S14 ESSAY ON 



The Heresy of the Manicheans spread all over the 

 western parts of India^ and into Ceylon, at a very 

 early period, in consequence of violent persecutions 

 in Persia, during which the followers of Manes fled 

 in great numhers, and at different times, into India : 

 and it is even highly probable, that Manes remained 

 a long time concealed in that country in the fort of 

 Arabian, on the eastern banks of the river Strangka, 

 now called Ckitra?jgh and Caggar. The Mesopo- 

 tamia here mentioned by Archelaus the Bishop, 

 is the five AntarvMis, or Mesopotamias of the Panj/ib, 

 commonly called the five Bheds or Bhedies ; and 

 Sthabo, speaking of the Bhed or Antarvedi, between 

 the Chindh and the Jellam, says, " in this Mesopo- 

 tamia,'' and here the pronoun this has an obvious re- 

 ference to the several Bheds or Mesopotamias of the 

 Fanjdb. The river Straugha is called Saranges by 

 Arrian ; and the Chitrangh, flowing from the 

 northern hills, passes to the westward of St'han'u-sar 

 or Thaiiu-sar, at some distance from which the water 

 is absorbed hy the sands; yet the vestiges of its 

 aacient bed may be traced as far as Bacar on the 

 Indus. The report of my native surveyor concerning 

 this river, is also confirmed by the report of Gexe- 

 KAL Thomas in his Memoirs*. There were Bhats 

 or Bhattis in that countiy, long before the arrival of 

 Manes ; for Ptolemy, in the beginning of the third' 

 century, takes notice in that country of two con- 

 siderable towns, obviously denominated after them. 

 The first is Bata-tiagra or Bhat-nagara, the town of 

 the Bhats. Bhatnere is the vulgar pronunciation 

 of it; but the present town of Bhatnere is not the 

 same with the Bhat-nagara of Ptolemy ; which 

 was to tlie westward of the river Bcj/ah, and is. 

 probably the town called Bhattyakk. ' The other 

 place noticed by Ptolemy is Batan-cai-sara, a com- 

 pound name; and in the true idiom of the llincH 



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