1848.] through Afghanistan and India. 45 



of which is Mount Pu-tha-lo-kia, from which there springs a river that, 

 after winding round the hill falls into the sea. To the N. E. of this moun- 

 tain is a town from which people embark for the southern sea and for 

 Ceylon. (I am unable to offer any equivalent for the Chinese syllables, 

 unless Chi-mo-lo be a transcript of Komdri or Cape Comorin. There 

 can be no doubt that the district intended is the ancient Madura, and 

 the Madura regia, Pandionis of Ptolemy, now called the southern Car- 

 natic : but the distances from Kdnchipuram and from Ceylon (next 

 mentioned) are exactly double the actual measurements.) 



Thence to the E. at 3000 li (500 miles) to 



No. 95 — Seng-kia-lo, Ceylon, Landresse. (The various particulars 

 related by II wan Thsang agree with the details of the Mahawanso : such 

 as the conversion of the people to Buddhism in the first century after 

 the Nirvana of Buddha, and their division, two centuries afterwards, into 

 two sects.) 



From Tha-lo-pi-chha (or Dravira) to the N. through a wild forest 

 at 2000 li (333 miles) to 



No. 96 — Kung-kian-na-po-lo, Kankara, Landresse ; 5000 li (833 

 miles) in extent. To the N. of the town is a forest ofTo-LO, of which 

 the leaves are used for writing upon throughout India. To the E. of 

 the town is a Stupa built by Asoka. (The Chinese syllables represent 

 exactly the name of Kankanapura, the modern Concan, an extensive 

 district on the W. coast of India. The distance from the capital of 

 Dravira points to the position of the celebrated town of Kalbarga, 

 which was the capital of a Hindu principality before the Mahomedan 

 invasion. Perhaps Mudgal, which is called Modogulla by Ptolemy, 

 may have been the capital of the Kankan in the time of Hwan Thsang : 

 although there can be no doubt of the antiquity and celebrity of Kal- 

 barga. The To-lo is clearly the Tali tree, the leaves of which are 

 still used for writing upon. It is erroneously called the Talipat tree 

 by book-makers, as Tdlipatra means the "leaves of the Tali," and not 

 the tree itself.) 



Thence to the N. W. through a wild forest at 2400 or 2500 li (400 

 to 417 miles) to 



No. 97 — Ma-ha-la-tho, Maharatta, Landresse : 6000 li (1000 

 miles) in extent. The capital to the W. rests upon a large river. 

 (Judging from the distance the chief city of Maharashtra must have 



