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

I26   '1'HE LAKES AND SOURCES DESCRIBED BY MODERN COMPILATORS.

Speaking of Henry Strachey, r Sandberg finds it likely that the filtration from the N.W. corner of »Tsho Lagran» may form the beginnings of the Satlej, »whilst at extreme floods the lake itself probably overflows the margin at this point>-. But most of the water comes from the valleys west of Kailas and through the Darma Yangti, the same river which Moorcroft called Chhu-garh. And, relating Strachey's description of the channel between the lakes, Sandberg correctly adds : 2

»Such averments from an observer so reliable as Henry Strachey seem conclusive as to the existence of a connecting stream between the two lakes. Other travellers cast doubt upon this point, but with the exception of one native explorer of the Indian Survey Office none have passed actually over the ground as did Strachey ... The survey he made of the sacred lakes and of the country intervening between them and the two passes in Garhwal still forms the foundation of our latest maps of this territory. Mr. T. Kinney and the late Mr. Ryall in 1876--77 made considerable additions on a survey expedition in these parts, but those gentlemen did not succeed in penetrating even half-way to the lakes.»

On the rough sketch-map accompanying his book Sandberg has placed the source of the Indus due east of the Gang Tise or Kailas. His views of the source of the Brahmaputra are obviously taken from Nain Sing. He has no connection between the two lakes, which does not agree with the text, but he makes the Satlej begin from the western one, which he correctly calls Langak Tsho, in the text even Lang-gak which is still better and the only pronunciation I heard round the lake. The sacred lake he calls Mapang Tsho.

In his book on Tibet3 Sir THOMAS H. HOLDICH refers, in the same year as Sandberg, to the knowledge of Tibetan geography. »The Indus rises on the slopes of Kailas, the sacred mountain, the Elysium or Siva's Paradise of ancient Sanskrit literature.» This is the same view as was expressed by Desideri, who says that the source of the Indus is situated on the western side of the Kailas. So the question about the place of the source of the Indus had not been very much improved from 1715 to 1904, — in spite of the survey of the Pundits. Regarding the source of the Satlej he is not quite clear, for he says (p. 13): The Sutlej rises on the southern slopes of Kailas. It flows no longer from one of the sacred lakes of Manasarawar, famous in Hindu mythology. Abandoning its ancient cradle in Rakhas-Tal, it now issues from the foothills of Kailas.» Speaking of the road from Narkanda to the frontier, he says (p. 20): »Once in Tibetan territory this route follows the southeasterly course of the Sutlej to its source near the Rakhas-Tal, the westernmost of the twin lakes of Manasarawar.» Farther on (p. 39) when the sources of the Brahmaputra are regarded as situated on the Maryum-la, he regards this pass with surrounding mountains as the meridional water parting between the Indus and the Brahmaputra». And finally, speaking of exploration survey of natives, notably that of Nain Sing, he says

I Op. cit. p. 132.

2 Op. cit. p. 134.

3 Tibet, the Mysterious. London r 904, p. 12 et seq.