The First Near The Mouth Of The River, Called Barbarike; And The
Other Higher Up, Called Minagara:
The latter was the capital of a kingdom
which extended as far as Barogaza.
As the king of this country was
possessed of a place of such consequence to the merchants as Baragaza, and
as from his provinces, or through them, the most valuable cargoes were
obtained, it was of the utmost moment that his good will and protection
should be obtained and preserved. For this purpose there were imported, as
presents for him, the following articles, all expensive, and the very best
of their kind: plate of very great value; musical instruments; handsome
virgins for the haram; wine of the very best quality; plain cloth, but of
the finest sort; and perfumes. Besides these presents, there were likewise
imported a great quantity of plain garments, and some mixed or inferior
cloth; topazes, coral, storax, frankincense, glass vessels, plate, specie,
and wine. The exports were costus, a kind of spice; bdellium, a gum; a
yellow dye, spikenard, emeralds, sapphires, cottons, silk thread, indigo,
or perhaps the indicum of Pliny, which was probably Indian ink: skins are
likewise enumerated, with the epithet _serica_ prefixed to them, but
of what kind they were cannot be determined: wine is specified as an
article of import into this and other places; three kinds of it are
particularized: wine from Laodicea in Syria, which is still celebrated for
its wine; Italian wine, and Arabian wine. Some suppose that the last was
palm or toddy wine, which seems to have been a great article of trade.
We come now to Baragaza: the author first mentions the produce of the
district; it consisted of corn, rice, oil of Sesamum, ghee or butter, and
cotton: he then, in a most minute and accurate manner, describes the
approach to the harbour; the extraordinarily high tides, the rapidity with
which they roll in and again recede, especially at the new moon, the
difficult pilotage of the river, are all noticed. On account of these
dangers and difficulties, he adds, that pilots were appointed by the
government, with large boats, well manned, who put to sea to wait the
approach of ships. These pilots, as soon as they come on board, bring the
ship's head round, and keep her clear of the shoals at the mouth of the
river; if necessary, they tow the ship from station to station, where there
is good anchorage; these stations were called Basons, and seem to have been
pools retaining the water, after the tide had receded from other parts. The
navigation of the river was performed only as long as the tide was
favorable; as soon as it turned, the ships anchored in these stations.
The sovereign to whom Baragaza belonged is represented as so very anxious
to render it the only mart, that he would not permit ships to enter any of
his other harbours; if they attempted it, they were boarded and conducted
to Baragaza; at this place were collected all the produce and manufactures
of this part of India: some of which were brought down the river Nerbuddah;
others were conveyed across the mountains by caravans. The merchandize of
Bengal, and even of the Seres, was collected here, besides the produce of
Africa, and of the countries further to the south in India. The whole
arrangement of this place was correspondent to this extensive commerce, for
the author informs us, that such was the despatch in transacting business,
that a cargo could be entirely landed and sold, and a new cargo obtained
and put on board in the space of three days.
From Ozeni to the east of Baragaza, formerly the capital of the country,
there was brought to the latter place for exportation, chiefly the
following articles: onyx stones, porcelaine, fine muslins, muslins dyed of
the colour of the melon, and common cotton in great quantities: from the
Panjab there were brought for exportation, spikenard of different kinds,
costus, bdellium, ivory, murrhine cups, myrrh, pepper, &c. The imports were
wine, of all the three sorts already mentioned, brass, tin, lead, coral,
topazes, cloth of different kinds, sashes, storax, sweet lotus, white
glass, stibium, cinnabar, and a small quantity of perfumes: a considerable
quantity of corn was also imported; the denarius, both gold and silver,
exchanging with profit against the coin of the country, on account of its
greater purity.
From Baragaza the author proceeds to a description of the coast of the
Decan, which, as we have already mentioned, is remarkable for its accuracy,
as well as for its first mentioning the appellation Decan. At the distance
of twenty days' journey to the south lies Plithana, and ten days' journey
to the east of this is Tagara, both marts of great consequence, and the
latter the capital of the country. From these are brought down, through
difficult roads, several articles to Baragaza, particularly onyx stones
from Plithana, and cottons and muslin from Tagara "If we should now
describe, (observed Dr. Vincent) the arc of a circle from Minnagar, on the
Indus, through Ougein to Dowlatabad on the Godavery, of which Baroche
should be the centre, we might comprehend the extent of the intelligence
acquired by the merchant of the Periplus. But allowing that this was the
knowledge of the age, and not of the individual only, where is this
knowledge preserved, except in this brief narrative? which, with all the
corruption of its text, is still an inestimable treasure to all those who
wish to compare the first dawning of our knowledge in the east with the
meridian light which we now enjoy by the intercourse and conquests of the
Europeans. An arc of this sort comprehends near three degrees of a great
circle: and if upon such a space, and at such a distance from the coast, we
find nothing but what is confirmed by the actual appearance of the country,
at the present moment, great allowance is to be made for those parts of the
work which are less conspicuous, for the author did certainly not visit
every place which he mentions; and there are manifest omissions in the
text, as well as errors and corruptions."
The province of Canara, called by the author of the Periplus Limurike,
follows in his description the pirate coast; after Limurike, he describes
Pandion, corresponding with what is at present called Malabar Proper; this
is succeeded by Paralia and Comari, and the description of the west coast
of India is terminated by the pearl fishery and Ceylon.
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