Chap. 22.] ACCOUNT OF COTTNTEIES, ETC. 43 



comes nearest to the sea, and above them are the Mandei and 

 the Malli. 44 In the territory of the last-named people is a 

 mountain called Mallus : the boundary of this region is the 

 river Ganges. 



CHAP. 22. (18.) THE GANGES. 



Some writers have stated that this river, like the Nile, 

 takes its rise from unknown sources, 45 and, in a similar manner, 

 waters the neighbouring territory; others, again, say that it rises 

 in the mountains of Scythia. They state also that nineteen 

 rivers discharge their waters into it ; those among them that 

 are navigable, besides the rivers already mentioned, 46 are the 

 Condochates, 47 the Erannoboas, 48 the Cosoagus, 49 and the 

 Sonus. Other writers again say that it bursts forth at its 

 very source with a loud noise, hurling itself over rocks and 

 precipices ; and that after it has reached the plains, its waters 

 become more tranquil, and it pauses for a time in a certain 

 lake, after which it flows gently on. They say also that it 

 is eight miles in breadth, where it is the very narrowest, and 



half-way between the rivers Mahanuddy and Godavery ; and the territory 

 of the Calingse seems to correspond pretty nearly to the district of Circars, 

 lying along the coast of Orissa. 



44 By the Malli, Parisot is of opinion that the people of Moultan are 

 meant. 



46 So much, so, indeed, that its sources were unknown to the learned 

 world till the beginning of the present century, although the Chinese em- 

 peror Tang-Hi on one occasion sent a body of Llamas for the purpose of 

 inquiring into the subject. It is now ascertained that the river Ganges is 

 the result of the confluence of three separate streams, which bear the re- 

 spective names of the Gannavi, the Bhagirathi, and the Alakananda. The 

 second is of the most sacred character, and is the one to which the largest 

 concourse of pilgrims resort. The ancients held various opinions as to 

 the sources of the river. 



46 The Cainas and the Jomanes, mentioned in the last Chapter. 



47 The modern Gandaki or Gunduk is generally supposed to be repre- 

 sented by the Condochates. 



45 Represented as flowing into the Ganges at Palimbothra, the modern 

 Patna. There has been considerable discussion among the learned as to 

 what river is indicated by this name. It has, however, been considered 

 most probable that it is the same as the Sonus of Pliny, the modern Soane, 

 though both that author, as well as Arrian, speaks of two rivers, which 

 they call respectively Erannoboas and Sonus. The name was probably 

 derived from the Sanscrit Hyranyavahas, the poetical name of the Sonus. 



49 Supposed to be the same as the river Cosi or Coravaha. 



