24 FIRST LIST OF THE BIRDS OF THE SOUTH KONKAN. 



Vishnu, in his incarnation of Parasram, had, with boundless 

 generosity, given away, little by little, all the land in the 

 Deccan to pious Brahmans, till he had no spot whereon to 

 rest his head. He then went to the edge of the Sahyadri cliff, 

 which was then washed by the sea, and called On Varuna, the 

 god of the ocean, to yield him up a space of dry land. 

 Varuna, who had a grudge against Parasram, refused ; and 

 the latter determined to use his miraculous power, and compel 

 the ocean to recede, so he took his bow and arrow and shot 

 a shaft into the sea, with the command that the waves should 

 retire to the spot where the arrow fell. Originally he intended 

 that the arrow should travel for 40 koss, or about 100 miles, 

 but this intention was partially frustrated by the craftiness 

 of Varuna. Shortly before this episode, the ocean deity had 

 taken compassion on a carpenter bee which had fallen into the 

 sea, and had carefully restored it to dry land. On divining 

 Parasram's intention Varuna at once bethought him of the 

 bee, and pressed it the night before the day fixed for the 

 miracle, to bore a hole through the string of Parasram's bow. 

 The grateful bee accepted the office with alacrity, and performed 

 his task so well, that when the eventful moment came, the string 

 snapped, and the shaft, instead of flying 100 miles, fell within 

 about 50 miles of the cliffs. To this point, and no further 

 the waves receded, and Parasram took up his abode in the 

 narrow strip thus reclaimed, and called after him in Hindu 

 books Parasram Kheter. His head-quarters were at the village 

 of Pedhe or Parasram on a high hill overhanging the Vashishti 

 river, nearly opposite the town of Chiplun. This place is also 

 celebrated as the birthplace of the powerful sect of Chitpavan 

 or Konkani Brahmans. 



No detailed account of the numerous hills is necessary for 

 the purpose of this paper. Here and there, detached from the 

 main Ghat range, are hills almost rivalling in height the 

 Sahyadri scarp, but they are few and far between. Close to 

 Khed, at the north-east angle of the district, are three isolated 

 hills of considerable height, rising in a line parallel to the 

 Sahyadri chain, and separated from it by a narrow valley. 

 These are the hill forts of Mahipatgad, Somargad, and Rasal- 

 gad. All are strongly fortified, and the first faces Makarandgad, 

 the well-known saddleback of visitors to Mahableshwar. 

 Mandangad, to the north of Dapuli, fourteen miles from the 

 sea, though of lower elevation, is a conspicuous land mark 

 for many miles round, and its higher slopes are fairly covered 

 with jungle. The only other hill worth mentioning is Machal, 

 lying close to, but detached from, the Ghats by a narrow gorge, 

 east of Ratnagiri. Unlike most of the Konkan hills, which are 



