The illustration of the Vedic period has already been made the subject of a separate work by M. Vivien de Saint-Martin, whose valuable essay[1] on this early section of Indian Geography shows how much interesting information may be elicited from the Hymns of the Vedas, by an able and careful investigator.
The second, or Ancient period, has been partially illustrated by H. H. Wilson, in his 'Ariana Antiqua,' and by Professor Lassen, in his 'Pentapotamia Indica.' These works, however, refer only to North-west India; but the Geography of the whole country has been ably discussed by Professor Lassen, in his large work on Ancient India,[2] and still more fully by M. de Saint-Martin, in two special essays,—the one on the Geography of India, as derived from Greek and Latin sources, and the other in an Appendix to M. Julien's translation of the Life and Travels of the Chinese pilgrim Hwen Thsang.[3] His researches have been conducted with so much care and success that few places have escaped identification. But so keen is his critical sagacity, that in some cases where the imperfection of our maps rendered actual identification quite impossible, he has indicated the true positions within a few miles.
For the illustration of the third, or Modern period, ample materials exist in the numerous histories of the Muhammadan States of India. No attempt, so far as I am aware, has yet been made to mark the limits of the several independent kingdoms that were established
- ↑ 'Étude sur la Géographie et les populations primitives du Nord-Ouest de l'Inde, d'après les Hymnes Védiques.' Paris, 1859.
- ↑ 'Indische Altertluimskunde." 4 vols. Bonn.
- ↑ Étude sur la Géographie Grecque et Latine de l'Inde,' 1858. M. Julien's 'Hiouen Thsang,' vol. iii. p. 251; "Mémoire Analytique," etc.
