128 
ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF KAS'MlR. [Extra No. 2, 
Frontier territories 
to the south-west 
and west. 
was evidently independent. 1 Temporarily tlie Rliasas of the hills imme¬ 
diately south of the Pir Pautsal Range may have acknowledged the 
suzerainty of strong Kasmir rulers. But during the greatest part of the 
period which is known to us from historical sources, they appear to have 
held their own and rather to have levied subsidies, i.e., blackmail from 
the Kasmir rulers. 2 
82. Some of the petty hill states here referred to must have been 
included in the region which by its ancient 
name was known as Darvabhisara. I have 
elsewhere shown that this name, as a geo¬ 
graphical term, was applied to the whole tract 
of the lower and middle hills between the Candrabhaga and Vitasta. 3 
The combined names of the Darvas and Abhisaras are found already in 
the ethnographical lists of the Ivlaliabharata and Brhatsamhita. A 
chief of this region figures by the ethnic appellation of Abisares in the 
accounts of Alexander’s Indian campaign. 
The most important of the hill-states in this territory was certainly 
the ancient RajapurI represented by the modern district of Rajaurl. 4 * 
It comprised the valleys drained by the Toll! of Rajaurl and its tribu¬ 
taries. Owing to its position on the most direct route to the Pan jab, 
RajapurI was necessarily often brought into political relations with 
Kasmir. When Hiuen Tsiang passed through it, the ‘ kingdom of 
RajapurI ’ was subject to Kasmir. From the 10th century onwards we 
find the chiefs of RajapurI as practically independent rulers, though the 
Chronicle tells us of numerous expeditions undertaken into their terri¬ 
tory by the later Kasmir kings. The upper valley of the Toll! of Prunts 
leading to the Pir Pantsal Pass, was included in RajapurI terri¬ 
tory. 6 Here lay probably the famous strong-hold of Rajayiri known also 
to Alberuni. 6 
RajapurI took its name from its capital which is repeatedly 
mentioned by Kalhana and undoubtedly occupied the position of the 
present town of Rajaurl. 7 The ruling family belonged to the Khasa 
tribe. Its descendants were the Muhammadanized Rajput chiefs who 
retained this territory down to the present century. 
On the north-west RajapurI was adjoined by the territory of 
1 viii. 1665 sqq. 
2 See Rdjat. viii. 2283 note. 
8 See note i. 180. 
4 For a detailed account, see Rdjat. vi. 286 note, 
6 See Rdjat. viii. 959 note. 
8 See vii. 1270 note. 
7 See vii. 973 sqq. 
