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『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

142   THE SOURCE OF THE SATLEJ.

course underground water is streaming under this bed, and that this water at some places shows itself at the surface. There can be no doubt that during periods of strong rains the whole above-mentioned bed may be filled with water which joins the Rakas-tal with the Satlej-source at Dalju.»

So far I have proved that the Satlej comes from the Rakas-tal, even if the present period marks a depression in the hydrographical curve. The next question is: from where does the water come to Rakas-tal ? One river, flowing west of Parka, comes from Tseti-la and Tseti-lachen-la in Transhimalaya and receives a tributary from the Tse-lung valley east of Kailas. Another, periodical as the outflow from Rakas-tal comes from the Manasarovar. The first is 26 miles as the crow flies, the latter 47 miles. As shall be proved lower down, it would be absurd to call the Parka-river the source and head of the Satlej, and the Ganga or channel from the Manasarovar a tributary. For if we admitted the Parka river to be the head river, and then ask the Tibetans to show us the Langchen-kabab or Elephant's mouth, we should, at any rate, not be brought to the Tseti-la or Tseti-lachen-la.

Already the Lama surveyors represented the river Lanctchou, which lower down passes Tchoumourti (Chumurti), as flowing through the Manasarovar. So did Father Gaubil (Vol. I, Pl. LIII), and Father Tieffenthaler (Vol. I, Pl. LII), though he had unreliable references or misunderstood the information given to him. The two Fathers had never been at the place, but the Lamas had.

Having followed up the river so far, the next question will be: As the Satlej flows through the Manasarovar, where is its upper course, or which of the affluents to the lake will have to be regarded as the origin of the Ganga channel?

The Mansarovar is a valley lake as it is fed from north, east and south. Amongst all these affluents the Tibetans and Lama surveyors have selected one, which they have called the source of the Satlej. Regarding the Satlej as coming out of the Manasarovar, the most correct way would, perhaps, be to say that the Satlej has as many sources as the Manasarovar has affluents. But then, under all circumstances, we shall be allowed to call one of these sources the principal source of the Satlej•

Then the next question is : which of the affluents should be selected ? Obviously the one which brings the greatest volume of water to the lake, and which contributes in the greatest extent to fill the lake basin, although the lake is perhaps filled more from under ground than superficially. Tage-tsangpo is nearly four times as big as any one of the other affluents. Tage-tsangpo is, further, the longest of

all and it is fed by glaciers and eternal snow. And, as I found long before I had ever thought of the Satlej problem, about half-way between the source and the mouth of the Tage-tsangpo there is a spring which is regarded as sacred, and which is called Langchen-kamba, a word that means Satlej, the river from the Elephant's

I Opisanie Tibeta; Vol. I, part 2: Ocherk fisicheskoy geografiy Tibeta. Vladivostok, 1907, p. 65 et seq.