Toponym help ?

[Suresh Kolichala]

Since Kadali vana (Plantain Forest) and Kadali nagaram (Plantain city) are
most frequently mentioned in the Nāth Siddha legends as located near
Tryambaka kṣetra (Nasik), we have to assume that the place-names mentioned
here are in the vicinity of Nāsik (where Godāvari originated) in the state
of Maharashtra (also see White 1998:113). There is a town named Ambad south
of Nasik, and a few villages named Kelewadi (Kele < *Kadali 'banana') but
not sure if any of them refer to the places you mentioned.

You are right, it can't be the Kadali near the Andhra coast, just north of
the Godāvarī delta, as it is actually spelled as Kaḍali with retroflex ḍ (Ka
ḍali=ocean).

Another perspective is that if consider kṛṣṇa-giri 'black hill' same
as Nallamala
Hills (nalla' black', mala 'hill'), in Andhra Pradesh, then the reference
may be about the region in and around Srisailam. There is, in fact, a  Kadali
Vanam at about 25 km distance from Srisailam. The caves here, also known as
Akkamahadevi caves, are a big tourist attraction. The only problem with
such association, however, is that the river near this region is not
Godavari, but Krishna.

For What it's Worth,
Suresh.

On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 1:43 PM, Stephen Hodge <
s.hodge at padmacholing.plus.com> wrote:

> **
> Dear Colleagues,
>         In the the alchemical text, the Rasārṇava, there are the following
> lines, mentioning several toponyns. I presume the author is alluding to
> real places, so if anybody can help with identifying the locations etc of
> the places mentioned, I would find it very helpful for a long-standing
> puzzle arising from other research.
>
> asti martye mahāpuṇyā pavitrā dakṣiṇā-pathe |
> nadī godāvarī nāma prasiddhā jāhnavī yathā || Ras 12.236 ||
> dakṣiṇe ca taṭe tasyāḥ kadalī-nagaraṃ param |
> tasya dakṣiṇataḥ śailaḥ sarva-lokeṣu viśrutaḥ || Ras 12.237 ||
> nāmnā kṛṣṇa-giriś ceti dṛśyate sarva-maṅgale |
> suprasiddhâmbikā nāma grāmas tasyāsti saṃnidhau || Ras 12.238 ||
>
> These are the places I need suggestions / help with:
>
> kadalī-nagaraṃ (of course, not the Kadali near the Andhra coast, just
> north of the Godāvarī delta)
> kṛṣṇa-giriḥ
> ambikā
>
> Best wishes,
> Stephen Hodge
>


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