78 
ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF KAS'MIR. [Extra No. 2, 
Pass of Pir Pantsal. 
Sanskrit Chronicles which mentions the Pir Pantsal Pass by its proper 
name. Sri vara iii. 433, when relating the return of a Kasmir refugee ‘by 
the route of S'urapura ’ in the time of Hasan Shah (circ. a.d. 1472-84), 
tells us of a fatal chill he caught “ on the top of the Pancaladeva .” 
It is clear that the name here used corresponds exactly to the modern 
Pir Pantsal, ‘Pir’ being the nearest Muhammadan equivalent for ‘Deva.’ 
Dr. Bernier’s account has already shown us that popular superstition had 
not failed to transfer also the supernatural powers of the ‘ Deva’ to the 
Pir who acted as his representative on the Pass. 
47 . We may now return to the description of the old route where 
we left it at ‘Aliabad Sarai and resume our 
journey towards the Pass. From the Mu gh al 
hospice the road ascends in a gently sloping valley westwards 
until at at a distance of about 4 \ miles the height of the Pass is 
reached. Close to the point where the descent towards the Panjab 
begins, stands the hut of a Faqir. He has inherited the post of 
Bernier’s Pir, but little of his spiritual powers and his emoluments. 
An octagonal watch-tower close by, occupied by a Sepoy post till a few 
years ago, may mark the site of an earlier outpost. 
The descent is here as on all Passes of the range far steeper on the 
Panjab side than towards Kasmir, Pusidnct , the next stage, which is 
reached by zigzag paths along the rocky slope of the mountain, lies 
already more than 3000 feet below the Pass. The little village is an 
ancient place. It is undoubtedly the Pusyananada of Kalhana who 
mentions it repeatedly in connection with the civil wars of his own 
time. 1 Pusyananada served often as a refuge for rebel leaders for whom 
Kasmir had become too hot. They could thence conveniently resume 
their inroads. We see here again clearly that the Kasmir frontier ran 
on the watershed of the range ; for of Pusyananada it is distinctly said 
that it belonged already to the territory of Rajapuri. 
From Pusiana the road descends in a westerly direction along the 
bed of a stream which belongs to the headwaters of the Tausi (Tohi) 
of Prunts. The next stage is the hill-village of Bahramgala, a consi¬ 
derable place which is mentioned already by S'rivara under the name 
of Bhairavagala . 2 From Bahramgala the route turns to the south and 
crosses, by the Pass known as Ratan Pir (8200 feet), the range which 
has already been mentioned as a branch from the Pir Pantsal chain. 
There the route enters tbe region of the middle mountains and descends in 
an open valley to Rajauri, the ancient Rajapuri, where we may leave it. 
1 Compared Bdjat. viii. 959 note. The ending ndda is identical with ndla , 
Anglo-Indice ‘ Nullah,’ i.e., ‘ valley, ravine.’ 
2 See Srlv. iv. 529, 589. 
