INDIAN SHIPPING
of the Periplus and Khaberis of Ptolemy) or Pukar are equally important and inspiring. It was built on the northern bank of the Kaviri river, then a broad and deep stream into which heavily laden ships entered from the sea without slacking sail. The town was divided into two parts, one of which, Maruvar-Pakkam, adjoined the sea-coast. Near the beach in Maruvar-Pakkam were raised platforms and godowns and warehouses where the goods landed from ships were stored. Here the goods were stamped with the Tiger Stamp (the emblem of the Chola kings) after payment of customs duty, and passed on to merchants' warehouses.[1] Close by were the settlements of the Yavana merchants, where many attractive articles were always exposed for sale. Here were also the quarters of foreign traders who had come from beyond the seas and who spoke various tongues. Vendors of fragrant pastes and powders, of flowers and incense, tailors who worked on silk, wool, or cotton, traders in sandal, aghil, coral, pearl, gold, and precious stones, grain merchants, washermen, dealers in fish and salts, butchers, blacksmiths, braziers, carpenters, coppersmiths, painters, sculptors, goldsmiths, cobblers, and toymakers—all had their habitation in Maruvar-Pakkam.[2] Another account thus describes the
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