of

Grote, except oidy in translating from Latin,

when tho common orthography has been

'•■employed.

In conclusion, I may inform my readers
that I undertook the present work intending
to follow it up with others of a similar kind,
c until l!he entire series of classical works re-
lating to India should be translated into the

PREFACE. "> y

language of its rulers. In furtherance of
this design a translation of the short trea-
tise called The Circumnavigation of the
Erythraean Sea,%v/hioh gives an account of
the ancient commerce of Egypt, Arabia, and
India, is nearly ready for publication, and
this will be followed by a translation of the
narratives of the Makedonian Invasion of
India as given by Arrian and Curtius in
their respective Histories of Alexander.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction* 3

Frag. I. An Epitome of Megasthencs ... 30

Frag. LB Concerning Dionysos 36

Frag. II. Of the Boundaries of India, its
general Character, and its

Hirers 45

Frag. III. Of the Boundaries of India ... 48
Frag. IV. Of the Boundaries and Extent

of India 48

Frag. V. Of the Size of India 51

Frag. VI. Of the Sizo of India 51

Frag. VII. Of the Size of India 52

Frag. VIII. Of the Size of India 52

Frag. IX. Of the setting of the Bear, and
shadows falling in contrary

directions 52

Frag. X. Of the setting of the Bear 63

Frag. XL Of the Fertility of India 54

Frag. XII. Of Bonu> Wild Beasts of India.. 56

Frag. XIII. Of Indian Apes 57

Frag. XIII. B 57

Frag. XIV. Of Winged Scorpions and Ser-
pents 58 '

9k$» XV. OftheBeasts'of India, and the

Eced 58

Frag. XV. B Of som* Beasts of India^ 59

Frag. XVI. Of the Boa-Constrictor . 61

•Frag. XVII. Of the Electric Eel X. 61*

Frag. XVIII. Of Taprobane 1 ,/fe

Y111 CONTENTS.

1'AfiE

Frag. XTX. Of Marine Trees 63

Frag. XX. Of the Iwlud and tlic Ganges* (i',i

Frag. XX. B GR

Frag. XXL. Of the Kircr bilas 65

Frag. XXn. Of tho Hirer Silas ; «5

Frag. X XIII. Of tho Hirer Silas 66

Frag. XXIV. Of the .Number of Indian

Hirers 66

Frag. XXV. Of tho city TAfcnlipulra 66

Frag. XXVI. Of Kifcaliputra, and the Man-
ners of tlic; Indians.... 67

Frag. XXVJI. Of the Manners of tho In-
dians fii»

Frag. XXVI I. Ji W

Frag. XXVII. 73

Fvag. XXVL1.J) n

Frag. XXVIII. Of the Suppers of the In-
dians. 74

Frag. XXIX. • Of Fabulous Tribes 71

Frag. XXX. Of Kubulous liaces 7i»

Frag. XXX. B 82

Frag. XXXI. Of thn race of Men without

Mouths 8ii

Frag. XXXTI. Of tho seven Castes among

the Indians 83

Frag XXX1TI. Of the seven Castes among

the Indians 83

Frag. XXX1Y. Of the Administration* v,"
Pnblie Affairs — of the use
of Horses and Elephants . 86
Frag. XXXV. Of the use of Horses and

Elephants 89

Fiv- xxx V ' 1 0f Elephants 90

'.ON'J'KNTK. > IX

PAIJE

Frag. XXXYI1. Of Elephants !.»;{

FYag. XXXV1I.B S»3

Frag. XXX VIII. Of the JJnseascs of Ele-

pMmnts !>3

Fray. XXXIX. OHIoM-digging Ants i»-t

Frag. XL. Of (iold-digging Ants Mi

Fmg. XL.U <Mi

Frag. XLl. Of the Indian Philosophers !>7
Frag. XL1.I. Of the Indian i'liilosoplicrs 10:?

fling. XLll.1t 101.

Vrag. Xlill.C Hl4

Frag. XLIII. Of the Indian Philosophers 104
Frag. XLIV. Of Kalanos and Maintains. 10ft
Frag. XLV. Of Kalanos and Man-

danis ](>r* 115

Fmg. XIYV1. That tlio Indians liad never
been attacked by others,
nor had themselves at-
tacked others 10"

Frag. XTiYIl. That the Indians had never
been attacked by others,
nor had themselves at-
tached oLliors 112

Frag. XL V III. Of Nalmdiodrosur 112

Frag. XLVTII.B .' 112

Frag. XLVIII.C in

Frag. XLVT.1I.D , 113

Ffag.* XLFX. 01' NalmkodroMor ...'. 113

Frag. L. Of the Indian ltaees — of
Dionysos — of HeraklCs —
of Pearls— of tlio Pandai-
nn Land -of the Aneicni.
Ilistorv of the Indians „./il4

-cp-

X ' OlNTENTS.

l'AUK

Frag. L. li Ofl'oaritt Ill

Frag. Id. <K fbe I'audaian Land 114

Frag. L. C Of the Ancient History of tin;

Indians ' : .* 11A

Frag. LJ.I. Of Elephants 117

Frag. LIU. Of a White Flopluuit 118

Frag. LIV. Of the llralimans and their

Philosophy 120

Frag. LV. Of Kalauos and Mandanis 12:1

Frag. LV. ii 12/

Frag. LVI. List of the Indian Hares 12tf

Frag. LVf.IJ 154

Frag. LVI I. Or Dimiytsoa 157

Frag. LVI 1 1. Ofllereules and Tnnriroa 158

Frag. LIX. Of the Leasts of Imlia W.)

'r>-

THIS INDIKA OF AURIAN.

rntrodnetion. ' 177

Cap. I. Of Indian Tribes west of the

Indus 179

„ II. Of the Boundaries of India ... 1 HI

„ III. Of the Size' of India 1S4

„ IV. Oft! io Indus and Ganges and

their Tributaries 186

„ V. Of: the Legendary History of

India 1M4>

„ VI. Of the River Silas— of tnc
Rains in India, and Inun-
dations of the Rivers — of
the Likeness between the
' Indians and the Ethio-
•». pians 1%

"ONTKflTS. > XI

VMiV,

VI.I.-1X. OI'DioiH'SosamUleraklcs ... 1!W
X. Of Indian (.'itics, especially

I'alimboihra L»01

XI. XII. Of th,i seven Indian (Pastes ... 20S

XIII. »Of the, Indian mode of hunt-

ing the Elephant -L-I

XIV. Or the docility of the Repliant,

its habits, diseased, tfce. ... 1l?>

XV. <)[' Tigers, of Autij that dig

for gold, and Serpents 217

XVI. Of Ihi! .Dress of flic Indians,

and how they equip thcin-
<( i lves Cor war, and manage

t.lu'ir Horses l'ID

XVJI. 01' the modes uf Travelling in
India of Female 1'iicJihs-
rily — of tliv Marriiige(!m--
tnins of the Indian;-, and
(he nature of their Food.
Com 'hiding Remark :'Jl

THE FRAGMENTS OF THE TNDIKA
OF MEOASTHKNte.

Introduction.

'riio ancient Greeks, till even a comparatively
late period in their history, possessed little, if any,
real knowledge of India. It is indeed scarcely so
much as mentioned by name in their greatest poets,
whether epic, lyric, or dramatic. They must, how-
ever, have known of its existence as early as the
heroic times, for we find from Homer that they
usodeveri then articles oflndian merchandize, which
went among them by names oflndian origin, such
as kntsiteros, tin, and plephas, ivory.* .But their
conception of it, as wo gather from the same source,
was vague in the extreme. They imagined it to
be an Eastern Ethiopia which stretched away to
the uttermost verge of the world, and which, like
the Ethiopia of the West, was inhabited by a race
of men whoso visages were scorched black by the

* Kassitcros represents tho Sanskrit kmUm, ' tin/ a
metal found in abundance in the islands, on the coiut of
Ifldia; m&clcphcts is undoubtedly connected with ibluP, tho
Sanskrit name for the domestic elephant— its initial
syllable being perhaps the Arabic article.

fierce rays of the sun.f Much lies in a name, and
the error made by the Greeks in thus calling India
E t h i o p ia led them into the further error of con-
sidering as pertinent to both these countries
narrations, whether of fact or fiction, which con-
cerned but one of thom exclusively. < This explains
why we find in (»reek literature mention of peculiar
or fabulous races, both of men and other animals,
which existed apparently in duplicate, being repre-
sented sometimes as located in India, and sometimes
in .Ethiopiaor the countries thereto adjacent.J We
ran hardly wonder, when we consider thodistantand
sequestered situation of India, that the first con-
ceptions which the Greeks had of it should have
been of this nebulous character, but it seems some-

"t Soc llomer, Od. I. 23-24, where wc read

tilOiants, roi bix^a deSaiarai, confirm tlv8p£>v,
Ot ftiv Svtroptvov 'Ywpws oi ffdviovroi'.

(The Ethiopians, who arc divided iuti> two, aud live at tho
world's cud — one part of them towards tho setting snn, the
other towards tho rising.) Herodotus in several passage
mentions tho .Eastern Ethiopians, but distinguish™ them
from tho Indians (see particularly bk. vii. 70). Ktesias,
however, who wro^o somewhat later than llcrudotos, fre-
tl\uvatly ca\\s tho Indians \>v, the tuuui 1 . of Yithio\>ians, and
tho final discrimination between the two races was notmado
till tho Makndonian invasion gavo the Western world more
correct views of India. Alexander himself, as we learn
from Strabo, on first reaching tho Indus mistook it for
tho Nile.

X Instances in point are the Skiapudos, Kynamolgoi,
Fygmaioi, Psylloi, Tfiinantopodes, Sternophtlialmoi, nfa-
krobioi, and the Makrokephaloi, the Martikhora, and the
Krokutta.

what remarkable that thoy should haves learned
hardly anything of importance regarding it from
the expeditions which worn successively under-
taken against it by the Egyptians under Sosostris,
the Assyrians under Somiramis, and the Persians
iirsfc under K^rroa and afterwards under Darcios
tho son of J.[yataspes.§ Perhaps, as Dr. "Robertson
has observed, they disdained, through pride of
their own superior enlightenment, to pay attention
to the transactions of people whom thoy considered
as barbarians, especially in countries far remote
from their own. JJut, in whatever way tho fact may
be accounted for, India continued to be to the
(.{reeks little better than a land ol! mystery and
fable till tho times of the .Persian wars, when for
tho first time they became distinctly awaro of its
existence. The first historian who speaks clearly
of it is JTekafcaios of Miletos (iu:. oi a -48<j),||

§ HorudotoM mentions Hint Darcioa, before invading
Imlin, went Skylax tlio Karynmlian on a voyjigoof discovery
down the Indus, and that Mkylux accordingly, sotting out
from Kaspatyras and the Paktyikan district, reached ilm
liioutli of that river, whence ho sailed through tho Indian
Ocean to tho lied Sea, perform! rig tho wlmlo voyage in
thirty months. A little work still evtant, which briefly de-
scribes certain countries in Vjnvope, Asia, and Africa, bears
tho name of luw Wkylas, out from internal evidence it lew
been inferred that it could not have been written lieforo
tho reign of 1'bilip of Makcdoniu, tlio father of Alexander
tlie Great.

|| The following names perbiraiiig to India occur in He-
kataios:— tlio Imlim ; tho Opini, a race o* Hie banks of the
Indus; the KulntUii, an India* nine; Kaitpnpij ntn.a Gnu-
daric city ; Arijixnh", a city of Itulfa; the likiopBtlcsi, and
probably the I'yymica.

and fuller accouiitsa.ru preserved iu llp-rodo-
t o s^[ and in Uic rcniaius of K t c s i a s, who, having
lived for some years iu Persia as private physician
to king Artaxorxcs Mueuion, collected materials
during his atay for a treatise on India, the first
work ou the subject written in tb/» Greek lan-
guage.* His descriptions were, unfortunately,
vitiated by a large intermixture of fable, and it was
left to the followers of Alexander to give to the
Western world for the first tirao fairly accurate
accounts of the country and its inhabitants. The
great conqueror, it is well known, carried scientific
men with him to chronicle his achievements, atid
describe the countries to which he might carry his
arms, and some of his officers were also men of
literary culture, who could wield the pen as well as

If Horodotos mentions tho vloer (Indus), llio I'ulrtijihvn
dtilrict, the (laml&rioi, tho KtUnvtiai or Ksilidiai, mid the
Vihlaioi. Both Uebitaios and Herodotus agree iu slating
that there wore sandy deserts in India.

* "Tho few particulars appropriate to India, and con-
tsistcnt with truth, obtained by Ctcsias, are almost uoiilined
to somctliing resembling a description of the cochineal
plant, the fly, and the beautiful iin!> ol)taiued from it, with
a genuine picture of the monkey and tho parrot; tho two
animals he had doubtless sccu in Persia, ami flowered
cottons cnibla zoned with tho glowing colours of tho modern
chintz wore probably as much eovoted by the fair Persians
iu tho harams of Sum and Eobataua as they still are
by the ladies of our own country ; . . . . but wc are not
bound to admit his fable of the Martiehora, his pygmies-',
bis men with the heads of dogs, and feet reversed, hi.;
grifliiis, and his four-footed birds as bi;r u& wtilvej." —
Vincent.

the sword. Hence the expedition produced quite h
iToporiiarmtivcsandinomoirsroIalingtoTudia,suo!i
as those of 7$ a c t o, D i o g u o t n s , N c nrc It o s,
O n c 3 i k r i t o s, A r i s I o b o a 1 o s, K a 1 1 i a t h e-
u i 1 8, and others. These works aro all lost, but
their substance is to be found condensed in Strabo,
I'liny, and Arrion. Subsequent to these writers
were some others, who made considerable additions
to the stock of information regarding India, among
whom may bo mentioned Dei in a u h o s, who re-
sided for a long time in I* a 1 i b o t li r a, whither lie
was sent on an embassy by Selcukos to A 1 1 i t vo-
n hades, the successor of Sandrakottos;
V a t r o k 1 fi s, the admiral of Sclonkos, who is
tailed by Strabo the least mendacious of all writers
eoneorning India; Timos the no s, admiral of
the fleet of Ptolcmaios Philadelphos ; and Mogas-
thenes, wlio being sent by Sclcukos Nikator on an
embassy to Sandrakottos (Chaudragiiptahf the
king of the T'rusii, whoso capital was Palihothra
iPataliputra, now Patau), wrote a work on India of
sncli acknowledged worth that it formed the prin-
cipal source whence succeeding writers drew their
accounts of the country. This work, which appears

t The discovery that the Sandrokottos of the Greeks
was identical with the Chaudragu;ita wlio figures in the
Sanskrit annuls and the Sanskrit drama was one of great
moment, as it was (lie means of connecting Greek with
Sauskrit literature, smd of thereby supplying for the first
time a date to early Indian history, which hail nor a single
chronological landmark of its own. Diodftrns distorts the
hiirnc. into Xandrnnics, and this again is distorted l»y (hirtuiH
into Agrarimos.

io have boon entitled r« 'ImWi, no longer exists, but
it has boon so often abridged and quoted by the
ancient writers that wo have n fair knowledge of
its contents and their' order of arrangement. Dr.
Sehwanbock, with great industry aTid learning, has
collected all the fragments that liave been anywhere
preserved, and has prefixed to the oolloetion aLatin
Introduction, wherein, after showing what know-
ledge the Greeks had acquired of India before.
Megasthcnes, ho enters into an examination of
those 2)n.ssages in ancient works from which we
derive all the little we know of Megasthcnes and
his radian mission, lie then reviews his work on
India, giving a summary of its contents, and, hav-
ing estimated its value and authority, concludes
with a notice of those authors who wrote on India
after his timc.J I have translated in the latter
part of the sequel a few instructive passages from
this Introduction, one particularly which success-
fully vindicates Megasthcnes from tbo charge of
mendacity so frequently preferred against him.
Meanwhile the following extracts, translated from
0. Midler's Preface to bis edition of tbo IntHha,
will place before the reader all the information that
can be gleaned regarding Megasthcnes and his
embassy from a careful scrutiny and comparison of
all the ancient texts which relate thereto.

.Tustinus (XV. 4) says of Scloukos Nikator,

I Ho onnmoratps Eratosthenes, ITippavclios, J'uli'iuo,
M iiuspom, Anolloiloros, A^athai-chidi's, Alexander Polyhiutur,
>Sli'!ilio, Marinos of Tyre, aud Plulwny among the UreekK,
uid P. 'LVrcntiiiH VsiiTo of Atiix, M. Vip»anin» Atfrippa,,
P«'iii|finiur; Mt^la, iSt'in'ca, Pliny, and Suliuns inming tilt
Konmns.

i»

' He cai'i'iml on- many iwrs ht Hie East after ike
'h'uhlon of fcho Makedonian kingdom between
iii nisei f ami the oilier successors of Alexander,
first seizing Babylonia, and* then reducing Bak-
triane, his power being increased by the first suc-
cess. Thorealifcer he passed into India, which
had, since Alexander's death, killed its governors,
thinking thereby to shake oil' from its neck the
yoke of slavery. & a n d r o k o 1 1 o s had made it
free : butVhcu victory was gained he changed the
name of freedom to that of bondage, for ho him-
self oppressed with servitude the very people
which ho had rescued from foreign dominion . .
Sandrokottos, having thus gained the crown,
held India at the time when Hcleukos was laying
the foundations of his future greatness. Seloukos
came to an agreement with him, and, alter set-
tling affairs in the East, engaged in the war
against Antigonos (W2 j?.c.).'

" Besides Justinus, A p p i a n u s (Syr. c. 55)
makes mention of the war which Selcnkos had
with fcJandrolcottos or h and ragu p ta king
of the 1'rasii, or, as they arc called in the
Indian language, P r a c h y a s*:— ' I lo (Seleu -

* The adjootn'o 7rpaP,uiKv<: in /Eliafms Ow. Ihe N-iln.re oj
Aihim'ila, xvJi.S9(Mi?}?:«sthi'ti. P'ragm. IS. inil.) hi ".i re a wry
'■losio rcaenililnncv to the Indian word I'r Anli yas (that
is 'dwcllnn in the U:\m,'). Tin- subalasilivn would bo fl/>«^t-
it, and SnliWiinbcfk {Mryislhrtti.i Iadic-t, p. H2) thinks
that this muling should probably bo restored in KtopbanuA
of Byzantium, where tlio MSS. cxliibii. rijinirtot, j. Form
intcrmt'diate between rJpu£tAos and FI/mw. But tlioy an*
called TLpaaim by Sti'fibo, Arrianus, and I'linius ; H/inio-ioi
in Plutarch (Ah>\ chap. 02), suid frequently iu vUliamw ;
Tipavmni by Nicnlsuu of Damascus, and in Hie Morilii-
jiuM of Stnb,PU!'-, '57, 38; B ( )«iiTio( and Rjhu'o-wi art'. the

kos) crossed the Indus and waged war or»
Sandrokottos, king of the Indiana who dwelt
about it, until he made friends and entered
into relations of marriage with him.' So also
Straho (xv. p. 724) : — ' Seleukos Nikator gave to
Sandrokottos' {ec. a large part of Ariaiio). Con I',
p. 689 : — ' The Indians afterwards held a largo part
of Ariaue, (which they had received from the
Makedonians), ' entering into marriage relations
with him, and receiving in return live huudred
elephants' (of which Sandrakottos had niue thou-
sand— Plinius, vi. 22-5); and Plutarch, Alex. 6*2 :—
■ For not long after, A n d r o k o 1 1 o s, being king,
presented Seleukos with live hundred elephants,
and with six huudred thousand men attacked and
subdued all India.' Phylarohos (r'ragm. 28) in
Athenajus, p. 18 I)., refers to some other wonder-
ful enough presents aa being sent to Seleukos by
Sandrokottos.

"Diodorus (lib. xx.), in setting forth the aQ'airs
of Seleukos, has not said a single word about
the Indian war. But it would be strange that
that expedition should be mentioned so incidentally
by other historians, if it Avero true, as many recent
writers have contended, that Seleukos in this war
reached the middle of India as far as the G a n g c s
and the town P a 1 i m b o t h r a, — nay, oven advanc-
ed as far as the mouths of the Gauges, and there-
fore loft Alexander far behind him. This baseless
theory has been well refuted by Lassen (De Pentap.
Lid. fil), by A. G. Schlegel (Berliner Calender,

MS. ^readings in Diodorua, xvii. 93; Pharra*ii id
Curtius, IX. ii. 3 ; I* r ;e 3 i d j» in Jastinua, XII. viii. 9. See
note on Fragiu. 1&.

1829, p. 31 ij'Ptsee Benfey, Kwh. n. Griilrr. Eneyri.
v. IihHpu, p. 67), anil quite recently by Hchwau-
beck, in a work of great learning and value en-
titled Mvgadhi'iris hult'cn (Honii, 184U). Tn the first
place, Schwanbeck (p. 13) mentions the passage
of Jnstinus (I.«ii. 10) where it is said tliat no one
had entered India but Semiramis and Alexander ;
whence it would appear that the expedition
of Selenkos was considered so insignificant by
Tragus as not oven to be on a par with the Tndian
war of Alexander ,f Then he says that Arrianns,
if ho had known of that remote expedition
of Selenkos, would doubtless have spoken dif-
ferently in his Indlht (c. S. 4), where he says
that Mcgasthenes did not travel over much of
India, ' but yet more than those who invaded it
along with Alexander the sou or Philip.' Now in
this passage the author conld have compared Meg-
asthenes much more suitably and easily with Selcu-
kos. % 1 pass over other proofs of less moment, nor

f Moreover, Sehwanbeek calls attention (p. 14) to the
words of Appiauns(i. 1), whom when bo says, somewhat in-
accurately, that S.vndrakottos waskingof the Indians n round
♦ he Indus (tw rttpi top *\vhi>v 'IvfiStv) he seems to moan
that the war was carried on on the boundaries of India. But
this is of uo importance, for Appionns hsis tS>v irtpi avrou
'ivSStv, 'of tie lutHmi.' <i,r:mv<1 it-,' as Schwanbeck himself
has written it (p. 13).

I The following passage of the Inoian comedy MndrA-
■M.iha.vi seems to favour tho Indian expedition : — " Mean-
while Kusmuapura (i.e. P/italipulra, Palimbotbra) the city
of Chandra gupla and tho king of tho mountain regions,
was invested on every side, by tho Kiriitns, Yavaiias, Kaiubo-
jas, Persians, Baktriatis, and tho rest." But " that drama"
(Schwanbeck, p. 18), "to Follow the authority of Wilson, waa
written in the tenth century after Christ,— certainly ten cen-
turies after Selenkos. When even the Indian historians have
no authority in history, what proof can dramas give written

indeed i.s it expedient to set forth iu detail hero ali
the reasons ironi wliich it is improbable of itself
that the arms of Seleukos ever reached the region
of the Ganges, [jet us now examine the passage,
in 1'linitiH wind) causes man; to adopt contrary
opinions. Plinius (///*>■/.. Nnl. vi. 21 J, after finding
from Diognetos and Haeto the distances of the
places from Porta) Onspiso to the Uuphasis, the
end of Alexander's march, thus proceeds : — ' The
other journeys made for Neloukos Nikatorareas
follows : -One hnndred and sixty-eight miles to
the Hesidrns, and to the river Jomanes as many
(some copies add live miles); from thence to
the Gauges one hundred arid twelve miles. One
hundred and nineteen miles to the Rhodopbas
(others give three hundred and twenty-live miles
for this distance). To the town K a, I in i pa x a,
one hundred and si \ty -seven, five hundred
(others give two hundred and sixty-live miles), and
from thence to the continence of the .fbinancH
and Ganges six hundred and twenty-five miles
(several add thirteen miles), and to the town Pa-
limbotlir.ii four hundred and twenty-five. To
the mouth of the Ganges six hundred and thirty -
eight' (or seven hnndred and thirty-eight, to

after many ceulnries? Vu v a n a a, which was also iu later
times the Indian name for the CirOekK, was very anciently
tho iwnift tri\ on to a certain nation whirl) the Indians say
dwelt on thi) north-western boundaries of India; and the
samo nation (Jlhinu, x. -14) is also numbered with the
Kambojas, the Sakus, the I'arudyH, the I'allavan, and tho
Kinitns as being corrupted nmoiu; the Kshatriya*. (Gonf .
Lassen, Zrilrr.hfijl fiir d. h' unite den MiirijuulAiulen, III
p. 24.VJ The-'f! Yavanaa arc to bo undorsljiod iu this pi.s-
eagc alio, where they are mentioned along with those tnlwi
with wliich they are uMially clussr-d.

follow Sehwanbeck's correction), — that is, six
thousand stadia, as Megasthcnes puts it.

"The ambignonscxpresBipn religaa S'lcuroNira-
tori, peragrata mint, translated above us ' the other
jmirneys made, for Selenlws Nikalor,' according to
Sehwanbeck's opinion, contain a dative ' or advan-
tage,' and therefore can bear no other meaning.
Tho reference is to the journeys ol! Megasthcnes,
Dnimaoh»s, and Patrokles, whom Seleukos had
uent to explore the more remote regions of Asia.
Nor is the statement of i'linius in a passage be-
fore this more distinct. (' India,') he. sayx, 'view
thrown open not only by the arms of Alexa uder the
Great, and tin- king* telto were hi* siwrexsorv, of
■irliom 8ele.itc.ns ami Anliochits even trauell-ed, to the
lTyreaniait and Caspian seas, To trades being rma-
■riiumb'r of their fleet, bid all the Greek writers who
stayed behind tvihh the Indian kings (for instance,
ALijunth'ues and Dionysins, sent- by Philadelphia* far
that purpose) have given aeranntts if the military
force, of i aeh nation.' Hrhwanberk thinks that the

words circuiiunri is otium Svh'tica el Anfia-

cli-o H Pa trade, an 1 properly meant to convey
nothing but additional confirmation, and also
an explanation how India fas % opcned vp by the
arms of the kings who succeeded Alexander."

"The following statements," continues Midler,

•'contain nil that is related about Megan-

t h v n £• a : —

" ' Megastheues the historian, wliolivcd with Seleu-

kos Nikator',— Clem. Alex. p. I ft* *';////>. (r-Yagm. 42) ;

' Megastheues. wbylived with Sihyvtios § the satrap
— - . . — .... ^

§ Sibyrti-iri, u^cor-lini* to DioJnrns (XV1IT. iii. 5), !ind
gained ilie vutrjpy ■>!' AmulK^iu in tke third yew of the

of Ararhotua, and who says that he often visited
Samlrakotlos, king of the Indians, '— Arrinn, Kxp.
Alex. V. vi. 2 (Fragm. 2) ;— 'To Sandrokottos, to
whom Mpgafithpnus oariio on an embassy,' — Strabo,
xv. p. 702 (Pragm. 25) ;— ' JMogas them's aud Deim-
achos were sent on an embassy, th.i former to.
Sandrokottos at Palimbothra, the other to
A 1 1 i t r o n h a d 6* a his son ; and fchcy left accounts
or their sojourn in the country,' — Strabo, ii. p. 70
(Fragm. 29 natf) ; Mogasthenus says that fie often
visited Sandrokottos, the greatest king (mahdraja :
v. Bohlcn, Alte Indian-, I. p. 19) of the Indians, and
Poros, still greater than lie :' — Arrian, Lid. c. 5
(Fragm. 24). Add the passage of Plinitis, which
Solinus (Polyhistar. c. (50) thus renders:—' Mcga-s-
themes remained/or some time vrith tlt-e Indian kings,
and wrote a history (if Indian affairs, that he might
hand doion to posterity a faithful account of all that
he had witnessed. Dionysius, who was sent by Vht'f-
adelphus to put Ilia truth to the fpst hy personal in-
spection, wrote also as much.*

" From these sources, then, we gather that
Megasthenes|| was the representative of Selenkos

114th Olympiad (b.c. 323), and.was fiimly established in his
satrapy by Antipsitnr (Arrianus, De Success. Alv-f. § )%}, cd.
Didnt). Ho joiuod humenes in 3KJ (Diod. xix. H. 6), but
bring called to account by him lie sought safety in flight
(iliit.'.XIX. xviii. 4). After ( ho defeat of Eunienes, Antigonos
delivered to liiui the most troublesome of the Argyraspides
{ibiil. 0. xlviii, 3). He niunt have afterwards joined Se-
leukos.

|| Bohlen (Alte Tndien, I. p. 08) says that Mcgastheuc's
was a Persian. No one gives this aceouut of him but
Annius Viterbiensis, that forger, whom Hobleu appears to
have followed. But it in evidently a (ireek name. Strabo
(v. p. ?43 ; comp. Velleius Patereuhw, i. 4) meutions a
Mcgastneues of Chalkis, \>-bo is said to have fouuded
Cum» iu Italy along with llippoklcs of Kume.

at the court of Sibyrtioa, satrap of Arachosia, and
that lie was sent from thence as the king's ambas-
sador to San dr ok ottos at Palimbuthru, and
that not onco, but frequently — whether to convey
to him the presents of fcScloukos, or for some other
cause. AccoVdiug to the statement of Arrianus,
Megiisthenes alsovisitcd king Poros, whowas(Diod.
xix. 14) already d*id in 'M7 b.o. (Olymp. CXV. 4.)
These cveufcs should not be referred to the period
of Sttlenkos, but they may very easily be placed
iu tho reign of Alexander, as Uohleu {Alto Iiuh'ru,
vol. I. p. (58) appears to have believed they should,
when he says Mogasthenos was one of the com-
panions of Alexander. But the structure of the
sentences does not admit of this conclusion. For
Arrianus says, ' It appears to me that Mugas
thenus did not see much of India, but yet more
than the companions of Alexander, for ho says,
that he visited Sandrokotfcos, the greatest king
of tho Indians, and Poros ivcn greater than
he (<cai nd>p<B m tovtov (ufam).' Wo should be
disposal to say, then, that he made a journey on
some occasion or other to Poros, if the obscurity
of the language did not lead us to suspect it a
corrupt reading. Lassen {Do. Penfap. p. 44) thinks
tho mention of Poros a careless addition of a clumee
transcriber, but I prefer Schwanbock's opinion,
who thinks it should be written ko.1 lil&pov in rot'rai
Ht(ovt, ' and wlto was coca yrealer than PCros.' If
this correction is admitted, everything fits well.

" The time when he discharged his embassy or
embassies, and how long he stayed in India, can-
not be determined, but he was probably sent after
the treaty had been struck and friendship had

sprung up between the two kings. If, therefor*-,
we make the reign of 8uiidrok.ot.toM extend to the
year 2£8. Megasthones would have set ont for
Palimbothra between 'Ml* and 288. Clinton (/■'. 11.
vol. III., p. 482) thinks he came to the Indian
king a little before «.<•. :J0-J."'

While the dateofthe visit olJIegnsthcnc's to India
is thus uncertain, there is less jloubL as to what
were the parts of tins country which he Haw ; and
on this point Sehwanbeck thus writes (p. 21): —

" Both from what he himself says, and because
he has enumerated more accurately than any of
the companions of Alexander, or any other Greek,
the rivers of Kabul and the Punjab, it is clear that
lie had passed through these countries. Then,
agiiin, we know that he reached Patalipufra by
travelling along the royal road. V :(. he dons not
appear to have seen more of India than those
parts of it, and he acknowledges himself that, he
knew thelowQhv^ pi '°i'^TAtf W.ntry traversed by
the Gauw ■ i — -ve'^ '" . ■"•"•;' ',! .'-"

^non(y supposed that he also spent some

^im'e in *the Indian camp, and therefore in M»o

part ol — -« .- ,

known. This opinion, however, is based on a cor

IB Ul Uliu -»•"« 1 ■

rt of the country, but where cannot now

rapt reading which the editions of Htrabo exh.lnt.
Z in all the MBS. of Strabo (p. 70S.) w found
this reading:--**^ *'■* '" r * J-*T
noon**** <t»t™ o MnavBhv, TtrrapaKovra >W u«-

'Mrgasthenes .ays that those who were m th*.
, am ; of Sandrokottos saw,' Ac Vrorn this tram,
iation that given by Guarini and Gregory alone

'..^ different. They render thus : -' Alogastheiio;.
rel'urt, i|iium in Sandroeotti castra veuisset . . *
vidisse,' ' llegasthenes relates that when he had
funio into thu camp of iSaifdrokoLlo.4, he saw,
tVc. From this if. appears that the translator hud
found written ^fviifuvus. ttufc since that trausla-
!iou is hardly equal in authority even to a single
MS., and since (lie word ytvoftemvs can be changed
more raidily into the word yci'ojieviiv than ytvufit
v»<s into ysynfifviws, there is no reason at all why
we .should depart from the reading of all the
ArSS., which (Jiismibon disturbed hy a baseless
'•onjeeturr, contending that yeifiyxcrov should be
.-'ib-'.Htuted, --inasmuch as it, is evident from Strain)
and -\ ri'iituus ( V. vi. 'J) that Alegas the ties had been
•^•nt to SuiulrokoUos, -which is an argument
utterly I'ulile. Nevertheless from the time ol'
( 'ii'-auboji the wrong reading ytviifiepas which he
promulgated Ins held its groiuul."

That Mega-alieues paid more than one visit to
1 niliii. Hehwaiibcck is not tit all inclined to believe.
On this point he says (p. 213) —

"ThaLMegasthcncs frequently visited India recent
writers, all villi one consent, following llobertsou,
are wont tomaintain ; nevertheless this opinion is far
from being certain. For what Arrianus has said in
his ./'''7» •</. Ali',r. V. vi. L>, )]>>XX<i#i v 8f Xeyei (ftUyaa-
<3c'ro/s) a<]nKftrO<u Trapii^rii'HjiUKiiTTnv Tov'lv&Sav (3nm\i'u,
does not soke the question, for ho might have meant
by the words that ]\Iegasfhcnes during his em-
bassy had frequent interviews with Ohaudragupta.
.Nor, if we look to the context, docs any other
explanation seem admissible; and in fact norther
writer besides lias mentioned his .making frequent

visits, although occasion for Milking such men-
tion was by no means wanting, and in the Indik,t
itself of Megasthenes not the slightest indication
of his having made mmierous visits is to bo found.
But perhaps some may say that to this view is
opposed the accurate knowledge vhieh he pos-
sessed on all Indian matters ; but this may equally
well be accounted for by believing that he made a
protracted stay at JYitaliputra as by supposing
that he frequently visited India. Robertson's
conjecture appears, therefore, uncertain, not to
say hardly credible."

Regarding the veracity of Megasthenes, and his
value as a writer, Bchwanbeek writes (p. £>!J) to this
ehVt:~

" The ancient writers, whenever they judge of
those who have written on Indian matters, are
without doubt wont to reckon Megasthenes among
those writers who are given to ly nig and least worthy
of credit, and to rank him almost oti a par with
Ktcsias. Arrianus alone has judged better of him,
and delivers his opinion of him in these words: —
' Regarding the Indians I shall set down in a
special work all that is most credible for naiTation
in the accounts penned by those who accompanied
Alexander on his expedition, and by Noarchus, who
navigated the great sea which washes the shores o[
India, and also by Megasthenes and Eratosthenes,
who are both approved men {Himlfita uv8pt) :' Arr.
E>'ptd. Ahx. V. v.

" The foremost amongst those who disparage
him is Eratosthenes, and in open agreement with
him Ave. Strabo and Pliny. Others, among whom'
is Diodorus, by omitting certain particulars re-

kited bj' Mogasthenes, sufficiently show that they
discredit that part of his narrative.^

T Itegarding flic manner in .which St mho, Arriaiins,
" Diodorus, aud 1'litiiiiH used the Imlibi of Mcgasl.hencs,
Schwanbeek remarks:--" Straho, and— not unlike to
Stiubo —Arrianus, who, however, gave ;i much less carefully
considered account of India, abridged lli.« dc-.-ripti.nM ,»f
Megast-henes, yet. in such a way that they wrote at oneo
in an agreeable style and with strict regard to acenraey.
Hut. when Straho designed not merely to instruct hut iiIko
to delight his readers, he omitted whatever would he out of
place in a# erit. •rtnining nini'ativo or picturesque descrip-
tion, aud avoided above all thing-* aught that would look
like a dry lint of name*. Now though this may not be a
fault, stiil it is not. to be denied that thoup particulars
which he has omitted wnidd have very greatly helped our
knowledge of Ancient India.. Nay, SI.ra.bo, iu his eager-
ness to be interesting, hits gone so far that tin- topography
<>f Lndia is almost entirely a blank in his pages.

" IJiodorus, however, iu applying this principle of eoniposi-
tion has exceeded all bounds. Kor as ho did not aim at •
writing learnedly fir the instruction of others, but in a
light, .iiini-iiig «.tyli\ <■!> as to be read with delight by the
multitude, If M-li'i-ird fiir extract such parts as best suited
this purpose, lie has thereforo omitted not only the most
aeenrate narrations of fact, but also tlie fables which his
render* might consider as incredible, and has been bent
pleased to describe instead that part, of Indian life which
tn the Greeks would appear singular and diverting. . . .
Nevertheless his opitonio is not without its value; for
although wo do not learn much that is new from its
contents, still it has the advantage over all the others of
being tho most coherent, while, at the same timo it,
enables us to attribute with certainty an occasional jiassago
to Megast-henes, which without its help we could but
eon.jecl urr> proceeded from bi« pen. *

'■ Since Straho, Arrliiiiu •■, and I Hndoru*. have direct ed their
attention to relate nearly tho same things, it has resulted
that tho greatest part of the f.uUhi had been completely
lost, and that of many passages, singularly euongh, thruo
epitomes arc extant, to which occasionally a, fourth is added
by Plinius.

" At a great distance fromthese writers, a nil especially from
Diodoros, stands Plinius: whence it happens that ho both
differs most from that writer, and also best supplements his
i epitome. Where the narrative of Strabo and Arrianus is at
oneo pleasing and instructive, anil Diodoros cbarfiH us
with a. lively sketch, Pliny gives instead, in the baldest Ian-

•li)

" Sti-ulio (p. 7<>) says, ' Generally speaking, the-
men who have hitherto written or. the affairs of
India were a sot of liars, — Dei machos holds
the fi rst place in the list, M e g a s t li e n e s come*
next ; while Onesikr itos and N c it r olios,
with others of the same class, manage to stammer
out a low words (of truth). Of this wo became the
more convinced whilst writing the history of
Alexander. ^Nb faith Avhatovcr can he placed in
Dehnachos and Mcgasthcnes. They omned the
fables concerning men with ears large enough to
sleep in, men without any mouths, without noses,
with only one eye, with spider legs, and with fingers
bent backward. They renewed Homer's fables con -
coming the battles of tho cranes and pygmies, and
asserted the latter to be three spans high. They
told of ants digging for gold, and l'.ans with wedge-
shaped heads, of Horpents swallowing down oxen
and stags, horns and all, — meantime, as Eratosthe-
nes has observed, accusing each other of falsehood.
Both of these men were sent as ambassitdors to
Pal i uibotlira ■', — Alegasthcnos to B a n d r o k o 1 1 o s.
Deimachos to Ami troch ados his son, — and
snch are the notes of their residence abroad, which.
T know not why, they thought fit to leave.

" When he adds, 'Patrokltis certainly docs notre-
semblo them, nov do any other of tho authorities

gauge, au ill-disre'Med enumeration of names. With liis
usual wonderful ilili^ciiro ho has writteu thin part, but
more frequently still ho writes with too little care and judg-
ment, —a, fact of which we liavo already seen numerous
insttinfips. In a careless way, an is usual, lie commends
authors, so that if you compared his accounts of Taprobane
and the kingdom of the Prasii yon would think that he had
lived at. different periods. He frequently commends Mejaras-i
thenfiU, but more frequently seems to transcribe him without
acknowledfrment." — pp, 56-58.

•oiisnlled by Kratosthenes contain such absurdities/
vtf may well wonder, seeing that, of all the writer*
on India, Emtostheiics litis chiefly followed Megas-
theiios. I'liniiiH (J [inf. Nat. \J.xxi.3) says : 'India
was opened up to our knowledge . . . oven by other
( ! reek writers, who, having resided with Indian
kings, -as Tor instance Megasthenes and Piony-
sius, — made known the strength of the races which
peopled the country. It is not, however, worth
while to *tndy their accounts with care, so con-
flicting are they, and incredible.'

" Those same writers, however, seeing they have
copied into their own pages a great part of his
TiuJikiu cannot by any means have so entirely dis-
trusted his veracity as one might easily infer they
did from these judgments. And what of this,
that Kralosthenr's himself, who did not rjuoto him
sparingly, says in Strabo (p. 6'89) that" he sctsjdown
the breadth of India from the register of the
St iiLliini, which were received as authentic,'— a pas-
sage wh icli can have reference tolVrogasthenes alone.
The fact is they find fault with only two parts of the
narrative of Megasthenes, — the one in which he
writes of the fabulous races of India, and the ofchor
where he gives an account of ITcraklcs and the
radian Dionysus; although it so happens that on
other matters also they regarded the account given
by others as true, rather than that of Megasthenes.

" The Aryanlndians were from the remotest period
surrounded on all sides by indigenous tribes in a
slate of barbarism, from whom they differed both
in mind and disposition. They were most acutely
sensible of this difference, and gave it a very noint-
ed expression. For as barbarians, even by the sane-

>)■)

lion of the gods themselves, am excluded from the
Indian commonwealth, so they seem to have been
currently regarded by tho Tndiaiis as of a nature
and disposition lower-tlian their own, and bestial
rather than h anuin. A di ffereucc existing between
minds is not easily perceived, but th/> Indians were
quick to discern how unlike the barbarous tribes
were to themselves in bodily figure ; and the
divergence they exaggerated, making bad worse,
and so framed to themselves a mental 'picture of
these tribes beyond measure hideous. When
reports in circulation regarding them had given
fixit}' to this conception, the poets seized on it as
a basis for further exaggeration, and embellished
it with fables. Other races, and these even
Indian, since they had originated in an intermix-
ture of tribes, or since they did not sufficiently
follow Indian manners, and especially the system
of caste, so roused the common hatred of the
Indians that they were reckoned in the same cate-
gory with tIi/3 barbarians, and represented as equal-
ly hideous of aspect. Accordingly in tho epic
poems wo see all Brahmanical India surrounded by
races not at all real, but so imaginary that some-
times it cannot bo discovered how the fable origi-
nated.

" Forms still more wonderful you will find by
bestowing a look at the gods of the Indians and
their retinue, among whom particularly the at-
tendants of Kuvera and Kartikeya arc described
in such a manner (conf. Mahdblt. ix. 2558 et seq).
that hardly anything which it is possible for the
human imagination to invent seems omitted.
These, however, the Indiaus now sufficiently dis-

2'.i

tiuguish from fclie fabulous races, since they
noitlier believe that they live within the borders
of India, nor have any intercourse with the human
.race. These, therefore, the Greeks could not con-
found with the races of ludia.

" These race*, however, might bo more readily
confounded with other creatures of the Indian ima-
gination, who held a sort of intermediate place
between demons and mon, and whose number was
legion. Iftjr the It a k s h a s a s and other
P i s a e h a s arc said to have the same characteris-
tics as the fabulous races, and the only diifcreuce
between them is that, while a single (evil) attribute
only is ascribed to each race, many or all of these
are assigned to the Rakshasas and the Pisachas.
Altogether so slight is the distinction between
the two that any strict lines of demarcation can
hardly bedrawnbetwecuthem. For the Rakshasas,
though described as very terrible beings, are never-
theless believed to be human, and both to live on
the earth and take part in Indian battles, so that
an ordinary Indian could hardly define how the
nature ofaRakshasa differs from that of a man.
There is scarcely any one thing found to charac-
terize the Rakshnsas which is not attributed
to some race or other. Therefore, although the
Greeks might have heard of these by report, —
which cannot be proved for certain, — they could
scarcely, by reason of that, have erred in describing
the manners of the i'accs according to the Indian
conception.

"That reports about these tribes should have
reached Greece is not to be wondered at. F9r fa-
bles invented with some glow of poetic fervourhave

;i remarkable facility in gaining ;i wide currency,
whicli is all the greater in proportion to the
ookineses displayed in their invention. Those
fables also in which tnc Indians have represented
the lower animals as talking to each other have
been diffused through almost evoy country in
the world, in a way we cannot understand. Other
fables found their way to the (Jrecks before even
the name of India was known to them. In this
class some fables even in Homer must be reck-
oned,- a matter which, before the Vcdas were
better known, admitted only of probable conjec-
ture, but could not be established by uiitfuestioii-
able proofs. We perceive, moreover, that the fur
thor the epic poems of the dreeks depart from
their original simplicity the more, for that very
reason, do those fables creep into them ; whilo
a vcjy liberal use of them is made by the
poets of a later age. It would he a great mistake
to suppose that those fables only in which India
is mentioned proceeded from India ; for a fable in
becoming current carries along with it the name
of the locality in which the scene of it is laid. An
example will make this clear. The Indians sup
posed that towards the north, beyond the Hima-
laya, dwelt the LTtfcarakuri, a people who en-
joyed a long and happy life, to whom disease and
care were unknown, and who revelled in every
delight in a laud all paradise. This fable made
its way to the West, carrying with it the name of
the locality to which it related,'and so it came to
pass that from the time of Hcsiod tin; (i recks sup-
posed that towards the north lived the Hyper b o-
r e a n s, whose very name was fashioned after some

likeness to the Tudiun name. The reason why the
Indians placed the scat of'this happy people lowardss
the north isma infest; but there was not theslightest

.reason which can he discovered why the Greeks
should have done so. Nay, the locality assigned
to the Hyperboreans is not only out of harmony,
but in direct conflict, with that conception of the
world which the Greeks entertained.

" The first knowledge of the mythical geography
of the Indians dates from this period, when the
( i reeks were the unconscious recipients of Indian
fables. Fresh knowledge was imparted by Sky-
1 a x, who first gave a description of India ; and
all writers from the time of Skylax, with nob a
single exception, mention those 'fabulous races,
but in such a way that they arc wont to speak of
them as ./Ethiopians ; by doing which they have
incurred obloquy and the suspicion of dishonesty,
♦'specially K 1 6 s i a s. This writer, however, is not
at all untruthful when he says, in the conclu-
sion of his Lulika (&i), that 'he omits many of
these stories, and others still more marvellous,
that he may not appear, to such as have not seen
I ht'sc, to be telling what is incredible;' for he
coidd have described many other fabulous races,
as for example men with the heath* of tigers {v;/d-
yhrttMHrlah), others with the necks of snakea
{I'ljaltii/riruN), v\,hcrn having horses' heads (furauya
vttthiu'lx, it&iMMtKluU), others with feet like dogs
(srd)HiJilii), others with four feet (eJittlnehpmltlx),
others with three eyes (hiiajlniu), and others with
six hundred.

• " Nor were the companion* of Alexander ab^e to
disregard tht'ot table;:,— in fact, .scarcely any of

2(y

( hem doubted 1 heir truth. For, generally speaking,
they were communicated to them by tin? Brail -
muus, who.su learning ;uul wisdom they held in
the utmost veneration. Why, then, should we be
surprised that Mogasthcnes also, following exam
pies so high and numerous, shoukl have handled
those Tables ? His account oF them is lo be found
in Strabo/1 1 ; Pliny, Jfial. N>tl. vii. ± 1 1-22; SoliiiiK
fa." (Seh. p. fit.)

■Sell wa?i beck then examines the fables related by
-Megasthcnesyand having shown that they were of
Indian origin, thus proceeds (p. 71) : —

" 'The relative veracity of Megnslhcncs, then, ran •
not be questioned, for lie related truthfully both
what be actually saw, and what was told him by
others. If wo therefore seek lo know what re
banco is to bo placed on any particular narrative,
this other point must be considered, how far bis
informants were worthy of credit. Hut here no
ground for suspicion exists; for on those matters
which did not come under his own observation
he had his information from those J3niliiiiuns
who were the rulers of the state, to whom he
again and again appeals as his authorities. Ac-
cordingly ho was able not only to describe how
the kingdom of the Prasii was governed, but
also to give sin estimate of the power of other
nations and the strength of their armies. Hence
we cannot wonder that Indian ideas are to be
found in the books of Megasthenes mixed up with
accounts' of what he personally observed and with
Greek ideas.

"therefore to him, as to the companions of Al ■■*
txander, it cannot be objected that he told too

)it

much. Tliat lie did not tell too little to give an
adequate account of Indian affairs to Greek
readers we know. For lie lias described the
# country, its .soil, climate, animals, .and plants, its
government and religion, the manners of its
peoplo and tljeir arts, — in short, tho whole of
Indian lifo from the king to the remotest tribe ;
and he has scanned every object with a mind
sou nd and unprejudiced, without overlooking even
trilling and minnte circumstances, Jfwc see any
part omitted, a little oidy said about tho religion
and gods of the Indians, and nothing at all about
their literature, wc should reflect that we are not
reading his veritable book, bub only an epitome
and some particular fragments thai, have survived
the wreck of time." (p. 75.)

" Of tho slight mistakes into which he fell, some
are of that kind into which even the most careful
observer may be betrayed, as for instance his
incorrectly stating tliat the V ipasa pours its
waters into the Iravati. Others had their
origin in his misapprehension of the meaning of
Indian words ; to which head must be referred his
assertion that among the Indians laws were not
written, but everything decided by memory. Be-
sides he alleges that on those Brahmnns who had
thrice orrcd in making up the calendar silence for
therest of their lives was enjoined as a punishment.
This passage, which has not yet been cleared up,
T would explain by supposing that ho had heard
tho Tndian word mdnnin, a name which is applied
both to a tacitnrn person and to any ascetic.
•Finally, some errors had their source in this, that
he looked at Indian matters from a Creek's point

:!«

of view, from which it rcp.ulted that lie did »o|. cur-
rectly enumerate the castes, and gave si mistaken
account of the TmViaii gods »iui other matters.

"Notwithstanding, the work of Megasthcnes- -in
solar as it is a part of (Jrcok literature and of Greek
and Roman learning— in, as it mm the culmina-
tion of the knowledge wliich the ancients ever
acquired of India: for although the geographical
science of the Greeks attained afterwards a per-
fect form, nevertheless the knowledge of India
derived from the hooks or Mogasthcius has only
approached perfect accuracy the more closoly those
who have written after him on India have followed
his Lulikd. And it is not only on account of his
own merit that MegasthcnSs is a writer of great
importance, but also on this other ground, that
while other writers have borrowed a great part of
what they relate from him. he exercised a powerful
inllucnce on the whole sphere i»f Latin and
Greek scientific knowledge.

"Besides this authority which' the Iitdika of
Megasthcnes holds in Greek literature, his remains
have another value, since they hold not the last
place among the sources whence we derive our
knowledgo of Indian antiquity. For as there
now exists a knowledge of our own of ancient
1 ndin, still on some points ho increases the know-
ledge which we have acquired from other sources,
even though his narrative not seldom requires to
be supplemented and corrected. Notwithstanding,
it must be conceded that the new information we
have learned from him is neither extremely great in
amount nor weight. What is ofgreater importance
than all that is new in what he has told us, is - thai

lie has recalled a picture of thp condition of India
al, a. definite period, — a servirp of nil the greater
value, because Tndian literal lire. a.lways self con
sistenf, is wont, to leave ns til the greatest doubt
if we sock to know what happened at any particular
time." (pp. 7<i, 77.)

It, is yet, an unsettled question whether the T»(lil-a
was written in the Attic or the Ionic dialect.*

* The loHmviii"- authorities are quoted by Sehwaubcek
(|>|>. 2.'!. 21) to show that (lie Imlikaut MeKasthonos was
divided into four books :— Allien. IV. p. 153— where
the 2nd book is mentioned ; Clem. Alex. Strum. I. p. 132
f-'.vlb., where the 3rd book is mentioned ; Joseph, cmlrti
•1, ><'••», I. 20, nml Auti'i. Jiid. X. xi. !, where the 4th book
is mentioned,— pf. (!. S.yncoll. torn. I. p. 41!), Bonn. The
assignment, of the liniments lo their respective books whs
a mutter of some ditlienlfy, as the <,rder of their connection
viirie; in ditlerent authors.

FRAGMENT I.,

OR AN KlMTOMK OF MwfiASTHENRS.

(Diotl. 11.35-42.) 14 3^"
(35.) ' India, which is in shape quadrilateral,
has its eastern as woll as its 'western side
bounded by the great sea, but on the north-
ern side it is divided by Mount II m d o a
from that part of Skythia which is Inhabited
by those Skythiaus who are called the S a k a i,
while the fonrtli or western side is bounded by
tho river called the Indus, which is perhaps
the largest of all rivers in tho world after the
Nile. * The extent of the whole country from
east to west is said to be 28,000 stadia, and
from north to south 32,000. "Being thus of
such vast extent, it seems well-nigh to em-
brace the whole of the northern tropic zone
of the earth, and in fact at the extreme point of
India the gnomon of the sundial may frequently
bo observed to cast no shadow, while the constel-
lation of the Bear is by night invisible, and in
the remotest parts even Ai'cturns disappears
from view. Consistently with this, it is also
slated that shadows there fall to the southward.
* India has many huge mountains which abound
in fruit-trees of every kind, and many vast
plains of great fertility— more or lesH beautiful,

1 With Kpit. 1, conf. Fragin. ii., iii. (in hid. Ant. vol. V.
p. 86,«c. a).

'-* Conf. FragiM. iv. 3 Conf. Fragm. ix.

bnt all alike intersected by a multitude of rivers.
5 The greater part of the soil, moreover, is under
irrigation, and consequently bears two crops in
the course of the year. It teems at the same
time with animals of all sorts, — beasts of the Held
and fowls of the air, — of all different degrees of
strength and size. 8 It is prolific, besides, in ele-
phants, which aro of monstrous bulk, as its
soil supplies food in unsparing profusion, mak-
ing these animals far to exceed in strength
those that are bred in L i by a. It results also
that, since they are caught in great numbers by
the Indians and trained for Avar, they are of
great moment in turning the scale of victory.

(36.) 7 The inhabitants, in like manner, hav-
ing abundant means of subsistence, exceed in
consequence the ordinary stature, and are distin-
guished by their proud bearing. They aro also
found to be well skilled in the arts, as might be
expected of men. who inhale a pure air and
drink the very finest water. 8 And while tho
soil bears on its surface all kiuds of fruits
which are known to cultivation, it has also
under ground numerous veins of all sorts of
metals, for it contains much gold and silver,
and copper and iron in no small quantity, and
even tin and other metals, which are employed
in making articles of use and ornament, as well
as the implements and accoutrements of war.

* In addition to cereals, there grows throughout
'•' Conf. Fragm. xv

India mncli millet, which is kftpt well watered
by the profusion of river-streams, and much
pulse of different sorJ;s, and rice also, and what
is called bo&pomm, as well as many other plants
useful for food, of which most grow spon-
taneously. 10 The soil yields, moreover, not a
few other edible products fit for the subsistence
of animals, about which it would be tedious to
write. It is accordingly affirmed that famine
has never visited India, and that there has
never been a general scarcity in the supply of
nourishing food. ll For, since there is a double
rainfall in the course of each year, — one in the
winter season, when the sowing of wheat lakes
place as in other countries, and the second
at the time of the summer solstice, which is the
proper season for sowing rice and boxpovum, as
well as scsamum and millet — the inhabitants of
India almost always gather in two harvests an-
nually; and even should one of the sowings prove
more or less abortive they are always sure of the
other crop. "The fnvts, moreover, of spon-
taneous growth, and the esculent roots which
grow in marshy places and arc of varied sweet-
ness, afford abundant sustenance for man. 1S The
fact is, almost all the plains in the country
have a moisture which is alike genial, whether
it is derived from the rivers, or from the rains
of the summer season, which are wont to fall
evciy year at a. stated period with surprising '
regularity ; while the great heat which prevail;..

•so

vtpens the roots which grow in the marshes,
and especially those of llio tall reed's.

'*niit, further, thorn are usages observed by
4he Indians which contribute to prevent the
occurrence of famine among them ; for whereas
among other ifatious it is usual, in the contests
of war, to ravage the soil, and thus to reduce
it to au uncultivated waste, among the Indians,
on the contrary, by whom husbandmen are re-
garded as a class that is sacred and inviolable,
the tillers of the soil, oven when battle is raging
in their neighbourhood, are undisturbed by any
sense of danger, for tho combatants on cither
side in waging tho conlliot make carnage of
each other, but allow those engaged in hus-
bandry to remain quite unmolested. Besides,
they neither ravage au enemy's land with fire,
nor cul down its trees.

(37.) la India, again, possesses many rivers
both large and navigable, which, having their
sources in the mountains which stretch along
tho northern frontier, travorse the level country,
and not a few of these, after uniting with each
other, fall into the river called tho Ganges.
10 Now this river, whioh at its source is 30
stadia broad, flows from north to south, and
empties its waters into the ocean forming the
eastern boundary of the G a n g a r i d a i, a
nation which possesses a vast force of the
•largest-siaed elephants. " Owing to this, th^eir
country has never been conquered by any

;>4

foreign king : for all other nations dread the
overwhelming number and strength of these
animals. w [Thus Alexander the Makedonian,
after conquering all Asia, did not make wui
upon the Gangaridai,t as lie did on all others;
for when he had arrived with all his troops at
the river Ganges, and had subdued all the other
Indians, he abandoned as hopeless an invasion
of the Gangaridni when ho leaincfi that they
possessed four thousand elephants Avell trained
and equipped for war.] 10 Another river, about
the same size as the Ganges, called the I n d n s,
has its sources, like its rival, in the north, and
falling into the ocean forms oh iis iray the
boundary of India ; in its passage through the
vast stretch of level country it receives not a
few tributary streams which are navigable,
the most noiable of them being the II n pa u is,
the II u d a s p 6 s, and tho A k e s i n e s.
Besides these rivers there arc a groat many
others of every description, which permeate the
country, and supply water for the nurture of
garden vegetables and crops of all sorts. au JNow
to account for the rivers being so numerous, and
the supply of water so superabundant, the
native philosophers and proficients in natural
science advance the following reasons : — They

t Conf. Lassen, I'cnlaput. 16.

',' Conf. Fragm. xxi. in hid. Ant. vol. V. p. S8, c. vi. 2-?

l - i0 Conf. Fragm. xi. in lnd. Ant. vol. V. p. 87/ c. iv.

9.13.

:i5

say that the countries whitdi surround India -
those of the Skythians and Baktrians, and also
of the Aryans — are more elevated than Fndia, so
that tlieir waters, agreeably t to natural law, ftovr
down logethei* from all Bides to tlie plains
beneath, wher%thcy gradually saturate the soil
with moisture, and generate a multitude of
rivers.

21 A peculiarity is found to exist in one of the
rivers of India, — that called the S i 1 1 a s, which
flows from a fountain bearing the same name.
ft differs from all other rivers in this respect-, —
that nothing cast into it will float, bnt every -
thing, strange to say, sinks down to the bottom.
(})%.) 24 J.t is saidthat India, being of enormous
size when taken as a whole, is peopled by races
both numerous and diverse, of which not even
one was originally of foreign descent, but all wen?
evidently indigenous ; a3 and moreover that India
neither received a colony from abroad, nor sent
out a colony to any other nation. 9 * The legends
further inform us that in primitive times the
inhabitants subsisted on snch fruits as the earth
yielded spontaneously, and wore clothed with
the skins of the boasts found in the conntry,
as was the ease with the Greeks ; and that, in
like manner us with them, the arts and other
appliances which improve human life were gra-
dually invented, Necessity herself teaching

(Jniif. I'Kttfiu. xh i.

them to an animal at once docile and furnished
not only with hands ready to second all his
efforts, but. also with reason and a. keen intel-
ligence. ■■

2S The men of greatest learning among the
Indians tell certain legends, of which it may be
propei 1 to give a brief summary .{ '^ xe 7 relate
that in tho most primitive times, when the
people of the country wcro still living in Til-
lages, 1) i o u ii s o s made his appearance com-
ing from the regions lying to the west, and
at the head of a considerable army. He over-

X I'iwum. I. B. Diod. iir.es.

doner, -h iinj Dtonveost.
Now some, as I have already said, supposing
that there were three individuals of this name, who
lived in different ages, assign to each appropriate
achievements. They say, then, that tho most an-
cient of them was T n d o a, and that as the country,
with its gonial temperature, produced spontane-
ously the vine-tree in great abundance, he was
the first who crushed grapes and discovered the
use of the properties of wine. In like manner he
ascertained what culture was requisite for figs and
other fruit trees, and transmitted this knowledge
to after-times ; and, in a word, it was he who found
out how these fruits should be gathered in,
whence also he was called L e n a i o s. This same
Dionusos. however, they call also Katapogdn,
since it is a custom among the Indians to nourish
tilth- beards with great tare to the very end of

ran the whole of India, as there was no great
city capable of resisting his arras. M The heat,
however, having becomo excessive, and the
soldiers of Dionusos being afflicted with a pes-
tilence, the leader, who was remarkable for
his sagacity,* canned his troops away from the
plains np to the hills. There the army, re-
cruited by the cool breezes and the waters
that flowed fresh from the fountains, recovered
from sickness. "The place among the moun-
tains where Dionusos restored his troops to
health was called M6vos; from which efts

tlicir life. Dionusos tlicu, at the head of an army,
marched to every part of the world, and taught,
mankind the planting of the vino, and how to
crush grapes in the winepress, whence he was call-
ed L fi 11 a i o s. Having in like manner imparted
to all a knowledge of his other inventions, he ob-
tained after his departure from among men
immortal honour from those who had benefited by
his labours. It is further said that the place is
(jointed out in India even to this day where the
god hail been, and that cities are called by his
name iu the vernacular dialects, and that many
other important evidences tit-ill exist of his having
been born in India, about which it would be tedi-
ous to write.

23 el seqq. Conf. Pragra. lvii.

t5 - M Conf. Fragni. 1. in Tnd. An*, vol. V. p. 89, c.
vii. — " HotPllss ns further," &e. to c. viii.— " on the principle
ofajfirit." *

:iH

omnnfnnop, no doubt., the Greeks have trans-
mitted to posterity tho legend concerning (he
god. that Dionnsng was bred in his ful/wr's
////'<//'.§ M Having aflor this turned bis attention
l,o the artificial propagation of usotn.1 plants, be
communicated the secret to thou Indians, and
taught them tho way to make wine, as well as
otlior arts conducive to human well-being. r9 Ife
was, besides, the founder of largo cities, whieb
bo formed by removing tbc villages to conve-
nient sites, while be also showed tho people how
to worship the deity, and introduced laws and
courts of justice. ""Having thus achieved alto-
gether many great and noble works', he was re-
garded as a deity and gained immortal honours.
Jt is related also of him that he led about with
bis army a groat host of women, and employed,
in marshalling his troops for battle, drums and
cymbals, as tho trumpet had not in his days been
invented; "and that after reigning over the
whole of India for two and fifty years he died of
old ago, while bis sons, succeeding to the go-
vernment, transmitted the sceptre in unbroken
succession to their posterity. M At last, after
many generations had come and gone, tho so-
vereignty, it is s;tid, was dissolved, and demo-
italic governments wore sot up in tho cities.

(0 U .) SR Such, then, are the traditions regard-
ing Dionnsos and his descendants current

'xj fiiffjiit. : >- (Vinf. Fragm. U.

;Jf>

among the Indians who inhabit the hill-country.
3 *Thoy further assert that II erak les||also
was born among them. 31 They assign to him,
•like the Greeks, the club ami the lion's skin. He
far surpassed other men in personal strength, and
prowess, and cleared sea and land of evil beasts.
"'"Marrying many wives he begot many sons, but
one daughter only. The sons having reached
man's cstAtc, he divided all India into equal por-
tions for his children, whom he made kings in
different parts of his dominions. Ho provided
similarly for his only daughter, whom ho reared
up and made a queen. 36 Ho was the founder,
also, of no small number of cities, the most re-
nowned and greatest of which he called V a 1 i-
bothra. Ho built therein many sumptuous
palaces, and settled within its walls a numerous
population. The city he fortified with trenches
oi' notable dimensions, which were filled with
water introduced from the river. " 7 Jfcraklcs,
accordingly, after his removal from among men,
obtained immortal honour; and his descendants,
haviug reigned for many generations and sig-
nalized themselves by groat achievements, nei-
ther made any expedition beyond the confines
of India, nor sent out any colony abroad. as At

"•™ Coof. Fragm. 1. in Ttul. Aid. vol. V. pp. 811-90, c.
viii., from " Bufcthal-. llorculcj," &u. to " of bis daughter.'.

|| Apparently S i v ;i is meant, though his ma ,i tj wives ami
aoBA are unknown to fiindu mythology.— En. •

■" Conf. Fvdgm. xxr.

lust, however, after many years had gone, most
of the eities adopted the democratic form ot
government, though some retained the kingly
until the invasion of the country by A 1 o x a n««
der. ss Of several remarkable customs existing
among the Indians, there is onef prescribed by
their ancient philosophers which one may regard
as truly admirable : for the law ordains that
no one among them shall, under any cir-
cumstances, be a slave, but that, enjoying free-
dom, thoy shall respect the equal right to it
which all possess: for those, they thought, who
have learned neither to domineer over nor to
cringe to others will attain the life best adapted
tor all vicissitudes of lot : for it is but fair and
reasonable to institute laws which bind all
equally, but allow property to bo unevenly dis-
tributed.

(40.) The wholopopulation of India is divided
into seven castes, of which the first is formed
by the collective body of the Philosopher u,%
which in point of number is inferior to the
other classes, but in point of dignity preeminent
over all. For the philosophers, boing exempted
from all public duties, are neither the masters
nor the servants of others. 41 They arc, however,
engaged by private persons to offer the sacrifices
due in lifetime, and to celebrate the obsequies of

•^ 4iXo<ro<£>oi, Strabo, Diod. Zo0t<rrai, An-.

"*" Conf. Fragm. xxxii. in hid. Ant. vol. V. pp. M-92,
■'. xi. and xii.

the dead : for they are believed to bo most dear
to the gods, and to be the most conversant with
matters pertaining to Hades. In requital of
^juch services they receive valuable gifts and
privileges. " To the people of India at large
they also render great benefits, when, gathered
together at the beginning of the year, they fore-
warn the assembled multitudes about droughts
and wet "weather, and also about propitious
winds, and diseases, and other topics capable of
profiting the hearers. * 3 Thus the people and the
sovereign, learning beforehand what is to hap-
pen, always make adequate provision against
a coming deficiency, and never fail to prepare
beforehand what will help in a time of need.
The" philosopher who errs in his predictions
incurs no other penalty than obloquy, and he
then observes siloncc for the rest of his life.

** The second caste consists of the Husband-
men,* who appear to be far more numerous
than the others. Being, moreover, exempted
from lighting and other public services, they de-
vote the whole of their time to tillage ; nor
would an enemy coming upon a husbandman
at work on his land do him any harm, for men
of this class, being regarded as public .benefac-
tors, are protected from all injury.' The land,
thus remaining unravaged, and producing heavy
crops, supplies the inhabitants with all that ia

* r«ci>f>yo(, Strab. Arr. Diod.

requisite to make life very enjoyable. *° The
husbandmen thorase.lvcs, with their wives and
children, live in the country, and entirely avoid
going into town. **Thoy pay a land-tributo to»
the king, because all India is the property of
the crown, and no private perscta is permitted
to own land. Besides the land-tribute, they
pay into the royal treasury a fourth part of the
produce of tho soil. «

47 The third caste consists of the Neatherds
and Shepherds,! and in general of all herdsmen
who neither settle in towns nor in villages, but
livo in tents. By hunting and trapping they
clear the country of noxious birds and wild
beasts. As they apply themselves eagerly and
assiduously to this pursuit, they free India from
tho pests with which it abounds, — ail sorts of
wild beasts, and birds which devour the seeds
sown by the husbandmen. J

(41.) 4S The fourth caste consists of the A r t i-
zans.§ Of these some arc armourers, while
others make the implements which husbandmen
and others find useful in their different callings.
This class is not only exempted from paying

f BovkoXoi Kdi iroiptves xa\ mdakov irdvrts ol vofittt,
Diod. ttoifUvts Kdi fypevrai, Strab. TJoiptves re koL
8ovk6\oi, Arr.

t Sbophords and hunters were not a caste of Hindus,
but wore probably tribes like the Abhira or Ahirn, Dhan-
gar^ &e.~ Ed.

5 Tfxvirai.

taxes, but even receives maintenance from the
rojal exchequer.

*" The fifth caste is the M i 1 i t a r y.|j It is well
♦organized and equipped for ?var, holds the second
place in point of numbers, and gives itself up to
idleness and tunusoincnt in the times of peace.
The entire force — meu-at-arms, war-horses,
war-elephants, and all — are maintained at the
king's exppuse.

50 The sixth casto consists of the Oversoors.
It is their province to inquire into and superin-
tend all that- goes on in India, and make report
to Ihn king,^[ or, whore thore is not a king, to
the magistrates.

51 The ttivmih caste consists of the Coun-
cil' 1 1 o r s and Assessor s, — of those who de-
liberate on public affairs. It is the smallest
class, looking to number, but the most respected,
on account of the high character and wisdom of
its members ; ss for from their ranks tho advisers
of the king are taken, and the treasurers of the
slate, and the arbiters who settle disputes. The
generals of the army also, and the chief magis-
trates, usually belong to this class.

sa Such, then, arc about the parts into which
the body politic in India is divided. No one is
allowed to marry out of his own caste, or to

|| TLdkefHorai, Strnb. Arr.

^f "Efftopoi, Diod. Strab. 'fjiriintoiroi, Arr. Is this thn
class of officers referred to as sheriffs — maltiitiatru— £& the
Aioka inscriptions? Conf. hid. Ant. vol. V. pp. 267-8.— fin.

exei*cise any calling or art except his own : for
instance, a soldier cannot become a husbandman,
or an artizan a philosopher.*

(42. ) ** India possesses a vast number of huge,
elephants, which far surpass those found elsewhere
both in strength and size. This animal does
not cover the female in a peculiar way, as some
affirm, but like horses and other quadrupeds.
68 JThe period of gestation is at shortest sixteen
months, and at furthest eighteen. f Like mares,
they generally bring forth but one young one
at a time, and this the clam suckles for six years.
88 Most elephants live to be as old as an ex.
tremely old man, bat the most aged live two
hundred years.

67 Among the Indians officers arc appointed
even for foreigners, whose duty is to see that
no foreigner is wronged. Should any of them
lose his health, they sehd physicians to attend
him, and take care of bim otherwise, and if he
dies they bury him, and deliver over such pro-
perty as he leaves to his relatives. 8S Thejudges

* "It appears strange that Megnsthenes Should have
d ivided the people of India into bcvhi castas . . . Herodotns,
however, had divided the peoplo of Ng.vpt into soven castes,
namely priests, soldiers, herdsmen, swineherds, tradesmen,
interpreters, and steersmen ; and Mcgastlionrsniay therefore
have taken it for granted thai there were seven castes in
India. It is a curious foot that, from the time of Alexander's
expedition to a comparatively recent date, geographers
and others have continually drawn analogies between Egypt
and India." — Wheeler's Hist, of India, vol. III. p. 192, note
*•■". Conf . Fragm. xxxvi.

tC?or some remarks on this point see Blochmann's trans-
lation of the Atn-i-A kbari, p. 118.

also decide cases in which foreigners are con-
cerned, with the greatest care, and come down
sharply on those who take unfair advantage of
• them, [What we have now said regarding
India and its antiquities will suffice for oar pre-
sent purpose.]

BOOK I.
> Feagm. II.

Arr. Ejqped. Alex. V. 6. 2-11.

Of the Boundaries of India, its General
Cliaracter, and Us Bivers.%

According to Eratosthenes, and Megasthenes
who lived with Siburtios the satrap of
Arachosia, and who, as he himself tells us,
often visited Sandrakottos§ the king of the
Indians, India forms the largest of the four parts
into which Southorn Asia is divided, while
the smallest part is that region which is includ-
ed between tho Euphrates and our own sea.
The two remaining parts, which are separated
from the others by tho Euphrates and the
Indus, and lie between these rivers, are scarcely
'of sufficiont sizo to be compared with India,
even should they be taken both together. The
same writers say that India is hounded on its

% Conf. Epit. ad init.

§ The name of Chandraffupta is written by the Greeks
Sandrokottos, Sandrakottas, Sandrakottoa, Androkottoa,
and (best) Sandrolraptos. Cf . Scblegel, Bill. Ind. I. &5. —
Schwanbeck, p. 13, n. 6.

eastern side, right onwards to the south, by the
great ocean ; that its northern frontier is formed
by tho Kaukasos range as far as the junction of
that range with Tauros ; and that the boundary,
towards tho west and the north-west, as far as
the great ocean, is formed by the 1 river Indus.
A considerable portion of India consists of a
level phiin, and this, as they conjecture, has
been formed from tho alluvial depqsits of the
river,' — inferring this from the fact that in other
countries plains which arc far away from tho
sea are generally formations of their respective
rivers, so that in old times a country was even
called by the name of its river. As an instance,
there is the so-called plain of the Hermo s — a
river in Asia (Miuoi*), which, flowing from the
Mount of Mother Dindymono, falls into the sea
near tho iEolian city of Smyrna. There is also
the Lydian plain of the Kaiistros, named
after that Lydian river ; and another, that of the
Ka'ikos, in Mysia; and one also in Karia, —
that of tho M a i a n d r os, which extends even to
Miletos, which is an Ionian city. [As for Egypt,
both tho historians Herodotus and Hekataios (or
at any rate the author of the work on Egypt if
he was other than Hekataios) alike agree in de-
claring it to be the gift of the Nile, so that that
country was perhaps even called after the river ; ,
for in early times Aigyptos was the name of
the river which now-a-days both the Egyptians
and other nations call the Nile, as the words

of Homer clearly prove, when he says that
Menolaos stationed his ships at the mouth of
the river Aigyptos. If, then, there is hut a
' single river in each plain, and these rivers,
though by no moans large, aro capable of
forming, as tl'cy flow to the sea, much new land,
by carrying down silt from the uplands, where
their sources are, it would be unreasonable to
reject the ibelicf in the case of India that a great
part of it is a level plain, and that this plain is
formed from the silt deposited by the rivers,
seeing that the Hermos, and the Kaiistros, and
the Ka'ikos, and the Maiandros, and all the many
rivers of Asia which fall into the Mediterranean,
even if united, would not bo fit to bo compared
in volume of water with an ordinary Indian
river, and much less with the greatest of them
all, the Ganges, with which neither tho Egyp-
tian Nile, nor the Danube which flows
through Europe, can for a moment bo compared.
Nay, the whole of these if combined all into
one are not equal even to tho Indus, which is
already a largo river where it rises from its
fountains, and which after receiving as tribu-
taries fifteen rivers all greater than those of
Asia, and bearing off from its rival tho honour
of giving name to the country, falls at last into
the sea.*

» Strabo, XV. 1. 32, n. 700.— [All tho rivers mentioned
(the last of -which is the BDupanis) unite in one, the Indus.]
They say that fifteen considerable rivers, in all, flow into it.

■18

FfiAGM. III.

Arr. Indica, II. 1. 7.

Q/ tfto Boundaries of India. f

(See translation of Arrian.)

Fkaom. IV. •
Strabo, XV. i. 11,— p. 689.
Of the Boundaries and Extent of India.%

India is bounded on the north bythe extre-
mities of T a u r o s, and from Arianaio the

t Gonf. Epit. 1, and for notes on the same see India)!.
Antiquary, vol. V. p. 330.— Ed.

t Conf. Epit. 1, 2. Pliny (Hist. Nat. VI. 21. 2) states that
India extends from north to south 28,150 thousand paces.
This number, though it is not exactly equal to 22,300 stadia,
but to 22,800, nevertheless approaches the number given by
Megasthenes nearer than any other. From the numbers
which both Arrian (Ind. iii. 8) and Strabo (pp. 68-69, 690)
give, Diodorus differs romatkably, for ho says the breadth
extends to 28,000, and the length to 32,000 stadia, it
would be rash to deny that.Megasthencs may also have
indicated tho larger numbers of Diodorus, for Arrian
(/«rf. iii. 7-8) adds to tho number tho words " where
shortest" and" where narrowest}" and Strabo (p. 689)
has addod to the expression of the breadth the words " ai
the shortest," and, referring to Mcgosthoucs and Deima-
chos, says distinctly " wlw state tluit in some places the
distance from the southern sea is 20,000 stadia, and in
otters 30,000 (pp. 68-C9). There can be no doubt, however,
that Megasthenes regarded tho smaller, and Deimachos
the larger numbor as correct ; for the larger scorned to
Arrian unworthy of mention, and Strabo (p. 690) says
docidedly, " Megasthenes and DSimachos incline to be
more moderate in their estimate, for according to them
the distance from the southern sea to Caucasus is over
20,000 stadia : DSimachos, however, allows that the dis-
tance in some places exceeds 30,000 stadia" ! by which ha
quite excludes MegasthcnSs from this opinion. And at
p. 72, where he mentions the 30,000 stadia of Deimachos,
'■ie joes not say' a word of Megasthenes. But it must be
rertain that 16,000 stadia is the only measure Megasthenes
gave of the breadth of India. For not only Strabo (p. 689)

Eastern Sea by the mountains which are variously
called by the natives of these regions Farapa-
ni i s o s, and II c ra 6 d o s, and II i m a o s,§ and
pther names, but by the ^Macedonians Kau-
k a s o s. |! Tho boundary on the west is the
river I n d u s, irat the southern and eastern sides,
which are both much greater than the others,
runout into the Atlantic Occan.^[ Tho shape of
tho country is thus rhomboidal, since each of
the greater sides exceeds its opposite side by
3000 stadia, which is tho length of tho pro-
montory common to tho south and the east
coast, which projects equally in these two direc-
tions. [Tholength of tho western side, measured
from the Kaukasian mountains to the southern

and Arrian (hid. iii. 7) have not quoted a larger number
from Megasthcnes, but Hippo rehos also (Strabo, p. 6!)), —
whore he shows that Patroklcs is unworlliy of confidence,
because ho has given, smaller dimensions for India than
Mejrastheuis— only mentions the mrasnre of 16,000 stadia;
■where, for what llipparchos wauted, tho greatest nnmber
■was tho most Suitable for his proof. — I think the numbers
•were augmented because Alcgasthenes regarded as Indian,
Kabul and that part of Ariana which Chandragupta had
taken from Reloukos ; and on tho north the frontier nations
UttarokoraH, which he metitions elsowkero. What Megas-
thencs said about the breadth of India remained fixed
throughout the whole geography of tho Greeks, so that not
even Ptolemy, who says India extends 10,800 stadia, differs
much from it. ISut his measure of length has either been
rejected by all, for fear of opposing tho ancient opinion
that tho torrid ssono could not bo inhabited, or (like Hip-
parchos) erroneously carried much too fir to the north.—
Schwanbeck, pp. 29, 30, n. 21.

§ Schnueder suggests'fyuios in Arrian.
|| i.e. Tho Himalayas.

% Tho world was anciently rogarded as an ishuuhsiu-
ronndod by the Atlantic Sea.

sea along tho course of the river Indus to ita
mouths, is said to be 13,000 stadia, so that the
eastern side opposite, with the addition of the
U000 stadia of the •promontory, will he some-?;
where about lfi,000 stadia. This is the breadth
of India whero it is bcth smallestrtmd greatest.]
The length from west to east as far as Pali-
bo t h r a can be stated with greater certainty
for the royal road which leads to that city has
been measured by achocni, and is in length 10,000
stadia.* The extent of the parts beyond can
only bo conjectured from tho time taken to
make voyages from the sea to P a 1 i b o t h r a
by tho Ganges, and may bo about 6000 stadia.
Tho entire length, computed at the shortest,
will be lfi.OOO stadia. This is the estimate of
Eratosthenes, who says he derived it principally
from tho anthoritativo register of tho stages
on tho Royal Road. Herein Megasthenes agrees

* All tho texts mid burpvprnv iusiead of pvplav. In
all tho MSS. of Strnbo also wo rend oTfoiw'oij, and in
Arrian, who extracts the same passage* from Mcgasthcms,
everywhere axoivms. Though thero w nothing to blamo
in either lection, yet it is easier to ebaugo a\oivois than
o\oivims, for Strabo may have boon surprised to find the
Greek schoenn* in use also in India., The sc/iqcmk.*, how-
ever, which with Eratostheius U a measure of '10 stadia
(flin. Hist. Wat. XI 1. 30), coincides precisely with 1 he Indian
y'rjana of four krOias. 1 do not forget that usually double
this lenprth is assigned to tho yOjiwa, but also that it ia
shorter than the Hindus reckon it (,4s. lies. vol. V. p. 105),
and also by the Chinese pilgrims (Foe-koue-ki, 87-88), and.
by Megasthencs himself, in Strabo (p. 708, Fragm. xxxiv. 3),
from which it seems certain that ten stadia are equal to
eonte Indiau measure which cannot be a smaller one than
tho krSsa.— Schw. p. 27, n. 23.

with him. [Patroklfis, however, makes the length
less by 1000 stadia.] Conf. Avr. lad. iii. 1-5.

. Fragm. V-

Strab'o, If. i. 7,— p. CD.
\)f the Size of India.

Again, Hipparchos, in tho 2nd volumo of his
commentary, charges Eratosthenes himself with
throwing discredit on Palroklos for differing
from Mogasfchonos about tho lengtli of India on
its northern side, Mpgasbhonos making it 16,000
stadia, and Patrokle3 1000 less.

FliAGM. VI.
Strabo, XV. i. 12,— pp. GS9-C90.
Of ihe Sl-30 of India.
[From this, one can readily seo how the ac-
counts of the other writers vary from ono an-
otlur. Thus Kl&sias says that India is not of
loss sizo than tho rest of Asia ; Omwikritos
regards it ai tliD third part of the habitable
world; and Ncaruhos says it takes one four
months to traverse the plain only.] Mogasthonos
and Doimacho.? incline to be moro moderate
in their estimate, for according to them tho
distance from the Southern Sea to Kaukasos
is over 20,000 stadia. — [Doirnaohos, however,
allows that tho distance in some places exceeds
30,000 stadia. Of those notico has been te&en
in an earlier part of tho work.]

Fbagm. VII.
Strabo, II. i.4,— pp. 08-153.
Of the Size of India.
Hipparchos controverts tins view, urging the*
futility of tho proofs on whieh it rests. Pati'O-
kles, he says, is unworthy of treSt, opposed ns
he is hy two competeut authorities, Deiraaehos
and Megasthenes, who state that in some places
tho distance from the southern sc« is 20,000
stadia, and in others 00,000. Such, he says, is
the account they give, and it agrees with the an-
cient charts of the country.

Fragm. VIII.
Ari\ hulica, III. 7-8.
Of flio She of India.
With Megasthenes tho breadth of India is its
extent from east to west, though this is called
by others its length. J3.is account is that the
breadth at shortest is 16,000 stadia, and its
length — by which he means its extent from
north to south — is at the narrowest 22,300
ctadia."

Fbagm. IX.

Strabo, II. i. 19,— p. 76.

Of the setting of the Bear, and shadows falling

in contra^ directions. t

Again, he [Eratosthenes] wished to show the

ignorance of Deimachos, and his want of a

* . i ■■■ ■ ' ■

t Conf. Epit. 8.

practical knowledge of such subjects, evidenced
as it was by his thinking that India lay between
the autumnal equinox and the winter tropic,
And by his contradicting the assertion of Me-
gasthen&j that in tho southern parts of India
the conatellatibu of the Bear disappeared from
view, and shadows fell in opposito directions, J —
phenomena which ho assures us aro never seen
in India, thereby exhibiting tho sheerest igno-
rance, lie does not agree in this opinion, but
accuses Deimachos of ignorance for asserting
that the Bears do nowhere in India disappear
from sight, nor shadows fall in opposite direc-
tions, as Megasthenos supposed.

.. Fraom. X.
Pliny, His*. Nat. VI. 22. 6.
. Of the Setting of tJie Bear.
Next [to the P r a s i i] in the interior are the
Monedes and the S n a r i, to whom belongs
Mount M a 1 o u e, on which shadows fall towards
the north in winter, and in summer to the south,
for six months altornatoly.§ Tho Bears, Baeton

% Conf. Diod. II. 35, PHn. Hist. Nat. VI. 22. 6. The
writers of Alexander's timo who affirmed similar things
were Nearchos and Onfaikritos, and Baoto who exceeded
all bounds. Conf. Lassen, lust-it. Liny. Frac. Append, p. 2.
— Sohwanb. p. 29.

§ " The Manda'.i would seem to be the same people as
the Monedes of Pliny, who with the Sunn, occupied
tho inland country to the south of the Palibothri. As this
is the exact position of the country of tho M uudas and Suars,
I think it quite certain that they must be tho same race as
the Monedes and Suari of Pliny. In another passage
Pliny mentions the Mandoi and Malli as occupying ihe
country between the Calingai and the Ganges. Amongst
the Malli there was a mountain named Alallus, which

says, in that part of the country are only once
visible in the course of the year, and not for
more than fifteen days. Megasthenos says that
this takes place in ruany parts of India. ■

Conf. Soliu, 52. 13 :—
Beyond Palibothra is Moiyit Malens, on
which shadows fall in winter towards tbe north,
and in summer towards the south, for six
months alternately. The North Polo is visible in
that part of the country once hi tho dourse - of the
year, and not for longer than fifteen days, as
Bacton informs us, who allows that this occurs in
many parts of India.

Fragm. XI.

Strabo, XV. i. 20,— p. 693.

Of the Fertility of India. \\

Megasthenos 'indicates the fertility of India

by tho fact of the soil producing two crops every

year both of fruits and grain. [Eratosthenes

writes to the same effect, for he speak? of a

would scorn to be tho same as tbc famous mouxl Malcus of
the Monedes and Suari. I think it highly probable that
both names may ha intended for the nclcbuitcd mount
Mandar, to the south of Bhrgulpur, which is Tabled to have
been used by the gods and demons at the churning of tho
ocean. The Mandei I would identify with the inhabitants
of the MaMnadi river, which is the Mann da of Ptolemy.
The Malli or Malei would therefore be the same peoplo as
Ptolemy's Mandate, who occupied tho right bank of tlio
Ganges to the south of Palibothra, or they may bo the peo-
ple of the Rajmah&l hills who are called Maler

Tho Suari of Pliny are the Sabarrro of Ptolemy,

and both may be identified with the aboriginal Savaraa
or Suars, a wild race of woodcutters w)io live in tho jun-
plej without any fixed habitation." — Cunningham's Ane.
Qeog. of India, pp. 508-1).

|| Conf. Bpit. 5, 9.

winter and a summer sowing, which both hare
rain : for a year, ho says, is never found to bo
without rain at both those seasons, whcnco en-
sues a great abundance, since the soil is always
productive. Much fruit is produced by trees ;
and tbe roots if plants, particularly of tall reeds,
are sweet both by nature and by coction, since tho
moisture by which they are nourished is heated
by tho rays of tho sun, whether it has fallen
from the clouds or been drawn from the rivers.
Eratosthenes uses here a peculiar expression :
for what ia called by others the ripening of fruits
and tho juices of plants is called among tho
Indians coction, which is as effective in producing
a good flavour as the coction by fire itself. To
the heat of tho water the same writer ascribes
the wonderful flexibility of tho branches of trees,
from which wheels arc made, as also the fact of
there being trocs on which wool grows.^]"]
Conf. Eratostb. ap. Strabo. XV. i. 13,— p. COO :—

From tho vapours arising from such vast
rivers, and from tho Etesian winds, as Eratos-
thenes states, India is watered by the summer
rains, and the plains aro overflowed. During
theso rains, accordingly, flax* is sown and
millet, also scsamnm, rice, and iosmorum,f and
in the winter time wheat, barley, pulse, and
other esculent frnifcs unknown to us.

^f Conf. Herod. II. 86. " VeUeraque utfoliis depectant
tenuia Seres '( — Virgil, Oeor. ii. 121. — Falconer.
* XiVois, perhajlfe tho \ivov to cijto 8t»ip€<av of Arrin.
f jSooyiopov— Strabo XV. i. 18.

Fragm. XII.
Strabo, XV. i. 37, — p. 703.
Of some Wild Beasts of India.
According to Megasthenfis the largest tigers.
are found among the Prasii, being nearly
twice the size of the lion, and so .-strong that a
tame tiger led by four men having seized a mul©
by tho hinder leg overpowered it and dragged
it to him. a Thc monkeys are larger than the
largest dogs ; they arc white except In the face,
•which is black, though tho contrary is observed
elsewhere. Their tails arc more than two cubits
in length. They are very tamo, and not of a
malicious disposition : so that they neither at-
tack man nor steal. 3 Stones are dug up which
aro of the colour of frankincense, and sweeter
than figs or honey. *In some parts of tho conn-
try there arc serpents two cubits long which
have membranous wings like bats. They fly
about by night, when they let fall drops of urine
or sweat, which blister tho skin of persons not
on their guard, with pntrid sores. There are
also winged scorpions of an extraordinary size.
"Ebony grows there. There are also dogs of
great strength and courago, which will not let
go their hold till water is poured into their
nostrils : they bite so eagerly that the eyes
of some become distorted, and the eyes of others
fall out. Both a lion and a bull were held fast
by^a dog. The bull was seized by the muzzle,
and died before the dog could be taken off*.

Fbagm. XIII4

Lilian, Hist. Anim. XVII. 39. Conf . Fragm. XII. 2,

Of Indian Apes.

In the country of tho P r ax i i,§ who aro an
Indian people, Megasthonos says there arc apes
not inferior in sizo to tho largest dogs. They

J FllADM. XIII. B.

Lilian, Mist. Anim. XVI. 10.
'* Of Indian Apes.

Among tUo I* r a a i i in India there is found, they say, a
species of iipes of human-like intelligence, and which are
to appearance about the size of Ilurkanian dogs. Nature
has furnished them with forelocks, which one ignorant, of
tho reality would take to be artificial. Their chin, like
that of a satyr, turns upward, and their tail is like tho
potent one of t)ie lion. Their body is white all over except
the face and tho tip of tho tail, which arc of a reddish
colour. They are very intelligent, and naturally tame.
They are bred in tho woods, whoro also they live, subsist-
ing on the fruits which they find growing wild on tho
hills. They resort in groat numbers to the suburbs of
La t age, an Indian city, where they cat rice which has
been laid down for them by the king's orders. In fact,
evory day a ready-prepared meal is set out for their use.
It is said that whon they have satisfiod their appetite they
retire in an orderly manner to their haunts in tho woods,
without injuring a single thing that comes in their way.

§ Tho Pr&chyas (i.e. Easterns) are called by Strabo, Arrian,
and Pliny npao-tot, Prasii ; by Plutarch (Alex. 62) Upattruu,
a name often used by 2Blian also ; by Nikolaus Damns.
(ap. Stob. FUml. 37, 38) Tlpavxioi ; by Dibdorus (xvii. 93)
Bpqo-101; byCurtios (IX.2,8)Pftarrasii;by Justin(xii.8,9)
PrcBsides. Mogasthones attempted to approximate more
closely to the Sanskrit Pr&cfiya, for here he uses Upafciaitas.
And it appears that npa|iot should be substituted for
npamoi in Stephan. Byzant., since it comes between the
words IIpa£(\of and Tlpaa. — Schwanbeek, p. 82, not. 6.

have tails five cubits long, hair grown on {.hen
forehead, and they have luxuriant beards hang-
ing down their breast. Their face is entirely
white, and all the rest of the body black. They
are tamo and attached to man, and not malicious
by nature like the- apes of other countries.

Fiuom. XIV.

JKliaii, Hist. AniM. XVI. 41. Couf. Frogm. XII. \.
Of Winged Scorpions and Ser$i'nts.

Megasthones says there are winged scorpions
in India of enormous sizo. which sting Europcann
and natives alike. There are also serpents
which arc likewise wiugod. These do not go
abroad during the day, but by night, when they
let full urine, which if it lights upon any one's
skin at onco raises putrid sores thereon. Such
is the statement of Megasthones.

FliAOM. XV.

Strolw, XV. i. 56,— pp. 710-711.
Of tho Blasts of India, and the Tteed.

He (Megasthones) says there arc monkeyB,
rollers of rocks, which climb precipices whence
they roll down stones upon their pursuers.
'Most animals, ho says, which are tamo with us
are wild in India, and he speaks of horses which
are one-horned and have heads like those of
deer ; s and also of reeds somo of which grow

straight up to the height of thirty oryui(u,\\ while

— fc i . — . -

|l The oi'ijtiia was four cubits, or equal to fi feet L inch.

5!)

others grow along the ground to the length of
fifty. Thoy vary in thickness from three to six
<uibit» in diameter.

ITkagm. Xt.B.

/Elian, lUsl. .itum. XVI. 20. 21. Coiif. Fragm. XV. 2. 1.

Of maw Heads of India.

(20.) In certain districts of India (I speak of
those which two most inland) they say there are in-
accessible lijiountaina infested by wild beasts, and
which arc also the haunts of animals like those of
our own country except that they are wild ; for
oven sheep, they say, run wild there, as well as
dogs and goats and oxen, which roam about at
their own pleasure, being independent and free
f i'om tho dominion of the herdsman. That their
number is boyond calculation is stated not oidy
by writers on India, but also by tho learned men
of tho country, among whom tho Brachmaus
deserve to be reckoned, whose testimony is to the
samo effect. It is also said that thero exists in
India a quo-horned animal, called by the natives
tho Eartazun. It is of the sizo of a full-grown
horse, and has a crest, and yellow hair soft as
wool. It is furnished with very good legs, and is
very fleet. Its legs are jointloss and formed like
those of tho elephant, and it has a tail like a
swino's. A horn sprouts out from between its
eyebrows, and this is not straight, but curved
into tho. most natural wreaths, and is of a black
colour. It is said to be extremely sharp, this
horn. Tho animal, as I learn, has a voieo boyond
all oxample loud-ringing and dissonant. It alfcws
other animals to approach it, and in good-

natured towards them, though they say that with
its congeners it is rather quarrelsome. The males
are reported to have a natural propensity not only
to fight among thqmsclves, by butting with
their horns, but to display a like animosity
against the female, and to be so obstinate in their
quarrels that they will not desist 'till a worsted
rival is killed outright. But, again, not only is
every member of the body of this animal endued
with great strength, but such is the potency of
its horn that nothing can withstand it. It loves
to feed in secluded pastures, and wanders about
alone, but at the rutting season it seeks the
society of tho femalo, and is theu gentle towards
her, — nay, the two oven feed in company. Tho
season being over and the female pregnant, the
Indian Kartazdn again becomes ferocious and seeks
solitude. The foals, it is said, are taken when
quite young to the king of the P r a s i i, and are
set to fight each other at the great public spec-
tacles. No full-grown specimen is remombcred
to have ever been caught.

(21.) The traveller who crosses the mountains
which skirt that frontier of India which is most
inland meets, they say, with ravines which are
clothed with very dense jungle, in a district called
by the Indians K o r o u da.^f Those ravines are
said to be tho haunts of a peculiar kind of animal
shaped like a satyr, covered all over with Bhaggy
hair, and having a tail like a horse's, depending
from its rump. If these creatures are left un-
molested, they keep within tho coppices, living on
the wild fruits ; but should they hear the hunter's

IT V. L. KdAowfia.

halloo and the baying of the hounds they dart up
the precipices with incredible speed, for they are
habituated to climbing the mountains. They
defend themselves by rolling down stones on
their assailants, which often kill those they hit.
The most difficult to catch are thoso which roll
the stones. Some are said to have been brought,
though with difficulty and after long intervals, to
the P r a s i i, but these were cither suffering from
diseases or -were females heavy with young, the
former being too weak to escape, and the latter
being impeded by the burden of the womb. — Conf.
Plin. Hist. Nat. VII. 2. 17.

Fragm. XVI.

Pliny, Hist. Nat. VIII. 14. 1.

Of the Boa-Oonstrictor.

According to Mogasthenos, serpents in India
grow to such a size that they swallow stags and
bulls whole.

Solinus, 52. 33.

So huge arc the serpents that they swallow stags
whole, and other animals of equal size.

Fkaom. XVII.

j&lion, Hist. Anim. VIII. 7.
Of the Electric Eel

I learn from Megasthones that there is in the
Indian Sea a small kind of fish which is never
seen when alive, as it always swims in deep
water, and only floats on the surfaco after it in
dead. Should any one touch it he becomes faint
and swoons, — nay, even dies at last.

Fragji. XVI II.
Pliny, Hi.it Nat. VI. 2 1. 1.
Of Riprobane.*
Mcgasthones sayn that Taprobaue is
separated from the mainland by a river ; that
the inhabitants ai'O called Palai<jgonoi,f and
that their conntry is more productive of gold
and large pearls than India.
Solin. 53. 3.
Taprobaue is separated front hul'm by a

* This island has been known by many names : —
l'. Lank a. — The only name it goes by in Sanskrit, and
quite, unknown to the Greeks and Unmans.

2. Simundu or Palcsimundu. — Probably ft Greek
Form of tlio Sanskrit I'Qli-Simantn. Tl is namo had gone
out of iiao before the time of Ptolemy tl.o Geographer.

3. Taprobane. — Supposed to represent tho Sanskrit
T flmrapar ni ('red-leaved' or 'copper-coloured Hand'),
a slightly altered form of tho PAH Tart bap a fin?, which

found in tho inscription of Asokaon tho Girnar rock.
Vide ante, vol. V. p. 272.

4. Sal ie o (perhaps properly Saline), Screndivus,
Sirlcdiba, S-erondib, Z oil an, Ceylon. Thoso nrc
all considered to be derivatives from Sili a In, tho PAIi
form of Siiihala, 'tlio abodo of lions.' Tho affix dib
represents tlio Sanskrit dvipa,, ' an island.'

f Lassen has tried to accotfnt for tho namo Pnlaiogonoi
thus {Disserl.de insula Taprob. p. 9) : — "Wo must suppose
that Mcgasthones was acquainted with tho Indian myth
that the first inhabitants of tho island were said to have
been Riiksbasas or giants, tho sons of the progenitors of
tho world, whom ho might not inaptly call Palaiogonoi."
Against this it may be remarked that, by this unusual term
and so uncommon, Mcgasthcncs meant to namo tho nation,
not doscribo it ; and next that Megasthuncs is not in the
habit of translating names, but of rendering them accord-
ing to sound with some degree of paronomasia'; lastly, that,
shortly after, wo find tho namo of Taprobane and of its capital
ila\aia-iiiovv8os, quite like to naAmoyovoi. Accordingly as
Tiasscn explains nuXatmpovi>ftor, tho namo of the capital, hy
tho Sanskrit P&li-sim&nta (' head of tho sacred doctrine'),
I wpuld also prefor to explain tho name of the Palaiogonoi
from (ho Sanskrit' PAli-janfe (?■.«. ' men of the sacrod doc-
trine').— Suh^anbcck, p. 38, n. 35.

river flowing between : for one part of it abounds
with wild beasts and elephants much larger than
Tndia breeds, and man claims the other part.

Fuagm. XIX.
Antigon. Caryst. G47.
Of Marino Trees.
Megasthcnes, tlio author of the Twlika, men-
tions that trees grow in tho Indian Sea.
Fraum. XX.
Arr. Ind. 4. 2-13.
Of the Indus and tltc Gau(jc$.%
Sec translation of Arrian.

Futon. XX.B.
Pliny. Hist. Nat. VI. 21. 9—22. 1.
The Prinas§ and the Gain as (a tributary
of tho Ganges) are both navigable rivers. The
tribes which dwell by tho Ganges are tho C a 1 i u-
g so, || ncarost the sea, and higher up tho Mandei,
also the Malli, among whom is Mount Mall us,
tho boundary of all that region being tho Ganges.
Somo havo asserted that this river, like tho Nile,
rises from unknown sourcos, and in a similar way
waters tho country it flows through, while others
trace its source to the Skythian mountains. Nine-
teen rivers arc said to flow into it, of which, bo-
il; Gonf. Epit. 15- 19, and Notes on Arrian, Ind. Ant. vol.
V. pp. 331, 332.
§ V. L. Pumas. ,

|| A great and widely diffused tribe sottlcd mainly bo-
tweou the Mah&nadi and tho GodAvart. Their capital was
Partualis (called by Ptolemy Kalligra), on the
Mahftuadi, higher up than tho site oE Katak. The nainp is
preserved in K o r i n g a, a great port at the mouth of the
Godftvarf.

aides those already mentioned, the Condochates,^[
Eramioboas, Cosoagus, and Sonus are navigable.
According to other accounts, it bursts at once with
thundering roar from its fountain, and tumbling
down a steep and rocky channel lodges in a lakis
as soon as it reaches the level plain, whence it
issues forth with a gentle current} being nowhere
less than eight miles broad, while its mean
breadth is a hundred stadia, and its least depth
twenty fathoms.*

Solin. 52. 6-7.
In India the largest rivers are the Ganges
and the I n d u s, — the Ganges, as some maintain,
rising from uncertain sources, and, like the Nile,

Tf V. LL. Cauucam, Vamam.

* " Tfao Bh&glrati (which wo shall here regard as the
true Ganges) first comos to light near Gangotrf, in the terri-
tory of Garhwfil, in lat. 30° 54', long. 79° 7", issuing from
under a very low arch, at the base of a great snow-bed,
estimated to be 300 feet thick, which lies between tho lofty
mountains termed St. Patrick, St. George, and the Pyramid,
the two higher having elevations above tho sea, respectively,
of 22,798 and 22,654 foot, and the other, on the opposite Bide,
having an elevation of 21,379. From the brow of this curious
wall of snow, and immediately above tho outlet of tho
stream, largo and hoary icicles depend. They are formed
by tho freezing of tho melted snow-water at Lie top of the
bed ; for in tho middle of the day the Bun is powerful, and
the water produced by its action falls over this place in
cascade, but is frozen at night .... At Sukh! the river
may be said to break though the ' Himalaya Proper,' and
the elevation of the waterway is hero 7,608 feet. At
Uevprag it is joined on the left side by the Alaknanda. . .

From Devprftg tho united stream is now called the

Ganges Its descent by the Dehra Dun is rather

rapid to Harldwar .... sometimes called Gangfldwara, or
' the gate of tho Ganges,' being situate on its western or
right bank at the southern base of the Sivalik range, here
intersected by a ravine or gorge by which the river, finally
leaving the mountainous region, commences its course over
the* plains of Hindustan. The breadth of the river in the
rainy season. . is represented to be a full mile." — Tliornton.

t>>

overflowing it,s banks ; while, others tliink that it
rises in tlic Skythian mountains, hi India there
is also the rlupauis,f a very noble; vivor, which
formed the limit of Alexander's march, as the
aitars set up on its banks tastily. The least
breadth of the (hinges is eight miles, and the
greatest twenty? Its depth where least is fully
one hundred feet.

Cimf. rrngin. XXV. 1.
Some say that the least breadth is thirty stadia,
hut others only three; while Jlegastlioues snys
that the mean breadth is a hundred stadin, ami
its least depth twenty orguiai.

Phaiim. XXI.

.Ait. Jml. (5. i-?>.

Of Ik* Wci.r Sihtts.Z

See translation of Arriun.

KliAiiM. XXII.

UuiwMjindc, Auvcil. (ii'iii:. T. i>. HII.

(if Ihn Ricor Situ*.
There is in India a river called the S i I a s,
named after the fountain from which it Hows,
on which nothing will float that is thrown into

t Tin 1 siiuii' ii;i the Mnpliiisis i>r Siillij.

4! St rah. 7'W, Dinil. .IT. 37, itnil iiflenvimN ,-wi arionymou .
wi'iti-r wlioiii Kiihnkcii (int 1'iilliiiftch. jnii/ui. p. ifr) hnx
praised, niid whom 1 iieronnt miiy bo read in lioisson. ,\arr,l.
iti'or. |. U!(. Tlu> naiiin i^ written 2tXXnv in Dimluriitf,
in Mini 1m ■ StX/rty, but best SiXaf, in tin: epitome of iSlrtihn
and iu llio .'liifi'i/. OViiv. liiihr, 3(i!>, litirf cnlU-Heil the
julsisntjin from Klesius. Lassen has ulso illnst rated l.hi::
fah\<<' ('/..* itsrlinjl. II. <i») from Indian liU'intuiv :■--" The
Indians think tlmt the river Silas is in (he north, (hat. il
pel rilies everything pliiiif,'<'d in it, tvheuce rvurytliiin; ninkc
and nothing mviiii.i.'' (Cunf. Mnh-UiliAr. II. IKiH.) Sila
moans 'it .stone.'— Si-lnv. p. #7, n- •'*-.

ri6

it, bnt everything sinks to the bottom, contrary
to the usual law.

Fbagm. XXIII.
Strabo,«XV. i. 38,— p. 703. m

Of the River Silas.
(Megastlienes says) that in tfrc mountainous
country is a river, the Silas, on the waters of
which nothing will float. Demokritoa, who
had travelled over a largo part of Asia, disbe-
lieves this, and so docs Aristotle.
TiiAGU. XXIV.
Arr. Tiwl. 5. 2.
Of ilia Number of Indian Rivers.
See translation of Avrian.

BOOK II.
Fkagm. XXV.
Strab. XV. i. 35. 30,— p. 702.
Of the city Vatalipiitra.^
According to Megasthenos tho mean breadth
(of the Ganges) is 100 stadia, and its least depth
20 fathoms. At tho meeting of this river and
anothcrissituatodPalibothra, a city eighty stadia
in length and fifteen in breadth. It is of tho shape
of a parallelogram, and is girded with a wooden
wall, pierced with loopholes for the dis-
charge of arrows. It has a ditch in front for
defence and for receiving the sewage of the city.
Tho people in whoso country this city is situated
is the most distinguished in all India, and is called
the Prasii. Tho king, in addition to his family

§ Couf. Kpit. 3«.

6'/

name, mnst adopt tho surname of PalibothroB,
as Saudrakottos, for instance, did, to whom
Megasthonos was sent on an embassy. [This'
cijstom also prevails among* the Parthians, for
all arc called Arsakai, though each has his own
peculiar name, t as Orodes, Phraatcs, or some
other.]

Then follow these words : —

All tho country beyond tho Ilupauis is allowed to bo Tory
fertile, but litt'js is accurately known regarding it. Partly
from ignorance and tho remoteness of its situation, every-
thing about it is exaggerated or represented as marvellous :
for instance, there aro the stories of the gold-digging ants,
of animals and men of peculiar shapes, and possessing
wonderful faculties ; as the Seres, who, they say, are so
long-lived that they attain an ago beyond that of two
hundred years.|| They mention also an aristocratical form
of government consisting of five thousand councillors, each
of whom furnishes tho stato with an elephant.

Acoording to Megasthonos the largest tigers
are found in the country of the Prasii, &c. (Of.
Fragm. XII.)

Jj'baum. XXVI.
Arr. Jncl. 10.

0/ Pataliputra awl the Manners of the Indians.

It is farther said that the Indians do not
rear monuments to tho dead, but consider the

|| This was not tho name of any particular nation, but
was vaguely]* used to designate tho inhabitants of tho re-
gion producing silk, of which Str is the name in Chinese
and in Japanese. The general opinion places this region
(Seriea) in Eastern Mongolia and the north-east of China,
but it has also been sought for in Eastern Turkestan,
in the UimAlaya towards the sources of tho Ganges, iu
Assam, and own in Pegu. The name is first, met with iu
Ktesiaa.

(IK

virtues which meu have displayed iti life, ami
I lie songs in which their pmises are celebrated,
sufficient to preserve their memory after death.
IJut of their cities* it is said that the number's
so great that it cannot be stated with precision,
Imt that such cities as are situated on the hanks
of rivers or on the sea-coast are built of wood
instead of brick, being meant to last only for a
lime,— so destructive are the heavy rains ■which
pour down, and the rivers also when they over-
flow their banks and inundate the plains, — while
those cities which stand on commanding situa-
tions and lofty eminences are built of brick and
mud ; that the greatest city in India is thai
which is called Palimbothra, in the domi-
nions of the P r a s i a n s, where the streams of
the E r a n n o b o a s and the G a n g es unite, —
the Ganges being the' greatest of all rivers, and
Iho .lOrannoboas being perhaps the third largest
of Indian rivers, though greater than the great-
est rivers elsewhere ; but it is smaller than the
Ganges where it falls into it. M eg a s t h e u e s
informs us that this city stretched in the in-
habited quarters to an extreme length on each
side of eighty stadia, and that its breadth was
fifteen stadia, and that a ditch eucompassed it
all round, which was six hundred feet in breadth
and thirty cubits in depth, and that the wall
was crowned wilh 570 towers and had foiir-and-
sixly gates. The same writer tells us further
Ihis remarkable fact about India, that all the

G!>

Indians arc Prop, and n<>< one of thorn is a. slave.
Tho liakcd&Mnon ian s anil the Indians are
how so far in agreement. Tlic 1 /aked;omoniaiis,
,howevcr, hold the 11 o 1 o t»s as slaves, and these
Jlelots do servile labour ; but the Indians do
not oven nscfilions as slaves, and much less a
countryman of their own.

Fiiagm. XXVII.

' Hlrsil). XV. i. 53-i'iO ,— pp. 709-IH.

Of the Maitunv of the htilioiit.

The Indians all live frugally, especially wlien
in camp. They dislike a groat undisciplined
multitude, and consequently ilicy observe good
order. Tlieft is of very wo occurrence. Ale-
gasthenos says that those who were in tho
camp of Sandrakottos, wherein lay 400,000
men, found that tho thefts reported on any one
day did not exceed tho value of two hundred
drachma', and this among a people who have
no written laws, but are ignorant of writing,
and must therefore in all the business of life
trust to memory. They live, nevertheless, hap-
pily enough, being simple in Iheir manners
and frugal. They never drink wine except at
sacrifices. 1 ^ Their beverage is a liquor com-
posed from rice instead of barley, and their
food is principally a ricc-poltage.* Tho sim-
plicity of their Jaws and their contracts is

^f Thisi wiuo wan probably Soma juice.
* Curry ami riot", no doubt .

proved by the fact that they seldom go to law.
They have no suits about pledges or deposits,
nor do they require cither seals or witnesses,
but mako their deposits and confide iu eacb,
other. Then' houses and property they gene-
rally leavo unguarded. These thjngs indicate
that they possess good, sober sense ; but other
things they do which one cannot appi'ove : for
instance, that they eat always alone, and that
they have no fixed hours when meals are to bo
taken by all in common, but each one cats when
ho fools inclined. The contrary custom would
be better for tho ends of social and civil
life.

Their favourite mode of exercising the body
is by friction, applied in various ways, but espe-
cially by passing smooth ebony rollers over the
skin. Their tombs are. plain, and the monnds
raised over tho dead lowly. In contrast to the
general simplicity of thoir stylq, they love finery
and ornament. Their robes arc worked in gold,
and ornamented with precious stones, and they
wear also flowered garments rnado of the finest
muslin. Attendants walking behind hold up
umbrellas over them: for they have a high regard
for beauty, and avail themselves of every de-
vice to improvo their looks. Truth and virtue
they hold alike in esteem. Hence they accord
no special privileges to the old unless they
possess superior wisdom. They marry many
wives, whom they buy from their parents, giving

in exchange a yoke of oxen. Some they marry
hoping to find in them willing helpmates ; and
others for pleasure and to fill their houses with
.^children. The wives prostitute themselves un-
less they aro compelled to ho chaste. No one
wears a crowai at a sacrifice or libation, and
they do not stab tho victim, but strangle it, so
that nothing mutilated, but only what is entire,
may be presented to the deity.

A person convicted of bearing false witness
suffers mutilation of his extremities. He who
maims any one not only suffers in return the
loss of tho same limb, but his hand also is cut
off. If lie causes an artizau to loso his hand or
his eye, ho is put to death. The same writer
says that none of tho Indians employ slaves ;
[but Oncsikritos says that this was peculiar to
that part of tho country over which Musikanos
ruled. ]f

The cave of tho king's person is entrusted to
women, who also aro bought from their pa-
rents.:!: Tho guards and tho rest of the soldiery
attend outside tho gates. A woman avIio kills
the king wbon drunk becomes tho wife of his
successor. Tho sons succeed the father. Tho
king may not sleep during tho daytime, and
by night ho is obligod to change his couch from

t Ilia kingdom lay iu SiiuUui, along tho banks of the
Indus, and lila capital waB probably near Bakkar.

X This was not unknown in nativo courts of later times.
Conf. Idrisi's account of tho Balhara king.

time to time, wil.li :i view io defenl plots against,
his lil'e.§

Tlic king leaves his palace not only in time
of war, but also for thtjpurpose of judging causes*
I To then remains in eonrt for tho whole tlay,
without allowing tho business to lr; interrupted,
oven though tho hour arrives when ho must
needs attend to his person, — that is, when ho is
to be rubbed with cylinders of wood. Ho con-
tinues hearing oases while the friction, which is
performed by four attendants, is still proceeding.
Another purpose for which he leaves his palace
is to offer sacrifice; a third is to. go to the
chase, for which he departs in Bacchanalian
fashion. Crowds of women surround him, and
outside of thiscircle spearmen are ranged. Tho
road is marked oil* with ropes, and it is death,
for man and woman alike, to pass within the
ropes. Men with drums and gongs lead the
procession. The king hunts in the enclosures
and shoots arrows from a platform. At his
side stand two or three armed women. If he
hunts in tho open grounds lie shoots from the
back of an elephant. Of the women, some are
in chariots, some on horses, and some even on
elephants, and they are equipped with weapons

§ " Tlic jirest'iit kintf of Avrt, who evidently 1ic1om«s Io
the Judo-l'liincsr typo, uliliou^U li« dnlins a knlisitriyn.
I'viftin, leiulri a life of Hccluftion very similar to that, of
S:i i ill roK ottos. Hi; chungi-it his Ijcdnioiu ovi'ry niglit, as u
>:ifoaiu:ml ajpiinst Midden trciicln'i-y.*' (WIiivUt'h Uhl."f
hi'liii, vol. II!. p. IS2, ncie.)

7:3

of every kind, as if they were going on a cam-
paign. ||

[These customs are very strange when cora-
Mavcd with our own, but llio following are still
more so ; ] for Megasthenes states that the
tribes inhabiting the Kaukasos have intercourse
with women in public, and eat the bodies of
tlioir relatives,^ and that there are monkeys
which roll down stones, &c (Fragm. XV.fol-
Irnvft, ami then Frarjm. XXIX.)

Fraom. XXVI LB.
./Elian. V. L. iv. 1.
The Indians neither put out money at usury,
nor know how to borrow. It is contrary to estab-
lished usage for an Indian cither to do or Hiifler a
wrong, and therefore they neither make contracts
nor require securities. Conf. Suid. V. IvSm.

Fjjacm. XXVII. 0.
Nicol. Diiiuasu. 41; Stob. 8vr.ii. 12.

Among the Indians one who is unable to recover
si loan or a deposit has no remedy at law. All
Llio creditor can do is to blame himself for trusting

(I. rOt fill':

Frag*. XXVII.1).

Nicol. Damage. 41; Stob. Serin. -12.

Ho who causes an artisan to lose his eye or his

hand is put to death. If one is guilty of a very

heinous offence the king orders his hair to be

|| In 1Uu drama of SinlnniinU, JJ.i\ja Dusliyn nta in ro-
proumtod us attended in the cl'xso by Vavana women, with
Lowh in.tlu-iv bands, and wearing garlands of wild flowera.

f HViwlotus (bit. iii. 88, 99, 101) lias noted tbe exist-
ence of botb iirauiieea among certain lndiau tribes.

iimpped, this being a punishment |.o tlio last de
(jiim 1 inl'tiiiioiis.

FHAfiM. XXVIIi.

.Vt-bii'i. iv. p. 153.

Of lh u Huppivs of Hi i; hut ia im.

MegflKthenoM, in tho second bonk of his fntlika, says Mutt

when the Indians are at supper a tsi.blo <a plawd bol'oiv

each person, this lieing like a tripod. There iv. pheed

upon it :i golden bowl, into which thuy first, put riue, boiled

ns one would boil l»arley, fuul then they add ninny *dn intip* 1

prepared according to Indian i-Lceipts. ■

Fk.UUI. XXIX*

Slrab. XV.i.57,— p.71l.

Of fahnhniK tribiat.

Kut. deviating into fablos he says there art'
men five spans and oven thi'co spans in height,
some of whom want the nose, having only two
orifices above the mouth through which they
breathe. * Against the nicnof three spans, war,
as Homer has snng, is waged by the cranes, and
also by partridges, which are as large as geese, f

* Of. £tail>. H. i. !',- p. 70 :— Doimiuhoss and Mogsu-
tlirmV are especially unworthy of credit. J I ; s they who
tell those stories about the tr.en who sleep in their ears,
tlie men without mouths, the men without nostrils, tlio
iiipn with ouo eye, the Ttion with long logs, .ind tho meti
with their toes turned backward. They renewed Homer' n
fnblo about tlio battle between the Cranes and the
Pjgniios, asserting that the latter wero three spans iu
height. Tliey told of tho ants that dig for gold, of
Pans with i\ edgo-shaped heads, and of wrponts swallow-
ing down oxen and stags, horns and all, — tho one. author
mean while accusing tho other of falsehood, as Eratosthenes*
has remarked.

t Ktesias in his Tiuh'ka mentions Pygmies a* belonging
to I mlifu Tho Indians themselves considered them as be-
longing to the race of the Kirfibu, a barbarous people who
inhabited woods -and mountains and lived by bunting, and
who were ao diminutive that: their name became a synonym

7r,

These people eolloof. and destroy the nggs of the
cmiii'S, Tor it in in tlieir country the cranes lav
tliiiii" eggs, and tliiis the eggs and tlie young
'jrancH arc not to be foxnd anywhere ulse.
frequently a crime escapes having tlic brazen
point of a weapon in. its body, from wounds re-
ceived in that conutvy. • , Equally absurd is
the account given of the Knoto koi tai,J

for dwarf. 'iliey were thought to fight willi vultures and
"aj?Ies. As they were, oF lilougomn nrigiu, tlic ImliiuiH
represented them with tlic distinctive features of that race,
hut with their repulsiveuess exaggerated. Hence. Mogas-
thenos spoko i if the Aimiktrred, inuu without noses, wlio
hu.il merely breathing-holes above, tlic mouth. The Kiriltai
.ire no doubt identical with the Seyrites (V. L. Syrietef) of
J'liniuM mid tin- Kirvhadai of (he /', , ,',./,.., jl/,i f -i". ?■.',■.,//..■.. i.
X 'I'll' 1 l'!iii'''.il»"it:ii .itv ejlli-'l ill Sanskrit h. i,i..r,.,,;,-.i.
/•uiii'ui, imd lire l'ret|uently referred to in tlio itru&t epic
poems— e.;/. Mali'dth. 11. U70, ]**75. Tim oiiiniou whs
universally prevalent among tlio Indians that barbarous
tribes had largo ears: thus not, only nrollw h'aniai'i'iha.
*vm'/s mentioned, but also KiwwikAs, i,nui.l>o.kni , i}"i.n, Mitlili-
/•iij'ii/u {/.<■. l'inv; r.r l.ir^i- rived), l'.-l,l.:il;i.;..'i.i ( '.'.. . r.nnnl.
«-:iteiVj,*f' ■liil.i 1 , 1 ■-,■--.<'. •.c.ii.uiiigi he i-.ir-f L -l..— 1.1 the Kp-i,
1'iiiiiktir,-'* ('.i. Ii-iiin:* hand- fur iMr.>). Srlmaiili. «■'>
"Jiwi'i'-J, ' >ii>* IVIkvlir(//i'./. /.-/. ml. III. [i. I IX
"for any one conversant, with Jndia to jxiijit out (Jut
origin, of many of the. go-culled fables. The. ants are not
as big as foxes, but they are very extraordinary excavators.
The stories of men pulling up trees, and using tlimi as
ehilis, are common enough in the Al«h"ililit\rrit<i; especially
in tlio legends of the exploits of Hhiuia. "Men do not
have ears hanj?in<f dowu to their feet, but bo1h men and
women will occasionally elongate their ears after a very
extraordinary fashion hy thrusting articles through Hie
lobe. . . . . ]f there was one. story more than another
which excited the wrath of Strabo, it was that nf a
pople whose ears hung down to their feet. Yet the story
is still current in Hindustan. Balm Johari Dim says: —
' An old woman once told me that her husband, a sepoy
in the Thiti-h army, Lad aeon a iienple who .->h-|il on ■■□>.- 1 ji\
jud l.ovi red Ihi-ln.M-lvi'n nitli the ■•tiler. 1 (ll'.mt .-li-- ftlhi-
HersanilCimlitmsiifllir lluulvs, HanAras, IW!*>.V The story
puay be referred to the Himalayas, Fitch, who travelled

7ti

of the wild men, and oi" other monsters. '* The
wild men could not bo brought to Sandrakottos,
tor thoy refused to tako food and died. Theiv
heels arc in front, .and the instep and toes are
turned backwards. § B Some wore brought to llic
court who had no mouths and were tamo. They
dwell near the sources of the Ganges, and subsist
on the savour of roasted flesh and the perfumes
of fruits and flowers, having instead of mouths
orifices through wjp'ch they breathe* They are
distressed with thiugs of evil smell, anil ° hence
it is with difficulty thoy keep their hold on life,
especially in a camp. Referring to the other
monstrosities, the philosophers told him of tho
Oknp o dos, apeoplewhomrunningcoulillcave
the horse behind ;|| ' of the Enotokoitai,
who had cars reaching down to their feut, so that
they could sleep in them,- and \vei*o so strong that
they could pull up trees and break a bowstring.
8 Of others tho M o n o m m a t o i, who have the

in India about 1585, says that a people in 15but"m had chip
a s<pan long."

^ These wild men are mentioned both by drains and
Rieto. Thoy wore called Antipodes <m ai-eonnt. of iliu
peculiar Rtriieturo of (heir loot, and wove reckoned among
>Rtliiopi.iii tiicox, Ih-Ttiifli thoy are often refenvd to in the
Iudiuu i-pi-v under tho name Fitkh&itoYijnl'ijfm, of wliioh
the (miiTdnfttiKTvXoi of Megastheucs is u.u exact transla-
tion. Vide Schwanl). f>8.

|| ' OkuptxW iw a transliteration iuto f ireek, with a slight

change, of the Sanskrit Al"j« -di'n, ('having one foot'), lliu
name of atriho of the Kiralai noted t'orsnit'tnoss of foot, tho
iniality indicated by tho (Ireok term. The Monopodos aro
mentioned by KhVuu, wlu> confouudod thorn with the
Kkiapodea, Hie men who covered themselves with tho shadow
of their foot.

ears of a dog, their one eye Het iu the middle of
their forehead, the hair standing erect, and their
breasts shaggy ; % of the Aniuk tores also, a
people without nostrils, who devour everything,
eat raw meat, and arc short-lived, and die before
old ago supervenes.* The npper part of the
mouth protrudes far over the lower lip. ° With
regard to the Hyperboreans, who live a
thousand years, they give the samo account as
Simouides* Pindaros, and other mythological
writcrs.f 10 The story told by Timagoues, that

IT Whsil Mrgiiwllii'tifa hero mention* a* the charaeteris-
tii-n "f a -in'^li- (lib 1 are by tLo Itii.lr.1111 sil I ril -i it ■■■ I losi'veral.
Tlii! niii'-cyi-il hiimi tlii-j are ivi-iil 1 ■ • i-.i 1 1 ■"/ ." '- .- /. -l.-t or <7rtt-
vUo-clutiiA..* — the men with linirxtaudiug erect, nMlivukcAi;
Indian CycV'pes even aro mentioned uuder the name of
Liil&fAkslta*; i.e. having ono eyo in the forehead : vidr
Schwunbl 70-

* "That Iho Asi-O'ini arc mentioned in the Tndian hooks'
wo cannot show so well as in tin? ease of tlic Amulvtvri'i*,
whom Metfasthetiea describes as irafuj)iiytivs, otfiorfniynvs,
'oXiyoXfittvuws. Nevertheless the vi'ry words of t lie de-
scription aro a proof that ho followed the narrat ives of the
Indians, for tho words UafKJmyns, &c. hy which lie has
described the Amukti-res, are very rarely used in ( Ireek ,
and are translations of Indian words." Schwann. (Ji).

t Pindar, who locates the 11 yperburoniis smncwherc about
tho months of the Ister, thus sings of them : —

" But who with venturous course* through wave or waste
To Hyperborean haunt* and wilds uuliueed.

K'er found his wondrous wa.y F
There L'erseus prcs>ed amain,

And 'midst, 1 lie tVu.4 entered their strange abode,
Where hecatombs of asses plain

To soothe the radiant Rod
Astounded he beheld. Their rude solemnities,

Their barbarous shouts, Apollo's heart delight :
Laughing tho rampant brut* 1 ho sees

Insult tho solemn rite.
Still their sights, their customs strange,

Scare not the ' Muse,' while all around

.sliowrrs iVt.ll of drops of copper, which iiro swept
t-nguthor, is u, Cubic. " Mcgasbhonos «bilus —
what is more open to belief, since tlio saint) \a

'i'lio dancing virgins range,

And inciting lyres ami piercing pipes resound.
With braids of golden hays entwined
Thoir soft resplendent locks they biufl,

And feast in bliss the genial hour :
Nor ft ml disease, nor wasting age,
Visit tin? sacred race; nor wars tkey wage,

Nor toil for wealth or power."

(lOtb VyUiiun ode, 11. 4(5 to oi;, A. Monro's tnelriral ver
nion.)

MegasLhcucs had the penetration to pereeive that llio
(jrook fable, of the Hyperboreans had an Indian source in
(he fii,l.iles regarding the Utlnivtvrnn. This word means
literally the 'Kuril of the North.' "The, historic origin," says
J*. V. deSainl-Marlin, "of the Sanskrit apiwllsii'ifjii UUn-
rtt-kiii'ii is unknown, hat its acceptation never varies. In
all the documents of tlpavedie literature, in the great poems,
in the J'uranas, — wherever, in short, the word is found, —it
pertains to tin) domain of poetics and mythological geogra-
phy. Uttaiiikura is situated in the uttei'nio i. regions of
tho north at tho foot of (he mountains which surround
Mount Mem, far beyond the habitable world. It is Hie
abode of demigods and holy llishis whoso lives extend to
several thousands of years. All ac-cess to it is f'orliiddeii
to morlals. Like tho J [ypcrboroau region of Western niy-
tholoirists, this too enjoys the happy privilege, of an eternal
sprintr. e(|u:illy exempt from excess of cold, and excess of
li--.it, and (hero the sorrows of the soul and the paius ot

the. body urn tililcn unknown it is clear enough

thai this land of the liUsA is not of our world.

" I n their interexnirse with the Indians after the expedi-
tion of Alexander, tho ({reeks became aci|uainted with
these iit-tious of Urahmanic poetry, as well its with a good
many other stories which made them look upon India as a
liiml of prodigies. Megasthcues, like Kt''sias before liini,
had collected a great number of such dtories, and oil her
from his memoirs ov from contempoiary narratives, such
as that of Deiinaclios, the fable of the Utturakurus had
spread to the West, since, from what Pliny tells us (vi.
17, p. 310) one Aniojnetns had composed a treatise re-
garding thorn analogous lo that «f ITccntnius regarding the
Hyperboreans. It is certainly From this treatise of Amo-
iijctus that I'liny borrows thu two lines which he devotes
to his Attiiconu, ' that a girdle of mountains wanned with

the rasa iu IhevinJ — thatthn rivers cany down
gold (Inst, and thai, a part of tin's is paid by
way of tributo to the king.

Fjuo.m. XXX.
Plin. Hist. Nat. VII. ii. 11-22.

Ofjabufows race*.
A ceording to Megasthcnes, on a mountain cal led
N" n 1 o § there livo men whoso feet are turned

t lie snn sheltered them fi'iim the blasts of noxious winds, and
thattheyenjoyt'd, like the Hyperboreans, an eternal spring.'
' (Jens hiiiiiimnii Altauornm, apricis ab muni uoxio afllatu
seclusa nollibns, eadein, qua Hypurborei dcgiinl, tem-
pera-.' iyWn.liiccit. Ammianns Maroelliuns, xxiii. (i, 04.)
Wagner transfers i.his description to tlio Seres in general,
(ill' whom tho Altticurtr of Pliny form pari.), and some
modern critics (Manucrt, vol. I\ r . p. 250, lt<7!i ; Foehiijer
llaiiilb. ilvr alti-ii (/eni/i 1 . vol.11, p. 172, 18tt) have be-
lieved (hey could see in ii a reference to the great wall
of China.) We see from a host of examples hi-sides this, that
the poetic fab km and popular legends of India had (ukcu,
in passing into tho (!rcek narratives, an appearance of
reality, and a Sort of historical consistency." (li'tinlf sin-
In (Ji'ii.jii'pluv (iivri/i/g et Latinc do I'lmh 1 , pp. 413-414.)
Tlio same author (p. 412) says, "Among the peoples of
Serieji, I'toleiuy reckons the (MororvirWif, a name which
in I'liny is written Attacora), and which Auimianus Alnr-
eelliinis, who conies Ptolemy, distorts into Oparocarra.
Them is no difficulty in recognizing under this winni the
(Jttaraknru of Sanskrit books."

Schwanbeek (p. 70) quotes Lassen, who writes somewhat
to tlio same, ell'ect : — " Uttaraknru ia a part of Scriea, ami
as the tirst accounts of India came, to the West, from the
Seres, perhaps a. part of the description of the peaceful
happy life of the Seres is to ho explained from the ludiau
stories of the. Uttunikurn. The story of the long life of Ihe
Seres may be similarly explained, especially when Mcgaa-
1 hem's reckons the life attained by the Hyperboreans at
1000 years. The MaMhfa'trata (VI. 2(H) says that tho
Uttarakurns live 1000 or 10,000 years. Wo conclude from
this that. Megasthenes also wrote of the Uttnrakurus, and
that he not improperly rendered their name by that of
tlio Hyperboreans." — %eitnchr. II. (57.

J Not. Spain, but the country between the Black Sea
and the Caspian, now called Georgia.

§ V. L. Nullo.

backward, and wlio liavo cij^ht toes on each foot ;
*' while on many of the mountains there lives a
race of men having heads like those of dogs, who
are elothed with the skins of wild beasts, whore
speech is barking, and who, being armed with
elaws, live by hunting and fowling. || [ 9& Ktesios
assorts on his own authority that the number of
those men was upwards of 120,000, and that
there is a race in. India whoso females boar oif-
spring bat once in the course of their life, and
that their children become at once groy-haired.J

3 Megasthpnes speaks of a race of meu among
the Nomadic Indians who instead of nostrils
have merely orifices, whoso logs arc contorted like
snakes, and who are called S c y r i t so. Ho
speaks also of a race living on the very eon fines
of India on the east, near tho source of the Gan-
ges, the A s to mi, who have no mouth; who
cover their body, which is all over hairy, with the
soft down found upon tho leaves of trees ; and
who live merely by breathing, and the perfume
inhaled by the nostrils. They eat nothing, and
Ihcy drink nothing. Thoy require merely a
variety of odours of roots and of flowers and of
wild apples. Tho apples thoy carry with them
when they go on a distant journey, that thoy
may always have something to smell. Too
strong an odour would readily kill them.

•| CiilliMl by Kt>Vi:w KvvoK€<f>a\ot, and ill Sanskrit 3wu-
nmck&s or fii'iiiiuo /<4s.

*' Beyond the A. s to in i, in {he remotest pari
of the mountains, the T i- i s p i t h a ra i and the
•Pygmies are said to have their abode. They
nmeach three spans in height — that is, not more
than seven-and-twenty inches. Their climate is
salubrious auc! they enjoy a porpotual spring,
under shelter of a barrier of mountains which rise
on the north. They aro the same whom Homer
mentions OjS being harassed by the attacks of
the cranes. "The story about them is— that
mounted on tho backs of rams and goats, and
equipped with arrows, they march down in
spring-time all in a body to the sea, and destroy
the eggs and the young of these birds. It takes
them always three months to finish this yearly
campaign, and were it not undertaken they
conld not defend themselves against the vast
floe ks of subsequent years . T h eir huts are made
of clay and feathers and egg-shells. [Aristotle
says that they live in caves, but otherwise he
gives the same account of (hem as others. J. . . .

[ 5ft FromKtesias wo learn that there is a people
belonging to this race, which is called Pando-
r o and settled in the valleys, who live two hun-
dred years, having in youth hoary hair, which
in old age turns black. On tho other hand,
others do not live beyond the age of forty, —
nearly related to the M a c r o b i i, whose women
bear offspring but once. Agatharchides says
the same of them, adding that they subsist on
locusts, and are swift of foot.] * Clitarchus and

Megastheims call them Hand i,% and i*cckon the
nnrabcr of their villages at three hundred.
The females bear children at the age of seven,
and are old women at forty.*

Fiiagm. XXX.B.
Solin. 52. 20-30. *

Near a mountain which is called Nulo there
live men whose feet are turned backwards and
have eight toes on each foot. Mogasthenes writes
that on differeut mountains in India, there arc
tribes of men with dog- shaped heads, armed with
claws, clothed with skins, who speak not in the
accents of human language, but only bark, and
have fierce grinning jaws. [In Ktesias we read
that in some parts the females bear offspring but
once, and that the children are white-haired from
their birth, &c]

Those who live near the source of the Ganges,
requiring nothing in the shape of food, subsist on
the odour of wild apples, and when they go on a
long journey they carry these with them for safety
of their life, which they can support by inhaling
their perfume. Should thoy inhale very foul air,
death is inevitable

FfiAGM. XXXI.

Plutarch, de facie in orbe limw. (Opp. ed. Eeisk,

torn. ix. p. 701.)

Of the race of men without mouths.f

For how. could one find growing there that

T Possibly we should read P a ti d a i, unless perhaps
MegasthenSs referred to the inhabitants of Mount Man-
dara.

* Conf.Fragm. L. 1, LI.

t Oonf. Pragm. XXIX. 5, XXX. 3.

Indian root which Mcgaslhenes says a race
of men who neither eat nor drink, and in fact
have not even months, set on fire and burn
like incense, in order to sustain their existence
with its odorous fumes, unless it received mois-
ture from thetnoon ?

BOOK III.
FfUGM. XXXII.

Are. Ind.\l. 1 .-XII.-9. Cf. Epit. 40-53, and Plin.
Hist. Nat. VI. xxii. 2, 3.

(See the translation of Arrian's Indika.)

Frmjm. XXXIII.
Strab. XV . 1. 39-41, 46-49,— pp. 703-4, 707.
Of the Seven Cartes among the. Indians.
(39) According to him (Megastheues) the popu-
lation of India is divided into seven parts. The
philosophers are first in rank, but form the
smallest class in point of number. * Their services
are employed privately by persons who wish to offer
sacrifices or perform other sacred rites, and also
publicly by the kings at what is called the Groat
Synod) wherein at the beginning of the new
year all the philosophers are gathered together
before the king at the gates, when any philoso-
pher who may have committed any useful sug-
gestion to writing, or observed any means for im-
proving the crops and the cattle, or for promot-
ing the public interests, declares it publicly. * If
any one is detected giving false information thrice,
the law condemns him to be silent for the rest of
his life, but he who gives sound advice is ex-
empted from paying any taxes or contributions.

(40) The second caste consists of the h u shun d-
m e 11, who form the hulk of tho population, and are
in disposition most mild and gentle. They are
exempted from military service, and cultivate
their lauds undisturbed by fear. They never go
to town, either to take part in its ,tuuaults, or for
any other purpose. B It therefore not unfrequont-
ly happens that at the same time, and in the
same part of the country, men may he seen drawn
up in array of battle, and fighting at -isk of their
lives, while other men close at hand arc ploughing
and digging mperfed security, having these soldiers
to protect them. The whole of the land is the
property of the king, and the husbandmen till it on
condition of receiving one -fourth of the produce.

(41) °The third caste consists of herdsmen and
hunters, who alone are allowed to hunt, and to
keep cattle, and to sell draught animals or let them
out on hire. In return for clearing the land of
wild beasts and fowls which devour the seeds
sown in the fields, they receive an allowance of
grain from the king. They lead a wandering life
and live under tents.

Fiagiii. XXXVI. follows hero.

[So much, then, on the subject of wild animals.
We shall now return to MegasthcuSs, and resume
from where we digressed.]

(46)' The/bttW/t class, afterhcrdsmenandhunters,
consists of those who work at trades, of those who
vend wares, and of those who arc employed in
bodily labour. Some of these pay tribute, and
render to the state certain prescribed services.
But the armour-makers and shipbuilders receive
wages and their victuals from the king, for whoia.

alone they work. The general in command of the
army supplies the soldiers with weapons, and the
admiral of the fleet lets out ships on hire for the
transport both of passengers' and merchandize.

(47) The fifth class consists offlghtingme n,
who, when not engaged in active service, pass their
time in idleness and drinking. They are main-
tained at the king's expenso, and hence they are
always ready, when occasion calls, to take the
field, for tl»ey carry nothing of thoh* own with
them but their own bodies.

(48) The sixth class consists of the overseers,
to whom is assigned the duty of watching all that
goes on, and making reports secretly to tho king.
Some arc entrusted with tho inspection of the
city, and others with that of the army. The
former employ as their coadjutors the courtezans
of tho city, and the latter tho courtcssans of the
camp. The ablest and mc-sfc trustworthy men are
appointed to fill these offices.

The seventh class cousists of the councillors
and assessors of the king. To thorn belong the
highest 'posts of government, the tribunals of
justice, and the general administration of public
affairs. J 12 No ono is allowed to marry out of his

X The Groek writers by confounding some uistinc-
tions ocoasionod by civil employment with thoso arising
from that division have increased the number (of, classes)
from five (including the handicrafts-man or mixed clues)
to seven. This number is produced by their supposing the
king's councillors and assessors to form a distinct class
from tho BrAhmans ; by splitting the class of Vaisya into
two, consisting of shepherds and husbandmen ; by introduc-
ing a caste of spies ; and, by omitting the servile class alto-
gether. With those exceptions the classes are in the state
described by Menu, which is the groundwork of that still
subsisting. — Elphiustono's History of India; p. 236.

8«

own caste, or to exchange one profession or
trade for another, or to follow more than one
business. An exception is made in favour of the
philosopher, who for his virtue is allowed this pri-
vilege.

FRAOM. XXXIV.,:

Stnib. XV. 1. 50-52,— pp. 707-709.
Of the administration of public affairs.
Of the me of Hornet and Eleplyinls.
(Fragm. XXX III. has precedent this.)
(50) Of the great officers of state, some have
charge of the market, others of the city, others of
the soldiers. Some snperintond the rivers, mea-
sure the land, as is done in Egypt, and inspect the
sluices by which water is let out from the main
canals into their branchos, so that overy one may
have an equal supply of it. *Tho samo porsons
have charge also of the huntsmen, and are en-
trusted with the power of rewarding or punishing
them according to their deserts. They collect the
taxes, and superintend the occupations connect-
ed with land, as those of the woodcutters, tho
carpenters, the blacksmiths, and tho miners.
s They construct roads, and at every ten stadia§
set up a pillar to show the by-roads and dis-
tances. *Those who have charge of the city are

§ From this it would appear that ten stadia were equal
to some Indian measure of distance, which must have been
the krCsa or kosa. If the stadium be tafcen at 202{ yards,
this would give 2022^ yards for the kos, agreeing with the
shorter kos of 4,000 h&ths, m use in the Panjflb, and till
lately, if not still, in parts of Bengal.— Ed. lnd. Ant.

divided into six bodies of five each. The mem-
bers of the first look after everything relating to
the industrial arts. Those of the second attend
to the entertainment of foreigners. To these
they assign lodgings, and they keep watch over
their modes cf life by means of those persons
whom they gi vo to them for assistants. They escort
them on tho way when they leave the country, or,
in the event of their dying, forward their pro-
perty to their relatives. They tako care of them
when, thoy aro sick, and if they die bury them.
*The third body consists of those who inquire
when and how births and deaths occur, with
the view not only of levying a tax, but also in
order that births and deaths among both high
and low may not escape the cognizance of Gov-
ernment. "The fourth class superintends trado
and commerce. Its members have charge of
weights and measures, and see that the products
in their season are sold by public notice. No
one is allowed to deal in more than one kind of
commodity unless ho pays a double tax. 'The
fifth class supervises manufactured articles,
which they sell by public notice. What is new
is sold separately from what is old, and there
is a fine for mixing the two togothor. s Tho
sixth and last class consists of those who col-
lect the tenths of the prices of tho articles sold.
Fraud in the payment of this tax is punished
with death.
'Such are the functions which those bodies

separately discharge. Tn their collective capa-
city they have charge both of their special de-
partments, and also of matters affecting the
general interest, as 'the keeping of public build-
ings in proper repair, the regulation of prices,
the care of markets, harbourr, and temples.
'"Next to the city magistrates there is a third
governing body, which directs military affairs.
This also consists of six divisions, with live
members to each. One division is appointed
to cooperate with the admiral of the fleet, an-
other with the superintendent of the bullock-
trains which are used for transporting en-
gines of war, food for the soldiers, provender
for the cattle, and other military requisites.
They supply servants who beat the drum, and
others who carry gongs ; grooms also for the
horses, and mechanists and their assistants.
To the sound of the gong they send out foragers
to bring in grass, and by a system of rewards
and punishments ensure the work boing done
with despatch and safety. "The third* division
has charge of the foot-soldiers, the fourth of
the horses, the fifth of the war-chariots, and the
Bixth of the elephants. 14 Thoro are royal
stables for the horses and elephants, and also
a royal magazine for the arms, because the
soldier has to return his arms to the maga-
zine, and his horse and his. elephant to the
stables. ia They use 'the elephants without
bridles. The chariots arc di'awn on the march

by oxen, 1 * but the horses are led along by A
halter, that their legs may not be galled and
inflamed, nor their spirits damped by drawing
chariots. "In addition tb the charioteer, there
are two fighting men who sit up in the chariot
beside him. % The war-elephant carries four
men — three who shoot arrows, and the driver. |]
(Fragm. XXVII. follows.)

» Pbagm. XXXV.

iElian, Hist. Anim. XIII. 10.
Of the use of Ilorscs ami Elephants.
Cf. Fragm. XXXIV. 13-15.
When it is said that an Indian by springing
forward in front of a horse can check his speed
and hold him back, this is not true of all Indians,
but only of such as havo been trained from boy-
hood to manage horses ; for it is a practice with
them to control their horses with bit and bridle,
and to make them move at a measured pace and
in a straight course They neither, however,
gall their tongue by the use of spiked muzzles,
nor torturo the roof of their mouth. The pro-
fessional trainers break them in by forcing
them to gallop round and round in a ring, es-
pecially when they soo them refractory. Such
as undertake this work require to have a strong
hand as well as a thorough knowledge of
m

|i" The fourfold division of tlie army (horse, foot, chariots,
and elephants was tho name, as that of Menu ; hut Straho
makes a. sextuple- division, by adding the cominitwariat and
saval department."

horses. The greatest proficients lest their skill
by driving a chariot round and round in a
ring ; and in truth it would be no trifling
feat to control with* case a team of four high*
mettled steeds when whirling round in a circle.
The chariot carries two men who cat beside the
charioteer. The war-elephant, cither in what
is called the tower, or on his bare back in sooth,
carries three fighting men, of whom two shoot
from the side, Avhilo one shoots from behind.
There is also a fourth man, who carries in his
hand the goad wherewith he guides the animal,
much in the same way as the pilot and captain
of a ship direct its courso with thd helm.

Fbaqm. XXXVI.
Strab. XV. 1. 41-43,— pp. 704-705.
Of Elephants.

Conf. Epit, 54-5C.
(Fragin. XXXIII. 6 has preceded thin.)
A private person is not allowed to keep either
a horse or an elephant. Thcso animals aro held
to be the special property of tho king, and
persons are appointed to take care of them.
3 The manner of hunting the elephant is this.
Round a baro patch of ground is dug a deep
trench about five or six stadia in extent, and
over this is thrown a very narrow bridge which
gives access to the enclosure. • Into this en-
closure are introduced three or four of the best-
trained female elephants. Tho men themselves
lie in ambush in concealed huts. *The wild

elephants do not approach tins trap in the day-
time, but they enter it at night, going in one
by one. 8 When all have passed the entrance,
ibe men secretly close it »p ; then, introducing
tho strongest of the tamo fighting elephants,
they fight it rfrat with the wild ones, whom at
the same time they cnfeoblo with hunger.
6 When the latter are now overcome with fa-
tigue, the boldest of the drivers dismount un-
observed, and each man creeps under his own
elephant, and from this position creeps under
the belly of the wild elephant and ties his
feet together. 7 When this is done they incite
tho tamo ones to beat those whose feet arc tied
till they fall to the ground. They then bind
tho wild ones and the tame ones together neck
to neck with thongs of raw ox-hide. 8 To pre-
vent them shaking themselves in order to throw
off those who attempt to mount them, they make
cuts all round their neck and then put thongs
of leather into the incisions, so that the pain
obliges them to submit to their fetters and to
remain quiet. From the number caught they
reject such as are too old or too young to be
serviceable, and the rest they lead away to tho
stables. Here they tie their feet one to another,
and fasten their neeks to a firmly fixed pillar,
and tame them by hunger. 10 After this they
restore their strength with green reeds and
grass. They next teach them to be obedient,
which they effect by soothing them, some by

coaxing words, and others by songs and the
mnsio of the dram. " Few of them are fonnd
difficult to tame, for they are naturally so mild
and gentlo in their disposition that they approx-»
imate to rational creatures. Some of them take
np their drivers when fallen va> battle, and
carry them off in safety from the field. Others,
when their masters have sought refuge between
their forelegs, have fought in their defence aud
saved their lives. If in a fit of auger they
kill cither the man who feeds or the man who
trains them, they pine so much for their loss
that they refuse to take food, and sometimes
die of hunger.

19 They copulate like horses, and the female
casts her calf chiefly in spring. It is the season
for the male, when he is in heat and becomes
ferocious. At this time ho discharges a fatty
substance through an orifice near the temples.
It is also the season for the females, when the
corresponding passago opens. M They go with
youtig for a period which varies from sixteen to
eighteen months. The dam suckles her calf
for. six years. u Most of them live as long as
men who attain extreme longevity, and some live
over two hundred years. They are liable to many
distempers, and are not easily cured. lD The
remedy for diseases of the eye is to wash it with
cows' milk. For most of their other diseases
draughts of black wine are administered to them.
For the cure of their wounds they are made to

swallow batter, for this draws out iron. Their
sores are. fomented with swine's flesh.

Pbacm. XXXVII.
• Arr. IiuL ch. W-14.

(Fragm. XXXI I. comes before this.)
(Sec tho translation of Arriau's Indika.)

[Fbacm. XXXVII. B.]
iElian, HUt. Anim. XII. 41.
Of Elephants.
(Cf. Fragm. XXXVI. 9-10 and XXXVII. 9-10
init. c. XIV).
In India an elephant if caught when full-grown is diffi-
cult to tame, and longing for freedom thirsts for bluod.
Should it be bound in chains, this exasperates il still more,
and it will not submit to a master. The Indians, however,
coax it with food, and seel: to pacify it with various things
for which it has a liking, their aim being to fill its stomach
and to soothe its temper. But it is still angry with them,
and takes no notice of them. To what device do they then
resort ? They sing to it their native melodies, and sootho
it with tho music of an instrument iu common use which
has four strings and is called a skindapsos. Tho creature
now pricks up its ears, yields to the soothing strain, and its
anger subsides. Then, though there is au occasional out-
burst of its suppressed passion, it gradually turns its cyo to
its food. It is then freed from its bonds, but docs not seek
to escape, being enthralled with the music. It even takes*
food eagerly, and, like a luxurious guest riveted to tho
festive board, has no wish to go, from its love of tho music.

Pragm. XXXVIII.

./Elian, Hist. Anim. XIII. 7-

Of the diseases of Elephants.

(Cf. Pragm. XXXVI. 15 and XXXVII. 15.)

Tho Indians cure the wounds of tho elephants

which they catch, in the manner following : —

They treat them in the way in which, as good old

Homer tells us, Patrofclos treated the wonnd of
Eurypylos, — they foment them with lukewarm
water.^f After this they rub thein over with but-
ter, and if they are daep allay the inflammation \jy
applying and inserting pieces of pork, hot but
still retaining the blcod. They rjire ophthalmia
with cows' milk, which is first used as a foment-
ation for tho eye, and is then injected into it.
The animals open their eyelids, and finding they
can sec better are delighted, and ar8 sensible of
the benqfil liko human beings. In pi*oportion as
their blindness diminishes their delight over-
flows, and this is a token that the disease has
been cared. Tho remedy for other distempers
io which tboy are liable is black wine ; and if
this potion fails to work a cure nothing else can
save them.

Puaom. XXXIX.

Strab. XV. 1. 41,— p. 70G.

Of Gold-digging Ants.*

Mogastbenfis gives the following aicount of

those ants. Among the Derdai, a great tribe

of Indians, who inhabit the mountains on the

f See llia-l, bk. XL 845.

* Soo Ind. Ant. vol. IV. pp. 225 fnqq. whom cogent argu-
ments am adduced to prove that tho ' gold-digging ants'
were originally neither, as the ancients supposed, real ants,
nor, as so many eminent men of learning have supposed,
larger animals mistaken for ants on account of their ap-
pearance and snhterrancaii habits, hot Tibetan miners,
whore mode of life and dress was in the remotest antiquity
exactly what they are at the present day.

eastern borders,! there is an elevated plateau*
about 3,000 stadia in circuit. Beneath the
surface there are mines of gold, aud here ac-
cordingly are found tho antS which dig for tliat
metal. They are not inferior in size to 'wild
foxes. They run with amazing speed, and live
by the produce of the chase. Tho time when
they dig is winter. § They throw up heaps of
earth, as moles do, at tho mouth of the mines.
The gold-dust has to be subjected to a little boil-
ing. Tho people of the neighbourhood, coming
secretly with beasts of burden, carry this off. If
thoy came openly tho ants would attack them,
and pursue them if thoy fled, and would destroy
both them and their cattle. . So, to ofl'ect tho rob-
bery without being observed, they lay down in
several different places pieces of tho flesh of
wild beasts, and when tho ants are by this do-
vice dispersed they carry off the gold-dust.

t Thcso are the Dardra of Pliny, tko Daradrai of
1'toleniy, andtheDavadaa of Sanscrit literature. "Tho
Darda are not an extinct race. According to the accounts
of modern travellers, they consist of several wild and pre-
datory tribos dwelling among the mountains on tho north*
wost frontier of Kasmlr and by the banks of the Indus."
lad. Ant. he. eit.

J The table-land of Chojotol, sec Jour. R. Gcog. Soc.
vol. XXXIX. pp. 149 seqq.—Eo. Ind. Ant.

§ "Tho miners of Thok-Jalung, in spite of the cold,
prefer working in winter ; and tho number of their tents,
which in summer amounts to three hundred, rises to
nearly six hundred in winter. They prefer the winter, as
the frozen soil then stands well, and is not likely to trouble
them much by falling in."— Id.

This they sell to any trader they meet with||
while it is still in the state of ore, for the art of
fusing metals is unknown to them.^j

I&acim. XL. *

Arr. Ind. XV.-5-7.

(See tho translation of Arriant Indika.)

[Fkacm. XL. B.]

Dio Chrysost. Or. 35,— p. 436, Moroll.

Of Ants which dig Jot gold,
(Cf. Fragm. XXXIV. and XL.)
Thoy got the gold from ants. These creatures aro larger
than foxes, bat aro in other respects liko tho ants of our
own country. They dig holes in the earth liko other ants.
Tho heap which they throw up consists of gold tho purest
and brightest in all tho world. Tho mounds are piled up
close to each other in regular order liko hillocks of gold
dust, whereby all tho plain is made effulgent, it is difficult,
therefore, to look towards tho sun, and .many who liavo at-
tempted to do this havo thereby destroyed their eyesight.
The people who aro next neighbours to tho nnts, with a
view to plunder these heaps, cross tho intervening desert,
which is of no great oxtont, mounted on wagons to which
they have yoked their swiftest horses. They arrivo at
noon, a time when tho ants havo gono underground, and at

|l T« w\6vn t&v fftmlpav. If tho different reading
row rv)((tvTos rois ipiropots bo adopted, the rendering is,
" They dispose of it to merchants at any price."

f Cf. Herod. III. 102-105 ; Arrian, Anab. V. 4 7 ; -/Elian,
Hist. Anim. II r. 4; Clem. Alex. l'<rd. II. p. 207; Tactz.
Ohil. XII. 330-340 ; Plin. Hist. Nat. XT. 3<i, XXXIII. 21 ;
J'ropert. III. 13. 5 j Pomp. Mel. VI 1. 2 j Isidor. Orig. XII. 3 ;
Albert Mag. He AniuuU. T. VI. p. 678, ex subdititiis
Alexandri opistolis; Anonym. Do Monstris ct BeUuis, 259,
od. Bergerdc Xivroy ; Iliilostratus, Vil. Apollon. VI. 1 ;aml
Huliodorus, sKth. X. 26, p. 495 ; also Gildcmeistor, Script.
Arab, do reb. hid. p. 220-221, and 120 ; Husbcquius, hega.
iionis Turcica: Ityixt. IV. >,p. HI, or Thaunus XXIV. 7,
p. 809.— Sehwanbcck, p. 73.

once seizing the hooty make off at full speed. The ants,
on learning what liaR hoen dono, pursue tho fugitives, and
. overtaking them fight with thorn till thoy conquer or die,
for of all animals thoy are tho moat courageous. It hence
%>pears that they understand tho worth of gold, and that
tbey will sacrifice their Uvea rather than part with it.

• Fkagm. XLI.
Strab. XV. 1. 68-60,— pp. 711-714.
Of the Indian Philosophers'.

'JTragiu. XXIX. has proccded this.)
(58) Speaking of tho philosophers, ho (Megas-
lliout's) says that such of thorn as live ou the
mountains arc worshippers of Dionysos, shov-
ing as proofs that he had come among them tho
wild vine, which grows in their country only,
and the ivy, and the laurel, and the myrtle,
and the box-tree, and other evergreens,- nono
of which are found beyond the Euphrates, ex-
cept a few in parks, which it requires great
care to preserve. Thoy observo also certain
customs which are Bacchanalian. Thus they
dress in muslin, wear the turban, use perfumes,
array themselves in garments dyed of bright
colours ; and their kings, when they appear in
public, arc preceded by the music of drums and
gongs. But the philosophers who livo on the
plains worship Herakles. [These accounts are
fabulous, and are impugned by many writers,
especially what is said about the vine and
wino. For the greater part of Armenia, and
the whole of Mesopotamia and Media, onwards
to Persia and Karmauia, lie beyond the Eu-

phrates, and throughout a great part of each of
these countries good vines grow, and good
wine is produced.]

(59) Megasthones rriakes a different division'
of the philosophers, saying that they are of two
kinds — one of which ho calls tho Btachmanes,
and the other the S arm an os.* ThoBrach-
manes are best esteemed, for thoy aromorc
consistent in their opinions. From the time of
their conception in the womb they aro under
the guardian care of learned men, who go to
tho mother and, under tho prctenco of using
some incantations for the welfare of herself and
her unborn babo, in reality givo her prudent
hints and counsels. Tho women who listen most
willingly aro thought to bo the most fortunate in
their children . A ftcr their birth tho children aro
under tho caro of ono person after another, and as

* " Since the word Sappavas (tlio form used by Cle-
mens of Alexandria) corresponds to tho letter with tho
Sanskrit word flrtiwiawa (i.e. an ascotic), it is evident that
the forms Yappavas and Ytpyutvas, which aro fouiid in all
tho MSS. of Strabo, aro incorrect. Tho mistake need not
surprise us, since tho 2A whon closely written together
differ little in form from tho syllablo l'A. In the same
way Clement's 'AXAo^toi must bo changed into Strabo'a
Y\6[iioi, corresponding with tho Sanskrit Vamnyraslha —
' the man of tho first three castes who, after tho term of
his householdership has expired, has entered the third
6Arwm* or ordor, and has proceoded (prastha) to a lif e in tho
woods (Viwt).' " — Sohwanbock, p. 46 ; H. H. Wilson, Qloss.
' It is a capital question," ho adds, " who the Sarmanra
were, some considering them to be Buddhists, and others
denying them to bo such. Weighty arguments aro adduced
on both sides, but tho opinion of those soems to approach
noarer the trnth who contend that they were Buddhists."

1)9

they advance in age each succeeding master is
more accomplished than his predecessor. The
philosophers have their abode in a grove in front
•of the city. withm.a.nig^ftj^sizeSjeftcJiifflBre.
They livo in tt, simple style, and lie on beds of
rashes or ((Jeer) skins. They abstain from
animal food and sexual ploasures, and spend
their time in listening to serious discpurse, and
in imparting their knowledge to sttch as will
listen to \hem. The hearer is not allowed to
speak, or even to cough, and much less to spit,
and if he offends in any of these ways ho is cast
out from their society that very day, as being
a man who is wanting in self-restraint. After
living in this manner for sevon-and-thirty years,
each individual retires to his own property, where
he lives for therost of his days in case and secu-
rity, t They then array themsolvcs in fine muslin,
and wear a few trinkets of gold on their fingers
and in their cars. They eat flesh, but not that of
animals employed in labour. They abstain from
hot and highly seasoned food. Thoy marry as
many wives as they please, with a view to have

t " A mistake (of the Greek writers) originates in their
ignoranccof tho fourfold division of aBrAhman's life. Thus
they speak of men who had been for many years sophists
marrying and returning to common life (alluding probably
to a student who, having completed the austerities of the
iirst period, becomos n. householder) :" Blphiustono's His-
tory of India, p. 236, whoroit is also remarked that the
writors orronoously prolong tho period during which students
listen to their instructors in silence and respect, making it
extend in all cases to thirty-sovon, which is the greatest
age to whiuh Manu (chap. III. sec. 1) permits it in any
oaso to be protracted.

300

numerous children, for by having many wives
greater advantages are enjoyed, and, since- they
have no slaves, they have more need to "have
children around thom»to attend to their wants. ■

The Brachmanes do not communicate a know-
ledge of philosophy to their wiijes, lest they
should divulge any of the forbidden mysteries
to the profane if they became depraved, or lest
they should desert them if they became good
philosophers : for no one who despises pleasure
and pain, as well as life and death, wishes to be
in subjection to another, but this is characteris-
tic both of a good man and of a good woman.

Death is with them a very frequent subject
of discourse. They regard this life as, so to
speak, the time when the child within the
womb becomes mature, and death as a birth
into a real and happy life for the votaries of
philosophy. On this account thoy undergo
much discipline as a preparation for death.
They consider nothing that befalls mo i to be
either good or bad, to suppose otherwise being
a dream-like illusion, else how could some be
affected with sorrow, and others with ploasure,
by the very samo things, and how could tho
same things affect tho same individuals at dif-
ferent times with these opposite emotions ?

Their ideas about physical phenomena, the
same author tells us, are very crude, for they are
butter iu their actions than in their reasonings.,
iuatsmuch as their belief is iu great measure

101

based upon fables ; yet on many points their
opinions coincide with those of the Greeks, for
like them they say that the world had a begin-
ning, and is liable to destruction, and is in shape
spherical, and that the Deity who made it, and
who governs it^is diffused through all its parts.
They hold that various first principles operate
in the universe, and that water was the prin-
ciple employed in the making of the world. In
addition to the four elements there is a fifth
agency, from which the heaven and the stare
were producod.J Tho earth is placed in the
centre of tho universe. Concerning generation,
and tho nature of the soul, and many other
subjects, they express views like those main-
tained by the Greeks. They wrap up their
doctrines about immortality and fnturo judg-
ment, and kindred topics, in allegories, after
the manner of Plato. Such are his statements
l'Cgarding the Brachmanes.
(CO) Of the Sarmanosfhe tells us that

1 /{frflstt, ' the oilier or sky.'

fc Schwanbeck argues from the distinct separation here
made botween tho Brachmanes and the Sarmanes, as well as
from tho name sminima being especially applied to Baud-
dlni teachers, that the latter are hero meant. They are
called 2apav(iiot by Bardesanes (ap. Porphyr. Abstin. IV.
17) and Alox. Polyhistor. (ap. Cyrill. eontra JuUam. IV. p.
13.1 B, ed. Paris, 1638). Conf. also Hieronym. ad Jovinian.
1L. (ed. Paris, 1706, T. II.pt. n. p. 206). And this is just the
Pali name Swinmana, tho equivalent of tho Sanskrit firo-
7nn.no,. Bohlon in Do Jivddhaismi origine et winte defini-
endis sustains this view, but Lassen (Bhcin.Miis.fiir Phil.
1. 171 ff.) contends that tho description agrees better with
tho Brahman ascetics. Sec Sohwsinbeck, p. 45(F. and Las-
sen, Ind. Alierth. (2nd ed). II. 705, ur (lat ed.) 11. 700.

102

those who arc held in most honour are called
the Hylobioi.|| They live in the woods,
where they subsist on leaves of trees and wild
fruits, and wear garments made from the balk
of trees. They abstain from sexual intercourse
and from wine. They communicate with the
kings, who consult them by messengers regard-
ing the causes of tilings, and who through them
worship and supplicate the deity. Next in
honour to the Hylobioi are the physicians, since
they are engaged in the study of the nature of
man. They are simple in their habitB, but do not
live in the fields. Their food consists of rice and
biuiley-moal, which thoy can always get for tho
mcro asking, or receive from those who enter-
tain them as guests in their houses. By their
knowledge of pharmacy they can make mar-
riages fruitful, and determine the sex of the
offspring. They effect cures rather by regulat-
ing diet than by the use of medicines. Tho
remedies most esteemed arc ointments and plas-
ters. All others they consider to be in a great
measure pernicious in their nature.^ - This class
and tho other class practise fortitude, both by
undergoing active toil, and by tho endurance of
pain, so that they remain for a whole day mo-
tionless in one fixed attitude.*

|| Scr noto* page 98.

% " Tho habits of tho physicians," Elplunetono remarks,
"seem to correspond with, thoso of Brnhinans of tho fourth
etiigc."
t * " It. is indeed," says the saino authority, " a romarkablo

103

Besides these there arc diviners and sorcerei's,
and adepts in tho rites and customs relating to
tho dead, who go about begging both in villages
and towns.

Even such of them as arc of superior culture
and refinement Inculcate such superstitions re-
garding Hades as they consider favourable to
piety and holiness of life. Women pursue phi-
losophy with 4 somo of them, but abstain from
sexual intercourse.

FttAOH. XLII.

Clem. Alex. Bin-am. I. p. 805 D (cd. Colon. 1(588).

That tho Jewish race is by far the oldest of
all these, and that their philosophy, which has
been committed to writing, preceded the philo-
sophy of tho Greeks, Philo tho Pythagorean shows
by many arguments, as docs also Aristoboulos
tho Peripatetic, and many others whoso names
I need not wasto time in enumerating. Mcgas-
tlioncs, the author of a work on India, who lived
with SoleukosNikator, writcB most clearly
on this point, and his words aro these : — " All that
has been said regarding nature by the ancients is
asserted also by philosophers out of Greece, on the
one part in India by the Brachmancs, and on the
other in Syria by tlie people called the Jews."

circtunstanco that the religion of Buddha should never have %
been expressly noticed by the Greek authors, though it had
existed for two centuries before Alexander. Tho only ox-
plaimtion is that the appearance and mannero of its fol-
lowers were not so peculiar as to enable a foreigner to
distinguish them from the mass of the people."

104

Fragh. XLIT.B.

Enseb. rrwp. Ev. IX. 6,— pp. 410 C, D (ed. Colon. 1G38).

Ex Clem. Alex.

Again, in addition to this, farther on he writes
thus : —

" Megasthen6s, tho writer whr< lived with Se-
leukoB Nikator, writes most clearly on this point
and to this effect :— * All that has. been said,' " &c.

Feagm. XLII.C.
Cyrill. Contra Julian. IV. (Opp. od. PaAs, 1038, T. VI.

p. 134 Al. ito Clom. Alex.t
Aristoboulos the Peripatetic somewhere writes
to thia effect : — " All that has been said," &c.

FilAGM. XLIII.

Clom. Alex. Strom. I. p. 305, A, B (ed. Colon. 1C8S).
Of the Philosophers of India.

[Philosophy, then, with all its blessed advantages to man,
flourished long ages ago among the barbarians, diffusing its
light among the Gontiles, aud eventually penetrated into
Greece. Its hicrophants woro tho prophets among tho Egyp-
tians, tho Chaldaoans among the Assyrians, the Druids among
tho Gauls, tho S a r m a n m a n s who were tho philosophers
of the BaktrianB and the Kelts, the Magi among the
Persians, who, as you know, announced beforehand tho
birth of tho Saviour, being led by a star till they arrived
in the land of Judaea, and among the Indians tho Gymno-
sophists, and other philosophers of barbarous nations,]

There arc two sects of these Indian philoso-
phers — one called the Sarmanai and the other
tho Brachmanai. Connected with the Sarmanai
arc the philosophers called the H y 1 o b i o i, J who

t " Tn this passage, though Cyril follows Clemens, he
wrongly attributes the narrative of Megasthones to Aristo-
boulos tho Peripatetic, whom Clemens only praises."—
Sehwanbock, p. B0.

I The reading of the MSS is Allobioi.

105

neither live in cities nor even in houses. They
clothe themselves with the bark of trees, and sub-
sist upon acorns, and drink water by lifting it to
iilioir mouth with their hands. They neither marry
j lor beget children [like those ascetics of our own
day called the Enkratotai. Among the Indians are
those philosoiiliers also who follow the precepts
of B o u 1 1 a,§ whom they honour as a god on ac-
count of his extraordinary sanctity.]

§ V. 1. iiovra. — The passage admits of a differont ren-
dering : " Thoy (tho Hylobioi) arc thoso among tbo Indiana
wbo follow the precepts of Boutta." Colubrooke in his 06-
.<crvaiiims on the Sect of the Jains, baa quoted this passage
from Clemens to controvert tho opinion that tho religion
and institutions of tho orthodox Hindus aro morn modern
than the doctrines of Jina and of Buddlut. " Here," he
says, " to my apprehension, the followers of Buddha aro
clearly distinguished from the Braehmanes and Sarmaues.
The latter, called Germanes by Strabo, and Samanreaus
by Porphyrius, ars tho ascetics of a different religion,
ami may have belonged to the sect of Jina, or to another.
The Braehmanes aro apparently those who aro described by
I'hilostratua and Uicroclcs as worshipping tho sun j and
by Strabo and by Arriau as performing sacrifices for the
common benefit of tho nation, aa well as for individuals ...
Thoy aro expressly discriminated from the sect of Buddha
by one ancient author, and from tho Sarmanos (a) or Soma-
ncuans (ascetics of various tribes) by others. They are de-
scribed by moro than one authority as worshipping the sun,
as performing sacrifices, and as denying the eternity of tlio
world, and maintaining other tenets incompatible with the
supposition that the sects of Buddha or Jina could bo
meant. Their manners and doctrine, as described by
tboso authors, aro quite conformablo with tbo notions and
practice of tho orthodox Hindus. It may therefore bo
confidently inferred that tho followers of the Vedua flour-
ished in India when it was visited by the Greeks under
Alexander, and continued to flourish from tho time of
jregasthenes, who described them in the fourth century
boforo Christ, to that of Porphyrius, who speaks of them, on
later authority, in the third century after Christ."

(it) Samana is the Pali form of the older tframaua.

]0«

Fragm. XL1V.

stmb. xy. i. <ss,— p . rib.

Of Kulanos and Mandanis.

Mcgasthencs, however, says that sol ("-destruc-
tion is not a dogma of tho philosophers, but
that such as commit tho act are regarded as
foolhardy^ those naturally of a severe tem-
per stabbing themselves or casting themselves
clown a precipice, those averse to puiu drown-
ing themselves, those capable of enduring
pain strangling themselves, and those of
ardent temperaments throwing themselves into
the fire. K a 1 a n o s was a man of this stamp.
He was ruled by his passions, and became a
slavo to the table of Alexander. || He is on
this account condemned by his countrymen, but
Mandanis is applauded because when mes-
sengers from Aloxander invited him to go to the
son of Zeus, with the proinisoof gifts if he com-
plied, and threats of punishment if ho refused, he
did not go. Alexander, he said, was not the son
of Zeus, for he was not so much as master of
the larger half of the world. As for himself,

|| "Kolanos followed the Makedonian army from Taxila,
and when afterwards taken ill burnt liimBelf ou a funoral pyre
in the presence of the whole Makedonian army, without
evincing any symptom of pain. Ilia real name, according
to Plutarch, was Sphinos, and he received the name Kalanoa
among the Greeks because in saluting persons he used the
form koK4 instead of tho Greek gatpe. What Plutarch
here calls xaXe is probably the Sanskrit form kalyHna,
which is commonly used "u addressing a person, and
signifies ' good, just) or distiuguished.' "—Smith's Qlassica I
JJiciimuru.

107

lie wanted none of (he gifts of a man whose
desires nothing could satiate ; and as for his
threats ho feared them not :.for if he lived, India
toould supply him with fbod enough, and if he
died, ho would bo delivered from the body of
flesh now afflicted with age, and would bo trans-
lated to a better and a purer life. Alexander ex-
pressed admiration of the man, and let him
have his own way.

Praam. XLV.

Arr. VII. ii. 3-9.
(Sec the translation of Arrian's Indika.)

BOOK IV.
Fkahm. XLVI.

Strab. XV. I. G-8,— pp. CSG-68S.

T/utt the Indians had never beon al kicked by

other*, nor had themselves attacked others.

(Cf. Kpit. 23.)

6. But what just reliance can wo place on the

accounts of India from such expeditions as those of

Kyi*os and Somiramis ?% Mcgasthcnos concurs in

this view, and recommends his readers to put no

% " Tho expedition of Semiramis as described by Dio-
riorus Siculus (II. 10-10), who followed tho Axsyriaha
of Ktesias, has almost tho character of a legend abounding
with puerilities, and is entirely destitute of those geogra-
phical details which stamp ovonts with reality. If thin
expedition is roal, as on other grounds we may believe it to
be, some traces will assuredly be found of it in the cunei-
form inscriptions of Ninovoh, which are destined to throw
go much unexpected light on the ancient history of Asia.
It has already been behoved possible to draw from these
inscriptions the foundations of a positive chronology which
will fully confirm the indications given by Herodotus as

108

Ruth in the ancient history of India. Its people,
ho says, never sent an expedition abroad, nor was
their country ever invaded and conqnered except
by Heraklcs and Dionysos in nhl times, and hy
tho Makedonians in our own. Yot Scsostris
the Egyptian* and Tcarkdn the Ethiopian ad-

fco tho cpouh of Somiramis, in fixing tho epoch of this
celebrated queen in the 8th. ccrtary of our era — an epoch
which is quite in harmony with tho du&a which wo possess
from other sources regarding the condition of tho North-
West of India after tho Vcdic times.

" Kyros, towards the middle of tho Cth century of our
era, must also have carried his arms even to tho Indus.
Historical tradition attributed to him. the destruction of
Kapisa, an important city in tho upper region of tho
Kxjphes (riin. VI. 23); and in tho lower region the
Assakoniaus and the Astakenutns, itidigeuous tribes of
Gundara, aro reckoned among bis tributaries (Arrian,
IruUka, I. 3). Tradition further recounted that, in return-
ing from his expedition into India, Kyros hod seen bis
whole army perish in tho deserts of Gcdrosia ( Arr. Anal.
VI. 24. 2). Tho Vcrsian domination in theso districts has
left more than one trace in tho geographical nomenclature.
It is suilicicnt to recall tho namo of tho Khoaspcs, one
of tlie great affluents of the K»phcs.

" Whatever be tho real historical character of the expedi-
tions of Semiramis and Kyros, it is certain that their eon-
quests on the' Indus were only temporary acquisitions,
since at tho epoch when Darcioa HystaspGs mounted the
throno the eastern frontier of tho empire did not go
beyond Arakhosia (tho Haraqaiti of tho Zend texts, tho
Hwaonvatis of tho cuneiform inscriptions, tho A'/rohhadj
of Musalman geography, tho provinces of Kandakdr and
of Ohttzni of existing geography)— that is to gay, the parts
of Afghanistan _ which lie east of the Sulinifin chain of
mountains. This fact is established by tho great trilingual
inscription of Bisontoun, which indicates tho last eastern
countries to which Dareios bad earned his arms at the
epoch when the monument was erected. This was before
he had achieved his well-known conquest of tho valley of
the Indus." — St. Martin, M'tiutesur latGtogra/phicGrecqite
el LaMiie de I'Inde, pp. 14 wjq.

* Sesostris (called Sea-usis hy Diodorns) has generally
been identified with Itamscs the third king of the 19th
dynasty of JJlancth'., tho j>i>n of Set), and the father of

100

vaiiced as far as Europe. And Nabukodrosor.f
who is more renowned among the Ckaldtcans
than even Heraklcs among the Greeks, carriod
Ms arraa to the Pillars, J 'which Tcarkon also'
reached, while Ses&stris penetrated from Iberia
even into Thtoco and Pontos. Besides these
there was Idanthyrsos the Skythian, who over-
ran Asia as far as Egypt.§ But* not one
of these ^rcat conquerors approached India,
and Scniiramis, who meditated its conquest,
died before the necessary preparations were
undertaken. The Persians indeed summoned
the II y d r a k a i|| from India to serve as mer-
cenaries, but they did not lead an arniy into the
sounlry, and only approached its borders when
Kyros marched against the M a s s a g c t a i.

Of Dionijsos and Heraklcs,

7. The accounts about Heraklcs and

Mcncphthab the Pharaoh of the Kxodus. Lepsius, how-
ever, from a study of the Tablet of JUunescs IT. found at
Abydoe in Egypt, and now in the British Museum, has)
boon led to identify him with tho Sesortasen or Orfirhuscu
of tho great 12th dynasty. — Seo Report oj the Yroceeilings
of the Second International Congress of OrienMists,
p. 44.

+ V.l. Na/SoKoSnoo-opov.

j Called by Ptolemy the " Pillars of Alexander," above
Albania and Iberia at the commencement of tho Asiatic
Sarin iitia.

§ Herodotus mentions an invasion of Skythians which
was led by Madyas. As Idanthyrsos may hiivo been a
common appellative of tho Skythian kings, Strabo may
here bo referring to that invasion.

|| Tho Hydiakai are called also Oxydrakai. Tho name,
iwcording to Lassen, represents the Sanskrit Kshurfmkn.
Ik in variously written jSydrakai, Syrakusai, Sabagrao, and
Sygambri.

(

110

D ionysoe, Mcgaslhenfis and some few au-
thors with him consider entitled to credit, [bat
the majority, among whom is Eratosthenes,
consider them incredible and fabulous, like tic

stories current among the Greeks ]

8. On such grounds they calied a particular
race of people Nyssaians, and their city Ny ssa,^[
which Dionysos had founded, and the moun-
tain which rose above the city Moron, assigning
as their reason for bestowing these names that
ivy grows there, and also the vine, although its
fruit docs not como to perfection, as the clusters,
on account of the heaviness of the rains, fall off
tho trees before ripening. They further dalled
the Oxydrakai descendants of Dionysos, be-
cause tho vine grew in their country, and their
processions were conducted with great pomp,
and their kings on going forth to war and on
other occasions marched in Bacchic fashion, with
drums beating, while they were dressed in gay-
coloured robes, which is also a custom among
other Indians. Again, when Alexander had
captured at the first assault the rock called
A o r n o s, the base of which is washed by the In-
dus near its source, his followers, magnifying the
affair, affirmed that Herakles had thrice assaulted
the same rock and had been thrice repulsed.* They

IT V. 11. Nvo"aiovr,Nwo-ai».

* This celebrated rock has beon identified by General
Cmmiugham with the ruined fortress of Rant gat,
situated immediately above the small village of Nogrfim,
which lies about sixteen miles* north by west from

said also that the S i b a e were descended from
those who accompanied Herakles on his expedi-
tion, and that they preserved badges of their de-
scent, for they wore skins li&c Herakles, and car-
ried clubs, and branded the mark of a cudgel on
their oxen and mules.f In support of this story
they tnrn to account the legends regarding Kau-
kasos and Prometheus by transferring them
hither from Pontos, which they did on the slight
pretext that they had seen a sacred cave among
the Paropamisadae. This they declared
was the prison of Promothens, whither Hera-
kles had come to effect his deliverance, and that
this was the Kaukasos, to which the Greeks
represent Prometheus as having been bound. J

Okind, which he takes to be (be Einbolinia of the
ancients. " RAnigat," he says, " or the Queen's rock, is a
large upright block on the north edge of the fort, on which
Rfrja V a r a's rant is said to have seated herself daily. The
fort itself is attributed to Riija Vara, and some ruins at the
foot of the hill arc called Rftja Vara's stables ... f think,
therefore, that the hill-fort of Aoruos most probably derived
its name from R&ja Vara, and that the mined fortress of
Rani gat has a better claim to he identified with the
Aornos of Alexander than either the Mabfibau hill of Gen-
eral Abbott, or the castlo of RAja llodi proposed by General
Courtand Mr. Loewenthal." See Grote's llisturij of India,
vol. VIII. pp. 437-8, footnote.

f According to Curtius, the Sibae, whom lie calls Sobii,
occupied tho country between the Hydaspes and the Ake-
sines. They may havo derived their name from the god

£iva.

% " No writer before Alexander's time mentions tho
Indian gods. The Makedonians, when they came into
India, in accordance with the invariable practice of the
Greeks, considered the gods of tho country to bo the same
as their own. &va they were led to identify with Bacchus
on their observing the unbridled license and somewhat
Bacchic fashion of his worship, and because they traced

i!2

Vbaum. XLVII.

Arr. hul. V. 4-12.

(See the translation of Arriau'a huVrta.)

Fbaoti. XLVIII.
Joscphus Contm jlptoii. I. 20 (T. II. p. 151, Havere.).

Of Nahtichodrosor.
(Of. Fragin. XLVI. 2.)

Mogasthcncs also expi esses the same opinion
in I ha 4th hook of his Tndtha, where he endeavours
lo show that the aforesaid king of the Baby-
lonians (Nabonchodonosor) surpassed Horakles
in courage and the greatness of his achieve-
ments, by telling us that he conquered even
Iberia.

Fkagm. XLVIII. B.

Joseph. Ant. Jud. X. ii, 1 (T. I. p. 53>H, Havere).
[In this place (Nabouchodonosor) erected also
of stone elevated places for walking about on,

some slight resemblance between the attributes of the two
deities, and between the names belonging to the inythio
conception of each. Nor was anything easier, after
Euripides had originated the fiction that Dionysos had
roamed over the East, than to suppose that the god of
luxuriant fecundity had made his way to India, a country
ho remarkable for its fertility. To confirm this opinion
thoy niado nso of a slight und accidental agreement in
names. Thus Mount Mcrn seemed an indication of tho
god who sprang from the thigh of Zeus («k 6*i6j prjpov).
Tliiw they thought tho Kydrakra (Oxydrukai) the offspring
of Dionysos because the vine grow in their country, and they
saw that their lungs displayed great pomp in their proces-
sions. On equally slight grounds they identified Krishna,
another god whom they saw worshipped, with Herakles j
and wheuever, as among the Sibae, they saw the skius of
wild beasts, or clubs, or the liko, they assnmed that Hera-
kles had at some time or other dwelt there."— Schwaub.
p. 43. .

which had to the eye the appearance of mountains,
and were so contrived that they were planted
with all sorts of trees, because his wife, who had
b«en bred up in tho land of Media, wished her
surroundings to he like those of her early home.]
Megastheni's njso, iii the Mh hook of his Jndlka,
makes mention of these things, and thereby
endeavours to show that this king surpassed
Heraklcs in courage and the greatness of his
achievements, for he says that he conquered
Libya and a great p^,rt of I bona.

FaAiiJf. XLVIII. C.

Zonar. ed. Basil. 1557, T. 1. p. 87.
Among the many old historians who mention
Nabouchodonosor, Josephos enun, orates Berd-
sos, Megasthenes, and Dioklfis.

Fragm. XLVIII. D.

G. Syueoll. T. i. p. 419, ed. Bunn. (p. 221 ed. Paris, p. 177
ed. Vutiet.).

Megasthen&s, in his fourth hooh of the Indika t
represents Nabouchodonosor as mightier than
Hdrakles, because with groat courage and enter-
prise he conquered the greater part of Libya
and Iberia.

Fragm. XL1X.

Abyden. up. Eweb. Pi-mp. fc'u. I. 41 (ed. Colon. 1688,
p. 450 D).

Of Nabouchudrosor.

Megasthenes says that Nabouchodrosor, who

was mightier than Herakles, undertook an ex-

114

peditioa against Libya and Iberia, and that
having conquered them he planted a colony of
these people in the parts lying to the right of
Fontos. l

Fragm. L.

Arr. Ind. 7-9.

(See the translation of Arrian's Indika.)

Fragm. L.B.

Plin. Hist. Nat. IX. 5u.

Of Pearls.

Some writers allege that in swarms of oysters,
as among bees, individuals distinguished for size
aud beauty act as leaders. These are of wonder-
ful cunning in preventing themselves being
caught, and are eagerly sought for by the divers.
Should they be caught, the others are easily
enclosed in the nets as they go wandering about.
They are then put into earthen pots, where they
are buried deep in salt. By this process the flesh
is all eaten away, and the hard concretions, which
are the pearls, drop down to the bottom.

Fhagm. LI.

Phlegon. Mirab. 38.

Of the Pandaian Land.

(Cf. Fragm. XXX. 6.)

MegasthenSs says that the women of the Pandaian
realm bear children when they are six years of age.

115

Fragm. L.O.

Plln. Hist. Nat. VI. xxi. 4-5.

Of the Ancient History of the Indians.

For the Indians stand almost alone among tha
nations in never having migrated from their own
country. From the days of Father Bacchus to
Alexander the Great their kings are reckoned at
154, whose reigns extend over 6451 years and
3 months.

Solin. 52. 5.
Father Bacchus was the first who invaded
India, and was tho first of all who triumphed over
the vanquished Indians. From him to Alexander
the Groat 6451 years are reckoned with 3 months
additional, the calculation boing made by counting
the kings who reigned in the intermediate period,
to the number of 153.

Fhagm. XLV.

An. VII. ii. 8-9.§

Of Kalanos and Mandania.

This shows that Alexander, notwithstanding

the terrible ascendancy which^the passion for

glory had acquired over him, was not altogether

without a perception of the things that are better ;

for when he arrived at Taxila and saw the Indian

§ This fragment is an extract from Arrian's Expedition
of Alexander, and not his Indilca as stated (by an over-
sight) at p. 107. The translation is accordingly now in-
serted.

gymnosophists, a desire seized him to have one
of these men brought into his presence, because
he admired their endurance. The eldest of these
sophists, with whom the others lived as disciples
with a master, Dandamis by name, not only re-
fused to go himself, but prevented the others
going. He is said to have returned this for
answer, that he also whs the son of Zeus as much
as Alexander himself was, and that he wanted
nothing that was Alexander's (for he was well
off in his present circumstances), whereas he saw
those who were with him wandering over so
much sea and land for no good got by it, and
without any end corning to their many wander-
ings. He coveted, therefore, nothing Alexander
had it in his power to give, nor, on the other
hand, feared aught he' could do to coerce him :
for if he lived, India would suffice for him, yield-
ing him her fruits in due season, and if he died,
he would be delivered from his ill-assorted com-
panion the body. Alexander accordingly did
not put forth his hand to violence, knowing the
man to be of an independent spirit. He is said,
however, to h";"o won over Kalanos, one of the
sophists of that place, whom Megasthenes re-
presents as a man utterly wanting in self-control,
while the sophists themselves spoke opprobriously
of Kalanos, because that, haying left the happiness
enjoyed among them, he went to serve another
master than God.

117

DOUBTFUL FRAGMENTS.
Frarm. LII.

^Elian, Hist. Atyim. XII. 8.

0/ Elephants.

(ConfjFragm. xxxvi. 10, xxxvii. 10.)

The elephant when feeding at large ordinarily
drinks water, but when undergoing tl*e fatigues
of war is allowed wiue, — not that sort, however,
which conies from the grape, but another which
is prepared from rice.|| The attendants even go
in advance of their elephants and gather them
flowers ; for they arc very fond of sweet per-
fumes, and they are accordingly taken out to the
meadows, there to be trained under the influence
of the sweetest fragrance. The animal selects the
flowers according to their smell, and throws
them as they are gathered into a basket which is
held out by the trainer. This being filled, and
harvest-work, so to speak, completed, he then
bathes, and enjoys his bath with all the zest of a
consummate voluptuary. On returning from bath-
ing he is impatient to have his flowers, and if
there is delay in bringing them fccjbegins roaring,
and will not taste a morsel of food till all tbe
flowers he gathered arc placed before him. This
done, he takes the flowers out of the basket with
his trunk and scatters them over the edge of his

|| Called arak, (which, however, is also applied to t44») ;
rum is now-a-days the beverage given it.

118

manger, and makes by thia device th#ir fine scent
be, as it were, a relish to his food. He strews
also a good quantity of them as litter over his
stall, for he loves to have his sleep made sweet
and pleasant.

The Indian elephants were nine cubits in height
and five in breadth. The largest elephants in all
the land were those called the Praisian, and next
to these the Taxilan.^]

Fragm. LIII.

-aSlian, Hist. Alrim. III. 40.
Of a White Elephant.

(Cf. Fragm. xxxvi. 11, xxxvii. 11.)

An Indian elephant-trainer fell in with a white
elephant-calf, which he brought when still quite
young to his home, where he reared it, and gra-
dually made it quite tame and rode upon it. He
became much attached to the creature, which
loved him in return, and by its aifectinn requited
him for its maintenance. Now the king of the
Indians, having heard of this elephant, wanted to
take it ; but the owner, jealous of the love it had
for him, and grieving much, no doubt, to think
that another should become its master, refused
to give it away, and made off at once to the

1f This fragment is ascribed to Mogasthenls both on
account of the matter of it, and because it was undoubtedly
from Megasthenes that iElian borrowed the narrative pre-
ceding itTFragm. xuviii.) and that following it (Fragm.
uxv.). — Schwanbeclt.

119

desert mounted on his favourite. The king was
enraged at this, and sent men in pursuit, with
orders to seize the elephant, and at the same
time to bring back the Indian for punishment.
Overtaking the fugitive they attempted to exe-
cute their purpose, but he resisted and attacked
his assailants from the back of the elephant,
which in the affray fought on the sjde of its
injured master. Such was the state of matters at
the first, bu J afterwards, when the Indian on being
wounded slipped down to the ground, the ele-
phant, true to his salt, bestrides him as soldiers
in battle bestride a fallen comrade, whom they
cover with their shields, kills many of the
assailants, and puts the rest to flight. Then
twining his trunk around his rearer he lifted
him on to his back, and carried him home to the
stall, and remained with him like a faithful friend
with his friend, and showed him every kind atten-
tion.* [0 men ! how base are ye ! ever dancing
merrily when ye hear the music of the frying-pan,
ever revelling in the banquet, but traitors in the
hour of danger, and vainly and for nought sul-
lying the sacred name of friendship.]

* Compare tie account Riven in Plutarch's Life of
Alexander , of the elephant of Pdros : — "This elephant during
the whole battle gave extraordinary proofs of his sagacity
and care of the long's person. As long as that prince was
able to fight, he defended him with great courage, and re-
pulsed all assailants ; and when he perceived him ready to
sink under the multitudo of darts, and the wounds with
which he was covered, to prevent his falling off he kneeled
down in the softest manner, and with his proboscis gently
drew every dart oat of his body."

120

Fbagm. LIV.

Pseudo-Origen, Philosoph, 24, od. Dolarue, Paris,
1733, vol. I. p. 004.

Of the Brdhmani and their Philosophy.

(Cf. Fragra. xli., xliv., xlv.)
Of the Braehhmans in India.

There is among the Brachhmaiis in India a sect
of philosophers who adopt an independent life,
and abstain from animal food and nil victuals
cooked by fire, being content to subsist upon
fruits, which they do not so much as gather from
the trees, but pick up when they have dropped to
the ground, and their drink is the water of the river
T a g a b e n a-t Throughout life they go about
naked, saying that the body has been given by
the Deity as a covering for the soul. J They hold
that God is light, § but not such light as we see

t Probably tho Sanskrit Tongavenfl, now the Tunga-
bhadra, a large affluent of the Krishna.

X Vide Ind.Ant,\<A. V.p. 128, notef. A doctrine of the
VedAnta school of philosophy, according to -which the soul
is incased as in a sheath, or rather a succession of sheaths.
The first or inner case is the intellectual one, composed of
the sheer and simple elements uncombined, and consisting
of the intellect joipftjl with the live senses. The second is
the mental sheath 1 , in which mind is joined with the pre-
ceding, or, as somo hold, with the organs of action. The
third comprises these organs and the vital faculties, and is
called the organic or vital case. These three sheaths (fcoia)
constitute the subtle frame which attends the soul in its
transmigrations. The exterior case is composed of the coarse
elements combined in certain proportions, and is called the
gross body. Bee Colebrooke's Essay on. the Philosophy of
the Hindus, Cowell's ed. pp. 395-6.

§ Tho affinity between God and light is the burden of the
Qayatri or holiest verse of the Veda.

121

with the eye, nor such as the sun or fire, hut
God is with them the Word, — by which term they
do not mean articulate speech, but the discourse
of*reason, whereby the hidden mysteries of know-
ledge are discerned by the wise. This light, how-
ever, which they call the Word, and think to be
God, is, they say, known only by the Brachhmans
themselves, because they alone have discarded
vanity, |j which is the outermost covering of the
soul. The members of this sect regard death
with contemptuous indifference, and, as we have
seen already, they always pronounce the name of
the Deity with a tone of peculiar reverence, and
adore him with hymns. They neither have wives
nor beget children. Persons who desire to lead
a life like theirs cross over from the other side of
the river, and remain with them for good, never
returning to their own country. These also are
called Brachhmans, although they do not follow
the same mode of life, for there are women in the
country, from whom the native inhabitants are
sprung, and of these women they beget off-
spring. With regard to the Word, which they
call God, they hold that it is .corpwaeal, and that
it wears the body as its external covering, just as

|| Kcva8o£ia , which probably translates ahanUra, literally
' egotism,' and hence ' self-consciousness,' the peculiar and
appropriate function of which is selfish conviction ; that is, a
belief that in perception and meditation ' I' am concern-
ed ; that the objects of sense concern Me — in short, that
I AM. The knowledge, however, which conies from com-
prehending that Being which has self -existence completely
destroys the ignorance which says ' ram.'

.122

one wears the woollen snrcoat, 'and that when it
divests itself of the body with which it is en-
wrapped it becomes manifest to the eye. There
is war, the Brachhntans hold, in the body wheYe-
with they are clothed, and they regard the
body as being the fruitful source of wars, and, as
we have already shown, fight against it like soldiers
in battle contending against the enemy. They
maintain, moreover, that all men are held in bond-
age, like prisoners of war,^[ to their own innate
enemies, the sensual appetites, gluttony, anger,
joy, grief, longing desire, and such like, while it
is only the man who has triumphed over these
enemies who goes to God. D a n d a m i s accord-
ingly, to whom Alexander the Makedonian paid a
visit, is spoken of by the Brachhmans as a god be-
cause he conquered in the warfare against the
body, and on the other hand they condemn K a 1 a-
n o s as one who had impiously apostatized from
their philosophy. The Brachhmans, therefore,
when they have shuffled off the body, see the pure
sunlight as fish see it when they spring up out of
the water into the air.

jAStt

If Compare Plato, Vlmdo, cap. 32, whoro Sokratts
speaks of the soul as at present confined in the body as in a
spooiea of prison. This was a doctrine of tho Pythagore&ns,
whose philosophy, oven in its most striking peculiarities,
jcars such a close resemblance to tho Indian as greatly to
uvonr the supposition that it was directly borrowed from
t. There was oven a tradition (hat Pythagoras had risited
ndia.

123

Fragm. LV.

Pallad. de Bragmanibus, pp. 8, 20 et seq. ed. Londin. 1068.
(Camerar. libell. ijiiom^olog. pp. 116, 124 et aeq.)

OJ Kalanos and Mandanis.

(Cf. Fragm. xli. 19, xliv., xlv.)

They (the Bragmancs) subsist upon such fruits

as they can find, and on wild herbs, which the

earth spontaneously produces, and drinlc only water.

They wander about in the woody, aiul sleep at

night on pallets of the leaves of trees. . . .

"Kalanos, then, your false friend, held this
opinion, but he is despised and trodden upon
by us. By you, however, accomplice as he was
in causing many evils to you all, he is honoured
and worshipped, while from our society he has been
contemptuously cast out as unprofitable. And why
not ? when everything which we trample under
foot is an object of admiration to the lucre-loving
Kalanos, your worthless friend, but no friend of
ours, — a miserable creature, and more to be pitied
than the unhappiest wretch, for by setting his heart
on lucre he wrought the perdition of his soul !
Hence he seemed neither worthy of us, nor worthy
of the friendship of God, and hence he neither
was content to revel away life in the woods beyond
all reach of care, nor was he cheered with the
hope of a blessed hereafter : for by his love of
money he slew the very life of his miserable soul.

" We have, however, amongst us a sage called
D a n d a m i s, whose home is the woods, where he

124

lies on a pallet of leaves, and where he has nigh
at hand the fountain of peace, whereof he drinks,
sucking, as it were, the pure breast of a mother."

King Alexander, accordingly, when he heard
of all this, was desirous of learning the doctrines
of the sect, and so he sent for this Dandamis,
as being their teacher and president

Onesikjates was therefore despatched to fetch
him, and when he fouud the great sage he said,
" Hail to thee, thou teacher of thet Bragmanes.
The sou of the mighty god Zens, king Alexander,
who is the sovereign lord of all men, asks you
to go to him, and if you comply, he will reward
you with great aud splendid gifts, but if you
Tefuse will cut off your head."

Dandamis, with a complacent smile, heard him
to the end, but did not so much as lift up his head
from his couch of leaves, and while still retaining
his recumbent attitude returned this scornful
answer : — " God, the supreme king, is never the
author of insolent wrong, but is the creator of light,
of peace, of life, of water, of the body of man, and
of souls, and these he receives when death sets them
free, being in no way subject to evil desire. He
alone is the god of my homage, who abhors slaughter
and instigates no wars. But Alexander is not
God, since he must taste of death ; and how can
such as he be the world's master, who has not yet
reached the further shore of the river Tibcroboas,
and has not yet seated himself on a throne of
universal dominion ? Moreover, Alexander has

125

neither as yet entered living into Hades,* nor
does he know the course of the sun through the
central regions of the earth, while the nations on
i$8 boundaries have not sp much as heard his
name.f If his psesent dominions are not capacious
enough for his desire, let him cross the Ganges
river, and he will find a region able to sustain
men if the country on our side be too narrow
to hold him. Know this, however, that what
Alexander •offers me, and the gifts he pro-
mises, are all things to me utterly useless ;
but the things which I prize, and find of real use
and worth, are these leaves which arc my house,
these blooming plants which supply me with
dainty food, and the water which is my drink,
while all other possessions and things, which
are amassed with anxious care, are wont to prove
ruinous to those who amass them, and cause only
sorrow and vexation, with which every poor mor-
tal is fully fraught. But as for me, I lie
upon the forest leaves, and, having nothing which
requires guarding, close my eyes in tranquil
slumber ; whereas had I gold to guard, that
would banish sleep. The ea/Jth supplies me
with everything, even as a mother her child with
milk. I go wherever I please, and there are no

* (&v iv &8ov ovb(it<o rrapr)K6fv. The Latin version
has now zanam Gademtransht, 'has not crossed the gone
of Cadiz.'

f The text here is so corrupt as to be almost untranslat-
able. I have therefore rendered from the Latin, though not
quite closely.

120

cares with which I am forced to cumber myself,
against my will. Should Alexauder cut off my
head, he cannot also destroy my soul. My head
alone, now silent, will remain, but the soul will
go away to its Master, leaving the, body like a torn
garment upon the earth, whence also it was taken.
I then, becoming spirit, shall ascend to my God,
who enclosed us in flesh, and left us upon the
earth to prove whether when here below we shall
live obedient to his ordinances, and who also will
require of us, when we depart hence to his pre-
sence, an account of our life, since he is judge of all
proud wrong-doing ; for the groans of the oppress-
ed become the punishments of the oppressors.

" Let Alexander, then, terrify with these threats
tbose who wish for gold and for wealth, and who
dread death, for against us- these weapons arc both
alike powerless, since the Bragmancs neither love
gold nor fear death. Go, then, and tell Alexander
this: 'Dandamis has no need of aught that is yours,
and therefore will not go to you, but if you want
anything from Dandamis come you to him.' "J

Alexander, on receiving from Onesikratos a re-
port of the interview, felt a stronger desire than
ever to see Dandamis, who, though old and
naked, was the only antagonist in whom he, the
conqueror of many nations, had found more than
his match, &c.

X " Othors say Dandamis entered into no discourse with
iho messengers, but only asked ' why Alexander had taken.
su long a journey ?' " — Plutarch's Alexander.

127

Fragm. LV. B.

Ambrosias, Be Morihta Brachman omm, pp. 02, 08 et
teq. ed. t'allad. Londin. 1668.

• Of Calanus an&Mandanis.

They (the Brackmans) eat what they find on the
ground, such as leaves of trees and wild herbs,
like cattle

" C a 1 a n u s is yonr friend, but he h despised
and trodden upon by us. He, then, who was the
author of many evils among you, is honoured and
worshipped by you ; but since lie is of no importance
he is rejected by us, and those things we certainly do
not seek, please Calanus because of his greediness
for money. But ho was not ours, a man such as
has miserably injured and lost his soul, on which
account ho is plainly unworthy to bo a friend
either of God or of ours, nor has he deserved
security among the woods in this world, nor can he
hope for thcglory which is promised in the future."

When the emperor Alexander came to the
forests, he was not able to sco D a u d a m i s as ho
passed through. . . .

When, therefore, the above-mentioned messenger
camo to Dandamis, he addressed him thus : — " The
emperor Alexander, the son of Jjhc great Jupiter,
who is lord of the human race, ha*s ordered that
you should hasten to him, for if you come, he will
give you many gifts, but if you refuse he will be-
head you as a punishment for your contempt."
When those words came to the ears of Dandamis,
ho rose not from his leaves whereon he lay, but re-
clining and smiling he replied in this way : — " The
greatest (Jod," he said, " can do injury to no one, but

128

restores again the light of life to those who have
departed. Accordingly he alone is my lord who
forbids murder and excites no wars. But Alex-
ander is no God, for he himself will have to die.
How, thon, can he bo the lord of all, who has not
yet crossed the rivor TyberotioaB, nor has
made tho whole world his abode, n ir crossed the
zone of G a d e s, nor has beheld the course of the
sun in the centre of the world ? Therefore many
nations do not yet even know his name. If, how-
ever, the country he possesses cannot contain him,
let him cross our river and he will find a soil
which is able to support men. All those things
Alexander promises would be ubcIcss to me
if he gave them: I have loaves for a house,
live on the herbs at hand and water to drink ; other
things collected with labour, and which perish
and yield nothing but sorrow to those seeking
them or possessing tho rrt, — these I despise. I there-
fore now rest secure, and with closed eyes I care
for nothing. If I wish to keep gold, I destroy
my sleep ; Earth supplies me with everything, as
a mother does to her child. Wherever I wish to
go, I proceed, and 'wherever 1 do not wish to be,
no necessity of care can force me to go. And if he
wish to cut off my head, he cannot take" my soul ;
ho will only tak«jT the fallen head, but tho depart-
ing soul will leave the head liko a portion of some
garment, and will restoro it to whence it received
it, namely, to the earth. But when I shall have
become a spirit I shall ascend to God, who has
enclosed it within this flesh. When he did this
he wished to try us, how, after leaving him, we
would live in this world. And afterwards, when

129

we shall have returned to him, he will demand
from us an account of this life. Standing by him
.1 shall see my injury, and shall coutcmplate his
judgment on those who injured me : for the sighs
arid groans of the injured bectomc the punishments
of the oppressors^

" Let Alexander threaten with this them thai
desire riches or fear death, both of which I de-
spise. For Brachmans neither lore gold nor dread
death. Go, therefore, and tell Alexander this : —
' Dandamis geeks nothing of yours, but if you think
yon need something of his, disdain not to go to
him.'"

When Alexander heard these words through
the interpreter, he wished the more to sec such
a man, since he, who had subdued many nations,
was overcome by an old naked man, &c.

Fragm. LVI.

Hiii. Mat. Sat. VI. 21. 8—23. 11.
List of the Indian Races. §
The other journeys made thence (from the
Hypha&is) for Sclcukos Nikator are as follows : —
168 miles to the Ilesidrus, and to the river
Jomanes as* many (some copiers, add 5 miles) ;
from thence to the Ganges 112 miles. 119 miles
1o Rhodopha (others give 325 miles for this dis-
tance). TothetownKalinipaxalfi/ — 500. Others
give 265 mites. Thence to the confluence of the
Jomancs and Ganges 625 miles (many add ].'t

§ This hit Pliny has borrowed for the most part from
Megaathenfo. Cf. Schwanbeck, pp. 16 seq., 57 s>eq.

J 30

miles), and to the town Palimbothra 425. To
the mouth of the Granges 738 miles. ||

|| According to the MSS. 638 or 037 miles. The place*
mentioned in this famoust>ilincrary all lay on the Roy..l
Road, which ran from tho Indus to Palibolhra. They
have been thus identified. The Hesidras is now tho Satlcj,
and the point of departure "lay immediately below its
junction with the Hynhasis (now tho liitw). Tho direct
route thence (vi& fiudhianft, Sirhiud, and Ambilla) conducted
the traveller to tho ferry of the Jomanes, now the Jamuil,
in tho neighbourhood of tho prevent liureah, whence tho
road led to tho Ganges at a point which, to judge from the
distance given (112 miles), must have been nqir the site of
tho far-famed Hastinapura. Tho next stage to be reached
wad Ithodopha, tho position of which, both its name and its
distance from the Ganges (119 miles) combine to fix at
J)ahhai, a small tov/n about 12 miles to tho south of
Anupshahr. Kalinipaxa, tho next stage, Wanner I, and
Lassen would identify with Kanauj (tho Kanyaknbja of
•Sanskrit) j but M. do St.-Martiu, objecting to this that
Pliny was not likely to have designated so important and no
celebrated a city by so obscure an appellation, finds a site
for it in the neighbourhood on the banks of the Iksbumati,
a river of PanvhAla mentioned in the great Indian poems.
This river, ho remarks, must, also tiavo been called tin;
Kalinadi, as the names of it still in current use, Kalini and
Kalindri, prove. Now, as 'paxa' transliterates the Sanskrit
' pakshit,' a side, Kalinipaxa, to judge from its name, must
designate a town lying near the Kalinadi.

The figures which represent the distances havo given vise
to much dispute, somo of thorn being inconsistent either
with others, or with' the real distances. The text, accord-
ingly, has generally boon supposed to be corrupt, so far at
least as tho figures arc concerned. M. do St.- Mart in,
however, accepting the figures nearly as they, stand, shows
them to be fairly "pfijrcct. Tho first difficulty presents it-
self in tho words,' H Others give 335 miles for this distance."
By ' this distance' cannot be meant tho distanco between
the Ganges and Rhodophn, but between the Uesidrus and
Rhodopha, which the addition of the figures shows to be
399 miles. The shorter estimate of others (325 miles)
measures the length of a more direct route by way of
Patiala, Thancsvara, Panipat, and Dehli. The next diffi-
culty has probably been occasioned by a corruption of
tho text. It lies in the words "Ad Calinipaxa oppiduni
ULXVII. D. Alii COLXV. mill." Tho numeral D has
generally been taken to mean 500 paces, or half a Roman
mile, making the translation run thus : — " To Kalinipaxa

1:31

The races which we may enumerate without
being tedious, from the chain of EmoJus, of which

K!7i miles. Others give 265 miles." But M. do Rt.-Mnrtiu
prefers to think tliat the D has, by Rome mangling of the
»<?xt, been detached from the 4)cginuiiig of the second
number, with whicli it formed the number DLXV., and
boon appended to the first, being led to this conclusion on
finding that the number 5fif» stuns np_ almost'- to a nicety the
distance from tho llesidrus to Kalinipaxa, as thus : —

From tho ll'esidms to the Jomanes 1CS miles.

From the Jomanes to the Ganges 112 „

From the Ganges to Rhodopha 119 „

From Rhodopha to Kalinipaxa 1C7 „

•

Total... 5CG miles.
Hiny's carelessness iu confounding total with partial dis-
tances has created the next difficulty, which lies in his stat-
ing that the distance from Kalinipaxa to the confluence of
the Jomanes and the Ganges is o'2li miles, while in reality
it is only about 227- Tho figures may bo corrupt, but it is
much more probable that they represent the distance of
.Nome stage ou the route remoter from the confluence of the
rivers than Kalinipaxa. This must have boon the passage
of the Jomanes, for the distance —

From the Jomanes to the Ganges is ... 112 miles.

Thence to Rhodopha lit) „

Thonco to Kalinipaxa 107 „

Thence to the confluence of the mors. 227 „

Total... 625 miles.
This is exactly equal to 5000 stadia, the length of the
Indian Mesopotamia or PoAb, tho PauehAIa of Sanskrit
geography, and the Antarveda of lexicographers.

The foregoing conclusions M. de St. -Martin had summed

up in the table annexed :— Roman miles. Stadia.

From the Hesidrus to the Jomanes^ 108 1SW

From the Jomanes to the Ganges... »112 89fi

Thence to Rbodopba '. 119 952

From the Hesidrus to Rhodopha by

a more direct route 3*25 2G00

From Rhodopha to Kalinipaxa 107 133C

Total distance from the Hesidrus to

Kalinipaxa SOli 4520

. From Kalinipaxa to the confluence

of the Jomanes and Ganges (227) (1810)

Total distance from the passage of
the Jomanes in its confluence
with the Ganges 025 5000

132

a spur is culled I in a u s (meaning in the native
language smwi/),*\\ are the I a a r i, V o s y r i,
I £ g i, and on the hills the C h i s i o t o s a g i, * and

Pliny assigns 425 miles as the distance from the con-
fluence of tho rivers to Pulibotbra, but, as it is in reality
ouly 248, the figures have probably boen.altercd. He gives,
lastly, 638 miles as the distance from 'Palibothra to the
mouth of the Ganges, which agrees closely witb the esti-
mate of Megasthencs, who makes it 5000 Btadia— if that
indeed was bis estimate, aad not 6000 stadia as Strabo in
one passage alleges it was. The distance by land from
PAtna to Tuniluk (Tsmralipta, tho old portiof the Ganges'
mouth) is 445 English or 480 Roman miles. The distance
by the river, which is sinuous, is of course much greater.
See E'tvde sur le Q/hgrwpMe Orecqve et Latine de I'lndt,
par P. V. do Saint-Martin, pp. 271-278.

*H By Emodus was generally designated that part of the
Himalayan range which extended along Nepal and Bhutan
and onward toward the ocean. Other forms of the name
are Emoda, Emodon, tfemodes. Lassen derives the word
frotnthe Sauskrit huimamta, iu Prakrit haitndta, 'snowy.'
If this be so, Hemodus is tho more correct form. Another
derivation refers the word to ' HcWidri* {hetmi, 'gold,'
and adri, ' mountain'), tte ' golden mountain*,' — so called
either because they wore thought to contain gold mines, or
because of the aspect they presented when their snowy
peaks reflected the goldeu elfulgenco of sunset. Imuus
represents the Sanskrit hivuwata, 'snowy.' The name was*
appliud at first by the Greeks to the Hindu Kush and
the Himalayas, but was iu course of time transferred to the
Bolor range. This chain, which runs north and south, was
regarded by tho ancients as dividing Northern Asia into
' Skythia iutra Imaura' and ' Skythia extra Imauni,' and
it has forraod for ages tho boundary bctwran China and
TurkestAn. • -r

* These four tabes were located somowhero in Kaanifr
or its immediate neighbourhood. Tho Isari are unknown,
but arc probably the same as the Brysari previously men-
tioned by Pliny. Tho Cosyri are easily to be identified
with tho Khastra mentioned in the Mahilbh&rata as neigh-
bours of the Daradas and Kaamlras. Their name, it has
been conjectured, survives in Kh&char, one of the three great
divisions of the K&thls of Gujar£t,'who appear to have come
originally from the Pan jab. Tho Izgi are mentioned in
Ptolemy, under the name of the Sizyges, as a people of
Serike. This is, howover, a mistake, as they inhabited tho
alpine region whjch extends above Kosmlr towards the

the Brae li m u n ye, a name comprising many
tribes, among which are the M a c e o c a 1 i n g ae.f

north and north-west. The CluHiotosagi or Ghirutosagi
are perhaps identical with the CJiiconn? (whom Fliuy else-
where mentions), iu spite of the addition .to their name of
' sagi,' which may havo merely iudicated them to be a branch
of the Sakas, — th|t id, the SXythians,— by whom India was

overrun before the time of its conquest by the Aryans. They
are mentioned in Mauu X. 44 together with the raundrakas,
Odras, Drftaidos, Kdmboj&s, Yavanas, Paradox, Pahlavas,
Chinas, Klratos, Daradas, and Khasas. J f Chirotosagi he
the right reading of their uaiue, there can be little doubt
of their identity with the KTratos.— See P. V. de St.-
Martin's work already quoted, pp. 195-107. But for the
KhAchars, see Lid. Ant. vol. IV. p. 323.

f v. 1. Bracmanse. Pliny at once transports his rcadcra
from the mountains of Kosniir to the lower part of the valley
of the Ganges. Here he places the Bracbinanue, whom he
takes to be, not what they actually were, the leading caste
of the population, but a powerful race composed of many
tribes — the Maccoc&liiigse beiug of the number. This 1 ribe,
as well as the Gaiigariduo-KaliugBa, and the Madogaliugai
afterwards mentioned, are subdivisions of the Kaliuga*,
a widely diffused race, which spread at one time from the
delta of tho Ganges all along the eastern coast of the pe-
ninsula, though afterwards they did not extend southward
beyond Orissa. Iu the Mah&bh&rata they are mentioned
as occupying, along with tho Vangas (from whom Bengal is
named) and three other leading tribes, the region which
lies between Magadha and the sea. The Maccocalingra,
then, are the Magha of the Kalingaj. " Magha," says M. do
St.-Martin, " is the name of one of the non- Aryan tribes
of greatest importance and widest diffusion in the lower
Gangetic region, where it is broken up into several special
groups extending from Arakan and Western Asam, where
it is tound under the name of Sfogh (An^iicii Mugs), as far
as to the M&ghars of the central' valleys of Neufll, to the
Maghayas, Magahis, or Maghyas of Southern Bahar (the
ancient Magadha), to the ancient Magra of Bengal, and to
tho Magora of Orissa. These lost, by their position, may
properly be taken to represent our MaccocalingoB." " The
Modogalingee," continues tho same author, " tiud equally
their representatives in tho ancient Mada, a colony which
the Book of Mauu mentions in his enumeration of the im-
pure tribes of Ary&varta, and which he names by the side
of the Andhra, another neople of the lower Ganges. The
Monghyr inscription, which belongs to, the earlier part of

|:M

The river P r i n a sf and the n i n;i s (which flows
into the (jnnges) are both navigable. § The tribes
called C a 1 i u g ;e are nearest the sea, and higher
up arc the M iiinlc i, ami the M n 1 I i in who** 1

the 8tb century of onr era, alro names tbc Metla. us a low
tribe of this region {An. lie*, vol. I. p. 12S, Calcutta. 17*1),

and, what is remarkable, their »:inie is Found joi 1 to tliut

of tin 1 Andhr.i (Astdharaka), precisely as in the text of Ma-
nn. I'liny assigns for tli»ir habitnti-m a. largo, island of
the Gaugps; ami the word Galiugn (for Kalinjja), to which
their name is attached, necessarily places this island to-
wards the sea-board — perhaps in the Delta." °

Tlie Gangnridu.' or Gungaridcs occupied the region cor-
responding roughly with that now called Lower Ucugul,
and consisted of various indigenous tribes, which in the
course of time became more or less Aryanii:cd. As no « ord
is Found in Sanskrit to which their name corresponds, it has
boon supposed of CI reck invention (Lassen, Ind. Alt. vol. If.
p. 201), but crroueously, for it must have been current at
the ptsriod of the Make (Ionian invasion: since Alexander,
in reply to inquiries regarding the sonth country, was
informed that the region of the Ganges was inhabited by
two principal nations, the J'rasii and the Gangartda*. M.
d«; St.- Martin thinks that their name has been preserved
almost identically in that of the (ionghris of Sonth Bahnr,
whose traditions refer their origin to Tirbut ; and he would
identify their royal city I'atthaHs (or I'ort-alis) with Vard-
il liana (contraction of Varddhanulna), row Uardwun.
Others, however, place it, as has been elsewhere stated, on the
MahAnndt. In Ptolemy their capital is Gauge, which must
have been situated near where Calcutta now stands. The
Oangarides aro mentioned by Virgil, Gcorg. III. 37 :—
Iu foribus pugnam ex auro solidoque clcpiianto
Gangaridu.ru. fa.3vj.rn, victoriscpie anna Quirini.
" High o'er tho gate in elephant and gold
The crowd shall Crasar'B Indian war behold."

(Dryden'B translation.)

X v. 1. Pumas. The Prinas is probably the Tamas/l or
Tonsa, which in the PurAnas is called the ParnAsfl. The
Cainas, notwithstanding the objections of Scbwanbeek,
must be identified with the Cane, which is a tributary of
thn Jamnft.

§ Porthe identification of these and other affluents of the
Ganges see Notes on Annan, c iv., Ind. Ant. vol. V.
p. ML

l;?o

rountrv is Mount AI a 1 1 u a, the boundary of ;ill
thai district being the Gang e s.

(22.) This river, according to some, rises from
lAiccrtaiu sources, like the «Nile,|| and inundates
similarly the countries lying along its course ;
others say that it rises ori'the Skythian mountains,
and has nineteen tributaries, of which, besides
those already mentioned, the C o n d o«e h a t e s,
E r a n nobo a s,^| o s o a g u s, and Sonus are
navigable. Others again assert that it issues forth
at once with loud roar from its fountain, and
after tumbling down a steep and rocky channel is
received immediately on» reaching the level plains
into a lake, whence it flows out with a gentle
current, being at the narrowest eight miles, and
on the average a hundred stadia, iu breadth, and
never of less depth than twenty paces (one hun-
dred feet) in the final part of its course, which is
through the country of the G a n g a r i d e s. The
royal* city of the C a I i u g a: is called P a r-
t h a 1 i s. Over their king (50,000 foot-soldiers,

|| For an account of the different thorn-ion regarding the
sourue of the i'limgca sec Smith's Did. nf CUms. (remj.

Tf Cawlocluitem, Emmtwhaam. — v.*l. JDanucham (Va-
mam), Mrranoboan.

* reyin. — v. 1. regit). The common reading, however—
" Gangaridum Calingarum. itegin," iVc, makes this (!an-
garides a branch of the Kalingic. This is pmbuhly the cor-
rect reading, for, as General Cunningham states (/hie. Uumj.
oflivL pp. 518-519), certain inscriptions speak of 'Tri-Ka-
li.ngii,' or ' the Three Kalingas.' " The name of Tri-Ka-
linga," he adds, " is probably old, as Pliny mentions the
Maeen-CaUiigai and the UangnrMlet-Oiiliinjir as separate
peoples from the Calingffi, while Ihe Hah'tbh'lniln names
the Kalingas three separate times, and each time in eon*

lOOOf horsemen, 700 elephants keep watch and
ward in " procinct of war."

For among the more civilized Indian com-
munities life is spent in a great variety of separate
occupations. Some till the nsoil, some are
soldiers, some traders ; «*the noblest and richest
take part in the direction of state affairs, adminis-
ter justice., and sit in council with the kings. A
fifth class devotes itself to the philosophy pre-
valent in the country, which almost assumes the
form of a religion, and the members always put
an end to their life by a voluntary death on a
burning funeral pile.J In addition to these
classes there is one half-wild, which is constantly
engaged in a task of immense labour, beyond the
power of words to describe — that of hunting and

junction with different peoples." (II. II. Wilson in Vishm
I'unhut, M ed. pp.185, IS? note, and 188.) Ah Tri-Kalinga
thus corresponds with the great province ofTding&na, it.
yeems probable that the name of TelingAna may be only a
slightly contracted form of Tri-KalingAna, or ' the Three
Kalingas.'

t LX.miU.—y. 1. LXX. mill.

j Lucian, in his satirical piece on the death of Pcregrinos
(cap. 25), refers to this practice : — " But what is the motive
whieh prompts this man (Perogrinos) to fling himself into
the flames ? God IhKiwk it is simply that he may show oft'
how he can endure pain as do the Brachmans, to whom it
pleased Theagencs to liken him, just as if India had not
her own crop of fools and vain-glorious persons. But let
him by all means imitate the Brachmans, for, as Onesi-
kritoa informs ns, who was the pilot of Alexander's fleet
and saw Kalanos burned, they do not immolate themselves
by leaping into tho flames, but when tho pyre is made
they stand close beside it perfectly motionless, and suffer
themselves to bo gently broiled ; then decorously ascend-
ing the pile they are bnmod to death, and never swerve,
even ever so little, from their recumbent position."

137

taming elephants. They employ these animals
in ploughing nud for riding on, and regard them
as forming tic main part of their stock in cattle.
Tiicy employ them in war and in fighting
for their country. In choosing them for war,
regard is had t^ their age", strength; and size.

There is a very largo island in the Ganges
which is inhabited by a single tribe called Mo do-
g a I i n g a;.§ Heyoud are situated the Mo d ub fie,
M o 1 i n d a£ the Ub c r tc with a handsome town
of the same name, the G a 1 m o d r o e s i, 1' r c t i,
(' u 1 i s s :e,|| S a s u r i, Pa s s a 1 »\ C o 1 u b ic,
O r x ii 1 in:, A b a 1 i, T a 1 u c t ro.f The king of

§ vv. II. niudu Ooiliutfam, .Modogalicnm.

|| Culinfu: — v. 1. Aclissiij.

% These tribes were rhieJIy located in tho regions between
the left bank of Die (liinges and the Him&luyns. Of (bo
(iuhuodroi ! si, l'reli, (Jalis«i,', Susuri, mid Oncultc nothing
is known, nor can their mimes bo identified with any to
bo found in Sanskrit literature. The Morinbiu represent
beyond doubt the -Sloutilia, a people mentioned in the
AitiirCija VfOJun a iM along with other non-Aryan tribes
which occupied the country north of ilio (hinges at tho
til no when the Brfdimans established their first settlements
in theeountry. The Mulimlio lire mentioned as the Maladain
the Purflnic lists, but no furl her trace of them is met with.
Tho Uberte must Ijo referred to the Dliarx, a numerous
racu spread ovl'i" the central districts of tho region spoken
of, and extending as fur an to Assanft 'JJlie name is pro-
nounced differently in different ■ districts, and variously
written, as Jiors or Bhors, Bhowri», Barriias ajid Lihlirhiyas,
Biii'eyas, Buoris, Bharuis, &<•. The race, tlmiijjh formerly
powerful, is now otic of the iowi-t-t eli-.-i-iuf the population.
The J'assaliJO are identified as the inhabitants of l'auchida,
which, as already stated, was tho old name of the Bofib.
The Colubaj nvpond to the KAuluta or Koluta— men-
tioned in the 4th book of tho U hiiiyuni, in the emimera.
tionofthe races of tho west, also in tho Var&ha baiihilA
in the li.-.t 'of tho people of tho north-west, and in tho
Indian drama called the Mv.dva Kdfrshcwo, of which tha
hero is the well-known Chandragupta* They were set»

V6H

these keeps under arms 50,000 foot-soldierS/lOOO*
cavalry, and 400 elephants. Next come the
Andara:,t a still more powerful race, which
possesses numerous v ; Jlages, and thirty towns de-
fended by walls and towers, and which supplies
its king with an army df 100,000. infantry, 2000
cavalry, and 1000 elephants. Gold is very
abundanUamong the D a r d oc, and silver among
the Set se. J

tied not far from tho Upper JamnA. Abont the middle
of tin 1 7th century tlioy were visited by the famous Chinese,
traveller lliwen-Thsftng, who writes (heir name as Kiu-
lu-to. Yule, however, places tho Phwaliu in the south-west
of Til-hut, and the Kolubie on tho Komlui'liutoa (tlamlaLi)
in tho north-east of tiorakhpuv and iinytb-west of Saran.
Tho Abali answer perhaps to the Gvnllas or ITalva'is
of South Hah fir and of the hills which covered the
(southern parts of tho ancient Miurmllia. The 'I'ulncttu
are the people of the kingdum of TAmralipta mentioned
in the Alali&bhfmila. hi tho writings of the Uiiiltlliist.rf of
Ceylon the nanto appears as Tamalitli, corresponding to
the Tamluk of the present day. Between these two forms
of the uamo that given by Pliny is evidentl v the connect-
ing link. Tamluk lies to the south-west of Calcutta, from
wliieh it is distant in a direct lino about 35 miles. It was
in old times the main emporium of the trade carried on
between (jaugotic India and Ceylon.

* IV. M— v.l.'IU.M.

t Tho Andarai are readily identified with tho Andhra of
Sanskrit — a great and powerful nation settled originally in
• the Dekhan )>otween the middle part of the courses of the
ClodAvart and the "Krishna rivers, hut which, before the
time of Megast'nenes, had spread their sway towards tho
north as far as tho upper course of tho NarmadA (Ner-
lmdda), and, as has been already indicated, the lower
districts of tho Oangetic basin. Vide hid. Avt.wl. V.
p. 170. For a notL-a of Andhra (the modern TelingAna) seo
General Canningham's Anc. Qemj. of Trtd. pp. 527-530.

J I'liny here reverts to where he started from in his enu-
meration of the tribes. The Soke uro tho Sata or SAtaka
of Sanskrit geograi>hy, which locates them in iho neighbour-
hood of tho Daradas, [According to Yule, however, they
are th*< Sanskrit Sekas, and he places them on tbe Banas
about J ha j pur, aoMth-eaist from Ajmir.- Ei>. liui. Ant-]

139

But the P r a s i i surpass in power and glory
every other people, not only in this quarter, but
one may say in all India, their capital being
IVa 1 i b o t h r a, a very large and wealthy city,
after which some»call the people itself the P a 1 i-
b o t h r i, — naji even the* whole tract along the
Ganges. Their king has in his pay a standing
army of 600,000 foot-soldiers, 30,000 cavalry,
and 9000 elephants : whence may be formed some
conjecture aS to the vastness of his resources.

After these, but more inland, arc the Monc d c s
and S u a r i,§ in whose country is Mount Ma 1 c us,
on which shadows fall towards the north in winter,
and towards the south in summer, for six months
alternately. || Bacton asserts that the north
pole in these parts is seen but once in the year,
and only for fifteen days ; while Megasthcncs says
that the same thing happens in many parts of
India. The south pole is called by the Indians
D r am asa. The river J o m a n c s flows through
the Palibothri into the Ganges between the
towns M e t h o r a andC a r i s o b o r a.^[ In the

§ The Monldcs or Mandei aro placed by Yulo about
GniiKpnr, on the upper watera of tbo Brftiniant, S.VV. «>f
Chhutia Nsigpur. Lassen places tbom S. of the Mahftnadi
about Sonpur, where Yulo has the Suari or Sahara 1 , tbo
Savara of Sanskrit authors, which Lassen places between
Sonpur and SiiiKlibhum. See Ind. Ant. vol. VI. noto §,
p. 127— Eu. hid. Ant.

|| Thin, of course, can only occur at tbo equator, from
which the southern extremity of India is about 500 miles
distant.

■J Palibothri must denote here the subjects of the realm
of which Palibothra was the capital, and not merely the
inhabitants of that city, as Rennet and others supposed,

140

parts which lie southward from the Ganges the in •
habitants, already swarthy, are deeply coloured
by the sun, though not scorched black like the
Ethiopians. The never they approach the Indus
the more plainly docs their complexion betray
the influence of the sun.

The Indus skirts the frontiers of the Prasii,
whose mountain tracts arc said to be inhabited by
the Pygmies.* Artcinidornst sets down the
distance between the two rivers at lil miles.

(23.) The Indus, called by the inhabitants
S i n d u s, rising on that spur of Mount Caucasus
which is called P a r o p a m isus, from sources

and bo fixed its pile at the confluence of tlio fiances and
Janiunfi. Mi'tliora in cnaily identified will) Alatbura.
Caxisubora is read otherwise ns Clu-jsolion, Cvrisoboroa,
Cleisoboras. " This city," says General Cunningham, "has
not. yet been identified, but I feci satisfied that it must be
V-tiudSvtnit, Hi miles to the north of MatlmrA. IV/ndd-
vana means 'the grnvo of the basil-trees,' which is
famed all over India as the acor.o of Krishna's spurts with
the milkmaids. But the earlier wwi" of tlie place was
K&likavitrtltt, pr ' Kulika's whirlpool.' . . . Now
the Latin name of CJisobora i>; also writ (en Ctifif'bora
and Cyritsoborka in different TMSS., from which I infer
that the original spelling was KulisuburLu, or, by a slight
change of two letters, Ktdihoborta or K'dil;t%liarta,."
A n c. Geog. of Intl. r. p 375. { <JJfn>ub'V«— vv. 1 ]]. Cbrysoban,
Cyrisoborca. This is the Kleisobora of Arrian (ante, vol.
V. p. #0), which Yule, places at Batesar, and Lassen at
Agra, which ho makes the Sanskrit KTishnapnra. Wilkins
{Ait. Res. vol. V. p. 270) says Clisobora is now called
" Mugti-Nagar by the Musuhnans, and K a 1 i s a n u r a by
the Ilindns." Vide hid. Ant. vol. VI. p. 249, note J.— Id.
Jnd. Avt.'\

* Vide Ind. Ant. vol. VI. p. 133, note t— Ed. huh Ant.

t A Greek geographer of Epbcsus, whose date is about
100 B.C. Ilis valuable work on geography, called a Peru
$1$!, was much quoted by the ancient writers, but with
the exception of some fragments is now lost.

141

fronting the sunrise, J receives also itself nineteen
rivers, of which the most famous are the JI y d a s-
p e s, which has four tributaries ; the C a n t a-
\» r a,§ which has three ; the A c c s i n e s and the
II y p a s i s, which arc both navigable ; but never-
thelcss, having no very^rcat supply of water, it
is nowhere broader than fifty stadia, or deeper
than fifteen paces, |] It forms an extremely
large island, which is called P r a s i a n e, and a
smaller om«, called P a t a 1 e.^j Its stream, which
is navigable, by the lowest estimates, for 12 JO
miles, turns westward as if following more or less
closely the course of the sun, and then falls into
the ocean. The measure of the coast line from
the mouth of the Ganges to this river I shall set
down as it is generally given, though none of
the computations agree with each other. From
the mouth of the Ganges to Cape C a 1 i n g o n
and the town of Daudagnla* 625 miles ;t

X The real snnrcos u? thn Indus wcro unknown to the
Greeks. T ho priueipal stream rises to the north of the
Kailtisa mountain (which figures in Hindu mythology as tho
mansion of tins gods and (Siva's paradise) iu lut. 32°, long.
81° 30', at »ii elevation of about 20,01)0 feel.

§ Tho Chaudrabhfiga or Akesine%now the CheniVb.

|| For remarks on the tributaries of tJfb Jndiis see Notes
on Arrian, chap, iv.,— Ind. Ant. vol. V. i>p. 331-333.

f See Ind. Ant vol. V. p. 330. Yule identities the
former of theso with the area enclosed by the Nam from
abovo Rohri to IlaidariibAd, and the delta of tho Indus.—
Kb. Ind. Ant.

* v.l. Pandaguda. Cape Kalingon is identified by Yule
as Point Godftvart.— Ed. Ind. Ant.

t " Both the distance and the name point, to tho great
port town of Coring?, as the promontory of Coringon,
which is situated on a projecting point of land at the

142

to Tropin a 122,"» ;J to the cape of Peri
m u I a,§ where there is the greatest emporium of
trade in India, 750 miles; to the town in the
island of P a t a 1 a mentioned above, 620 miles.

The hill-tribes between the Indus and the
lomancs arc the C c e i ; the C c t r i b o n i,
who live in the woods ; then the M e g a 1 1 k,
whose king is master of five hundred elephants
and an army of horse and foot of unknown
strength ; the C h r y s e i, the P a r a s a n g a\
and the A sang se,|| where tigers abound, noted
for their ferocity. The force under arms con-
sists of .30,000 foot, 300 elephants, and 800
horse. These are shut in by the Indus, and arc
surrounded by a circle of mountains and deserts

month of tho GuiLlviiri river. The town of Damlinjiiiln
or ])tuitlntjiil<i I take to bo the IhWapura of tho Bnddhixt.
til ron ideo, which as tlio capital of K:i]iiiL*:i may with iiuieli
probability lie identilied with lliija Mali.inlri, which its
only 30 miles to the mirth-rout of Curiuga. From this
great similarity of tho Grei'k V am 1 II, I think it not
improbable that tlio Greek namo may have been Ihnnln-
piila, which is' almost this same as D&ntapun'K Hut in (his
ca-se tho Jl&utn- or ' tooth-relic' of Buddha must have
bfien enshrined in Kalinga a.s early as tho time of Pliny,
which is confirmed by this statement of tho Buddhist
chronicles tluit tlio 'left cauine tooth' of Puddlta was
brought to Kaliuga inviiodiatcly after his death, where it
was enshrined by the reigniug sovereign, Brahmadatta." —
Cunningham, Qoo'j. p. 518.

J [Tropina answers to Tripontari or Tirnpanatora,
opposite Kochin. — En. Tnd.Ant. - ] The distance given is
measured from the month of the (hinges, and not from Cape
Calingon.

8 This eape is a projecting point of the island of Peri-
mula or Perimuda, now called the island of Salsette, near
Bombay.

|| v. 1. Asmagi. The Asangse, as placed doubtfully by
Lsuwen about .lodhpnv. — Ed. Jnd.Ant.

143

over a space of 625 niiles.^f Jiclow the desert.*
arc the D a r i, the S u r a>, then deserts again
lor 187 miles,* these deserts encircling the fertile
ttyiets just as the sea encircles islands.f Below
(hese ilescrts ye find the Maltceorn?,
S i n g h hj, M a r o h ec, R a r n n g ue, Moru n i. J
These inhabit the hills which in an unbroken

T VOXXV.—v. 1. DCXXXV. Plijiy, having tftven a
general account of the basins of tlio Indus and the
(liiuguti, proc&?ds to cnumointo hero the trilies which
peopled the north of .India. Tim nnmcri aro obscure,
but Lassen hud idontilied one or two of them, and do
.Saint-Martin a considerable number more. Tbo tril>os
first mentioned in the list occupied tbo country extending
from the Jiuuuiia to tbo western coast about the mouth of
the Nnrmadu. The Oesi probably answer to the Khosas
or Kl\!isy:ia, a great 1 ribe. which from time, immemorial
Ii:ih led a wiiiiderin.tr life be! ween (iiijiirat, l.be lower Indus,
and the Jamuuft. Tbo imine of 1 be Cotviboni would went
to be a transcript of Kctrivani (for Kshalrivarieyu)' 'I'hey
may therefore have been a branch of tbo Kshatri (Kli.'itri),
one of the impure tribes of (be list of jMuiiil (I. x. 12).
The Me^allii) must be identified with the ^Itivela.s of
Sanskrit bunks, » great tribe described as Mottled l«i the
west of the .fiiiiiiuiii. The Ghrysoi probably correspond lo
the Kuroiicha of the Vurfniin lists (I'i.-tltiin t'ur. pp. 177,
lN<i, note IS, and SSI, &t\). The locality occupied by these,
and the two tribes mentioned alter them must have lain to
the north of the llai.i, between the lower In J us and the
chain of the Aravali mountains.

* CLXXXlfU.—v. 1. CLXXXVII1.

i Tbo Dbara inhabit wtill the batik* of this lower (ihara
and tbo parti cunt unions to the valley of tfle Indus. Iliwen
Thsain» mentions, however, a land of Para at the lower end
of the K"lf of Kaehb, in a position which quite accords with
that which Pliny assigns to them. The Sura.', Kunsl,-. Sura,
have their name preserved in " •Snur," which designates a
Iribo settled along the Lower Indus— the modern repre-
sentatives of the Haunibbtra of the Jlarhmii *». They are
placed with donbt by Lassen on tlie. lion? about Sindri,
but Yule places the Koliiijf.i!— Sanskrit, lihaulinKas —
there.— Kn. W. Aitl.

t Mormii, &.C.-V. 1. MoniuU", Mii.'iU" rii^uii^ie, Lalii.

141

chain run parallel to the shores of the ocean.
They are free and have no kings, anil occupy the
mountain heights, whereon they have built many
vitics. § Next follow the N a r c n\ enclosed I>y
the loftiest of Indian mountains, C a p i t a 1 i a. |j

"~ ~ _ i. " ~~ "

§ These tribes must have been lic;.;-.ed in Kachh, a.
mountainous 1 ongne of land between the gulf of that name,
and the Ran, whore, mill whei-e only, in this region <>f
Jmlia, a mu <v of muiMiliiiiiK i« to bo found running along
the coast. Till! name iif Hie jMalti'fiiriu has attracted
particular attention because of its resemblance to the mime
of the Martikhora (L e. mini -eater), ;i 1'alAiloii.s animal
mentioned by Ktcsias ((.Uesiii' lihlira, VI I.) as found in
India ami subsisting upon limuaii flesh. The Maltecorai
were consequently supposed to have, been a race of canni-
bals. Tin' idi-ntilii'.iliiiii is, however, rejected by M. do
■St. -Martin. The Singlue are represented at the present
day by the Siinghis of Omurkot (called iho Song by Alms-
Murdo), descendants of an ancient llsljput tribe failed tins
KinghArs. The 3Jaroh:n are probably the Manillas of 1b<:
list of ihe I'urCilni Siiitliii'i, which was later than Pliny's
time by four and a half centuries. Ju the interval they were
displaced, but the displacement of tribes was nothing
nn usual in those days. So the Jlnrungu.' may perhaps be
the ancestors of the Konghi or Khauga now found on tlm
banks of the Satlcj and in the neighbourhood of Dihli.

|| Capitalia is beyond doubt the saered Arbuda, or Mount
Abu, which, attaining an elevation of 65110 feet, rises far
above any other summit of the ArAvnii range. The name
of the Nareai recalls that of the Na'ir, whieli the RAjput
chroniclers apply to the northern belt of the desert (Tod,
K'<./i,</7mIii, II. 21.1) ; so St.-Martin ; but according to Ge-
neral Cunningham they must be i he pooplo^of Sand, or
'the country of recjds, as nav and na? are synonymous
terms for ' a reeiV and the country of Sa.rui is still fa-
mous for it* reed-arrows. The same author uses the
statement that externa ve gold and silver mines were work-
ed ou the other side of Mount Capitalia in support of his
theory that this part of India was the Ophir of Scripture,
front which the Tyriau navy in the days of Solomon
carried away gold, a great plenty of almug-trees (red
sandalwood), and precious stones (1 Kings xii.). His
argument runs thus: — " The last name in Pliny's list
is Varetatio, which I would change to Vataretaj
by the transposition of two letters. This spelling
is countenanced hy the termination of the various read-

145

The inhabitants on the other side of this mountain
work extensive mines of gold and silver. Next
are the O r a t u r se, whose king has only ten ele-
phants, though he has a vjtry strong force of in-

mg of Svarataratm, which* is found in some editions
It is quite possible, however, that tho Sva.ratarataa may he
intended for the Surashtras. The famous Varaha Mihira
mentions the Surashtras and Badaras together, amongst
the people of the south-west of India (Dr. Keen's Bfihat
SaiihitA, XIV. 19.) These BAdaras must therefore be the
people of Badari, or Vadari. I understand the name of
Vadari to denote a district abounding in the Badctri, or
Ber-troe (Jujube), which is very common in Southern RBj-
putftaa. For the same reason J should look to this neigh-
bourhood for tho ancient Sauvlra, which I take to be the
true form of the famous Ruphir, or Ophir, as Sauvlra is
only another name of the Vadari or Ber-tree, as well as
of its juicy fruit. Now, Sofir is tho Coptic name of India.
at the present day; bnt the name must have belonged
originally to tiiat part of the Indian coast which was fre-
quented by the merchants of the West. Thero can be
little doubt, T think, that this was in the Gulf of Khambay,
which from time immemorial has been the chief seat of
Indian trade with the West. During the whole period of
Greek history this trade was almost monopolized by the
famous city of Barygasta, or Bhilroeh, at the mouth of the
Narmada river. About the fourth century some portion of it
was diverted to the new capital of Balabhi, in the peninsula
of Gujarat ; in tho Middle Ages it was shared with Khambay
at the head of the gulf, and in modern times with Surat,
at the mouth of the Tapti. If the name of .Sauvlra was
derived, as I suppose, from tho prevalence of the Ber-trce,
it is probable that it was only another appellation for the
province of Badari, or Edar, at the Jjead of the Gulf of
Khambay. This, indeed, is the very positkm in which we
should expect to find it, according to tho ancient inscrip-
tion of lludru Damn, which mentions Sitidhu-Sauvfra
immediately after SurAshtra and Bhariikachha, and just
before Kukura Aparanta, and Nishada (/our. Vo. Br. R.
As. Soe. VII. 120). According to this arrangement Sau-
vtra must havo been to the north of Surflshtra and Bha-
roch, and to the south of Nishada, or just where I have

placed it, in the neighbourhood of Mount Abu. Much the
same locality is assigned to Sauvlra in tho Viskriu Pur&na."
—Ana. Geoff, of Ind. pp. -196-197 ; see alsopp. 560-563 of thu
same work, where the subject is further^iscussed.

fautry.^f Next again are the Varctatee,* subject
to a king, who keep no elephants, but trust entirely
to their horse and foot. Then the Odombccrse;
the S a 1 a b a s t r ee ;t the H o r a t se,{ who ha<e
a fine city, defended by marshes vrhich serve as a
ditch, wherein crocodiles are kept which, having
a great avidity for human flesh, prevent all access
to the city except by a bridge. And another city

1 v. 1. Orate. The Oratnrai find tlioir representatives in
ths KAthors, who played a groat part in the history of India
before the Musultniui conquest, arid who, though settled
in tho Gangctic provinces, regard Ajmir, at the eastern
point of the Ar&vali, as their ancestral scat.

* v. 1. Snarataratai. The Varotate eannot with certainty
be identified.

t The Odomboertn, with hardly a change in the form
of their name, arc mentioned in Sanskrit literature, for
PAnini (IV. 1, 173, quoted by Lassen, Ind. Alt. 1st ed. I. p.
614) speaks of the territory of Udumbari as that which was
occupied by a tribe famous in the old legend, the Salva, who
perhaps correspond to the Salabastrui of Pliny, the addition*
which ho has niadc to Ihrir name being explained by the
Sanskrit word vasLya, which mcimmui nbialu nr habitallui).
The word luhimbara means tho glomerous fig-tree. Tho
district so named lay in Knchh. [The Salabastrse are
located by Lasseu between the mouth of tho Sarasvatt
and Jodhpnr, and the Moratna at the head of tho gulf
of KhambhAt; Automata, lie places at KhainbhAt. See
Ind. Altertli. 2nd cd. 1. 7<>0. i'uhs has tho Sandrabatis
about Chandr Avati, in northern Giyar At, but these are placed
by Lassen on the Ba>4s about Tonk. — Ed. Ind. Ant.~\

% Jfoftittv isf" an incorrect transcription of Sorath,
the vulgar form of the Sanskrit ftaurishtra. TheHorate
were therefore tho inhabitants of the region called in tho
PeripMa, and in Ptolemy, Surnstrene — that is, Gujarat.
Orrhoth i^OppoBa) is used by Kosmas as tho name of a
city in the west of India, which has been conjectured to be
Surat, but Yulo thinks it rather soiuo place on the Pur-
bandar coast. Tho capital, Automela, cannot be identified,
but de St.-Martin conjectures it may have been the once
famous Valahhl, which was situated m the peninsular part
of Gujarat at about 24 miles' distance from the Gulf of
Khambay.

145

oftheirs is much admired— A utomel a,§ which,
being seated on the const, at the confluence of five
rivers, is a noble emporium of trade. The king is
master of 1600 elephants, 15,0,000 foot, and 5000
cavalry. The pnorer king of the Char m se
has but sixty clcjphants, arid Ins force otherwise
is insignificant. Next come the P k u d se, the
only race in India ruled by women. || Ihey say
that Hercules having but one daughter, who was
on that accoifnt all the more beloved, endowed
her with a noble kingdom. Her descendants
rule over 300 cities, and command an army of
150,000 foot and 500 elephants. Nexl, with
300 cities, the S y r i c n i, Dcrang :«, P o-
si ngse, Bu zk, Gogiarei, Umbra;, N e-
r e se, B r a u c o s i, N o b n n d »e, Coco n d u\
N e 8 e i, Pe d a t r i r as, S o 1 o b r i a s i«, O I o s-
t r a;, % who adjoin the island Patalc, from the

§ v. 1. Automula. See preceding note.

\\ The CharmiB have been identified with the inlnibitants
of Oharmamandala, a district of the west mentioned in
the MaMhMrat.'. and also in tlio Vhhnit Piir'uut, under
the form Charraakhanda. Thoy are now represented by
the Charmftra or Chamfirs of Bundelkhand and Iho parts
adjacent to the basin of tho Ganges. # The Panda', who
were their next neighbours, must have oifcupW a con-
siderable portion of the basin of the river Chambal, called
in Sanskrit geography the Cbarmanvatf. They wore a
branch of the famous race ef PAndu, which made for itself
kingdoms in several different parts of India.

% The names in this list lead us to the desert lying be-
tween the Indus and the ArAvali range. Most of the tribes
enumerated are mentioned in tho lists of the clans given
in the Rajput chronicles, and have been identified by M.
de St.-Martin aa follows :— The Syrieni are the Snriyanis,
who under that name have at all times occupied the
country near the Indus in the neighbourhood of Bakkar.

148

furthest shore of which to the Caspian gates the
distance is said to be 1925 miles.*

Then next to these towards the Indus come;
in an order which is easy to follow, the A nv»-
tse, Bolingse, Gallital if,t ee, Dimuri,
Megari, Or dab ue,|- M e s se( after these the
Uri and Sileni.J Immediately beyond come

Darangro is the Latin transcription of the name of the
great race of the Jhfldcjftij, a branch of the llftjputs which
at the present day possesses Kuchh. The Maine represent
the Buddas, an ancient branch of the same JhftdejAs (Tod,
Annals and Antiq, of the R3j. vol. I. p. 86). The Gogiare*
(other readings Gogarasi, Gogaru)) are the Kokaris, who
are now settled ou the banks of the Gliara or Lower Satlej.
The Umbra) nre represented by the Uniranis, and the
Kerei perhaps by the Nharonis, who, though belonging to
Baluchistuii, had their ancestral seats in the regions to the
east of the Indus. The Nubeteh, who figure in the old
local traditions of Sindh, perhaps correspond to the No-
bundio, while the Gocondm certainly are the Kokonadas
mentioned in the Mah&bh&mta among the people of the
north-west. (See Lassen, Zeitschrift filr din Kunde des
Moryenl.t. II. 1830, p. 45.) Buchanan mentions a tribe
called Kokand- us belonging to Gorakhpur.

* There were two defiles, which went by the name of ' the
Kaspian Gates.' One was in Albania, and was formed
by the jutting out of a spur o.' the Kaukasos into the
Kaspian Sea. The other, to which Pliny here refers, was
a narrow pass leading from North- Western Asia into the
north-east provinces of Persia. According to Arrian (^noi.
III. 20) the Kaspian Gates lay a few da.ys' journey distant
from the Median town of Ehagai, now represented by
the ruins called^liha, found j. mile or two to the south of
Teheran. This pass wan one of the most important places
in ancient geography, and from it many of the meridians
were measured. Strabo, who frequently mentions it, states
that its distance from the extreme promontories of India
(Cape Comorin, Ac.) was 14,000 stadia.

t v. 1. Ardabse.

J In the grammatical apophthegms of Paiiini, Bhaulingi
is mentioned as a territory occupied by a, branch of the
great tribe of the Salvas (Lassen, Ind. Alt. I. p. 618, note,
or 2nd ed. p. 760 n.), and from this indication M. de St.-
Marrin has been led to place the Bolingre at the western

149

deserts extending for 250 miles. These being pass-
ed, we come to the O r g a n a g re, A b a o r t ee,
Sibaree, Snertae, and after these to deserts
%s extensive as the former. Then come the
Sarophageg, S o r g oe, B a r a o m a t se, and
the Umbrittas,§ who consist of twelve tribes,
each possessing two cities, and the A s e n i, who
possess three cities. || Their capital is Buce-
phala, bnilt where Alexander's famous horse

declivity of tho ArftvaH mountains, where Ptolemy also
places his Bolingu}. Tho Madrabhnjingha of the Paujah
(see Vishnu Pur. p. 18") wore probably a branch of this
tribe. Tho Gullitnluto are identified by the same author
with the Gahalata or Geblota ; the Diinnri with the Dumras,
who, though belonging to the Gungntic valley, originally
came from that of tlie Indus ; tho Slegari with theMokars
of the Bfljput chronicles, whose name is perhaps preserv-
ed in that of the Mehars of the lower part of Sindh, and
also in that of the Meghfiris of Eastern Balucbistfin ; tho
Hesse with tho Mazaris, a considerable tribe between
ShikArpur and Mitunkdt on tho wpstoni bank of thi*
Indus ; and the Uri with the Hauras of the same locality
— the Ilnrairas who figure in tho Bnjpiit lists of thirty-six
royal tribes. The Sulalas of the same tribes perhaps
represent the Sileni, whom Pliny mentions along with the
Uri.

§ tv. 11. Paragomatac, TJrabilno. — Baraomatoa Gunibri-
tteque.

|| The tribes hero enumerated must have occupied a tract
of country lying above the confluence of the Indus with
the stream of the combined rivers of^he Paujab. They are
obscure, and their names cannot witht any certainty be
identified if we except that of the Sibara, who are un-
doubtedly tho Sauviras of the Mahdbhh-ata, and who, as
their name is almost invariably combined with that of the
Indus, must have dwelt not far from its banks. The
Afghan tribe of the Afridls may perhaps represent the
Abaorte, and the Sarabhan or Sarvants, of the same stock,
the Sarophages. The Umbrittse and the Aseni take us to
the east of the river. The former are perhaps identical
with the Ambastre of the historians of Alexander, and the
Ambasthas of Sanskrit writings, who dwelt in the neigh-
bourhood of the lower Akesines.

150

of that name wns buried.^f Hillmen follow next,
inhabiting the baae of Caucasus, the S o 1 e a d oe,
and the S o n d r se ; and if we cross to the other
side of the Indus and follow its course downward
we meet the S amar ab rise, S„ambruceni,
B,isambrit8e,* O si% Antixen i, and the
T a x i 1 1 sef with a famous city. Then succeeds

IT Alexander, aftei the groat battle ou the banks of the .
Hi' daspi's in which he defeated P6ros, founded two cities —
Bakephalu, or Bukephalia, so named in honou^ of his cele-
brated charger, and Nikaia, so named in honour of his vic-
tory. Nikaia, it is known for certain, was built ou the
field of battle, and its position was therefore on the left-
side of the Kydaspcs — probably about where Moug uow
stands. The site of Bnkcphala it is not so cnay to deter-
mine. According to Plutarch and Pliny it was near the
Hydaspfs, in the place where Bukephnlos was buried, and
if that lie so it must have been on the samo side of the
river as tbo sister city ; whereas Strabo and all the other
ancient authorities place it on the opposite side. Strabo
again places it at tjhe point where Alexander crossed the
river, whereas Anion states that it was built on the site
of his camp. General Cunningham fixes this at JalAlpur
rather than at Jhelam, 30 miles higher up the river, the site
which is favoured by Burnes and General Court and
General Abbott. Jalftlpur is about ten miles distant from
Dilftwar, where, according to Cunningham, the crossing of
the river was most probably effected.

* v. 1. Bisabritaj.

t The Soleadte and the Sondrse cannot be identified, and
of the tribes which were seated to the cast of the Indus
only the Taxilko are known. Their capital wasjbhe famous
Taxila, which was visited by Alexander the Great. "The
position of this cit*," says Cunningham, " has hitherto re-
mained unknown, partly owing to the erroneous distance
recorded by Pliny, and partly to the want of information
regarding the vast ruins which still exist in the vicinity of
Shah-dheri. All the copies of Pliny agree in stating that
Taxila was only 60 Roman, or 55 English, miles from Peuco-
laftis or Hashtnagar, which would fix its site somewhere on
the Haro river to the west of Hasan Abdal, or just two
days' march from the Indus. But the itineraries _ of the
Chinese pilgrims agree in placing it at three days' journey
to the east of the Indus, or in the immediate neighbourhood of
Kala-ka-Sarfti. He therefore fixes its site near Shfth-dheri

151

a level tract of country known by the general
name of Amanda,! whereof the tribes are
four in number— the P e u c o 1 a i t se,§ A r s a-
galitee, G eretse, Aso^i.

Many writers* however, do not give the river
Indus as the western bdundary of India, but in-
clude within it four satrapies, — the G e d r o s i,
Arachotse, Arii, Par opajji isa dse,||

(which is a mile to the north-east of that SaraTl, in the
extensive ruin's of a fortified city abounding with sttipas,
monasteries, and temples. From this place to Hashtnagar
the distance is 74 miles English, or 19 iu excess of Pliny's
estimate. Taxila represents the Sanskrit Takshaaila, of
which the Pali form is Takbasila, whonco the Greek form was
taken. The word means cither ' cut rock" or ' severed
head.' — Ane. Oeog. of hid. pp. 104-121.

% As the name Amanda is entirely unknown, M. do St.-
Martin proposes without hesitation the correction GandhAra,
on the ground that the territory assigued to the Amanda
corresponds exactly to Gandhfvra, of wbieh the territory
occupied by the Pcucolitas (Poukclaotis), as we know from
other writers, formed a part. The Gnrctas are beyond
doubt no others than the Gouwei of Arvi:tn ; and the Asoi
may perhaps bo identical with the Aspasii, or, ;is Strabo
gives the name, Hippasii or Pasii. The Arsagalitso are
only mentioned by Pliny. Two tribes settled iu tho same
locality arc perhaps indicated by the name — the Arsa, men-
tioned by Ptolemy, answering to the Sanskrit Ura.% ; and
the GhUit or Ghilghit, tho Gahalata of Sanskrit', formerly
mentioned.

S v. 1. Pcu,colitao.

I] Godrdsia comprehended probably nearly the same dis-
trict which is now Known by the name of MekrAn. Alex-
ander marched through it on returning from his Indian
expedition. ArachdsLi oxtended from tho chain of moun-
tains now called tho SuleiinAn as far southward as Gedrfoia.
Its capital, Arnchotos, was bituated somewhere in the direc-
tion of Kandahfir, tho name of which, it has been thought,
preserves that of Gandhfira. Acoording to Colonel llawlinaon
the name of Araehosia is derived from Harakhwati (Sans-
krit Sarasvaii), and is preserved in tho Arabic Rakhoj. It
is, as haB already been A noticed, the Harauvatas of the
BisuLun inscription. Aria denoted tho country lying
between Meshed and Her&t ; Ariflna, of which it formed a

152

making the river Cophes its furthest limit;
though others prefer to consider all these as be-
longing to the Arii.

Many writers further include in India even thj
city N y s a and Mount M e r u s, -sacred to Father
Bacchus, whence the origin of the^ fable that he
sprang from the thigh of Jupiter. They include
also the A s t a c a n i,^[ in whose country the vine

part, and of which it is sometimes used as the equivalent,
was a widor district, which comprehended nearly the whole
of ancient Persia. In the Persian part of the Bisutnn
inscription Aria appears as Hariva, iu the Babylonian part
as Arevan. Regarding Paroparnisos and the Cophes see
lnd„ Ant. vol. V. pp. 329 and 330.

T Other readings of the name are Aspagani and Aspa-
gonee. M. do St.-Martin, whose work has so often
been referred to, says:-- We have seen already that
in an extract from old. Hekataios preserved in Stephen
of Byzantium the city of Kaspupyros is called a Gandaric
city, and that_ in , Herodotus the same place is attributed
to the Paktyi, and we have added that in our opinion
there is only an apparent contradiction, because the district
of Paktyik£ and Gandara may vory well he but one and
tho same country. Jt is not difficult, in fact, to recognize in
the designation mentioned by ilerodotos the indigenous
name of the Afghan people, Pakhtn (in the plural Pakh-
tun), the name which tho greater part of the tribes use
among themselves, and the only one they apply to their
national dialect. We have here, then, as Lassen lias noticed,
historical proof of the presence of the Afghans in their
actual fatherland live centuries at least before tho Christian
era. Now, as the seatujf the Afghan or Pakht national-
ity is chiefly in th!s basin of the Kophcs, to the west of the
Indus, which forms its eastern boundary, this further
confirms what wc have already seen, that it is to the west
of tho great river we must seek for the site of the city of
Kaspapyros or Kasyapapura, and consequently of the
Gandane" of Hekataios. The employment of two different
names to designate the very same country is easily
explained hy this_ double fact, that one_ of tho names
was the Indian designation of the land, whilst the other was
the indigenous name applied to it by its inhabitants. There
was yet another name, of Sanskrit origin, used as a territorial
appellation of Gandhara— that of Asvaka. This word,

153

grows abundantly, and the laurel, and boxwood,
and every kind of fruit- tree found in Greece. The
remarkable and almost fabulous accounts which
arg current regarding the fertility of its soil, and
the nature of its fruits and 'trees, its beasts and
birds and other animals, ■will be set down each in
its own place in other parts of this work. A little
further on I shall speak of the satrapies, but the
island of T a p r o b a n e§ requires my immediate
attention. «

But before wc come to this island there are
others, one being P a t a 1 e, which, as we have
indicated, lies at the mouth of the Indus, triangular
in shape, and 220 1| miles in breadth. Beyond the
mouth of the Indus arc C h r y s c aud A r g y r c,^|

derived from aim, a horse, signified merely the cavalier*;
it was loss an ethnic, in the rigorous acceptation of the
word, than a general appellation applied hy the Indians of
the Punjab to tho tribes of the region of tho Kophi's,
renowned from antiquity for the excellence of its horses.
In the popular dialects the Sanskrit word took the usual
form Assaka, which reappears scarcely modified in Assakani
('Ao-o-cncai'ot')or Assaki , ni('Ao-irai£ni'oi ) in the Greek histori-
ans of the expedition of Alexander and subsequent writers.
It is impossible not to recognise; here tho name of Avghfln
or Afghans. . . which is vory evidently nothing else than
a contracted form of Aseaki'in. . . Neither the Gandarie of
Hekataios nor* tho Paktyi of Horodotcjg are known to them
[Arrian and other Greek and Latin writers of tho history
of Alexander], but as it is tho same territory [as that of
the Assrtkani], and as in actual nsagc the names Afghans and
l'akhtun are still synonymous, their identity is not a matter
of doubt." — W titde sur le Gfajrajihie (Jrecqiie et Lxtine de
I'Inde, pp. 376-8. Tho name of tho Gandbara, it may
hero.be added, remounts to the highest antiquity ; it is
mentioned in one of the hymns of the Rig- Veda, as old
perhaps as tho 15th century B.C. — Id. p. 3(14.

§ Vide ante, p. 62, n. *. || C'CXJT.-v. L CXXX.

1 Burma and Arakan respectively, according to Yule.—
Ed. InA. Ant.

rich, as I believe, in metals. For I cannot readily
believe, what is asserted by some writers, that their
soil is impregnated with gold and silver. At a dis-
tance of twenty miles from these lies C r o c a 1 ay*
from which, at a distance of twelve miles, is
B i b a g a, which abounds with oysters and other
shell-fish.f Next comes T o r a 1 1 i b a,£ nine
miles distant from the last-named island, beside
many others unworthy of note.

Fjragm. LVI. B.

Solin. 52. 0-17.

Catalogue of Indian Baces.

The greatest rivers of India arc the (1 a n g e s
and Indus, and of these some assert that the
Ganges rises from uncertain sources and inundates
the country in the manner of the Nile, while others
incline to think that it rises in the Scythian moun-
tains. [The Hypanisis also there, a very noble
river, which formed the limit of Alexander's
march, as the altars erected mi its banks prove.§]

* In the bay of Karftchi, identical with the Kolaka of
Ptolemy. Tho district in which Karflchl is situated is called
Karkalla to this day.^

t This is callel Bibakta by Arrian, Indika, cap. xxi.
X v. 1. Coralliba.

§ See Arrian's Anah. V. 29, where we read that Alexander
having arranged his troops in separate divisions ordered
them to build on the banks of the Hyphasis twelve altars to
be of equal height with the loftiest towers, while exceed-
ing them in breadth. From Curtius we learn that they
were formed of square blocks of stone. - There has
been much controversy regarding their site, hut it must
have been near the capital of Sopithes, whose name
Lassen has identified with the Sanskrit Akapati, ' lord of

155

The least breadth ofthe Ganges is eight miles, and
its greatest twenty. Its depth where it is shallow-
est is fully a hundred foot. The people who live
in the furthcst-off part are the Gangarides,
wnose king possesses 1000 Jiorso, 700 elephants,
and 60,000 foot m apparatus of war.

Of the Indianji some cultivate the soil, very many
follow war, and others trade. The noblest and
richest manage public affairs, administer justice,
and sit in council with the kings. There exists
also a fifth ojass, consisting of those most eminent
for their wisdom, who, when sated with life, seek
death by mounting a burning funeral pile. Those,
however, who have becomo the devotees of a sternor
sect, and pass their lifo in the woods, hunt ele-
phants, which, when made quite tame and docile,
they use for ploughing and for riding on.

In the Ganges there is an island oxtremcly po-
pulous, occupied by a very powerful nation whose
king keeps under arms 50,000 foot and 4000 horse.
In fact no one invested with kingly power ever
keeps on foot a military force without a very great
number of elephants and foot and cavalry.

The P r a s i a n nation, which is extremely power-
ful, inhabits a city called Palibotra, whence
some call the nation itself the Palibotri. Their

horses.' These Asvapati wore a line of princes whose terri-
tory, according to the 12th book of tho Rdm&yana, lay on
the right or north bank ef tho Vipfl&i (Hyphasis or Bias),
in the mountainous part of tho Doab comprised between
that river and the Upper Iravati. Their capital is called
in the poem of Vfllmiki Rajagriba, which still exists under
the name of Rajagiri. At some distance from this there
is a chain of heights called Sekandar-giri, or ' Alexan-
der's mountain.'— See St.-Martin's E'tude, Ac. pp. 108-
111.

15G

king keeps in his pay at all times 60,000 foot
30,000 horse, and 8000 elephants.

Beyond Palibotra is Mount M a 1 e u s,|| on which
shadows in winter fall towards the north, in sum-
mer towards the soutk, for six months alternately.
In that region the Bears are sect but once a year,
and not for more than fifteen dayi, as Beton in-
forms us, who allows that this happens in many
parts of India. Those living near the river Indus
in the regions that turn southward are scorched
more than others by the heat, and at ^ast the com-
plexion of the people is visibly affected by the
great powor of the sun. The mountains are in-
habited by the Pygmies.

But those who live near the sea have no kings.

The Pan due an nation is governed by fe-
males, and their first queen is said to have '
been the daughter of Hercules. The city N y s a
is assigned to this region, as is also the moun-
tain sacred to Jupiter, Muros by name, in a
cavo on which the ancient Indians affirm Father
Bacchus was nourished ; while the name has
given rise to the well-known fantastic story that
Bacchus was born from tho thigh of his father.
Beyond tho mouth of the Indus arc two islands,
Chryse and Argyrc, which yield such an
abundant suj-.ply of mctala that many writers
allege their soils consist of gold and of silver.

|| Possibly, as suggested by Yule, Mount Pfiravanfifcha,
near the Damuda, and- not far from the Tropic; vide
Ind. Ant. vol. VI. p. 127, note §, and conf. vol. I. p. 46ff.
The Molli (see above), in whose country it was, are not to
be confounded with another tribe of the same name in the
1'anjfib, mentioned by Anion ; see vol. Y. pp. 87, 96, 383. —
En. XnA. Ant.

157
Fragm. LVII.

Polysoii. Siratetj. I. 1. 1-3.
Of Stony 808.
# (Cf. Epit. 25 et seq.)

Dionysos, in his expedition against the Indians,
in order that the cities might receive him will-
ingly, disguisetl the arms with which he had
equipped his troops, and made them wear soft
raiment and fawn-skins. The spears were wrapped
round witl^ ivy, and the thyrsus had a sharp
point. He gave the signal for hattle hy cymbals
and drums instead of the trumpet, and by regaling
the enemy with wine diverted their thoughts from
war to dancing. These and nil other Bacchic
orgies were employed in the system of warfare by
which he subjugated the Indians and all the rest
of Asia.

Dionvsos, in the course of his Indian cam-
paign, seeing that his army could not endure the
fiery heat of the air, took forcible possession of the
three-peaked mountain of India. Of these peaks
one is called Korasibie, another K o n dask §,
but to the third he himself gave the name of
M e r o s, in remembrance of hi* birth . Thereon
were many fountains of water sweet to drink, game
in great plenty, tree-fruits in unsparing profusion,
and snows which gave new vigour to the frame.
The troops quartered there made a sudden descent
upon the barbarians of the plain, whom they easily
routed, since they attacked them with missiles
from a commanding position on the height? above.

158

[Dionysos, after conquering the Indians, in-
vaded Baktria, talcing with him as auxiliaries
the Indians and Amazons. That country has
for its boundary the river S a r an gfi s.^[ The
Baktrians seized the mountains overhanging that
river with a view to attack Dionysos, in cross-
ing it, from a post of advantage lie, however,
having encamped along the river, ordered the
Amazons and the Bakkhai to cross it, in order
that the Baktrians, in their contempt, for women,
might be induced to come down from the heights.
The women then assayed to cross the stream, and
the enemy came downhill, and advancing to the
river endeavoured to beat them back. The women
then retreated, and the Baktrians pursued them
as far as the bank ; then Dionysos, coming to the
rescue with his men, slew the Baktrians, who
were impeded from fighting by the current, and he
crossed the river in safety.

Fragm. LVIII.

Polyran. Stratcg. 1. 3. 4.
Of Hercules and Pandeea.
(Qf. Frtym. L. 15.)
H e r a k 1 8 s begat a daughter in India whom
he called P an d a i a. To her he assigned that
portion of India which lies to southward and ex-
tends to the sea, whil.e he distributed the people
subject to her rule into 365 villages, giving orders
that one village should each day bring to the

IT St>e Ind. Ant., Notes to Arrian in vol. V. p. 332.

159

treasury the royal tribute, so that the queen
might always have the assistance of those men
whose turn it was to pay the tribute in coercing
tyosc who for the time being were defaulters in
their payments.

Fragm.' LIX.t
Of the Beasts of India.
JElian, Hist. Anim. XVI. 2-22 *
(2) In India I learn that there arc to be found
the birds called parrots ; and though I have, no
doubt, already mentioned them, yet what I omit-
ted to state previously regarding them may now
with great propriety be here set down. There
are, I am informed, three species of them, and all
these, if taught to speak, as children are taught,
become as talkative as children, and speak with
a human voice; but in the woods they utter
a bird-like scream, and neither send out any
distinct and musical notes, nor being wild and
untaught are able to talk. There are also
peacocks in India, the largest anywhere met with,

* " In thistxtract not afow passages occur which appear
to hare Iwen borrowed from Megasthe»cs. This con-
jecture, though it cannot by any means bo placed beyond
doubt by conclusive proofs, soems nevertheless, for various
reasons, to attain a certain degree of probability. For
in the first place the author knows with unnsual ac-
curacy the interior parts of India. Then again ho makes
very frequent mention of the Frasii and the Brahmans.
And lastly one can hardly doubt that some chapters occur-
ring in the middle of this part have been extracted from
Megasthenf b. I have, therefore, in this uncertainty taken
care that the whole of this part should be printed at the
end of the fragments of Megasthenes."— Schwanbeck.

160

and pale-green ringdoves. One who is not
well-versed in bird-lore, seeing these for the
first time, would take them to be parrots, and
not pigeons. In the colour of the bill and legs
they resemble Greek partridges. There are also
cocks, which are of extraordinary size, and have
their crests not red as elsewhere, or at least in
our country, but have the flower-like coronals
of which the crest is formed variously coloured.
Their rump feathers, again, are ne%hcr curved
nor wreathed, but are of great breadth, and they
trail them in the way peacocks trail their
tails, when they neither straighten nor erect
them : the feathers of these Indian cocks are in
colour golden, and also dark-blue like the sma-
ragdus.

(3) There is found in India also another re-
markable bird. This is of the size of a starling
and is parti-coloured, and is trained to utter the
sounds of human speech. It is even more talka-
tive than the parrot, and of greater natural clever-
ness. So far is it from submitting with pleasure
to be fed by man, that it rather has such a pining
for freedom, and sQch a longing to warble at will in
the society of its mates, that it prefers starvation
to slavery with sumptuous fare. It is called by
the Makedonians who settled among the Indians
in the city ofBoukephala and its neighbour-
hood, and in the city called Kuropolis, and
others which Alexander the son of Philip built,
the Kerkion. This name had, I believe, its ori-

Kil

giu in the fact thai the bird wags its tail in the
same way as the water-ousels (o» Kiyic\oi)*

(1) I learn further that in India there is a bird
called the Kelas, which is thrice the size of the
• bustard, and has a bill of 'prodigious size and
long legs. It is furnished also with an immense
crop resembling^ leather pouch. • The cry which
it utters is peculiarly discordant. The plumage
is ash-coloured, except that the feathers at their
tips arc tinted with a pale yellow.

(it) I hear also that the Indian hoopoe (*(irona)
is double the size of ours, and more beautiful 4n
appearance, and Homer says that while the bridle
and trappings of a horse are the delight of a Hel-
lenic king, this hoopoe is the favourite plaything
of the king of the Indians, who carries it on his
hand, and toys with it, and never tires gazing in
ecstasy on its splendour, and the beauty with which
Nature has adorned it. The Brachmancs, there-
fore, even make this particular bird the subject of
a mythic story, and the tale told of it runs thus : —
To the king of the Indians there was born a
son. The child had elder brothers, who when they
came to maVs estate turned put to be very un-
just and the greatest of reprobates, llicy despised
their brother because he was the youngest ; and
they scoffed also at their father and their mother,
whom they despised because they were very old
and grey-haired. The boy, accordingly, and his
aged parents could at last no longer live with these
wicked men, and away they fled from home, .ill

162

three together. In the course of the protracted
journey which they had then to undergo, the old
people succumbed to fatigue and died, and the boy
showed them no light regard, but buried them in
himself, having cutoff hishead with a sword. Then,
as the Brachmanes tell us, the all-seeing sun,
in admiration of this surpassing act of piety, trans-
formed the boy into a bird which is most beauti-
ful to behold, and which lives to a very advanced
age. So on his head there grew up^a crest which
was, as it were, a memorial of what he had
done at the time of his flight. The Athenians
have also related, in a fable, marvels somewhat
similar of the crested lark ; and this fable Aristo-
phanes, the comic poet, appears to me to have
followed when he says in the Birds, " For thou
wcrt ignorant, and not always bustling, nor
always thumbing jEsop, who spake of the crested
lark, calling it the first of all birds, born before
ever the earth was ; and telling how afterwards
her father became sick and died, and how that, as
the earth did not then exist, he lay unburied till the
fifth day,"whcn his daughter, unable to find a grave
elsewhere, chig tfnc for him in her own head."||

|| Linos 470-75:—
" Yon'ro sucli a dull incurious lot, unread in iEsop's lore,
Whoso story says the lark was born firs!; of the feathered

quire,
Before the earth ; then came a cold and carried off his sire :
Earth was not : five days lay the old bird untombed : at last

the son
Buried the father in his head, since other grave was

none." ....

Dr. Kennedy a translation,

103

It seems, accordingly, probable that the fable,
though with a different bird for its subject,
emanated from the Indians, and spread onward
eveji to the Greeks. For the Brachmanes say
•that a prodigious time ha? elapsed since the
Indian hoopoe, then in human form and young in
years, performed'that act of picty*to its parents.

(6.) In India there is an animal closely resem-
bling in appearance the land crocodile, and some-
where about ^le size of a little Maltese dog. It
is covered all over with a scaly skin so rough
altogether and compact that when flayed off irts
used by the Indians as a file. It cuts through
brass and eats iron. They call it the phattages
(pangolin or scaly ant-eater)

(8.) The Indian sea breeds sea-snakes which
have broad tails, and the lakes breed hydras of
immense size, but these sea-snakes appear to
inflict a bite more sharp than poisonous.

(9.) In India there are herds of wild horses,
and also of wild asses. They say that the mares
submit to be covered by the asses, and enjoy
such coition, and breed mules, which are of a
reddish colour and very fleet, «but impatient of
the yoke and otherwise skittish. They say that
they catch these mules with foot-traps, and then
take them to the king of the Prasians, and that
if they are caught when two years old they do
not refuse to be broken in, but if caught when
beyond that age they differ in no respect from
sharp-toothed and carnivorous animals.

1G4

(Fragm. XI L B follows liere.)

(1 1 .) There is found in India a grarninivorou s
animal which is double the size of a horse, and
which has a very bushy tail purely blaclr.in
colour. The hair of this tail is finer than hu-
man hair, and its possession is a point on which
Indian women set great store, for therewith they
make a, charming coiffure, by binding and braid-
ing it with the locks of their own natural hair.
The length of a hair is two cubifcs, and from a
single root there sprout out, in the form of a
ftingc, somewhere about thirty hairs. The ani-
mal itself is the most timid that is known, for
should it pcrreive that any one is looking at it, it
starts off at its utmost speed, and runs right
forward,— r-but its eagerness to escape is greater
than the rapidity of its pace. It is hunted with
horses and hounds good to run. When it sees
that it is on the point of being caught, it hides its
tail in some near thicket, while it stands at bay
facing its pursuers, whom it watches narrowly. It
even plucks up courage in a way, and thinks that
since its tail is hid from view the hunters will not
care to capture it, for it knows that its tail is the
great object of attraction. But it finds this to
be, of course, a vain delusion, for some one hits
it with a poisoned dart, who then flays off the
entire skin (for this is of value) and throws away
the carcase, as the Indians make no use of any
part of its flesh.

(12.) But further; whales are to be found

1(55

in the Indian Sea, and these five times larger
than the largest elephant. A rib of this mon-
strous fish measures as much as twenty cubits,
^ind its lip fifteen cubits. The fins near the
gills are each of them so much as seven cubits
iu breadth. The shellfish called Kerukes are
also met with, and the purple-fish of a size
that would admit it easily into a gallon mea-
sure, while on the other hand the shell of the
sea-urchin is large enough to cover com-
pletely a measure of that size. Bnt fish in India
attain enormous dimensions, especially tbffsea-
wolves, the thunnies, and the golden-eyebrows.
I hear also that at the season when the rivers are
swollen, and with their full and boisterous flood
deluge all the land, the fish arc carried into the
fields, where they swim and wander to and fro,
even in shallow water, and that when the rains
which flood the rivers cease, and the waters re-
tiring from the land resume their natural chan-
nels, then in the low-lying tracts and in flat
and marshy grouuds, where we may be sure the
so-called Nine are wont to have some watery re-
cesses ((cotamis). fish even of eight cubits' length
are found, which the husbandmen themselves
catch as they swim about languidly on the surface
of the water, which is no longer of a depth they
can freely move in, but in fact so very shallow
that it is with the utmost difficulty they can
live iu it at all.

(13.) The following fish are also indigenous

fo India : -prickly roaches, which are never in
any respect, smaller than the asps of Argolis ; and
shrimps, which in India are even larger than
crabs. Th^se, I must mention, finding their
way from the sea up the Ganges, have claws
which are very large, and which feel rough to
the touch. I have ascertained that vhose shrimps
which pass from the Persian Gulf into the river
Indus have their prickles smooth, and the feelers
with which they arc furnished elongated and
eurliug, hut this species has no claws.

(F*;) The tortoise is found in India, where it
lives in the rivers. It is of immense size, and it has
a shell not smaller than a full-sized skiff (cnca^i;),
and which is capable of holding ten medimui
(120 gallons), of pulse. There arc, however, also
laud- tortoises which may be about as big as the
largest clods turned up in a rich soil where the
glebe is very yielding, and the plough sinks
deep, and, cleaving the furrows with ease, piles
the clods up high. These arc said to cast their
shell. Husbandmen, and all the hands engaged
in field labour, turn them up with their mattocks,
and take them outrjust in the way one extracts
wood-worms from the plants they have eaten
into. They are fat things and their flesh is
sweet, having nothing of the sharp flavour of the
sea-tortoise.

(IS.) Intelligent animals are to be met with
among ourselves, but they are few, and not at all so
common as they are in India. For there we find

107

the elephant, which answers to this character and
the parrot, and apes of the sphinx kind, and
the creatures called satyrs. Nor lfitist we for-
get the Indian ant, which is so rioted for its
wisdom. The ants of dur own country do, no
doubt, dig for themselves subterranean holes and
burrows, and* by boring provide themselves with
lurking-places, and wear out all their strength in
what may be called mining operations, which are
iudescribably toilsome and conducted with se-
crecy ; but the Indian ants construct for them-
selves a cluster of tiny dwelling-houses, Mited
not on sloping or level grounds where they could
easily be inundated, but on steep and lofty
eminences. And in these, by boring out with
untold skill certain circuitous passages which
remind one of the Egyptian burial-vaults or
Cretan labyrinths, they so contrive the structure
of their houses that none of the lines run
straight, and it is difficult for anything to enter
them or flow into them, the windings and per-
forations being so tortuous. On the outside
they leave only a single aperture to admit them-
selves ami the grain which* they collect and
carry to their store-chambers. Their object in
selecting lofty sites for their mansions is, of
course, to escape the high floods and inundations
of the rivers ; and they derive this advantage
from their foresight, that they live as it were in
so many watch-towers or islands when the parts
around the heights become all a lake. More-

168

over, the mounds they live in, tl'ough placed
in contiguity, so far from being I.toscned and
torn asunder by the deluge, are rather strength-
ened, especially by the morning dew: for they
put on, so to speak, a boat of ice formed from
this dew — thin, no doubj;, but slill of strength •
while at the same* time they arc mildc more con:
pact at their base by weeds and bark of trees
adhering, which the silt of the river has carried
down. Let so much about Indian ants be said
by me now, as it was said by lobas long ago.

(<k-S) In the country of the Indian A r c i a n o i
there is a subterranean chasm down in which
there are mysterious vaults, concealed ways, and
thoroughfares invisible to men. These are deep
withal, and stretch to a very great distance. How
they came to exist, and how they were excavated,
the Indians do not say, nor do I concern myself
to inquire. Hither the Indians bring more than
thrice ten thousand head of cattle of different
kinds, sheep and goats, and oxen and horses ; and
every person who has been terrified by an omin-
ous dream, or a warning sound or prophetic voice,
or who has seen aibird of evil augury, as a sub-
stitute for his lile casts into the chasm such a victim
as his private means can afford, giving the animal
as a ransom to save his soul alive. The victims
conducted thither arc not led in chains nor other-
wise coerced, but they go along this road willing-
ly, as if urged forward by some mysterious spell ;
and as soon as they find themselves on the verge

H>9

of the chasm (hey voluntarily leap in, and dis-
appear for ever from human sight so .soon as they
fall into this mysterious and viewless cavern
06 the earth. But above # there are heard the
bellowings of oxijn, the bleating of sheep, the
neighing of horses, and the plaintive cries of
goats, and if any one goes near enough to the
edge and closely applies his ear he will«hear afar
off the sounds just mentioned. This commingled
sound is onerthat never ceases, for every day that
passes men bring new victims to be their sub-
stitutes. Whether the cries of the animals last
brought only are heard, or the cries also of those
brought before, I know not, — all I know is that
the cries are heard. .

(17) In the sea which has been mentioned they
say there is a very large island, of which, as I hear,
the name is Taproband. From what I can
learn, it appears to be a very long and mountainous
island, having a length of 7000 stadia anda breadth
of 5000.*!" It has not, however, any cities, but only
villages, of which the number amounts to 750. The
houses in which the inhabitants lodge themselves
are made of wood, and sometimes also of reeds.

(18.) In the sea which surrounds the islands,
tortoises are bred of so vast a size that their shells
are employed to make roofs for the houses : for a
shell, being fifteen cubits in length, can hold a

If In the classical writers tho size of this island is uiwayx
greatly exaggerated. Its actual length from north to
south i»27U miles, and its breadth from east to west 137J,
and ite circuit about 650 miles. t

'.70

good many people under it, screening them frofri
the scorching heat of the sun, besides affording
them a welcome shade. But, more than this, it
is a protection against the violence of storms. of
rain far more effective" than tiles, for it at once
shakes off the rain that dashes against it, while
those under its shelter hear the "rain rattling as
on the roof of a house. At all events they do
not require to shift their abode, like those whose
tiling is shattered, for the shell is h?rd and like
a hollowed rock and the vaulted roof of a natural
cavern.

The island, then, in the great sea, which they
call Taprobane, has palm-groves, where the trees
arc jilanted with wonderful regularity all in a row,
in the way wo sec the keepers of pleasure-parks
plant out shady trees in the choicest spots. It
has also herds of elephants, which are there very
numerous and of the largest size. These island
elephants are more powerful than those of the
mainland, and in appearance larger, and may
be pronounced to be in every possible way more
intelligent. The islanders export them to the
mainland opposite in boats, which they construct
expressly for this traffic from wood supplied
by the thickets of the island, and they dispose
of their cargoes to the king of the Kalingai.
On account of the great size of the island, the
inhabitants of the interior have never seen the
si a, bat pass their lives as if resident on a con-
tinent, though tno doubt they learn from others

71.

that they are all around enclosed by the sea.
The inhabitants, again, of the coast have no
practical acquaintance with elephant-catching,
a*d know of it only by report. All their energy
is devoted to earthing fish and the monsters of
the deep ; for the sea encircling the island is
reported to breed an incredible number of fish,
both of the smaller fry and of the monstrous
sort, among the latter being some which have the
heads of licais and of panthers and of other wild
beasts, and also of rams; and, what is stil^a
greater marvel, there are monsters which in all
points of their shape resemble satyrs. Others
are in appearance like women, but, instead of
having locks of hair, arc furnished with prickles.
It is even solemnly alleged that this sea contains
cei'tain strangely formed creatures, to represent
which in a picture would baffle all the skill of the
artists of the country, even though, with a view to
make a profound sensation, they arc wont to
paint monsters which consist of different parts of
different animals pieced together. These have
their tails und the parts which are wreathed of
great length, and have for ' feet* cither claws
or fins. I learn further that they are amphibi-
ous, and by night graze on the pasture-fields, for
they eat grass like cattle and birds that pick
up seeds. They have also a great liking for the
date when ripe enough to drop from the palms,
and accordingly they twist their coils, which are
supple, and large enough for the purpose, around

172

these trees, and shake them so violently that
the dates come tumbling down, and afford them
a welcome repast. Thereafter when the night
begins gradually to wane, but before there is yet
clear daylight, they disappear by plunging into
the sea just as the first flush of morjiing faintly
illumines its surface. They sky whales also
frequent ,this sea, though it is not true that
they come near the shore lying in wait for
thunnies. The dolphins arc reported to be of
two 3orts — one fierce and armed with sharp-
pothted teeth, which gives endless trouble to the
fisherman, and is of a remorselessly cruel disposi-
tion, while the other kind is naturally mild and
tame, swims about in the friskiest way, and is
quite like a fawning dog. It does not run away
when any one tries to stroke it, and it takes with
pleasure any food it is offered.

(19.) The sea-hare, by which I now mean the
kind found in the great sea (for of the kind found
in the other sea I have already spoken), re-
sembles in every particular the land hare ex-
cept only the fur, which in the case of the
land animal ,\s soft and lies smoothly down, and
does not resist the touch, whereas its brother
of the sea has bristling hair which is prickly, and
inflicts a wound on any one who touches it. It
is said to swim atop of the sea- ripple without ever
diving below, and to be very rapid in its move-
ments. To catch it alive is no easy matter, as it
never falls into s the net, nor goes near the line and

173

bait of the fishing-rod. When it suffers, how-
ever,- from disease, and, being in consequence
hardly able to swim, is cast out on shore, then if
anyone touches it with his hand death ensues if he
is not attended to, — nay, should one, were it only
with a staff, touch* this dead hare, he is affected in
the same way A those who have touched a basi-
lisk. But a root, it is said, grows along the coast
of the island, well known to every one, which
is a remedy , for the swooning which ensues. It
is brought close to the nostrils of the person who
has fainted, who thereupon recovers conscious-
ness. But should the remedy not be applied the
injury proves fatal to life, so noxious is the
vigour which this hare has at its command.

Frag. XT. B. follows here*
(22.) There is also a race called the S k i r a-
t a i,f whose country is beyond India. They are

* This is the fragment in which JElian describes the
one-horned animal which he calls the Kartawm. Rosen -
mfiller, who has treated at largo of tho unicorn, which he
identifies with the Indian rhinoceros, thinks that ^Elian
probably borrowed his account of it from Kte'sias, who
when in Persia may have heard exaggerated accounts of it,
or may have seen it represented in (sculpture with varia-
tions from its actual appearance. Tychsea derives its name
from Kerd, an old name, he says, of the rhinoceros itself,
and tanan, i.e., cv/rrens velox, vrniens. Throe animals
were spoken of by the ancients as having asingle_ horn — the
African Oryx, the Indian Ass, and what is specially called
the Unicorn. Vide cmte, p. 59.

t Vide ante, Fragm. xxx. 3, p. 80, and p. 74, notet, where
they are identified with the Kir&tas. In tho R6.md.yama
there is a passage quoted by Lassen (Zeitschr. f. Kunde d.
Morgenl. II. 40) where are mentioned "the Kiratas, some
of whom dwell in Mount Mandara, others use their ears as a
covering ; they are horrible, black-faced, with but one foot

174

snub-nosed, either because in (he tender years of
infancy their nostrils are pressed down, and con-
tinue to be so throughout their after-life, o
because such is the natural shape of the organ
Serpents of enormous size are bred in tbei.
country, of which some kinds seize the cattle when
at pasture and devour them, while ether kinds only
suck the blood, as do the Aigithelai in Greece, of
which I have already spoken in the proper place.

but very fleet,, who cannot be exterminated, are brave
men and cannibals." (Schwanbeek, p. 66.) f Lassen places
011c branch of them on the south bank of the Kausi iu
Pupal, and another in Tipera.— Ed. hid. Ant.'}

TRANSLATION

OF THE

MUST PART OE THE INDIRA
OF AEMffi

Chaps. I.— XVII. inclusive.

PROM TBUBNEE'S EDITION,
Lbipzio, 1867.

INTRODUCTION.

Arrian, who variously distinguished himself
as a philosopher, a statesman, a soldier, and an
historian, was bora in Nikoroedia, in Kithynia,
towards the end of the first century. He became
a pupil of the philosopher ilpiktetos, whose lcffi'res
he published. Having been appointed prelect of
Kappadokia under the emperor Hadrian, ho acquired
during his administration a practical knowledge
of the tactics of 'war in repelling an attack made up-
on his province by the Alani and Massagetaj. His
talents recommended him to the favour of the
succeeding emperor, Antoninus Pius, by whom he
was raised to the consulship (a.d. 146'). In his
later years he retired to his native town, where he
applied his leisure to the composition of works on
history, to which he was led by his admiration of
Xenophon. Ho died at an advanced age,. in the
reign of the, emperor Marcus Aurclins. The work
by which he is best known 'fa hyj account of
the Asiatic expedition of Alexander the Great,
which is remarkable alike for the accuracy of its
narrative, andtbeXenophontic case and clearness,
if not the perfect purity, of its style. His work
on India ('Iv&k^ or to 'hHum) may be regarded as
a continuation of his Anabasis, though it is not
written, like the Anabasis, in the Attic dialect, but
in the Ionic. The reason may have been that he

178

wished his work to supersede the old and less
accurate account of India written in Ionic by Kte-
Bias of Knidos.

Tho hiik consists of three parts : — the fiwt
gives a general description of India, based chiefly
on tho accounts of the country ' given by Megas-
thenfe and ErauOsthcnSs (chaps i-xvii.); tho
second gives an account of the voyage made by
Nearchos the Kretan from the Indus to the
Fasitigris, based entirely on the narrative of
the voyage written by Nearchos himself (chaps.
xviji.-xlii,); the third contains a collection of
proois to show that the southern parts of the world
are uninhabitable on account of tho great heat
(chap. xE to the end),

THE INDIKA OF ARRIAN.

I. The* regions beyond the, river I n d u s on
the west are inhabited, up to the river K dp h e u,
by two Indian tribes, the A s t a k e n a i and the
Assakenoi, who are not men of great stature
like the Iudians on the other side of the Indus,
nor so brave, nor yet so swarthy as most Indians.
They Were in old times subject to the Assyrians,
then after a period of Median rule submitted to
the Persians, and paid to K y r o s the son of
Kambysfo the tribute from their land which
Kyros had imposed. The N y s a i o i , however,
are not an Indian race, but descendants of those,
who came into India with Dionysos , — perhaps
not only of those Greeks who had been disabled
for service in the course of the wars which
Dionysos waged against the Indians, but perhaps
also of natives of the country whom Dionysos,
with their own consent, had settled along with the
Greeks. The district in which he* planted this
colony he named N y s a i a, after Mount Nysa,
and the city itself N y s a.* But the mountain

*' Nysa, the birthplace of the wine-god, was placed,
according to fancy, anywbero up and down the world
wherever tho vine was found to flourish. Now, as the
region watered by the K6ph.es was in no ordinary measure
feradious of the joyous tree, there was consequently a Nysa
somewhere upon its banks. Lassen doubted whether there

ISO

close by the city, and on the lower slopes of which
it is built, is designated Meros, from the accident
which befell the god immediately after his birth.
These stories about Dionysos arc of course but
fictions of the poets, aAd wc leave them to the
learned among the Greeks or Barbarians to ex-
plain as they may. In the dofniuions of the
Assakcnoi there is a great city called M a s-
s a k a, the seat of the sovereign power which

controls the whole reahn.f And there is an-

other city, Pcuk ulai t i s, which is also of
gr!!ftfc;.Ize and not far from the Indus. £ These

wasacifcytotfio name: bntM. de St.-Martin islessscpptionl,
and would identify it- with an existing villa™i.» which pre-
serves tivecsof its iiaiiio, being called Nyflitta. This, lie say*,
is near tho northern bank f>f tho river of Kabul at less
than *w.i lcasrneq Ih'Iow Uashlnaijiir, and may suitably re-
present tlio Sy<-i ■ •(" i In-* historians. This place, he adds,
ought, to bo oF .Median or iVivia.ii foundation, Biuce. the
nomenclature is Iranian, tlio namo o[ Nyaa or Nisava which
figures in tin? cnftinoffoiiic geograph / of tho Zi'whivesta
beinj? one whjch is J'ar-siiread in tlm countries of ancient
Iran. He refers hit-' readers for remarks on this point, to
A. de Humboldlvs Cri)tr<l Asia, 1. pp. lift neq. ed. 1843.

t Massaka (other forms are Massa<;», Masaga, and
Mazaga.) — Tho Sanskrit M a*akft, a. pity situated near the
Gauri. /JurtiiM states that it was defended by a rapid
river on its eastern side. When attacked by Alexander, it
held out for four days against all his assaults. '

J PeukelaV is (other forms— Peiikelnotis, Peukolitw,
Peukelaotis). " The (Jreek name of Peukelaotis or Peuko-.
la.itis was immediately derived from Pukkalaoti, which is
the Tali or spoken form of the Sanskrit Pushkalav a ti.
It is also called Ponkelns by Arrian, and the people are
named Peukalei by Dionysius Periegetes, which are
both closo transcripts of the PAH P u k k a 1 a. The form of
ProklaTs, which is found in Arriau's 1'm-iplux of the Ery~
thrwan Sea and also in Ptolemy's Geography, is perhaps
only an attempt to tfive the Hindi name of Pokhar,
instead of the .Sanskrit P n s h k a r a." So General Gun-
Dinghaiu, who fixed its position at " the two largo town*

1S1

settlements lie on the other side of the river
Indus, and extend in a westward direction as far
as the Kop hen.

,11. Now the countries which lie to the east
of the Indus I take to be *I n d i a Proper, and
the people who inhahit tljp m to be Indians.!?
The northern boundaries of IndAi so defined are
formed by Mount T auro s, though the range
does not retain that name in these parts. Tauros
begins from the sea which washes the coasts
of J'amphylia, Lykia, and Kilikia, and stretches
away towards the Eastern Sea, intersecting* i-tie
whole continent of Asia. The range bears dif-
ferent names in the different countries which
it traverses. In one place it is called Para-
p a mi sos, in another Emodos,|| and iu a

Paransr nnd Ghilrradn, which form part of Ihe well-known
Has lit n fi jjar. or ' eight cities,' tliat are suited closo to-
gether on tlic eastern bunk of the lower JSwf.t river." The
position indicated is nearly seventeen miles to I In- north-
east of Pc-hhfiivnr. Pus hi a hi, according to Prof. Wilson,
is still reprcsenti d by the nu'dern Pckh cly or Pakholi,
in tho neighbourhood of Peshawar.

§ In limiting Indifi to the eastern side of tho Indus,
.Arrinn cxproscs tho view generally lield in antiquity,
which would appear to he also that of the Hindus them-
selves, sineerthey are forbidden by one of their old tradi-
tions to cross tlilit river. Much, lnnvVver, may he «iid for
the theory which would extend India to the foot of tho
'great mountain ranges of Hindu Kush and Parapaniisos.
There is, for instance, tho fact that in the region lying
between these mountains and tho Indus many places either
now bear, or liavo formerly borne, names whieh can with
certainty bo traced to Sanskrit sources. The subject is
diBenssed at some length in Blphinstone's Hixtunj of India,
pp. 331-«, also by de St-Mnrtin.— E'lvde, pp. 9-14.

|| Parapainisoa (other forms— -Paropamisos, Paro-
pamissos, Pnropanisos). This denotps the great moun-
tain range now called Hind A Knsh, supposed to

182

third I m a o a , and it has perhaps other names
besides. The Makedonians, again, who served
with Alexander called it K a u k a s o s, — this
being another Kaukasos and distinct from the
Skythian, so that the story went that Alexander
penetrated to the regions beyond Kaukasos.

> : — t

bo a corrnptod form of " Indicus Caucasus," the name
given to tb,c range by the Macedonians, either to flatter
Alexander, or because they regarded it as a. continuation of
Kaukasos. Arrinn, however, and others held it to bo a
continuation of Tauros. Tho mountains belonging to
tho range which lie to tho north of the Kabul river are
called N i a h a'd h a, (see Lassen, Ind. Alt. l..p. 22, note), a
Slterifist word which tippeuro perhaps in tho form Paro-
panisos, which is that given by Ptolemy. According to
Pliny, the Skythians called Mount Caucasus Graucasis,
a word which represents the Indian name of Paropamisos,
Gravakshas, which Hitter translates " aplcndc-nles
rupium mantes." .According to CJenerul Cunningham, the
Mount P a r e a h or Aparasin of tho ZemJavi-stn cor-
responds with the Paropaniisos of the Greeks, l'aro, the
first part of the word, St.-Murtin says, represents un-
doubtedly tho Pa.ru or Paruta of the local dialeets
(in Zend, rurauta meaning mountain). He acknow-
ledges, however, that he cannot assign any reason why the
syllabic j>a has been intercalated betweeu the vocables
pai-u and nishada to form the Paropanisadw of the
Greek. The first Greek writer who mentions' the range is
Aristotle, who calls it Parnassos : see his MeteoroL I. 18.
Hindu. Kn sh generally designates now the eastern part
of the range, and Paroparoisos tho western. Accord-
ing to 'Sir Alexander Barnes, the na.mo Hindu Kush is
unknown to the Afghftns, but there is a pattieular peak
and also a pass, bearing that name betweou Afghanistan
end Turkestan. — E mod on (other forms — Emoda, Emo-
don, Hemodes). The name generally designated that part
of the Himalayan range which extended along Nepal aud
Bhfttan and onward towards the ocean. Lassen derives
the word from the Sanskrit lisiimavata, in Prakrit havmota,
' snowy.' If this bo so, ' Hnmodos' is the more correct
form. Another derivation refers the word to " hfrnMiri*
{kemob, gold, and oAt i, mountain), ' tho golden mountains/
— so called either because they were thought to contain
gold mines, or because of the aspect they presented when
their snowy peaks reflected the golden effulgence of snnsot.

183

On the west the boundaries of India are*
marked by the river Indus all the way to tbe
great ocean into which it pours its waters, which
it •does by two mouths. These mouths are not
close to each other, like the five mouths of the
I s t e r (Danube), but diverge Jikc those of the
N i 1 e, by which the Egyptian delta is formed.
The Indus in like manner makes an Indian delta,
which is not inferior in area to the Egyptian, and
is called in the Indian tongue P a 1 1 a 1 a.^[

On the south-west, again, and on the soutlj,
India is bounded by the great ocean just "men-
tioned, which also forms its boundary on the east.
The parts toward the south about Pattala and
the river Indus were seen by Alexander and many
of the Greeks, but in an eastern direction Alex-

«jf Pattala. — The name of the Delta was properly
Fatal one, and FA tain was its capital. This wits
situated at the head of the Delta, where the western stream
of the Indus bifurcated. That ha has generally been
regarded as its modern representative, but General Cun-
ningham would "almost certainly" identify it with
Nirankol or Haidarah&d, of which P&talpur
and Pfttasila ('flat rock') were old appellations. With
regard to the name Fatala he suggests that " it nA,y have
been derived from P&tala, the trumpet flower" (Bignunia
svaveolens), *' in allusion to the trumpet shapo of the pro-
vince included- between the eastern and western branches
of the mouth of the Indus, as the two branches as thoy
approach the sea curve outward like the month of a trum-
pet." Bitter, however, says : — " Fatal* 1 is the designa-
tion bestowed by the Brahmans on all the provinces in the
west towards sunsot, in antithesis to Frasiaka (the
eastern realm) in Ganges.land : for P&til/i is the mytholo-
gical name in Sanskrit of the under-world, and conse-
quently of the land of the west." Arrian's estimate of the
magnitude of the Delta is somewhat excessive. The length
of its base, from the Fitti to the Kori mouth, was less than
1000 stadia, while that of the Egyptian Delta was 1300.

1st

xnder did not penetrate beyond the river II \-
p li a s i s, though a few authors have described
the country as far as the river Gauges and
the parts near its niouths and the city of P <a-
limbothra, which is the ^.greatest in India,
and situated neap; the Ganges.

III. I .thttll now state the dimensions of India,
and in dokig so let me follow Eratosthenes
of Kyreufi as the safest authority, for this Kra-
tosthenos made its circuit a subject of special
imjuirv.* He states, then, that if aline be drawn
from Mount Tauros, where the Indus has its
springs, along the course of that river and as far
as the great ocean and the mouths of the Indus,
this side of India will measure 13,000 stadia. f
But the contrary side, which diverges from the
same point of Tauros and runs along the Eastern
Sea, he makes of a much different length, for
there is a headland which projects far out into the

* Schinieder, from whose text I translate, has here
altered (perhaps unnecessarily) the reading of the MSS.
from rfys itepioduv to ytjs Tre/nobov. The measurements
given by Strata are more accurut'i than thoge of Arrian.
They are, however, iut at all wide of the mark; General
Cunningham, iutleed, remarks that their close agreement
with the actual size of the couutry is very remarkable, and
shows, ho adds, that the Indians, even at that early date in
their history, had a very accurato knowledge of the form
and extent of their native land.

f The Olympic stadium, 'which was in perioral use
throughout Greece, contained 600Grcokfcet "-- 625 Roman
feet, or 606$ English feet. Too Uoman mile containod
eight stadia, being about half a stadium less than an
English mile. The schoinos (mentioned below) was ~ 2
Persian parasangs — 60 stadia, but was generally taken at
haif that length. ,

185

sea, and this headland is in length about 3*000
stadia. The eastern side of India would thus by
his calculation measure 16,000 stadia, and this is
wjiat he assigns as the breadth of India. The
length, again, from west to'cast as far as the city
oF P a 1 i m b o I h r a he sets down, he says, as
it had been measured by tchaan) since there ex-
isted a royal highway, and he gives it as 10,000
stadia. But as for the parts beyond they were
not measure^ with equal accuracy. Those, how-
ever, who write from mere hearsay allege that
the breadth of India, inclusive of the hi-niknd
which projects into the sea, is about 10,000 stadia,
while the length measured from the coast is about
20,000 stadia. But K t 6 s i a s of Knidos says
that India equals in size all the rest of Asia, which
is absurd; while Oncsikritos as absurdly
declares that it is the third part of the whole
earth. Nearchos, again, says that it takes
a journey of four months to traverse even the
plain of India ; while Megast heads, who
calls the breadth of India its extent from east to
west, though others call this its length, says that
where shortest the breadth "is 1,0,000 stadia,
and that its length — by which he means its ex-
tent from north to south— is, where narrowest,
22,300 stadia. But, whatever be its dimensions,
the rivers of India are certainly the largest to
be found in all Asia. The mightiest are the
Ganges and the Indus, from which the
country receives Us name. Botlj are greater than

180

the Egyptian Nile and the Skythian later
even if their streams were united into one. I
think, too, that even the A k e s i n 6 s is greater
than either the Ister or the Nile where it jojns
the Indus after receiving its tributaries the II y-
d a s p e s and the Ilydraotes, sjnee it is at
that point so much as 300 stadia In breadth. It
is also pqssible that there are even many other
larger rivers which take their course through
India. „

IV. liut I am unable to give with assur-
ance*?;! being accurate any information regarding
the regions beyond the H y p h a s i s, since the
progress of Alexander was arrested by that river.
But to recur to the two greatest rivers, the Gan-
ges and the Indus. Mcgasthenos states
that of the two the G a n g c s is much the larger,
and other writers who mention the Ganges agree
with him ; for, besides being of ample volume
even where it issues from its springs, it receives
as tributaries the river K a i n a s, and the Eran-
noboas, and the Kossoanos, which are all
navigable. It receives, besides, the river S o n o s
and the S i t, t o k a t i s, and the S o 1 o m a t i s,
which arc also navigable, and also the Rondo*
c h a 1 6 s, and the S a m b o s, and the M a g 6 u,
and the Agoranis, and thcOmalis. More-
over there fall into it the Kommenases, a
great river, and the. K ako uth is, and the
Andomatis, which flows from the dominions
of the M a d y«t n d i n o i, an Indian tribe. In

187

addition to all these, the A m y s t i s, which flows
past the city Katadapa, and the Oxyrai-
g i s from the dominions of a trihe called the
Pin z ala i, and the Errenysis from the

Ma t ha i, an Indian trihe, unite with the Ganges. J

, «

J Arrian here Awmerates seventeen tributaries of the
Ganges. The number is .given us nineteen by Pliny, who
adds the Prinas anil the Jomands, which Arrian elsewhere
(cap. viii.) mentions wider the name of the Jobares. Those
tributaries have been nearly ail identified by the
researches of, such learned men as Kennel, Wilford,
Sculcgel, Lassen, and Hchwanbcdk. M. do St.-J1artin,
in reviewing their conclusions, clears np a few poinla
which thoy had left in donbl, or wherein ho thiiiim tlifly
had erred. I shall now shew bow ciieb of the nineteen
tributaries has been identified.

Ka'inas. — This has been identified with the Kan, or Kane,
or Kcna, which, however, is only indirectly a tributary of the
Ganges, as it falls into the Jaranu. The Sanskrit name of
the Kau is Sona, and Scbwnnbeck (p. 36) objects to the
identification that the Greeks invariably represent the Sans-
krit (■ by their >7, and never by at. St.-Martin attaches
uo importance to tins objection, and gives the Sanskrit
equivalent as Kaiana.

Krranoboas. — As Arrian informs us (cap. s.) that
Paliiubothra(L' Ataliptitra, Patni") was situated
at the confluence of tliis river with the Ganges, it must
be identilied with the river S 6 n, whieli formerly join-
ed the Ganges u. little above Uankipnr, the western
suburb of I'iitnft, from which its embouchure fcs now
1C miles distant and higher up the Ganges. The word no
doubt represents the Sanskrit H i r a n^ a v A h a (' carrying
gold') or rliranyahahu ('having golden an*s'), which are
both poetical names of the Sim. Megastheues, however,
and Arrian, both mako the Erannoboas and the Son to bo
distinct rivers, and hence some would identify the former
with the Gandak (Sanskrit Gandaki), which, accord-
ing to Lassen, was called by tho Buddhists lliranyavati,
or ' tlie golden.' It is, however, too small a stream to suit
the description of- the Erannoboas, that it was the largest
river in India after the Ganges and Indus. Tho Son may
perhaps in tho time of Mogasthencs have joined the Ganges
by two channels, which he may have mistaken for separate
rivers.

188

Regarding these streams Mcgastheuusas-
serts that none of them is inferior to the M a i-

Ko bo an os. — Cosoagns is tlio form of the name in
Pliny, and heneo it hiis been taken to bo the representa-
tive of tho Sanskrit K a. ulhiki, tbc river now vailed tlie
Kosi. Schwanhcck, however, thinks it represents the
Sanskrit KusAvSJia ('treasure-bearing ), and tlmt it is there-
fore an epithet of V.ie S ft n, like IliranyavfUia, wliich has
the same meaning. It seems somcmiat to favour this
view that ArriaTi iu his enumeration places tho Kosoa-
nos betwccfi the Kraunoboas and the Son.

Son os. — Tho S6n, wliieh now joins tho Ganges ten
miles above Dinfipur. The word is considered to be a
contraetiou of the Sanskrit Suvarnii (Suvanna).
' golden,' and may have been given as a name to the river
aitlier because its Hands were yellow, or because they
contained gold dust.

Sittokatis. — It has not been ascertained what river
was denoted by this name, but St.-Martin thinks it may
be the representative of the SudakfintsV-a river now
unknown, but mentioned in the .MaliAblifwata, along
with tho KousadharA (tho Kosi), the SadAntra (the Kara-
toya), and the Adhriebya (the Atreyi), from which it w
evident that it l>elonged to tho northern parts of Bengal.

Solomatis. — It has not been ascertained wliat river
was denoted by -this name. General Cunningham iu one
of his maps gives the Solomatis as a name of tho S a r a u j u
or Sarju, a tributary of tho Ghagrft ; whilo Konfey and
others would identify it with Iho famous S a r a s v a 1 1 or
Sarsnti, which, according to tho legends, after disappearing
underground,. -joined tho Ganges at Allahabad. There is
more probability, however, in Lrsseti's suggestion, that
tho word somewhat erroneously transliterates mrdvatt,
the natne of a city of Koaola mentioned by KftlidAsa and
in tho Puriinas, where it apiiears generally in the form
gravasii. This city « tood on a river which, though nowhere
mentioned by Uame, must also liave been called Sa.rQ.eatt,
since there is an obvious connexion between that name and
the name by which the river of that district is now known —
the Bapti.

Kondochatos. — Now the Gandak, — in Sanskrit,
Gandaki or Gandakavati (fiu>0Ktp6tts), — because of its
abounding in a kind of alligator having a horn-like
projection on its nose. It skirted tho eastern border of
Kosala, joining the GangoB opposite Palibothra,

Sambo s. — This has no Sanskrit equivalent. It perhaps
designated the G u m t f , which is said to go by the name of
the S a m b o u at«a part of its course below Lncknow.

189

i n d r o s, even at the navigable part of its course ;
uid as for the Ganges, it has a breadth where

Miigo d. — According to Mannert the R & m g a n g A, but
rgrach more probably tbc Mak Anada, now tbe M~a bona, the
principal river of Magadka, whiih joins tbo GangcB not far
below PAlnA.

Agoranis. — According t* Rcnnel (bo Ghagrfi—a.
word derived from tho Sanskrit Gharghara ('of
gurgling 8ound'),'but according to St.-Martin it must bo
some one or other of the G&ourisso abundant in the
river nomenclature of Northern India. The vulgar form is
G aurana.

O m a 1 i s has not boon identified, but Schwanbeck
remarks tba A | the word closely agrees with tho Sanskrit
V i in a 1 a (' stainless'), a common epithet of rivers.

KomracrniBOs. — Hoiinel and Lassen identify <j)iis
with the K a r ni a n A s a {bnn-onim nperum desltnttrix), a
small river which joins tho Ganges above Baxar. Accord-
ing to a Hindu legend, whoever touches the water of this
river loses all the merit of his good works, this being trans-
ferred to the nymph of tho stream.

Kakouthi s.— Mannert erroneously takes this* to bo tbe
Gum it. Lassen identifies it with tbe Kukouttha of tbe
Buddhist chronicles, and hence with the Uagnmtti, tho
Bhagavati of Sanskrit.

Andflmati s. — Though t by Lassen to bo connected with
tbe Sanskrit Andhamati (tnnebricosnx), which he would
identify, therefore, with tho T Am as A, (now the Tonsa),
the two names being identical in meaning ; but, as the river
canio from the country of tho Madyandini (Sanskrit
M a d h y a n d i n a, meridionalis), — that is, the people of
the Smith, — Wilford's conjecture that the Andomatis is tho
Dammuda, tho river which flows by Bardwan, is more
likely to be correct. Tho Sanskrit nanio of the Dauunuda
is Dharmadaya.

Am y s ti s. — The city Katadupa,*vhich this river passes,
Wllford would identify with Katwa or Outwa, in Lower
Bengal, which is situated on the western branch of the
delta of tho Ganges at tho confluenco of tho Adji. As the
Sanskrit form of the name of Katva should be Katadvfpa
' (dvipa, an island'), M. de St.-Martin thinks this conjecture
has much probability in its favour. Tho Amystis may
therefore bo the Adji, or Ajavati as it is called in
Sanskrit.

x y m a g i s. — The Pazalai or Passalai, called in Sans-
krit Pankala, inhabited the DoSb, and through this or
the region adjacent flowed the Ikshumati ('abounding

narrowest of one hundred stadia, while in many
places it spreads out into lakes, so that when the
country happens to he flat and destitute of eleva-
tions the opposite shores cannot be seen from
each other. The Indus presents also, he says,
similar characteristics. "The H y d r a &to s, flow-
ing from the dominions of the Kd-mbistholi,
falls into the Akesines after receiving the
II y p h a s i s in its passage through the
Astrybai, as well as the Sa ranges from
the K e k i a n s, and the Neudros from the
A 1 1 a"V~e n o i. The Ilydaspes again, rising
in the dominions of the Oxydrakai, and bring-
ing with it the S i n a r o s, received in the
dominion of the A r i s p a i, falls itself into the
A k e s i u 6 s, while the Akesines joins the
Indus in the dominions of the Malloi, but
not until it has' received the waters of a great

name, since tho letters r and T in Grcok could readily be
confounded. The form of the nomo in Mcgasthenea may
have been Oxymctis.

Errenysis closely corresponds to Varanasi, tlio
name of •Hariftras in Sanskrit, — so called from tho rivers
VArAnn. and Asi, which join the Ganges in ita neighbourhood.
The M a t h a i, it has heen thought, may be the pcojplo of
Magadha. St.-Miwtin would fix their position in tho timo of
Mogasthencs in the country between tho lower part of tho
Gumtl and the Ganges, adding that as tho Journal of
Uiwen ThsAng places their capital, Matipura, at a little
distance to the east of the upper Ganges near GaiigA-
dvara, now HardwAr, they must have extended their
namo and dominion by tho traveller's time far beyond
thoir original bounds. Tho Prinas, which Arrian hsa
omitted, St. -Martin would identify with tho TAmasA, which
is otherwise called the FarnAsA, and belongs to tho same
part of the country as tho Kainas, in connexion with which
rliny mentions the prinas.

191

tributary, the Toutapos. Augmented by
all these confluents the A k e s i n e s succeeds
in imposing its name on the combined waters,
and still retains it till it unites with the I n d u s.
The K o p h e n, too, falls into the Indus, rising
in P c u k c t l a ii t'i s, and bringing with it the M a-
1 a n t o s, and *Jie S o a s t o s, and the G a r r o i a.
Higher up than these, the P a r c n o s and S a-
pamos, at no great distance from each other,
empty themselves into the Indus, as docs also
the S o a n o s, which comes without a tributary
from the hill-country of the A b i s s a r t-a u s.§

§ Tribultvries of the. Indus : — Arrian Las hero named
only 13 tributaries of this Indus (in Sanskrit Siudhu, in the
I'cri'pl&s of the Krytli/roian Sea, Sinthos"), but in Ma Ana-
basis (v. (5) ho states that the. number was 15, which is also
the number given by Strabu. 1'liny reckons them at 19.

Uydraotds.— Other forms aro Bhouadis and Hy-
arotis. It is now called the Ravi, the name being a
contraction of the Sanskrit Airavati, which means
'abounding in water,' or 'tho daughter of Air&vat,' the
elephant of Indra, who is said to have generated tho river by
striking his tusk against the rock whence it issues. His
namo has reference to bis ' ocean' origin. The name of tho
Kambistholai does not occur elsewhere. Schwanbeok
(p. 33) conjeeturcs that it may represent tlio Sanskrit
Kapistbala, 'ape-land,' the letter m being insirted, as
in 'Palirabotliro,.' Ho rejects Wilson's suggestion that
the people rifeiy bo identical with tho Kambojce. Arrian
errs in making the Hyphasis a tributary ub the Hydraotes,
for it falls into theAkosinfis below its junction with
that river. See on this point St.-Martin, E'tude, p. 396.

Hyphasis (other forms aro Bibasis, Hypasis, and Hy-
pauis). — In Sanskrit tho VipSsa, and now tho By as a or
Bias. It lost its name on being joined by the Satadru,
* tho hundred-channelled,' the Zaradros of Ptolemy, now
the Satloj. The.Aatrob a i are not mentioned by any
writer except Arrian.

Saranges. — According to Schwanbeok, this word
represents the Sanskrit S a r a n g a, ' six-limbed.' It is
not known what river it designated. Thg Kckians, through

According to M e g a s t h e n e s most of these
rivers are navigable. Wc ought not, therefore, to

whose country it flowed, wore called in Sanskrit, according
to Lassen, Sekaya. (

Noudrosis notknowU. TheAttakenoi are like-
wise unknown, unless their name is another form of
. Assalienoi. «,

H y d a s p e s. — Wdaspcs is the form in Ptolemy, which
makes a nearer approach to its Sanskrit Aamc — the Vitasta.
It is now the Be hut or <T h e 1 a m ; called also by the
inhabitants t>u its banks tho B e d u s t a, ' widely spread.'
It is the "fabulosus Hydaspes" of Horace, and the " Modus
(i.e. Eastern) Hydaspes" of Virgil. It formed the western
boundary of tho dominions of Poros. »

A. k e s i n e s. — Now the C h e n & b : its Sanskrit name
A%iikni ('dark -coloured') is met with in the hymns of the
Veda.^it was called afterwards Clmndrabhfiga (portio
ifuti.ee) . This would be represented in GTeek by San-
drophagos, — a word in sound bo like Awlrophagos or
Ale-;eandropluu)os (' devourer of Alexander') that tho fol-
lowers of the great conqueror changed the name to avoid
tho evil omen, — tho more so, perhaps, on account of tho
disaster which befell the Makedonian fleet at the turbulent
junction of the river with tho Hydaspes. Ptolemy gives its
name as Ha/ndabaga, (Sandabala by an error on the part of
copyists), which is -an exact transcription of the Prakrit
Chandabaga, of which word the Cantabra of Pliny is a
greatly altered form. Tho Malli, in whose country this
river joins the Indus, are tho Malava of Sanskrit, whose
name is prescribed in tho Ifult&n of the present day.

Toutapos. — Probably tho lower part of tho Satadru
or Satlej.

K 6 p h e n. — Another form of the name, used by Stra-
bo, Plury, Ac, is Kophe s, -eHs. It is now tho Kabul
river. The threo rivers here named as its tributaries pro-
bably correspond to Kie Suvftstu, Gauri, and Kam-
pana mentioned in tho 6th book of the MaMbMraty.
The Soastos is no doubt the Suvastu, and the Garoaa tho
Gauri. Curtius and Strabo call the Suastus tho Cho-
aspes. According to Manncrt the Suastus and the
Garroa or Guroeus were idontical. Lassen, however (JnA.
Alterthums. 2nd ed. II. 673 ff.), would identify the
Suastus with tho modern SuwadorSvat, and tho Ga-
rasus with its tributary thePanjkora; and this is the
view adopted by Cunningham. The Malamantos some
would identify with tho Chocs (mentioned by Arrian,
Anabasis iv. 25), which is probably represented by the
K a m e h or Kb. o {i a r, the largest of the tributaries of the

193

distrust what we are told regarding the Indus
and the Gauges, that they are beyond com-
parison greater thau the 1 s t e r and the N i 1 c.
In the case of the Nile we kuow that
it does not receive any tributary, but that,
on the contrary, in its passage J h rough Egypt
its waters are dfeiwn off to fill the canals. As
for the later, it is but an insignificant stream
at its sources, and though it no doubt receives
many confluents, still these arc neither equal
in number to the confluents of the Indus and

J*L..._*

Kabul; others, however, with the Punjkora, while Cun-
ningham takes it to be the Burn, a tributary which
joins the Kabul from the south. With regard to the name
K o p h o 8 this author remarks : — "The name of K o p h e s
its as old as the time of the Vedax, in wldch the K ubh a
river is mentioned [Itotli first pointed this out; — eonf.
Lassen, ■at sup.J us an affluent of the Indus; and, as it is
not an Aryan word, 1 infer that the name must have been
applied to the K ft b u 1 river before the Aryan occupation,
or at least as early as u.c. 2500. In the classical v\ liter*, we
Bud tho Choos, Kophes, and Choaspos rivers to
the west of tho Indus ; and at tho present day we have the
Kutiii r, the Kura in, and the ( ■ o tu a 1 rivers to the west,
and tho Kuuihar river to tho east of the Indus,— all
of which are derived from the Skylhiiin kv, 'water.' It
is tho guttural fiirm of the Assyrian /•». in ' Hu-nhrates'
and ' Eulwns,' and of tlie Turk! su, and Tibebui elm, all
ofwbiehmeaii 'water' or 'river.' Ptolemy tho Geogra-
pher mentions a city called Kabura, Situated on the banks
of the Kophen, and a people called Kabot it;u.

P a r e n o ».— Probably tho modorn B u r i n d u.

S a p a r n o s— Probably tho A b b a a i n.

So an us represents tho Sanskrit Suvana, 'the sun,'
or ' fire' — now the S v a n. Tho Abissaraaans, from whose
country it comes, may be the A b i s a r a of Sanskrit -.
Lassen, Ind. Alt. II. 163. A king called A b i s a r e e
is mentioned by Arrian in his Anabasis (iv. 7). _ It may
be here remarked that tho names of the Indian 'kings, as
given by the Greek writers, wore in general tho names
slightly modilied of the people over who«a they ruled.

194

Ganges, nor are they navigable like them,
if we except a very few, — as, for instance, the
I n n, and Save which I have myself seen. The
Inn joins the later where the Noricaivs
march with the 11 h se t i a n s, and the Save in
the dominions of the P a n n o n i a n s, at a place
which is called T a u r u n n m.|| «Some one may
perhaps know other navigable tributaries of the
Danube, but the number certainly cannot be great.
V. Now if anyone wishes to sta^e a reason
to account for the number and magnitude of the
IudiaiTrivers let him state it. As for myself I
have written on this point, as on others, from
hearsay ; for M e g a s t h e n e s has given the
names even of other rivers which bevond both
the Ganges and the Indus pour their waters
into the Eastern Ocean and the outer basin of
the Southern Ocean, so that he asserts that
there are eight-aud-fifty Indian rivers which are
all of them navigable. But even Mcgasthenes,
so far as appears, did not tiavel over much of
India,, though no doubt he saw more of it than
those who came with Alexander the son of Philip,
for, as ho tells lis, he resided at' the court o<
Sandrakottos, the greatest king in India,
and also at the court of Poros, who was
still greater than he. This same Megasthenes
then informs us that the Indians neither
invade other men, nor do other men invade the

Taurvuum. — Tho modern Semi in.

1 95

Indians : for 8 e s o s t r i s the Egyptian, after
having overrun the greater part of Asia, and
advanced with his army as fur as Europe, re-
turned home ; and Idanthyrsos the Skythiau
issuing from Skythia, subtlued many nations of
Asia, and carriedliis victorious arms even to the m
borders of Egyyt ; and S e m i r a*m i s, again, the
Assyrian queen, took in hand an expedition
against India, but died before she could execute
her design : and thus Alexauder was the only
conqueror who actually invaded the country.
And regarding D i o n y s o s many traditSms are
current to the effect that he also made an ex-
pedition into India, and subjugated the Indiana
before the days of Alexauder. But of II e v a k 1 e s
tradition does not say much. Of the expedition,
however, which Bakkhos led, the city of Nj s a
is no mean monument, while Mount Mfiros is
yet another, and the ivy which grows thereon,
and the practice observed by the Indians them-
selves of marching to battle with drums and
cymbals, and of wearing a spotted dress such as
was worn by the Bacchanals of Dionysos. On
the other hand, there are but fev< memorials of
HeraklSs, and it may be doubted whether even
these are genuine : for the assertion that Herakles
was not able to take the rock A o r n o s, which
Alexander seized by force of arms, seems to me
all a Makedonian vaunt, quite of a piece with
their, calling Parapamiso s— K aukasos,
though it had no connexion at aty with K. a u.k a-

U)G

s o 8. In the same spirit, when they noticed a cave
in the dominions of the Parapamisadai,
they asserted that it was the cave ofProme-
tlieus the Titan, in which he had hecn sus-
pended for stealing thfc fire.^f So also when they
came among the Sibai, an Indian tribe, and
noticed that thef wore skins, thyy declared that
the Sibai were descended from those who be-
longed to the expedition of Herakles and had been
left behind : for, besides being dressed in skins,
the Sibai carry a cudgel, and brand rfn the backs
oV th#i- oxen the representation of a club,
wherein the Makcdonians recognized a memorial
of the club of Herakles. But if any one believes
all this, then this must be another Herakles; —
not the Theban, but either thcTyrian or the Kgyp-
tian, or even some great king who belonged to
the upper country which lies not far from India.
VI. Let this be said by way of a digression to
discredit the accounts which some writers have
given of the Indians beyond the Ilyphasis,
for those 'writers who were in Alexander's ex-
pedition arc not altogether unworthy of our faith
when they describe India as far as the Ilyphasis.
Beyond that limit we have no real knowledge
of the country : since this is the sort of account
which Megasthene's gives us of an Indian river : —
Its name is the S i 1 a s ; it flows from a fountain,

IT ThoCaTfl of Pro mo th on s. — Probably ono-of tJie
vast ravpa in fcho nf iffhbonrhood of .B a m i an.

107

failed after the river, through the dominions of
the S i 1 a; a n s, who again are called after the
river and the fountain; the water of the river
manifests this singular property — that there is
nothing which it can buoy*up, nor anything which
can swim or float' in it, but everything sinks down
to the bottom,., so that there is? nothing in the
world so thin and unsubstantial as this water.*
But to proceed. Rain falls in India during the
summer, especially on the mountains P a r a p a-
m i sos andE mo do sand the range of I ma os,
and the rivers which issue from these aw laige
and muddy. Rain during the same season falls
also on the plains of India, so that much of the
country is submerged : and indeed the army of
Alexander was obliged at the time of midsum-
mer to retreat in haste from the A k e s i n 6 s,
because its waters overflowed the adjacent plains.
So we may by analogy infer from these facts
that as the Nile is subject to similar inunda-
tions, it is probable that ram falls during the
summer on the mountains of Ethiopia, and
that the Nile swollen with these rains overflows
its banks and inundates Egypt. Wo find, at any
rate, that this river, like those we have men-
tioned, flows at the same season of the year
with a muddy current, which could not be
the case if it flowed from melting snows, nor
yet if its waters were driven back from its

* Soo noto, p. 65.

108

mouth by the force of the Etesian winds
which blow throughout the hot season, f and
that it should flow from melting snow is all the
more unlikely as snow cannot fall upon tlje
Ethiopian mountains, 6n account of the burning
heat ; but that ruin should fait* on them, as on
the Indian mountains, is not beyemd probability,
since India in other respects besides is not
unlike Ethiopia. Thus the Indian rivers, like
the Nile in Ethiopia and Egypt, breed croco-
diles, while some of them have fish and mon-
strous features such as are found in the Nile,
with the exception only of the hippopotamus,
though Onesikritos asserts that they breed
this animal also. With regard to the inhabit-
ants, there is no great difference in type of
figure between the Indians and the Ethiopians,
though the Indians, no doubt, who live iu the
south-west bear a somewhat closer resemblance
to the Ethiopians, being of black complexion
and black-haired, though they arc not so
snub-nosed nor have the hair so curly ; while
the Indians who live further to the north are in
person liker the Egyptians.

VII. The Indian tribes, Megasthenfis tells
us, number in all 118. [And I so far agree
with him as to allow that they must be indeed
numerous, but when he gives such a precise
estimate I am at a loss to conjecture how he

t Of., Herodotus, II. 20-27.

199

arrived at it, fur the greater part of India he
did not visit, nor is mutual intercourse main*
tained between all the tribes.] He tells us further
that the Indians were in old times nomadic, like
those Skythians who did* not till the soil, hut
roamed about in* their wagons, as the seasons^
varied, from <me part of Skyfhia to another,
neither dwelling in towns nor worshipping in
temples ; and that the Indians likewise had nei-
ther towns nor temples of the gods, but were so
barbarous that they wore the skins of such wild
animals as they could kill, and subsisted '•ton tne
bark of trees ; that these trees were called in
Indian speech tola, and that there grew on them,
as there grows at the tops of the palm -trees, a
fruit resembling ballsof wool ; J thatthey subsisted
also on such wild animals as they could catch,
eating the flesh raw, — before, at least, the com-
ing ofDionysos into India. Dionysos, how-
ever, when he came and had conquered the people,
founded cities and gave laws to these cities, and
introduced the use of wine among the Indians, as
he had done among the Greeks, and taught them
to sow the land, himself supplying ,seeds for the
purpose, — either because Triptolemos, when
he was sent byDemoter to sow all the earth,
did not reach these parts, or this must have been
some Dionysos who came to India before Trip-
tolemos, and gave the people the seeds of

t Tala.— The fan-palm, the Borassus jlabelliformis of
botany. *

200

cultivated plants. It is also said that Dionysos
first yoked oxen to the plough, and made many
of the Indians husbandmen instead of nomads,
and furnished them with the implements of agri-
culture ; and that the Indians worship the other
• gods, and Dionysos himself in particular, with
cymbals and drums, because he so r taught them ;
and that he also tnught them the Satyric dance,
or, as the Greeks call it, the Kordnx ; and that he
instructed the Indians to let their hair grow long
in honour of the god, and to wear the turban ;
and that he taught them, to anoint themselves
with unguents, so that even up to the time of
Alexander the Indians were marshalled for
battle to the sound of cymbals and drums.

VIII. But when he was leaving India, after
having established the new order of things, he
appointed, it is said, Spatembas, one of his
companions and the most conversant with Bakkhic
matters, to be the king of the country. When
Spatembas died his son B o u d y a s succeeded
to the tovereignty ; the father reigning over the
Indians fifty-two years, and the son twenty ; the
son of the latteY, whose name was Kradeuas,
duly inherited the kingdom, and thereafter the
succession was generally hereditary, but that
when a failure of heirs occurred in the royal house
the Indians elected their sovereigns on the . prin-
ciple of merit ; H e r a k 1 e s, however, who is cur-
rently reported to have come as a stranger into
the country, is styd to have been in reality a native

201

■

of India. This Ilorakles is held in especial ho-
nour by the S o u r a s e n o i, an Indian tribe who
possess two large cities, Methora and C 1 e i s o-
b o r a, and through whose country flows a naviga-
ble river called the lob arcs. But the dress
which this Herakles wore,* Mega^thcnes tells us,-
resembled that if the T h e b a n II 6 r a k 1 c s, as
the Indians themselves admit. It is further said
that he had a very numerous progeny of male
children borji to him in India (for, like his The-
bau namesake, he married many wives), but thaj,
he had only one daughter. The name of this
child was 1? a n d a i a, and the land in which she
was born, and with the sovereignty of which
Ilorakles entrusted her, was called after her name,
P a n d a i a, and she received from the hands
of her father 500 elephants, a force of cavalry
4000 strong, and another of infantry consisting
of about 130,000 men. Some Indian writers say
further of Ilorakles that when he was going over
the world and ridding land and sea of whatever
evil monsters infested them, he found in tVe sea
an ornament for women, which even to this day
the Indian traders who bring us »their wares
eagerly buy up and carry away to foreign markets,
while it is even more eagerly bought up by
the wealthy Romans of to-day, as it was wont to
be by the wealthy Greeks long ago. This article
is the sea-pearl, called in the Indian tongue
margarita. But Herakles, it is said, appreciating
its beauty as a wearing ornament, caused it to

202

be brought from all the sea into India, that he
might adorn with it the person of his daughter.

MegasthenSs informs us that the oyster which
yields this pearl is there fished for with nets,
and that in these same parts the oysters live in
ihe sea in shoals^ 1 ike bfee- swarms: foreysters, like
bees, have a king or a queen, rfad if any one is
lucky enough to catch the king he readily en-
closes in the net all the rest of the shoal, but if
the king makes his escape there is iiq chance that
tjie others can be caught. The fishermen allow
the fleshy parts of such as they catch to rot
away, and keep the bone, which forms the orna-
ment : for the pearl in India is worth thrice its
weight in refined gold, gold being a product of
the Indian mines.

IX. Now in that part of the country where
the daughter of Ilerakles reigned as queen, it is
said that the women when seven years old are of
marriageable age, and that the men lire at most
forty years, and that on this subject there is
a tradition current among the Indians to the
effect that Ilerakles, whose daughter was born
to him late* in life, when he saw that his end
was near, and he knew no man his equal in
rank to whom he could give her in marriage,
had incestuous intercourse with the girl when
she was seven years of age, in order that
a race of kings sprung from their common
blood might be left Ob rule over India ; that
Ilerakles therefore made her of suitable age for

203
>
marriage, and that in consequence the whole
nation over which P a n d a i a rcigucd obtained
this same privilege from her father. Now to me
it^ccms that, even if Ilcrakles could have done
a thing so marvellous, he tould also have made
himself longer-liVe'd, iu order to have intercourse^
with his daughter when she was* of mature age.
But in fact, if the age at which the women
there are marriageable is correctly stated, this is
quite consistent, it seems to me, with what is
said of the rifen's age, — that those who live long-
est die at forty ; for men who come s» mucfi
sooner to old age, and with old age to death, must
of course flower into full manhood as much earlier
as their life ends earlier. It follows hence that
men of thirty would there be in their green old
age, and young men would at twenty be past
puberty, while the stage of of full puberty would
be reached about fifteen. And, quite compatibly
with this, the women might be marriageable at
the age of seven. And why not, when Megasthencs
declares that the very fruits of the country ripen
faster than fruits elsewhere, and decay faster ?

From thfi time of Dionysos to Sandra-
k ottos the Indians counted 153 *kings and a
period of 6042 years, but among these a republic
was thrice established * * * * and another
to 300 years, and another to 120 years.§ The

§ It is not known from what sources Megasthenes derived
these. figures, which are extremely modest wlxra compared
with those of Indian chronology, where, as in geology,
years are hardly reckoned but in myriads^ For a untice of

204

Indians also tell us that Dionysos was earlier
than II 6 r a k 1 e s hy fifteen generations, and
that except him no one made a hostile invasion
of India, — not even K y r o s the son of Kambyscs,
although he undertook an expedition against the
j$ k y ; t h i a n s, and otherwise s'nowcd i himself the
most enterprising monarch in all Asia ; but that
Alexander indeed came and overthrew in
war all whom he attacked, and would even have
conquered the whole world had his army been
willing to follow him. On the other hand, a
sense o-r justice, they say, prevented any Indian
king from attempting conquest beyond the limits
of India.

X. It is farther said that the Indians do not
rear monuments to the dead, but consider the
virtues which men have displayed in life, and
the songs in which their praises are celebrated,
sufficient to preserve their memory after death.
But of their cities it is said that the number is
so great that it cannot be stated with precision,
but that such cities as are situated on the banks
of rivers or on the sea-coast are built of wood, for
were they built of brick they would riot last long
— so destructive arc the rains, and also the rivers
when they overflow their banks and inundate the
plains ; those cities, however, which stand on com-
manding situations and lofty eminences are built
of brick and mud. The greatest city in India is

the Magadan dynasties see Elpbinstone's History of
lit ilia, bk. III. csj>. iii.

20.1

that which is called Palim bothr a, in the
dominions of the P r a s i a n s, || whevc the streams
of the E r a nno b o as and the Ganges unite, —
the Ganges being the greatest of all rivers, and
the Erannoboas being psrhaps the third largest
of Indian rivcrsj though greater than the great-
est rivers elsewhere ; but it is Smaller tlirfff tTTc*
Ganges where it falls into it. M e g a s t h e n 6 s
says further of this city that the inhabited part of
it stretched on either side to an extreme length
of eighty stadia, and that its breadth was fifteen
stadia, and that a ditch encompassed it ajl roivvd,
which was six plethra in breadth and thirty cubits
in depth, and that the wall was crowned with
five hundred and seventy towers and had four-and-
sixty gates.^f The same writer tells us further this

|| The Prasioi. — Tntho notes which tho reader will
find at pp. 9 and 57, the accepted explanation of tho
name l'msioi, by wliich the Greeks designated tho
people of Magadha, has been stilted. General Cunningham
explains it dOfercntly: — "Strabo aud l'liny," lie says,
" agree with Arriau in calling tho people of F'alibo-
thra by the name of Prasii, which modern writers have
unanimously luforrod to the Sanskrit, 1? r a eh ya, or ' east-
ern.' But it secniB to me that Prasii is only ^;hc Greek
form of Pal fis a or Par As a, which is an actual and
well-know* name of M a g a d h a, of which Fiilibothra was
the capital. It obtained this name frc^n the Pa! ana, or
I i idea frondosa, which still grows as luxuriantly in the
province as in the time of Uiwen Thsfing. Tho common
form of the name is P a r ft 8, or when quickly pronounced
Prig, wliich I take to bo the true original of tho Greek
Prasii. This derivation is supported by the spelling of
the name given by Curtius, who calls the people Pharraaii,
which is an almost exact transcript of the Indian name
Parasiya. The Praxiakos of iElian is only the derivative
from Palusakfi."

% The more usual and tho more accurate form of the name
is Falibothra, a transcription of P&liputra, tho spoken

20G

remarkable fact about India, that all the Indians
are free, and not one of them is a slave. The

form of P&taliputra, the name of the ancient capital of
Magadha, and a name still occasionally applied to the
city of PAtnft, which is its modern representative, 'i'hr
word, which moaus the son" of the trumpet-flower {Bigno-
nia sitaveolens), appears in several different forma. A pro-
vjpiciaj form, Pahuiputrikot in common in tho popular
tali's. \ uc form in tCe l'anchatantm is PAtaliputra, which
Wilson (Introd. to tho Dana Kamara. Clwfili'a) considered
to he tho true original name of tho city of which I'Atali-
putra wasaniJ-ro corruption, — sanctioned, however, by com-
mon usage. In a Sanskrit treatise of geography of a
somewhat recent date, called tho Knhetra Samasa, the fonn
of the niimo is P&Ubli&tta, which is a near ^approach to
Palibolru. The Ceylon chroniclers invariably wrote the
nau e as PJtiliputto, and in the inscription of Asdka at
Girn&r it is written I'iitalipntta. Tho earliest, name of tho
place, according to the liAtnAijann, was Katuambi, as having
been founded by Kusa, tho father of tho famous sage Visva-
mitra. It was also called, especially by tho poeU, Paxh-
paptwo or Kusumapura, which has the same meaning — ' the
city of flowers' This city, though tho least ancient of all
the greater capitals in Gangetie India, was destined to
become the most famous of thorn all. The Vuyu Purtiwi
attributes its foundation to Udaya (called also Udayasva),
who mounted the throne of Magadha in tho year 519 B.C.,
or 24 years after the Nirv'ina (Vishnu PurOna, p. 467, n. 15 ;
Lassen, hid. Alt. II. p. 63). i'ataliputra did not, however,
according to the Cingalese chronicles, become the residence
of the kings of Magadha till the reign of Kalasdka, who
ascended the throne 453 b. c. Under Chandragupta (the
Sandrakottos of the Greeks), .who founded tho Buddhistic
dynasty of tho Mauri y as, the kingdom was extended from
the montl* of the Gangos to tho regions beyond the Indus,
and became in fact the paramount power in India. Nor
was PAtaliputra — to judge from the account of iifs size and
splendour given Taixo^ by Arrian, and in Frag. XXV. by
Strabe, who both copied it from Mcgasthenrs — unworthy to
be the capital of so great an empire. Its happy position at
tho confluence of the Sdn an,d Ganges, and opposite the
junction of tho Gandak with their united stream, naturally
mado it a great contre of commerce, which would no doubt
greatly increase its wealth and prosperity. AsAka, who
was third in succession from Chandragupta, and who made
Buddhism the state religion, in his inscription on the rock
at Dhauli in Katak, gives it the title of Metropolis of the
Religion, i.e. of Buddhism. The wooden wall by which, as
Megaathenea tells us^it was surrounded, was still standing

207

Lakedaimonians and the Indians here so
far agree. The Lakedaimonians, however, hold

seven centuries later tliau his time, for it was seen about
{he' beginning of the 5th century after Christ by the Chi-
nese traveller Fa-Hian, who* thus writes of Pfiliputra,
which ho calls Pa-lian-fu : — "The city was the capital of
kin? A-you (Asoka/. The palaces of the king which aro
in the city 'have walla of which the •gf.ones have \ "~ "~

lected by the genii. The carvings and the sculptures which
ornament the windows are such as this ago could not nrnko ;
they stiJl actually exist." These 'palaces oi' the king' aro
mentioned by Diodoros in his epitome of Megasthcues, as
will be seen by a refereueo to p. 3!J. It was in the
interval which separates the journey of Fa-Hian from that
of his compatriot Iliwen Thsang- that is, between the year
■100 and the year 032 after Christ— that the fall of Pfltali-
putra was accomplished, for where the spleiXid metro-
polis had once stood iliwen Thsiing found nothing but
ruins, and a village containing about two or three hnudred
houses. The cause of its downfall and decay is un-
known. The ruing seen by the Chinese traveller are
no longer visible, but lie buried deep below tho foun-
dations of modern Patuil. An excavation quite recently
made in that city for the construction of a public tank
placed this fact beyond question ; for, when tho workmen
had dug down to a depth of 13 or 15 feet below tho surface
of the ground, some remains were discovered of what must
have been tho wooden wall spoken of by Megasthem's.
1 have received from a friend who inspected tho excavation
the following particulars of this interesting and remarkable
discovery : — " During the cold season 1878, whilst digging
a tank in Sheikh Mithia Ghari, a part of PAtna almost
equally distant from the chunk (market-place 1 ) and the
railway station, tho exeavatore, at a depth of sorje 12 or 15
feet below the swampy surface, discovered the remains
of a long brick wall running from N.W. to S.E. How far
this wal 1 extended beyond the limits oj:' the excavation —
probably more than a hundred yards — it is impossible to
say. Not far from the wall, and aluiost parallel to it, was
found a line of palisades ; tho strong timber of which it was
composed inclined slightly towards tho wall. In one place
fchcro appeared to havo been some sort of outlet, for two
wooden pilltiiw rising to a height of some 8 or 9 feet above
what had evidently been the ancient level of the place, and
between which no trace of palisades could bo discovered,
had ali the appearance of door or gate_ posts. A number
of wells and sinks wore also found, their mouths being in
each case indicated by heaps of fragments of broken mud
vessels. From tho best-preserved specimens of these, it

208

the II e 1 o t s as slaves, and these Helots do servile
labour; hut the Indians do not even use aliens as
slaves, and much less a countryman of their own.
XI. But further : in India the whole pcopb

Ntjtptik. •■' that then; shape must have differed 'from that of
those now in use. One of the wells having been eleared
out, it was found to yield capital drmking water, and
among tho rubbish taken out of it were discovered several
iron spear-hcads, a fragment of a large vessel, Ac." The
fact thus established — that old Pulibuthra, audits w:i 11 with
it, are deep underground— takes away all probability from
the supposition of Kavcnshaw that the large Onouiids near
PAtnA ((billed l'auch-Pahfiri, or ' five hills'), consisting of
dttyris ntfi bricks, may be the remains of towers or bas-
tions of the ancient city. The identity of Pfilaliputra with
Pallia was a question not settled without ranch previous
controversy. D'Anville, as has been already stated, misled by
the assertion of Pliny that the Jomanes (Jamiia) flows
through the Palibothri into the Ganges, referred its site
to the position of Allahfibiid, where theso two rivers unite.
Itcnnel, again, thought it. might be identical with Kauauj,
though he afterwards abandoned this opinion ; wliile Wilf ord
placed it on the left bank of the Gauges at some distance
to the north of KAjniahAl, and Prancklin at BhAgnlpur.
'J'he main objection to the claims of PatuA— its not being
situated at the conflueuce of any river with the Ganges —
was satisfactorily disposed of when hi the courso of research
it was brought to light that the S6n was not only iden-
tical with the Erranoboos, but that ip to tho year 1379,
when it formed a new channel for itself, it had joined the
Gauges ift tho neighbourhood of Pain a. I may conclude
this notice by quoting from Strabo a description of a pro-
cession such as Megaathencs (from whose work Strabo
vory probably draw his information) must have seen parad-
ing the streets of Palibothra : — "In processions at their fes-
tivals many elephants are in the train, adorned with gold
and silver, numerous carriages drawn by four horses and
by several pairs of oxen ; then follows a body of attendants
hi full dress, (bearing) vessels of gold, large basins and gob-
lets an onjuia in breadth, tables, chairs of state, dririking-
cups, and Livers of Indian copper, most of which were set
with precious stones, as emeralds, beryls, and Indian car-
buncles ; garments cmbroidored and interwoven with gold ;
wild beasts, as buffaloes, panthers, tamo lions ; and a mul-
titude of birds of variegated plumage and of fine song." —
Uobu'b Transl. of Strabo, 111. p. 117.

209

are divided into about seven castes. Among
these are the Sophists, who are not so numerous
as the -others, but hold the supreme place of
dignity and honour, — for they are under no necessity
of doing any bodjjy labour at all, or of contribut-
ing from the produce o? their .labour ar.yiftirig -
to the commcli stock, nor indeed is any duty
absolutely binding on them except to perform
the sacrifices offered to the gods on behalf of the
state. If ajiy one, again, has a private sacrifice to
offer, one of these sophists shows him the proper
mode, as if he could not otherwise make an ac-
ceptable offering to the gods. To this class the
knowledge of divination among the Indians is
exclusively restricted, and none but a sophist is
allowed to practise that art. They predict about
such matters as the seasons of the year, and any
calamity which may befall the state; but the
private fortunes of individuals they do not care to
predict, — either because divination does uot con-
cern itself with trifling matters, or because to
take any trouble about such is deemed uirbccom-
ing. Buf« if any one fails thrice to predict truly,
he incurs, it is said, no further peiullty than being
obliged to be silent for the future, and there is no
power on earth able to compel that man to speak
who lias once been condemned to silence. These
sages go naked, living during winter in the open
air to enjoy the sunshine, and during summer,
when the heat is too powerful, in meadows and
low grounds \uider large trees, thtf shadow where*

210

of Ncarchos says extends to five plethra in circuit,
adding that even ten thousand men* could be
covered by the shadow of a single tree. They
live upon the fruits which each season products,
and ou the bark of trees, — the, bark being no less
•^rtv'. 1 "».iul nutritious than the fruit of the date-
palm, u

After fliese, the second caste consists of the
tillers of the soil, who form the most
numerous class of the population. They are nei-
ther furnished with arms, nor have any military
duties to perform, but they cultivate the soil and
pay tribute to the kings atid this independent
cities. In times of civil war the soldiers are
not allowed to molest the husbandmen or ravage
1 heir lauds: hence, while the former are fighting
and killing each' other as they can, the latter may
be seen close at hand tranquilly pursuing their
work, — perhaps ploughing, or gathering in their
crops, pruning the trees, or reaping the harvest.

The third caste among the Indians consists
of the 'her d s m e. n, both shepherds and neat-
herds; and these neither live in cities nor in

* Cf. tin." ilcicnptiiin of the wihii 1 tvro quoted from Otie-
sikrilos, Slrabo XV. i. 21. Cf. also Milton's description of
it in Paratl/ixi- lm.<l, l>k. ix., 11. 1 100 vk hoijij. : —
"Tln-iv soon Lhoy cbowj
Thi> fiff-troe, i;ot that kind for fruit renowned,
But .suuli iiN ;i.t tli is d;iy to Indiana known
Jn Mai it bar or Dcwun ttprciuls her anus
Ihanrhin'* no bi'oiul and long that in llu> ground
Th<s bcudrd i wigs take root, and dau^litora grow
About tin' molher hve, a. pilbm-d slnulu
HigVi ovnrarclwid, and fi.-b.oing walks between."

211

villages, but they are nomadic and live on the
hills. They too are subject to tribute, and this
they pay in cattle. They scour the country in
]>'jrsuit of fowl and wild beasts.

XII. The fourth eastc'consists of It a n d i-
c raft men and' retai.1- dealers. Tb,cj^
have to perforin gratuitously certain public ser-
vices, and to pay tribute from the products of
their labour. An exception, however, is made
in favour of those who fabricate the weapons of
war, — and not only so, but they even draw
pay from the state. In this class are Included
shipbuilders, nnd the sailors employed in the
navigation of the rivers.

The fifth caste among the Indians consists
of the warriors, who arc second in point
of numbers to the husbandmen, but lead a
life of supreme freedom and enjoyment. They
have only military duties to perform. Others
make their arms, and others supply them with
horses, and they have others to attend on them
in the camp, who take care of their horses, clem
their arms, drive their elephants, prepare their
chariots, and act as their charioteers,. As long as
they are required to fight they .fight, and when
peace returns they abandon themselves to enjoy-
ment, — the pay which they receive from the state
being so liberal that they can with ease main-
tain themselves and others besides.

*The sixth class consists of those called s u-
perinte u dents. They swj^out what goes

212

on in country and town, and report everything
to the king where the people have a king, and
to the magistrates where the people are self-
governed,t and it is against use and wont f$r
these to give in a false report ; — hut indeed no
J.ndjjan is accused of lying. * .,

The seventh caste consists of the council-
lors o f,. s t a t e, who advise the king, or the
magistrates of self-governed cities, in the man-
agement of public affairs. In point of numbers
this is a small class, hut it is distinguished by
superior* wisdom and justice, and hence enjoys
the prerogative of choosing governors, chiefs of
provinces, deputy-governors, superintendents of
the treasury, generals of the army, admirals of
the navy, controllers, and commissioners who
superintend agriculture.

The custom of the country prohibits inter-
marriage between the castes: — for instance, the
husbandman cannot take a wife from the artizan
caste, nor the artizan a wife from the husband-
man cafltc. Custom also prohibits any one from
exercising two trades, or from changing from one
caste to another. One cannot, for instance,
become a husbandman if he is a herdsman, or

t " There have always been extensive tracts without any
common head, some under petty chiefs, and some formed
of independent villages: in troubled times, also towns
Iihvc often For a long period carried on their own jrovcru-
ment. All these would ho called republics by the Griwtos,
who would naturally fancy their constitutions similar to
what they had bcou al home."— Elphinstone's History of
India, p. 240.

til o

J
become a herdsman if he is an artizan. It is per-
mitted that the sophist only he from any caste :
for the life of the sophist is not an easy one, but
the hardest of all.

XIII. The Indians lrant all wild animals in
the same # way as* the Greeks, except the elephant,
which is hunted in a mode altogether peculiar,
since these animals arc not like any others.
The mode may he thus described : — The hunters
having selected a level tract of arid ground dig a
trench all round it, enclosing as much space as
would suffice to encamp a large arnTjr. They
make the trench with a breadth of five fathoms
aud a depth of four. But the earth which they
throw out in the process of digging they heap up
in mounds on both edges of the trench, and use
it as a wall. Then they make huts for them-
selves by excavating the wall on the outer edge of
the trench, and in these they leave loopholes,
both to admit light, and to enable them to see
when their prey approaches and enters the enclo-
sure. They next station some three or four of
their best-trained she-elephants within the trap, to
which they leave only a single passage by means
of a bridge thrown across the trench, the frame-
work of which they cover over with earth
and a great quantity of straw, to conceal the
bridge as much as possible from the wild animals,
which might else suspect treachery. The hunters
then go out of the way, retiring to the cells which
they had made in the earthen^ wall. Now the

214

•
wild elephants do nol go near inhabited places

in the day-time, but during the night-time they
wander about everywhere, and feed in herds,
following as leader the one who is biggest and,
boldest, just as cows follow bulls. As soon, then,
asw^jji, approach the enclosure, and heat the cry
and catch scent oi' the females, thej^ rush at full
speed in tlie direction of the fenced ground, and
being arrested by the trench move round its edge
until they fall in with the bridge, along which
they force their way into the enclosure. The
hunters meanwhile, perceiving the entrance of the
wild elephants', hasten, some of them, to take
away the bridge, while others, running off to the
nearest villages, announce that the elepliants
arc within the trap. The villagers, on hearing
the news, mount their most spirited and best-
trained, elephants, and as soon as mounted ride
off to the trap ; but, though they ride up to it,
they do not immediately engage in a conflict
with the wild elephants, but wait till these are
sorely pinched by hunger and tamed by thirst ;
when they think their strengtli lias bccn f enough
weakened, they vet up the bridge anew and ride into
the enclosure, when a fierce assault is made by the
tame elephants upon those that have been en-
trapped, and then, as might be expected, the wild
elephants, through loss of spirit and faintness from
hunger, are overpowered. On this the hunters, dis-
mounting from their elephants, bind with fetters
the feet of the wild ones, now by this time quite

215

exhausted. Then thoy instigate the tame ones to
heat tlicm with repented blows, until their suffer-
ings wear them out and they fall to the ground.
The hunters meanwhile, standing near them, slip
nooses over their neckband mount them while
yet lying ,on the ground; and, to prevent them
shaking off their riders, or doing mischief other-
wise, make with a sharp knife an incision all round
their neck, and fasten the noose round in the
incision. By means of the wound thus made they
keep their head and ncek quite steady : for if
(hey become restive and turn round, the wound is
galled by the action of the rope. They slum,
therefore, violent movements, ami, knowing that
they have been vanquished, suffer themselves to
be led in fetters by the tame ones.

XIV. But such as are too young, or through
the weakness of their constitution not worth keep-
ing, their captors allow to escape to their old
haunts ; while those which arc retained they lead
to the villages, where at first they give them
green stalks of corn and grass to eat. T,he crea-
tures, however, having lost all spirit, have no wish
to eat ; but the Indians, standing round them in
a circle, soothe and cheer them by chanting songs
to the accompaniment of the music of drums and
cymbals, for the elephant is of all brutes the
most intelligent. Some of them, for instance,
have taken up their riders when slaiu in battle
and carried them away for burial ; others have
covered them, when lying on th,e ground, with a

shield ; and others have home the hrnnt of battle
in their defence when fallen. There was one even
that died of remorse and despair because it had
killed its rider in a fit of rage. I have myseF
actually seen an elephant playing on cymbals,
wjjfl&gther elephants were dancing to lys strains:
a cymbal "had been attached to each, foreleg of the
performer, and a third to what is called his trunk,
and while he beat in turn the cymbal on his trunk
he beat in proper time those on his two legs.
The dancing elephants all the while kept danc-
ing in a circle, and as they raised and curved
their forelegs in turn they too moved in proper
time, following ''as the musician led.

The elephant, like the bull and the horse,
engenders in spring, when the females emit
breath through the spiracles beside their tem-
ples, which open at that season. The period of
gestation is at shortest sixteen months, and
never exceeds eighteen. The birth is single, as
in the case of the marc, and is suckled till.it
reaches tys eighth year. The elephants that live
longest attain an age of two hundred years, but
many of them,, die prematurely of disease. If
they die of sheer old age, however, the term of
life is what has been stated. Diseases of their
eyes are cured by pouring cows' milk into them,
and other distempers by administering draughts
of black wine ; while their wounds are cured by
the application of roasted pork. Such are the
remedies used by t the Indians.

It in sufficient for me to have set forth these
facts regarding the Indians, which, as the best
known, both Ncarchos and Megasthe-
^1 6 s, two men of approved character, 'have re-
corded. And since my design in drawing up the
present narrative was not to describe the manners
and customs of the Indians, but to relate how
Alexander couveyed his army from India
to Persia, let this be taken as a mere episode.