পাতা:বিবিধ-বঙ্কিমচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায় (১৯৫৯).pdf/৩৮৫

পরিশিষ্ট \OS Bhaugulpore, which is fabled to have been used by the Gods and demons at the churning of the ocean.' The Mandei General Cunningham identifies "with the hitants of the Malhanadi river, which is the Manada of Ptolemy." "The Y'ale1 would therefore be the same people as Ptolemy's Mandalae, who right bank of the Ganges to the south of Pali bothra-' the indali having been already identified with the Monedes and the . . . . . Ivlu.ua. . ... 'Or" adds General Cunningham "they may be the people of the Rajmahal Hills who are called Maler, which would appear to be derived from the Canarcse Male and the Tamil Malci, a 'hill.' It would, therefore, he equivalent to the Hindu Pahari or Parbatiya a "hillman'. Putting this last Suggestion aside for the present, it sems to me that there is some little confusion in the attempt to 1dentify both the Mcnedes and the Mall with the Mundas. If the Mande and the Malli are distinct nations and it will be observed that both are mentioned in the same passage--the former rather than the latter would seenin to correspond with the Monedes or Mundus. The Malli would then correspond rater to tie Suari "Quorum Mons Alaleus'--the hills bounded by the Ganges at Rajmahal They may therefore be the same as the Mals. In other words, the Mals-the words Maler or Malhar seem to be merely a plural form--may possibly be a branch of the great Sauryan family to which the Rajmaha Paharias, the Oraons and the Sabaras all belong, and which Colonel Dalton would describe as Dravidiati. Fifteen hundred two thousand years ago this people may have occupied the whole of Western Bengal.' Bengal Census Report, 1871, P. 184-185. কথাগুলি বড় বুঝিতে পারিলাম না-কৌতুহলী পাঠকের নিকট উপহার দি বার মানসেই ইহা উদ্ধৃত করিয়াছি। !