Mount Potalaka in Malaya mountains

[DEVARAKONDA VENKATA NARAYANA SARMA]

At 11:20 AM 2/2/99 PST, you wrote:
>nAgArjunakoNDA and Mount Potalaka are two different places in
>Buddhist texts. Both of them are in Southern India separated
> hundreds of miles.
>
In that case we have to say that potala and potalaka are different
and nAgArjunakoNDA is potala. What candragOmi visited is potala not
potalaka. Some buddhists who have migrated south might have named
their dwelling as potalaka in remembrance of the place they come
from. This is avery very common practice. Any way the identification
potika or potiyil with potala/potalaka is arbitrary.

>
>5) Agastya is the legendary resident of Mount Potikai/Potalaka in
>Sanskrit and Tamil. Many Tamil 'Saivite texts inform that Agastya
>learnt  Tamil from  and a Buddhist text says Avalokitezvara taught
> Tamil to Agastya. (cf. Indology thread with the title: Where was
>Panini inspired?). This myth might have its origin in the god
>"tennavan" (dakSiNAmUrti) of the Potikai/Potalaka mentioned
>in Maturaik KaaJci, a Classical Tamil text.

According to rAmAyaNa agastya had an ASram much to the north of
tamil nadu whic rAma visited in araNyakANDa.  It is well documented in
rAmAyaNa. The ashram of Agastya on Malaya in kiSkindhAkANda
is itself doubtful.

>By the way, does anybody know when the earliest attestation for
>the name 'pOtala' (waterfalls) is?

Not necessary. Taranatha uses names of places which were current
in 13th and 14th centuries. If the place has the name potala in
this period it is sufficient. As far as we know therte is no evidence that
it has been called any thing else.

regards,
sarma.
>
>Regards
>N. Ganesan
>
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