Major Tod's Account of Greek, Pat'thian, and Hindu Medals. 365 



near the shrine of Chishna, and not a mile beyond the famed Somandt'ha, 

 whose wealth surpassed that of Delphos. Witli this wealth Mahmud con- 

 structed his " Celestial Bride,"' at Ghizni. Within the walls, and witli 

 the remains of this ancient fane before my eyes, I listened to the recital of 

 a metrical composition which we met with, descriptive of the destruction of 

 the most holy temple. It was a singular composition, evidently, from the 

 display of imagery, the work of the Hindu bards, aided by some refined 

 Persian scholar. It had, witli many Persian words, a m.ixture of pure 

 Hindi, the choicest phrases of its colloquial dialects, and was withal incom- 

 parably simple. 



Wilford,* treating of the geography of the Indus, says, that the country 

 to the east of the Indus was called Sehr, or Sehr-des, and its inhabitants 

 consequently Selirais ; and that west, Lehr. Leh is a considerable territory 

 westward, and one of the largest communities in Balochistan is that of 

 Noonme, or Loomrie,'\ a colony of the Scythic Gete, or Jit, tliough now 

 Muliammedan ; of this race is a great part of the population of the valley. 



I do not think we can find a more appropriate place for the abode of 

 SiGESTis, than Arore, the capital of Seliris ; while the kingdom of Tessa- 

 RiousTUS is expressly said to be on the sea-coast, beyond the Patalenc. 



I shall now venture a remark on another passage of Strabo, and endeavour 

 to elucidate a point which has caused discussion, respecting the countries 

 which bounded the conquests of Apollodotus and Menander. 



Strabo, namely, adds to what has been before quoted : " These same 

 Greeks subjugated the country as far as the territory of the Syri and Pltauni." 

 Bayer, following the original orthography, St::<.;, writes Suroi, and on this 

 he has commented, as have the French annotators.t 



He finds fault with Causabon for altering Phaunun to Phoinicdn, and 

 approves of the conjectures of J. Valens, who makes them the Seres and 

 Phryni of the Sacw nation, bordering on Chinese Tartary. 



This emendation is noticed, but not confirmed, by the French annotators 

 of Strabo, who prefer carrying the Bactrian arms to Syria and Phenicia. 

 The compilei'S of the Ancient Universal History have also adopted this 



* Ess.iy on Vicraindditya and iialivahaua. — As. Ues. vol. ix. page ^30. 



f At the angle of the Indus and Mekran coast : Query, If the Lymrica, or Lymuritij, of 

 Alexander's geographers ? 



t Note 2, liv. xi. page 'ZWi, vol. iv. Strabon. 



