Ancient India as described by Megasthenês and Arrian / being a translation of the fragments of the Indika of Megasthenês collected by Dr. Schwanbeck, and of the first part of the Indika of Arrian, by J.W. McCrindle ; with introduction, notes, and map of ancient India.

Megasthenes

Date:: 1877

Credit: Ancient India as described by Megasthenês and Arrian / being a translation of the fragments of the Indika of Megasthenês collected by Dr. Schwanbeck, and of the first part of the Indika of Arrian, by J.W. McCrindle ; with introduction, notes, and map of ancient India. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$sea along the course of the river Indus to its mouths, is said to be 13,000 stadia, so that the eastern side opposite, with the addition of the 8000 stadia of the promontory, will be some* where about 16,000 stadia. This is the breadth of India where it is both smallest and greatest.] The length from west to east as far as Pali- b o t h r a can be stated with greater certainty for the royal road which leads to that city has been measured by schoeni, and is in length 10,000 stadia.^ The extent of the parts beyond can only be conjectured from the time taken to make voyages from the sea to Palibothra by the Ganges, and may be about 6000 stadia. The entire length, computed at the shortest, will be 16,000 stadia. This is the estimate of Eratosthenes, who says he derived it principally from the authoritative register of the stages on the Royal Road. Herein Megasthenes agrees * All the texts read bicrpvp'uov instead of pvplcov. In all the MSS. of Strabo also wo read uxoli/lols, and in Arrian, who extracts the same passage from Megasthenes, everywhere cr^oivois. Though there is nothing to blame in either lection, yet it is easier to change ct^olvols than {ryomois, for Strabo may have been surprised to find the Greek schoenus in use also in India. The schoenus, how- ever, which with Eratosthenes is a measure of 40 stadia (Plin. Hist. Nat. XII. 30), coincides precisely with the Indian yojana of four krdsas. I do not forget that usually double this length is assigned to the yojana, hut also that it is shorter than the Hindus reckon it (As. Res. vol. V. p. 105), and also by the Chinese pilgrims (Foe-koue-ki, 87-88), and by Megasthenes himself, in Strabo (p. 708, Fragm. xxxiv. 3), from Avhieh it seems certain that ten stadia are equal to some Indian measure which cannot be a smaller one than the Jcrosa.—Schw. p. 27, n. 23.$