Bīrūnī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, Alberuni's India (v. 1)

(London :  Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.,  1910.)

Tools


 

Jump to page:

Table of Contents

  Page 209  



CHAPTER XVIII.
 

209
 

30 farsakh; Asawil, 2 days ; Biliroj, 30 farsakh (?) ;
Sanddn, 50 farsakh; Subdra, 6 farsakh; Tdna, 5
farsakh.

Thence the coast-line comes to the country Ldrdn,
in which lies the city of Jinntr, then to Vallabha,
Kdnji, Darvad. Next follows a great bay in which
Singaldih lies, i.e. the island Sarandib (Ceylon). Round
the bay lies the city of Banjaydvar (sic). When this
city had fallen into ruins, the king, Jaur, built instead
of it, on the coast towards the west, a new city which
he called Badndr.

The next place on the coast is ifmmalndra, then Bdm-
slier (Rameshar ?) opposite Sarandib; the distance of the
sea between them is 12 farsakh. The distance from
Panjayavar to Ramsher is 4.0 farsakh, that between Ram-
sher and Setuhandha 2 farsakh. Setubandha means
bridge of the ocean. It is the dike of Rama, the son of
Dasaratha, which he built fromthe continent to the castle
Lanka. At present it consists of isolated mountains
between which the ocean flows. Sixteen farsakh from
Setubandha towards the east is Kihkind, the mountains
of the monkeys. Every day the king of the monkeys
comes out of the thicket together with his hosts, and
settles down in particular seats prepared for them. The
inhabitants of that region prepare for them cooked rice,
and bring it to them on leaves. After having eaten
it they return into the thicket, but in case they are
neglected, this would be the ruin of the country, as
they are not only numerous, but also savage and aggres¬
sive. According to the popular belief, they are a race
of men changed into monkeys on account of the help
which they had afforded to Rama when making war
against the demons ; he is believed to have bequeathed
those villages to them as a legacy. When a man
happens to fall in with them, and he recites to them
the poetry of Rama and pronounces the incantations of
Rama, they will quietly listen to him ; they will even
VOL. L                                                                          0
  Page 209