ON MOUKT CAUCASUS. 497 



is called to this day Mer-coh and Uar-coh, or the moun- 

 tain of Mer or Meru ; for in the fpoken dialefts, they 

 often fav hier for Mem. and in the Trelcci-derpana. we 

 conftantly read Mer for Meru. It is on the roa be- 

 tween PeiJJjower and Jalalabad ; and about twenty-four 

 miles from the latter, on the banks of the Landi-Sindb 

 or Cameh riveri It is now a bare rock, the river which 

 formerly ran to the foath of it, having carried away 

 all the earth from the lower parts ; and the earth above 

 being no longer fupported, w'as alfo waflied away by 

 the rains. From its difmal appearance, it was called 

 Be-dowlat by the emperor .Hum.v'yun. It looks like 

 a fingle (tone, without any fiffure. It extends from the 

 well to the eaft. It rifes abruptly from the plain ia 

 which it ftands ; from the bottom to the top ; P. Mon- 

 SERRAT reckons about 2000 feet, and it is about fix 

 furlongs in length : its diftance from the neareft hill is 

 about three miles. The ground to the fouth and eatt 

 is marihy, being the old bed of the river : to the weft 

 are feen feveral triangular entrances into caves. To 

 the eaft at the diitance of three miles, is a wretched 

 village, called Bijfour or Bijfowly (Bujfouml in Major 

 Rennell's map) which about two hundred years ago 

 was a pretty large towji. To the weft are the villages 

 oi Amharcdna ■AX\^ Battercoie, clofe to which Na'dir- 

 sha'h encamped; and as there is no other encamping 

 ground near this place for a numerous army, we may 

 fafely conclude this to be the very fpot on which Alex- 

 ander, encamped near the town of 'Nyfa^ which ex- 

 tended all round the mountain. Befides, his camp 

 was near the fepulchres of the inhabitants, which were 

 to the weft of the mountain. 



On this mountain, it is declared in the Puranas, was 

 the Parkafdld, or Parndfa, of Atri ; there they ftiew- 

 ed formerly a cave, in which he iifed to retire occa- 

 fionally. 



Vol. VI. *Ii ' The 



