Epic Gilgamesh like all other world epics puts in clear tones the same geographical elements of the mountains, of the rivers, and of the valleys which are noticed in other world epics.
The best geographical clarity of this epic comes forth from the name of Gilgamesh itself; it is a combination of two place-names : Gilgal and Mesh, who ruled in Ur, the most ancient seat of human civilization, and which is identical with Uruvela of the Buddhist literature. The biblical Flood story connects all places like Mesh, Gilgal, and Ur along with the City of Sun at Uruk in one and the same geographical plain.
After the death of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh reached Mt Mashu(also Mishu), a mountain in the kingdom of King Mesh, which guides the rising and setting of Shamash. The scorpions guard the gates here.
Humbaba-the-awful was killed by these two friends.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu committed the sin of killing the ‘Bull’ which God Anu had sent to kill both Gilgamesh and Enkidu on the request of his daughter Ishtar; but eventually the ‘Bull’ was killed. After the death of Enkidu his dead body was carried to Mt Kur for its last rites. And in the 9th canto we see Gilgamesh set out for the land of Mishu, the gate of which, passes through the cliffs of Aga and Salma. This ‘Gate’ was guarded by legendary scorpion-men. For 12 miles Gilgamesh had to make his way through intense darkness ; at the end he came to an enclosed space by the sea-shore where dwelt the virgin goddess Sabitu, also called Sidura; who tells him that “ no one since eternal days has ever crossed the sea, save Samash. Sidura ‘crafts the first gold bowl of the sun through a slit across her face veil’.
But Gilgamesh is directed by Sidura to meet Arad–Ea, the sailor of Per-napishtim(or Utnapishtim) who lives in the cedar-forest. Him he asks to ferry him across to the “Isle of Blest”.
The whole story of the epic Gilgamesh weaves an anciently known ‘path’ in the geographical circle of the oval-shaped earth from Ur to Isle of Blest that passes through the darkness of the Underworld regions.
English translation of ‘Bull’ and ‘Scorpion’ is completely wrong; here ‘Bull’ stands for ‘Mahisha’, or Maisi’(buffalo), the animal of burden of Yama, King of Death whose seat of worship is indicative of the ancient Jerusalem only. Egyptian mythology calls it Mnevis; The bull is connected to Kamephis and thus was called the ‘Bull of Kamephis’, and which is also known as, ‘Bull of his Mother’. It represents in human sense the birth, death and rebirth. And this region of the God Yama identifies the ‘Volcano’ or the ‘Death’.
Ishtar, daughter of God Anu, is Atar of the Avesta, means ‘Fire’. God Anu of the epic is as same as Anu of Indian puranas and On of the Bible. A dynasty in this name is found in history called Han dynasty. The latter also identifies the Huns of other texts
While Mt Kur identifies Cyrus, or Kuru kingdom of Indian puranas, it is same as Ottorokorroha of Ptolemy. Utnapishtim is same as King Utanpada of Indian puranas, and Humbaba is identical with Hudumba of the epic the Mahabharata to whom Bhima killed. The most interesting name of this epic is the ‘Scorpion’, which is identifies with ‘Bichha’, or the ‘Bacchus’.
On Gilgamesh, the epic says :
‘GILGAMESH was a hero who knew secrets
and saw forbidden places,
who could even speak of the time before the
Flood because he lived long, learned much,
and spoke his life to those who first
cut into clay his bird-like words.
He commanded walls for Uruk and for Eanna,
our holy ground,
Gilgamesh is a fate alive, the
finest babe of Ninsun, she who never
30. let a man touch her, indeed
so sure and heavenly, so without sin.
He knew the secret paths that reached the eagle’s
nest above the mountain and knew too how
just to drop a well into the chilly earth’.
These lines speak a lot on Gilgamesh; Ninsun is Essenes of the Bible, and God Issan of other texts. Abraham ‘s father Azar was ruling in Ur; and Abraham left Ur, and came to Uruk through Oz and Muz, or ‘Arka-kshetra’, or the City of Sun, which identifies Heliopolis of the Egyptian mythology.
When Gilgamesh reached Mt Mashu after death of Enkidu to go to Utnapishtim, the epic says, ‘he passed through the cliffs of Aga and Salma’ before she met Sabitu, or Sabitru of Indian puranas; here Salma is as same as Salmali-island of Indian puranas where then stood Mt Mesha, same as Seir of the Bible also. And Aga here represents for ‘Ezion-geber’, or Azania of the Periplus. This may also identify the Ang country of Indian puranas marking the areas of Campa, same as Kamboj where hermitage of Kasyapa was located on the bank of the lake Gharghara.
Sabitru directed Gilgamesh to meet Arad–Ea, the sailor of Per-napishtim(or Utnapishtim) who lived in the cedar-forest; the latter pinpoints Kedar of the Bible, and Campa or Camboj or Cyprus marks the region of cyprus-wood which found its use in making of boats. Alexander made some thousands of boats here to carry his loots back to his native land at Macedonia. So the epic describes a geography which is in complete union with other epics and mythologies.