72 
ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF KAS'MIR. [Extra No. 2, 
Kasmir side. It is by this name, in its original form Sipdhapatha, 
that the pass is mentioned in Kalhana’s Chronicle as the route chosen 
for a pretender’s irruption in Sussala’s reign. 1 
A snowy peak close to the west of the pass of Siddhapatha marks 
the point where the main range changes its direction towards north- 
northwest. From the same point there branches oft in a westerly 
direction the lower Ratan Pir Range to which we shall have to refer 
below. Beyond this lie the passes of Rupri and Darhal, both above 
13,000 feet in height. They are not distinctly named in the Chronicles. 
But as they give most direct access to Rajauri, the ancient Rajapuri , and 
are crossed without much trouble during the summer months they are 
likely to have been used from an early time. Near the Darhal Pass 
lies the Nandan Sar , one of the numerous tarns which along this portion 
of the chain mark the rock-ground beds of old glaciers. It is probably 
the Nandana Naga of the Nilamata. 
42 . About five miles due north of the Nandan Sar we reach the 
_ , _ lowest dip in the central part of the whole 
Pir Pantsal Route. . , , .. . 
range. It is marked by the pass known as 
Pir Pantsal , 11,400 feet high. The route which crosses it has from 
early days to the present time been the most frequented line of com¬ 
munication from Kasmir to the central part of the Panjab. The 
frequent references which the Chronicles make to this route, permit us 
to follow it with accuracy from the point where it enters the mountains. 
This is in the valley of the Rembyar^ River (Ramanyafavi) , a little 
below the village of HurVpur. 
This place, the ancient S'uuapura, is often referred to as the entrance 
station for those reaching Kasmir from Rajapuri and the neighbouring 
places, or vice versa as the point of departure for those travelling in the 
opposite direction. 2 S'urapura was founded by S'ura, the minister of 
Avantivarman, in the 9th century evidently with the intention of estab¬ 
lishing a convenient emporium on this important trade-route. 3 He 
transferred to this locality the watch-station ( drahga) of the pass. Its 
site, as I have shown in my Notes on the Ancient Topography of the Pir 
Pantsal Route* can still be traced at the place known as Ildhi Darwaza 
(‘ the gate of God ’), a short distance above the village. We find the 
1 See Rdjat. viii. 557. In the Chronicles of S'rivara and his successors the tract 
about Sidau is repeatedly referred to as Siddhddesa, an evident adaptation of the 
Ks. form of the name. 
2 See Rdjat. iii. 227, Note D, § 1, 
3 Compare Rajat. v. 39 note. 
* See J. A. S. B., 1895, p. 385. This paper should be compared for all details 
regarding the other sites along this route. 
