国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

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I 1   THE PUNDITS OF MONTGOMERIE.

The road of the pilgrims round the Kailas peak is also very good indeed,

proving that the Pundits here have carried out a very useful and valuable survey. The map gives the names of Nhendi-phu, Dedi-phu and Jomdul-phu, which I have spelt: Nyandi-gompa, Diri-pu-gompa and Tsumtul-pu-gompa on my map. It also gives Dolma La and Gauri Kund, for which I have preferred the Tibetan name: Tso-kavala.

Atkinson's map is more careful than HANEMANN's in putting in the source of

the Indus. The uppermost course of the river is hardly marked out beyond Jiachan (Yarsa) and the legend: »Singh-gi-Khamba or (Lions mouth)» points in a more correct direction than on Hanemann's map, where we found the upper part of the river placed at the eastern slope of the Kailas. Otherwise Hanemann has got a great deal of his information from this very map. The Lang-chu river, which was regarded as one of the three source branches of the Indus, was also discovered by the Pundits.

On Montgomerie's excellent map, 1875, to the exploration of the native explorers, I we find the bed of the Satlej from Rakas-tal as a clotted line, but no communication between the two lakes, although the Stracheys had seen the stream in 1846 and 1848. So obviously the channel was dry when the Pundits brought information to Montgomerie.2

The range south of Tso-mavang and Guncho-tso is very incorrect. But it was

seen only from some distance as were also the northern mountains. »Singh-gi Khamba or Lion's Mouth» is given in a dotted line S. E. of Jiachan. There is no room for Tage-tsangpo. The Brahmaputra has got two sources: I) Mariam-la; 2) the southern source which starts from 82° E. L., i. e. the meridian of the western end of Gunchu-tso, and coming from some mysterious glaciers. The rest is just as on the map illustrating Nain Sing's journey 1865-66.

The following description of the Manasarovar was given in 1886 by W. W. HUNTER: 3

»Manasarowar (Manasa-sarovara), Lake in Tibetan territory beyond the great southern wall of the Himalayas, in about 3o° 8' N. lat., and 81° 53' E. long. Manasarowar lies to the south of the sacred Kailas mountain, and, like that celebrated peak, occupies an important place in Hindu mythology. The Marjo Purczna relates that when the ocean fell from heaven upon Mount Meru, it ran four times round the mountain, there it divided into four rivers which ran down the mountain, and formed four great lakes — Arunoda on the east, Siloda on the west, Mahabhadra on the north, and Manasa on the south. This legend may dimly represent the

I Journal Royal Geographical Society, Vol. 45, 1875, p. 299.

2 In 187o Trelawny Saunders expressed the following opinion about the source of the Satlej: »The Sutlej rises at the northern base of the Himalaya, in the great lakes named Manasarowar and

Rakas-tal     15,200 feet high     The water-parting of the Indus reaches the probable source of
the main stream in the sacred peak of Kailas Parbat, called also by the pundit 'Gang-ri'; and continues along the Gang-dis-ri mountains, which now skirt the Sutlej as far as the sacred lakes of Rakas Tal

and Manasarowar, where the Sutlej rises     The Sanpu rises close to the sources of the Indus

and Sutlej at a height of 16,000 feet.   A sketch of the Mountains and river basins of India, London
187o, p. 6 and 29.

The Imperial Gazetteer of India, London r S86. Vol. IX, p. 276.