Sailing Around Erythraean Sea: Forty Two

In the previous Section, the unknown sailor gave us an account of Papica, which seems to be the promontory on the southern side of River Narmada. In ancient times the promontory was full of grass, which was called 'aal' and which belonged to Porteresia corctata species. It was used as a fodder for cattle by jat Maldhari communities. They must have been called "Papica" meaning people belonging to meadow, . "Papu" is an archaic word of Dravidian root meaning feather, grass etc. "Papica" must have been a Koine Greek adaptation of the archaic word. Return to Section forty two:


Beyond this there is another gulf exposed to the sea waves, running up toward the north, at the mouth of which there is an island called Bavones: at its innermost part there is a great river called Mais. Those sailing to Barygaza, pass across this gulf, which is three hundred stadia width, leaving behind to their left the island just visible from their tops toward the east straight to the very mouth of the river of Barygaza; and the river is called Nammadus 

My Search:-

Bavones: Diu island on the foot of Gulf of Khambat. Not much is known of the ancient history of Diu, which came into the possession of Portuguese in the sixteenth century. Opposite on the eastern coast is Daman, west of Vapi.


River Mais: River Mahi; rises in Vyndhyas, Madhya Pradesh flows about five hundred and eighty kilometres and drains into Gulf of Khambat between Akhol and Degam.

Barygaza: Bharuch,  at the mouth of Narmada. Bharuch was a settlement since ancient times; the name must have been derived by the presence of Bhargav Brahmin community. Bharuch is a corruption of Bharutkutccha.

Nammadus: The Greek term for the River Narmada. Narmada River drains into Gulf of Khambat.

End of the Section 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

( 16 )CHARLES DICKENS: DAVID COPPERFIELD: CHAPTER 16: I AM A NEW BOY IN MORE SENSES THAN ONE

Next morning, after breakfast, I entered on school life again.  I went, accompanied by Mr Wickfield to the scene of my future studies- a grave building in a courtyard, with a learned air about it that suited very well to the stray rooks and jackdaws who came down from the Cathedral tower to walk with a clerkly bearing on the grass plot - and was introduced to my new master, Doctor Strong. Doctor Strong looked almost as rusty, to my thinking, as the tall iron rails and gates outside the house; and almost as stiff and heavy as the great stone urn that flanked them, and were set up, on the top of red brick wall, at regular distances all round the court, like sublimated skittles for Time to play at.  Doctor Strong was in his library, with his clothes not particularly well brushed, and his hair not particularly combed, his knee-small unbraced, his long black gaiters unbuttoned, and his shoes  yawning like two caverns on the hearth-rug.  Turning upon me a lustreless eye, t...
Read more

Sailing Around Erethraean Sea: Three

Updated 29/11/2024 Below the Calf-Eaters there is a little market-town on the shore after sailing about four thousand stadia from Berenice, called Ptolemais of Hunts, from which the hunters started for the interior under the dynasty of Ptolemies. This market town has true land to rtoise in small quantities; it is white and smaller in the shells. And here also is found a little ivory, like that of Adulis. But the place has no harbour, and is reached by small boats. 1. Calf-Eaters: Cattle rearing nomadic tribes. 2. Stadia is the plural of stadion. Ten  stadia= one mile. 3. Ptolemais of Hunts: Ptolemies Theron is the exact Greek term,  located at the Bay of Anfile or Amphila Bay on the coast of Eritrea. Facing the bay is Hando island. It is, in fact, a double bay, an inner bay within, between promontories M'edr and Lelisa. End of the Section 
Read more

Travels Of Marco Polo: Thirty

Now, let me tell of the beasts which his Majesty keeps for hunting.  Among these are Leopards and lynxes or stag-wolves well fitted for that purpose.  He has also many lions larger than those of Babylon of a beautiful hair and colour, striped length ways black red and white, and trained to catch stags, wild oxen, hogs, wild goats and asses; it is delightful to see one of these chases, where the hunters go out, carrying the lion in a cage, and with him a small dog.  They have likewise abundance of eagles, with which they capture hares, foxes and even wolves; those which are trained to catch these last are very large, and of great weight, so that no wolf can escape them. ____________________________________ 1. The lion here described by the author is manifestly the tiger. It is probable that tiger was unknown in Europe when Marco left, he might have viewed it as a variety of lion. 2. Lion and tigers are wild animals and cannot be domesticated. Still human societies used to ...
Read more