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The 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 are regarded as the stockpile of ancient geography. So far as Indian geography is concerned the epics and 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 can be recognised as the source of information about ancient India. They have given some exact accounts of the rivers, mountains, lakes, forests, deserts, countries and also about territorial divisions of India.^[1] The Geography of India was basically dependent on the prevailing religious and political character of the period which it embraces. The geographical data in different 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 have similarities. The account described in one is often repeated in another pointing to their single original source.

Most of the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 depicted the geographical pictures of the world in general and of 叠丑腻谤补迟补 in particular. 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 like 惭补迟蝉测补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 痴腻测耻辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 叠谤补丑尘补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 痴颈峁ａ箛耻辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 叠丑腻驳补惫补迟补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 痴腻尘补苍补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 叠谤补丑尘腻峁囜笉补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 艢颈惫补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 础驳苍颈辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 惭腻谤办补峁囜笉别测补辫耻谤腻峁嘺,  碍奴谤尘补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 骋补谤耻岣峚辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 尝颈峁単补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 have discussed about 产丑奴惫补苍补办辞峁�a or world geography. Among these the 痴腻测耻辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 惭补迟蝉测补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 惭腻谤办补苍诲别测补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 叠谤补丑尘腻峁囜笉补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 叠补谤腻丑补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 and 叠丑腻驳补惫补迟补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 have given a vast description on world geography. 痴颈峁ａ箛耻辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 碍奴谤尘补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 艢颈惫补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 and 础驳苍颈辫耻谤腻峁嘺 have discussions on geography in a concise form. In some particular 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 some special area is focused. As for example, the 础驳苍颈辫耻谤腻峁嘺 emphasizes details of the 鈥�骋补测腻鈥� region, in the 叠丑奴尘颈办丑补峁囜笉补 of 笔补诲尘补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 the places of pilgrimages are focused.^[2] Although the geographical description in the 惭补迟蝉测补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 is very much similar to 痴腻测耻辫耻谤腻峁嘺 and some scholar claims it as a copied version, it bears great value for the ancient geographical study.

There are difficulties in finding this geographical data out from 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 as it is not in a logical order. They are scattered with some other materials. Basically it is scattered in the midst of religious aspects as geography of India is mainly based on religion.

S. M. Ali in his The Geography of the Puranas stated,

鈥渆very physical phenomenon, every major or spectacular landmark on the earth鈥檚 surface has a religious background for Indians; every mountain peak, every river, every crag, every useful tree is sacred and is preserved in these traditions.鈥�^[3]

So a careful study is needed to assemble the Pur膩峁噄c geographical data in a systematic way.

The source of Pur膩峁噄c geography is the Vedic literature. The 峁欢惫别诲补 mentions about few mountains and deals particularly with the natural phenomena which appealed to the aesthetic sense of the seers. The topography of the 峁欢惫别诲补 is limited to the description of twenty one (21) rivers in all.^[4] In it 厂补谤补蝉惫补迟墨, 厂补谤补测奴 and Sindhu are mentioned as the 鈥榣eaders鈥� of these. 厂补谤补蝉惫补迟墨 is of the first group,^[5] Sindhu of the second group,^[6] and the 厂补谤补测奴 of the third.^[7] . Of the mountains, only the Himavanta^[8] and Munj膩v膩n^[9] find a place in the 峁欢惫别诲补.

Like the 峁欢惫别诲补 the Yajurveda, the 厂腻尘补惫别诲补 and the Atharvaveda, the 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺蝉, the 膧谤补峁噛补办补蝉, the 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲蝉 and the 碍补濒辫补蝉奴迟谤补蝉 also contain geographical material. The Southern mountain is mentioned in 碍补耻艣颈迟补办墨 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲.^[10] The name Vindhya occurs expressly in the 痴补艣颈峁ａ弓丑补诲丑补谤尘补蝉奴迟谤补^[11] and in the 惭补苍耻蝉尘峁泃颈.^[12]

The 惭补迟蝉测补辫耻谤腻峁嘺 gives a general view of the world geography. It mentions 闯补尘产耻诲惫墨辫补 and describes 叠丑腻谤补迟补 together with its 痴补谤峁�a蝉, Kulaparvatas, other innumerable mountains, rivers and cities. It refers to the various rivers grouping them according to the mountain ranges out of which they arise.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Bimal Churn Law, Historical Geography of Ancient India, Introduction, p.1

[2]:

S. M. Ali, The Geography of the Puranas, Introduction, p.13

[3]:

Ibid., p.15

[4]:

峁欢惫别诲补, 5.53.9; 10.64.6; 75.5.6

[5]:

Ibid., 10.75.5

[6]:

Ibid.,10.75.6

[7]:

Ibid., 5.53.9

[8]:

Ibid., 10.121.4

[9]:

Ibid., 10.34.1

[10]:

碍补耻艣颈迟补办墨 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲, 11.13

[11]:

痴补艣颈峁ａ弓丑补诲丑补谤尘补蝉奴迟谤补, 1.9

[12]:

惭补苍耻蝉尘峁泃颈, 11.21