1899.] 
UPPER COURSE OF THE VITASTA. 
103 
the Nagi Ram any a. She had come down from the mountains carrying 
masses of stone to assist her brother, the Susravas Naga, in the destruc¬ 
tion of Narapura. When she learnt that he had already completed his 
task, she dropped the stones ‘more than a Yojana ’ from the site of the 
doomed city. The distance indicated corresponds exactly to that of the 
village of Lit a r where the Rembyar?' leaves behind its stony bed and 
passes into alluvial soil. The village land for five Yojanas above that 
place was buried by the mighty boulders which Ramanya left along 
her trail. Similar tales regarding the origin of stone-wastes (“ Mur- 
ren ”) are well-known to European alpine folk-lore. 
65 . Below Gambhirasamgama the Vitasta receives from the right 
_ . the stream which drains the ancient district 
The Vitasta near * rr i j- ai , Tr , T ., t 
cs - of kLolada, the present Vular. It then passes 
close to the foot of the Vastarvan spur, near 
the old town of Avantipura. No important stream joins the river 
from the right until we reach STinagar. The affluents on the left 
like the Ramusa are also of small volume. Some do not reach the river 
direct but end in low marshes, communicating with the latter only by 
gates made in the river embankments. Of the ancient sites situated 
along the river, the town of Padmapura, the present Pampar, is the 
most considerable. As we approach S'rinagar we pass the site of the 
ancient capital, Puranadhisthana, marked by the present village of 
Pandrethan. It lies between the right river bank and the southern 
foot of the ridge which encircles the Dal. For the streams we have 
next to notice, a reference to the special map of Ancient STinagara is 
necessary. 
Just before we reach the area of the city proper, the Vitasta is 
joined by a stream which drains .the lake to the east of the city. This 
lake, known as Dal (Skr. Dala), is fed by plentiful springs and by 
streams which reach it from the north. Its surplus waters flow out 
towards the Vitasta by a canal which is now called Ts until Kul, but in 
ancient times bore the name of Mahasarit . 1 This canal passes through 
an ancient embankment ( setu ) which protects the city as well as the 
low shores of the Dal from floods of the river, and already figures in the 
traditional account of the foundation of S'rinagar. The position of the 
gate which closes the outflow of the Mahasarit is marked on the map by 
the entry ‘ Durgagalika.’ 
A small channel from the river—whether artificial or natural cannot 
1 For the identification of the Tsiinth Kul and the Mar canal in the city with 
the Mahasarit, my note on Rajat. iii. 339-349 should be consulted. In addition to 
the evidence there recorded, it should be noted that the Mahasarit is twice mention¬ 
ed by its old name also in the S'arvdvatara iii. 74; iv, 129 s<p 
