4/2 Essay on the Ancient Geography of India. [No. 6. 



From this place Nearchus went to Morontohara, which, he says, 

 signifies the harbour of women. Morontohara is from the Persian 

 Moorut-bahr, the bay, or creek of women or of the woman ; and is a 

 translation of its Hindi name. There, according to tradition, reigned 

 a woman in former times ; and that woman is Hinguld-Devi, the 

 mother of mankind. This harbour no longer exists, as I have shewn 

 before : but the creek, through which Nearchus went into the inner 

 bay of the Arbis still remains : though no longer navigable. Then 

 Nearchus with the fleet went to the inner mouth of the river. There 

 was a commodious harbour with a large island in front : the water was 

 bad, but by going up the river about 40 stadia, it was found of good 

 quality. This is the harbour of Argenus, mentioned by Pliny : and 

 from this place Nearchus crossed the bay, and anchored at Pagala % 

 opposite to Sdnemeyani j and there is the outward mouth of the 

 Arbis. This is also the mouth of the same river as noticed by 

 Ptolemy, and Marcian. Arigenus they call Rhaprava : then comes 

 the harbour of women, Coiamba, the well of our mother, Rizana, and 

 at some distance from it, the boundary of Gedrosia ; which being 

 well defined by nature, remains invariably the same, on the banks of 

 the Indian Hob, to the eastward of the range of mountains, which 

 ends at Cape Monz, and is close to it. Rhaprava is from the Sanskrit 

 and Hindi Rdma-pravdh, the grand canal of Rama, of which there are 

 two, one to the east, and the other to the west of the Arbis ; and 

 where they spring from the parent stream, above the bay there was 

 the harbour and village of Argenus, thus called, because it was on the 

 western side of the river, in the district of Haur-Cdndn, or Haur 

 Caidn; and which, probably from that circumstance, was called Ram- 

 pravah. Rama-Chandra excavated only part of that canal himself; 

 but as the rest was done by his army, and by his order, the whole very 

 properly is denominated the canal of Rama. Coi-Ambd, signifies the 

 well of our mother, to the south of Morontabara, as I observed before. 



The distances both in Ptolemy and Marcian, are excessive beyond 

 measure, and stand thus in Ptolemy. From Pagala or outer mouth, 

 to the inner one of the Arbis, at Rhaprava, 60 geographical miles : 

 to the harbour of women, as many ; and to Coiamba, 60 also : to 

 Rhizana, 40: to the boundary, 25. In Marcian, we have from the 

 first to the second place 550 stadia: 500 to the next: 400 to. 



