The whole of the west coast of India,
from the Indus to Trapobane, is minutely described in the Periplus. Some of
the particulars of the manners and customs of the inhabitants coincide in a
striking manner with those of the present day; this observation applies,
among other points, to the pirates between Bombay and Goa.
Dr. Vincent, in his learned commentary on the Periplus, gives it as his
opinion, that the author of the Periplus never went further than Nelkundah
himself, that is, to the boundary between the provinces of Canara and
Malabar. The east coast of the Indian peninsula is not traced so minutely
nor so accurately as the west coast, though there are names and
descriptions in the Periplus, from which it may fairly be inferred, that
the author alludes to Cavary, Masulapatam, Calingapatam, Coromandel, and
other places and districts of this part of India. The countries beyond the
Ganges, the Golden Chersonese, and the countries towards China, are very
obscurely noticed in the Periplus, though the information he gives
respecting the trade carried on in these parts is much more minute and
accurate. His description of the direction of the coast of India, is on the
whole, surprisingly consonant to truth: according to him, it tends from
north to south, as far as Colchos (Travancore); at this place it bends to
the east, and afterwards to the north; and then again a little to the east,
as far as the Ganges.
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