48 
PLTNT's l^ATURAL HISTORY. 
[Book VT. 
thousand foot, three hundred elephants, and eight hundred 
horse. They are bounded by the river Indus, and encircled by 
a range of mountains and deserts for a distance of six hundred 
and twenty-five miles. Eelow these deserts are the Dari and 
the Surse, and then deserts again for one hundred and eighty- 
seven miles, sands in general encircling these spots just as 
islands are surrounded by the sea. Below these deserts, again, 
are the Maltecorse, the Singse, the Marohse, the Rarungse, 
and the Morontes. These last peoples, who possess the 
mountains throughout the whole range of country as far 
as tha shores of the ocean, are free, and independent of all 
kings, and hold numerous cities upon the declivities of the 
mountains. Mter them come the 'NaresQ/^ who are bounded 
by Capitalia, the most lofty of all the Indian peaks : the in- 
habitants who dwell on the other side of it have extensive 
mines of gold and silver. After these again are the Oratse, whose 
king possesses onl}^ ten elephants, but a large army of foot ; 
next come the Suarataratee, who live under the rule of a king 
as well, but breed no elephants, as they depend solely on their 
horse and foot ; then the Odonbeores, the Arabastree, and the 
Horacae, which last inhabit a fine city fortified by trenches cut 
in the marshes. It is quite impossible to approach the city, 
except by the bridge, as the water in the trenches is full of 
crocodiles, an animal most insatiate for human flesh. There 
is another city also in their territory, which has been greatly 
extolled, Automula by name, situate on the sea-shore, a 
famous mart, lying at the point of confluence of five rivers : 
their king possesses sixteen hundred elephants, one hundred 
and fifty thousand foot, and five thousand horse. The king of 
the Charmee is a less opulent potentate ; he has only sixty 
elephants and some small remains of his former strength. 
After these we come to the nation of the Pandse,''^ the only one 
throughout all India which is ruled by women. It is said 
that Hercules had but one child of the female sex, for which 
reason she was his especial favourite, and he bestowed upon 
her the principal one of these kingdoms. The sovereigns who 
7* These peoples are supposed by Hardouin to have occupied the southern 
parts of the peninsula now known as Bisnagar, Calicut, and the Deccan, 
with the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. 
Hardouin suggests that this people dwelt on the present peninsula of 
Guzerat. 
