44 
ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF KAS'MIR. [Extra No. 2, 
interest, rare enough among Indian scholars, for tlie realities of his 
country and the life around him. He does not content himself with 
informing us of his family, the date of his works and the places where 
he wrote them. 1 
In the SamayamdtrJcd , one of his most original poems, which is 
intended to describe the snares of courtezans, he gives among other 
stories an amusing account of the wanderings of his chief heroine, 
Kaiikall, through the length and breadth of Kasmir. 2 * The numerous 
places which form the scene of her exploits, can all easily enough be 
traced on the map. More thau once curious touches of true local colour 
impart additional interest to these references. To Ksemendra’s poem 
we owe, e.g ., the earliest mention of the Pir Pantsal Pass ( Pahcala - 
dhara) and its hospice (matha)? There too we get a glimpse of the 
ancient salt trade which still follows that route with preference. Else¬ 
where we see the heroiue smuggling herself as a Buddhist nun into the 
ancient Vihara of Krtydsrama , etc. 4 * 
A different sketch of topographical interest we owe to the poet 
Bilhana. He left his native land early in the reign of King Kalasa 
(1063-89 a.d.), and after long wanderings became famous as the court 
poet of the Calukya king Tribhuvauamalla Parmadi in the Dekhan. 
In the last canto of his historical poem, the Vikramcihkadevacarita , 
Bilhana gives us a glowing picture of the beauties of the Kasmir 
capital. Notwithstanding its panegyrical character, this account is laud¬ 
ably exact in its local details. 6 * 8 In another passage the poet describes 
to us his rural home and its surroundings at the village of Khonamusa, 
south-east of S'rlnagar. His touching verses attest as much his year¬ 
ning for his distant home as the faithfulness of his local recollections. 6 
1 Compare the colophons of the various works first discovered and noticed by 
Prof. Buhler, Report, pp. 45 sqq. and Appendix. 
2 This hnmorous peregrination fills the ii. Samaya of the work ; see Kdvyamdld 
edition, pp. 6-16. The abundance of curious local details makes a commentated 
translation of the little Krivya very desirable, notwithstanding the risky nature 
of part of its contents. A personal knowledge of Kasmir would certainly be 
required for the task. 
8 See Samayam. ii. 90 sqq. The matha on the pass corresponds to the present 
‘ Altlabdd Scirai, a short distance below the top of the pass on the Kasmir side 
see below, § 44. 
4 Samayam. ii. 61 sqq. 
& Prof. Buhler to whom we owe the discovery of Bilhana’s chief work, has 
given in his Introduction an admirable analysis of the contents of Sarga xviii. as 
illustrating the poet’s biography. For his description of contemporary S'rlnagara, 
see pp. 7 sqq. 
8 See Viler am. xviii. 70 sqq. Prof. Buhler during his Kasmir tour, 1875, had 
the satisfaction of visiting the poet’s native place, the present village of KhunQmoh. 
