74 
ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF KAS'MlR. [Extra No. 2, 
stream. This is fully borne out by a statement of Abii-l-Fazl. 1 De¬ 
scribing the several routes available on the march from Bhimbhar 
to Kasmir, he clearly distinguishes “ the route of Hastivanj (MSS. 
Hastivatar) which was the former route for the march of troops,” from 
the ‘ Pir Pantsal route ’ which Akbar used on his visits to Kasmir. 
The name HasPvanj contains in its first part undoubtedly hast 1 , the 
Ks. derivative of Skr. hastin, ‘ elephant.’ The second part is connected 
by the Persian compilators with the root vanj meaning ‘to go’ in Wes¬ 
tern Panjabi. The close connection between the name and the local 
legend already heard by Kalb ana is evident enough. But whether the 
latter had any foundation in fact or merely arose from some ‘ popular 
etymology ’ of the name, cannot be decided. 
The story helps in any case to make it quite clear that the ancient 
route from the Pir Pantsal Pass kept to the right or southern side of 
the valley. My enquiries on the spot showed that this route though 
neglected for many centuries is passable for laden animals and not un- 
frequently used by smugglers. 2 
44. ‘Aliabad Sarai is a Mu gh al hosjrice erected for the shelter of 
travellers about half a mile above Hast 1 vanj. 
It is about the highest point on the ascent to 
the p>ass where fuel can conveniently be obtained. I think it hence 
probable that the Matha or hospice which Ksemendra mentions on 
the Pir Pantsal Pass, must have been situated somewhere in this 
neighbourhood. 
Pafiealadharamatha. 
1 See Aln-i Alcb ., ii. pp. 347 sq . The form Hastivatar in the text is a clerical 
error for Hastivanj, easily explained in Persian characters. 
2 Dr. Bernier who in the summer of 1665 accompanied Aurangzeb’s court to 
Kasmir, has left us, in his Ninth Letter to M. de Merveilles, an accurate and graphic 
account of the Pir Pantsal Route. While ascending the Pass from the Pan jab side 
he passed the spot where two days earlier an accident had happened curiously 
resembling Mihirakula’s story. Fifteen of the elephants carrying ladies of the 
Imperial seraglio, owing to some confusion in the line of march, fell over the 
precipice and were lost; see Bernier’s Travels, ed. Constable, p. 407. The curious 
Map of Kasmir given in the Amsterdam edition of 1672 shows accordingly the 
‘ Pire Penjale ’ mountain with a troop of elephants rolling in picturesque confusion 
over its side. 
Former editions of Ince’s ‘ Hand-book ’ placed the scene of this accident at a 
spot called Lai Ghulam just opposite Hastivanj on the ‘ Imperial Road.’ It is evident 
that this wrong location was due to the original compiler having somehow confused 
Bernier’s account and the local tradition referring to Hastivanj. The edition of 
1888, p. 64, rectifies this mistake, but still indicates Lai Ghulam as the site “ of many 
a dreadful accident” before the causeway of the ‘ Imperial Road ’ was made. Asa 
matter of fact, the left side of the valley was not used at all as a route before the 
construction of the ‘ Imperial Road ’ along its cliffs. 
Of the accident on Aurangzeb’s march no recollection survives. 
