Brocken-spectres:

the apparently enormous and magnified shadow of an observer, cast upon the surfaces of clouds opposite the sun; the head of the figure is often surrounded by the glowing halo-like rings of a glory; rings of coloured light that appear directly opposite the sun when sunlight meets a cloud of uniformly-sized water droplets.

 

Lo-Yang:

a city located in the confluence of the Luo River and Yellow River in Central China.  Situated on the central plain of China, Luoyang is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, and is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.

 

Pataliputra: * see Endnote 33

a city in north eastern ancient India adjacent to modern-day Patna;  originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BC. During the reign of Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC, it was one of the world's largest cities, with a population of 150,000–400,000 & a surface of 25.5 square kilometers; it reached the pinnacle of prosperity when it was the capital of the great Mauryan Emperors, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka.