Page:The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea.djvu/218

 The text tells us that Muziris was distant from Tyndis, "by river and sea, 500 stadia," and Nelcynda from Muziris, "by river and sea, 500 stadia." This can hardly refer to anything but the Cochin backwaters.

53. Nelcynda.—This port is called the city of the Neacyndi, by Pliny; Melkynda by Ptolemy; Nincylda by the Peutinger Tables, Cyncilim by Friar Odoric, and Nilcinna by the Geographer of Ravenna. It was probably in the backwaters, or thoroughfares, behind Cochin (9° 58′N., 76° 14′E.), the exact location being uncertain because of the frequent shifting of river-beds, sand-bars and islands; but certainly very near the modern Kottayam (9° 36′N., 76° 31′E.), which is exactly 500 stadia, or 50 miles, from Cranganore. Kottayam, according to the Imperial Gazetteer (XVI, 7), is a center of the Syrian Christian community, whose church here is one of the most ancient on the west coast. It is also the natural terminus for the trade-routes from the Pirmed hills, and is still a trade-center of considerable importance.

The name Nelcynda, Fabricius thinks (p.160), is the Sanscrit Nīlakantha， ”blue neck," a name of Siva. Caldwell, however, prefers Melkynda, which he translates "Western Kingdom."

A good account of the topography of the coasts of India is given by J.A. Bains (Mill's International Geography, 1907 ed., p.469). "The coast-line is singularly devoid of indentations, except at the mouths of the larger rivers and towards the northern portion of the west coast. The only harbors except for light-draft vessels, are found a little way up the deltas of the chief rivers, or where, as at Bombay, a group of islands affords adequate shelter from the open sea. The eastern coast, in particular, is provided with little more than a few imperfectly protected roadsteads. The southern portion of the west coast is distinguished by a series of back-waters, or lagoons, parallel with the coast, and affording a safe and convenient waterway for small vessels when the season of high winds makes the ocean unnavigable."

54. Cerobothra.—This is a transliteration of Chēraputra or Keralaputra, the western Tamil kingdom, which in its greatest extension reached from Cape Comorin to Kārwār Point, nearly 7 degrees of latitude. At the time of the Periplus the northern part had separated, while the southern end had passed to its neighbor, the Pāndyan kingdom; leaving Kerala nearly coterminous with modern Malabar and Cochin districts. The capital was at Karūr, or Parūr, opposite Muziris or Cranganore.

Chēraputra is "son of Chēra," one of the legendary three brothers who founded the Dravidian power in South India.