80 
ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF KAS'MIR. 
[Extra No. 2, 
fiad accordingly the route leading over the Tos^maidan Pass often 
referred to in the last two Books of Kalhana’s Chronicle. 
But apart from this historical connection the Tos^maidan route must 
have always been prominent among the old lines of communication from 
Kasmlr owing to its natural advantages. It was the shortest route into 
the Valley of Punch (Parnotsa) and hence to that portion of the western 
Pan jab which lies between the Jehlam and Indus. It was besides 
under the old conditions of road and travel probably the easiest and 
safest route in that direction. 1 
This old route started from the present village of Drang, situated at 
the foot of the mountains in the Biru Pargana, circ. 33° 57' lat. 74° 36' 
long. The name of the village is, of course, nothing but the old term 
of dranga , ‘ watch-station.’ In old times the place was distinguished 
as Karkotadranga . 2 It may have received the distinctive first part of 
its name, Karkota, from the mountain-ridge now known as Kakodar , 
which is passed higher up on the route. Ks. Kakodar could well be 
derived form an earlier Skr. form like * Kdrkotadhara. The Tirtlia- 
samgraha also mentions a Kdrkotandga somewhere in this direction. 
From Drang where a customs-station exists to this day, the road 
ascends over an easy forest-clad slope to the edge of the Tos^maidan. 
This is, as the name indicates, a large upland plateau of undulating 
grazing grounds, rising very gradually from a level of about 10,000 feet. 
At the point where the road strikes the northern edge of the plateau, 
there are several ruined towers. They seem to have been last repaired 
on occasion of the Sikh invasion of 1814 to be referred to below, but are 
probably far older. The spot is known to this day as Barbal which 
in Ks. means ‘the place of the Gate’ (Ks. bar < Skr. dvara). In view 
of this designation and the commanding position of the place we can 
safely locate here the proper Dvara or ‘ Gate ’ of this route. 3 
The route after crossing the Tos^maidan plateau ascends over 
gently sloping grassy ridges to the Kakddar spur and passing along the 
south foot of the latter reaches the Pass. The ascent is so gradual and 
easy that though the elevation of the latter is over 13,000 feet, the con¬ 
struction of a cart-road would so far meet with little difficulty. The 
Pass itself is equally easy. 
On its west side two routes are available. One descends in the 
1 The historical references to this route will be found collected in Note E 
{Rajat. iv. 177) on Lohara, §§ 5-14. 
2 Compare Rdjat. vii. 140 ; viii. 1596 notes. 
3 The term dvara is actually used by Kalhana, vii. 140, 1301, for a fortified 
post on this route. The village Drang is a suitable enough position for a customs 
and police station; the point for military defence, however, is higher np at ‘ Barbal/ 
