232 ESSAY ON 



Hyphasis, or Beyah, falls into this lake or bay, and 

 thence into the sea. Philostratus, in his life of 

 Apollonius, asserts, that this river falls into the 

 sea, through a distinct mouth. This certainly could 

 never be the case according to our ideas ; for there 

 is an uninterrupted range of mountains, reaching 

 from Dilli and Agra to Bacar on the Indus : but it 

 might be otherwise according to the fanciful notions 

 of the Hindus. We have a similar instance in the 

 Gangetic provinces, with regard to the Jumna and 

 Saresvati ; which fall mX.o tho. Ganges, dil Allahabad, 

 and the three rivers flow conjointly, but without 

 mixing their waters, as far as Jribeni, near Ni/ase- 

 rah, above Hoogli/ ; where the}^ divide again: and 

 the Jumna, called in Be?igal, Jubund, goes to the 

 left, and falls into the sea, in the bay or river of 

 Roymungul. The waters of each river may easily be 

 known ; for those of the Jumna are of an azure co- 

 lour ; those of the Saresvati white ; whilst those of 

 the Gangd have a muddy, or yellowish tinge. These 

 appearances, which are owing to various circum- 

 stances, such as the depth of the river in some 

 places, its shallowness in others, the reflection of the 

 clouds, or of the sky, are thus accounted for by 

 Hindus in their own way. Patfale, Pattalene, 

 called also Pathalia, seems to derive its name from 

 a famous place of worship, dedicated to a form of 

 the deity, with the title of Pafha, which, in Hindi, 

 signifies youthful : and from Pathd comes Pathdla, 

 as Bengdld from Renga. It is one day's march to 

 the south of Thafhd, and two to the north of Shah- 

 bunder ; and not far from the western bank of the 

 Indus. The Musulmans took possession of it about 

 five or six hundred years ago, according to tradition ; 

 and there lies entombed one of their saints, called 

 Peer-Pathd, or the youthful saint. This place is, 

 of course, resorted to both by Musulmans and 

 Hindus ; but the latter pay their vows only at a dis- 

 tance, to their own deity. It is on the site of Brah^ 



