Page:The Ancient Geography of India.djvu/560
508 THE ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA.
of the second and third centuries.[1] Ptolemy has
l[arundai as the name of a people to the north of the
Gauges ; hut to the south of the river he places the
jIuniMi, who may be the Mundas of Chutia ISTagpur,
as their language and country are called Mmdala.
This is only a suggestion ; but from the position of
the Mandali they wovX(. seem to be the same people as
tlie Monedes of Pliny, who with the 8uari occupied the
inland country to the south of the Palibothri.[2] As
this is the exact position of the country of the Mdndas
and Suars, I think it quite certain that they must be
the same race as the Monedes and Suari of Pliny.
In another passage Pliny mentions the Mandei and Malli as occupying the country between the CalingcB and the Ganges,[3] Amongst the Malli there was a mountain named Mallus, which would seem to be the same as the famous Mount Maleus of the Monedes and Suari. I think it highly probable that both names may be intended for the celebrated Mount Mandar, to the south of Bhdffalpur, which is fabled to have been u.sed by the gods and demons at the churning of the ocean. The Mandei I would identify with the inha- bitants of the Mahunadi river, which is the Manada of Ptolemy. The Malli or Malei would therefore be the same people as Ptolemy's Mandalce, who occupied the right bank of the Ganges to the south of Pali- bothra. Or they may be the people of the Bdjmahal hills who are called Maler, which would appear to be
- ↑ Samudra Gupta, about a.d. 125 ; and a copper-plate dated in 214 or A.D. 293
- ↑ I-Iist. Nat. vi. c. 22. " Ab iis (Palibothris) in in teriore situ Monedes et Suari, quorum mons Maleus," etc.
- ↑ Hist. Nat. vi. c. 21. " Gcntes : Calingas proximi mari, et supra Mandei Malli, quorum mons Mallus, finisque ejus tractus est Ganges."