The Nilamata Purana describes the Valley's origin from the waters, Ka means "water" and Shimir means "to desiccate". Hence, Kaashmir stands for "a land desiccated from water." There is also a theory which takes Kaashmir to be a contraction of Kashyap-mira or Kashyapmir or Kashyapmeru, the "sea or mountain of Kashyapa", the sage who is credited with having drained the waters of the primordial lake Satisar, that Kaashmir was before it was reclaimed. The Nilamata Purana gives the name Kaashmira to the Valley considering it to be an embodiment of Uma and it is the Kaashmir that the world knows today. The Kaashmiris, however, call it Kashir, which has been derived phonetically from Kaashmir, as pointed out by Aurel Stein in his introduction to the Rajatarangini. In the Rajatarangini, a history of Kashmir written by Kalhana in the 12th century, it is stated that the valley of Kaashmir was formerly a lake. This was drained by the great rishi or sage, Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son of Brahma, by cutting the gap in the hills at Baramulla (Varaha-mula). Cashmere is a variant spelling of Kaashmir.