Page:The Ancient Geography of India.djvu/36

4 derable discrepancy of about 3000 stadia, or nearly 350 miles, between the stated distance and the actual measurement on the map. It is probable that the difference was caused by including in the estimate the deep indentations of the two great gulfs of Khambay and Kachh, which alone would be sufficient to account for the whole, or at least the greater part, of the discrepancy.

This explanation would seem to be confirmed by the computations of Megasthenes, who "estimated the distance from the southern sea to the Caucasus at 20,000 stadia," or 2298 British miles. By direct measurement on the map the distance from Cape Comorin to the Hindu Kush is about 1950 miles, which, converted into road distance by the addition of one-sixth, is equal to 2275 miles, or within a few miles of the computation of Megasthenes. But as this distance is only 1000 stadia greater than the length of the coast-line from Cape Comorin to the mouth of the Indus, as stated by Strabo, it seems certain that there must be some mistake in the length assigned to the southern (or south-western) coast. The error would be fully corrected by making the two coast-lines of equal length, as the mouths of the Ganges and Indus are about equidistant from Cape Comorin. According to this view, the whole circuit of India would be 61,000 stadia; and this is, perhaps, what is intended by Diodorus, who says that "the whole extent of