Watters, Thomas. On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629-645 AD. Vol. 1. Royal Asiatic Society, 1904.

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TVEIRIT
TA
HARVARD
COLLEGE
LIBRARY
ORIENTAL TRANSLATION FUND .
NEW SERIES.
VOL. XIV .
ON YUAN CHWANG'S
TRAVELS IN INDIA
629-645 A. D.
BY
THOMAS WATTERS M. R.A.S.
EDITED , AFTER HIS DEATH ,

BY
T. W. RHYS DAVIDS, F. B. A.
AND
S. W. BUSHELL, M.D.; C.M.G.
LONDON
ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY
22 ALBEMARLE STREET
1904 .
‫را‬ ‫(‪.20 )1‬دن‬
‫‪.‬‬
‫‪1‬‬
‫|‬
‫‪i‬‬
‫‪1‬‬
CONTENTS.
PREFACE
THOMAS WATTERS VIII
TRANSLITERATION OF THE PILGRIM'S NAME XI
CHAP . 1. TITLE AND TEXT 1

2. THE INTRODUCTION 22
3. FROM KAO CHANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS 44
4. TARAS TO KAPIS • 82
+9 5. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA 131
6. LAMPA TO GANDHARA 180
99 7. UDYANA TO KASHMIR 225
8. KASHMIR TO RAJAPUR 258
9. CHEH- KA TO MATHURĀ 286
% 10. STHANESVARA TO KAPITHA 315
11. KANYĀKUBJA TO VISOKA 340
12. SRAVASTI TO KUSINĀRĀ 377
1
1
PREFACE .
As will be seen from Dr. Bushell's obituary notice of

Thomas Watters , republished from the Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Society for 1901 at the end of those few
words of preface, Mr. Watters left behind him a work, ready
for the press, on the travels of Yüan - Chwāng in India in
the 7th Century A. D. The only translation into English
of the Travels and the Life of Yüan-Chwāng, the one
made by the late Mr. Beal, contains many mistakes. As
Mr. Watters probably knew more about Chinese Buddhist
Literature than any other European scholar, and had, at
the same time , a very fair knowledge both of Pali and
Sanskrit, he was the very person most qualified to correct
those mistakes, and to write an authoritative work on the
interpretation of Yüan - Chwāng's most interesting and
valuable records. The news that he had left such a work
was therefore received with eager pleasure by all those
interested in the history of India. And Mr. F. F. Ar
buthnot , who had so generously revived our Oriental
Translation Fund , was kind enough to undertake to pay
for the cost of publishing the work in that series. I was
asked by the Council to be the editor, and was fortunate
enough to be able to receive the cooperation of Dr. S.
W. Bushell C. M. G., late medical officer attached to our
embassy at Peking.
We have thought it best to leave Mr. Watters's Ms.
untouched , and to print the work as it stands. The
VI PREFACE .
reader is requested therefore never to lose sight of the

fact that, as printed, it has not had the advantage of
any such corrections or improvements as the author might
have made, had it passed through the press under his
supervision.
As a rule the author gives the Indian equivalents
for the Chinese names of persons and places in their
Sanskrit form . But occasionally he uses the Pali form ,
and there are cases where we find both Pali and San
skrit forms used even on the same page. I gathered
from many conversations with the author, that this ap
parent inconsistency was intentional. At the time when
Yüan - Chwāng travelled in India , not only all the most
famous Buddhist teachers, but all the teachers of the
school of thought especially favoured by the famous pil
grim, the school of Vasubandhu , wrote in Sanskrit. But
Pali was still understood ; and the names of places that
the pilgrim heard in conversation were heard in local
dialects. In his transcription the pilgrim would naturally
therefore reproduce, as a rule, the Sanskrit forms, but he
knew the Pali forms of ancient names, and the local forms
of modern ones. It is not therefore improper, in an English
work on Yüan-Chwāng, to use occasionally the Pali or
vernacular forms of Indian names.
As regards the author's method of transliterating the
name of the pilgrim I annex the copy of a letter by myself
in the Journal of our society. Yüan - Chwāng is the correct
presentation of the present Pekinese pronunciation. What
would be the correct presentation, in English letters, of
the way in which the pilgrim himself pronounced it, is
not known. 1
1
Full indices, by the author and ourselves, and two .
maps which Mr. Vincent Smith has been kind enough to

undertake, will be included in the second volume , which
is in the press, and which we hope to bring out in the
course of next year.
With these few remarks I venture to ask for a generous
and sympathetic reception of this posthumous work by an
PREFACE . VII
author whose untimely death was an irreparable loss to

historical science, whose rare qualities of mind and the
breadth of whose knowledge earned the admiration of
those most qualified to judge, and whose personal qualities
endeared him to all who knew him.
T. W. Rhys DAVIDS
Nālanda, May 1904.
CETani
Esslice :
4:22! ,
VIII THOMAS WATTERS.
THOMAS WATTERS ,
1840–1901.
With very much regret for the loss of an old friend,
le
I have to notice the death of Mr. Watters, at Ealing, on
January 10th. He was a member of the Council of the
Society from 1897 to 1900 , and a valued contributor to
the Journal. The loss of a scholar who had such a wide
knowledge of the vast literature of Chinese Buddhism will
be deeply felt by those interested in the subject, as was
amply acknowledged by Professor Rhys Davids in a few
well - chosen , appreciative words addressed to the last
meeting of the Society.
He was born on the 9th of February, 1840, the eldest
son of the Rev. Thomas Watters, Presbyterian Minister V
of Newtownards, co. Down. His father died some ten years
ago, after having ministered to the same congregation for !
fifty -six years ; his mother is still living at Newtownards.

It was from his father that he inherited his great love of
books, and he was educated by him at home until he entered
Queen's College, Belfast, in 1857. His college career was
most distinguished, and he gained many prizes and scholar
ships during the three years. In 1861 he graduated B. A.
in the Queen's University of Ireland , with first- class
honours in Logic , English Literature, and Metaphysics ;
and in 1862 took his M. A. degree , with first - class
honours, again, in the same subjects and second - class in
Classics.
In 1863 he was appointed to a post in the Consular 1
Service of China, after a competitive examination, with
an honorary certificate. He proceeded at once to Peking,
and subsequently served in rotation at many responsible
THOMAS WATTERS . IX
spots in all parts of the Chinese empire. He was

Acting Consul General in Corea 1887–1888 , in Canton
1891-1893 , and afterwards Consul in Foochow until
April , 1895 , when impaired health compelled him to
retire finally from the Far East, after over thirty-two
years' service.
But this is hardly the place to refer to Mr. Watters's
official work, or to the blue-books in which it is bound up.
In his private life he was always courteous, unselfish, and
unassuming, a special favourite with his friends, to whose
service he would devote infinite pains, whether in small
matters or grave.
His early philosophical training fitted him for the study
of Oriental religions and metaphysics, which always
remained his chief attraction. The character of his work
may be summarized in the words of an eminent French
critic , who says of Mr. Watters : " A ses moindres notices
sur n'importe quoi, on sentait si bien qu'elles étaient
puisées en pleine source ; et sur chaque chose il disait
si bien juste ce qu'il voulait et ce qu'il fallait dire.”
Much of his best works is, unfortunately, buried in
the columns of periodicals of the Far East, such as the
China Review and the Chinese Recorder, his first published
book being a reprint of articles in the Chinese Recorder.
The list of his books is
“ Lao - tzŭ . A Study in Chinese Philosophy." Hongkong,

London , 1870.
"A Guide to the Tablets in the Temple of Confucius. ”
Shanghai, 1879.
“Essays on the Chinese Language.” Shanghai , 1889.
" Stories of Everyday Life in Modern China. Told in
Chinese and done into English by T. Watters."
London , 1896 .
In our own Journal two interesting articles were con

tributed by him in 1898 , on “ The Eighteen Lohan of
Chinese Buddhist Temples and on “ Kapilavastu in the
Buddhist Books. "
X THOMAS WATTERS.
A far more important and extensive work remains in

manuscript, being a collection of critical notes on the
well-known travels throughout India , in the seventh cen
tury of our era , of the celebrated Buddhist pilgrim
Yüan - Chuāng ( Hiouen - Thsang ). In this Mr. Watters
discusses and identifies all the Sanskrit names of places,
etc. , transliterated in the original Chinese text, and
adds an elaborate index of the persons mentioned in
the course of the travels. The work appears to be quite
ready for publication . Should means be forthcoming, its
appearance in print will be eagerly looked for by all
interested in Buddhist lore and in the ancient geography
of India.
Mr. Watters has given his library of Chinese books, I am
informed, to his friend Mr. E. H. Fraser, C.M.G., a Sino
logue of light and learning and a Member of our Society,
who may be trusted, I am sure, to make good use of the
valuable bequest .
S. W. BUSHELL.
XI
YÜAN CHWANG OR HIQUEN THSANG.
YÜAN CHWÄNG OR HIQUEN THSANG ?
The name of the celebrated Chinese pilgrim and trans

lator is spelt in English in the following ways (among
others) :
1. M. Stanislas Julien . Hiouen Thsang.
2. Mr. Mayers . .
.. Huan Chwang .
3. Mr. Wylie Yuén Chúàng.
4. Mr. Beal.. Hiuen Tsiang.
5. Prof. Legge 2 . Hsüan Chwang.
6. Prof. Bunyiu Nanjio 3 . Hhüen Kwân.
Sir Thomas Wade has been kind enough to explain

this diversity in the following note :
“ The pilgrim's family name was byli, now pronounced
chiên, but more anciently chéin . His " style ' (official or
honorary title) appears to have been both written
+1 and 2.
类
In modern Pekinese these would read in my trans
literation (which is that here adopted by Dr. Legge)—
1 hsüan chuang.
2 yüan chuang.
The French still write for these two characters
1 hiouen thsang,
2 youan thsang,
following the orthography of the Romish Missionaries,
Premare and others, which was the one adapted to English
usage by Dr. Morrison I doubt, pace Dr. Edkins , that
we are quite sure of the contemporary pronunciation , and
should prefer, therefore, myself, to adhere to the French
1 Readers Manual, p . 290. 2 Fa Hien , p . 83, etc. 3 Catalogue, p. 435 .
XII YÜAN CHWÄNG OR HIQUEN THSANG .
Hiouen , seeing that this has received the sanctification

of Julien's well-known translation of the pilgrim's travels .”
It is quite clear from the above that in the Chinese
pronunciation of the first part of the name there is now
nothing approaching to an English H. And of course
Julien never intended to represent that sound by his
transliteration . Initial H being practically silent in
French, his Hiouen is really equal to louen, that is, to
what would be expressed by Yuan in the scientific system
of transliteration now being adopted for all Oriental
languages. But the vowel following the initial letter is
like the German Ü, or the French u, so that Yüan would,
for Indianists, express the right pronunciation of this form
of the word . It is particularly encouraging to the im
portant cause of a generally intelligible system of trans
literation to find that this is precisely the spelling adopted
by Sir Thomas Wade.
This is, however, only one of two apparently equally
correct Chinese forms of writing the first balf of the
name .
The initial sound in the other form of the word
is unknown in India and England. Sir Thomas Wade
was kind enough to pronounce it for me ; and it seems
to be nearly the German ch (the palatal, not the guttural ,
as in Mädchen ) or the Spanish x, only more sibilant. It
is really first cousin to the y sound of the other form ,
being pronounced by a very similar position of the mouth
and tongue. If it were represented by the symbol HS
(though there is neither a simple h sound nor a simple
s sound in it), then a lazy, careless, easy - going HS would
tend to fade away into a y.
The latter half of the name is quite simple for India
nists. Using c for our English ch and ŋ for our English
ng (i or ^ or m ), it would be simply cwān.
Part of the confusion has arisen from the fact that
some authors have taken one, and some the other, of the
two Chinese forms of the name. The first four of the
transliterations given above are based on Sir Thomas
Wade's No. 2 , the other two on his No. 1. All, except
YÜAN CHWÄNG OR HIQUEN THSANG. XIII
only that of Mr. Beal , appear to be in harmony with

different complete systems of representing Chinese charac
ters in English letters, each of which is capable of defence.
The French, not having the sound of our English CH , for
instance, have endeavoured to reproduce it by THS. This
may no longer be used even by scholars ; but in Julien's
time reasons could be adduced in support of it.
It appears, therefore, that the apparently quite contra
dictory, and in some parts unprononceable, transliterations
of this name, so interesting to students of Indian history,
are capable of a complete and satisfactory explanation,
and that the name, or rather title, is now in Pekinese
whatever it may have been elsewhere, and in the pilgrim's
time_YÜAN CHWANG .
T. W. RHYS DAVIDS.
ORIENTAL TRANSLATION FUND.
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The followingworks of this series are now for sale at the

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( Vols. I and II) containing the lives of the prophets from
Adam to Jesus, and other historical matter. 1891 and 1892.
3, 4. Part II (Vols. I and II) of the above, containing
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of Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Uthmân, and Ali, the immediate
successors of Muhammad . 1894.
6. TAWNEY (Mr. C. H. ) The Kathā Kosa, a collection
of Jain stories, translated from Sanscrit. 1895.
7. RIDDING (Miss C. M.). Bāņa's Kādambari. 1896.
8. COWELL ( Professor E. B.) and Mr. THOMAS (of Trinity
College, Cambridge). Bāna's Harşa Carita. 1897 .
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māts of Abu Muhammad al Ķasim al Harīrī, forming
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11. GASTER (Dr. M.). The Chronicles of Jerahmeel, or
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12. DAVIDS (Mrs. Rhys ). A Buddhist manual of psycho
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of the Dhamma Sangași from the Abhidhamma Pitaka of
the Buddhist Canon . 1900 .
13. BEVERIDGE (Mrs. H.). Life and Memoirs of Gulbadan
Begum , aunt of Akbar the Great, translated from the
Persian. 1902. With illustrations.
In preparation
14, 15. WATTERS (T. ). On Yuan Chwang's Travels.
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CHAPTER I.
THE TITLE AND TEXT.
The Chinese treatise known as the Hsi-yü -chi (or Si-yü
ki) is one of the classical Buddhist books of China, Korea,
and Japan. It is preserved in the libraries attached to
many of the large monasteries of these countries and it is
occasionally found for sale in bookshops. The copies offer
ed for sale are reprints of the work as it exists in some
monastery, and they are generally made to the order of
patrons of learning or Buddhism. These reprints are more
or less inaccurate or imperfect, and one of them gives as
the complete work only two of the twelve chian which
constitute the treatise.
The full title of the book is Ta-T'ang-Hsi-yü- chi (t .
U to a ), that is, " Records of Western Lands of the
Great Tang period ”. By the use of the qualifying term
"Great Tang ” the dynasty within which the treatise was
composed is indicated and this particular work is distin
guished from others bearing the same general name. In
some native writings we find the treatise quoted or designat
ed by the title Hsi-yü-chuan ( ) which also means “ Records
of Western Lands ”. But it does not appear that the work
was ever published or circulated with this name. In its
original state and as it exists at present the treatise is
divided into twelve chian , but we find mention of an edi
tion brought out in the north of China in which there are
only ten chüan. 1
1 Hsiao-yueh-tsang-chih-chin ( e ) ch. 4.
A
2 TITLE AND TEXT.
On the title-page of the Asi-yü -chi it is represented as

having been " translated" by Yuan - chuang and " redacted "
or " compiled ” by Pien -chi (38). But we are not to take
the word for translate here in its literal sense, and all that
it can be understood to convey is that the information
given in the book was obtained by Yuan - chuang from foreign
sources. One writer tells us that Yuan - chuang supplied the
materials to Pien - chi who wrought these up into a literary
treatise. Another states that Yuan -chuang communicated
at intervals the facts to be recorded to Pien-chi who after
wards wove these into a connected narrative.
This Pien -chi was one of the learned Brethren appointed
by Tai Tsung to assist Yuan -chuang in the work of trans
lating the Indian books which Yuan -chuang had brought
with him. It was the special duty of Pien- chi to give literary
form to the translations. He was a monk of the Hui- chang
( 9 ) Monastery and apparently in favour at the court of the
Emperor. But he became mixed up in an intrigue with one
of T'ai Tsung's daughters and we cannot imagine a man of his
bad character being on very intimate terms with the pilgrim.
As to the Hsi-yü- chi we may doubt whether he really had
much to do with its formation, and perhaps the utmost
that can be claimed for him is that he may have strung
together Yuan -chuang's descriptions into a connected narra
tive. The literary compositions of Yuan -chuang to be found in
other places seem to justify us in regarding him as fully compe
tent to write the treatise before us without any help from
others. Moreover in an old catalogue of books we find the com
position of a “ Ta - T'ang -Hsi-yü - chi” ascribed to Yuan -chuang
and a " Hsi-yü -chi” ascribed to Pien-chi in similar terms. 1
Further in Buddhist books of the Tang and Sung periods we
frequently find a statement to the effect that Yuan -chuang
composed the Hsi-yü-chi, the word used being that which has
been here rendered for the moment " redacted " or " compiled "
( 53.). 2 It is possible that the text as we have it now
1 Tung -chih-liao, the Yi - wền- liao, ch . 4 (GHỈ : Tº the BE A Hề ).
2 K'ai-yuan-lu (No. 1485) ch . 8 : Su -kao -sêng - chuan (No. 1493),
ch. 4. See also Y.'s Memorial to the Emperor in Ch . 6 of the Life
TITLE AND TEXT. 3
is for at least nine out of the twelve chüan practically

that of the treatise drawn up by Yuan - chuang and presented
to his sovereign. Some of the notes and comments may have
been added by Pien - chi but several are evidently by a
later hand. In some of the early editions these notes seem
to have been incorporated in the text and there is reason
for supposing that a few passages now in the text should
be printed as interpolated comments.
The Hsi- yü -chi exists in several editions which present
considerable variations both in the text and in the supple
mentary notes and explanations. For the purposes of the
present Commentary copies of four editions have been used .
The first of these editions is that known to scholars as the
Han-shan (II ) Hsi-yü -chi, which was brought out at
private expense. This is substantially a modern Soochow
reprint of the copy in one of the collections of Buddhist
books appointed and decreed for Buddhist monasteries
in the time of the Ming dynasty. It agrees generally with
the copy in the Japanese collection of Buddhist books in
the Library of the India Office, and it or a similar Ming
copy seems to be the only edition of the work hitherto
known to western students. The second is the edition of
which a copy is preserved in the library of a large Buddhist
monastery near Foochow. This represents an older form
of the work, perhaps that of the Sung collection made in
A. D. 1103, and it is in all respects superior to the common
Ming text. The third is an old Japanese edition which
has many typographical and other errors and also presents
a text differing much from other editions. It is apparently
a reprint of a Sung text, and is interesting in several
respects, but it seems to have many faults and it is badly
printed. The fourth is the edition given in the critical
reprint which was recently produced in the revised collec
tion of Buddhist books brought out in Japan. This edition
on the completion of the Records which does not contain any mention
or hint of as tance . nstead of the B reading 12 the other texts
have the which is the correct form .
A*
4 TITLE AND TEXT.
is based on the text recognized in Korea and it supplies

the various readings of the Sung, Yuan, and Ming editions.
Some of these variations are merely different ways of writ
ing a character but many of them give valuable corrections
for the Korean text which is often at fault.
THE TRANSLATORS.
In 1857 M. Julien published his long promised trans
lation of the “ Ta - Tang -Hsi-yü -chi” with the title “ Mémoires
sur les Contrées occidentales traduits du Sanscrit en Chinois,
en l'an 648, par Hiouen-Thsang, et du Chinois en Français.”
This work was regarded by the learned translator as supple
mentary to his " Histoire de la Vie de Hiouen -Thsang et
de ses voyages dans l'Inde, depuis l'an 629 jusqu'en 645"
translated by him from the Chinese and published in 1853.
He had already supplemented the latter treatise by an
interesting series of “Documents Géographiques” on the
countries of which the book makes mention. Julien's
- Mémoires sur les Contrées occidentales" is a work of
great merit, and it shows a wonderful knowledge of the
Chinese language. Much use has been made of it by
students of the history, geography, antiquities, and religions
of India and Central Asia and on all these subjects it
has been regarded as an authority. And although it is
not wise to accept with unquestioning faith all the render
ings and identifications of the translator yet it is not with
out diffidence that one dissents from or condemns his inter
pretation of a difficult phrase or passage either in the Life
or the Records.
The only other translation of the “ Hsi-yü -chi" into a
western language is the English version by the late Revd
S. Beal. This was published in 1884 with the title “ Buddhist
Records of the Western World, Translated from the Chinese
of Hiuen Tsiang (A. D. 629)”. The title is characteristic
of the translator, and the reader may compare it with that
given by Julien to his translation. Mr Beal's work is a
translation partly “from the Chinese ” and partly from the
French. In it many of the careless mistakes which dis
THE TRANSLATORS . 5
figure Julien's treatise are corrected and its notes supply

the student with numerous references to old and recent
western authorities.
Within the last few years the Preface to the Hsi-yü
chi attributed to Chang yueh, to be noticed presently, has
attracted the attention of some western students of Chinese.
In the " Muséon " for November 1894 there appeared an
article by M. A. Gueluy entitled “A propos d'une Préface.
Aperçu critique sur le Bouddhisme en Chine au 7e siècle ."
This article gives M. Gueluy's criticism on Julien's trans
lation of the Preface and a new rendering by the critic.
One can scarcely treat M. Gueluy's production seriously, it
is so full of fancies and fictions and shows such a slight
acquaintance with Buddhism and the Chinese language.
Professor Schlegel, however, took the " A propos d'une
Preface” seriously and has given us a criticism of it to
gether with a new translation of this Préface to the Hsi
Yü - chi. The Professor's treatise, which shows much in
dustry and ingenuity, is entitled ,, La Loi du Parallélisme
en style Chinois demontrée par la Préface du Si-yü -ki.”
In this he defends some of Julien's translations against the
criticism of M. Gueluy and shows how absurdly wrong is
the latter's version. M. Schlegel brings numerous quota
tions from Chinese books to support his own renderings
of the difficult passages in the Preface. Many of these
renderings are apparently correct and an improvement on
those by Julien, but in several instances the learned Professor
seems to have missed the author's meaning. His criticisms
on M. Gueluy’s “ A propos d'une Préface” drew from M.
Gueluy a reply which is not convincing: it is entitled
" L'Insuffisance du Parallélisme prouvée sur la Préface du
Si-iu-ki contre la traduction de M. G. Schlegel."
THE PILGRIM .
The life of Yuan -chuang is narrated at length in the book
entitled " Ta Tang Ta Tză-ên-ssū San -tsang-fa -shih - chuan ",
that is "Record of the Tripitaka Master of the Great Com
passion Monastery". It is this work of which Julien's “Histoire
6 ON THE AUTHOR .
de la Vie de Hiouen Thsang" is an abstract, and of which

Mr Beal has given us a similar abstract in English. It
is also the work usually cited in the following pages by
the short title “ the Life ". From this and a few other
Chinese treatises the following short summary of the an
cestry and life of the pilgrim has been compiled.
The surname of the family to which he belonged was
Chên (B) and his personal name was I m ).1 But he
seems never to have been known in history, literature, or
religion, or among his contemporaries by any other name
than that written (or ) # and read Hsüan (or
Yuan )-chuang (or ts'ang). In modern literature the cha
racter for Yuan is commonly used in writing the pilgrim's
name, and this is said to be due to the character for
Hsüan entering into the personal name of the Emperor
Kanghsi. But we find Yuan in the pilgrim's name before
the reign of Kanghsi and we find Hsüan in it during that
reign and since. This interchange of the two characters
is very common and is recognized. The personal name of the
Chinese envoy Wang who went to India in Yuan-chuang's
time is given as Hsian (and Yuan)-tsê ( or I )
and the name of another great contemporary of the pilgrim
is written Fang Hsüan -ling and Fang Yuan -ling For
元齡).. The two characters at the Tang period may
have had the same sound, something like Yun, and our
pilgrim's name was probably then pronounced Yun-ts'ang. ?
This was his hui ( * ) or “ appellation ”, called in the
Life also his tzi (* ). This word hui is often used to
denote the Fa-hao or " name in religion ” of a Buddhist
monk, and it is sometimes replaced by tu () )-hui or " ordi
nation name". It commonly means simply “ the name of
the deceased ” that is, the name given to him when capped,
1 Su -kao -seng -chuan, 1. C .: Shên-seng-chuan (No. 1620) ch . 6.

2 The Japanese write the name Hsüan -ts'ang but call the pilgrim
Gen-jo corresponding to the Chinese Yuan -ts'ang. In Tibetan books
the name is given as Tang Ssen-tsang or Tiang Sin (or Sang), and
Ssen-ts'ang is, I think, for Hsüan-ts'ang and not for San-tsang.
HIS FAMILY . 7
and I do not know of any authority for Julien's rende

ring "nom d'enfance".
The family from which Yuan - chuang sprang is said to have
been descended from the semi-mythical Huang - Ti through
the great Emperor Shun, and to have originally borne the
territorial designation of Shun, viz. Kuei (ks). In very
early times the seat of the family was in the district now
bearing the name Kuei - tê (Si e- foo in the east of
Honan , and it was afterwards removed for a time to the
neighbourhood of the present Ts'ao -chou in Shantung. At
the time of Wu Wang, the first king of the Chow dynasty,
a man known as Hu -kung -kuei-man HR ( M ) was
regarded as the lineal representative of the Shun family.
This man was the son of 0 - fu ( * ) of Yü (k) who
had served Wu Wang as his T'ao -chêng ( BE ), ar
officer variously explained as Director of Potteries and as
Superintendent of Schools. The office was apparently
hereditary and Wu-Wang rewarded Man by giving him
his eldest daughter in marriage while at the same time
he ennobled him as How or Marquis, and endowed him
with the fief of Chiên (Full) that he might be able to
continue the services of worship to his ancestor Shun .
These honours made Man one of the San -kê ( 1 ) or
- Three Reverends", that is, three who were faithfully
diligent in the discharge of their public duties. The other
Kes were according to some accounts the representatives
of the ancient emperors Huang Ti and Yao, and accord
ing to other accounts the representatives of the founders
of the Hsia and Yin dynasties.1 Man's fief comprised
the modern prefecture of Ch'ên -chow in Honan together
with the adjacent territory. It existed as a separate
principality down to B. C. 478 when it was extinguished.
The members of the reigning family were then dispersed
but they retained Chíên as their surname.
1 T‘ung - chih - liao, the Li Tie-liao, ch. 3. These circumstances

about Yuan-chuang's reputed ancestors are mentioned here because
they are alluded to in the Preface.
8 ON THE AUTHOR.
We have to come down to the end of the third century

B. C. before we find a Ch‘ên of historical celebrity. We
then meet with the famous Ch‘ên P‘ing (PF) a native
of Yang-wu ( 197 ) in the present Prefecture of K'ai
fêng ( HW) of Honan. In the time of the Han dynasty
this Prefecture bore the name Chiên-liu (Eli ) and this
explains why Yuan-chuang is sometimes described as a Ch'ên
liu man. His ancestor Ping was an eccentric genius who,
rising from extreme poverty to wealth and power, founded
a great family and made himself immortal in history.
His success in life and his posthumous fame were mainly
due to his ready wit which never left him without an
answer, and to his ingenuity in devising expedients in
desperate circumstances. Of these expedients six were
counted extraordinary and successful above the others, and
hence came the saying in his time liu -ch'u -ch'i- chi hi !
it) that is, “ six times he brought out extraordinary
plans". These were all employed on behalf of Liu Pang,
the Han Kao Tsu of history. They were stratagems or
expedients devised to meet special occasions, they were
kept very secret and were all successful.
In the second century of our era we have another great
man claimed as an ancestor of Yuan - chuang. This is Ch'ên
Shih (Buki Tt) better known by his other name Chung -Kung
( Tifo ), a native of Hsü (FF) a district corresponding to
the present Hsü -chow - foo in Honan . At the time of the
Han dynasty Hsü was in the political division called Ying
ch'uan ( JIT) and hence we find Yuan -chuang often descri
bed as a Ying-ch'uan man . This man Chiên -Shih was called
to office and served in the reign of Han Huan Ti (A. D.
147 to 167) . As an official Shih was pure and upright,
attentive to business and zealous for the welfare of his
people. Gentle but firm and kind but strict he won the
affection, confidence and esteem of the people. His fame
is chiefly associated with his administration of Tai-Ch'iu
( hi ), now the Yung- ch'êng ( hl) District in the Kuei
të Prefecture of Honan. Here his personal influence was
great and he made the people ashamed to do wrong. The
HIS ANCESTORS. 9
effects of his just decisions and benevolent government

spread over all the country, and people flocked to him
from surrounding districts. Resigning office, however, after
a few years he retired to his native place. He was happy
and successful also in his family, and sons and grandsons
grew up before him to virtue and honour. His family was
recognized to be a cluster of Tê-shing (feat.2) Stars of
virtuous merit , and Heaven took notice of the fact and
visibly responded. In later life Chung-kung refused to
return to office and died at home in the year A. D. 187
in the 84th year of his age.1
The next one that we have to notice in the line of
descent is Chóên Ta (f) the sixth from Shih . Ta lived
in the 4th century A. D. in the time of the Chin ( )
dynasty. He also was a learned man and an official of
some distinction. Being appointed Magistrate of Ch'ang
ch'êng (El) in the present Hu -chow (44 ) Foo of
Chekiang he prophesied that his posterity would sit on the
throne. This prediction was fulfilled in the year 556 when
the tenth from Ta the illustrious Ch'ên Pa -hsien ( st)
established the Chiên dynasty. This branch of the family
was settled in Hu -chow for more than 200 years, and it
was not from it, apparently, that the immediate ancestors
of our pilgrim were derived.
We now come to Yuan -chuang's great-grandfather whose
name was Ch'in ( FK ). He was an official of the After Wei
dynasty and served as Prefect of Shang - tiang ( E ) in
Shansi. The grand -father of our pilgrim , by name K'ang
($), being a man of distinguished learning in the Ch'i
dynasty obtained the envied appointment of Professor in
the National College at the capital. To this post were
attached the revenues of the city of Chou -nan correspond
ing to the modern Lo - yang -hsien in Honan. The father
of our pilgrim, by name Hui (!), was a man of high
character. He was a handsome tall man of stately manners,
learned and intelligent, and a Confucianist of the strict
i Hou Han- shu, ch. 62 .

10 ON THE AUTHOR .
old -fashioned kind. True to his principles he took office

at the proper time, and still true to them he gave up
office and withdrew into seclusion when anarchy supplant
ed order. He then retired to the village Ch'ên-pao-ku
(ELi LÀ) at a short distance south - east from the town of
Kou - shih ( * ). This town was in the Lo-chow, now
Ho-nan, Prefecture of Honan, and not far from the site
of the modern Yen -shih ( ) Hsien. Yuan -chuang is
sometimes called a Kou -shih man and it was probably in his
father's home near this town that he was born in theyear 600 .
The family of Chíên Hui was apparently a large one and
Yuan -chuang was the youngest of four sons. Together with
his brothers he received his early education from his father,
not, of course, without the help of other teachers. We find
Yuan - chuang described as a rather precocious child shewing
cleverness and wisdom in his very early years. He became
a boy of quick wit and good memory, a lover of learning
with intelligence to make a practical use of his learning,
It was noted that he cared little for the sports and
gaieties which had over -powering charms for other lads
and that he liked to dweli much apart. As a Confucianist
he learned the Classical work on Filial Piety and the
other canonical treatises of the orthodox system.
But the second son of the family entered the Buddhist
church and Yuan -chuang, smitten with the love of the strange
religion, followed his brother to the various monasteries at
which the latter sojourned. Then he resolved also to become
a Buddhist monk, and proceeded to study the sacred books
of the religion with all the fervour of a youthful proselyte.
When he arrived at the age of twenty he was ordained,
but he continued to wander about visiting various monas
teries in different parts of the country. Under the guidance
of the learned Doctors in Buddhism in these establishments
he studied some of the great works of their religion, and
soon became famous in China as a very learned and elo
quent young monk . But he could not remain in China
for he longed vehemently to visit the holy land of his
religion, to see its far-famed shrines, and all he visible
HIS RETURN HOME. 11
evidences of the Buddha's ministrations. He had learned,

moreover, to be dissatisfied with the Chinese translations
of the sacred books, and he was desirous to procure these
books in their original language, and to learn the true
meaning of their abstruse doctrines from orthodox pundits
in India. After making enquiries and preparations he left
the capital Ch'ang-an ( E ), the modern Hsi-an ( G )
foo, in the year 629, and set out secretly on his long
pilgrimage. The course of his wanderings and what he
saw and heard and did are set forth in the Life and
Records.
After sixteen year's absence Yuan -chuang returned to
China and arrived at Ch'ang-an in the beginning of 645, the
nineteenth year of the reign of Tang T'ai Tsung. And never
in the history of China did Buddhist monk receive such
a joyous oration as that with which our pilgrim was wel
comed. The Emperor and his Court, the officials and
merchants, and all the people made holiday. The streets
were crowded with eager men and women who expressed
their joy by gay banners and festive music. Nature, too ,
at least so it was fondly deemed, sympathised with her
children that day and bade the pilgrim welcome. Not
with thunders and lightnings did she greet him , but a
solemn gladness filled the air and a happy flush was on
the face of the sky. The pilgrim's old pine tree also by
nods and waves whispered its glad recognition. This tree,
on which Yuan -chuang patted a sad adieu when setting out,
had, obedient to his request, bent its head westward and
kept it so while the pilgrim travelled in that direction . But
when his face was turned to the east and the homeward
journey was begun the old pine true to its friend also
turned and bowed with all its weight of leaves and branches
towards the east.1 This was at once the first sign of wel
come and the first intimation of the pilgrim having set
out on his journey home. Now he had arrived whole and
well, and had become a many days' wonder. He had been
1 Fo -tsu -tung -chi (No. 1661), ch . 29.

12 ON THE AUTHOR .
where no other had ever been, he had seen and heard

what no other had ever seen and heard. Alone he had
crossed trackless wastes tenanted only by fierce ghost
demons. Bravely he had climbed fabled mountains high
beyond conjecture, rugged and barren , ever chilled by icy
wind and cold with eternal snow. He had been to the
edge of the world and had seen where all things end.
Now he was safely back to his native land, and with so great
a quantity of precious treasures. There were 657 sacred
books of Buddhism, some of which were full of mystical
charms able to put to flight the invisible powers of mischief.
All these books were in strange Indian language and
writing, and were made of trimmed leaves of palm or of
birch-bark strung together in layers. Then there were
lovely images of the Buddha and his saints in gold, and
silver, and crystal, and sandalwood. There were also many
curious pictures and, above all, 150 relics, true relics of
the Buddha. All these relics were borne on twenty horses
and escorted into the city with great pomp and ceremony.
The Emperor Tai Tsung forgave the pilgrim for going
abroad without permission, made his acquaintance and became
his intimate friend. He received Yuan -chuang in an inner
chamber of the palace, and there listened with unwearied
interest from day to day to his stories about unknown lands
and the wonders Buddha and his great disciples had wrought
in them . The Emperor tried to persuade Yuan -chuang that
it was his duty to give up the religious life and to take
office. But the heart of the pilgrim was fixed, and as soon
as he could he withdrew to a monastery and addressed
himself to the work of translating into Chinese his Indian
books. On his petition the Emperor appointed several
distinguished lay scholars and several learned monks to
assist in the labour of translating, editing, and copying. In
the meantime at the request of his Sovereign Yuan- chuang
compiled the Records of his travels, the Hsi-yü-chi. The first
draft of this work was presented to the Emperor in 646 ,
but the book as we have it now was not actually com
pleted until 648. It was apparently copied and circulated
HIS WORK AND CHARACTER . 13
in Ms in its early form during the author's life and for some
time after. When the Hsi-yü-chi was finished Yuan -chuang
gave himself up to the task of translating, a task which
was to him one of love and duty combined. In his inter
vals of leisure he gave advice and instruction to the young
brethren and did various kinds of acts of merit, leading
a life calm and peaceful but far from idle. In the year
664 on the 6th day of the second month he underwent the
great change. He had known that the change was coming,
and had made ready for his departure. He had no fears
and no regrets : content with the work of his life and
joyous in the hope of hereafter he passed hence into
Paradise. There he waits with Maitreya until in the full
ness of time the latter comes into this world . With him
Yuan-chuang hoped to come back to a new life here and
to do again the Buddha's work for the good of others.
In personal appearance Yuan -chuang, like his father, was
a tall handsome man with beautiful eyes and a good com
plexion. He had a serious but benevolent expression and a
sedate and rather stately manner. His character as revealed
to us in his Life and other books is interesting and attrac
tive. He had a rare combination of moral and intellectual
qualities and traits common to Chinese set off by a strong
ly marked individuality. We find him tender and affectio
nate to his parents and brothers, clinging to them in his
youth and lovingly mindful of them in his old age. He
was zealous and enthusiastic , painstaking and persevering,
but without any sense of humour and without any inven
tive genius . His capacity for work was very great and
his craving for knowledge and love of learning were an
absorbing passion. Too prone at times to follow authority
and accept ready-made conclusions he was yet self possessed
and independent. A Confucianist by inheritance and early
training, far seen in native lore and possessing good abi
lities, he became an uncompromising Buddhist. Yet he
never broke wholly with the native system which he learn
ed from his father and early teachers. The splendours
of India and the glories of its religion did not weaken
14 ON THE AUTHOR .
or shake his love for China and his admiration for its
old ways of domestic, social, and political life. When he
was more than sixty years of age he wished to pay the
duty of filial piety at his parents' tombs. Unable to dis
cover these he sought out his married sister Mrs Chang,
and by her help he found them. Then, distressed at the
bad state in which the tombs were at the time, he ob
tained leave from the Emperor to have the remains of
his parents transferred to a happy ground and reinterred
with honourable burial. Though the man had long ago
become a devoted son of Sākyamuni he still owned a
loving duty to his earthly parents.
As a Buddhist monk Yuan-chuang was very rigorous in
keeping the rules of his order and strict in all the observan
ces of his religion. But his creed was broad, his piety never
became ascetic, and he was by nature tolerant. There
were lengths, however, to which he could not go, and
even his powerful friend the Emperor T'ai Tsung could
not induce him to translate Lao-tzu's “ Tao- Tê -Ching "
into Sanskrit or recognize Lao-tzū as in rank above the
Buddha. Modest and self -denying for himself Yuan -chuang
was always zealous for the dignity of his order and bold
for the honour of its founder . He was brave to a marvel,
and faced without fear the unknown perils of the visible
world and the unimagined terrors of unseen beings. Strong
of will and resolute of purpose, confident in himself and
the mission on which he was engaged, he also owned de
pendence on other and higher beings. He bowed in
prayer and adoration to these and sued to them for help
and protection in all times of despair and distress. His
faith was simple and almost unquestioning, and he had
an aptitude for belief which has been called credulity .
But his was not that credulity which lightly believes the
impossible and accepts any statement merely because
it is on record and suits the convictions or prejudices of
the individual. Yuan -chuang always wanted to have his
own personal testimony, the witness of his own senses or
at least his personal experience. It is true his faith helped
HIS FAITH . 15
his unbelief, and it was too easy to convince him where

a Buddhist miracle was concerned. A hole in the ground
without any natural history, a stain on a rock without
any explanation apparent, any object held sacred by the
old religion of the fathers, and any marvel professing to
be substantiated by the narrator, was generally sufficient
to drive away his doubts and bring comforting belief.
But partly because our pilgrim was thus too ready to
believe, though partly also for other reasons, he did not
make the best use of his opportunities. He was not a
good observer, a careful investigator, or a satisfactory
recorder, and consequently he left very much untold which
he would have done well to tell.
We must remember, however, that Yuan - chuang in his tra
vels cared little for other things and wanted to know only
Buddha and Buddhism. His perfect faith in these, his
devotion to them and his enthusiasm for them were re
markable to his contemporaries, but to us they are still
more extraordinary. For the Buddhism to which Yuan - chuang
adhered , the system which he studied, revered, and propa
gated , differed very much from the religion taught by
Gautama Buddha. That knew little or nothing of Yoga
and powerful magical formulæ used with solemn invocations.
It was not on Prajñapāramita and the abstract subtleties
of a vague and fruitless philosophy, nor on dream-lands
of delight beyond the tomb, nor on Pusas like Kuan -shi
yin who supplant the Buddhas, that the great founder of
the religion preached and discoursed to his disciples. But
Yuan-chuang apparently saw no inconsistency in believing
in these while holding to the simple original system. Yet he re
garded those monks who adhered entirely to the “ Small
Vehicle” as wrong in doctrine and practice, and he tried
to convert such to his own belief wherever he met them
or came into correspondence with them .
After Yuan -chuang's death great and marvellous things
were said of him. His body, it was believed, did not see cor
ruption and he appeared to some of his disciples in visions
of the night. In his lifetime he had been called a “Present
16 ON THE PREFACES.
Sākyamuni', and when he was gone his followers raised

him to the rank of a founder of Schools or Sects in
Buddhism. In one treatise we find the establishment of
three of these schools ascribed to him , and in another
work he is given as the founder in China of a fourth
school. This last is said to have been originated in India
at Nalanda by Silabhadra one of the great Buddhist monks
there with whom Yuan -chuang studied. 1
In some Buddhist temples we find images of our pil
grim to which a minor degree of worship is occasionally
offered . These images usually represent the pilgrim seated
clothed in his monk's robes and capped, with his right
hand raised and holding his alms-bowl in his left.
THE PREFACES TO THE HSI-YÜ-CHI.
There is only one Preface in the A, B, and C editions
of the “ Hsi -yü -chi”, but the D edition gives two Prefaces.
The second of these is common to all, while the first is
apparently only in D and the Corean edition. This latter
was apparently unknown to native editors and it was un
known to the foreign translators. This Preface is the
work of Ching Po (tik ! ), a scholar, author, and official
of the reigns of Tang Kao Tsu and Tai Tsung. Ching
Po was well read in the history of his country and was
in his lifetime an authority on subjects connected there
with . He was the chief compiler and redactor of the
“ Chin Shu ( ), an important treatise which bears on
its title- page the name of Tang Tai Tsung as author.
Ching Po's name is also associated with other historical
works, and notably with two which give an official account
of the rise of the Tiang dynasty and of the great events
which marked the early years of Tai Tsung. It is plain
from this Preface that its author was an intimate friend
1 Chên -ming -mu- t'u ( ZO ) last page: Fo-tsu -tung-chi, 1. c.

where Yuan-chuang is the founder of the Tză-ên -tsung ( ) in
China, and this is the Fa -hsiang (1 £ A )-tsung of the San- kuo-fa-chuan
EŁW ) and other works : See also Mr Bunyiu Nanjio's “Short
History of the Twelve Buddhist Sects” p. 33.
THE PREFACES. 17
of Yuan-chuang whose name he does not think it necessary

to mention. He seems to have known or regarded Yuan
chuang as the sole author of the “ Hsi-yü -chi ”, writing of him
thus : -— " he thought it no toil to reduce to order the notes
which he had written down ". Ching Po must have written
this Preface before 649, as in that year he was sent away
from the capital to a provincial appointment and died on
the way. The praises which he gives Yuan-chuang and their
common master, the Emperor, are very liberal, and he knew
them both well.
The second Preface, which is in all editions except the
Corean, is generally represented as having been written
by one Chang Yüeh (Gast). It has been translated fairly
well by Julien, who has added numerous notes to explain the
text and justify his renderings. He must have studied
the Preface with great care and spent very many hours
in his attempt to elucidate its obscurities. Yet it does
not
seem to have occurred to him to learn who Chang
Yüeh was and when he lived .
Now the Chang Yüeh who bore the titles found at the
head of the Preface above the name was born in 667 and
died in 730, thus living in the reigns of Kao Tsung, Chung
Tsung, Jui Tsung, and Hsüan Tsung. He is known in
Chinese literature and history as a scholar, author, and
official of good character and abilities. His Poems and
Essays, especially the latter, have always been regarded
as models of style, but they are not well known at present.
In 689 Chang Yüeh became qualified for the public ser
vice, and soon afterwards he obtained an appointment at
the court of the Empress Wu Hou. But he did not prove
acceptable to that ambitious, cruel and vindictive sovereign,
and in 703 he was sent away to the Ling-nan Tao ( the
modern Kuangtung). Soon afterwards, however, he was
recalled and again appointed to office at the capital. He
served Hsüan Huang (Ming Huang) with acceptance, rising
to high position and being ennobled as Yen kuo kung
(燕國公)
Now if, bearing in mind the facts of Chang Yüeh's
B
18 THE PREFACES.
birth and career, we read with attention the Preface

which bears his name we cannot fail to see that it could
not have been composed by that official. Passing by
other arguments, let us take the following statement in
the Preface— “ the reigning sovereign when heir-apparent
composed the “ Shu-sheng -chi" lt
( ), or Memoir on the
transmission of Buddhism , in 579 words." Now the sover
eign who wrote the “ Shu - shêng-chi” was, as we know from
the Seventh Book of the Life and other sources, Kao
Tsung. That Emperor died in 683 when Chang Yüeh
was only sixteen years of age and the Preface must have
been written before that date. So, according to the Chi
nese authorities and their translators Julien and Professor
G. Schlegel, it was a schoolboy who composed this wonder
ful Preface, this “ morceau qui offre un spécimen bien
caractérisé de ces éloges pompeux et vides, et présente,
par conséquent les plus grandes difficultés, non -seulement
à un traducteur de l'Occident, mais encore à tout lettré
Chinois qui ne connaitrait que les idées et la langue de
l'école de Confucius." We may pronounce this impossible
as the morceau is evidently the work of a ripe scholar
well read not only in Confucianism but also in Buddhism.
Moreover the writer was apparently not only a contempo
rary but also a very intimate friend of Yuan - chuang.
Who then was the author ?
In the A and C editions and in the old texts Chang
Yüeh's name does not appear on the title-page to this
Preface. It is said to have been added by the editors
of the Ming period when revising the Canon. Formerly
there stood at the head of the Preface only the titles and
rank of its author. We must now find a man who bore
these titles in the Kao Tsung period, 650 to 683, and
who was at the same time a scholar and author of dis
tinction and a friend of the pilgrim . And precisely such
a man we find in Yü Chih -ning Fi ( ), one of the
brilliant scholars and statesmen who shed a glory on the
reigns of the early Tang sovereigns. Yü was a good and
faithful servant to Tai Tsung who held him in high esteem
THE PREFACES. 19
and took his counsel even when it was not very palatable.
On the death of T'ai Tsung his son and successor Kao
Tsung retained Yü in favour at Court and rewarded him
with well- earned honours. In 656 the Emperor appointed
Yü along with some other high officials to help in the
redaction of the translations which Yuan - chuang was then
making from the Sanskrit books. Now about this time Yü,
as we know from a letter addressed to him by Hui-li and
from other sources, bore the titles which appear at the
head of the Preface. He was also an Immortal of the
Academy, a Wên-kuan Hsüo-shỉ ( ). He was t
one of the scholars who had been appointed to compile
the “Sui Shu ” or Records of the Sui dynasty and his
miscellaneous writings from forty chüan. Yü was probably
a fellow -labourer with Yuan -chuang until the year 660. At
that date the concubine of many charms had become all
powerful in the palace and she was the unscrupulous foe
of all who even seemed to block her progress. Among
these was Yü, who, accordingly, was this year sent away
into official exile and apparently never returned .
We need have little hesitation then in setting down
Yü Chih -ning as the author of this Preface. It was un
doubtedly written while Yuan - chuang was alive, and no one
except an intimate friend of Yuan -chuang could have learned
all the circumstances about him, his genealogy and his inti
macy with the sovereign mentioned or alluded to in the Pre
face. We need not suppose that this elegant composition was
designed by its author to serve as a Preface to the Hsi
yü - chi. It was probably written as an independent eulogy
of Yuan -chuang setting forth his praises as a man of old
family, a record-beating traveller, a zealous Buddhist monk
of great learning and extraordinary abilities, and a propa
gator of Buddhism by translations from the Sanskrit, 1
This Preface, according to all the translators, tells us
i Life, ch . 8 : Ku-chin-i-ching-tru-chi (No. 1487) last page: Post

script to Y. “ Chêng-wei -chih-lun ” (No. 1197) where Yū Chih- ning
is styled as in the heading to the Preface.
B*
20 THE PREFACES.
that the pilgrim acting under Imperial orders translated

657 Sanskrit books, that is, all the Sanskrit books which
he had brought home with him from the Western Lands.
No one seems to have pointed out that this was an utterly
impossible feat, and that Yuan -chuang did not attempt to
do anything of the kind. The number of Sanskrit texts
which he translated was seventy four, and these seventy four
treatises (pu) made in all 1335 chüan . To accomplish
this within seventeen years was a very great work for a
delicate man with various calls on his time. 1
The translations made by Yuan -chuang are generally re
presented on the title-page as having been made by Imperial
order and the title-page of the Hsi-yü-chi has the same intima
tion. We know also from the Life that it was at the special
request of the Emperor T'ai Tsung that Yuan -chuang com
posed the latter treatise. So we should probably under
stand the passage in the Preface with which we are now
concerned as intended to convey the following information .
The pilgrim received Imperial orders to translate the 657
Sanskrit treatises, and to make the Ta -T'ang- Hsi-yü -chi
in twelve chüan, giving his personal observation of the
strange manners and customs of remote and isolated re
gions, their products and social arrangements, and the
places to which the Chinese Calendar and the civilising
influences of China reached.2
Then the number 657 given here and in other places
as the total of the Sanskrit treatises (pu) does not agree
with the items detailed in the various editions of the
Life and the A, B, and D texts of the Records. In the
C text of the Records, however the items make up this
total They are as follows :
1 See Life ch . 10. Julien's translation of this passage cannot be

used . B. Nanjio's Catalogue p . 435. Mr Nanjio makes the total 75,
but he counts the Chin -kang -ching twice.
2 See Life ch. 6. The term here rendered " civilizing influences
of China” is shêng - chiao (tk). This term is often used by
Buddhist writers as a synonym for " Buddhist religion ".
WORKS TRANSLATED BY YUAN CHUANG . 21
Mahāyānist sūtras 224 pu

Mahāyānist śāstras 192
Sthavira sutras, śāstras and Vinaya 14
Mahāsañgika 99 15
Mahiśāśaka 17 22
Sammitiya 15
17
Kāśyapiya 92
Dharmagupta sūtras, Vinaya, śāstras 42 99
Sarvāstivādin » 17
67
Yin -lun (Treatises on the science of Inference ) 36
13
Shêng -lun (Etymological treatises )
657 pu
CHAPTER II.
THE INTRODUCTION .
At the beginning of Chüan I of the Records we have a
long passage which , following Julien, we may call the Intro
duction. In a note Julien tells us that " suivant les éditeurs
du Pien -i-tien , cette Introduction a été composé par Tschang
choue (i. e. Chang Yue), auteur de la préface du Si-yu
ki". Another native writer ascribes the composition of
this Introduction to Pien -chi. But a careful reading of the
text shews us that it could not have been written by
either of these and that it must be regarded as the work
of the pilgrim himself. This Introduction may possibly be
the missing Preface written by Yuan -chuang according to
a native authority.
The Introduction begins— “ By going back over the measures
of the [ Three) Huang and examining from this distance of time
the records of the (Five] Ti we learn the beginnings of the
reigns of Pao-hsi (Fu-hsi) and Hsien-Yuan (Huang Ti) by whom
the people were brought under civil government and the country
was marked off into natural divisions. And (we learn how] Yao
of T'ang receiving astronomical knowledge (lit. " Celestial revo
lutions") his light spread everywhere, and how Shun of Yü being
entrusted with the earthly arrangements his excellent influences
extended to all the empire. From these down only the archives
of recorded events have been transmitted. To hear of the vir
tuous in a far off past, to merely learn from word-recording
historians—what are these compared with the seasonable meeting
with a time of ideal government and the good fortuna living
under a sovereign who reigns without ruling ? "
The original of the last two sentences of this passage
is rendered by Julien thus. “ Depuis cette époque ( i. e., the
YUAN CHUANG'S INTRODUCTION . 23
time of Yao and Shun ) jusqu'à nos jours c'est en vain

qu'on consulte les annales où sont consignés les événe
ments, que l'on écoute les opinions émanées des anciens
sages, que l'on interroge les historiens qui recueillaient les
paroles mémorables. Il en est bien autrement lorsqu'on
vit sous une dynastie vertueuse et qu'on est soumis à un
prince qui pratique le non -agir.” The text is here given,
自已降空傅書事之冊逃聽前修徒聞記言之史
豈若時逢有道運屬無為者 and it will be seen that
Julien's translation is hasty and inaccurate and that it does
an injustice to the author. No Chinese scholar, Buddhist
or Confucianist, would ever write in this disparaging way
of the books of national history including the “ Springs
and Autumns" of Confucius, the commentaries on that
treatise, and later works. What our author here states to
his reader is to this effect. In the records of the very
early times we find the institution of government officials
to guide and teach the people ( a ) the TC), the first mapp
ing out of the empire into natural divisions with cor
responding star-clusters (ST # I F ), the adaptation
of astronomical learning to practical uses, and the first
systematic reclamation of land and distribution of the
country into political divisions. These great and bene
ficial achievments of the early sovereigns are mentioned
only with the view of comparing the Emperor on the
throne with these glorified remote predecessors. From
the time of Yao and Shun down, according to our author,
the annals of the empire contained only dry records of
ordinary events.
All this is only the prelude to the generous panegyric
which our author proceeds to lavish on the T'ang dynasty or
rather on the sovereign reigning at the time, viz. Tai Tsung.
A rough and tentative translation of this eulogy is now given
and the reader can compare it with Julien's version.
“As to our great Tang dynasty, it assumed empire : in accor
1 The term here rendered “ assumed empire ” is yü-chi ( 1jp fo )

which J. translates by " gouverne ". But the context seems to show
24 YUAN CHUANG'S INTRODUCTION.
dance with Heaven, and taking advantage of the times it con

centrated power to itself. [His Majesty] has made the six units
of countries into one empire and this his glory fills; he is a
fourth to the Three Huang and his light illumines the world.
His subtle influence permeates widely and his auspicious example
has a far-reaching stimulus. Combining Heaven's covering with
Earth's containing powers he unites in himself the rousing
force of wind and the refreshing action of rain. As to Eastern
barbarians bringing tribute and “ Western barbarians submitting
themselves" 1 in founding an imperial inheritance for his
posterity,a in bringing order out of chaos and restoring settled
government, 3 he certainly surpasses former kings and sums up in
himself all that previous dynasties had attained. That there is
a uniformity of culture 4 over all the empire is the marvellous
that the term is to be taken here, as commonly, in the sense of
“begin to reign ", " accede to empire". Thus the phrase shêng-tien
tzŭ - yii -chi-yi-lai means “ since His Majesty ascended the throne ”.
1 This is a quotation from the Yü-Kung of the Shu-Ching where
it is used of the western tribes submitting to the regulations of the
emperor Yü. The Hsi Jung or “ western barbarians” of this passage
are described as Tibetan tribes living in the neighbourhood of the
Koko Nor.
2 The text is Chuang -ye-ch'ui-tóung (al X E TR ). This is a
stock phrase of Chinese literature and occurs, for example, in the
17th ch. of the Shih -Chi as a popular quotation . It or a part of it
is often used of Tang Kao Tsu and his successor although properly
it applies only to the former. One writer amplifies the meaning of
the expression thus— “Kao Tsu laid the foundation ( ) and
established the patrimony ( ¥ ) and Tai Tsung enlarged and gave
peace to the empire ”. (Ta Tang-nei-tien -luch . 5. Bun. No. 1485).
3 The original is poh -luan -fan -chêng ( LEI). Here the
word poh, we are told , is to be taken in the sense of regulate or
reduce to order, and chêng denotes settled government. The phrase
is applied to the Ch'ün -Ch'iu of Confucius by Kung -yang at the end
of his commentary on that classic. It occurs also in the Han-Shu
(ch. 22) where the commentator explains it as meaning “ to extermi
nate disorder and restore a right state of affairs". One of T'ai
Tsung's Ministers is represented as applying the phrase to that
emperor in a conversation with him , saying to His Majesty that “ in
bringing order out of anarchy and restoring good government (poh
luan-fan-chêng) and in raising men from mud and ashes " he had far
transcended the achievments of the founders of the Chow and Han
dynasties.
4 The Chinese is t’ung-wên -kung -kuei ( 16 * #L) which means
to “ have the same writing and go in the same rut” . There is
result of his perfect government. If I did not mention them in

these Records I should not have wherewith to praise his great
institutions and if I did not publish them abroad I could not
shed light on his abundant merits.
In my mention of the natural characteristics of the people in
any place which I visited though I did not investigate local
peculiarities of custom yet I am to be believed. Beyond the
Five [ Ti] and the Three [ Huang] (or, according to another inter
pretation, “ In more than three-fifths of the places I traversed " )
all living creatures feel the genial influence [of H. M8. reign) and
every human being extols his merit. From Ch‘ang-an to India
the strange tribes of the sombre wastes, isolated lands and odd
states, all accept the Chinese calendar and enjoy the benefits of
H. Mº. fame and teaching. The praise of his great achievments
in war is in everybody's mouth and the commendation of his abun
dant civil virtues has grown to be the highest theme.1 Examine
the public records and they have no mention of anything like
this, and I am of opinion that there is no similar instance in private
genealogies. Were there not the facts here set forth I could
not record the beneficial influences of His Majesty. The narrative
which I have now composed is based on what I saw and heard ."
大唐御極則天葬時握起一六合而光宅四三皇而
照臨支化渗流祥闻遐扇同地之覆載齊風雨之
鼓潤夫東夷八貢西我即敘創業垂統撥亂反正
固以跨越前王囊括先代同文共軌至治神功非載
記無以贊大猷非昭宣何以光盛業主类輒隨遊至
與其国土雖末考方辨俗信已越五三合生之傳
成嫉凱澤能言之類莫不稱功越自天府雙語天竺
幽茶異俗絕域殊邦成承正确俱聲 & c.
This is an address well spiced with flattery in good
oriental fashion. We may perhaps regard it as a sort of
Dedication to the pilgrim's great friend and patron, the
apparently a reference to Ch. 6 of the “ Chung - yung " where we read ,
in Legge's translation.— “ Now , over the empire, carriages have all
wheels of the same size : all writing is with the same characters; and
for conduct there are the same rules . ” ( Life and Teachings of Con
fucius p . 312.) So also of the uniformity which Ch‘in Shih Huang
Ti produced it was said Cle-tung-luei-su-tung-tên-tz ( [ ] ĐL
# @ **), “carriages went in the same ruts and books were in one
writing” (Shih-chi ch . 6).
1 The pilgrim's report of his Imperial Master's fame in India will
be illustrated when we come to chüan 5 and 10 of the Records.
26 YUAN CHUANG'S INTRODUCTION .
second Emperor of the Tang dynasty. For though, as

has been seen, the writer uses the term Ta Tang, yet the
context shews he had in his mind only, or chiefly, T'ai
Tsung. The founder of the Tang dynasty, it should be
remembered , was neither a hero nor a man of extra
ordinary genius, and he came near being a prig and a
hypocrite. His loyalty and honour were questioned in his
lifetime, and history has given him several black marks.
While sick of ambition , he was infirm of purpose, and
wishing to do right he was easily swayed to do what was
wrong. He had undoubted abilities, a happy knack of
turning events to his advantage, and a plausible manner
with friends and foes. But all his success in later life,
and the fame of his reign were largely due to the son
who succeeded him on the throne . This son , Tai Tsung,
meets us several times in the pilgrim's wanderings, and
it will help us to understand and appreciate the passage
now before us and the references to him in other parts
of the work, if we recall some particulars of his life and
character .
The Li family, from which the founder of the T'ang
dynasty sprang, claimed to have a long and illustrious line
of ancestors, many of whom had deserved well of the State.
The founder himself, whose name was Yuan ( m ), was
born at Ch'ang -an, and was related to the family of the
reigning dynasty, the Sui . He was a hereditary nobleman
with the title Tang Kung, and he served with distinction
under Sui Yang Ti (601 to 616). But that despot could
not brook Yuan, who was gaining favour with army and
people, and he tried to get rid of him .
At this time the two eldest sons of Li Yuan were also
in the public service, and it is with the younger of these
that we are now concerned . This boy, who seems to have
been extraordinary from a very early stage of his life, was
born in the year 597. When he was four years of age a
mysterious stranger, dressed like a professional scholar,
came one day to Li Yuan's house. Professing to be able
to read fortunes, this stranger recognised Yuan as destined
YUAN CHUANG'S INTRODUCTION. 27
to greatness. Then taking the little child, he read fate's

characters in his face, and predicted that the child would
rise to power and that he would “ save the age and give
peace to the people " -Chi-shih -an -min (of fir E). The
father, perhaps finding the prophecy jump with his thoughts,
and wishing to prick lagging destiny, gave to his son a
name, Shih-min, which recalled the prediction.
But fate made no delay, and Li Shih -min while only a
boy, on the summons of Sui Yang Ti, entered the public
service as a military officer. He soon found, however, that
to propagate a tottering dynasty was not his destined work. }
The whole country, moreover, was now in a dreadful state
of violence and disorder. Hydra-headed rebellion wasted
the land, and the monster who sat on the throne was hated
and rejected even by his own kindred. The districts of
the Empire which marched with the lands of the barbarians
were the prey of these ruthless savages who again and
again, swooping with harpy -flight on town and country,
made life in such places impossible. But when the people
fled thence into the central parts of the Empire, they
found neither peace nor safety, for the line of confusion
and the plummet of stones were stretched out in the land .
Over all the country, life and property were at the mercy
of powerful rebels and bands of marauders and murderers.
The good found safety in flight or concealment, and only
the lawless and violent prevailed. So Li Shih-min, like
others, saw that the Decree had passed and that the
collapse of the Sui dynasty was imminent. He now resolv
ed to help those who wished to hasten that event, and
joined the conspiracy which succeeded in effecting the
dethronement of Yang Ti. Then Shih -min's father, Li
Yuan , became Emperor in 618 to the satisfaction of most,
and the Empire began to have peace again. It was Shih
min who placed his father on the throne and won the
Empire for him. During all Kao Tsu's reign, also, Shih
min took a very active and prominent part in public affairs.
He fought many hard battles, and won great and splendid
victories, thereby extending and consolidating the newly
won Empire. For he was wise and daring in counsel and

brave and skilful in battle. He was much beloved by his
father who rewarded his services with many honours.
Among these was the title Ch'in ( ) Wang, Prince of
Chéin, a title by which he is still remembered. In 626
Kao Tsu resigned , appointing Shih -min his successor. The
latter, the Tang Tai Tsung of history, mounted the throne
with apparent reluctance, but with eager delight and earnest
purpose, and he reigned “ with unrivalled splendour" until
his death in 649 .
This reign is perhaps the most celebrated in all the
history of China, and Tai Tsung is still regarded as one
of her greatest and wisest rulers. From the moment he
mounted the throne, he set himself to govern the people
for their welfare, and began by enabling them to live in
confidence and security. No ruler before ever wove so
quickly and deftly into a fair web of peace and order
such tangled threads of wild lawlessness. Only four years
had he been in power, when over all the country the
people had returned to settled lives, and the fame of his
greatness and goodness had brought back hope and hap
piness. He crushed internal rebellion and reduced all
parts of the Empire to his sway. He broke the power
of the hereditary foes of China on her frontiers and made
them willing and appreciative vassals. He introduced a new
and improved distribution of the Empire into Provinces,
each of these again divided and sub-divided to suit natural
or artificial requirements. In the civil list he inaugurated
great reforms, and he succeeded in calling into active
service for the State some of the best men China has
produced. His ministers, native historians tell us, admi
nistered the government with combined ability and honesty,
such as had never been known before. In the military
organisation also he made improvements, and above all he
reformed the penal code and the administration of justice,
tempering its severity. Learning of all kinds was fostered
and promoted by him with an intelligent earnestness and
a personal sympathy. He knew himself how to write and
he made some permanent contributions to the native

literature. In astronomy he made reforms and he tried
to restore that science and astrology to their high estate,
that is, as branches of practical learning. Solicitous above
all things for the welfare of his people, he set them an
example of plain living and frugality. His influence was
immense, and his fame and character were known not
only over all the Empire but also in countries far beyond
its limits. He had an impulsive affectionate disposition,
and his loving services to his father and mother are house
hold stories. He was also social and genial in his inter
course with his statesmen, whose criticism he invited and
whose censures he accepted.
The splendour of Tai Tsung's great achievements, the
conspicuous merits of his administration, and the charm
of his sociable affable manner made the people of his time
forget his faults. Even long after his death , when the
story of his life came to be told, the spell was in the dull
dry records, and passed over him who wrought those into
history. So it came that the historian, dazed by the spell
and not seeing clearly, left untold some of the Emperor's
misdeeds and told others without adding their due meed
of blame. For this great ruler smutched his fair record
by such crimes as murder and adultery. The shooting of
his brothers was excusable and even justifiable, but his
other murders admit of little palliation and cannot plead
necessity. Though he yielded to his good impulses, again ,
in releasing thousands of women who had been forced into
and kept in the harem of Sui Yang Ti, yet he also yielded
to his bad impulses when he took his brother's widow and
afterwards that maid of fourteen , Wu Chao, into his own
harem. His love of wine and women in early life, his
passion for war and his love of glory and empire, which
possessed him to the end, were failings of which the eyes
of contemporaries dazzled by the "fierce light ” could not
take notice.
But when the crimes and failings of T'ai Tsung are all
told, they still leave him a great man and a ruler of rare
excellence. His genius gave life to all his laws and in

stitutions, and his personal influence was felt in every
department of government . Nor was it until long after
his death that it was found how much the good reforms
he made owed to his personal presence and action. Happy
in the character he bore among contemporaries, he became
still greater with their successors, and there is almost a
perfect unanimity of consent to count him great and good.
Indeed the native panegyrists generally write of him as
above all who preceded him, except those semi-mythical
sovereigns who moulded man from the brute. The Chinese
youth and patriots love and praise Tai Tsung for the
great feats he achieved in battle and his hard won victories
which restored the country to its old splendour and
supremacy. The native student praises him for the success
he had in preserving the valuable literature then extant
but in danger of being lost, and for the great encourage
ment he gave to learning. The Buddhist praises him for
the patronage he extended to his religion, and the friendly
interest he took in its affairs. The Taoist praises him for
his exaltation of that dim personage, a reputed ancestor
of the Emperor, the fore -father of Taoism . Even the
western Christian joins the chorus of praise, and to him
the “ virtuous T'ai Tsung " is a prince nearly perfect (“ Prin
ceps omnibus fere numeris absolutus” ). It was during the
reign of this sovereign, in the year 636, that Christianity
was first introduced into China. The Nestorian missionaries,
who brought it, were allowed to settle in peace and safety
at the capital. This was the boon which called forth the
gratitude of the Christian historian and enhanced in his
view the merits of the heathen sovereign.
The author next proceeds to give a short summary of
the Buddhistic teachings about this world and the system
of which it forms a constituent. He begins
“Now the Sahā world, the Three Thousand Great Chiliocosm,
is the sphere of the spiritual influence of one Buddha. It is in
the four continents (lit. “Under heavens' ) now illuminated by
one sun and moon and within the Three Thousand Great Chilio
cosm that the Buddhas, the World -honoured ones, produce their
YUAN CHUANG'S INTRODUCTION. 31
spiritual effects, are visibly born and visibly enter Nirrvāna, teach
the way to saint and sinner. ”
For the words in italics the original is hsien -shiêng-hsien
mie (EL & ELL) which Julien renders “ tantôt ils apparais
sent , tantôt ils s'éteignent". This does not seem to express the
author's meaning and is not quite correct. All the Buddhas,
the writer tells us, exercise their spiritual sovereignty ( send
down their transforming influence ") in one or other of the
four great divisions of the habitable world ; in one of these
each Buddha becomes incarnate as a man, teaches saints
and common people, and passes into Nirvana.
Our author proceeds
“In the ocean, resting on a gold disk, is the mountain Sumeru
composed of four precious substances : along its middle the sun
and moon revolve and on it the Devas sojourn."
The phrase for “ revolve along its middle ” is hui-po ( lej
(or 0) (or id )). Here the word po in the first form
does not seem to have any appropriate meaning, and the
second form which means " to stop " or " anchor" is also
unsatisfactory. From a paraphrase of the passage, how
ever, we learn the meaning of the phrase, the words of
the paraphrase being “ the sun and moon revolve along its
waist" ( J $ @ w At ). The word po in this sense
of “ waisting” a hill is still used in the colloquial of some
parts of China, but there does not seem to be any certain
character to represent it in writing. In some books we
find the word written to po, as by Fa-hsien, for example.
Instead of hui-po in the above passage the D text has
Chao -hui (18 lej), “ to illuminate in revolving”, a reading
which agrees with statements about Sumeru in other
Buddhist writings.
Around the Sumeru Mountain , our author continues , are seven
mountains and seven seas and the water of the seas between the
mountains has the “ eight virtues" : outside the seven Gold
1 In the Fo - shuo -li-shih -a -pói-tan -lun ch . 1 (No. 1297) the sun and
moon are described as making their revolutions at a height of 40000
Yojanas above the earth and half-way up Mount Sumeru, and a
similar statement is made in the Yu-ka- shih-ti-lunch . 2 (No. 1170).
Mountains is the Salt Sea. In the sea (or ocean ) there are,
speaking summarily, four habitable Islands, viz- Pi- t- i-ha Island
in the east, Chan-pu Island in the south, Ku-tío-ni in the west,
and Kou -lo Island in the north. The influence of a Gold-wheel
king extends over these four Islands, a Silver -wheel king rules
over all except the north one, a Copper -wheel king rules over
the South and East Islands, and an Iron -wheel king bears sway
only over Chan -pu Island. When a “Wheel-king" is about to
arise a gold, silver, copper, or iron wheel, according to the Karma
of the man, appears for him in the air and gives him his title
while indicating the extent of his dominion .
In the centre of Chan-pu Island ( Jambudvīpa ), south of the
Perfume Mountain and north of the Great Snow Mountain is
the A -na -p‘o -ta-to (Anavatapta) Lake above 800 li in circuit. Its
banks are adorned with gold, silver, lapis-lazuli, and crystal : all
its sand are golden and it is pure and clear. The p'usa Ta -ti
(Great-land) having by the force of his prayer become a dragon
king lives in the depths of the Lake and sends forth its pure
cold water for Jambudvīpa. Thus from the silver east side
through the Ox Mouth flows the Ganges which after going once
round the Lake flows into the south -east sea : from its gold
south side through the Elephant Mouth flows the Sin -tu (Indus)
which after flowing round the Lake enters the south-west sea :
from the lapis -lazuli west side through the Horse Mouth the
Fo -chu (Oxus) flows passing round the Lake and then on into
the north-west sea : from the crystal north side through the Lion
Mouth flows the Si-to (Sītā) river which goes round the Lake
and then on the north -east sea. Another theory is that the Sītā
flows underground until it emerges at the Chi-shih (“Heaped up
stones” ) Mountain and that it is the source of the [ Yellow ]
River of China.
The seven mountains here represented as surrounding

Sumeru are supposed to form seven concentric circles
with seas separating them. These seven rows of mountains
are golden, and we read in other accounts of the Buddhist
cosmogony of seven circles of iron mountains surrounding
the habitable world .
The names of the four great Islands of this passage
are not all known as divisions of the world to orthodox
Indian writers, but they are found in Buddhist treatises.
Our pilgrim calls the first chou or Dvīpa ( Island ) Pii-tói
ha restored as Videha. This name is properly used to
designate a particular district in India corresponding to
THE FOUR CONTINENTS . 33
the modern Tirhut in Behar. But here it is the Purva

Videha, (in Pali Pubbavideho), the Eastern Continent or
great Island of Buddhist cosmogony. Our pilgrim in his
translation of a śāstra renders the word Videha by Shêng
shên ( f) or “Superior body', and the Tibetan ren
dering is Lus-hp'ugs with a similar meaning. But the old
transcriptions for the name of the East Island as given in
a note to our text are Fu -pro-ti (Ili E) and Fu-yü-ti
G F ) which seem to point to an original like Pubba
dik or “ East Region”. It is the Fu-pro-ti of this note
which is given as the name in the " Fo -shuo-ch'u -chia -kung
tê -ching" translated in the 4th century A. D. (No. 776 ). Sena
The second dvīpa is Chan-pu, Jambu, as in mostotherworks. ' '
But the character read Chan should perhaps be read Yen,
and this would agree with the other transcriptions given
in the note, viz .- Yen - fou -t'iH1)
( and Yen (31])-fou, the
former appearing in the sūtra just quoted.
Our pilgrim in the śāstra referred to translates his Ku
t'o -ni, the name of the West Island, by Niu -huo or “ Cattle
goods”, that is, cattle used as a medium of exchange. The
name has been restored as Godhāna or Godhanya, the Gau
dana of the Lalitavistara, but Godhāni or Godāni would be
nearer the transcription. Other names given by the anno
tator are Ku -yi(ya)-ni and Kou -ka -ni, the former of these
appears in the old sūtra already quoted, and it agrees
with the Pali form Apara - goyānam .
The North Island is the Kurudvīpa, the Uttara-Kuru
of other writers : it is also the Yü-tan -yueh (viet) of the sūtra
already quoted and of many other Buddhist texts. This
Yü-tan-viet may perhaps represent a word like Uttamavat. 1
The A-na-pro-ta-to (Anavatapta) Lake is here, we have
seen, described as being in the middle of Jambudvipa to
the south of the Perfume (that is Fragrance-intoxicat
ing or Gandhamādana ) Mountain, and north of the Great
1 See Yuan - chuang's A -pi - ta - mo- tsang- hsien-lun ch. 16 (Bun .
No. 1266) and his A - pi-ta -mo-ku - she-lun ch. 11 (No. 1267) : Chang-a
han - ching ch . 18 (No. 545 ). For the four Wheel-kings see Yuan -chuang's
A - pi-ta -mo-shun -chêng - li-lun ch. 32 (No. 1265).
с
Snow (Himavat) Mountain . This is the situation ascribed

to the Lake in certain śāstras, but in the Chang- a -han
ching and some other authorities it is on the summit of
the Great Snow Mountain . In a note to our text we are
told that the Chinese translation of the name is Wu-jê-nao
( 19 ) or “ Without heat-trouble”. This is the render
ing used by Yuan - chuang in his translations and it is the
436 term commonly employed by Chinese writers and transla
tors, but the word Anavatapta means simply “ unheated ” . It
is said to have been the name of the Dragon-king of the
Lake and to have been given to him because he was
exempt from the fiery heat, the violent storms, and the
fear of the garudas which plagued other dragons. Our
pilgrim's statement that the Ganges, Indus, Oxus, and Sitā
( or Sitā) all have their origin in this Lake is found in several
Buddhist scriptures : one of these as translated by Yuan
chuang used the very words of our passage, 2 but in two
of them there are differences as to the directions in which
the rivers proceed.3 Nagasena speaks of the water of this
Lake, which he calls Anotatta daha, as flowing into the
Ganges. In the early Chinese versions of Buddhist works
the name is given , as in the note to our text, A-nu-ta
( in it ) which evidently represents the Pali form Ano
tatta . Then the pilgrim mentions a supposition that the
Sitā had a subterranean course for a distance and that
where it emerged, at the Chi- shih ( 71 “ Accumulated
rocks" Mountain , it was the source of the Yellow River,
The Chi-shih -shan of this theory is the Chi- shih of the
Yü -kung chapter of the Shu -Ching. This Chi-shih was
the place at which, according to some, the Yellow River
had its source and it was a district in what is now the
western part of Kansuh Province. But the term Chi-shih is
also used in the sense of "mountain " as a synonym of shan.
1 Chang -a -han -ching 1. c.
2 Abhi- ta -vib . ch . 5 (No. 1263 ). See also Nos. 1266, 1267 1. c.
3 Chang-a - han - ching 1. c.: Hsin -ti-kuan - ching ch . 4 (No. 955 ) :
Abli. vib - lun ch . 2 (No. 1264).
4 Milindapañho ed. Trenckner p . 286.
ANAVATAPTA LAKE. 35
It has been stated by some western writers that our

pilgrim confuses the Anavatapta Lake with the Sarikul
of the Pamirs , but this is not correct. Some other Chinese
writers seem to make this mistake but Yuan -chuang does
not. Then the Anavatapta Lake has been identified with the
Manasarowar Lake of Tibet, but this cannot be accepted .
We must regard the “ Unheated " Lake as a thing of fairy
land, as in the Earthly Paradise or Garden of Eden. It is
expressly stated that the Lake could be reached only by
those who had supernatural powers, the faculty of trans
porting themselves at will by magic. 1 The Buddha and
his arhats visited it on several occasions passing through
the air from India to it in the twinkling of an eye or the
raising of an arm, and down to the time of Asoka great
Buddhist saints came to lodge on its banks.2 Here was
that wonderful incense the burning of which yielded a
wide -spreading perfume which released all the world from
the consequences of sin.3 Here too was a goodly palace,
and all about were strange trees and flowers through
which breathed fragrant airs and birds with plaintive
songs made harmony. +
I have not discovered the source from which the pilgrim
obtained his information that the dragon-king of the Ana
vatapta Lake was the Ta - ti or “ Great-land” píusa. As
the words of the text show, this prusa was not the Buddha
in one of his preparatory births, but a prusa still living
as the Nāga - rāja of the Lake. In the D text instead
of Ta -ti we have Pa - Ti or “ Eight-lands”. This reading
seems to point to some Mahāyānist póusa who had attained
to eight- lands, that is eight of the ten stages to perfection.
The pilgrim next goes on to tell of the Four Lords (or Sove
reigns) who divide Jambudvīpa when no one has the fate to
be universal sovereign over that Island, and of the lands and
peoples over which these Lords rule. In the south is the Ele
1 Nos. 1266, 1267 1. c.

2 Divyāv. p. 399.
3 Hua-yen-ching ch. 67 (No. 88 ).
4 Chang-a-han-ching 1. c.
phant-Lord whose territory has a hot moist climate with people

energetic, devoted to study and addicted to magical arts, wearing
garments which cross the body and leave the right shoulder
bare : their hair is made into a topknot in the middle and hangs
down on the sides : they associate in towns and live in houses
of several storeys. In the west is the Lord of Precious Sub
stances who rules over the sea abounding in pearls, whose sub
jects are rude and covetous , wear short coats fastened to the
left, cut their hair short and have long mustachios; they live in
towns also and are traders . The Horse - Lord rules in the north :
his country is very cold, yielding horses, and with inhabitants
of a wild fierce nature who commit murder without remorse,
they live in felt tents and are migratory herdsmen. In the East
(that is, in China) is the Man-Lord, who has a well-peopled
territory with a genial climate where all good manners and social
virtues prevail, and the people are attached to the soil. Of these
four territories it is only the East country that holds the south
direction in respect, the other three regions making the east
their quarter of reverence. The East country ( China) excels the
other regions in its political organization. The system of religion
which teaches purification of the heart and release from the
bonds [of folly] and which instructs how to escape from birth
and death flourishes in the country of the Elephant-Lord (India).
All these matters are set forth in authoritative writings (lit.
canonical treatises and official declarations) and are learned from
local hearsay. From a wide study of the modern and the old
and a minute examination of what is seen and heard we learn
that Buddha arose in the west region and his religion spread
to the east country (China), and that in the translation [from
Sanskrit into Chinese] words have been wrongly used and idioms
misapplied. By a misuse of words the meaning is lost and by
wrong phrases the doctrine is perverted. Hence it is said —
“ What is necessary is to have correct terms" and to set value
on the absence of faulty expressions.
Now mankind differ in the quality of their natural dispositions
and in their speech , the difference being partly due to local
climatic circumstances and partly caused by continued use. As
to varieties of physical scenery and natural products in the
country of the Man -Lord (China), and as to the differences in
the customs and dispositions of its people, these are all described
in our national records. The peoples of the Horse-Lord and the
districts of the Lord of Precious Substances are detailed in our
historical teachings, and a general account of them can be given.
But as to the country of the Elephant- Lord (India) our ancient
literature is without a description of it. We have the statement
(made by Chang-Ch'ien) that “the land has much heat and
THE FOUR GREAT LORDS. 37
moisture ", and this other the people are fond of benevolence
and compassion ” ; such mention may occur in topographies but
we cannot have thorough information. Whether caused by the
alternate flourishing and depression of good government, or as
the natural result of secular changes, the fact is that with refe
rence to those who, knowing the due season for giving in alle
giance and enjoying the benefits of [Chinese] civilisation, came
to the Emperor's Court, who passing danger after danger sought
admittance at the Yü -mên (Pass), and bearing tribute of native
rarities bowed before the Palace Gate, we cannot relate their
experiences. For this reason as I travelled far in quest of truth
(that is, the Buddhist religion) in the intervals of my studies I
kept notes of natural characteristics.
Julien in his translation of this passage gives the Sanskrit
equivalents for Horse-Lord, Elephant-Lord, and Man-Lord ;
and tells us that a word meaning " Parasol- Lord ” is found
in a certain authority instead of the Precious-substances
Lord of our text. Throughout the passage, however, the
pilgrim seems to be writing as a Chinese Buddhist scholar
not drawing from Indian sources but from his own know
ledge and experience. His information was acquired partly
from Chinese books, and he perhaps learned something
from the Brethren in Kashmir and other places outside
of India. To him as a Chinese the people of China were
men ( jen ), all outlying countries being peopled by Man
and Yi and Hu and Jung, although as a good Buddhist
he admitted the extension of the term jen to the inhabi
tants of other lands.
Our author, in writing the paragraph of this passage
about Buddhism, evidently had in his memory certain ob
servations which are to be found in the 88th Chapter of
the Hou Han Shu ". These observations with the notes
appended give us some help in finding out the meaning
of several of the expressions in the text. For his state
ment here about the faults of previous translators the
author has been blamed by native critics. These maintain
that the transcriptions of Indian words given by Yuan
chuang's predecessors are not necessarily wrong merely be
cause they differ from those given by him. The foreign sounds,
they say, which the previous translators heard may not have
been those which our pilgrim heard, and, moreover, Chinese

characters under the influence of time and place, may have
changed both meaning and pronunciation. As to mistakes
of interpretation, there are doubtless many to be found in
the early translations, but in this matter Yuan -chuang
also is far from perfect.
In the next paragraph Julien apparently understood his
author to state that there existed documents in their own
countries on the peoples of the Horse Lord (i. e., the
northern tribes) and those of the Lord of Precious sub
stances (i. e., the nations to the south-west of China). But
the writer has in his mind here only Chinese literature.
So also his fang -chih ( t ) are not " des descriptions
locales" of India. They are the books of travel or topo
graphies of Chinese literature. The term is applied to
such treatises as the “ Hsi-yü -chi” which in fact is called
a fang-chih. Our author states that Chinese topographies
have little about India, and that consequently he had no
native authorities to quote or refer to. Other writers of
the same period make similar complaints; and there was
some reason for the complaint. Even the information
communicated by the pilgrims who had preceded Yuan
chuang had not been incorporated in the national histories.
The word here rendered by “ good government" is tao
( ) which Julien translated " la droite voie " . We might
also render it by “ the Buddhist religion ", an interpretation
which seems to be favoured by other passages on this
subject. But the terms applied to the word here, viz.
hsing tsang (îſ ), seem to require that we should render
it by some such Confucian expression as “ true principles "
or “ good government”. In the last sentences of this pas
sage Julien seems to have misunderstood his author whom
he makes write about " peoples " and " all the nations ".
There is nothing in the text which corresponds to or
requires these expressions, and the writer evidently still
refers to Indian countries, the envoys from which to China
had been few and little known. In the Later Han period
there was one, in the reign of Ho Ti (A. D. 89 to 105) ;
THE BLACK RANGE . 39
during the Liu Sung period there were two, one in 428
and one in 466 ; and there were none, apparently, after
this last date down to the Sui period. Now of the travels
of these envoys the Chinese records had not preserved
any particulars; and the references to India and the
neighbouring countries in the histories of the Han and
other dynasties down to the Tang period are very meagre.
It was because the records were thus imperfect, and in
formation was unobtainable, that the pilgrim took notes of
the topography and ethnology of the districts which he
visited in the course of his pilgrimage.
The author next proceeds to make a few summary ob
servations the text of which is here reproduced for the
purpose of comparison. 黑嶺已來莫非胡俗雖我 )
同貫而族類群分畫界封疆 : In Julien's rendering
the beginning of the passage runs thus— “ A partir des
montagnes noires, on ne rencontre que des mœurs sauvages.
Quoique les peuples barbares aient été réunis ensemble,
cependant leurs différentes races ont été tracées avec soin. ”
But this does not seem to give the author's meaning which
is rather something like this
"From the Black Range on this side (i. e. to China) all the
people are Hu : and though Jungs are counted with these, yet
the hordes and clans are distinct, and the boundaries of territories
are defined . ”
Now if we turn to the last section of Chuan I we
learn what is meant by the “ Black Range”. We find
that the frontier country on the route to India was Kapisa,
which was surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains.
One great range bounded it on the east, west, and south
sides, separating it from " North India " . This was called
the Hei Ling, or Black Range, a name which translates
the native term Siah-kõh, though it is also used to render
another native term , Kara Tagh, with the same meaning.
From China to the mountains of Kapisa along the pil
grim's route the inhabitants, he tells us, were all Hu. These
Hu are described by some writers as the descendants of
early Jung settlers. But Yuan- chuang, who uses Hu as a
collective designation for all the settled nations and tribes

through which he passed on his way to and from India,
seems to consider the Jung as a race distinct from the
Hu proper . Other writers also make this distinction,
regarding the Jung as of the Tibetan stock and the Hu
as of Turkic kindred. But the distinction is not generally
observed, and we can only say that the Hu include the
Jung, who were not supposed, however, to be found beyond
the Ts'ung Ling westward . In early Chinese history,
e. g. in the Yü kung of the “ Shu Ching ” we find Jung
occupying the country about the Koko Nor. They were
then pastoral ' tribes, rearing cattle and wearing clothing
prepared from the skins of their animals. Afterwards they
spread to Hami and to Turfan and the Tsóung Ling, be
coming mainly agricultural peoples.
Instead of Jung (ff ) in the text here the C text has
Shu ( £) which the editors explain as soldier, the Shu jên
being the Chinese troops stationed in the Hu Countries.
But this reading, which does not seem to be a good one,
was perhaps originally due to a copyist's error.
The pilgrim's description proceeds— “ For the most part [these
tribes) are settled peoples with walled cities, practising agriculture
and rearing cattle. They prize the possession of property and
slight humanity and public duty (lit. benevolence and righteous
ness). Their marriages are without ceremonies and there are no
distinctions as to social position : the wife's word prevails and
the husband has a subordinate position. They burn their corpses
and have no fixed period of mourning. They flay (?) the face
and cut off the ears : they clip their hair short and rend their
garments. They slaughter the domestic animals and offer sacrifice
to the manes of their dead. They wear white clothing on
occasions of good luck and black clothing on unlucky occasions.
This is a general summary of the manners and customs common
to the tribes, but each state has its own political organization
which will be described separately, and the manners and customs
of India will be told in the subsequent Records. "
This brief and terse account of the social characteristics
common to the tribes and districts between China and
India presents some rather puzzling difficulties. It is too
summary, and is apparently to a large extent secondhand
YENKI AND TUFAN. 41
information obtained from rather superficial observers, not

derived from the author's personal experience, and it does
not quite agree with the accounts given by previous writers
and travellers. Thus the pilgrim states that the tribes in
question had no fixed period of mourning, that is, for
deceased parents, but we learn that the people of Yenk'i
observed a mourning of seven days for their parents. Nor
was it the universal custom to burn the dead ; for the
Tufan people, for example, buried their dead.1
All the part of the passage which I have put in italics is
taken by Julien to refer to the mourning customs of the tribes,
and this seems to be the natural and proper interpretation.
But it is beset with difficulties. The original for “ they flay
the face and cut off the ears" is rendered by Julien- " Ils se
font des incisions sur la figure et se mutilent les oreilles .”
The word for " flay” or “ make cuts in ” is in the D texttatoo ?
li ( ) which does not seem to give any sense, and in the
other texts it is li ( 1 ) which is an unknown character
but is explained as meaning to " flay”. Julien evidently re
garded the latter character as identical with li ( 10) which
is the word used in the T'ang-Shu.2 This last character
means originally to inscribe or delineate and also to blacken
and to flay. As an act of filial mourning for a dead
parent the Tufan people, we are told, blackened (tai 1)
their faces, and among some tribes it apparently was the
custom to tear or gash the face at the funeral of a parent
or chief. But to flay or brand the face and to cut off
an ear were acts of punishment which were perhaps common
to all the tribes in question.
Then “ to cut the hair short " was an act of filial mourning in
Tufan, but in the first foreign countries which the pilgrim
reached it was the universal custom for the men, and it was
done, we learn elsewhere, to set off the head.3 In Khoten,
however, the hair was cut off and the face disfigured as acts
1 Wei -Shu ch . 102: T'ang -shu ch. 216 : Ma T. l. ch. 334.

2 Ch . 217.
3 Wei- Shu l. C.
of mourning at a funeral.1 We find it recorded moreover

that when the death of T'ang T'ai Tsung was announced, the
barbarians sojourning at the capital expressed their sorrow
by wailing, cutting off their hair, gashing ? (li **) their faces,
and cutting their ears, until the blood washed the ground. 2 7
Then as to the phrase "rend their garments”, the

words lie -ch‘ang ( ) would seem to be susceptible
of no other interpretation, and the pilgrim tells us after
wards that the people of India " rent their garments and
tore out their hair " as expressions of mourning. The
rending of the garments, however, was not a custom common
to the tribes between India and China, and it could not
have been practised by them generally on account of the
material which was in general use for their clothing. Some
native scholars explain the words lie-ch'ang here as mean
ing " they wear clothes without folds and seams”, that is,
their garments are strips or single pieces. Something
like this was the style of the outer articles of a China
man's dress in the Tang period and it was probably
adopted by some of the foreign tribes to which Chinese
influence reached. We still see survivals of it on the streets
in Korea .
As to the slaughter of domestic animals, this was
practised at funerals by the Tufan people but not by
all the other tribes. The Turks, who also gashed
their faces in mourning, slew sheep and horses in front
of the tent in which the body of a deceased parent was
placed pending the completion of arrangements for burial.
It is to be noted, however, that the T'ufan people and
the Turks are not said to have slain their domestic
animals in sacrifice to the manes of their deceased
parents.3 These animals were killed, we are expressly
told in the case of the Tufan people, that they might
be at the service of the departed one, as the human
beings who were slain, or killed themselves , on the death
i Ka-lan-chi ch. 5 .
? Tung-chien-bang - mu ch. 40.
3 See Ma T. l. ch . 334, 313.
CUSTOMS IN TUFAN . 43
of a relative or chief went to serve the deceased in the

other world. Julien makes our pilgrim here state that the
tribes slew their domestic animals to make offerings to
their dead. This is perhaps more than is in the text
which is simply that they " slaughter their domestic ani
mals, and offer sacrifice to the manes".
CHAPTER III.
FROM KAO -CHANG TO THE THOUSAND

SPRINGS.
A-K'I-NI ( YENK'I ).
The narrative in the Records now begins with this
account ,
Going from what was formerly the land of Kao-chang we
begin with the country nearest to it and called A-k-i-ni : this is
above 600 li from east to west and 400 li from north to south ,
its capital being six or seven li in circuit.
In the Life we have a detailed account of the un
pleasant and adventurous journey from the Chinese capital
to the chief city of Kao-ch'ang. This city, we know, was
in the district which is now called Turfan and it is said
to be represented by the modern Huo - chow (OK ) other
into wise Karakhojo. At the time of our pilgrim's visit Kao
wrpań chang was a thriving kingdom, and its king, though a
vassal of China, was a powerful despot feared by the
surrounding states. This king, whose name was Kü-wên
tai ( **) or as it is also given, Kü-ka ( ), had
received Yuan -chuang on his arrival with great ceremony and
kindness, had tried entreaty and flattery and even force to
retain him, and had at last sent the pilgrim on his way
with great honour, giving him presents and provisions and
also letters of introduction to other sovereigns. Then why
does Yuan -chuang here write of Kao-ch'ang as a state which
had ceased to exist ? The explanation is to be found in the
great change which that kingdom had experienced between
YENKI. 45
the years 630 and 646. We learn from history that in

the year A. D. 639 the Chinese emperor Tai Tsung sent
an army to invade Kao-ch'ang and punish its ruler, who
had dared to defy the imperial power. This ruler was
the Kü-wên-t'ai who had been Yuan-chuang's host. He
thought himself safe from Chinese invasion and boasted and
swaggered at the threat of a Chinese army coming into
his country until the invading force was actually within
his borders. When he learned, however, that the hostile
army was fast approaching his capital, he became so
utterly possessed by abject fear that he became helpless.
And his death soon followed. Hereupon his wise son and
successor at once submitted to the Chinese general who,
however, " extinguished Kaoch'ang" ; whereupon T'ai Tsung
made its territory a Prefecture of the Empire. This pro
cedure called forth a generous protest from one of the
Emperor's wise and faithful ministers, but the remonstrance
was in vain and in 640 Kaochéang became the Chinese
Hsi -chow ( 75 JH ). Thus Yuan-chuang, writing under imperial
orders and for the Emperor's reading, must needs take notice
of the great political change which had taken place in
the Kaochang country since the date of his visit. The
change proved bad for China and the new state of affairs
did not last very long. For the present, however, our
author has to describe the “ Western Lands”, that is, the
countries which were outside of the western border of the
Chinese empire. Up to 640 Kaoch'ang was one of these
countries, but from that year the empire reached on the
east to the ocean, and on the west to the kingdom which
was the first to the west of Kaoch'ang, viz. the A - k -i -ni of
this narrative.
There cannot be any doubt that the country which Yuan
chuang here calls A -k -i -ni ( in E ) was, as has been stated
by others, that which is known in Chinese history as
Yenki E
( X). This state rose to power in the Han
period, and from that time down to the Tang dynasty it
bore in Chinese treatises this name Yenk'i which is still
its classical and literary designation in Chinese literature.
46 KAO - CH'ANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS.
Then why did Yuan -chuang use the name A -k'i-ni, a name
for which he seems to be the sole authority ?
The explanation is simple. There was, we learn from
an " interpolated comment" to the text, an old name
1,37 for this country which is given as Wu-k'i ( or B ).
This seems to have been the name used by the trans
lators of the sacred books and by Buddhist writers
generally. Thus in the translation of the “ Ta-pao-chi
ching" by Fa-hu of the Western Ch'in dynasty we find
mention of Wukói along with Khoten and other coun
tries. So also Tao -hsüan in his " Su -kao -sêng-chuan" men
tions Wuk'i as the country between Kutzŭ (Kuchih) and
Kaoch'ang. In the Fang-chih also we find the name
given as Wukói, and Fa -hsien's Wu -i (15J) is apparently
the country under consideration. The first character, wu,
in each of these varieties of the name was probably pro
nounced a or o, and the second character represented a
sound like k'i or gi, the whole giving us a name like akhi
or agi. Thus we have at Yuan-chuang's time three different
designations for this country :—the Yenk'i of Chinese histo
rians, the Wuki of the Buddhist writers, and Y.'s own name
for it, A - k - i -ni. The explanation of this variety is instruc
tive, as the theory which underlies it applies to several
other districts. In Yenk'i we have the local or Hu name.
This apparently was (or was understood to be) Yanghi, a
Turkish word for fire, the full name being perhaps some
thing like Yanghi-shaher or " Fire - city ". Now in all the
Hu countries the Buddhist monks, we are told, used among
themselves the language of India. In this language the
correct Sanskrit name for fire is agni, the a - k -i -ni of our
author. We find the three characters of the text used
by Yuan - chuang in a translation of a sacred book to tran
scribe agni as the Sanskrit name for fire, and by Guņabhadra
in one of his translations to transcribe this word in the
proper name Agnidatta.1 But the monks of the Hu
1 A - pi-ta- mo-ta- pi-p0 -sha -lun, cha lũ (Bun . No. 1263): Tsa -a -han
ching, ch . 25 (No. 544 ).
KARA- SHAHR. 47
countries did not all come from “ Central India " and they
did not talk Sanskrit. They spoke and wrote dialectic
varieties with vernacular forms of Indian words, and they
often used words which were foreign but were made to
assume a Sanskrit garb . So the Brethren of the country
with which we are now concerned had apparently used
the Pali form Agi instead of Agni, and this had been
used by others, but Yuan -chuang being a purist preferred
to write the Sanskrit form .
In the periods of the Yuan and Ming dynasties the
city and district called Yenkói, still retaining this name,
were grouped with four others in the political aggregate
called Bish-balik or Pentapolis. Hence we sometimes find
it stated that Yenk'i is Bishbalik, but this latter name is
more frequently applied to Urumtsi. 1 At the present
time the city called Kara- (or Khara-)shahr is generally
taken to be the representative of the ancient capital of
Yenk'i. But the site of the latter was apparently some
what to the west of the modern Kharashahr at a place
which has several ancient ruins. This modern city is said
to have received its name from the grimy appearance of
its walls and houses, Karashahr in Turkic meaning “ Black
city”, an etymology which is confirmed by Dr. Sven Hedin's
account.2
Like many other states in this part of Asia Yen-k'i has
had many ups and downs, passing several times from power
and preeminence to subjection and vassalage. One of these
1 Li-tai-yen-ko-piao (The te A ## ) ch. 3 : Med. Res. Vol. II,

p. 229. But the name Bish balik seems to have been applied to six
cities regarded as forming a political unit.
2 Dr. Sven Hedin writes — “ Kara - shahr (the Black Town) fully
deserves its name : for it is without comparison the dirtiest town in t
all Central Asia. It stands on the left bank of the river (the Hädick
or Khaidik -gol), on a level, barren plain, totally destitute of any
feature of interest. Nevertheless it is a large town, very much larger
than Korla, consisting of a countless number of miserable hovels,
courtyards, bazaars, and Mongol tents, surrounded by a wall, and is
the chief commercial emporium in that part of Chinese Turkestan .”
Through Asia', p. 859.
48 KAO -CHʻANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS.
vicissitudes was experienced by it in A. D. 643–644, when

the Chinese emperor T'ai Tsung sent an army which invaded
the country, conquered it, and made its king a prisoner for
a time. A similar disaster befell it in A. D. 648, when
its king was beheaded by the Turkish invader.1 The
country under the official designation Kharashahr (no title
; ) is now a military station, and an important Sub
Prefecture of the Chinese empire.
It is remarkable that neither in the Records, nor in the
Life of our pilgrim, nor in the itinerary of Wu-kóung, is
the distance of Yen-k'i from Kao-ch'ang given, but we
learn from other sources that it was 900 li.2 In another
account of the country the capital is described as being
30 li in circuit which is a much larger area than that
given in our text, but another account makes it to be
only two li square. The name of the capital also is given
as Nan -ho-ch'êng ( w hol ) and also as Yun -kü ( )
which is perhaps only another form of Yen-kói.3 The city
was situated 70 li south of the White Mountain and a
few li from a lake. This lake, which is described as
having salt and fish and as abounding in reeds, has many
names. It is sometimes simply the " sea ” or Dengir, and
it is the Bostang, or Barashahr, or Bagrash Lake. The
description in our text, proceeding, states that
[the country) on four sides adjoins hills, with roads hazardous
and easily defended. The various streams join in zones, and their
water is led in for the cultivated land. The soil grows millet,
spring wheat, scented jujubes, grapes, pears, and prunes. The
climate is genial and the people have honest ways. Their writing
is taken from that of India with slight modifications. Their gar
ments are of fine and coarse woollen stuffs. The men cut their
hair short and do not wear any head -dress. They use gold silver
and small copper coins. Their king is a native of the country, who
is brave, but without practical ability and conceited. The country
i Tung -chien -kang -mu ch. 40 (18th year of Tiang T'ai Tsung by
the Chinese, and 22d year by the Turks) : Ma T. 1. ch. 336.
2 Ma T. 1. 1. c : Tung -chih-liao, the Hử ch. 1.
3 Ch‘ien Han shu ch . 96 : Wei shu ch . 102 .
4 Wei Shu l. c .: Ma T. 1. l . c.: Ch'ien Han shu l. c .
YENKI. 49
is without a political constitution, and its laws are not reduced

to order .
The first sentence of this passage is not very clear as
to whether the description is meant for the whole country
or only for the district of the capital. Our pilgrim seems
to have drawn his information partly from the source
which supplied the author of the “Hou Han - Shu'.1 In
that work , and in Ma Tuan-lin's treatise which follows it,
it is the Yenk'i country which is described as being
surrounded by hills or mountains. But there were appa
rently no mountains on the east side of Yenk'i, and the
Life tells only of two cities which the pilgrim passed on
his way from the capital of Kao -ch'ang, without any mention
of a mountain. That the roads were dangerous and easily
guarded is also stated in the Hou Han-Shu almost in the
words used in our text, and this also seems to indicate
that it is the country which is described. But the ex
pression “ on four sides adjoins (or abuts on) hills " ( 14 TL
#W ) is apparently more appropriate to a city than to
a country. Then we have the statement that " the various
streams join in zones ” that is, unite to form belts or lines
of water. For this the original is “ ch'üan in the B text
chung-liu-chiao-tai ( in Bremen iti :), and Julien trans
lates ,une multitude des courants qui viennent se joindre en
semble, l'entourent comme une ceinture.” The term chiao
tai seems to have in some places the meaning here given
to it by Julien, but it commonly means to join in forming a
continuous line. Thus it is used of a series of tanks formed
or connected by a river and of tears uniting to form
streams on the cheeks. This sense of “ joining and carry
ing on " the stream seems to suit our passage, and the
circumstances of the district. In Yenk'i the becks of the
mountains joined in forming the various rivers by which
the country was watered. Thus the Khaidu, the principal
river, was formed by the junction of a large number of
tributary streams from the Northern or White mountain.
1 Ch. 88 .
D
50 KAO - CH'ANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS.
In the passage of the Han-Shu already referred to we

find the statement that the " water of the sea ( that is the
Bostang Lake to the south - east of the capital) was de
flected into the four mountains and flowed all about the
capital ( it hl) for above thirty li', a statement which is
repeated by Ma Tuan-lin. And although the kingdom
contained several (according to one account, ten) other
towns, it was doubtless of the capital and the surrounding
districts that the words of our text were written. The
water from the various rivers was led in channels from
the lines of current to irrigate the land devoted to the
cultivation of crops and fruit-trees. This artificial irrigation
mentioned by our pilgrim is not noticed in the Han-Shu,
but it was known to the author of the “ Shui-ching - chu ”
GKK ), and it is referred to in recent works such
as the Travels of Timkowski. 1
In the list of products here given the term translated
“ millet" is mi-shu (te ) which Julien renders “millet
rouge", the same rendering being given for the one character
mi in the next page. Instead of this character the D text
has in both places the word mei (or meh ) the name of
a kind of millet "with reddish culms". The texts may be
corrupt and Yuan -chuang may have written mei ( ) which,
we learn from the “ Yü-pien " was a synonym for Chi ( F ) a
kind of panicled millet much cultivated in the north and
northwest of China. By “ spring wheat ” ( T ) is meantthe
wheat which is sown in autumn and ripens in the follow
ing spring. This spends the winter in the ground ; and in
this way it passes from one year into the next, and hence
its distinctive name.
The sentence «Their writing is taken from that of India
with slight modifications: their garments are of fine and
coarse woollen stuffs' is in the original wên -tzů -chü -tse
yin -tu -wei-yu -tsêng -chüan -fu -shih -tien -ho (** Ji W ED
Por tj 16 F IK Eiti 11 %!) in the A, B, and C texts. The D
1 Hsin -chiang ch . 3 : Timkowski's Travels Vol. I, pp. 398, 410.

The artificial irrigation is mentioned in the Tang Shu ch . 221 ,
SILK STUFFS AND SERGE . 51
text has differences and it reads — The writing is modeled

after that of India. There is little of silk stuffs, the dress
is of felt and serge. Here we have tsêng-chüan (6 $ )
“silk stuffs " instead of the other tsêng -chüan meaning
" addings to and takings from " or "modifications", and we
have chan ( HE) “ felt " or " coarse woollen stuff" instead
of the tieh of the other texts. All the texts, we see, agree
in the statement that the writing of this country was taken
from that of India, and the Wei-Shu makes the same
statement. If we are to take the author as adding that
slight changes had been made in the Indian writing in
Yenk'i the information may be regarded as correct.
So also if the D text is genuine and we are to substitute
for “ there are slight modifications " the words " there are few
silks” we have a statement which is confirmed by other
accounts. The people of Yenk'i had the silkworms, but
they did not know how to make silk, and the only silk.
stuffs they used were imported. So they did not wear silk,
and their dress was of woollen material. Julien translates
the four words fu -shih -tieh -ho by “Les vêtements sont faits
de coton ou de laine" . But the reading should probably
be chan as in the D text. This reading of chan instead
of tich is supported by the epithet “ Wearers of felt and
serge” which the Chinese applied to the Hu and Jung in
contrast to themselves as " silk -wearer's" . Then we have
also the testimony of I-ching that the inhabitants of the
countries with which we are concerned used mainly felt
and fur as clothing, and that they had little cotton cloth
(J ). But even if we take tieh to be the reading
in the passage before us, it is at least doubtful whether it
should be translated here by cotton. The word did come to
be used as a name for cotton ; and Yuan - chuang seems to
employ it, in other passages, to denotesomething like fine cotton
or muslin . In the T'ang -Shu we find pai-tieh described as
the name of a plant of Kao -chang from the flowers of
which a cloth was made, and in this treatise tieh is cotton.
But on the other hand the word is explained in old
glossaries and dictionaries as denoting a " cloth made of
D*
52 KAO -CH'ANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS .
hair (or wool)", and the formation of the character seems

1
to point to such material. Then we find such expressions
as pai-chan - tieh, “ white felt-cloth ", and tieh alone, mentioned
along with the kieh -pei or Kibat (Karpura) “ cotton -cloth ”
as different materials. Moreover the modern equivalent
for tieh in Chinese books about the Mongols, Tibetans, and
peoples of Turkestan is p'u-lu, which is the name of a
woollen fabric manufactured in the west countries ". 1
There is great confusion in the use of chan and tieh (not
only in these Records, and the Life, but also in many other
works,) and we have often to make the context decide
whether the author meant cotton or woollen .
The king of Yenk'i whose character is briefly described in
the passage before us was Lung - T'uk'ichi ( L ) of
which Lung was the surname and T'uk'ichi (Dughitsi ?) the
name. This prince secretly renounced his duty and allegiance
to China, and entered into an engagement with the West Turks
to harass China. So the emperor Tai Tsung in 643 sent
an army to invade Yenk'i and punish its perfidious ruler.
The latter was dethroned and taken prisoner in 644, but
in the course of a few years the Chinese found it necessary
to restore him to the throne. 2
For the words — The country is without a political con
stitution, its laws are not reduced to order' the text is
Kuo -wu -kang -chi -fa-pu -chêng-su ( FRIE FM ke it to .
Julien translates this— “ Ce royaume ne possède point de code,
l'ordre et la paix se maintiennent sans le secours des lois.”.
The latter clause of this sentence does not seem to be
possible as a rendering of the Chinese. Moreover in the
term Kang -chi are included not merely a code, but also
the ethical and political maxims which form the basis of
the political system, and give the state enactments their
7 sanction. Then Kang-chi comes to denote the general
principles or essentials of goverment, and the particular
rules or institutions of a State or Empire. Thence the
1 Nan - hai -chºi - kuei ch. 2 : Yu- pien B. v. Tie : Sung Shih ch. 489.
2 Tóung-chien-kang- mu l. c .
ARANYA VIHARA . 53
term was extended to the constitution and laws of any system

political or religious, and Yuan-chuang, for example, uses it
with reference to Buddhism. As to Yenkói, the author
states, it had no fundamental statutes or national political
regulations, and it was also without any system of definite
laws in force among the people. This is a reproach which
we find brought against the Country also in the Wei-Shu
which writes of it as “ without a political system and laws
( 無綱紀法今 ) ”
The pilgrim's description proceeds-
“ There are above ten Buddhist monasteries with above 2000
ecclesiastics of all degrees, all adherents of the Sarvāstivādin
school of the “ Small Vehicle ” system . Since as to the sūtra
teachings and vinaya regulations they follow India, it is in its
literature that students of these subjects study them thoroughly.
They are very strict in the observance of the rules of their order
but in food they mix ( take in a miscellaneous way) the three
pure [kinds of flesh) embarrassed by the ' gradual teaching.'
One of the large monasteries in this country was that
known as the Araṇya -vihāra: here Dharmagupta lodged
in the year A. D. 585 when on his way to China. The
Sarvāstivādin school to which the Brethren in Yenk'i be
longed was a branch from the ancient Sthavira school
It had its name from its assertion that all were
real, viz. past, present, future, and intermediate states. Its
adherents claimed to represent the original teaching of the
Master, as it was delivered, and as settled in Council by
the " Elders" (Sthaviras) who had heard it from his lips. So
they considered themselves strictly orthodox, and they were
zealous enthusiastic adherents of what they regarded as
the simple primitive religion. The Brethren in Yenk'i
followed the teachings of the Buddha as recorded in the
Indian scriptures of which they were diligent students.
1 The kang of kang -chi is originally the large thick rope of a

fisherman's casting-net and the chi are the small cords of the same.
Then kang -chi (or chi-kang) came to be applied to the established
controlling principles of government, the codified means of preserv
ing order in a state. From this use the term came to be extended
to social institutions and to systems of religion and philosophy.
54 KAO -CH'ANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS.
The next part of this paragraph has received bad treatment

at the hands of the translators. Julien's version of it
is— “ Les religieux s'acquittent de leurs devoirs et observent
les règles de la discipline avec un pureté sévère et un
zèle persévérant. Ils se nourrissent de trois sortes d'ali
ments purs, et s'attachent à la doctrine graduelle ." The
words of the original are Chie-hsing-lü -i-chie -ch'ing-chin
li-jan-shih -tsa -san-ching-chih -yü -chien -chiao-i ( il FT 48€
清勤勵然食雜三凈帶干漸多矣 ). It is noteasy to
conjecture why chie-hsing should be here rendered " s'ac
quittent de leurs devoirs” . The term is part of the clause
which tells us that the Brethren were careful observers
of the Vinaya commands to do and abstain from doing.
Then the translation leaves out the important words jan
meaning “ but ” and tsa meaning “ to mix”, and it renders
chih - yü , “ to stick in " or " be detained in " by “ s'attachent
surtout à " . Then Julien did not know what was meant by
the “ trois sortes d'aliments purs”, so he gives us in a note
an account of certain five “aliments purs" derived from
another treatise. What the pilgrim tells us here is plain
and simple. The Buddhist Brethren in the monasteries
of Yenk'i were pure and strict in keeping all the laws
and regulations of their order according to their own
Vinaya. But in food they took, along with what was
orthodox, the three kinds of pure flesh, being still held in
the " gradual teaching". The student will be helped in
understanding this passage if he turns to the account of
the next country, Kuchih, and to the pilgrim's experience
in that country as set forth in the Life, and to the account
of the Swan Monastery in Chuan IX of the Records ( Julien
III. p. 60) and Chuan III of the Life (ib. I. p. 162).
The explanation of the san -ching or " three pure kinds
of flesh " is briefly as follows. In the time of Buddha
there was in Vaiśāli a wealthy general named Siha who
was a convert to Buddhism . He became a liberal supporter
of the Brethren and kept them constantly supplied with
good flesh food . When it was noised abroad that the
bhikshus were in the habit of eating such food specially
THE EATING OF MEAT. 55
provided for them the Tirthikas made the practice a

matter of angry reproach. Then the abstemious ascetic
Brethren , learning this, reported the circumstances to the
Master, who thereupon called the Brethren together. When
they were assembled, he announced to them the law that
they were not to eat the flesh of any animal which they
had seen put to death for them, or about which they had
been told that it had been killed for them, or about which
they had reason to suspect that it had been slain for them .
But he permitted to the Brethren as " pure ” (that is, lawful)
food the flesh of animals the slaughter of which had not
been seen by the bhikshus, not heard of by them , and not
suspected by them to have been on their account.1 In
the Pali and Ssū -fên Vinaya it was after a breakfast given
by Siha to the Buddha and some of the Brethren, for
which the carcase of a large ox was procured, that the
Nirgranthas reviled the bhikshus and Buddha instituted
this new rule declaring fish and flesh “ pure" in the three
conditions.2 The animal food now permitted to the bhikshus
came to be known as the " three pures ” or “ three pure
kinds of flesh”, and it was tersely described as " unseen,
unheard , unsuspected ", or as the Chinese translations
sometimes have it “ not seen not heard not suspected to
be on my account ( 7 7 H 7 TS # )". Then two
more kinds of animal food were declared lawful for the
Brethren, viz . the flesh of animals which had died a natural
death, and that of animals which had been killed by a
bird of prey or other savage creature. So there came to
be five classes or descriptions of flesh which the professed
Buddhist was at liberty to use as food.3 Then the “ unseen ,
unheard, unsuspected ” came to be treated as one class,
and this together with the “ natural death ( BE)" and
1 Shih -sung -lu ch. 26 ( No. 1115) : Seng-ki-lü ch. 32 ( No. 1119).
2 Vin . Mab. V. 31 : Ssă - fên - lü ch . 42 (No. 1117).
3 Shou-lăng-yen-ching-hui- chie ch. 12 (Nos. 446 and 1624 ): Lung
shu -ching -tóu -wên ( 1 ) ch . 9. The number of kinds
of “ pure flesh " was afterwards increased to nine, these five being
included,
"bird killed ( )" made a san-ching. It is evidently in

this latter sense that the term is used in these Records.
Then we have the "gradual teaching" which to Yuan
chuang's mind was intimately connected with the heresy of
sanctioning flesh -food. Here we have a reference to an old
division of the Buddha's personal teachings into “gradual
(or progressive)", chien G# ) and " instantaneous", tun (tm).
Of these the former, according to the Mahāyānists, con
tained all those scriptures which gave the Buddha's early
teaching, and also the rules and regulations which formed
the Vinaya. The Buddha suited his sermons and precepts
to the moral and spiritual attainments and requirements
of his audience. Those who were low in the scale he led
on gradually by the setting forth of simple truths, by
parable and lesson, and by mild restrictions as to life and
conduct. At a later period of his ministry he taught
higher truths, and inculcated a stricter purity and more
thorough self -denial. Thus in the matter of flesh -food he
sanctioned the use of it as an ordinary article of food by
his own example and implied permission. Afterwards when
he found that some of his disciples gave offence by begg
ing for beef and mutton, and asking to have animals killed
for them, and eating as daily food flesh which should only
be taken in exceptional circumstances he introduced
restrictions and prohibitions. But the " Instantaneous
Teaching ", which took no note of circumstances and en
vironments, revealed sublime spiritual truths to be com
prehended and accepted at once by higher minds, taught
for these a morality absolute and universal, and instituted
rules for his professed disciples to be of eternal, unchang
ing obligation.
The " Gradual Teaching" is practically coextensive
with the Hinayāna system , and the Buddha describes
his teaching and Vinaya as gradual, growing and de
veloping like the mango fruit according to some
1 Hua -yen -yi-sheng-chiao- yi- fén -chi-chang (No. 1591 ) : Ssu - chiao
yi (No. 1569). In the Chung -a-han -ching (No. 542) ch. 9 Buddha's
dharma and vinaya are described as gradual.
THE EATING OF MEAT. 57
scriptures. The " Instantaneous Teaching" is the Mahāyāna

1
system as found in those scriptures of the Buddhists which
are outside of the Hinayānist Tripitaka. This distinction,
derived from a passage in the Laņkāvatāra sūtra, is ascribed to
! Dharmapāla (Hu-fa E). TheNirvāņa sūtras are quoted
as specimens of the Gradual Teaching and the Avatamsaka
sūtras are given as examples of the Tun- chiao or " Instan
taneous Teaching”.
Our pilgrim being an adherent of the Mahāyānist
system refused to admit the validity of the three - fold
pure ” flesh -food indulgence which the excellent Hinayānist
Brethren of Yenkói followed. The Buddhist Scriptures
to which Yuan-chuang adhered prohibit absolutely the
use of flesh of any kind as food by the “ sons of Buddha”.1
This prohibition is based on the grounds of universal com
passion, and the doctrine of karma. Mahāyānism teaches
i
1
that the eating of an animal's flesh retards the spiritual
growth of the Brother who eats it, and entails evil con
| sequences in future existences. Some Mahāyānists were
strict in abstaining, not only from all kinds of flesh food ,
but also from milk and its products. In this they
agreed, as we shall see, with the sectarians who were
followers of Devadatta. There have also, however, been
Mahāyānists who allowed the use of animal food of certain
kinds, and we find wild geese, calves, and deer called
san -ching-shih or “ Three pure (lawful) articles of food”. It
was a common occurrence for a Hinayānist to be con
verted and “ advance " to Mahāyānism , but the Yenk'i
Brethren were still detained or embarrassed in the "Gradual
Teaching” of the Hinayāna. The word for detained is
chih (in ) which means to be fretted, or delayed, as a stream
by an obstacle in its course. Then it denotes the mental
suspense caused by doubts and difficulties, and the check
given by these to spiritual progress ; it is often associated
with the word for doubt.
1 Fan -wang - ching ch . 2 (No. 1087) : Ta - pan -nie-p'an - ching ch. 4

(No. 114) : Ju-lăng-ka-ching ch. 8 ( No. 176) : Shou-lăng-yen-ching
hui-chie, l. c.
58 KAO - CHʻANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS.
KUCHIH .
The pilgrim now goes on to tell us that from Yenk'i he went
1
south-west above 200 li, crossed a hill and two large rivers west
to a plain, and after travelling above 700 li from that he came to
the Ku -chih country. This country was above 1000 li from east
to west and 600 li from north to south : its capital being 17 or
18 li in circuit.
According to the account in the Life the pilgrim passed

only one large river in the journey from Yenk'i to Kuchih .
In other works the distance between these two places is
somewhat greater, and the area of the capital of Kuchih
is much less than in our text.
The Chinese annotator here tells us that the old name
of Ku-chih ( $ ) was Ku -tse ( ), as we are told to
pronounce these characters. This is not only the old name
but also the only one by which the country was known to
the Chinese until a comparatively modern time. A San
skrit -Chinese Vocabulary gives Kuchina (fl ) as its
Sanskrit designation ; but the word does not seem to be
otherwise known. There are various transcriptions of the
sound Ku-tse, but Wu-kóung tells us that Ku - chih is the
correct form of the name. The modern Chinese official
name of the district and its capital is. Kíu -chê ( R ), the
Kuchah and Kocha of our maps. This term is explained
as meaning the “ Dry well of Kóu ”, but the etymology
cannot be accepted.3 In modern Tibetan books the name
is given as Khu - chhu or Khu-the. This country was
known to the Chinese from the early Han time, and in
1 An old variety of the name is Kucha ( X ). As Goez calls

the country Cucia the modern official name was apparently in use
before the Manchu conquest of China (See Yule's Cathay p. 573).
Ku-tsang ( Hii ), which is sometimes identified with Kutse, was the
name of an old district in what is now the Province of Kansu.
? The first syllable is found written also FT 5 , and , and the
second syllable is sometimes . See Shih -li-ching, and J. A. T. VI.
p . 363 and note.
3 Hsin-chiang ch . 3. Here it is stated that the country got its
name from the “ dry wells ” in it.
KU - CHIH . 59
A. D. 435 it became a vassal to China. The old Kutse

embraced, not only the district now called K'u-ch'ê, but
also that of the present Sairam and other territory. It
was an ancient state, and its extent varied at different
periods. In a translation of a Buddhist book we find it
mentioned as one of the parts of his great empire which
Asoka proposed to give over to his son Kunāla.2 The
capital of Kutse was at one time (in the 1th cent. A. D.)
the Yen (5E ) city, and afterwards it was Yi-lo -lu ( f# 5 ).3
In the Yuan period it was a constituent part of the Bish
balik territory, and it was also called I-li-pa - li or Il-balik. 4
We find it described as being 200 or 170 li south of the
Ak -tagh or White Mountains which emitted fire and smoke
and yielded sal-ammoniac.5
This country, the pilgrim continues, yielded millet, wheat, rice,
grapes, pomegranates, and plenty of pears, plums, peaches, and
apricots. It produced also gold, copper, iron, lead, and tin : its
climate was temperate and the people had honest ways : their
writing was taken from that of India but had been much altered ;
they had great skill with wind- and stringed-musical instruments ;
they dressed in variegated woollen cloth , cut their hair short,
wore turbans, used coins of gold and silver and small copper
ones, and they flattened the heads of their babies. Their king
was a Kuchih man , he had few intellectual resources , and was
under the sway of powerful statesmen.
The word here rendered “millet" is the mi ( ) of the
previous section. But instead of this character the C text
has ma (** ), “ hemp", and the D text has mei as before.
The word hsing ( *) here rendered by " apricots ” is trans
lated “ almonds” by Julien although in his “ Documents Geo
graphiques" he has given the correct rendering " abricots ”.
The skill of the Kuchih people in music is mentioned by
1 Tung-chien - lang - mu ch. 25 ( Sung Vến Huang Ti Yuan- chia
12th year .
2 A -yü -wang -hsi-huai-mu-yin -yuan - ching (No. 1367).
3 Ch‘ien Han Shu ch . 96 : Wei.Shu ch. 102 : Ma T. l . ch . 336. It
was in the T'ang period that the capital was Yi-lo -lu.
* Li-tai- yen -ko -piao, 1. c.: Tung -chien -kang-mu. ch. 25.
5 Sui Shu ch . 83 : Ta -ch'ing -yi -trung -chih ch . 351 : See also Tim
kowski's Voyage Vol. I. p. 398.
other writers, and their music and musical instruments

became well known to the Chinese. So also the woollen
cloths and good rugs of this country were known to the
Chinese before the time of our pilgrim, as were also its
iron and copper products. We learn also that its king
had a golden throne, and wore a magnificent turban with
a long streamer hanging down behind. The reigning sover
eign at the time of Yuan -chuang's visit had the surname
Pai ( 6 ) and was a lineal descendant of the man whom
Lü kuang ( 5 % ) had put on the throne more than 200 years
before Yuan-chuang's time. This king showed his want of
political wisdom in renouncing Chinese suzerainty in favour
of an alliance with the Turks, who in A. D. 648 invaded
his country and took him prisoner.
The pilgrim's description proceeds to relate that there were
in this country more than 100 Buddhist monasteries with above
5000 Brethren who were adherents of the Sarvāstivādin branch
of the “ Little Vehicle” and studied the books of their religion
in the language of India. These Brethren also were held in the
“ gradual teaching ", and took along with other food the "three
pure" kinds of flesh, but they were extremely punctilous in ob
serving the rules of their code of discipline.
As we learn from other sources the people of this coun
try were good Buddhists, and the number of Buddhist
images and buildings throughout the land was very great. 2
Our pilgrim passed more than one monastery in it on his
way to the capital, and he spent his first night there with
the Kao-ch'ang Brethren in their monastery. That the
lay people, or at least the king, kept the vows of lay
disciples we may infer from the Life's account of the
king's breakfast to the pilgrim. It is specially mentioned
that among the food served at this entertainment were the
“ three pure ” kinds of meat ; Yuan-chuang partook of the
rest of the food but declined these, explaining that although
they were allowed by the “ gradual teaching" they were for
1 Wei Shu , l. c.: Sui shu l. C.: T‘ung- chien-kang-mu ch. 40.
2 Fang-chih ch. 1 : Chin (H) Shu ch. 97 : Tarikh-i-Rashid by
Elias and Ross p. 124 note.
KING GOLD - FLOWER . 61
bidden by the " Great Vehicle" of which he was an ad

herent. The Brethren, who were all Hinayānists, gave the
pilgrim in their several monasteries as light refreshment
grape- syrup which was a strictly orthodox beverage for
all. Ku -chih had long been converted to Buddhism but
it had not always been Hinayānist as we read of one of
its former kings being a devoted Mahāyānist.
The pilgrim's description proceeds to relate that in the eastern
part of Kuchih was a large Dragon-Tank in front of a Deva
Temple to the north of a city. The dragons of this tank changed
themselves into horses and then coupled with mares : the offspring
of this union was a fierce intractable breed, but the next gene
ration formed fine horses patient of harness, and of these there
were very many. Local tradition told of a king in recent times
named Gold-Flower who by his regal ordinances and judicial
impartiality moved the dragons to become his vehicles, and when
he wanted to die he touched the dragon's ears with a wbip,
whereupon he sank out of sight with them to the present time.
There were no wells in the city and the people drew water from
the Tank : the dragons now changed themselves into men and
had intercourse with the women : the offspring of this union
became daring and fleet as horses, and all the inhabitants gra
dually came to have a mixture of the dragon in them ; trusting
to their might they made themselves feared, and came to slight
the king's commands, whereupon the king brought in the Turks 1
who slew all the living creatures in the city, and this was now
a jungle without human inhabitants.
This interpretation of the story about king Gold-Flower
differs from the translation of the passage given by Julien
which does not seem to be correct. It reads—"Le roi
montrait, dans ses lois, une rare pénétration. Il sut toucher
les dragons et les atteler à son char. Quand il voulait
se rendre invisible, il frappait leurs oreilles avec son fouet
et disparaissait subitement. Depuis cette époque, jusqu'à
ce jour, la ville ne possède point de puits, de sorte que
les habitants vont prendre dans le lac l'eau dont ils ont
besoin .” By a comparison of this with the originall we
1 The original of thepassage quoted from Julien is :- Ek AJ

威龍駁乘王欲終沒鞭觸其耳因即潛應以至于
今城中無非取池水
62 KAO -CH -ANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS .
see that Julien did not notice that it was the secret influence
of the king's wise and impartial government which moved
the dragons to become his vehicles, and Kan -lung -yü -shêng
cannot be made to mean “Il sut toucher les dragons et
les atteler à son char." Then " se rendre invisible" is not
right for chung -mê which means "to die" ; the word yin,
“ hereupon ” is omitted, and the words yi-chi-yü -chin, “down
to the present” are divorced from their proper connection.
This version also makes the author state that the inhabi
tants still “ vont prendre” water and yet a few lines after
we learn that the city was utterly uninhabited .
Our narrative proceeds to relate that above forty li north of
the depopulated city at the slopes of the hills, and separated by
a river, were two monasteries which bore the common name Chao
hu - li distinguished respectively as Eastern and Western. The
images of the Buddha in these monasteries were beautiful almost
beyond human skill ; and the Brethren were punctilious in dis
cipline and devoted enthusiasts. In the Buddha -Hall of the
East Chao -hu -li monastery was a slab of Jade-stone above two
feet wide, of a pale yellow colour, and like a clam, and on it
was an impress of Buddha's foot; this was one foot eight inches
long by above eight (in the D text, six) inches wide, and on
fast days it sent forth a brilliant light.
The Chao- hu-li (Port of this passage is appa
rently a foreign, perhaps an Indian word, but we have no
hint as to its meaning. In other works we read of a
great Chio- li Buddhist monastery in this country, but we
also find Chio - li Buddhist buildings in other places. This
Chio-li is perhaps another form of the word transcribed
Chao-hu-li, although I - ching tells us it is Chinese. As
a Chinese term transcribed te bli Chio -li would mean
" small birds such as sparrows and finches ", but it is also
written Chio -li ( 1 ) and this seems to be a foreign
word. Our pilgrim's Chao-hu -li and the Chio - li of other
writers may perhaps represent the Indian word Churi
which denotes a small bird like the sparrow. But the
tope at the place where the brahmin carrying a sparrow
i Shui-ching -chu: Kao -sêng -chuan ch . 2 (No. 1490).
2 Shih -li-ching and J. A. T. VI. p. 363 .
ASCHARYA VIHARA . 63
uence
interrogated the Buddha is the only one of the Buddhist
buildings called Chio -li to which this interpretation can
zored
stieng
be applied with any probability. Another suggestion is
DS et
that Chio-li and Chao -hu - li may be the foreign term re
5 Dot presented by the common transcription Chu -li (1 )
which means motley or particoloured, of mixed bright and
dark colours. This interpretation would evidently suit
dow
some, and perhaps would apply to all, of the buildings to
ction. which the terms in question are applied.
habi
after Outside of the west gate of the capital, the narrative relates,
were two standing images of the Buddha, above ninety feet high,
one on each side of the highway. These images marked the
th of place where the great quinquennial Buddhist assemblies were
edby held, and at which the annual autumn religious meetings of clergy
Thao and laity occurred. The latter meetings lasted for some tens of
The days, and were attended by ecclesiastics from all parts of the
country. While these convocations were sitting the king and all
his subjects made holiday, abstaining from work, keeping fast,
and hearing religious discourses. All the monasteries made pro .
cessions with their images of Buddha, adorning these with pearls
and silk embroideries. The images were borne on vehicles, and
Pollo
ches beginning with a thousand , they became a great multitude at the
place of meeting. North -west from this place of assembly and
on the other side of a river was the A-shê-li-yi (ins al
pau or .) Monastery. This had spacious halls and artistic images
of the Buddha : its Brethren were grave seniors of long per
DO
severance in seeking for moral perfection and of great learning
and intellectual abilities : the monastery was a place of resort
ve for men of eminence from distant lands who were hospitably
is entertained by the king and officials and people. The pilgrim
ed then gives the curious legend about the origin of the monastery.
Es We know from the Life that our pilgrim's account of
the Buddhist procession of images here was derived from
20 his own experience as he reached the country in time to
D witness one of these processions. The native annotator
1 explains the A -shê-li-yi here by " marvellous " and it is
j evidently a transcription of the Sanskrit word äścharya,
meaning a marvel or miracle. According to the legend
1 The character here read yi is nt and Julien transliterates it ni,

but the old and correct sound of the character is yi, and in the Life
64 KAO -CHʻANG TO THE THOUSAND SPRINGS.
related by the pilgrim the monastery was erected by a

king to commemorate the miracle which was wrought on
his pure and noble -minded brother. One of its chief
monks at this time, we learn from the Life, was the
Brother known in religion by the name Mokshagupta, a
Hinayānist who had studied above twenty years in India, iT de St
and had acquired a great reputation in Kuchih, especially de mode
for his knowledge of the commentaries and etymology. and int
When Yuan -chuang arrived Mokshagupta treated him merely
with the ordinary courtesy due to any guest, but when the
pilgrim exposed the ignorance of his host the latter came ATTEN
to treat him as his master in religion. This monastery
is mentioned in Wu-kóung's itinerary by the name A-she
li-yi. It is also perhaps the Wang-Ssŭ or Royal Vihāra
of other writers, and we find Dharmagupta lodged in the
Royal Vihāra about A. D.585 while he stayed in this country.
ton
The Miracle Monastery, Yuan - chuang tells us, drew learned
Brethren from distant places to it, and it seems that
these men came chiefly to study the Vinaya. One of these shid
great students was Vimalāksha, popularly known as the
“ Dark - eyed Vinaya -Master ", a contemporary ofKumārajiva.2
POH -LU -KA.
Our pilgrim continuing his narrative tells us that
from this (viz. Kuchih city) a journey of above 600 li west across
a small desert brought him to the Poh -lu -ka country. This was
above 600 li from east to west by more than 300 li from north
to south , and its capital was five or six li in circuit. In general
characteristics this country and its people resembled Kuchih and
its people, but the spoken language differed a little. The fine
cloth and serge of the district were esteemed by the neighbouring EL
countries . There were some some tens of monasteries with above
1000 Brethren all adherents of the Sarvāstivādin school.
A Chinese note to our text tells us that old names
for Poh - lu - ka were Ki -mê and Ku - me in some
we have instead of this character another also read yi, viz. L. Wu

kóung's transcription of the name is Pns Ln .
1 Su-bao-sêng -chuan ch. 2 ( No. 1493).
3 Kºai-yuan-lu ch. 3 (No. 1485).
BĀLUKĀ ( THE SANDS ). 65
copies ha by mistake). This Ku-mê is found in the Han

Shu and is subsequent histories as the name of a state to
the west of Kuchih. It had a capital called Nan -ch'êng
or “South city", and it yielded copper, iron, and orpiment. "
M. V. de St. Martin makes Ku-mê or Poh-lu-ka correspond
to the modern district of Aksu and this identification has
been adopted by others. Some Chinese writers identify it
with the modern Bai city ( JF Wil ), while others more cor
rectly regard it as represented by the present Yurgun or
Khara-yurgun ( A HI E Wid ), the Karayalghan or Khara
yurgun of our maps, which is within the political district
of Aksu .? It seems that Yuan chuang was the first to
use this name Poh -lu -ka, and it is known only through
these Records and the Life, for the “ T'ang -Shu" evidently
derived its information direct from the Records.3 The
explanation of its use is apparently simple. The Ku -mê
of the Histories transcribes the Turkish word Kum (or
Qum ) which means “ sand" or "a desert ”, a word of frequent
occurrence in names of places in Central Asia. Then the
Buddhist Brethren from India substituted for Kum its
Sanskrit equivalent Balukā which in our pilgrim's transcrip
tion became Poh-lu-ka .
The word translated in the above passage by “ cloth ” is
tich in the B text and chan or " felt " in the C and D texts.
The latter in the sense of “woollen cloth ” is probably here,
as in other passages, the correct reading, and it was the
reading in the text of the Record used by the compiler of the
T'ang-Shu". It was the fine woollen fabrics of this district
which were held in esteem by the surrounding countries.
1 Chéien Han-Shu, ch . 96 : Wei-Shu, ch . 102 where Ku-mê is a

dependency of Ku - tse.
2 Hsin - ch'iang, ch. 1, 3. According to this treatise the " small
desert" is the modern Ch'a -êrh -chih -ko, the Charchik of our maps.
See Proceedings of R. G. S. Vol. XII, No. 2, p . 86.
3 Tang-Shu, ch. 221. But the Pro-lu -ka ( weten :)or Bāluka of
the Ta-fang-têng -ta- chi-ching ch . 55 (No. 62) is evidently the Bāluka
of our text.
E
66
THE ICE MOUNTAIN AND CLEAR LAKE.
The pilgrim goes on to relate that

going north -west from Poh-lu-ka above 300 li passing along (or
crossing) a stony desert he came to the Ling-shan (Ice Moun
tain). This was the north beginning of the Ts - ung-Ling and
most of the streams from it flowed east. The gorges of the
mountain accumulated snow and retained their coldness spring
and summer, and although there was the periodical melting the
freezing set in immediately ; the path was dangerous, cold winds
blew fiercely. There were many troubles from savage dragons
who molested travellers : those going by this road could not wear
red clothes or carry calabashes or make a loud noise ; a slight
provocation caused immediate disaster ; fierce winds burst forth
and there were flying sand and showers of stones, those who
encountered these died, life could not be saved. A journey of
over 400 li brought the pilgrim to a great clear lake above
1000 li in circuit, longer from east to west than from north to
south. The lake had hills on all sides and was the meeting-place
for various streams ; its waters were of a deep azure hue and
had a sharp brackish taste ; it was a vast expanse with tumul
tuous billows. Fish and dragons lived in it pell - mell, and super
natural prodigies appeared in it occasionally. So travellers
prayed for good luck, and although fish abounded no one would
venture to catch them .
From the Life we learn that Yuan -chuang was seven
days in crossing the Ice Mountain, and from the Fang
chih we learn that he travelled in a western direction
across it. The term which he uses for the Ice Mountain
is Ling -shan ( W ), ling being the classical word for
“ ice" . The modern Chinese name is Ping- shan with the
same meaning, the Turkish designation being Musur-dabghan .
According to the Life the mountain was high as the
heavens and covered with eternal snow , and the Pass was
extremely difficult and hazardous on account of its blocks
of ice and masses of rock. Our pilgrim's Ling-shan re
garded as a Pass has been identified with the present
Muzart or Ice-Pass, and there is much in favour of this
identification although there are also difficulties in the
way of its acceptance. Thus our pilgrim says he went
north-west from the Kum or Kharayurgun district, but
WARM LAKE OR IRON LAKE. 67
the Muzart is due north of that. M. St. Martin , accord

ingly, has to change the direction of the pilgrim's route
and he tells us that “ Hiouen -thsang, en quittant Po - lou -kia
(Aksou), se porte au nord vers de grandes montagnes, qui
forment, dit-il, l'angle ( l'extrémité) septentrionale des monts
Tsong-ling." 1 Some Chinese writers on the subject also
the
describe the great mountain range south of Ili as the
the north “corner” (or “ beginning ”) of the Ts'ung-Ling. But
the Musur-dabghan is said to belong to a different range,
not to the Ts-ung-Ling. The Muzart was and perhaps
still is used by the traders passing between Kulja (Ili)
and the districts of Kashgar, Yarkhand, and Khoten.2
orth
who It is still very difficult and hazardous to cross the Muzart
id from the south side, aud the trading caravans go from
Kashgar to Kulja by other Passes, and take this one only
on the return journey. Moreover our pilgrim's account of
his journey over the Ling-shan Pass agrees well with the
inl.
descriptions we have of the Muzart. But the Pass by
which he crossed the great mountain may have been the
lens Bedal, or one between that and the Muzart, or he may
have gone north to the last and then in a westerly direc
tion over the mountain to the “ great clear lake" .
A note to the text here tells us that this lake was the Hot
Sea (til) and Salt Sea (Rik Nut of others. It is the Issik
20 kül or Hot Lake of the Turkic-speaking people and the
Temurtu -nor or Ferruginous Lake of the Mongols. It is
for explained that the water of the Lake is not actually hot,
be but that the Lake was called “ Hot Sea " because although
girt by snow-clad mountains its waters never froze. It
the was called Temurtu-nor on account of the abundant pre
sence of flakes of iron brought down by the tributary
streams.3
unt 1 Julien III . p. 266.

his ? Hsin - ch'iang, chs. 1. 3. 4.
3 See Reclus L'Asie - Russe p. 350 : Proc . R. G. S. Vol. XVIII,
he
p . 249 : Hsin-ch'iang, chs. 1. 4 : T'ung - chien -kang -mu, ch. 41 : Sven
nt Hedin's Through Asia, Vol. II, p. 858. Description of Issik Kul in
ut Schuyler's Turkestan, Vol. II , p. 128.
E*
68 LAKE ISSIK - KUL .
It will be noticed that the information which our pilgrim

gives about this " great clear lake" is such as might have
been acquired without a personal visit. Comparing the
combined accounts of the Records and the Life with the
descriptions given by later travellers, we are perhaps
justified in at least doubting whether the pilgrim actually
reached the Issik-kül. Other travellers, Chinese and
western, agree in describing this lake as being actually
hot, at least near the banks, the only parts accessible
until lately. No mention, however, is made either in the
Records or the Life of the nature of the banks, of the
tribes who lived on them, or of the vestiges of a former
state of affairs. In connection with the statement that no
one dared to fish in the lake we may recall the fact that
the Syrians forbade any interference with the large tame
fish in the river Chalos, regarding the fish as divine. 1
Our pilgrim was evidently told that the Lake was the
abode of mysterious powerful supernatural beings easily
excited and supposed to be malevolent. It was by these
creatures that the waters, even when there was no wind,
were agitated, and monstrous billows put in motion. Through
fear of these unseen beings also, apparently, the people
of the district did not dare to fish in the Lake.
Yuan-chuang here makes the Issik-kül to be above
1000 li in circuit, and the Life makes it 1400 or 1500 li
in circuit, but some other Chinese authorities represent it
as only a few hundred li in circuit.
The pilgrim goes on the relate that
[from] Issik-kül going north-west he travelled above 500 li to
the city of the Su -she water which was six or seven li in circuit.
It was inhabited by traders and Tartars (Hu) from various
districts ; the country yielded millet, wheat, grapes, but trees
were sparse ; its climate was regular and its winds cold ; the
people wore woollen (felt and serge) clothing. To the west of
Su - she were some tens of isolated cities each with its own
governor but all under the rule of the Turks .
Xenophon Anab. A. IV. 9.

SUSHE OR SUSA. 69
The translators seem to have understood the first words

of the text of this passage as meaning that the pilgrim
following the north side of Issik-kül went north -west 500 li
from it. But the Life gives the direction as " north-west
following the Lake”. Then Ma Tuan-lin, whose inspiration
was derived from the Records, does not mention the "Clear
lake ” and places the “ Su -she water City” 500 li north -west
from the Ling- shan. It seems to me that we must regard
the pilgrim as coming out from the Ice Mountain on the
south side of the Lake and going on keeping the Lake
on his right hand travelling north -west 500 li to the city
of the Su - she water. The name of this " water" or river
is written but we are told that the second character
is to be read she and not ye, and Julien corrected his “ Su
Fe ” to “ Su -che ”, that is Sushe or Susa. We do not seem
to know of this city, at least by this name, except through
our pilgrim's narrative, although we find mention of another
Sul -she river. We read in the history of the Tang dynasty
of a city to the east of the Hot Lake called Sui-ye (or
-she) ( ) and this is taken by Dr. Bretschneider and
others, Chinese included, to be the Su-she of the present
passage. But this Sui- she city did not come into existence
until A. D. 679 when it was built by the Chinese. The
expression used is chu -Sui-she-ch'êng * Hik) " build
the Sui-she city, but the words have been taken to mean
that the Chinese built a fort at Sui-she. This city was
apparently substituted for Yenk'i as one of the Four
Stations under the Chief Resident of An-hsi : we have
mention of it being restored to that position in the year
A. D. 692, and in 748 it was destroyed. The Tang - Shu
mentions the Sui-she valley (Jil ), li from the mouth of
which was the city of General Pei Lo ( ), and 40 li
west from it was the Sui-she city ; on the north of this
was the river with the same name, and 40 li north of it
1 Ch . 336 .
2 Med. Res. Vol. i . p. 227.
3 Tung-chien -kang -mu, ch. 41 Tang Kao Tsung Tiao-li 1st year).
70 SUSHE OR SUJĀB.
was the Ku -tan (** ) hill, the spot at which the Khans
of the Ten surnames were crowned. This city seems to
have disappeared ever since the T'ang period. Its remains
are supposed by some to exist at a place on the north
side of the Issik -kül, but this does not suit the position
of the city with reference to the Lake. The Su-she for
our text was apparently situated to the west of Issik-kül,
south of Tokmak, and not very far to the north-west of
the Son-kül. Modern Chinese maps place in that neigh
bourhood a river called Su -sa -ma -êrh ( RPT), that is
perhaps, “ Susa water”. In some of our maps this river
appears as " Susamir ”, a name also given to a range of
mountains in the neighbourhood. In some old maps of
the Persian empire at the height of its greatness we find
to the north of Samarkand a town called Teras" and
north-east from it a river “ Sosechi". Further it is to be
observed that some Chinese geographers understand Sui
she- shui to be an old name for the Issik-kül.2 At the
time of our pilgrim's visit the Su-she river and its city
had been a part of the great Persian empire ; and we may
with some probability take the name Su-she to be for Susa ,
transferred from the old Susa “ by Choaspes' amber stream, 인
the drink of none but kings". Professor Hirth, who con
siders the Su -she of our text to be the Sui- she of the
Tang History, restores the name Sui-she as Sūj-āb.3 He
writes Su -ye and Sui-ye, and if the latter term is regarded
as a Chinese name his transcription of the characters may
be correct. But the former is a foreign word read Su
she, and our pilgrim's Su - she-shui may possibly correspond
to the Sūj-āb of Tabari quoted by Dr. Hirth.
1 Ch . 43. The " General Pei Lo" of this passage is perhaps the
civil official Pei Hing -chien ( PL FT 1w ) who caused a general to build
the city .
2 Hsin-ch'iang, ch . 1 where the expression is Sui-sheh -chuan (JII).
3 Nachworte z. Inschrift d. Tonjukuk S. 71 and cf. S. 73. 75. (Die
Alt-Türkischen Inschriften d. Mongolen. Radloff ).
71
SU -LI.
The pilgrim adds

From the city of the Su-she water to the Kasanna country the
territory and its inhabitants are called Su -li. This name is
applied also to the language and the writing of the people. The
letters of their language are only 20 (in the B text 30) odd
which have come to produce a vast vocabulary : they read their exi
writing vertically : teacher transmits instruction to his successor
1
in unbroken continuity. Their garments, which are tight-fitting,
are felt ( in B tien) and serge for inside and skins and wool (or
Cotton tieh) outside. They cut the hair even leaving the top of
the head exposed, some shave off all the hair, and they bind the
forehead with a silk band. They are of large stature but of a
cowardly disposition : they are treacherous and deceitful in their
ways and very avaricious . Father and son scheme for gain :
wealth gives eminence : there is no distinction between the well
born and the low -born : one who is extremely rich may live on
poor food and wear coarse clothing. The people are half-and
half traders and farmers.
The country and people here called Su -li ( FO) are pici il .
apparently almost unknown, at least by this name. I - ching
several times mentions a region and people which he calls
Su -li F) and this word is probably the Su-li of our
passage. But whereas Yuan - chuang restricts his name
to a small defined district, I -ching seems to use his Su-li
as a general name for the northern extra-India people
called Hu ( ) or at least for a main division of the Hu.?
So also in his Sanskrit-Chinese Vocabulary I -ching gives
Sali transcribed Su - li as the Sanskrit equivalent for Hu:
the transcription for Sali is generally Su-li but in one
place it is, perhaps by mistake, Sunlin. As to what Sali
or Su-li means we seem to be left in ignorance. Alberuni
mentions a country Sūlika which he places in the north ,
and another Sülika which he puts in the north -west, but
the latter name, which is taken from the Brihat - Samhita
1
Nan-hai- ch'i -kuei Chs. 9 , 10 , 25 , and Tal pp . 49 , 68,
69, 119.
72 THE THOUSAND SPRINGS .
should perhaps be read Mülika. It seems probable that

the Su-li of our pilgrim corresponds to the “ Sārts ” of
later times. This is a term applied, we are told, by the
nomads of Central Asia to all dwellers in towns and vil
lages without regard to race or origin. But, according
to M. de Ujfalvy, the Tajiks are not counted as Sārts.
These Tajiks, it is important to remember, are Iranians
(Eranians) of three kinds, (1) indigenous Iranians, (2) Per
sian colonists, and (3) the descendants of Persian slaves.
It is interesting to compare M. de Ujfalvy's “ Carte ethno
graphique de l'Asie centrale ” with Yuan- chuang's narrative
and the description of the Su-li with that of the Sārts.2
But although the descriptions may correspond it does not
seem right to regard Su-li as a transcription of Sārt.
Like another word to be noticed hereafter it may stand
for the Turkic Suliq in the sense of “ having water”, a
term which seems to be very appropriate to at least a
portion of the Su-li region but not to all. We should 1
probably regard the pilgrim's statement that the country

was called Su-li as a mistake and the name should perhaps
be regarded as applying only to the inhabitants and their
language.
THOUSAND SPRINGS.
Returning to the text of our Records we read that a journey
of above 400 li westward from “ Su -she city” brought the pilgrim
to the “ Thousand Springs”. The district with this name was
above 200 li square ; it had Snowy mountains on its south side
and level land on the other sides ; it had a rich mouldy soil and
trees everywhere; in the latter part of spring the place was an
embroidery of flowers. There were a thousand springs and
ponds and hence the name of the district ; the Khan of the
Turks came here every year to escape the summer heat. The
place contained flocks of tame deer many of which wore bells
and rings ; the deer were cherished by the Khan who forbade
the slaughter of any of them under the penalty of capital punish
ment, and so the deer lived their natural lives.
1 Alberuni Vol. I. pp. 300, 302 : Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII. p. 190 .
2 Le Kohistan, Le Ferghanah et Kouldja pp. 59, 187.
THE THOUSAND SPRINGS. 73
From the Life we learn that the local native name of

this charming district, here called Chéien - Ch'uan ( FA ),
was Ping-yü ( # ). This evidently represents Bing- ghyul
which is the Turkic equivalent for Chien -ch'uan or " Thous
and Springs". There is little mention of the district
bearing this name in Chinese literature. We find it stated
in the history of the Sui dynasty that in the year A. D.
619 the She-hu khan of the West Turks removed his
Court to the Thousand Springs, described as being to the
north of the Shih ( 71 ), that is, Tashkend country. Moreover
in the XIIth chuan of these Records we are told that the
Ts'ung-Ling range extended on the north to the Hot sea
(the Issik-kül) and Thousand Springs'.
Mr Schuyler finds the district here named Thousand
Springs in the country to the north of the Alexandrofsky
range and between Auliéata and Ak-su. Of his journey
from the former of these two places to the latter he
writes—“All along my right was the beautiful Alexandrofsky
range, with many of its summits then white with snow .
At almost every step I crossed rivulets trickling down
from the hills, showing well the truth of the old name,
the thousand sources ." 2 With this we may compare
Dr Bretschneider's opinion— "Vivien de St. Martin, in his
geographical notes appended to Stan. Julien's translation
of Hüan Thsang's narrative identifies Tsientsüan with a
place Ming bulak, south of Lake Karakul, thus carrying
the traveller far north-west, and then locates his Ta -lo -sz
between the aforesaid lake and the Jaxartes. But this
view is untenable. Ming bulak meaning « Thousand Springs'
in Mongol and other languages of the East, is a quite
frequent name for places in Mongolia and Central Asia.
It seems to me that the Thousand Springs of the Chinese
traveller, bordered on the south by snowy mountains,
whilst on the other sides all was level land, must be rather
looked for somewhere on the northern slope of the high
1 See Tung -chien-kang-mu ch. 38 (sui Kung Ti 21 year).

2 Turkistan Vol. II. p. 123.
74 THE SHEH-HU KHAN .
mountain stretching from Lake Issik-kül westward, and

marked on Russian maps as Alexander's Chain " .1
THE KHAN.
Before leaving this district we must take notice of the

short description which the Life gives of the pilgrim's
meeting with the Khan of the Turks.
It relates that at the Su-she-water city, called here the Su -she
city, the pilgrim met with the Turk Sh-eh-hu Khan then on a
hunting expedition. His military equipment, we are told, was
very grand. The Khan wore a green satin robe ; his hair which
was ten feet long was free : a band of white silk was wound
round his forehead hanging down behind. The ministers of the
presence, above 200 in number, all wearing embroidered robes
+
and with plaited hair stood on his right and left. The rest of
his military retinue clothed in fur, serge, and fine wool, the
spears and standards and bows in order, and the riders of camels
and horses stretched far away out of ken. The Khan was
delighted to meet Yuan - chuang and invited him to stay in the
encampment during his absence which would be only for two
or three days, giving him into the charge of a Minister of the
presence named Ha -mo-chih . After three days the Khan returned
and Yuan -chuang was taken to his tent. The gold embroidery
of this grand tent shone with a dazzling splendour ; the ministers
of the presence in attendance sat on mats in long rows on either
side all dressed in magnificent brocade robes while the rest of
the retinue on duty stood behind. You saw that although it
was a case of a frontier ruler yet there was an air of distinction
and elegance . The Khan came out from his tent about thirty
paces to meet Yuan -chuang who after a courteous greeting
entered the tent. As the Turks are fire -worshippers they do
not use wooden seats, we are told, as wood has the principle of
fire, and they use double mats as seats : but for the pilgrim the
Khan provided an iron -framed bench with a mattress. After a
short interval envoys from China and Kao-ch'ang were admitted
and presented their despatches and credentials which the Khan
perused. He was much elated and caused the envoys to be
seated, then he ordered wine and music for himself and them
and grape -syrup for the pilgrim . Hereupon all pledged each
other and the filling and passing and draining of the winecups
made a din and bustle, while the mingled music of various
1 Med . Res . Vol . I. p . 228 note.

THE SHEH - HU KHAN . 75
instruments rose loud : although the airs were the popular strains
of foreigners yet they pleased the senses and exhilarated the
mental faculties. After a little, piles of roasted beef and mutton
were served for the others, and lawful food such a cakes, milk,
candy, honey, and grapes for the pilgrim . After the entertainment
grape-syrup was again served and the Khan invited Yuan -chuang
to improve the occasion, whereupon the pilgrim expounded the
doctrines of the “ ten virtues ”, compassion for animal life, and
the Paramitas and emancipation. The Khan raising his hands
bowed and gladly believed and accepted the teaching. He
detained the pilgrim some days and wanted to keep him per
manently. "You need not go to the In-tê-ka country he urged,sea Prie is
"that land is very hot, its 10th month being as the 5th of this 4 / .
place ; judging from your appearance I fear you will not survive
a visit ; its people are contemptible being black and uncivilized ” .
But the pilgrim replied that notwithstanding all this he wanted
to seek the traces of the Buddha and learn his religious system .
Then the Khan sought out among his retainers a young man
who had spent some years in Ch'ang -an and could speak Chinese
and other languages. This young man he made Mo-to -ta -kuan
and appointed him to go with the pilgrim as far as Kapistet
entrusting him also with despatches about the pilgrim . The
Khan , moreover , gave Yuan -chuang a dark -red silk monk's suit
and fifty webs (pi E ) of soft silk, and he and his ministers
escorted the pilgrim above ten li on his way.
The “ Sheh-hu Khan ” of this passage was probably a
relative of that To-lu (mli B ) Khan of the West Turks
who died in A. D. 635. His title is written Ye -hu ( ), Witole
in other places also a me, but we are always told that
the characters are to be read Sheh -hu . This term, which
is of very frequent occurrence in historical works treating
of the Turks, is generally interpreted as meaning ta - cliên
(* E ) or “ high official”. We are told that it denoted
the highest rank of Turkish officials under the Khan , and
the person bearing this title was usually a son , brother,
or other near relative of the Khan . He was commonly
the satrap or governor of a Province, but we read also
of the Right and Left Shehhu at the Khan's court.2 There
i Ma I. l. ch . 313. 344.
? Ma I. l. ch . 347 : Tangshu ch. 217. Here it is Uigour digni
taries who style themselves " Left and Right Sheh -hu " . In the Life
76 THE VICEROY .
is much probability in the supposition that the word

represents the old Turkic Yabgu or Jabgu found in cer
tain old inscriptions, and this word also denotes a viceroy
or Governor.1
For the words " his military equipment was very grand ”
the Chinese is Jung-ma -chên -shêng ( # ) which
Julien translates_Les chevaux de ces barbares étaient
extrêmement nombreux. " This rendering seems to be
faulty and to spoil the description. Jung -ma is originally
a " war -horse ", and the term is used in this sense in
classical literature. Then it came to denote the army and
all the material equipment for a war, and it is also used
to denote “ a campaign," a " state of active warfare. " 2
As the context here shews the pilgrim found reason to
admire the army which attended the Khan and the army
included soldiers mounted on elephants and horses along
with standard-bearers and others. It seems better, accord
ingly, to translate the clause by some such words as " his
military equipment was magnificent." In the Records we
find the expression ping-ma-ch'iang-shêng (EEG ) with
a similar meaning.
As to the Khan's hair the D text makes it to have
also we have the Governor of Tokhara, a grandson of the “ Sheh -hu

Khan ” assuming the title of " Sheh -hu ” (Life ch. 5 : Julien I. p. 268 ).
The pilgrim seems to have made a distinction between the “ Sheh-hu
Khan ” or Governor of several Provinces and the “ Sheh - hu ", the
Governor of one Province under the former. This distinction , how
ever, is not strictly observed by him and it seems to be unknown
to others.
1 Thomsen's Inscriptions de l'Orkhon , ps 102, 146, 192 : Hirth's
Nachworte &c. op . c . S. 22, 45.
2 Two examples may suffice. In the 46th chapter of the Tao-tê-ching
we find the draught-horse of peace and the Jung-ma or “ war -horse "
used in an illustration of the effects of good government and of
disorder respectively. The words of this passage Jung-ma-shêng-yü
chiao (I£ F * B ), “ the war steeds are born on the wild fron
tiers," often shortened to Jung -ma -tsai-chiao are often used to denote
the existence of a state of border warfare. Then " in the midst of
war " is expressed by # Ź H.
CHAMBERLAINS AND INTERPRETERS. 77
been above ten feet long, 1 but the C text, which Julien
seems to have had , was taken by him to mean that it
was the silk band which was ten feet long. This reading,
however, is evidently wrong, the word i ( L ), as the parallel
clause shews, being an improper interpolation.
The term here rendered “ Ministers of the presence" is
ta -kuan (it'È ) for which Julien gives “officiers” and
“ officiers de haut rang,” but neither of these is so good
as his discarded rendering “ officiers introducteurs." In
a Chinese- Sanskrit Vocabulary this word is given as the
equivalent of the Sanskrit word Sammata in the sense of
"held in esteem ” or “ honoured. " It is also given as the
rendering of the Sanskrit Amantrayitā and of the Turkish
equivalent Tasrifatyi. But the word, which is also written
Ta -kan ( F ) is evidently, as has been conjectured, the
Turkish word Tarkhan or Darghan. The Ta -kuan or
Tarkhan were not necessarily officials of high degree,
but they were men whom the Khan delighted to honour,
who attended him on state occasions and introduced those
summoned or invited to his presence. They had the right
of entry to the Khan's presence, and they had also the
privilege of sitting in his presence at an audience, banquet,
or other state function. When the pilgrim is leaving, the
Khan, as we have seen, appoints a young retainer to be
Mo-to ( PI)-ta -kuan and accompany the pilgrim to Kapis.
This word Moto, which we sometimes find used as if it
were a personal name, is perhaps for the Turkish word
Mutarjinn which means " an interpreter". Sen i i .
The words here rendered “ spears and standards ” are
sho-tu ( .), but it seems to be possible that the writer
used them in the sense of " raised standard ”. The word
tu is the Turkish tūgh, a standard formed by a long pole
surmounted by a receptacle containing a yak's tail. This
1 Cf. Ogilby's Persia p . 81 .

2 De Courteille Dict . Turk . or e. p . 318 : Hirth , op . c. p . 55 :
Thomsen op. c. ps. 59, 187 : Schlegel, Die Chin. Ins. ad. d. Uigur
Denkmal, S. 9 et al.
78 TERMS FOR MUSIC .
standard was one of the insignia of relatives of the Khan

and distinguished military officers.
The author of the Life tells us, we have seen, that the
Khan had a fine bearing and presence “ although he was
a frontier ruler. ” In the original the words for " frontier
ruler ” are Kóung -lü -chih -chün ( M Ź # ) which Julien
translates—“ un prince barbare, abrité sous une tente de
feutre”, which seems to be a double translation. Kóung-lü
is a well -known literary term for Pien-ti or " border land "
as contrasted with Shên -chou or China. But it is also
used to denote "a felt tent," and then " an encampment,"
"camp-life.” 1 As Kung means “ vast” or “ ofty " and lii
means a “ hut ” or “ cottage” we may with some probability
regard the compound in the sense of a “felt tent" as a
foreign word . We find it also written Kung-li (FM )
and these two terms may perhaps represent the Turkish
word Külube which means a " tent of felt.” But in phrases
like that of our text the term should perhaps be regarded
as having the signification of " outlying," that is, “barbarous
territory."
We come next to the words here loosely rendered by
" the mingled music of various instruments. ” These are
K'in -mei -tou (or tu ) -li (1 PE SUPE) which Julien renders
“ la musique des barbares du midi et du nord, de l'orient
et de l'occident," but this is evidently not correct. We
know that the old term for the music of the north bar
barians was kin (** ), for that of the East barbarians mei
( If or of ), for that of the southern barbarians jen (11 ),
and for that of the west barbarians chu - li ( ok or * ).2
It will be seen that our passage has not the word jen,
and that its characters are not those of the rest of the
description here quoted. A glossary to the passage tells
1 Ku-shih -yuan (Hit ) ch. 6 and ch. 2 : Ch'ien Han-shu ch. 96.
Jih - chih - lu ( ) ch . 29. With the description of the Khan
given in our text we may compare Master A. Jenkinson's account
of Solyman the Great Turke in Hakluyt's Principall Voyages, &c.
p. 81 ( 1st ed .).
2 Ma T. 1. ch. 148 : Kanghsi Dict. s. v. **
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS . 79
us that kin -mei is the name of a barbarian music, and

our tu-li is the recognized transcription of the Sanskrit
word turyā meaning “ music .” This last word had been
known to the Chinese for some centuries before Yuan
chuang's time. It is possible the k‘in, mei, and tu -li of
our passage may be the k'in , mei, and chu - li of other
books and that the words are used here in a peculiar
manner. Our four characters may thus mean simply the
music of the foreign instruments” or something similar.
It will be noticed that among the “ pure food” of which
the pilgrim partakes at the Khan's banquet was a pre
paration of milk. In taking this he was not acting in
strict accordance with Mahāyānist discipline, and I -ching
states positively that milk was not a lawful article of food
to a bhikshu . 1
When the feast was over the pilgrim , at the Khan's
request, as we have seen, gave him an exposition of some
of the leading features of Buddhism . The first in the list
of subjects is the shih- shan (+ ) or " Ten Virtues” that
is, the ten excellent precepts which the Mahāyānist under
took to observe. These wer not to kill, not to steal, not
to commit impurity, not to be false in language, not to be
double-tongued , not to use bad language, not to use fine
glosing speech, not to covet, not to be angry, not to take
heretical views. 2
The narrative in the Life with which we are now concerned
gives us a very interesting picture of that strange people
called by the Chinese Töu -küe, Turks. This people had
a remarkable but short career the main incidents of which
are well known. In the 5th century of our era the Turks
were slaves in the iron mines and forges of another tribe,
the Juan -juan or Niu -yen, on the south of the Gold
mountain near the modern Barkul. They rebelled against
their masters and were successful. Their dash and prowess
soon made them a power, and they harried the surrounding
1 Nan- hai- chi- kuei, ch. 1 .

Fa- kie - zi -ti-chu - mến, ch . 1 (No. 1572) .
80 PERSIAN HUNTING CUSTOM.
regions to the borders of China. Then we find a king in

China sending an envoy to them in A. D. 545 and this is
the first appearance of the Turks in Chinese history. A
few (24) years afterwards envoys from the rulers of Persia
and the Roman Empire arrived at the seat of government
of these Turks.2 About this time also the Wei king in
China received and entertained magnificently a Turkish
ambassador with a large suite at Ch'ang -an - foo and gave
a princess to the Khan in marriage. The splitting up of
the great Turkish host occurred a few years afterwards,
about the end of the sixth century, and the term “West
Turks” began to be used from that time. The power of
the Turks grew rapidly until it extended from Liao-tung
to the West (Caspian) Sea, but within little more than
two centuries it passed away.
The account of the Khan and his doings here reminds
one of descriptions of Persian chiefs in other books, and
this Khan seems to be in some respects rather Persian
than Turkish. We see him, for example, like a satrap,
a Persian “Prefectus Provinciæ ," practising his soldiers in
hunting ; and the chase is with him apparently a military
exercise. The " Thousand Springs” was a Paradeisos with
plenty of water, thickly grown with trees and full of wild
animals . The pretty story in the Records about the deer
in this place going about free and secure, adorned with
bells and rings, shews us that the Khan did not hunt
merely for the game to be taken. But the story may be
a misinterpretation of an old Persian custom to which the
Khan adhered . Of this custom we find mention by Ogilby
in the following passage— “ In the beginning of the month
Ramadhan, which is our Lent, the king goes to Abicurong
in the mountains to take the fresh air, and to hunt, in
which sport he spends several days, attended by some
ihousands of people. At the ears of those beasts which
the king takes alive he hangs golden plates, on which are
1 Tºung-chien - bang - mu, ch. 32, P. 62.

2 Gibbon . Decline and Fall, ch . xlii.
TURKISH FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 81
engraven certain marks, and then setting them at liberty

again, often he retakes them ; nay some have been taken
who have had the marks of king Thamas, Ismail Sefi, and
other ancient princes ." 1
The Life represents the West Turks as fire -worshippers
and as abstaining from the use of wooden seats on account
of their reverence for the element of fire inherent in wood .
But here there is evidently a mistake. The Persians were
fire-worshippers, but we read of the Turks as worshipping
the blue heaven , " their ancestors, and other objects, and
as miners and blacksmiths they cannot have been fire
worshippers. But it is acknowledged that some at least
of the Turks, perhaps under Persian influence, became
worshippers of fire: and a Turkish tribe, the Karakirghiz,
although nominally Mahometan still adheres to rites of
the old worship . The Turks at the Su-she city sat cross
legged on mats or cushions because it was their custom.
Out of consideration for the Chinese guest the Khan
ordered a bench for him such as was used by Buddhist
monks . In like manner the king of Hyrcan in 1566
shewed courtesy to M ? A. Jenkinson when the latter was
presented to him . The king "kept his court at that time
in the high mountains in tents ”; he was " richly apparelled
with long garments of silke and cloth of golde imbrodered
with pearls and stone.” Mr Jenkinson proceeds— “ Thus
the king with his nobilitie sitting in his pavilion with his
legs acrosse, and perceiving that it was painefull for me
so to sit, his highnesse caused a stoole to be brought in
and did will me to sit thereupon after my fashion .” 3
1 Ogilby's Persia p. 79.
2 Schuyler's Turkistan Vol. II. p. 137.
3 Hakluyt op. c. p. 367.
F
CHAPTER IV.
CHUAN I CONTD
TARAS TO KAPIS .
The account in the Records proceeds to relate that from

Bing- ghyul or Thousand Springs the pilgrim continued his
journey westward and after going 140 or 150 li he arrived at
the city of Ta -lo-ssi . This city was eight or nine li in circuit :
here traders and Tartars (or, trading Tartars) from other coun
tries lived pell-mell : in natural products and climate the city
much resembled Su -she,
The Ta - lo -ssů of this passage is undoubtedly the Taras
or Talas of several old writers and travellers. Dr Bret
schneider, properly rejecting M. Saint-Martin's identification
of Taras, is disposed to place the site of the city near
that of the present Aulié-ata on the river Taras, and
Dr Schuyler is of the same opinion. This seems to be
correct enough for practical purposes, but the old Taras
(or Talas) was probably some miles to the south -east of
the modern town Aulié -ata . It should be added that
while the distance between Su-she and Taras in this
passage is 540 li the distance between the Sui-ye city
and Taras is given elsewhere as only 310 li.2
Our narrative proceeding tells us that above ten li to the
south of Taras was a small isolated town inhabited by above
300 Chinese. These men had originally been taken captive by
the Turks and carried off to this district: they had afterwards
1 Med. Res. Vol. I. p. 18 note and p. 228 note. See Schuyler's

Turkistan Vol. II. p . 120.
2 T'ang-Shu, ch . 43 and 221.
WHITE WATER CITY . 83
banded together and had settled in and fortified this town : they
had then changed their style of dress for that of the Turks but
they had still retained their native speech and ways of life .
In connection with these statements it will be remem
bered that while Yuan-chuang was at Su-she a Chinese
envoy arrived and had audience of the Khan. This may
have been the envoy sent by the Emperor T'ai Tsung in
A. D. 631 to obtain from the Turks the release of all their
Chinese captives. In the time of the Sui dynasty the
Turks had invaded China, penetrating far into the country
and carrying off many myriads of Chinese prisoners. It
was to ransom these that the great Emperor sent his
ambassador to the Khan in the year mentioned . The
historian tells us that the number of men, women, and
children released from captivity among the Turks on this
occasion was above 80000. Among those thus happily
restored to their homes were probably the 300 Chinese
of this little town near Taras. 1
PAI-SHUI-CHÊNG.
Proceeding on his journey and going in a south-west direc
tion for above 200 li from the little Chinese town the pilgrim
reached the Pai-shui-ch'êng or “ White water city. " This was
six or seven li in circuit, and the district excelled Taras in
fertility of soil and in climate.
As we learn from other sources this was a well-watered
region with a rich fertile soil.2 Long ago Rémusat iden
tified this “ White water city” with the “Isfidjab” or “ Es
fidjab” of Arabian writers, this name also meaning “ White
water." 3 M. St. Martin adopts this identification and it
has been generally followed . Then this “ Isfidjab ” has
been declared to be the Sairam which is now, Dr Bret
schneider tells us, " a little town in Russian Turkestan,
north -east of Tashkend and about 61/2 (but in another
1 T'ung-chien-kang-mu, ch. 39 ( T-ang-Tai Tsung's 5th year).

2 T'ang-shu ch. 221 .
3 Rech . Lang. Tart. p . 286.
F*
84 WHITE WATER CITY .
place he says 13) English miles east of Chimkend ." 1 It

is perhaps better, however, to find the representative of
the Pai-sai-ch:êng of Yuan-chuang in the modern Man
kent. This town, which is also called Ak-su or “ White
water," is about 15 miles to the north -east of Chimkend.
This last town is also regarded by some as being on or
near the site of the “ White water city.”
KUNG -YÜ.
Continuing to travel south-west our pilgrim went on from
“ White water” city for more than 200 li and arrived at the city
Kung-yü or Kung-ya ( 0), which was five or six li in circuit.
In this district the downs and marshes had a rich loamy soil
and were densely covered with forests .
Of this city no one seems to know anything and even
the name is not quite certain as instead of Kung-yü we
find in one authority Kung -ching in mij!). It is probable,
however, that this latter form is only a freak of a copyist
and that the former is the correct reading. As we find
Ch'üan-ch'êng ( h) or “City of the spring (or springs) "
given as the name of this city we are probably justified
in regarding Kung-yü as standing for the Turkic word
Kūyu which denotes a well or spring, the native name of
the city being Kūyu-shahr. It is remarkable that the
Fang- chih here does not mention the “ White water city"
and makes Kung -yii to be above 200 li to the south-west
of Taras or half the distance given by the pilgrim.
NU-CHIH-KAN.
Our pilgrim next proceeds to relate that a journey of 40 or

50 li south from Kung- yii city brought him to the country of
Nu -chih-kin or kan (here Hi !). This country was above 1000 li
in circuit and it had a soil rich and fertile, a dense vegetation
and fruits and flowers in great luxuriance : grapes were thought
much of although plentiful. There were a hundred odd cities
1 Med. Res. Vol . I. p . 74 and II. p . 94. See also Schuyler's

Turkistan I. p . 75 and 393 .
2 Ma T. 1. c . 336.
TASHKEND . 85
and towns each with its own governor : but although the towns
and their districts were mutually independent and distinct poli
tical divisions yet the collective name for all was the “ Nu- chih
kan Country."
Of a district in this region bearing the name Nu-chih
kan, perhaps pronounced like Nujikkend, little if anything
seems to be known beyond what is recorded here by our
author. M. Saint-Martin, however, writes of Nu-chih-kan
thus - " Nous retrouvons indubitalement ce lieu dans la
Noudjkeh (pour Noudjkend) mentionnée par le Mésalek
alabsar entre Taras et Khodjend , mais sans indication
précise quant à l'emplacement." 1 This Nujkend, it has
been suggested, may possibly represent the Turkic com
pound Nujababkend, meaning " the territory of the nobles”,
a restoration which seems to suit our pilgrim's description.
CHE-SHIH (TASHKEND). Pellia 55 ?

The pilgrim goes on to state that from Nu -chih -kan going
west above 200 li he came to the Che -shih country. This was
above 1000 li in circuit, reaching on the west to the She (or Ye)
river, being greater in extent from north to south than from
east to west : in natural products and climate it was like Nu
chih - kan : its cities and towns were some tens in number, each
with its own chief magistrate and without any general chief, but
all subject to the Turks .
The country here described has been long ago correctly
identified with the modern Tashkend. Our pilgrim calls
it Che- shih (# 9), as we are told to read the characters,
or Chesh . This is evidently the Che-she ( # 7) 2 of earlier
writers with its capital Che-chih ( : the latter,
D: Hirth's “ Tjadj," is also used to designate the country.3
The name is also written Che-chih ( ) and its capital
Che-che (o # ), and some western writers call the capital
" Seket .” The river of this country is here called She or
Ye ( ) short for Ye-ye or Ye-she, the Jaxartes. Another
1 Julien III . p . 276.

2 T'ung-chien-kang-mu, ch . 25 : Ma T. I. ch . 338 and 339.
3 Nachworte op. c. S. 70.
86 THE STONE TOWER.
transcription is Yao -sha (4 th ), and the river is also

known as the Sihon and the Syr- daria. On entering China,
we read in one treatise, it is called Chên-chu (lt. T * ), but
another account makes Chên - chu to be a river of Tash
kend alone. 1
A note to our text tells us that the Chinese for Chesh
kuo was Shih ( 7 )-kuo. The fact that the word Tash and
its equivalent Shih mean a stone or stone has led to some
rather fanciful writing about this country. Thus Alberuni,
who makes the philosophic remark that names of countries
" change rapidly, when, for instance, a foreign nation with
a different language occupies a country,” adds— “ Their
tongues frequently mangle the words, and thus transfer
them into their own language, as is, e . g. the custom
of the Greeks. Or they keep the original meaning of
the names and try a sort of translation , but then they
undergo certain changes. So the city of Shāsh, which
has its name from the Turkish language, where it is called
Tāsh -kand, i. e., Stone-city, is called Stone-tower in the
book γεωγραφία.” 2 The Geography here mentioned is that
by Ptolemy (about A. D. 150) who tells of a “ stone tower ”
on the road of the caravans between India and Serica :
but other writers place the tower at the starting point
of the caravans proceeding to the country of the Seres.
M. St. Martin considers that this identification of Tash
kend with Ptolemy's “ Stone tower," the Turris lapidea of
later geographers, is not " sans beaucoup de probabilité."
But serious objections have been made to this identification
and probably it is now abandoned. The Turris lapidea
as it appears in old maps is far to the south or south-east
of Tashkend, the district of Old Tashkend. Moreover,
not to mention any more objections, Tashkend, as has been
pointed out by others, is always a city or district, never
a fort or tower.3 M. St. Martin repeats the statement
1 Tang -shu, ch. 221 .

2 Vol . I. p . 298.
3 See Paquier op . c. p . 24 .
THE PROVINCE OF TUSH. 87
that Tashkend means "stone castle ," while Dr Bretschneider

says it means “stone city," 1 and gives “ stony country"
as the translation of our Chesh. But there does not
seem to be anything in the accounts of the city and district
to justify the use of the epithets " stone ” or “ stony." The
land was noted for its fertility and its grain crops made
it the granary of the country : among its products are
enumerated cotton, silk, woollen stuffs and articles of
leather. In Old Tashkend the dwelling -houses are all
made of mud , and the mosques and other stone buildings
are built of what we may call second -hand stones . The
names given to the city and district have a different ex
planation, and represent a proper name. This was the
personal name of one of the nine members of a powerful
family of the Ge-ti or Yue-chih ( 9 ) nation. The head Pinter
of the family, the eldest brother, was chief of the clan the
members of which were known by their territorial designa
tion Shao -wu ( % õť ), that being the name of their original liar
home north of the K'i-lien or Celestial Mountains. When
conquered by the Hiung-nu ( or, as some writers tell us,
by the Turks), and driven away from their native region ,
they descended to the country between the Tsung -Ling
and the river Oxus, occupying Kang -kü (Samarkand ) and
all the surrounding country. The head of the clan ruled
in Samarkand and the other chiefs had principalities round
about the metropolitan State, Shih or Chesh or Tash
being the personal name of the brother who ruled over
the district bearing this name. We even find Che- she
described as Kang-kü or as a part of that country. In
the 6th and 7th centuries also we find this district called
the An ( 5) Country, An being the name of another of
the Shao-wu brothers, but this did not supplant the other
name . Thus Shih-kuo and Tashkend denote the country
or domain of Shih or Tash.3
1 Julien III . p. 276 : Med. Res. Vol . II. pag. 55 et al.

2 Hellwald's Centralasien S. 341, 351 , 397 : Baber Intr. p . XL.
See also Schuyler's Turkistan ch. 3.
3 Tang -shu l. c.: Sui-shu, ch. 83 : Ma T. 1. 1. c. In the Sui- shu
88
BETWEEN TASHKEND AND SAMARKAND.
We now come to a part of the pilgrim's narrative which

presents some serious difficulties. He relates that
“From this (i. e. the Old Tashkend country) to the Fei-han
country south - east is above 1000 li. " This country, which was
above 4000 li in circuit, was surrounded by mountains on all
sides : it had a rich productive soil with flowers and fruits in
great quantity, and it produced sheep and horses : it was windy
and cold and the people were stout-hearted : in speech they
differed from other countries, and they were ill-featured . For
some tens of years the county had been without a sovereign ,
and the local chiefs struggled for superiority : their districts and
cities were determined by rivers (Jil ) and natural defences.
The country which Yuan -chuang here calls Fei-han has
been identified with Ferghana, corresponding in some
measure to the present Khanate of Khokand. Ferghana
became known to the Chinese in the second century B.C.
by the name Ta -yuan (t bu ) its capital being Kuei-shan
(i II), probably pronounced Kusan.1 Another old name
for the country was Kü-so ( 0) but this is perhaps
only the name of the capital slightly altered.2 In later
times we find the country called Po-han (*** ) or ( F)
and Pa -han -na ( Ili # #), and Po -lo-na (Tote #B), and in
A.D. 744 the Chinese imposed on it the designation Ning
yuan ( 2 ). The modern Chinese name is Huo-han
( EF ), in Cantonese Fok-han, which apparently represents
the word Ferghana.4 Hz , son
Now the pilgrim does not expressly state that he actually
visited Fei-han , but some readers of the Records have
understood him as describing it from personal observation,
while others regard him as writing from hearsay. There
and the Wei-shu ch . 102 the surname of the king of this country
S Shi or stone , but he does not belong to the Shao -wu clan.
1 Shih-chi , ch . 123. In this work Kangkü is placed 2000 li north
west from Ta-yuan. Ch'ien Han -shu ch. 96.
2 Ia T. 1. ch . 338.
3 T'ang- shu , ch. 221 : T'ang-chien-kang-mu ch. 20, 42, and 43.
Ta -ch'ing - i-t'ung -chih, ch . 351 : Li-ko-yen-piao, ch . 3.
FERGHANA . 89
are several circumstances in the narrative which seem to

indicate that he did not visit the country called Ferghana.
Thus he makes Fei-han to be 1000 li south -east from
Tashkend, and this is double the distance, given in the
T'ang-shu and other works, of Ferghana from Tashkend.
Then he describes his Fei -han as having mountains on all
sides, but Ferghana was free from mountains on the west
side. Moreover he represents the country as having been
for above a score of years in a state of anarchy, an active
rivalry for chieftainship going on among the various cities.
But we know from Chinese history that within a few years
of the pilgrim's visit to this region there was a king of
Ferghana, that the king was murdered by the West Turks,
and that he was succeeded on the throne by his son.
The royal family belonged to the great Shao-wu clan.
Thus we are apparently justified in regarding Yuan
chuang's account of the country as information derived
from persons living outside of the district described .
The narrative proceeds
From this (i. e. Fei-han) going west above 1000 li one comes
(or, the pilgrim came) to the Su - tu -li-se -na country. This he
describes as being 1400 li in circuit with the She ( Jaxartes)
river on its east. The She river rises in the north end of the
Tsóung-Ling and flows north-west a great muddy rapid stream.
In natural products and popular ways Su -tu -li-se-na resembled
Tashkend : there was a king but he was under the Turks.
The name of the country here transcribed Su -tu -li-se -na
( * ) was perhaps a Sanskrit word like Sutushan
meaning " happy," " easily satisfied", or Sutrishna which
means " dry," " thirsty.” It is apparently the same name
*
which is transcribed Su -tu - shil -ni (tip B1 ) Su -tui
sha -na, and Soh -tu - sha -na . Another name for the district
was Ka-pu- tan -na ( 4h 1 PO B ), and it was called by the
Chinese the “ Tung Ts'ao ( l ) Country," Ts'ao being
one of the Shao-wu brothers. This is evidently the " Se
1 T'ang-shu l . c.: Ma T. 1. I. c.
2 T'ang-shu, l. c .: Ma T. 1. 1. c.
90 THE THIRSTY COUNTRY.
troushteh " of Ibn Haukal who says the country has no

navigable river but has " running streams and fountains
and meadows and groves” with mines of gold, silver, cop
peras, and sal-ammoniac. “ It is a mountainous region,
bounded on the east by part of Ferghana ; on the west
by the borders of Samarkand : on the north by Chaje
(i. e . Tashkend ); on the south it lies near Kish ." 1 M.
St. Martin identifies the district with the Osrushna or
Satrushna of Musulman writers, the modern Uratupe or
Uratépé, the Ura - Tube of our maps. The identification
is evidently practically correct, and the distance and
direction of Ura-Tube agree with the pilgrim's account.
But the Life, which does not mention Fei-han , makes
Yuan-chuang go from Tashkend direct to Sutrishan which
it places 1000 li west from Tashkend . Here there is
evidently a mistake due apparently to the accidental
omission of Fei-han . In some Chinese works Sutrishan
is placed 500 li, 3 and in some 400 li4 to the west of
Ferghana and adjacent to Tashkend on the north.
The narrative in the Records proceeds
North-west from the Sutrishan country you enter a great desert
destitute of water and vegetation, a vast blank where only by
following the mountains and observing the skeletons can the
course be directed. Going above 500 li you reach the Sa -mei
kan country.
The Life agrees with this account in representing the
pilgrim as going north -west from Sutrishan 500 li through
a great sandy desert to the Sa -mei(or mo)-kan country.
This is, as has been shown long ago, the Samarkand of
history. Now it is quite true that there is a great sandy
desert to the north -west of the Ura - Tube country, but one
could not reach Samarkand going north-west from that
country. M. St. Martin does not help us here for he
carelessly makes the pilgrim put Samarkand to the south
1 Oriental Geography (tr. Ouseley) ps. 261 , 263.

2 Julien III. p. 278.
3 TỶung- chih-liao 1. c.
4 T'ang-shu, l. c.
TASHKEND TO SAMARKAND . 91
of Sutrishan or Ura-Tube. His words on this subject

are- "D'Auratépé ou Asrouchna à Samarkand la distance
est d'environs 45 lieues au sud-sudouest : Hiouen-thsang
marque 500 (37 lieues) de Sou -tou -li-se-na à Sa -mo-kien
!
en marchant au sud ." i In a note to the passage with
which we are now engaged Julien apparently makes a
mistake in stating that M. St. Martin would substitute
south -west for the north -west of the text. Bretschneider
quotes this note and declares the change to be unnecessary.
He, however, gets over the difficulty of the text by cutting
out the important but puzzling words "going above 500 li
you come to the Sa -mei -kan country .” A traveller proceed
ing to Samarkand from Ura -Tube would perhaps go north
west as far as Jizak and then turn south -west, performing
a journey of about 120 miles. The fact that Yuan -chuang
does not seem to have known of the springs of bad brackish
water in the northern part of the desert he describes
might lead one to think that if he made the journey
between the two places he skirted the southern side of
the desert. This inference would be strengthened by the
mention of mountains and of course by the direction
mentioned, viz. north -west.
But taking all circumstances into consideration we must
rather decide to regard the whole passage beginning
with- “ From this above 1000 li to Feihan," and ending
with “ going above 500 li you come to Sa-mei-kan" to be
an account obtained from others, and not the result of a
personal visit. We should, accordingly, perhaps regard
the pilgrim as going direct from Tashkend to Samarkand .
From this point of view our text must be regarded here
as defective, and the last clause of our passage should
read— From Tashkend going above 500 li south-west he
came to the Sa -mei -kan country . The distance seems to
be too short, but we find that it agrees with accounts
given in other Chinese works.2

2 e. g. in the T'ang -shu l. c.
92
SAMARKAND .
The country at which Yuan - chuang now arrived is

called by him Sa-mo (or mei)-kin (or kan) ( #k 30 ), a
name which has been taken to represent " Samarkand .”
We may, however, regard the region indicated by the
term “ Samokan country' to be identical with the Samar
ile kand district without holding that the two names are
identical. According to popular accounts the name Samar
kand was derived from an Arabian hero and was not
given to the city in this district until about A.D. 643.
In Chinese literature this name does not appear until the
time of the Mongols. It was introduced by them and it
was explained as an Arabian word meaning fan-hua ( W )
that is, bustling, full of life, thronged .?
A note to our text tells us that the Samokan country
was called in Chinese K'ang-kuo (l ) which is the
Kang and K'ang -kü Kuo of the Han and other histories.
This K'ang -kü territory had been at one time a large region
embracing the districts since known as Ferghana, Kohistan,
Tashkend, Samarkand, and other States. But it had
become split up among several members of the Shao -wu
clan, and in the beginning of the seventh century A. D.
the K'ang country was, roughly speaking, that region
bounded on the north by the Chash (or Tash) kingdom,
on the east by Kohistan , on the south by Kesh , and on
the west by Bokhara.
Up to Yuan-chuang's time Kang seems to have been
the only name by which this country was known to the
Chinese generally. Other names had been introduced into
1 See the Ching- ting -yuan- shih- yü -chie (Ik É TC #1) ch. 4, but
see also ch . 6.
2 It was originally, however, a small state kept in restraint by
the Yue -chih (Getz ) on the south and by the Hiung-nu on the east,
and its inhabitants were nomads . See Shih -chi, ch . 123. Kangkü
was one of Asoka's outlying Provinces which he proposed to hand
over to Kunāla .
VARIOUS FORMS OF THE NAME . 93
literature but they could not be said to have been gene

rally adopted. One of these new names was Samokan
(BE * $4 ) the same with that used by Yuan -chuang, and
another was Si-wan (or man )-kin ( 7 ), neither of
which seems to be explained.1 After Yuan -chuang's time
we find other names such as Sin -ssi -kan ( F ), and
Sie-mi-ssă-kan ( ik F), and these are said to stand
for the Turkish Semez-kand meaning “ Fat land .” ? Siman
is another form of the word for fat and the Simankin
mentioned above may also mean Fat-Land. But Sie -mi
ssū-kan is also interpreted as meaning Sun - Land from
Sams one of the names for the Sun in Arabic. This last
term is also given by some writers as a designation for
Tashkend rather than for Samarkand. The interpretation
already mentioned as given for the name Samarkand ap
parently takes the Sanskrit form Samara -kanda as the
correct one. The word Samara means a concourse, a
flocking together, and Yuan -chuang's Samokan may be for
another Sanskrit word with a similar meaning viz. Samā
gama.
An old name for the capital of this country is Su -hie
( I ), that is, Su -hak or Sugat, supposed by some to be
for the Sogd of old writers. It is at least doubtful,
however, whether this was the city which afterwards became
known as Samarkand. In other Chinese writers Suhak
was only one of the royal cities of this country. With
these the capital has other names such as Aluti ( Ims tik id )
and Pi-tan ( 9 m ) in the Ravani land ( L ).5
Our author describes the country of Samarkand as being
1600 or 1700 li in circuit, greater in extent from east to west
1 Tang -shub, ch. 221 : Tung -chien- bang- mu c . 39 ( Tang Tai

Tsung 5th y.) where the commentator gives Si-fang (tj)-kin as the
name for Si-wan -kin .
2 See Med. Res. Vol . I. p. 76 note, p. 77, 131 and Vol. II. p . 58,
256. See also Schuyler's Turkistan Vol. I. p. 236 .
3 Ch'in -Shu , ch . 97 : Sui-shu, ch. 83. Hirth, Nachworte op . c. S. 85 .
Su -hie is also given as a city of the Tashkend country.
4 Mĩa T. 1. ch . 338 .
5 Chien Han-Shu ch. 96 : Tung-chien-lang - mu, ch. 4.
94 COUNTRY OF CHEKA .
than from north to south. Its capital was above 20 li in circuit,

exceedingly strong and with a large population. The country
was a great commercial entrepôt, was very fertile, abounding
in trees and flowers, and yielding many fine horses. Its in
habitants were skillful craftsmen, smart and energetic. All the
Hu (1 )) States regarded this country as their centre and made
its social institutions their model. The king was a man of spirit
and courage and was obeyed by the neighbouring states. He
had a splendid army the most of his soldiers being Chei -kie
(Chak or Tak * % ) men. These were men of ardent valour,
who looked on death as a going back to their kindred, and
against whom no foe could stand in combat.
The term Che-ka of this passage is evidently a foreign
word and it is interpreted in other books as meaning
Chan -shi ( in E ), “ soldier” or “ warrior." 1 But another
supposition is that it stands for Chalak, the name of a
town to the north-west of the city of Samarkand. The
district in which Chalak lay was at this time famed for
its tall strong men who were much sought after as soldiers.
The characters read Che-ka, however, seem rather to stand
4699 for a word like Takka, the name of a country.
The Life represents the people of Samokan as being
Fire -worshippers. Other accounts describe them as being
Buddhists in the sixth and seventh centuries although
they worshipped also the gods of other religions and their
own ancestors. They probably were not all Fire-worshippers,
but they were evidently haters and persecutors of Buddhism
at the time of Yuan -chuang's visit. There were two mo
nasteries in the capital and when the young Brethren of
Yuan-chuang's party went to perform their religious ser
vices in one of these the people drove them out and burned
the monastery. The king, however, punished the evil-doers
and heard the pilgrim expound Buddhism and extol Buddha,
and even allowed him to hold a religious public service
for the ordination of Brethren to serve in the monasteries.
This king was the head of the Shao-wu clan and the
name of the particular branch to which he belonged was
1 T'ang -Shu, l. c. Here the word is written f7 .

NORTH -WEST FOR NORTH - EAST. 95
Wên ( L ). The Western Turks had at this time gained

the ascendancy in these regions and had become all
powerful. Policy and ambition made this king wed a
daughter of the Turkish royal family and the result was
that the Samokan (K'ang) country became a vassal to the
West Turks. In the year A.D. 631 the king sent an
embassy to China praying to be received as a vassal, but
the Chinese Emperor for wise and patriotic reasons de
clined to accede to the request.2
The words here rendered “ looked on death as going
back to their kindred ” are Shih -szi -ju -kuei Tz E kp fii ).
The expression means that the Che-ka men regarded death
as a natural event, as a return to the state from which
they had come. It is a literary phrase and is sometimes
varied by the addition of chung (*), “ the end."
Before continuing the narrative of his journey towards
India our pilgrim proceeds to give short accounts of
several countries in the region around Samokan and con
nected with that country. His information about these
districts was probably obtained from living authorities
during his stay at the capital of Samokan (or Samarkand ).
Commencing with the first country in a southerly direction
he tells us that
“South-east from Samarkand you go to the Mi-mo-ha (GUT #KIT)
country. " This country, which was situated in the mountains,
was 400 or 500 li in circuit, long from north to south and narrow
from east to west. In the products of the land and the ways
of the people it resembled Samokan .
The Life does not mention this place and Yuan-chuang,
it will be seen, does not tell us how far it was from
Samokan. In other Chinese books its situation is described
as being 100 li to the south or south- east of Samarkand,
500 li from Ura-Tube on the north-west (a mistake for
north - east) and 200 li from Kesh on the south -west, or
according to one authority 400 li from Kesh on the south.3
1 Wei-Shu, ch . 102 .
? Tung-chien- bang - mu, ch. 39 : Tºang Shu 1. c.
3 T'ang-shu, l. c.: T'ung-chih-liao, l. c.: Ma T. 1. 1. c.
96 FOUR KINGDOMS OF TSAO .
A note to our text tells us that the Chinese pame for

Mimoho was Mi( K )-kuo, Mi's country, Mi being another
scion of the Shao -wu clan. Its foreign name also is given
elsewhere as Mi-mo ( #) and it probably was some
thing like Maimak or Memagh. From other sources we
learn that the capital, the name of which was Po- si-tê
(F# B feli), was about two li in circuit and was on the
west side of the Na-mi ( FJB :) River. This country which
was formerly a part of the great K‘ang kingdom fell into
the hands of the West Turks while Yuan - chuang was on
his pilgrimage . 1
M. Saint-Martin identifies Mimoho with Moughian or
Maghin, " à 38 lieues de Samarkand vers l'est en inclinant
au sud .” . This town, the Maghian of our maps, is much
too far from Samarkand if we accept the statement that
Mimo was 100 li or about twenty miles from that place.
Maghian is about sixty miles south -east from the site of
old Samarkand which was a little to the north and north
west of the present city.
The narrative in the Records continues
From this [going] north you arrive at the Kie ( Ki or Ka)-pu
tan-na (th H DU #B) country.
A note to the text tells us that the Chinese name for
this country was Ts'ao( ili -kuo, kingdom of Ts'ao, who was
another brother of the Shao -wu family. This information ,
however, is unsatisfactory as there were at this time in
this region four Ts'ao kingdoms, known as East, Middle,
West Ts'ao and Ts'ao simply. Of these the first cor
responded to the Sutrishan or Ura - Tube district, which,
as has been seen, was also called Kaputana. The Ts'ao
of the note was apparently understood to include the
Middle and West Ts'ao.
When the narrative states that " north from this ” you
go to Kaputana the word this is apparently to be taken
as meaning Samokan . In the Fang-chih the direction is
1 Tung - chien- lang - mu ch. 40 (Tºang Tai Tsung, 16th y.)

KUSANNIK . 97
given as North-west and this is perhaps right. M. Saint

Martin takes the words " from this” to refer to Mi-mo or
Maghian, and supposes the Kaputana country to be a city
“ Kebond " about the situation of which nothing is known.'
But it is better to understand our author as taking Sa
markand as the point of departure ; and the Kaputana
country is then probably represented by the present Mitan
and the surrounding district. The Tsao country, we are
told, was to the north -west of Kang-kü and Middle Tsao
to its north . Mitan is about thirty miles north-west from
the modern Samarkand and in the district which includes
Chalak once famous for its good soldiers.
Our author continues his account
Going west from this country for above 300 li you come to the
Ku-shuang -ni-ka or Ku-san-ni-ka ( h ) country .
In other treatises we find this name written Kuei-sang
ni HE
( ) read Kusannik.2 The Chinese name, we are
told in a note to our text was Ho ( 1o )-kuo, the kingdom
of Ho, another scion of the Shao -wu clan. The great
Buddhist monk named Sangha , who came to China in
A.D. 660 , declared himself to be a native of this country ,
and claimed to be a member of the Ho family.3
M. Saint Martin supposes the Kusannik of our author
to be the " Koschanieh or Kochania " halfway between
Samarkand and Bokhara. The Life, which has omitted
all mention of Mimoha and Kaputana makes Kusannik to
be above 300 li west from Samokan. This, I think, is
also the meaning of the passage in our text ; and about
60 miles west of Samokan, or north -west from Samarkand,
would bring us to the neighbourhood of the modern Panj
shamba district.
Our text proceeds
From this country, that is apparently, Kusannik it is above
200 li to the Hoh-han (15 ) country.
1 Julien III. p . 281 .

2 Ma T. 1. ch. 338 : Tang -shu, ch. 221.
3 Sung- -seng-chuan, chi 18.
G
98 ROUND SAMARKAND .
The note to the text tells us that the Chinese name

for this country was Tung- An ( i )-kuo or “ East-An
kingdom .” An, as we have seen, was the name of one
of the Shao -wu brothers, and this chief evidently had a
large principality. Hoh-han was only a part and was
called the " Small country .” It was south of the Na-mi
river, and its capital had the same name also written
Hoh -han (p ) and probably pronounced like Khakan
swor Khagan. M. Saint-Martin identifies this district with
that of the modern Kermineh or Kerminah, and he is
probably nearly correct.
West from Hoh - han 400 li was the Pu -hoh ( ili Pe country.
This country which, a note to our text tells us, was
called by the Chinese the " Middle An kingdom ," is placed
by the Tang -Shu 100 li to the south-west of Hoh-han.
It is the country which is called Niu -mi ( LIL ) in some
books, and it is also called the An and the Great An
kingdom. For the Pu-hoh of our text we find Pu -huoh
( hi ) and these two probably represent an original like
Bökh or Bokhar.2 M. Saint-Martin and D: Bretschneider
identify the country with the modern Bokhara, 3 and they
are doubtless right : but the Bokh of our pilgrim was ap
parently to the north of the present city and district of
Bokhara.
Our author continues
From this country (i. e. Būkh) west above 400 li is the Fah- ti
( fk ft) country. Y
This is the reading of the A, B, and D texts, but in
stead of Fa -ti the C text has Sufi )-ti in on place and
Wu (or Mu fi -ti in another. Then the Life, which also
reads Fah -ti, reduces the distance from Bokh from 400
to 100 li. The usual note to the text tells us that the
Chinese name for the country was " Hsi-an-kuo" or " West
An kingdom .” In the T'ang - Shu we find the above Wu
1 Ma T. 1. 1. c.: Tang -Shu, 1. c.

2 Ma T. 1. 1. c.: T'ang -Shu , l . c .
3 Julien III. p. 282 ; Med. Res. Vol. II. p . 62.
Sun China
VALLEY OF THE OXUS . 99
(or Nu )-ti given as the name of one of the nine Shao-wu

chiefs; and it also mentions a Su-ti district in this region.'
Taking Fah -ti as the reading we may regard this trans
cription as possibly representing a name like Paptei. St.
Martin finds the modern representative of Fah -ti in Bētik,
"lieu situé sur la droite de l'Oxus, à une trentaine de
lieues au sud-ouest de Boukhara .” But we should probably
regard the Fa -ti of our text as having had a situation in
the neighbourhood of the present Darganata district on
the west side of the Oxus. This Fa-ti (or Su -ti) is per- ?
haps the principality designated Niao-na -ga or Wu-na -ga
(6 or & which was to the west of the Oxus about
400 li South -west from the An country.2
The narrative proceeds
From this, that is, Fah- ti it is over 500 li south-west to the
Huo-li-si-mi-ka ( 1 5 ri) country. This lay along the
banks of the Oxus being 20 or 30 li east to west and above
500 li north to south .
M. Saint Martin substitutes north -west for the south-west
of this passage, and he is doubtless right.3 All the texts,
however, have south-west and the Life has west, but the
Tang - Shu places this country 600 li to the north -west of
Su -ti (Fa-ti). In the B, C, and D texts there is a Chinese
note to the text which contains only the words for " in
Chinese," but A supplies the name which had dropped
out. This is Huo-sin ( k )-kuo, this kingdom of Huo-sin
(or sün), one of the princes of the Shao -wu family. The
country here called Huo -li- si -mi-ka or Khorismika (?) has
been identified with the modern Khanate of Khiva cor
responding to the Kharesm or Khorazm of ancient authors. 4
In the Tang- Shu Huo- li-si-mi and Kuo-li ( & # ) are
given as synonyms for Huo-sin, and the country is described
as being south of the Oxus and as having bullock -waggons
1 T'ang- Shu I. c.
2 Ma T. 1. I. c.: Tíung- chih -liao, l. c. In the Sui-Shu l. c. Wu
na-ka (or-ga) is one of the Shao-wu princes .
3 Julien III . p. 283.
4 Med . Res . II . p. 91 .
G *
100 KASANNA .
which were used by travelling merchants. In some of

the lists of the Shao-wu princes the name Huo-sin does
not occur.
KASANNA .
The pilgrim now resumes the narrative of his journey.
He relates that
from the Samokan country he went south-west above 300 li to
ist hun ༢༠༡ the Ka-shuang-na or Kasanna ( #PS) country . This was
Aurile 1400 or 1500 li in circuit and it resembled Samarkand in its
natural products and the ways and customs of the people.
All texts and the Fang-chih seem to agree in the read
ing "from Samokan," but the Life makes the pilgrim
proceed from Kharesm. This, however, is undoubtedly
wrong and quite impossible. In the Chinese note to our
text we are told that the Chinese name for this country
was Shih( ) -kuo, the kingdom of Shih, another of the
nine Shao -wu chiefs. From other sources we learn that
the country was called also Kra -sha (1 £ ;) and K'ê - shih
( 71 ) 2 which are perhaps only different forms of a name
like Kesh. This is perpetuated in the modern name of
the district, Kesh, derived directly perhaps from the name
of the city Ki-shih ( ) which was built in the 7th cen
tury. The capital, corresponding to the present Shahr- i
sebs or Shehr, lay about ten li south of the Tu -mo (1 )
River. This is probably the present Kashka -daria " on
which the city is founded .” Kesh was formerly a depen
dency of Kangkü which lay 240 li to the north of it.
THE IRON PASS.
Our pilgrim's narrative proceeds

From Kesh he proceeded south-west above 200 li and entered
a range of mountains. Here his path was a narrow risky track ;
there were no inhabitants and little grass or water. Travelling
1 T'ang- Shu , 1. c.
2 T'ang-Shu, l. c .
3 Med. Res. Vol. II, p. 273 .
THE IRON GATE . 101
among the hills in a south- east direction for above 300 li he

entered the Iron Pass (lit. Iron Gate). Along this Iron Pass on
either side is a very high precipitous mountain. Although there
is a narrow path in it this is still more inaccessible. The rocks
which rise up on both sides are of an iron colour; when the
gates were set up they were also strengthened with iron, and
numerous small iron bells were suspended on them. The name
it bears was given to the Pass on account of its impregnable
nature .
Yuan-chuang apparently went from Kesh to the neigh

bourhood of the place now called Ghuzar Fort, and then
turning south -east followed the Ghuzar river until he
reached the Iron Pass. But the Life does not make any
mention of the change of direction from south -west to
south-east. The words for " Although there is a narrow
path ” are in all my texts Sui-yu -hsia -ching (1 * 11 ),
but Julien's text seems to have had instead of sui the
word li ( ). So his translation of the clause which seems
to give better sense is— " Elles ( i. e. the " deux montagnes
parallèles”) ne sont séparées que par un sentier qui est
fort étroit, et, en outre, hérissé de précipices.” But one
does not see how there could be “ précipices," and sui is
the correct reading.
In D. Bretschneider's learned treatise, to which reference
is so often made in these pages, the reader will find much
information about the Iron Pass (or Gate). It is the
Buzgola-Khana or Goat-house of the Hindus and it is
known by other names . According to some its width
varies from 40 to 60 feet and it is about two miles in
length : a stream flows through it and it contains a village.
The Life represents the actual gate as being made of the
raw iron of the mountains plated with iron and furnished
with iron bells, and hence, according to it, came the name
of the pass or rather Gate. But the pilgrim used mên
in the sense of Pass or Passage and he understood this
1 Op. c. I. p. 82 and II. p. 274. See also Reclus, Geog. T. VI.

p . 502 . Rémusat, No Mel. As. T. 1. p. 238 ; Sui-Shu ch. 83 ;
T'ang - Shu l. c.; Hirth's Nachworte op. c. p. 84 ff.
102 BUZGHALA KHĀNA.
to have the epithet Iron because it was strong and im

pregnable. Later travellers relate that the Pass was
guarded by a barrier (or barriers) of the iron -stone of
the place clamped or faced with iron. But no one after
Yuan-chuang's time seems to have seen an actual gate
hung with bells, and we read only of a tradition that there
had once been a great gate. This Pass once checked the
Tu-kue or Turks in their western advances, and kept them
and Tokharans apart ; and it became famous in the time
of the Mongol conquests. In Chinese works of the T'ang
and later periods it is often called the Tie -mên -kuan or
“ Pass of the Iron Gate." It is thus described by a recent
writer— “ The famous ravine of the Iron Gate winds through
a high mountain chain , about twelve versts to the west of
Derbent. It is a narrow cleft, 5 to 36 paces wide and
about two versts long. It is known now as Buzghala
Khána (i.e. the house of Goats ). Its eastern termination
is 3540 feet above the sea ; its western termination 3740 feet.
A torrent, Buzghala Khána bulák flows, through it." 1
TU -HUO -LO (TOKHARA).

Our narrative proceeds to describe that
going out of the Iron Pass you reach the Tu -huo -lo country.
This was above 1000 li north to south and 3000 li east to west ;
it reached on the east to the Tsóung-Ling, on the west to Persia,
on the south to the Great Snow Mountains ( the Hindu-Kush)
and on the north to the Iron Pass ; the river Oxus flowed
through the middle of it from east to west ; for several cen
turies the succession to the sovereignty had been interrupted
and the country was divided into 27 States with separate chiefs
and all subject to the Turks, “ When the climate becomes warm
there is much sickness, and at the end of winter and beginning
of spring there is constant rain (in C. “ a succession of hoarfrost
and rain " ) ; hence in all the countries south of this to Lan - p'o
much heat- sickness is a natural characteristic ; hence the Buddhist
Brethren go into Retreat of the Rainy season on the 16th day
of the 12th month and go out on the 17th day of the 3rd month ;
this is because there is much rain then, thus making their
i Tarikh - i -Rashid by Elias and Ross p . 20.

TOKHĀRA . 103
religious precepts conform to the seasons." The people were

pusillanimous and ill-favoured, but they were in a manner
reliable and were not given to deceitful ways. They had a
peculiar spoken language and an alphabet of 25 letters, their
writing was horizontal from left to right, and their records had
gradually increased until they exceeded those of Su -li in number.
They had for clothing more calico (tieh) than serge ; their cur
rency consisted of gold, silver, and other coins which were
different from those of other countries.
The Tu -huo- lo (RU 14 H ) of this passage is undoubtedly
the Tokhara of old western geographers. In the Chinese
note to the text we are told that an old and incorrect
name was Tiu -huo-lo ( n£ * !), which is the transcription
used in the Sui-Shu. There are also other transcriptions
of the name such as the T'u -nu -lo (NE PFL) of early
writers, but the differences are not important. In certain
Chinese translations of Buddhist treatises the name is
given Tu -ka -lê (ou 18 (or !:) W) or Tukhar. The Sanskrit
name is Tukhāra another form of which is Tushāra. This
word has the meanings of frost, snow , and mist or vapour.
The extent and boundaries of the country named
Tokhara found in other works differ considerably from
those given by our pilgrim.2 It was supposed to cor
respond partly to the great Ta -Hsia of early Chinese
records, 3 and portions of the present Bokhara and Ba
dakshan seem to have been once included under this name.
Saint Martin and Yule 4 are positive in asserting that
Yuan -chuang's Tokhara was the country of the Yetha,
but this is against Chinese authority. In the Wei- Shu
and Sui-Shu, for example, we have distinct accounts of
Tokhara and of the Yetha, and the people of the former
are referred to the Small Yue-ti, while the Yetha are
said to have been of the original Yue-ti stock . The Yetha
1 Ta- chih -tu -lun, ch. 25 (No. 1169) ; Vibhāsha -lun, ch. 9 (No. 1279
tr. A.D. 383).
2 Ma T. 1. ch. 339.
3 Tºang- Shu, c. 221 ; Tºung -chien - bang- mu, ch. 40 (Tang Tai
Tsung 16th year).
+ Julien III. p . 285 ; J. R. A. S. Vol. VI. p . 94.
104 SPRING SICKNESS .
and Tokharians lived together ; but the former were nomads,

while the latter were dwellers in towns.
The part of the passage within inverted commas reads
in Julien's version thus-" La température étant con
stamment tiède, les épidémies y sont très fréquentes. A
la fin de l'hiver et au commencement du printemps, il
tombe des pluies continuelles. C'est pourquoi au sud de
ce pays, et au nord de Lan -po, il règne beaucoup d'épi
démies. De là vient que tous les religieux entrent dans
les demeures fixes le seizième jour du douzième mois, et
en sortent le quinzième jour du troisième. Cet usage est
fondé sur l'abondance des pluies. Les instructions qu'on
leur donne sont subordonnées aux saisons." 1 Now the text
does not seem to assert that the temperature of this large
region was constamment tiède, and that consequently epi
demics were frequent. Such a statement, moreover, would
be at variance with other passages in this chuan such as
the descriptions of Kie-chih and Bamian. It is true,
however, that Ma Tuan-lin, on the authority of others,
represents the Tokhara country as having a hot climate ;
but that was evidently only in the summer, for the in
habitants were able to store ice for use during the hot
weather. What our author apparently wanted his readers
to understand was that the climate became warm or mild
in early spring when the rainy season began : this change
in the temperature produced much illness which was called
" Heat (or Spring) sickness .” In all my texts the reading
here is wên - chi ( ! ), but Julien's text may have had
wên ( i )-chi, and this is rightly translated in his note
“ maladies épidémiques.” Because the early spring was
the rainy season of these countries the Buddhist Brethren
in them made that their time of Retreat from the Rain .
The text of the passage is- 氣序既温疾疫 (in B 吐)

張冬末春初霖 (in C 霜 ) 雨相繼故此境己有濫波
己其國風土並多温疾而諸僧徒以十二月十
六日入安居三月十五日解安居斯乃據其多雨
亦是設女隨時也
BADAKSHAN . 105
In India the rainy season was in the summer, and this

was the time of year in which Retreat was to be observed
according to the Vinaya. By changing the time of Retreat
these Brethren departed from the letter but conformed to
the spirit of their regulations.
For a long time the name Tokhara seems to have
practically gone out of use, and the country which once
bore the name is now to some degree represented by
_Badakshan . Even in our pilgrim's time it was properly
not the name of a country but of a great tribe or people
occupying a certain large territory.
Proceeding with his description of the region the pilgrim
tells us that
following the course of the Oxus down northwards you come
to Ta -mi ( Termed or Termez). This country was above 600 li
long ( from east to west) and 400 li broad (from north to south),
and its capital was above 20 li in circuit longer than broad.
There were above ten monasteries with more than 1000 Brethren :
its topes and images of Buddha were very remarkable and ex
hibited miracles.
To the east of Ta -mi was the Chih -ga -yen -na country, above
400 li long by 500 li wide, its capital being above ten li in
circuit . It had five monasteries but the Buddhist Brethren were
very few .
To the east of it was the Hu -lu -mo country, above 100 li
long and 300 broad with a capital above ten li in circuit. Its
king was a Hi- su Turk : it had two monasteries and above
100 Buddhist Brethren .
To the east of it was Su -man which was above 400 li long Shuman
by 100 li broad, its capital being 16 or 17 li in circuit ; its king
was a Hi-su Turk ; there were two monasteries and very few
Buddhist Brethren .
To the south -west and on the Oxus was Ku-ho-yen-na. This time and ,
country was above 200 li long and 300 li wide, its capital being
above ten li in circuit. It had three monasteries and above
100 Buddhist Brethren .
To the east was Huo -sha, a country above 300 li long by
500 li wide, its capital being 16 or 17 in circuit.
On its east was the Ko- tu -lo country above 1000 li long and
i See Med. Res . Vol. II. p . 99.
2 For the various States here mentioned and briefly described by
the pilgrim see Yule in J. R. A. S. Vol. VI. Art. V.
line kam 276
‫گئی‬
106 ALONG THE OXUS.
the same in width, its capital being 20 li in circuit. It reached

on the east to the Ku-mi- tê country in the Ts'ung-Ling.
The Ku -mi-tê country was above 2000 li long and 200 li
wide ; it was in the Tsóung-Ling mountains ; its capital was above
20 li in circuit : on the south-east it was near the Oxus and on
the south it adjoined the Shih -k'i- ni country.
I To the south across the Oxus were the countries called Ta
mo-si -tie-ti, Po -to-chuang-na, Yin -po -kan, Ku - lang -na, Hi-mo
ta -la, Po- li-ho, Ki-li-si-mo, Ko- lo -hu , A - li-ni, Mêng-kan. South
east from the Huo (Kunduz) country were the K'uo-si-to, and
An -ta -lo - fo countries, the circumstances about these being related
in the account of the return journey.1 South-west from Huo
was the Fo-ka -lang country which was above 50 li long and
200 li broad, its capital being above ten li in circuit. South of
it was the Ki-lu -si-min -kan country which was above 1000 li in
circuit, its capital being 14 or 15 li in circuit. To the north
west of it was the Hu -lin country which was 800 li in circuit
with its capital five or six in circuit. It had above ten monasteries
with more than 500 Buddhist Brethren.
In the Life we are merely told that the pilgrim travelled
some hundreds of li from Tokhara, crossed the Oxus and
came to the Huo country (Kunduz ). This was the resi
dence of Ta-tu ( All ) the Shê ( in ) or General in com
mand, the eldest son of the She-hu Khan and a brother
in - law of the king of Kao-chang. This king had given
1 See Chuan XII : ch . XVIII.
2 The whole of this paragraph is taken from the Life, ch. II. Julien
I. p. 62 f. In this passage the word Ta -tu is apparently treated as a
personal name but it was rather a generic name qualifying a title.
It is found with a slight variation of transcription prefixed as here
to She, and also to Khan. We must regard it as a foreign word,
but we may hesitate to accept its identification with Tardush or
Tardu. This latter term is generally used to designate a Turkish
tribe or horde, but it also occurs in an inscription as the name of
a Kirghiz envoy. The Ta-tu of our passage cannot be regarded as
having a tribal significance, and here as in other places it seems to
qualify the title to which it is prefixed . See T'ung -chien -kang-mu,
ch. 40 (T-ang T'ai Tsung 15th y .); Thomsen's Inscriptions de l'Orkhon
pø. 63, 114, 146 ; Hirth Nachworte S. 130 f.
The Shê of this passage is of frequent occurrence in Chinese
history treating of the Turks. It is explained as meaning soldier or
General, but the title is always applied to a very high military
officer usually a near relative of the Khan . This She is regarded
i. Kur | | -- " gesonderer
เร
FORCED CONTRIBUTIONS. 107
a letter of introduction, but when Yuan -chuang arrived

the Kao -ch'ang princess was dead and the General was
ill, and hearing of the pilgrim's arrival with a letter he
with his male and female retinue made uncontrollable
lamentation. He invited the pilgrim to rest for a time,
promising that if he recovered he would accompany the
pilgrim to India . The General recovered by the help of
the exorcisms of an Indian Buddhist monk, but he was
poisoned by a young queen at the instigation of a step
son. Then this stepson Tek'in, the son by the Kao -ch'ang
princess being a child, usurped the position of General
and married his step -mother (the young wife whom he had
induced to murder her husband and his father) . On account
of the funeral services for the General the pilgrim was
detained here more than a month . In this time he made
the acquaintance of a great Buddhist monk named Dhar
masangha who had a very high reputation as a profound
scholar in Buddhism . But Yuan -chuang found him to be
only superficially acquainted with the Hīnayānist books,
and he knew nothing of Mahāyānism . When the pilgrim
was ready to continue his journey he asked the new
General for escort and post accommodation 2 on the way
southwards towards India . The General strongly recom
as a transcription of an old Turkish word Shad . Thomsen, Inscriptions,

p. 146 ; Hirth, Nachworte S. 45 .
1 According to the text the Shê or Military governor after his
marriage with the Kaochang princess had taken a new Khatun or
queen. This young concubine urged on by the son of a senior queen
poisoned her lord, and thereupon the young prince took his father's
place to the concubine and people. He is here called Tê-kin (4! )
as if this were his personal name. But Tê-kin is said to be for the
Turkish word Tagin (or Tegin) meaning Prince, and it is of frequent
occurrence as a high title. See Schlegel's Stéle funeraire p. 6 ;
Thomsen's Inscriptions p . 73.
2 For “post accommodation ” here the original is Wu -lo ( * ).
This is a word common to the Mongols and Turks and is known as
ula or ulak. It denotes the contributions of service imposed on
subjects by government, and includes the supply of men and horses
and accommodation for officials when travelling on duty.
108 SUCCESSION OF SCHOLARS .
mended him to visit the Fo-ho-lo country, which belonged

to his horde, and had interesting sacred sites. This advice
was urged also by certain Brethren from that country
who had come to Huo in connection with the change of
administration, and Yuan- chuang acted on the advice, and
joined these Brethren on their return.
Most of the countries here described as lying between
the Iron Pass and Bamian are mentioned again in the
account of the return journey, and it is not necessary to
refer to them further at present.
FO-HO ( BALKH).
The narrative in the Records proceeds to relate that
West (i. e. from Hu -lin ) you reach Fo-ho. This country was
above 800 li from east to west and 400 li north to south, reach
ing on the north to the Oxus. The capital, which all called
“Little Rajagriha city, " was above twenty li in circuit, but though
it was strong it was thinly peopled. In natural products the
district was rich and the land and water flowers were too many
to enumerate. There were above 100 Buddhist monasteries with
more than 3000 Brethren all adherents of the “ Small Vehicle
system .
Outside the capital on the south -west side was the Na -fo
(Nava)-Sanghārāma or New Monastery built by a former king
of the country. This was the only Buddhist establishment north
of the Hindu -Kush in which there was a constant succession of
Masters who were commentators on the canon. The image of
the Buddha in this monastery was artistically made of (accord
ing to one reading, studded with) noted precious substances, and
its halls were adorned with costly rarities, hence it was plundered
for gain by the chiefs of the various states . In the monastery
was an image of Vaiśravana deva which had bona fide miracles
and in mysterious ways protected the establishment. The pilgrim
tells how not long before the time of his visit this deva had
frustrated an armed attempt of the Turkish She-hu or governor
name Ssă , the son of a governor, to invade and plunder the
monastery .
In the South Buddha-Hall of this establishment were Buddha's
washing -basin about one tou in capacity : so bright and dazzling
was the blending of colours in this basin that one could not
well tell whether it was of stone or metal. There was also a
tooth of the Buddha an inch long and 8/0 ths of an inch broad,
BALKH . 109
and there was his broom made of kāśa grass above two feet
long and about seven inches round, the handle being set with
pearls. On the six festival days these relics were exhibited to
the assembled lay and clerical worshippers. On such occasions
the relics moved by the “ thorough sincerity ” of a worshipper
may emit a brilliant light.
To the north of the New Monastery was a tope above 200 feet
high which was plastered with diamond- cement. This tope was
also ornamented with various precious substances, and it con
tained relics which sometimes shone with supernatural light.
South-west from the New Monastery was a ching-lü ( this mi)
or Buddhist temple. This had been built long ago, and had
been the resort of Brethren of high spiritual attainments from
all quarters. It had been found impossible to keep a record of
those who here realized the Four Fruits (that is, became arhats).
So topes were erected for those arhats who when about to die
made a public exhibition of their miraculous powers ; the bases
of these topes were very close together and were some hundreds
odd in number. But no memorial erection was made in the case
of those Brethren, about 1000 in number, who although arhats
had died without exhibiting miracles. In this establishment
were above 100 Brethren, who were “ day and night assiduous at
their duties, " and one could not tell which was common monk
and which was arhat.
The Fo-ho ( 19 ) of this passage has been identified
with the city and district of Balkh and the identification
is probably quite correct. But we cannot properly regard
the Chinese word as a transcription of the word Balkh,
or of its variant Pahl, or of Vāhlika the name in the
Bțihat-samhitā and supposed to be the original form. In
the Life the name is given as Fo-ho-lo and I -ching writes
it Fo -k -o -lo.2 These transcriptions seem to require an
original like Bokhar or Bokhara, the name of the country
which included Balkh. The Fo -ho or Balkh of our pilgrim
was evidently not very far west or north-west from Huo
(Kunduz) and it was under the same Turkish governor
with that State. The pilgrim, the Life tells us, beheld
Balkh as a “Better Land ”, with its cities and their sur
1 Julien III. p. 289 : Alberuni Vol. I. p. 300 : Fleet Ind. Ant.

Vol. XXII. p. 192.
2 Hsi-yü-ch‘iu, ch . 1 and Chavannes Mémoires pø. 23, 48.
110 THOROUGH SINCERITY .
roundings in bold relief, and its vales and country districts

rich and fertile. The description which he gives of the
capital and the surrounding district agrees with the ac
counts of later travellers."
The Nava -sanghārāma or New Monastery of this passage
is the Nava-vihära and Hsin - ssit (with the same meaning)
of I-ching, who also represents the establishment as being
occupied by Brethren of the Hīnayāna system . In the
Life the Buddha's washing basin in this monastery is of
a capacity of two tou , and another account makes it to
have held only a shêng. The tou of the T'ang period
was a little more than nine quarts, and the shêng was
only about a pint. The basin and the tooth and the
broom were exhibited to the worshippers on the sacred
days. On these occasions the " thorough sincerity," the
full-hearted earnestness of devotees sometimes had power
to move the relics to shed a brilliant light. For " thorough
sincerity " the term in the text is Chih-ch‘êng (E7) a
classical expression derived from the “ Chung -yung." 3 The
Confucianist believed that this “ thorough sincerity" enabled
its possessor to have a subtle influence over external
nature. But to the pilgrim, a Confucianist converted to
Buddhism, its power in a believing worshipper extended
to the mysterious powers associated with the sacred objects
of his adopted religion. This New Monastery, Yuan
chuang tells us, was under the protection of Vaiśravana- *
deva who kept guard over the establishment. It was to
this deva that Indra on the death of the Buddha entrusted
the defence of Buddhism in the northern regions, and it
was in this capacity that he had charge of the monastery.
Here at the time of Yuan -chuang's visit was a very genial
learned Brother from the Che-ka country from whom our
pilgrim received much kindness and assistance in his
1 Cf. Q. Curtius B. VII. ch. 18 ; Burnes' Travels into Bokhara

ch. VIII.
? Hsi- y - chiu, 1, c.
3 Ch . 22.
THE NAVA VIHĀRA . 111
studies. With this Brother, named Prajñākara, Yuan -chuang

read certain Abhidharma treatises and also the Vibhāsha
śāstra. There were also in the monastery at the time
two learned and esteemed Doctors in Buddhism who
treated the Chinese pilgrim with great courtesy.
The term which the Records and the Life use for the
Buddhist establishment to the south-west of the New
Monastery is, it will be observed, Ching -lü . This phrase
means “the cottage of the essential," and it is perhaps a
synonym of Ching -shê, an old and common term with a
similar meaning. Our pilgrim may have taken it over
from a previous writer who used it in the sense of Vibāra,
as Julien translates it here. It is to be observed that
the Life does not know anything of the invidious distinction
in the treatment given to the relics of the arhats of this
temple who died after miraculous exhibitions, and that of
the relics of those arhats who passed away without such
exhibitions. The pilgrim, as we have seen, describes the
100 Brethren in the establishment at his time as “ day
and night assiduous at their duties.” The words within
inverted commas are a quotation with the alteration of
one character from a wellknown passage in the Shih - ching
and they are a stock literary phrase. He adds that one
cannot distinguish among them the ordinary Brother from
the arhat. Instead of this last clause Julien has_ “ Il est
difficile de scruter le coeur des hommes vulgaires et des
saints,” but this platitude cannot be forced out of the
text. This simply tells us that all the Brethren were so
zealous in the observances of their religion that one could
not tell which was common monk and which was arhat.
At a distance of above 50 li north-west from the capital was
T'i -wei's city and above 40 li to the north of that was Po - li's
city. In each of these towns was a tope above thirty feet high.
Now the story of these topes was this. As soon as Ju-lai long
ago attained Buddhahood he went to the Bodhi Tree and thence
to the Deer Park (near Benares). At this time two householders
1 The sentence inthe original rung-今僧徒百餘人风夜匪

懈凡聖難測.
112 ORIGIN OF THE SHAPE OF A STŪPA.
meeting him in his majestic glory gave him of their travelling

provisions parched grain and honey. Bhagavat expounded to
them what brings happiness to men and devas, and these two
householders were the first to hear the Five Commandments and
Ten Virtues. When they had received the religious teaching
they requested something to worship, and Julai gave them of
his hair and nail(-pairings). The two men being about to return
to their native country begged to have rule and pattern for their
service of worship . Julai thereupon making a square pile of his
sañghātī, or lower robe, laid it on the ground, and did the same
with his uttarāsañga or outer robe and his Samkachchikam , the
robe which goes under the arm-pits, in succession. On the top of
these he placed his bowl inverted, and then set up his mendicant's
staff, thus making a tope. The two men, accepting the Julai's
instructions, returned each to his city, and according to the
pattern thus taught by the Buddha they proceeded to erect these
two topes, the very first in the dispensation of Sākyamuni
Buddha. Above 70 li west of the capital was a tope which had
been built in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha.
The T - i-wei (HEL) and Poli ( L ) of this very curious
passage are the names of men not of cities. They stand
for Trapusha or Tapassu) and Bhallika (or Bhalluka)
and are the transcriptions used by some of the early
translators. 1The former is sometimes translated as
Huang -kua ( EN ) " a gourd " or "melon ” and in Tibetan
as Ga-gong with similar meaning : Bhallika is translated
Tsun -lo ( H ), " a village," but the Tibetan rendering
means “ good ” or “ fortunate ” (Bhalluka) .2 These two men
were travelling merchants or caravan -chiefs from a far
land.3 The story of their giving the Buddha his first food
after he attained Buddhahood is told in many books with
1 They are used in the Hsiu-hsing-pên-ch'i-ching (No. 6€4. tr.
A.D. 197) ; in the Fo-shuo -trai-tzŭ -sui- ying -pên -chi- ching, ch . 1
(No. 665, tr. cir. A.D. 250).
The two merchants' names are also given as Bhadrasena and
Bhadralik ( Yin -kuo -ching, ch. 3. No. 666 tr. cir. A.D. 450), and as
Kua or “Melon” ( Trapusha) and Upali in the Ssă -fên Vinaya, ch . 31
where the men are brothers .
2 Sar. Vin. P'o-sêng-shih, ch. 5 (No. 1123) : Rockhill Life p. 34.
3 The village of the great alms-giving is also located on the way
between Bodhigaya and Benares and its name given as Tapussa
bhalik (多謂婆for 婆跋利)。
HAIR- RELIC TOPES. 113
some variations. In a late Sinhalese text these pious mer

chants erected a tope over the precious hair- and nail
cuttings in Ceylon ; ' in a Burmese story the monument was
erected in Burmah ; 2 and in the account which Yuan -chuang
gives in Chian VIII a monument was erected at the
place where the incident occurred.3 Some versions re
present the two traders as being men from the north,
some represent them as brothers, and in some versions
there is only one man. The ridiculous story told here of
the Buddha's extemporized model of a tope does not seem
to be found in any other account of the incident. It
gives us, however, the plain outline of the original or
early Buddhist tope or pagoda,-a square base surmounted
by a cylinder on which was a dome topped by a spire.
Julien evidently misunderstood the passage and he had a
faulty text. He makes the pilgrim state that Julai took ,
off his sanghāti " formé de pièces de coton carrées”. He
had the Ming text reading tich meaning " cotton " but the
C and D texts have the tieh which means to double, foli ,
pile. The topes which these two merchants erected in
their respective native places are not represented as the
first structures of the kind, but only as the first in the
Buddhadom of Sākyamuni. The very next sentence, as
we have seen, tells of a Kāśyapa Buddha tope in the
same district.
The narrative continues .
South-west from the capital [of Balkh] coming into a corner
of the Snowy mountains you arrive at the Yue-mei (or mo)-t'ê
country. This was 50 or 60 li long by 100 li wide, and its
capital was above ten li in circuit.
Julien who transliterates the Chinese characters for the
ari
name of this country by Jui-mo -tho, suggests Jumadha as
the foreign word transcribed . But the first character ( 4 ) hard
1 Hardy M. B. p. 186.
2 Bigandet Legend vol . i. p . 108.
3 The version in the Lalitavistara Ch. XXIV, and some other
versions of the story do not make mention of the hair and nails
relics and the topes.
H
114 BALKH .
was read yue and the name was probably something like
Yumadha. Our author in this passage uses the mode of
description which is supposed to indicate that he is giving
a second -hand report not the result of a personal visit.
But we know from the Life that the pilgrim did go to
this country at the pressing invitation of its king who
shewed him great kindness.
To the south-west [of Yue-mei-t'ê] was the Hu - shih -kan country.
This was above 500 li long and above 1000 li broad, and its
capital was above 20 li in circuit : it had many hills and vales
and yielded good horses.
This country, according to the Tang- Shu, extended on
the south-east to Bamian. M. Saint Martin thinks that
the Hu-shih -kan of this passage may be the district called
by the Persians Juskān which was “ entre Balkh et le
district de Mérou - er- Roud ". The pilgrim made a short
visit to this country also, we learn from the Life. 1
North -west [from Hu -shih -kan ) was Ta - la -kan. This country
was above 500 li long by 50 or 60 li wide, and its capital was
more than ten li in circuit : on the west it adjoined Po -la -ssi
(Persia ).
M. Saint-Martin thinks that this name Ta -la -kan " nous
conduit indubitalement à la Talekan du Ghardjistān, ville
située à trois petites journées au-dessus de Mérou -er-Roud,
dans la direction de Herat. ” 2 The name which he has
here transcribed may have been Talakan or Tarkan, but
it is not likely that the characters were used to represent
a word like Talikan or Talekan .
The pilgrim now resumes his journey towards India.
From Balkh he went south more than 100 li to Kie(Ka)-chih .
This country was above 500 li long and 300 li wide, and its
capital was five or six li in circuit. It was a very stony, hilly
country with few fruits and flowers but much pulse and wheat ;
the climate was very cold ; the people's ways were hard and
brusque. There were more than ten monasteries with 300
Brethren all attached to the Sarvāstivādin school of the " Small
Vehicle ” system .
1 Julien III. p . 290. Cf. Yule in J. R. A. S. Vol . vi , p . 102.

2 Julien III. p. 289. Cf. Yule, I. c.; Med. Res. Vol. ii. p. 98.
1 2
BAMIAN . 115
The word here transcribed Ka-chih has been restored

as Gachi and Gaz, and Yule took the country to be “ the
Darah or Valley of Gaz ". 1
BAMIAN .
Our narrative proceeds to relate that the pilgrim

going south-east from Ka -chih country entered the Great Snowy
Mountains. These mountains are lofty and their defiles deep ,
with peaks and precipices fraught with peril. Wind and snow
alternate incessantly, and at midsummer it is still cold. Piled
up snow fills the valleys and the mountain tracks are hard to
follow . There are gods of the mountains and impish sprites
which in their anger send forth monstrous apparitions, and the
mountains are infested by troops of robbers who make murder
their occupation.
A journey of above 600 li brought the pilgrim out of the
limits of the Tokhara country and into the Fan -yen -na country.
This was above 2000 li from east to west and 300 li from north
to south. It was in the midst of the Snowy Mountains, and its
inhabitants taking advantage of the mountains and defiles had
their towns in strong places . The capital, which was built at a
steep bank and across a defile, had a high cliff on its north side
and was six or seven li in length . The country was very cold ;
it yielded early wheat, had little fruit or flower, but had good
pasture for sheep and horses. The people had harsh rude ways ;
they mostly wore furs and serges, which were of local origin.
Their written language, their popular institutions, and their cur
rency were like those of Tokhara, and they resembled the people
of that country in appearance but differed from them in their
spoken language. In honesty of disposition they were far above
the neighbouring countries, and they made offerings and paid
reverence with perfect sincerity to [all objects of worship) from
the Three Precious ones of Buddhism down to all the gods.
Traders coming and going on business, whether the gods shew
favourable omens or exhibit sinister manifestations , pay worship
(lit. seek religious merit).
The Fan -yen -na (# AT #B) of this is, as has been shewn
by others, Bamian, and Yuan-chuang was apparently the
first to use this transcription. Other transcriptions found
in Chinese literature are Fan-yen (bl 3E ), and Wang (i. e.
1 Yule 1. c.
H*
116 BAMIAN .
Bang) -yen (E 1tí), each representing a sound like Bam-yan.

Our pilgrim represents the inhabitants as using the natural
strongholds of the hills and defiles for their places of
abode. The district, we learn from the Tang- Shu, had
several large towns, but the people lived chiefly in mountain
caves . 1 Writing from reports of recent travellers Colonel
Yule tells us: “ The prominences of the cliffs which line
the valley of Bámián are crowned by the remains of
numerous massive towers, whilst their precipitous faces
are for six or seven miles pierced by an infinity of an
ciently excavated caves, some of which are still occupied
as dwellings. The actual site of the old city is marked
by mounds and remains of walls, and on an isolated rock
in the middle of the valley are the considerable ruins of
what appear to have been the acropolis, now known as
Ghúlghúla." ? This Ghulghula probably represents part of
our pilgrim's capital, the name of which in the 7th century
was Lo-lan (Ł WI. Ibn Haukal tells us that “ Bamian
is a town about half as large as Balkh, situated on a
hill. Before this hill runs a river, the stream of which
flows into Guyestan. Bamian has not any gardens nor
orchards, and it is the only town in this district situated
on a hill. " 3 The Life tells us that when Yuan-chuang
arrived at the capital the king came out to meet him and
then entertained him in the palace and that in this city
the pilgrim met with two learned Brethren of the Mahā
sangika school who were very kind to him. The king was
probably regarded by Yuan -chuang as a descendant of
the Sākya exile from Kapilavastu who went to Bamian
and became its king.
In Bamian there were some tens of Buddhist monasteries with
several thousands of Brethren who were adherents of that Hina
yāna school which “ declares that [Buddha) transcends the ordi
nary ”, that is, the Lokottaravādin School.
1 T'ang -shu, ch. 221 .

2 See “ The Rock -cut Caves and Statues of Bamian " in J. R. A. S.
Vol . xviii. Art. XIV .
3 Or . Geog. tr. Ouseley p . 225.
LOKOTTARA THEORY . 117
For the words here placed within inverted commas the

original is Shuo -ch'u -shih ( 1 t). This expression, as
has been shewn by others, is used to translate the Sanskrit
Lokottaravādin . Julien interprets this and its Chinese
equivalent as meaning those " dont les discours s'élèvent
au dessus du monde " .1 Burnouf renders the term by
"ceux qui se prétendent supérieures au monde” .2 Eitel
translates it “ Those who pretend to have done with the
world ” .3 But all these interpretations judged by the
accounts of the school seem to be wrong and misleading.
Wassiljew explains the term better as meaning " those
who argue about emergence from the world, that is, argue
that in the Buddhas there is nothing which belongs to the
world ” .4 So also Rockhill using Tibetan texts explains
the term thus—“ Those who say that the blessed Buddhas
have passed beyond all worlds (i. e. existences), that the
Tathāgata was not subject to worldly laws are called
[ “ Those who say that the Tathagata ] has passed beyond
all world , or Lokottaravādins." ; The school which bore
this name is described as an offshoot from the Mahā
saīgika or Church of the Great Congregation of Brethren
which arose in the Madhyadeśa or “ Mid -India ” of Chinese
writers. The name was given to the sect from the pro
minence which its founders gave to the doctrines that the
Buddhas were not begotten and conceived as human beings,
that there was nothing worldly in them , but that they
were altogether above this world, world -transcending. In
Chinese Lokottaravādin became Shuo -chéu -shih (or Chíu
shih -shuo) as in Yuan -chuang's translation , or Ch'u -shih
chien-yen-yü or Ch'u - shih -chien -shuo.6 The former means
1 Mélanges p. 330, 333.

2 Bur. Int. p. 452.
3 Handbook Ch. Buddhism s. v. Lokottara - vādinah .
4 Wass . Bud. S. 250.
5 Rockhill Life p. 183. I have taken some liberty with Mr Rock
hill's text as there is apparently something omitted.
6 See the Shih -pa - pu - lun (No. 1284) and l-pu - tsung - lun - lun
( No. 1286 ).
118 THE GREAT BAMIAN IMAGES .
“ stating that [Buddha) transcends the world” and the

latter means “talk [of Buddha] transcending what is in
the world .” In the “ Mahāvastu ” we have apparently a
sort of text book of this sect, though the treatise represent
itself to be portion of the Vinaya . It teaches with
iteration the doctrine of the unworldliness or super -world
liness of the Tathāgatas or Great Rishis, and consists
mainly of legends of the past and present lives of the
Buddha. As Vasumitra shews, the Lokottaravādins , like
the other sects which branched off from the Mahāsañgika
body, differed from the latter only in the accidentals not
in the essentials of doctrine and precept. The peculiar
doctrine about the Buddhas must be excepted. In the lists
of the Buddhist schools given in the Dipavamso the Lokot
taravādin school is not mentioned .
The description in the text proceeds.
On the declivity of a hill to the north -east of the capital was
a standing image of Buddha made of stone, 140 or 150 feet high,
of a brilliant golden colour and resplendent with ornamentation
of precious substances. To the east of it was a Buddhist mona
stery built by a former king of the country. East of this was
a standing image of Sākyamuni Buddha above 100 feet high,
made of tíu-shih, the pieces of which had been cast separately
and then welded together into one figure.
The large Buddha image of this passage is evidently
the " big idol, male" which Captain Talbot measured with
his theodolite and found to be 173 feet high. A picture
of this image is given at p. 341 in Vol. xviii of the R. A.
S. Journal in the Article already quoted from . Captain
Talbot states that the image was " hewn out of the conglo
merate rock, but the finishing, drapery, &c., was all added
by putting on stucco ” . Our pilgrim's statement that the
image was of a " brilliant golden colour” agrees with its
name " Surkbut" or "Gold image", and this is said to be
probably the meaning of another of its names the Red
Idol.2 The second image, we have seen, was made of
1 Mahāvastu ed. Senart. T. I. Intn p . 2, p . 159.

2 J. R. A. S. Vol. xix. p. 162, 164.
MEANING OF T'U - SHI. 119
t'u -shi. This word written 7 (or 7 ) is here rendered

by Julien laiton, but in some other passages he translates
it by cuivre jaune. Native dictionaries and glossaries also
give different and conflicting explanations of the two
characters. These are sometimes treated by native scholars
as two words, but they evidently stand for one word which
is apparently a foreign one, perhaps the Turkish word
tūj which denotes bronze. Chinese interpreters use tíu -shi,
called also t'u - ssů ( 1 101), to translate the Sanskrit rīti,
"bell-metal", " bronze", and also as the equivalent of tām
rika from tāmra which means " copper”. It is also described
as a “ stone like gold ”, and as a metal made from copper,
being yellow when of good quality. It seems to be some
times used in the sense of “ copper ore", but in these
Records we may generally render it by bronze. This
bronze image has been identified with the “ female figure
120 feet high" of Captain Talbot, who says this, like the
other image , was hewn out of the conglomerate rock. It
is also the White Idol of the Persian account which also
makes it to have been cut in the rock and calls it a
female figure. It is about 1/4 of a mile to the left of the
larger image . We cannot explain away Yuan - chuang's
statement that the image was made of metal by the hypo
thesis that it was of stone covered with metal. If the
Shah -mameh is the image east of the monastery then
Yuan - chuang was misinformed as to its material.
The description continues.
In a monastery 12 or 13 li to the east of the capital was a
recumbent image of the Buddha in Nirvana above 1000 feet long.
Here the king held the Quinquennial Assembly at which he was
wont to give away to the monks all his possessions from the
queen down, his officials afterwards redeeming the valuables
from the monks .
In the D text and in the Fang-chih the monastery of

the Nirvāņa Buddha is only two or three li east from the
capital, and this is probably correct. In the Life the
Nirvāṇa image is at the monastery near which was the
tūj or bronze Buddha. The length of the Nirvāņa image
120 THE WONDERFUL ROBE.
is enormous, especially if we are to regard it as having

been within the walls of a monastery. Perhaps, however,
the figure was only carved in a rock which formed the
back wall of the temple. In any case we probably do
well to agree with Colonel Yule's suggestion that the
Azdaha of the present inhabitants of this district is the
Nirvāna Buddha of our traveller. The Azdaha, which is
described as being on the flat summit of a nearly iso
lated rock, is "a recumbent figure bearing rude resem
blance to a huge lizard, and near the neck of the reptile
there is a red splash as of blood." We cannot, however,
imagine that the pilgrim on seeing a figure like this would
call it Buddha in Nirvāņa.
In this monastery there was also 'Sāņakavāsa's sanghāți in nine
stripes, of a dark red colour, made of cloth woven from the
fibre of the sanaka plant. This man , a disciple of Ananda, in
a former existence gave to a congregation of Brethren on the
day of their leaving Retreat śanaka robes. By the merit of this
act in 500 subsequent births, intermediate and human , he always
wore clothing of this material. In his last existence he was
born in this attire and his natal garment grew with his growth ;
when he was admitted into the Church by Ananda the garment
became a clerical robe , and when he received full ordination the
garment became a nine-striped sanghāți. When ' Sāņakavāsa was
about to pass away he went into the “ Border -limit " samādhi and,
by the force of his desire aiming at wisdom , he left this robe to
last while Buddhism endures and undergo destruction when
Buddhism comes to an end. At this time the robe had suffered
some diminution , and this was proof to believers.
The ſāņakavāsa of this passage is the Sanika, Saņavāsa,
Soņavāsi, and Śānavāsika or Śāņavāsika of other works.
According to the generally received account the bearer
of this name was the son of a merchant of Rājagaha. He
also in early life became a merchant and amassed a large
fortune with which he was very generous to the Buddhist
fraternity. Ananda persuaded him to enter the Order
and after ordination he devoted himself to his new career
with great zeal and earnestness. He mastered all the
Canon, and taught and guided a large number of disciples,
his chief place of residence being at the monastery he
LEGEND OF SANAKAVĀSA. 121
established near Mathura. The greatest of his disciples

was Upagupta whom he made his successor as Master of
the Vinaya. After this Saņakavasa went to Kipin, a
northern region including Kashmir, or to Champā, but
returned to Mathura . There he died and his remains were
cremated and a tope erected over them . In order to
account for his name and career a story is told about
him in a former life. He was then the chief of a caravan
of 500 merchants and on his journey he fell in with a
Pratyeka Buddha dying in lonely helplessness. The caravan
chief devoted himself to the suffering saint, and nursed
him with great kindness. This Pratyeka Buddha had an
old worn garment of śāņa , a kind of cloth made from the
san hemp, and the caravan - chief wished him to change it
for a new cotton robe. But the saint declined the offer,
not wishing to part with the old robe which was associated
for him with all his spiritual progress. The caravan -chief
expressed his strong desire that when he next was born
in this world he should be in all respects like this Pratyeka
Buddha. By the merit of his kindness to the Pratyeka
Buddha and his prayer he was led to join the Buddhist
Order and to wear all his life the linen robe in which
he was ordained, and hence he had the name Sānakavāsin
The legends about him having
or “ Wearer of linen ” .
been six years in his mother's womb, and having been
born in a linen shirt, are only in some of the accounts.
This arhat, who lived within 100 years after the Buddha,
figures in the Divyāvadāna and in the Buddhist books of
Nepāl, Tibet, and China, 2 but he seems to be unknown
to the Pali scriptures. We can scarcely regard him as
identical with Sonika, the thera of Rājagaha, mentioned
in the Mahāvamsa and other works, although in some
circumstances there is a resemblance.3 The word she-na
| Fu -fa -tsang -yin -yuan - ching (or chuan ), ch. 2 (No. 1340 tr. A.D.
472) ; A-yü-wang- chuan (No. 1459 tr. A.D. 300).
2 Divyāv. p. 349 : Bud. Lit. Nep. p . 67 ; Rockhill Life p. 161.
3 Mah. ch . IV.: Dip. V. 22.
122 THE INTERMEDIATE STATE .
ka in the arhat's name is also explained as meaning tzů

jan- fu ( IK ) or “ natural”, — “ self-existing clothing", as
if for sanaka from sanā which means " eternal”, “ self
existent” .
The words here rendered “ in 500 existences intermediate
and human ” are peculiar and merit attention. In all the
texts and in the Life the original is yü-wu-pai-shên -chung
yin -shêng -yin ( Ti 4 ), and Julien translates
this by " pendant cinq cents existences successives". But
this is not all that the author states, and the sense in
which I understand the words is evidently something like
what the construction requires. It is also apparently the
sense in which the author of the Fang-chih understood
the passage, for he transcribes it wu -pai-chung-yin -shên
shêng or “ 500 intermediate states and human births" . The
Chung-yin, called also chung-yu (C ), is the antara
bhava or intermediate state, the life elsewhere which inter
venes between two existences on this world. Human death
or ssú -yin ( FEA) is the dissolution of the skandha (yin)
which form the living body ; and this is followed in due
time by a new human birth, the shêng-yin, in which the
skandha are recombined. In the period which elapses
between these two events that which was, and is to be
again, the human being, lives on in some other sphere or
spheres of existence, and this unknown life is the chung
yin. This in the language of the Buddhists is the road
which lies between but connects the two villages of Death
and Re - birth . The term will be further explained when
we come to Chuan VII.
KA -PI- SHIH (KAPIS).

The narrative proceeds to relate that the pilgrim
going east from this entered the Snow Mountains, crossed a
black range and reached Ka -pi-shin. This country was above
4000 li in circuit with the Snowy Mountains on its north and
having black ranges on its other sides ; the capital was above
ten li in circuit. It yielded various cereals, and fruit and timber,
and excellent horses and saffron ; many rare commodities from
other regions were collected in this country ; its climate was
KAFIRISTAN . 123
cold and windy ; the people were of a rude violent disposition,

used a coarse vulgar language, and married in a miscellaneous
manner . The written language was very like that of Tokhara ;
but the colloquial idiom and the social institutions of the people
were different. For inner clothing they wore woollen cloth
(mao-tieh ), and for their outer garments skins and serge. Their
gold, silver, and small copper coins differed in style and appearance
from those of other countries. The king, who was of the Ksha
triya caste, was an intelligent courageous man, and his power
extended over more than ten of the neighbouring lands ; he was
a benevolent ruler and an adherent of Buddhism. He made
every year a silver image of Buddha 18 feet high, and at the
Moksha -parishad he gave liberally to the needy and to widows
and widowers. There were above 100 Monasteries with more
than 6000 Brethren who were chiefly Mahāyānists; the topes and
monasteries were lofty and spacious and were kept in good
order. Of Deva -Temples there were some tens ; and above 1000
professed Sectarians, Digambaras, and Pāmýupatas, and those
who wear wreaths of skulls as head - ornaments.
The words “from this" at the beginning of the above
passage apparently mean from the monastery with the
sacred relics. The Life tells us that the journey from the
capital of Bamian to the confines of the country occupied
about 15 days. Two days' journey outside the Bamian
boundary the pilgrim lost his way in the snow and after
being set right he crossed a black range into Ka-pi-shih
or Kapis. This is all the information we have about the
distance of the latter country from Bamian. By the words
“ black range " in this passage we are apparently to under
stand those mountains of the Snowy range which were not
covered with perpetual snow. It will be noticed that al
though the pilgrim travelled east through the Snowy
Mountains into Kapis it was a " black range” that was to
the west of that country.
The country here designated Ka -pi-shih ( il y üt) does
not seem to have been known to the Chinese generally by
that name. We find the Ka -pi-shih of our author, how
ever, in some later books used to denote a country said
to be Kipin.1 In some older books the country is called
1 Kai- yuan-lu, ch . 1 (No. 1485 ).
124 KAFIRISTAN .
Ka-pi- shih ihn mit tebe ), and is described as a great rendez

vous for traders. The Sanskrit name is given as Karpi
saya and this is transcribed in Chinese by Ka-pi-she-ye
( EJ IEH). As Kanishka is Kanerka so Kapis may be
Kafir a name which is preserved in the modern Kafiristan.
'As to the area of the country Cunningham tells us that
if Yuan - chuang's “ measurement be even approximately
correct, the district must have included the whole of Kafi
ristan, as well as the two large valleys of Ghorband and
Panjshir, as these last are together not more than 300 miles
in circuit ” . 2
Among the products of the country here enumerated
is one called Yü -chin , that is, " saffron". The translators,
however, give “ Curcuma ” as the meaning of the word and
it is so rendered by others in various books. As we have
to meet with the word again the reasons for translating
it by “ saffron " are to be given hereafter.
Our narrative proceeds.
About three or four li east of the capital under the north
mountain was a large monastery with above 300 Brethren all
Hinayānists. Its history the pilgrim learned was this. When
Kanishka reigned in Gandhāra his power reached the neighbouring
States and his influence extended to distant regions. As he kept
order by military rule over a wide territory reaching to the east
of the Ts- ung-Ling, a tributary state of China to the west of the
Yellow River through fear of the king's power sent him (princes
as ) hostages. On the arrival of the hostages Kanishka treated
them with great courtesy and provided them with different
residences according to the seasons. The winter was spent in
India, the summer in Kapis, and the spring and autumn in
Gandhāra. At each residence a monastery was erected, this
one being at the summer residence. Hence the walls of the
chambers had paintings of the hostages who in appearance and
dress were somewhat like the Chinese. When the hostages
returned to their homes they fondly remembered their residence
here ,and continued to send it religious offerings. So the Brethren
of this monastery with grateful feelings had kept up religious
services on behalf the hostages every year at the beginning and
end of the Rain -season Retreat. To the south of the east door
1 Su - ao -sing- chuan, ch. 2 (No. 1493) ; Kai- yuan-lu, ch. 7.

2 Anc . Geog. Ind. p. 17.
INSCRIPTION AT THE SALĀKA. 125
of the Buddha's - Hall of the Monastery, under the right foot of

the image of the Lord over the Gods, was a pit containing a buried
treasure deposited there by the hostages. There was an inscription
which stated that when the monastery fell into disrepair the
treasure was to be used for its repairs. In late times a frontier
king had coveted the treasure and tried to steal it, but the figure
of a parrot in the God's crown by flapping his wings and
screaming frightened the king and his soldiers ; the earth also
quaked and the king and his soldiers fell down stiff; when they
recovered they confessed their guilt and went away home.
The Life tells us that the Hinayāna monastery of this
passage was called Sha-lo-ka ( 7]; it ibi), a word of which
no explanation is given. It was in this monastery that
our pilgrim was lodged and entertained during a portion
of his stay at the capital. In the Life also there is only
one hostage and he is a son of a Chinese emperor and
it was by him the monastery was built. The story in the
Records evidently supposes the reader to understand that
the hostages were the sons of a ruler of a feudal depen
dency of China or of rulers of several such states. Here
also I think there is properly only one hostage-prince and
the use of the plural in the latter part of the passage is
perhaps a slip. The monastery may be the establishment
called in some works the Tien -ssů and the Wang -ssů, or
Royal Vihāra. Its name Sha-lo-ka is apparently not to
be taken as a word qualifying vihāra, but as the designation
of the whole establishment comprising the hostage's resi
dence, the sacred buildings and the monks' quarters. It
is possible that the Chinese transcription may represent
the Indian word śālāka or “ small mansion ” used in the
sense of a “ temporary royal residence."
The Life also gives the story of the buried treasure and
tells of the attempts to make use of it by the Brethren .
At the time of the pilgrim's visit money was wanted to
repair the tope and Yuan -chuang was requested to lay
the case before the Lord ; he did so and with such success
that the required amount was taken without trouble.
The narrative next tells us of caves in the mountains to the
north of the Hostage's Monastery. Here the hostages practised
samādhi, and in the caves were hidden treasures guarded by a
126 MOUNT ARUNA.
yaksha. On a mountain two or three li west of the caves was

an image of Kuan-tzŭ -tsai P'usa ; to devotees of perfect earnestness
the Pusa would come forth from the image and comfort them
with the sight of his beautiful body. Above 30 li south-east
from the capital was the Rāhula monastery with its marvel
working tope, built by a statesman named Rāhula.
Above forty li south from the capital was the city called
Si- pti-to- fa -la -tzi ( if ). When the rest of the
region was visited by earthquakes and landslips this city and all
round it were quite undisturbed.
For the name of the city here transcribed Julien, who
1031 transliterates the last character sse, suggests Sphītavaras
as the possible Sanskrit original, and Saint Martin pro
poses svetavāras. But the last character sse or tzŭ is
one of those which the Chinese do not like to use in
transcriptions and it is probably a Chinese word in the
sense of temple. The other characters may stand for
Śvetavat, one of the epithets of Indra, the god who rides
a white (sveta) elephant. Thus the name of the city would
be Svetavat-ālaya, the Abode or Shrine of Indra.
To the south of this city and at a distance of above 30 li
from it was the A -lu -no Mountain, steep and lofty, with gloomy
cliffs and gorges. Every (New) year the summit increased in
height several hundreds of feet appearing to look towards the
Shu-na -si-lo Mountain in Tsao-ku -t'a , and then it suddenly
collapsed. The explanation given to the pilgrim by the natives
was this . Once the god Shu-na arriving from afar wanted to
stop on this mountain, but the god of the mountain becoming
alarmed made a convulsion. Shu-na deva then said to him
You make this commotion because you do not want me to lodge
with you ; if you had granted me a little hospitality I should
have filled you with riches; now I go to the Tsao -ku - t'a country
to the Shu -na -si-lo mountain , and eve [New- ]year when I am
receiving the worship and offerings of the king and statesmen
you are to be a subordinate spectator'. Hence the A -lu -no
mountain increases its height and then suddenly collapses.
For the “ New -year” of this rendering the original is
simply sui ( ) " year ", but it was evidently at a particular
time of the year that the mountain prolonged its summit. A
native scholar was of the opinion that the word sui in this
passage meant harvest, the time when thank-offerings were
made to the god for the good crops. But it is perhaps better
A NAGA LEGEND. 127
to take the word in the sense of New -year, Mount Aruņa

having to do homage openly to Shu-na deva when the
latter was receiving the New-year's worship of the king
and grandees of Tsao-ku-t'a. The A -lu -no of this passage
is evidently, as has been conjectured, for Aruņa which
means " red, the colour of the dawn " . In Alberuni we ?
read of the Aruna mountain to the west of Kailāsa and
described as covered with perpetual snow and inaccessible. 1
Shu-na, also pronounced Ch'u-na, may be for śuna, and
Shu -na -si- lo may be for Sunasſrau, a pair of ancient gods
associated with farming. But si- lo is perhaps for silā, " a
rock ”, the name of the mountain being Shuna's rock. This
Shuna or Ch'una was the chief god among the people of
Tsao -ku -t'a, but he was feared and worshipped beyond
the limits of that country. A deity with a name like this
is still worshipped in some of the hill districts beyond
India, I believe. He was perhaps originally a sun-god, as
Aruņa was the dawn, and the name Shun still survives in
Manchoo as the word for Sun.
Returning to the Records we read that
above 200 li north-west from the capital was a great Snowy
Mountain on the top of which was a lake, and prayers made at
it for rain or fine weather were answered. The pilgrim then
narrates the legend about this lake and its Dragon -kings. In
the time of Kanishka the Dragon -king was a fierce malicious
creature who in his previous existence had been the novice
attending an arhat of Gandhāra. As such in an access of passion
and envy he had prayed to become a Nāga-king in his next
birth, and accordingly on his death he came into the world as
the Dragon -king of this lake. Keeping up his old bad feelings
he killed the old Dragon-king ; and sent rain and storm to destroy
the trees and the Buddhist monastery at the foot of the mountain .
Kanishka enraged at the persistent malice of the creature pro
ceeded to fill up his lake. On this the Dragon-king became
alarmed and assuming the form of an old brahmin he remon
strated earnestly with the king. In the end the king and the
Dragon made a covenant by which Kanishka was to rebuild the
monastery and erect a tope ; the latter was to serve as a lookout,
and when the watchman on this observed dark clouds rising on
1 Vol. ii, p. 143.

128 A MISUNDERSTOOD IDIOM.
the mountain the gong was to be at once sounded, whereupon

the bad temper of the Dragon would cease. The tope still con .
tinued to be used for the purpose for which it was erected. ' It
was reported to contain flesh - and -bone relics of the Ju -lai about
a pint in quantity, and from these proceeded countless miracles.
In Julien's translation of the passage from which the
above has been condensed there occurs a sentence in
which the original does not seem to have been properly
understood. The words here rendered " assuming the form
of an old brahmin he remonstrated earnestly with the
king” are in Julien's translation “ prit la forme d'un vieux
Brāhmane, se prosterna devant l'éléphant du roi et addressa
à Kanichka des représentations". For the words which I
have put in italics the Chinese is K'ou -wang-hsiang-êrh
chien (O E TE TU ) literally “ striking the king's elephant
he remonstrated ” . But the meaning is simply “ he sternly
reproved " or " earnestly remonstrated with " . The ex
pression corresponds to the common Chinese phrase Kou
ma -chien literally "striking his horse reprove”. But there
is no striking of either horse or elephant, the expression
being figurative. To make the brahmin kotow to the
elephant is neither Chinese nor Indian and it spoils the
story. The phrase K'ou -hsiang occurs again, in Chuan VI.
and Julien again make the same curious mistake. His
translation ( p. 326) is there even less appropriate than
it is here.
To the north-west of the capital on the south bank of a large
river was an Old King's Monastery which had a milk -tooth one
inch long of Sakya Piusa . South - east from this was another
monastery also called “ Old King's", and in this was a slice of
Julai's ushnīsha above an inch wide of a yellow-white colour
with the hair pores distinct. It had also a hair of Julai's head
of a dark violet colour above a foot long but curled up to about
half an inch . The ushnīsha was worshipped by the king and
great officials on the six fast days . To the south-west of this
monastery was the Old Queen's monastery in which was a gilt
copper tope above 100 feet high said to contain relics of Buddha.
It is curious to find our pilgrim here telling of a slice
of Buddha's ushnisha as existing in Kapis. I-ching also
writes of the Julai's ting -ku or ushnisha as being in this
RELIC - CASUISTRY. 129
country. Our pilgrim , we shall see presently, agreeing

with Fa-hsien makes the city Hilo in another country
possess the ushnisha apparently in a perfect state. As
Hilo was a dependency of Kapis we may regard I-ching's
pilgrims as paying reverence to the ushnīsha of Hilo and
getting their fortunes from it. But we cannot understand
how a monastery in Kapis had a piece of the ushnisha
at the same time that the whole of it was in Hilo. Then
a century or so after our pilgrim's time Wu-kóung found
the ushnīsha relic of Sakya Ju - lai in the Yen -t-i-li vihāra
of Kanishka in Gandhāra. It was near the capital of
Gandhāra also that Wu-k'ung saw the Dragon -king mo
nastery which Yuan-chuang places 200 li north-west from
the capital of Kapis. 2
To the south-west of the capital was the Pi-lo - sho -lo Mountain,
This name was given to the mountain from its presiding genius
who had the form of an elephant and was therefore called Pi-lo .
sho -lo. While the Julai was on earth this god once invited him
and the 1200 great arhats to his mountain, and here on a large
flat rock he gave the Julai worship and entertainment. On this
rock king Asoka afterwards built a tope above 100 feet high.
This tope, which was supposed to contain about a pint of the
Buddha's relics, was known to the people at the time of Yuan
chuang's visit as the Pi-lo -sho- lo tope.
To the north of this tope and at the base of a cliff was a
Dragon Spring. In it the Buddha and the 1200 arhats cleansed
their mouths, and chewed their tooth- sticks, after eating the food
supplied to them by the god ; their tooth -sticks being planted
took root, and became the dense wood existing at the time of
the pilgrim's visit. People who lived after the Buddha's time
erected at the place a monastery to which they gave the name
Ping (or Pi)-to-ka ($45 1 £ ).
The Pi-lo-sho (or so)-lo of this passage, translated by
the Chinese as " Elephant-solid ”, has been restored by
Julien as Pilusāra . This was the name of the tutelary
god of the mountain and of the mountain itself, and it
was the name given to the Asoka tope erected on one of
the rocks of the mountain .
1 Hsi-yü-chéiu, ch . 1 , 2, and Chavannes Mémoires p. 24, 105.

2 Shih-li-ching ; Chavannes in J. A. T. VI. p . 357.
I
130 PINTAKA VIHĀRA.
A note added to the Chinese text here tells us that

Ping (or Pʻi)-to -ka is in Chinese Chio -yang -chih (PMS)
literally " chew willow twig”. This is the term used to
describe the Buddha and his arhats chewing their tooth
sticks in the operation of cleansing their mouths, and it
is the common phrase in Chinese Buddhist works to denote
this operation . One of the Chinese names for the tooth
stick which the bhikshu was ordered to use daily was
Yang -chih or willow -twig ", but in India at least the tooth
stick was not made of willow. We are not obliged to
accept the native annotator's translation of the foreign
word here, and it is apparently not correct. It will be
noticed that the name Ping-to-ka, according to our pilgrim ,
was given to the monastery built here by people who lived
after the time of the Buddha and his arhats, and apparently
at a period when there was a thick clump of trees at the
place. The transcription in the text may possibly represent
the word Pindaka used in the sense of a clump of trees,
the monastery being called the Pindaka -vihāra.
CHAPTER V.
CHUAN II.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA .

ITS NAMES.
The pilgrim having now arrived at the frontiers of the

great country which he calls Yin -tu (India) gives his readers
a "Pisgah-sight” of the land before taking them through
its various kingdoms. And first he tells them of its name
and its meaning and probable origin. His statements
about the name may be roughly rendered as follows
We find that different counsels have confused the designations
of Tien -chu (India) ; the old names were Shên -tu and Sien (or
Hien )-tou ; now we must conform to the correct pronunciation
and call it Yin-tu. The people of Yin-tu use local appellations
for their respective countries ; the various districts having different
customs ; adopting a general designation, and one which the
people like, we call the country Yin-tu which means the “Moon " .
This rendering differs in some respects from that given
by Julien which is neither very clear nor correct. Here,
however, as in several other passages of the Records, it is
not easy to make out the precise meaning of the author's
statements. It is plain, however, that he is not dealing
with names given to India generally but only with those
used in Chinese books. Then his words would seem to
indicate that he regarded Tien - chu, Shên -tu, and Sien-tou
as only dialectical varieties or mistaken transcriptions of
Yin -tu, which was the standard pronunciation. Further
his language does not seem to intimate, as Julien under
I*
En
132 THE NAME 'INDIA'.
stood it to intimate, that Yin-tu was the name for all

India used by the inhabitants of the country. In some
other works we find it stated that Yin -tu was the native
name for the whole country, and Indu-deśa given as the
original Sanskrit term. Our author may have had this
opinion but this does not seem to be the meaning of his
statements here. On the contrary he apparently wishes
us to understand that the natives of India had only
designations of their own States, such as Magadha and
Kausambhi, and that they were without a general name
under which these could be included. It was the peoples
beyond, as for example the Turks, who gave the name
Yin - tu, and the Hu who gave Sin -tu , to a great territory
of uncertain limits. Then the Buddhist writers of Kashmir,
Gandhāra , and other countries beyond India proper, seem
also to have sometimes used the name Yin-tu . But, as
I-ching tells us, although this word may mean “ moon "
yet it was not the current name for India. In Buddhist
literature India is called Jambudvīpa, and portions of
it Āryadeśa and Madhyadeśa . One of the other names
for India to be found in Buddhist literature is Indra
vardhana . But in the Chinese accounts of letters or
missions sent by Indian rajahs to the court of China
the rajahs are only represented as styling themselves
kings of special countries in India. Thus the great
Silāditya, who treated our pilgrim with great honour,
is made in Chinese history to call himself king of
Magadha.
Let us now examine in detail Yuan-chuang's statements
about the terms he quotes as used in China to denote
India and the history of these terms. The old name, as
he tells us, is that which he, following precedent, writes
Shên -tu ( sy) as the characters are now pronounced.
This word emerges in Chinese history in the account
which the famous envoy Chang Ch‘ien (Kien) gives of his
experiences in the Ta-hsia country (Bactria). In that we
1 Nan - hai-chi- kuei, ch. 25 ; Hunter's Ind. Emp. p . 33.
OLD CHINESE NAMES FOR INDIA . 133
read that when Chang returned from his mission to the

West he reported to Han Wu Ti (apparently about B. C.
123) that when in Ta-hsia he had seen bamboo poles and
cloth from a district which is now comprised in the Pro
vince of Ssūchuan. He had been told , he relates, that
these commodities had been obtained at Shên - tu , as the
name of the place is given in the ordinary texts of his
report to the Emperor. Now Chinese writers tell us,
and Western scholars have adopted and repeated the
statements, that the Shên-tu of this story was India, and
that all the other designations for that country in Chinese
books such as Hsien-tou, Hsien-tu, Kan-tu, Küan (or Yuan )
tu, Tien -chu, Tien -tu , and Yin-tu are only phonetic cor
ruptions of Shên-tu. These opinions seem to have been
lightly formed and heedlessly followed, and it may be use
ful for us to enquire whether they have a good basis.
In the first place then we find that there is doubt as
to what was the precise form of the name of the country
in Chang's statement. So instead of the character for
Shên in Shên-tu given above we meet with several various
readings. Such are and which probably represent
one sound, something like Get or K'at. Now a foreign
name like K‘atu or Gachu as a name for India seems to
bave been in use. Then a third various reading for the
Shên of Shên -tu is K‘ien or Kan ( c ) which may have
been originally a copyist's slip for one of the characters
read Kat. We find also a fourth various reading for
the syllable Shên of Shên -tu , viz - Küan or Yun (5 ).2
But the country described in Chinese literature under the
name Yun-tu was evidently one to the east or north -east
of all that has been called India . Then accepting the
character now read Shên as the genuine text of Chang's
1 Shih-chi ( l ), ch. 123, Commentary. In the T'ung-chien

kang-mu, ch. 4 , Yuan-shou (TC #F ) 1st y., this passage of the Shih
chi is quoted with the reading Kan -tu († 24 ) instead of Shên- tu .
See also Kanghsi Dict. s. v. ff .
2 Han- Shu , ch. 96.
3 Tung -chih -liao, the Tu-yi-liao, ch . I ; Han -Shu, 1. c.
134 DISCUSSION OF OLD
report we are told that in this name it is to be pronounced

like in or yin. This does not seem very improbable. But
an etymological authority tells us that the character in
question has, in this name, the sound T'ien . There may
be some truth in this statement. But it is not supported
by authority, and seems rather fanciful.
The district or region which the envoy Chang reported
as named, let us continue to say, Shên-tu, is briefly
described by him and others of the Han period. It was
several thousand li south-east from Bactria, near a river
(or sea) ; its inhabitants used elephants in fighting. Some
writers describe them as Buddhists; and they were in many
respects like the people of Bactria, or like the Geti
(Yue -ti) according to another account. Their country was
about 2000 li south -west from what is now the Ch'êng-tu
and Ning-yuan districts in Ssůchuan, and it had a regular
trade with the merchants of the Chiêng -tu district, some
of whom seem to have settled in it. Further, this country
was not far from the western border of the Chinese empire
in the Han time, and it was on the way from China to
Bactria. So though the name Shên-tu came to be after
wards given to India yet in its first use it apparently
denoted a small region in what is now Yunnan and
Burmah.2
The name Hsien-tou was apparently applied to a region
different from that designated Shên-tu.3 Like Hsien-tu
( ), of which term it is perhaps only a variety, this
name was probably used first by the Chinese for the Indus,
1 Wên - chi- tien-chu (1 43 43 I uf ), ch. 2. p. 22. The change of
Shên-tu into T'ien-tu may point to a Burmese pronunciation of Sindu
as Thindu .
2 Han -Shu, ch . 95 ; Hou Han - Shu, ch. 88; Ma T. 1. ch . 338 gives
much information about India compiled not very carefully from
previous authorities; his account is translated in Julien's Mélanges
p . 147.
3 But Hsien (Hien)-tou ( 1 ) came to be used as a 'name for
India, and we find it described as a native designation for the whole
country properly called Indravardhana. Su-kao- sêng-chuan, ch. 2.
See also Fang-chih, ch . 1 .
CHINESE NAMES FOR INDIA . 135
called Sindhu in Sanskrit. The name was afterwards

extended by them to a mountainous region, perhaps Ladak,
through which the Indus flows. We find the Hsien-tu
country mentioned in the same passages of the Han History
with Shên-tu.
We next come to T‘ien-chu ( F ** ) and T'ien-tu (7 )
said to represent only one name pronounced something
like Tendu or Tintok. We are told by one Chinese writer
that the name T‘ien-chu was first applied to India in the
Han Ho-Ti period (A.D. 89 to 106) but the authority for
the statement is not given. Another account makes Mêng
K'an (about A.D. 230) the first to identify Tien -chu with
Shên-tu, but this likewise is unsupported by authority.
We are also told that the chu ( tk ) of Tien - chu is a short
way of writing tu (m), a statement which is open to very
serious doubt. 1 This word tu occurs in the ancient clas
sical literature, and native students declare that it repre
sents an earlier chu. This is specially noted with reference
to the occurrence of tu in a wellknown passage of the
“Lun - Yü ". Then as to the first part of the name there
seems to have been an old and perhaps dialectical pro
nunciation of the character as Hien or Hin . This pro
nunciation is found at present in the dialect of Shao -wu
foo in the Province of Fuhkeen in which # " is read
Hien -tu.2
But what was the sound originally represented by the
character now read Chu in the compound T'ien-chu? It
seems that no satisfactory and decisive answer can be
given at present to this question. We find that in the
Han period the character represented several sounds which
cannot be said to be very like each other. The upper
part chu meaning bamboo is not significant here, we are
told, but only phonetic ; and the lower part is significant,
and refers the word to the category earth . The character
might then be read something like du , but this account
1 Shih-chi, l. c.
2 The Chinese Recorder for September 1891 , p. 408.
136 DISCUSSION OF OLD
of the syllable may be doubted, as we learn also that the

character was read like tek, an old and still current pro
nunciation of the word for bamboo. Then this same
character was also read as chuh, tuh, kat, and ko or you. 1
Something like the last was perhaps the earliest pro
nunciation of the character, and this is probably a cor
ruption or abbreviation of a form like kao ( ) or kung
(* ). This last form, unknown to the dictionaries apparently,
occurs often in Japanese texts of Buddhist books instead
of the character for chu. Now in the fact that ko or gou
was an old sound of this character we have an explanation
of a proper name found in the Tibetan version of the
Buddhist “ Sūtra in Forty- two Sections" . One of the two
Indian monks who came to China in the time of Han
Ming Ti , and translated or drew up the above scripture,
is styled in Chinese text Chu Fa-lan. These words ap
parently represented an Indian name like Dharma-pushpa,
that is, Flower of Buddhism. Now the Tibetans transcrib
ing the sounds of the characters for Chu Falan according
to their own language wrote apparently Go-ba-ran and this
became in the modern transcription Gobharana. This last
word is neither Sanscrit nor Tibetan, but it has been
adopted by Feer who has been followed by Beal and
Eitel. That Chu in such expressions as Chu-Fa-lan ( the
YŁ W), is not part of the name, but means " India " or
" Indian " we know from its occurrence in other expressions
of a similar kind. We may also infer it, in this case,
from the fact that it does not occur in some old editions
of the above-mentioned scripture, which have only Fa-lan
as the name of the Indian monk. So also in another
Tibetan work we find him described as “ Bháraņa Pandita " .2
There is also another word in which we may perhaps
1 Shuo-wên, ed. Kuei Fu-hsio, 8. v. t. In the Fo-kuo-chi this

character must be pronounced like Tuh or Tak as it forms the first
syllable of the name Takshasila.
2 Feer's Le Sūtra en 42 Articles p. 47 ; Ssă -shih -êrh - chang -ching,
and Bun . No. 678 and Apps II. col . I ; Journal Bengal A. S. No. LI .
p. 89 ; Huth , Geschichte d. Bud . in d. Mongolei, tr. from Tibetan,S. 101 .
CHINESE NAMES FOR INDIA . 137
recognize the ko pronunciation of our character chu . This

word is the old “ Tangut", more correctly Tan-ku, which
was the Turkish - Persian designation for the country now
called Tibet. ' It is not improbable that, as some have
supposed, this Tan-ku is simply the T'ien-chu of Chinese
writers. And so this last may have been originally a
Turkish term, used to denote a country immediately
to the west of China, and between that country and
Bactria .
T'ien -tu, on the other hand was the name of a place
in the Eastern Sea mentioned in the “ Shan-hai-ching ”
along with Chao-hsien or Korea. This place was after
wards identified wrongly with the Tien -chu of writers on
India and Buddhism . But we find mention also of another
T'ien -tu (written in the same way), a small country to
the west of China, which has been supposed by some to
be the Shên-tu of Chang Ch‘ien .
Whatever the name T'ien -chu may have signified ori
ginally, however, it came to be given by the Chinese in
their literature to the great extent of territory between
the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, and reaching
from the Kapis country in the north to Ceylon in the
south. Thus used it supplanted the old Shên - tu, and all
other names for India among the Chinese ; and it continued
to be the general literary designation for that country
down to the T'ang period when the new name Yin-tu was
brought into fashion. We even find the term Tien-chu
used with a wider application, and it is employed as a
synonym for " Buddhist countries”, for example, in a title
given to the “ Fo -kuo -chi” of Fa-hsien . Nor has the term
been quite put out of use by Yuan-chuang's correct name
Yintu, and Yuan - chuang himself continues to use it
occasionally. We find also each of its component parts
1 Georgi's Alph. Tib. p. 10. In the Hai-kuo -t'u - chih it is ex

pressly stated that Tien - chu has been identified with the modern
Hsi- Tsang or Tibet.
Shan-hai-ching, ch . 18.
138 WHY IS INDIA A MOON.
sometimes made to do duty for the whole. This Chung

Tien and Hsi - T‘ien are respectively Middle and West
India, while Chu in the Han and Ch'in periods and later
was commonly used for India or Indian, a way in which
Hsi - Tien is also used .
Leaving Trien -chu to continue as a Chinese name for
India, Yuan-chuang puts aside what he considers to be
the corruptions of the term Yin-tu, and proceeds to use
that form as the correct designation of the country. He
goes on to suggest a reason for this word , meaning " moon ",
having come to be so employed. His explanation is ap
parently as follows
The unceasing revolutions of mortals' existences are a dark
long night; were there not a warden of the dawn they would
be like the night with its lights which succeeds the setting of
the sun ; although the night have the light of the stars that is
not to be compared to the light of the clear moon. Hence
probably India was likened to the moon as (since the sun of the
Buddha set] it has had a succession of holy and wise men to
teach the people and exercise rule as the moon sheds its bright
influences,-
,-on this account the country has been called Yin- tu.
The comparison and explanation of our author, it must
be admitted , are sorry things ; and they are not improved
in any of the translations . But the passage has probably
some copyist's mistakes , and we must at least supply a
clause which apparently has dropt out of the text. This
clause is the important phrase Fo-jih -chi-yin ( DE )
which means “ when the sun of the Buddha set”. I have
restored these words within square brackets in the body
of the pilgrim's explanation , but it is probable that they
occurred at the head of it also. The “ long night" of the
text is the interminable succession of renewed existences
to non-Buddhists , and to the Buddhists the period between
the death of one Buddha and the advent of another ,
but it is rather a state of affairs than a tract of time .
It denotes a condition of spiritual darkness to mankind ,
an endless repetition of mortal life in many varieties ; each
life ignorant of the one before , and without any hint of
the one to follow . There is no Buddha in the world ; and
THE NAME T'IEN - CHU . 139
so there is no one to end the night, and bring in the dawn

of Nirvana. The Buddha is the Ssă -ch'ên ( ) or
Warden of the Dawn, the officer in charge of daybreak
who ushers in the light of intelligence and the perfect
way.
Now on earth, when the “ lights of night” succeed the
setting of the sun, there are stars, and there is the moon.
The stars, however, have only a shining, the brightness of
a glow. But the moon has a light which illuminates and
influences the world, and which transcends in brightness
all other lights of the night. So other lands have had
sporadic sages who made a glory for themselves revolving
each in his own peculiar eccentric orbit. But India had
a regular succession of great Sages who followed the
great wheel of ancient authority, each successor only ex
pounding, renewing, or developing the wise teachings of
his divine or human predecessors; thus keeping the light
of primitive revelation shining among mortals. In Buddhist
writings the Buddha is often compared to the moon, while
the stars are sometimes the rival teachers of his time, and
occasionally his own great disciples.
A later Chinese writer, apparently under the impression
that he had the authority of Yuan- chuang for the state
ment, tells us that Tien - chu means moon . But he, like
several other authors, explains the giving of this name to
India in a different way from that described by the pilgrim.
He says that the country was called Tien -chu or Moon
because it was as great and distinguished above the other
countries of the world, as the moon is great among the
stars of night—"velut inter ignes Luna minores ” . Other
writers, like I -ching for example, are more discreetly wise,
and refrain from proposing any explanation of the names
for India . Admitting, they say, Yin -tu to be a Sanskrit term
denoting the moon , yet it was not for that reason that the
Chinese gave it as a name to the country, nor is the name
the universal one. Yin -tu is the Chinese name for India
as Chi-na and Chen-tan are terms used in that country
to denote China, and apart from such use these names
140 THE BRAHMIN COUNTRY .
have no signification. This is going too far, and the

word India at least has a satisfactory explanation. When
our pilgrim enquired about the size and form of the
country, he was told that it was shaped like a crescent
or, as it is in the text, a half-moon. The term used was
apparently Indu-kalā, transcribed Yin -tiê-ka -lo (Ep 4 thru
IL ) . This word means a digit of the moon or a crescent,
but it is rendered in Chinese simply by yueh or moon .
It was perhaps this fact which led to the absurd com
parison and explanation of our text.
Our author in this passage mentions another general
name for India, viz - Country of the brahmins (Po-lo
mên-lao).
Among the various castes and clans of the country the brah
mins, he says, were purest and in most esteem. So from their
excellent reputation the name “ Brāhmaṇa- country" had come to
be a popular one for India.
Now this is also a foreign designation, and one used by
the Chinese especially. It does not seem to have been
ever known, or at least current, in India. In Chinese
literature we find it employed during the Sui period (A.D.
589 to 618) but it is rather a literary than a popular
designation. In the shortened form Fan kuo ( # ),
however, the name has long been in common use in all
kinds of Chinese literature.
The territory which Yuan - chuang calls Yin - tu was
mapped off by him , as by others, into five great divisions
called respectively North, East, West, Central, and South
Yin -tu. The whole territory, he tells us,
was above 90 000 li in circuit, with the Snowy Mountains (the
Hindu Kush) on the north and the sea on its three other sides .
It was politically divided into above seventy kingdoms ; the heat
of summer was very great, and the land was to a large extent
marshy. The northern region was hilly with a brackish soil;
1 Nan - hai -chi- kuei 1. c .

2 Supplement to I -ch'ie-ching-yin-yi, ch . 3. This of course is not
the origin of the name for India, but it may account for the Chinese
use of Yin - tu as a designation for the country.
INDIAN MEASURES . 141
the east was a rich fertile plain ; the southern division had a
luxuriant vegetation ; and the west had a soil coarse and gravelly .
INDIAN MEASURES OF SPACE .
Our author now proceeds to give the names of measures

of space and time which were in use among the people
of India or were taught in their standard books of learning
and religion .
He begins at the top of the gradation with the Yojana which,
he says, had always represented a day's journey for a royal
army. The old Chinese equivalent for it, he says, was 40 li, the
people of India counted it as thirty li , while the Buddhist books
treated it as equal to only sixteen li.
We are not told, however, that in India the Yojana
varied in different places and at different times.
Then the Yojana, he states, was divided into eight Kroşa, the
Kroşa into 500 Bows, the Bow into four Cubits, aud the Cubit
into twenty -four Fingers. Forgetting, apparently, to mention
the division of the Finger into three Joints Yuan -chuang pro
ceeds to state the division of the Finger-joint into seven Wheat
(properly Barley)-grains. Thence the subdivision by sevens is
carried on through the Louse, the Nit, Crevice -dust, Ox -hair
[Dust], Sheep -wool ( Dust), Hare-hair [Dust), Copper [Dust] ,
Water [Dust) , and Fine Dust to Extremely Fine Dust. This
last is the ultimate monad of matter and is indivisible.
This enumeration of Indian measures of space was ap
parently written down from memory, and it does not quite
agree with any of the other accounts we have. In the
Abhidharmamahāvibhāsha -lun, 1 compiled by the 500 Arhats
and translated by Yuan - chuang, we find a similar enume
ration , leaving it undecided, however, whether " seven copper
dusts ” made one “ Water -dust", or seven of the latter made
one of the former. In this, and in the other books in which
we find the measures of space given, the word for dust is
added to each of the terms Ox - hair, Sheep -wool, Hare's
hair, Copper, and Water, and I have accordingly inserted
it in the version here given of Yuan -chuang's account.
Instead of trung, copper, the D text has chin, gold, perhaps
1 Abhidharma- ta - vibhāsha -lun, ch . 136 ( Bun. No. 1263).
142 INDIAN MEASURES .
used in the sense of metal, and this is the reading of

Yuan - chuang's “ Abhidharma-tsang -hsien -tsung-lun ”. Then
the " Abhidharma-kośa-lun", which also has chin instead
of trung, makes seven “metal-dusts” equivalent to
" water -dust " thus reversing Yuan-chuang's arrangement.
The word dust here should perhaps be replaced by atom
or particle.
Another enumeration of Indian measures of space is
given in the Lalitavistara and its translations Tibetan and
Chinese, and another in the Avadāna XXXIII of the
Divyāvadāna of Mess Cowell and Neil.2 The latter is
represented in the Chinese collection of Buddhist books
by four treatises. In none of all these works is there
anything corresponding to the words " copper" and " water"
of our author's list. Moreover each of them makes the
Window - Dust or Sunbeam -mote the " Crevice-Dust" of
our author — to be one seventh of a Hare (or Moon )-Dust
and equal to seven particles of Fine Dust. Julien took
the "copper water ” of our text to be one term and trans
lated it by “ l'eau de cuivre ( Tamrāpa ? )", but this is un
doubtedly wrong. 3 In this gradation of measures the
“ Extremely Fine Dust ” is a monad of thought, a logical
necessity, and has no separate existence in matter. The
lowest actual unit of matter is the anu of the Divyāvadana,
which is the “ Fine Dust " of our author. This too, however,
though visible to the deva -sight, is invisible to the human
sight and impalpable to the other human senses. But it
is a material substance, the most minute of all material
1 Abhidharma-tsang-hsien-tsung-lun , ch. 17 (No.1266) ; Abhidharma

kośa-lun, ch. 12 (No. 1267).
2 Lalitavistara ch. 12 : Foucaux's Rgya - cher-rol-pa, p. 142 and
note ; Fang -kuang -ta -chuang -yen - ching, ch . 4 (No. 159); Divyāv.
p. 644 ; Mātanga -sūtra, ch. 2 (No. 645 ).
3 See also the Tsa -abhidharma- hsien -lun , ch . 2 (No. 1288) ; Albe
runi, che XXXIV and XXXVII ; Abhidharma-shun -chêng - li -lun,
ch . 32. In this treatise we have all the measures of space given by
Yuan-chuang but the “Metal-dust" is one -seventh of the “ Water
dust " . It gives also the division of the Finger into three Finger
joints.
INDIAN MEASURES . 143
sizes and quantities, and the ultimate atom into which dust
or metal or water can be analysed. It takes seven of
these, according to some, to equal one Atom (truţi or tu
ti), and seven of these to make one Sunbeam -mote. If
we omit the two words “ Copper ” and “ Water" from our
text, and remove the term “ Crevice-Dust ” to its place, we
have an enumeration of measures which agrees substan
tially with that of the Divyāvadāna up to the Kroşa.
Some of the Chinese texts represent the Kroșa, translated
by shêng (% ) a sound, to be 2000 Bows, and in some the
Barley -grain is subdivided, not as by Yuan-chuang, but
into seven Mustard -seeds.
MEASURES OF TIME.
Our author next goes on to describe the measures of

time in India, beginning with the divisions of the Day
night period. Here also he mainly follows Sanghabhadra's
treatise 1, and differs from most other writers, Buddhist
and orthodox.
He calls the Kshana the shortest space of time and makes
120 of it equal to one Tatkshana. Then 60 Tatkshanas make
one Lava , 30 Lavas“ make one Muhurta, five of these make one
" time" (95 ), and six "times' make one Day-night. The six 'times'
of this last are, we are told , distributed equally between the
day and the night. But the non-Buddhist people of India,
Yuan-chuang tells us, divided the day and night each into four
" times " .
It will be seen that Yuan-chuang here puts the Kshana

below the Tatkshaņa, in this agreeing with the Abhidharma
treatises of Sanghabhadra and Dharmatara. The Divyā
vadāna, on the other hand makes 120 Tatkshaņas equal
to one Kshana, and 60 Kshanas equal to one Lava. In
some Chinese versions of the sacred books the tatkshana
is not mentioned . The kshana is defined as the time
occupied by a woman in spinning one hsün ( ) of thread,
but the word is generally used by Buddhist writers in
1 Abhidharma -shun - chêng -li -lun, 1. c. For the measures of Time

generally see the references in the above pote 3 on p. 142.
144 INDIAN MEASURES .
the sense of an instant, the twinkling of an eye, the very

shortest measurable space of time.
The word kshaņa is commonly transcribed in Chinese
books as in our text , and it is rarely translated. The lava
is sometimes rendered by shih (115 ), time, and sometimes
by fên ( 5 } ), a division . So also Muhurta is sometimes
translated by shih, time, but more frequently by hsü - yü
Ghi di), an instant or moment, such being also the original
meaning of muhurta . But hsü -yü when used as a trans
lation of this word does not denote an instant but a period
of 48 minutes, the thirtieth part of a Day-night. The day
is divided into three " times", viz. forenoon, noon , and
afternoon, and hence it is called Trisandhya. In like manner
the night is divided into three " times" or watches and
hence it is called Triyāmā.
Our author next goes on to enumerate the divisions,
natural and artificial, of the month and the year in India.
He distinguishes between the common four - fold division
of the seasons, and the three-fold one used by Buddhists.
The latter division was into a hot season (Grīshma)
followed by a rainy season ( Varsha ), and then a cold
season (Hemanta). We have next the names of the months
of the year in their order beginning with Chaitra. Then
comes an interesting passage which, as it appears in our
texts, presents some difficulty. The meaning seems to be
something like this ,
“ Hence the professed Buddhists of India, complying with the
sacred instructions of the Buddha, observe (lit. sit) two periods
of Retreat, either the early or the later three months. The
former period begins on our 16th day of the 5th month, and the
latter on the 16th of the 6th month . Previous translators of the
Sūtras and Vinaya use “ Observe the summer " or " Observe the
end of the winter " . These mistranslations are due to the people
of outlying lands not understanding the standard language, or to
the non -harmonizing of provincialisms”.
The first sentence of this passage evidently means that
the Buddhist monks of India could make either the former
or the later three months of summer their period of
Retreat. My interpretation of the passage differs a little
THE RAINY SEASON. 145
from that of Julien who substitutes yü (j rain, for the

liang (N5) two, of the text, supporting his change of read
ing by a quotation of the present passage in a Buddhist
Cyclopedia. But one of two copies of this Cyclopedia in
my possession gives liung and the other has huo (pl ).
Moreover all texts of the “ Hsi -yü -chi” seem to agree in
having liang here: and we read in other books of two and
even three periods of Retreat. For the monks of India ,
however, these were all included within the Rain-season,
the four months which began with the 16th of their fourth
month and ended on the 15th of the 8th month. The full
period of Retreat was three months; and Buddha ordained
that this period might be counted either from the middle
of the fourth or the middle of the fifth month . The con
jecture may be hazarded that Yuan - chuang originally
wrote liang -yü ( HJ HJ)-an -chü that is “ two Rain -Retreats ”
and that a copyist thinking there was a mistake left out .
the second character. This restoration does not make
good style but something of the kind is apparently needed
as Yuan-chuang's expression for the Retreat was yü -an -chü.
The Sanskrit term for the Retreat is Varshā ( in Pali
Vassā) which means simply rains, the rainy season , from
varsha which denotes, along with other things, rain and
a year. The usual expression for “ keeping Retreat ” is
varshām vas in Pali, vassam vasati) or varshām sthā,
meaning respectively to reside, and to rest, during the
rainy season. For these terms the Chinese give various
equivalents such as the Tso-hsia and Tso-la of some, and
the T'so -an -chü or Tso-yü -an -chü of Yuan -chuang and
others. For the Buddhists of India as for the other
people of that country the " rainy season " began on the
16th of the month Ashādha (the fourth of their year), and
continued for four months. This was chiefly for religious
purposes, but to the non -Buddhists of India three months
of this period formed also their summer. This may help
to explain the use of the phrase Tso -hsia which is a short
form for the full expression Tso-hsia-yü-an-chü meaning
"to observe the Summer Rain Retreat" . Then Tso -hsia
K
146 THE RAINY SEASON .
and Tso-la mean also to pass a year as an ordained

monk, the precedence of a brother being settled by his
“ years in religion ”. The phrase Tso-la or Tso-la - an -chü is
used specially of the strict anchorite who observed two
Retreats, one in the summer and one in the winter. It
might be also applied to brethren in strange lands, Tokhara
for example, whose Rainy season occurred at the end of
the winter. Yuan - chuang seems to think that the terms
Tso-Hsia and Tso -La are not correct renderings from the
Sanskrit and they certainly are not literal translations .
He supposes the mistakes to have arisen either from the
translators having been natives of countries remote from
Mid-India, and so ignorant of the correct term and its
proper pronunciation , or from the use of an expression
which had only local application and currency. But the
“ non -harmonizing of provincialisms” denotes not only the
misuse of local terms, but also ignorance of the idioms in
one language which should be used to represent the cor
responding idioms of another. Thus a Chinese or Indian
scholar translating a Sanskrit book into Chinese without
a thorough knowledge of the Sanskrit and Chinese idioms
would not harmonize the countries' languages. Julien
takes " Mid -kingdom " here to mean China but it certainly
denotes Mid - India . In that region people called the
Rainy season Varshā, but in other places the word was
pronounced vasso, or barh, or barkh , or varsh . So trans
lators, Yuan -chuang thinks, may have in some cases mis
taken the word, or they may have misunderstood either
the original, or the Chinese term they were using in trans
lation. Thus the important fact that the Retreat was
ordained on account of the Rains is put out of view by
the renderings Tso-Hsia and Tso - La. There was not,
however, any ignorance of Sanskrit or Chinese in the use
of these terms, and good scholars in the two languages
such as Fa -hsien and I -ching use Tso -hsia and An-chü
indifferently. In countries in which there was no long
regular Rainy season the Retreat became of importance
as a time for spiritual improvement by study of the sacred
CITIES AND HOUSES. 147
books and prolonged meditation, and as giving a year's

seniority to the brother among his brethren.
CITIES AND HOUSES.
We have next a short description of the general cha
racters of the cities and buildings of India. The passage
is an interesting one and the meaning may be given some
what as follows
“ As to their inhabited towns and cities the quadrangular walls
of the cities (or according to one text, of the various regions) are
broad and high , while the thoroughfares are narrow tortuous
passages. The shops are on the highways and booths (or, inns)
line the roads . Butchers, fishermen , public performers, exe
cutioners, and scavengers have their habitations marked by a
distinguishing sign. They are forced to live outside the city and
they sneak along on the left when going about in the hamlets.
As to the construction of houses and enclosing walls, the couutry
being low and moist , most of the city-walls are built of bricks,
while walls of houses and inclosures are wattled bamboo or
wood. Their halls and terraced belvederes have wooden flat
roofed rooms, and are coated with chunam, and covered with
tiles burnt or unburnt. They are of extraordinary height, and
in style like those of China. The [houses] thatched with coarse
or common grass are of bricks or boards ; their walls are orna
mented with chunam ; the floor is purified with cow -dung and
strewn with flowers of the season ; in these matters they differ
from us. But the Buddhist monasteries are of most remarkable
architecture. They have a tower at each of the four corners of
the quadrangle and three high halls in a tier. The rafters and
roofbeams are carved with strange figures, and the doors,
windows, and walls are painted in various colours. The houses
of the laity are sumptuous inside and economical outside. The
inner rooms and the central hall vary in their dimensions, and
there is no rule for form or construction for the tiers of the
terraces or the rows of high rooms. Their doors open to the
east, and the throne faces east.
For seats all use corded benches . The royal family, the
grandees, officials and gentry adorn their benches in different
ways, but all have the same style (or form ) of seat. The sover
eign's dais is exceedingly wide and high , and it is dotted with
small pearls. What is called the “ Lion's Seat ” (that is, the
actual throne) is covered with fine cloth, and is mounted by a
jewelled footstool. The ordinary officials according to their
K*
148 DRESS IN INDIA.
fancy carve the frames of their seats in different ways, and adorn
them with precious substances .
DRESS AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS.
The inner clothing and outward attire of the people have no
tailoring ; as to colour a fresh white is esteemed and motley is
of no account. The men wind a strip of cloth round the waist
and up to the armpits and leave the right shoulder bare . The
women wear a long robe which covers both shoulders and falls
down loose . The hair on the crown of the head is made into
a coil, all the rest of the hair hanging down. Some clip their
mustaches or have other fantastic fashions . Garlands are worn
on the head and necklaces on the body.
The names for their clothing materials are Kiao- she- ye (Kau
sheya) and muslin (tieh ) and calico ( pu ), Kausheya being silk
from a wild silk -worm ; Ch'ü (or Ch'u)-mo (Kshauma), a kind of
linen ; Han (or Kan )-po -lo (Kambala) a texture of fine wool
(sheep's wool or goat's hair), and Ho-la - li (Ral ?) a texture made
from the wool of a wild animal — this wool being fine and soft
and easily spun and woven is prized as a material for clothing.
In North India where the climate is very cold closely fitting
jackets are worn somewhat like those of the Tartars (Hu ).
-Buddhists (religieux) are varied and extra
The garbs of the non-
ordinary. Some wear peacocks’tails; some adorn themselves with a
?
necklace of skulls ; some are quite naked ; some cover the body with
grass or boards; some pull out their hair and clip their moustaches ;
some mat their side - hair and make a top - knot coil. Their cloth
ing is not fixed and the colour varies .
In this passage, it will be noticed, the clothing materials
used by the lay people of India are arranged in four
groups. The first is called by the pilgrim “ Kausheya
clothing and muslin and cloth ” (1 91 * K EL HIM ).
Now kausheya (or kaušeya) is silk made from the cocoon
of the Bombyx Mori, and tieh -pu is cotton-cloth or tieh
and cotton cloth. It is perhaps better to regard tieh and
pu as names of two materials, and in another treatise we
find Kausheya, tieh , and tsʻui ( ) grouped together. This
ts-ui was apparently a kind of coarse cotton cloth, and
we find a tsui-ka -pei or “ rough cotton ” used to stuff
cushions. The term kausheya was applied not only to
1 Ta- fang - teng -ta -chi - ching, ch . 11 (No. 61 tr. cir. A.D. 400 ).
DRESS IN INDIA . 149
silk stuffs but also to mixtures of silk and linen or cotton. 1

Our pilgrim evidently makes one group of “ silk clothing"
and cottons. This is not to be much wondered at when 2
we reflect that he, like the other Chinese of his time and
district, knew nothing of the cotton plant and the cloths
derived from it. Moreover we should probably regard
this description of the dress of the natives of India as
derived from an earlier account.
The second kind of clothing material here mentioned
is the Kshauma or Linen. This term also is to be re
garded as denoting a class. It comprehends, we must
suppose, the fabrics made from the Kshumā or flax, the
šanā or jute, and the bhangā or hemp. These three plants
are mentioned in Chinese translations from the Sanskrit
as yielding stuffs from which clothes were made. This
word kshauma denotes not only linen but also silk textures.
The third group is the kambala. This word, which
denotes “ woollen cloth" and " a blanket ", is here evidently
used in the sense of fine woollen cloth for making cloth
ing. Like the kausheya and the kshauma the kambala
clothing was allowed to the Buddhist Brethren .
The fourth kind of stuff mentioned as used for clothing
material is called by Yuan -chuang Ho -la -li ( 79 i 1 ).
There does not seem to be any known Sanskrit word with
which this can be identified. As Yuan - chuang spells
foreign words the three characters may stand for Ral, a
Tibetan word meaning “ goat's hair ”, from Ra, a goat.
This Ho- la - li or Ral is also probably the Lo-i ( ) or
“" Lo(Ra) clothes" of other Buddhist texts. In Sanskrit
also we find rallaka which denotes a wild animal and a
stuff made from its hair, and rallaka -kambala which is a
fine woollen cloth .
Our pilgrim's description proceeds
The clerical costume of the Sha -mên (Sramaņas) is only the three
robes and the Sêng -kio -ki and Ni- p‘o - so -na. As to the three
robes the Schools adhere to different styles having broad or
1 Sar. Vin. vibhāsha, ch. 5 (No. 1135) : Sêng-chi-lü, ch. 9.

150 DRESS OF THE BHIKSHUS.
narrow fringes and small or large folds. The sêng-kio-ki goes

over the left shoulder covers the armpits, joined on the right
and opening on the left side and in length reaching to below
the waist. As to the Ni - p'o - so - na, since no belt is worn when
it is put on , it is gathered into plaits and secured by one of
these, the size and colour of the plaits vary in the different
schools.
For the first part of this passage Julien has the follow
ing— “ Les Cha -men (Cramanas) n'ont que trois sortes de
vêtements, savoir le Sêng-kia-tchi ( Saīghāți) le Seng-kio-ki
(Saūkakchikā ), et le Ni-po-sie -na (Nivāsana ). La coupe et
la façon de ces trois vêtements varient suivant les écoles.
Les uns ont une bordure large ou étroite, les autres ont
des pans petits ou grands”. Here the translator spoils
the description by interpolating the words “ savoir le
Sêng-kia-tchi ( Sañghāti)", leaving out the word for " and ",
and inserting " ces" in the clause " La coupe et la façon
de ces trois vêtements”. The “ Three robes ” of the Buddhist
monk are quite distinct from the two articles of his dress
here mentioned by name. The “ three robes” are always
given as the Antaravāsaka , the Samghāti, and the Uttarā
sañga. Of these we have already met with the second
and third in our traveller's account of Balkh, and there
we met also with the article of clothing called Seng-kio-ki.
This last word is apparently for the original which is
Samkachchika in Pali and Julien's Sanskrit Sañkakshikā.
This is translated in a Chinese note to our text by
" covering armpits”. Professor Rhys Davids translates the
Pali word by “ vest”, but the description given seems to
suit a rude shirt or jacket with one sleeve which was
buttoned or looped on the left shoulder. One name for
the vestment as worn by monks in China is Prien-shan
( 17 ) or “ one-sided jacket”.1 The other article of monk's
costume mentioned by name here is the Ni-po-so -na or
Nivāsana . This is rendered in Chinese by chün ( 1 ) an
old native term denoting a “ skirt” on the lower part of
i Shih -shih -yao -lan (TT LET 12 ), ch. 1 ; Vinaya Vol. ii, p. 272
and Vinaya Texts Vol. iii, p. 351 ; Sêng -chi- lü l. c.
DRESS OF THE BHIKSHUS. 151
a robe of ceremony. Nivāsana is a common term for an

under -robe or lower garment, but it is here used in its
restricted sense as designating the particular kind of skirt
or under -robe worn by Buddhist monks. This was, accord
ing to regulation, four ells long by one and a half in width ,
and it reached from the waist to about three finger -breadths
above the ankle. As Yuan - chuang here tells us the Schools
were distinguished by differences in the wearing of the
Nivāsana.1 Thus, as I-ching tells us, the Sarvāstivādins
wore the skirt with a pair of plaits turned out on both
sides of it, and the Mahāsanghikas crossed the end of the
right side to the top of the left side, tucking it in to keep
the skirt in its place. This skirt or Nivāsa had no string
or girdle and it was evidently something like the Malay
Sarong which, as Colonel Yule tells us, is an old Indian
form of dress. This garment also is self-securing, and is
not in need of a belt or girdle. The two articles of dress
here mentioned and described, viz. the Sankakshika and
the Nivāsana were in addition to the Three Robes which
formed originally the full clerical costume of the bhikshu.
They are often mentioned in the canonical books, having
been allowed apparently as soon as Buddhism began to
spread. The mode of wearing the Nivāsana and its colour
and fashion caused much discussion and unpleasant feeling
in the early church .
The pilgrim's description continues
The Kshatriyas and Brahmins are clean -handed and unosten
tatious, pure and simple in life and very frugal. The dress and
ornaments of the kings and grandees are very extraordinary.
Garlands and tiaras with precious stones are their head -adorn
ments ; and their bodies are adorned with rings, bracelets, and
necklaces. Wealthy mercantile people have only bracelets. Most
of the people go barefoot and shoes are rare. They stain their
teeth red or black, wear their hair cut even , bore their ears,
have long noses and large eyes ; such are they in outward ap
pearance.
i Ssă-fên-lü , ch . 19 ; Nan-hai-ch'i-kuei, ch. 10, 11 and Takakusu ;

Pi-ni-mu-ching, ch . 8.
152 PURIFICATION HABITS.
They are pure of themselves and not from compulsion. Before

every meal they must have a wash ; the fragments and remains
are not served up again ; the food utensils are not passed on ;
those utensils which are of pottery or wood must be thrown
away after use, and those which are of gold, silver, copper, or
iron get another polishing. As soon as a meal is over they
chew the tooth -stick and make themselves clean ; before they
have finished ablutions they do not come into contact with each
other ; they always wash after urinating; they smear their bodies
with scented unguents such as sandal and saffron. When the
king goes to his bath there is the music of drums and stringed
instruments and song ; worship is performed and there are bath
ing and washing .
The last sentence of this passage is in Julien's version
“ Quand le roi se dispose à sortir, des musiciens battent
le tambour et chantent aux sons de la guitare. Avant
d'offrir un sacrifice, ou d'adresser des prières (aux dieux),
ils se lavent et se baignent”. Here Julien evidently had
for the first clause the B reading chün-wang -chiang-ts'ü ,
meaning “ when the king is about to go out”. But in the
A, C, and D texts the reading instead of ts'ü is yü, mean
ing " to bathe", and this is evidently the correct reading.
Then Julien seems to change the author's meaning by
making the second clause a new sentence and introducing
the word " avant ". The author's meaning seems to be
that when the king took his bath there was the per
formance of certain acts of worship.1
WRITTEN AND SPOKEN LANGUAGE &c.
The description next proceeds to tell of the writing and
learning of the Hindus.
Their system of writing was invented , as is known , by the deva
Brahmā who at the beginning instituted as patterns forty seven
(written ] words. These were combined and applied as objects
arose and circumstances occurred ; ramifying like streams they
spread far and wide becoming modified a little by place and
people. In language, speaking generally, they have not varied
from the original source, but the people of “ Mid India ” are
1The text is-君王將浴 or 鼓奏弦歌祭祀拜讀

itt i Bt .
WRITING AND LANGUAGE . 153
preeminently explicit and correct in speech, their expressions

being harmonious and elegant, like those of the devas, and their
intonation clear and distinct, serving as rule and pattern for
others. The people of neighbouring territories and foreign
countries repeating errors until these became the norm, and
emulous for vulgarities, have lost the pure style.
The statement here made to the effect that the Sanskrit
alphabet was invented by the god Brahmā is repeated in
several other books by Buddhist writers. Some tell us
that Brahmā was once a rājah on earth, and that he then
invented an alphabet of 72 letters called the “ Kharu writ
ing ” (1 £ :). Disgusted with the bad treatment given
to these letters he proceeded to swallow them all ; but
two , a and au escaped from his mouth and remained
among men . But we are also told that Brahmā invented
the Brahma writing first, and that afterwards Kharoshtha
produced the script which bears his name.2 Another ac
count represents the Brahman writing (or Devanagari) to
have been the invention of a wise ( kovida) Brahmin , and
the Kharu writing to have been the work of a stupid
( kharu) rishi. This Kharu writing is that mentioned in
the Lalitavistara and other books under the name Kha
roshtha (or Kharosta ). This word is translated by “ Ass
Kife ear”, and is the name of an ancient rishiwho was a great
astronomer and astrologist. In some Buddhist treatises
we find the invention of letters ascribed to the Buddha,
and in some Siva, as in Indian tradition , is credited with
the first teaching of spelling and writing. The “forty
seven words ” of our passage are the twelve symbols which
represent the ten vowels, and anusvāra and visarga, and
the thirty -five consonants ; and so constitute the alphabet.
The letters admit of endless combinations to make words
as objects require names and circumstances need expres
sion. Some authors give the number of the letters in the
1 Pai-lun-su ( Mi).
2 Liu -shu-liao h # % ), ch. 5.
3 See Ta-pan-nie-p'an - ching, ch. 8 (No. 113) ; Si -tan -san -mi-ch'ao
( 1 ), ch . 1; Si-t'an -tsang, ch . 1 ; Si-t'an -tzŭ -chi( ).
su
154 ARCHIVES AND RECORDS.
Sanskrit alphabet as less, and others as more, than the

number here given ; but this is generally regarded as the
correct number. With the statements here made by
Yuan -chuang about the Sanskrit alphabet and language
we may compare the more detailed account given in the
third chuan of the Life.1
It is evident that Yuan -chuang, like other non - Indian
Buddhists, had been taught to regard the spoken and
written language of " Mid - India " as at once the parent
and the standard of all the dialects of “ North - India ”.
These latter had departed a little from the correct form
in their writing, some of them , as in Gandhāra, having
written alphabets so unlike the parent one that they had
special names. In oral speech the border lands and
outlying regions generally had come to differ much from
the people of “ Mid - India " . They had lost the rich purity
of the standard language, and had persisted in erroneous
forms of expression until these had come to be taught as
the rule.
The description continues -
As to their archives and records there are separate custodians
of these. The official annals and state-papers are called collec
tivelly ni- lo -pi-t'u (or ch'a) ; in these good and bad are recorded,
and instances of public calamity and good fortune are set forth
in detail.
The Ni-lo- pi-t'u of this passage has been rightly restored
by Julien as Nilapita, and the Chinese annotator tells us
the word means “ Dark -blue store " . We find the word
Nilapita in our Sanskrit dictionaries, but the P. W. gives
only one illustration of its use, and that is the passa
before us.
Proceeding to the education and learning of the people
of India our author writes ,
In beginning the education of their children and winning them
on to progress they follow the " Twelve Chapters ”. When the
children are seven years of age the great treatises of the Five
1 Julien I, p. 165 ; cf. Alberuni Vol . i, p. 170 ; Bühler's Ind. Palæo

graphie ps. 1 and 19 to 30.
EDUCATION IN INDIA . 155
Sciences are gradually communicated to them. The first science

is Grammar which teaches and explains words, and classifies their
distinctions. The second is that of the skilled professions (con
cerned with] the principles of the mechanical arts, the dual
processes, and astrology. The third is the science of medicine
[ embracing] exorcising charms, medicine, the use of the stone,
the needle, moxa. The fourth is the science of reasoning, by
which the orthodox and heterodox are ascertained , and the true
and false are thoroughly sought out. The fifth is the science
of the Internal which investigates and teaches the five degrees
of religious attainments (lit. the “five vehicles ") and the subtle
doctrine of karma,
The " Twelve Chapters" of this passage is in the original

Shi-êrh-chang ( + ) and Julien translates this by " un
livre en douze sections ". In a note to this rendering he
translates a short passage from a wellknown Buddhist
Dictionary about a book called the “ Siddham -chang".
This is doubtless the sort of work to which the pilgrim
refers as the first book which the children of India learned.
The name is made up of Siddham which means, we are
told, Perfection " or " May good fortune be attained ", and
chang the Chinese word for a " section" or " chapter". But
Julien makes the whole stand for a Sanskrit compound
Siddhavastu, a term apparently known only from his use
of it. From a passage in I - ching's “ Nan -hai-ch'i-kuei " and
from other works we learn that the Siddham -chang was
the name of a child's primer ABC., the first chapter of
which was headed by the word siddham.1 This word forms
an " auspicious invocation ”, and the Buddhists used it alone
or with “ Namo Sarvajnāya, “ Praise to the omniscient
[Buddha)” prefixed, at the beginning of their primers.
They used it in a similar way to head such documents
as deeds of gift to religious establishments. In these
places Bühler took the word to mean " Success", i. e.
may there be success, an interpretation which agrees with
the accepted Chinese rendering. But Fleet thinks that
siddham in these places is to be understood as meaning
“ Perfection has been attained by Buddha”, an inter
1 Nan - hai-ch'i -kuei, ch . 34 ; Si-t'an -san -mi- ch'ao, 1. c .
156 WRITING IN INDIA.
pretation which does not seem to be so good . Instead

of siddham the non - Buddhist teachers in India placed
“ siddhir -astu ” meaning “ May there be success (or accom
plishment )" at the head of their ABCs. Thus these books
came to be called Siddham or Siddhir-astu, the former
being the name by which they became known to the
Chinese. There are many varieties of them and the
number of chapters or sections ranges from nine to eight
een, the latter being the number in the work which may
be regarded as the standard one in China. This is the
Si-tan-tzů-chi( 4 * ) by the monk Chih -kuang ( 4 )
of the T'ang period taken from the Siddham of Prajnā
bodhi of South India. A Siddham gives the Sanskrit
alphabet, beginning with the vowels and proceeding in the
order in which the letters are given in our Sanskrit gram
mars, then the combinations made by single consonants
and vowels, and then those made by two or more con
sonants with a vowel. In some of the Siddhams made
for Chinese use we are told that this word denotes " the
alphabet", while in others we are told that it is a designa
tion for the twelve so-called vowels, but the statements
are not borne out by any authority, and are evidently not
correct. It may be interesting, however, in connection
with subject to quote a statement from Alberuni. He
relates— “ The most generally known alphabet is called
Siddha-mātrikā, which is by some considered as originat
ing from Kashmir, for the people of Kashmir use it. But
it is also used in Varānasi. This town and Kashmir are
the high schools of Hindu science. The same writing is
used in Madhyadeśa, i. e. the middle country, the country
all around Kanauj , which is also called Aryāvarta” .2
According to I-ching a child began his primer when he
was six years of age and learned it within six months.
After mastering the Siddham the Indian child, accord
1 Bühler in Ind. Ant. Vol. x, p. 273 ; Fleet in Corp. Insc. Ind.

Vol. iii , p. 25.
2 Alberuni Vol . i, p. 173.
THE FIVE VIDYAS . 157
ing to Yuan -chuang, was introduced to the " great śāstras

of the Five Sciences (Wu -ming -ta -lun Ti. AJJ * ). The
word ming of this phrase is often used to translate the
Sanskrit word vidyā, but a five-fold classification of vidyā
does not seem to be known to Indian literature. We
find, however, our pilgrim's list in certain Chinese trans
lations of Buddhist books and the “ sciences " are there
acquired by aspiring Bodhisattvas. They are called the
“ Five Science places” or the “ Five Science śāstras” . In
his translation of the present passage Julien has treated
the name of each ming as the name of a treatise. This
is evidently a mistake , and the context shews that ming
here denotes a department of knowledge, and that the Wu
ming named are the literatures of five categories of learn
ing and speculation. Yuan -chuang properly places at the
head the Shêng-ming or “ Science of Sounds”, i. e. Grammar.
Julien agrees with I -ching in giving Šabdavidyā as the
original for this term. But Sabdavidyā was apparently
the Buddhist name for Grammar which by the people of
India generally was called Vyākarana. It is this latter
word also which Yuan -chuang elsewhere uses as the ori
ginal for Shêng -ming. The next group is called Chiao
or in some texts Kung- chiao( I 15 )-ming, the " Science of
the Arts and Crafts". Julien retranslates the Chinese
name by Silpasthānavidyā, which seems to be rather the
original for the “ Arts- place Science " of the sūtra. The
third group is the 1 -fang -ming, “ Healing-prescriptions
Science ", that is Medical science in all its branches.
Julien gives as the Sanskrit original for the Chinese name
Chikitsāvidyā or Science of Medicine, but this seems to
be only a conjecture. The fourth group in our passage
is the Yin ( 1 )-ming or the Science of Reasoning. Julien
restores the Sanskrit equivalent as Hetūvidyā which, like
Yin -ming, means literally " Science of causation ". But
Yin-ming is the technical term used to translate the
1 Fan - wang - ching, ch . 2, Glossary ; Yoga - shih - ti - lun, ch. 38

(No. 1170); P'u -sa - ti -chih -ching, ch . 3 (No. 1086 tr. cir. A.D. 415).
158 EDUCATION OF BUDDHISTS .
Nyāya or Logic of Indian writers, and Julien learned

afterwards that it was Nyāya which was the original for
Yin -ming. The fifth is the Nei( A )-ming or " Internal
Science” ; Julien translates “ la science des choses in
térieures" and gives as the Sanskrit original Adhyatma
vidyā. This word adhyātma means (1 ) the highest spirit
and (2 ) belonging to oneself. In Kapila's system ādhyāt
mika means self -caused (in Chinese i-nei te il), and it is
opposed to that which is due to external influences. But
in the present passage, as the context shews, and as we
learn from other authorities, the nei -ming or Inner science
is Buddhism . The son of Buddhist parents went through
a course of secular instruction like other boys, and he
also studied the books of his religion including the meta
physical and argumentative treatises of the great Doctors
of Abhidharma. In these he learned all about the Five
degrees or “ Five Vehicles, the fivefold gradation of moral
beings. These " vehicles" or progressive stages are given
as lay believer (or “ inferior degree" ), ordained disciple,
Pratyeka Buddha, Bodhisattva, Buddha. They are also
said to be Men , Devas, ordained disciples, Pratyeka
Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas, and there is further difference
of opinion as to the classes of beings which form the
successive groups . In the Buddhist śāstras moreover the
student found the doctrine of karma stated, defended, and
illustrated with a subtlety of intellect and boldness of
imagination almost matchless. All the five groups of
learning here enumerated were apparently comprised in
the training of an Indian Buddhist ; and no one could be
a leader in the church, or an authority on dogma, who
did not shew himself a proficient in these departments of
learning. We are told of Kumārajiva that he studied the
Šāstras of the Five sciences, and of Gunabhadra it is
recorded that in his youth he learned all the śāstras of
the Five sciences, astronomy, arithmetic, medicine, exor
i Shih - chiao - fa -shu, ch . 1 ; Ta -ming - san - tsang - fa -shu, ch. 22

(No. 1621)
THE PRIESTLY BOOKS. 159
cisms. The religious training in the Tripitaka was accord

ing to some authorities a separate affair, while others
treat it as a part of the “ Inner Science" .
Our author's description proceeds.
The Brahmins learn the four Veda treatises. The first called
Shou ( ), " Longevity" (the Ayur-Veda) tells of nourishing life
and keeping the constitution in order ; the second called Tzů
( Tin)), “ Worship” (the Yajur Veda) tells of the making of offer
ings and supplications; the third called Ping (4 ) Making
even " (the Sāma Veda) describes ceremonial etiquette, divination,
and military tactics; the fourth called Shu ( ilij) or “ Arts ” (the
Atharva Veda) tells us of the various skilled arts, exorcisms,
medicine. The teacher must have a wide, thorough, and minute
knowledge of these, with an exhaustive comprehension of all that
is abstruse in them .
The words here rendered “ the four Veda treatises” are

in the original “ esů -fei -tê-lun (14 p BE A). Julien trans
lates them simply by “ les quatres Vêdas”, and Beal by
“ the four Vēda Sastras " . Neither of the translators
attempts to explain why the first Veda is here not the
Rig but the Āyur. The latter term denotes life or long
evity, as Yuan -chuang translates, and there is an Ayur
Veda. But this is only a supplement or appendix to the
Atharva-Veda, and denotes rather the science of medicine
than any particular treatise. It is reckoned as Veda, we
learn, because its teachings have been found by experience
to be wise and beneficial. Yuan- chuang knew that the
Rig was the first, the original Veda , yet he does not
even mention it here. His descriptions of the other Vedas
also are not good, and it is plain that he knew very little
about them and the great literature to which they had
given rise. The Sama Veda, for example, with its Brāh
manas and Sütras, has nothing to do with the subjects
which Yuan -chuang assigns to it, and it is concerned only
with the worship of Indra, and Agni, and the Soma.
When writing this passage Yuan -chuang may have had
in view only those Vedic works which were in writing, and
were known to or owned by the Brethren in “ North India ".
Some of these Buddhists were converted Brahmins, and
160 METHODS OF TEACHING .
it was perhaps by some of them, as has been suggested,

that the Vedas were first reduced to writing. The Rig
veda itself still existed only in the memories of the Brah
mins, and it was taught entirely by oral communication,
but there were commentaries and other Vedic treatises
in writing. Moreover we are probably justified in treating
the word “ Veda" in our text as denoting a group or col
lection of treatises, each Veda being a title under which
several departments of learning were classed . The trans
lators into Chinese sometimes render Veda like vidyā by
ming ( AJJ) which simply means knowledge, science, intelligence,
as with the Brahmins the Trayi - vidyā or “ threefold
Science ” denotes the Rig, Yajur, and Sāma Vedas. The
reader also will observe that Yuan -chuang here does not
use the words books, treatises with the terms for Ayur,
Yajur, Sāma, Atharva.
Our author proceeds to sketch the Brahmin teacher's
way of educating his disciples.
These teachers explain the general meaning [to their disciples]
and teach them the minutiæ ; they rouse them to activity and
skilfully win them to progress ; they instruct the inert and
sharpen the dull. When disciples, intelligent and acute, are ad
dicted to idle shirking, the teachers doggedly persevere repeating
instruction 1 until their training is finished . When the disciples
are thirty years old, their minds being settled and their educa
tion finished, they go into office ; and the first thing they do
then is to reward the kindness of their teachers .
We have next some account of a kind of men peculiar
to India and long famous in the world. Our author
writes
There are men who, far seen in antique lore and fond of the
refinements of learning, “ are content in seclusion ", leading lives
of continence. These come and go (lit. sink and float) outside
of the world, and promenade through life away from human
affairs. Though they are not moved by honour or reproach,
1 The original for “ doggedly persevere repeating instruction is

to . This is the reading of the D text but instead of fan
k'ai the Ming edition has K and Julien translates the four words
" ils les attachent et les tiennent enfermés ".
THE WANDERERS. 161
their fame is far spread. The rulers treating them with ceremony
and respect cannot make them come to court. Now as the
State holds men of learning and genius in esteem, and the people
respect those who have high intelligence, the honours and praises
of such men are conspicuously abundant, and the attentions
private and official paid to them are very considerable. Hence
men can force themselves to a thorough acquisition of know
ledge . Forgetting fatigue they " expatiate in the arts and sciences ” ;
seeking for wisdom while " relying on perfect virtue " they " count
not 1000 li a long journey ”. Though their family be in affluent
circumstances , such men make up their minds to be like the
vagrants, and get their food by begging as they go about. With
them there is honour in knowing truth (in having wisdom), and
there is no disgrace in being destitute. As to those who lead
dissipated idle lives, luxur in food an extravagant in dress ,
as such men have no moral excellences and are without ac
complishments, shame and disgrace come on them and their ill
repute is spread abroad. 1
BUDDHISM .
Our author passes on to make a few general observa

tions about the internal condition of Buddhism as he
heard about it and found it in India. His statements on
the subject are meagre and condensed to a fault, and the
precise meaning in some cases has perhaps not yet been
ascertained. The whole passage should be regarded as
forming a separate section , and should not be divided as
it has been by the translators. For the present the in
1 The 'content in seclusion of this passage is in the Chinese fei

t'un (JC illi) which is the fei -t'un ( JC ils) of the commentary to the
33rd Diagram of the Yih - Ching. The phrase means “ to be com
fortable and happy in a life of retirement", to be content and cheer
ful in a voluntary seclusion , in a life of final withdrawal from the
contact of bad men in the hurly -burly of an official career.
For the words 'seeking for wisdom while relying on perfect
virtue' the original is fang-tao-yi-jen (jj [ L). The phrase yi
jen, “depending on (or following) benevolence" is a quotation from
the Lun-yü ; so also is the expression for " expatiate in the arts and
sciences ; then “ count not 1000 li a long journey” is from the first
chapter of Mencius ; and acquired accomplishments' is for the shih
hsi (9 } / ) or “constant practise ” of the first chapter of the Lun-yü.
L
162 INDIAN BUDDHISM .
formation which it gives may be roughly interpreted to

the following effect.
As the religious system of Julai is apprehended by people
according to their kind , and as it is long since the time of the
Holy One, Buddhism now is pure or diluted according to the
spiritual insight and mental capacity of its adherents. The
tenets of the Schools keep these isolated, and controversy runs
high; heresies on special doctrines lead many ways to the same
end. Each of the Eighteen Schools claims to have intellectual
superiority ; and the tenets (or practises) of the Great and the
Small Systems (lit. Vehicles) differ widely. They have sitting in
silent reverie, the walking to and fro, and the standing still ;
Samādhi and Prajñā are far apart, and many are the noisy dis
cussions. Wherever there is a community of Brethren it makes
[its own] rules of gradation . The Brother who expounds orally
one treatise (or class of scripture) in the Buddhist Canon, whether
Vinaya, Abhidharma, or Sūtra, is exempted from serving under
the Prior ; he who expounds two is invested with the outfit of
a Superior ; he who expounds three has Brethren deputed to
assist him ; he who expounds four has lay servants assigned to
him ; he who expounds five rides an elephant ; he who expounds
six rides an elephant and has a surrounding retinue. Where the
spiritual attainments are high, the distinctions conferred are
extraordinary.
The Brethren are often assembled for discussion to test in
tellectual capacity and bring moral character into prominent
distinction, to reject the worthless and advance the intelligent.
Those who bring forward (or according to some texts, estimate
aright) fine points in philosophy, and give subtle principles their
proper place, who are ornate in diction and acute in refined
distinctions, ride richly caparisoned elephants preceded and
followed by a host of attendants. But as for those to whom
religious teaching has been offered in vain, who have been
defeated in discussion, who are deficient in doctrine and redundant
in speech, perverting the sense while keeping the language, the
faces of such are promptly daubed with red and white clay,
their bodies are covered with dirt, and they are driven out to
the wilds or thrown into the ditches . As the moral are marked
off from the immoral so the eminent (the wise) and the stupid
have outward signs of distinction. A man knowing to delight
in wisdom, at home diligently intent on learning, may be monk
or layman as he pleases.
For offences against the Vinaya the Community of Brethren
has a gradation of penalties. If the offence is slight a reprimand
is ordered. For an offence next above this in gravity there is
INDIAN BUDDHISM . 163
added a cessation of oral intercourse with the Brethren . When

the offence is serious the punishment is that the community
will not live with the offender, and this involves expulsion and
excommunication . Expelled from a Community, the monk has
no home ; he then becomes a miserable vagrant, or he returns
to his first estate.
This passage contains several phrases and expressions

which may seem to require some comment or explanation.
Thus in the first sentence we are told that Buddha's
“ religious system is apprehended by people according to
their kind ( kuz EG H 1 6 ! )" , that is, every one
understands Buddha's teaching according to his individual
nature and capacity. The statement is derived from the
canonical Scriptures in which we are told that the Buddha
preached in one language, but that all kinds of creatures
understood him in their own ways. He spoke, we are
told, the “ Aryan language" but Chinese, and Yavans, and
the peoples of Bactria and Bokhara, heard him as speak
ing in their own tongues. Moeover each man in a con
gregation which the Buddha addressed heard his own
besetting sin reproved, and the same words called the
unchaste to chastity and the avaricious to liberality . This
may have been right, and attended with only good con
sequences while the Buddha was bodily present among
men, teaching and preaching and giving rules and precepts.
But at Yuan -chuang's time a long period had elapsed
since the decease of the Buddha. His teachings had been
collected , committed to writing, transmitted and preserved
with very unequal faithfulness. Great differences of opinion
also had arisen as to whether certain doctrines were or
were not the Buddha's teaching. Hence in Yuan- chuang's
time the orthodox religion as professed in India was
genuine or adulterated according to the moral and in
tellectual characters of its professed adherents. Some
held to what they were taught to believe was the original
Canon settled by the first Council. Others doubted and
1 Abhi- ta - vibh - lun, ch . 79 ; Hua- yen - yi - shêng - chiao &c., ch. 1
(No. 1591).
L*
164 THE EIGHTEEN SCHOOLS.
argued, wrested Scripture from its proper meaning to suit

their personal views, and lightly admitted spurious texts
to have authority.
We next have mention of the Eighteen Pu or Schools
which had arisen in Buddhism and of their rivalry. These
Schools were famous in the history of Buddhism, and
various accounts are given of their origin and growth.
We know that the first split in the Church after the
Buddha's death led to the formation of the two great
Schools of the Sthaviras and Mahāsanghikas. The former
in the course of time yielded eleven, and the latter seven
Schools ; and so there were actually Twenty Schools, but
the total number is generally given in the books as
Eighteen. Each of these Schools became famous for the
propagation and defence of some peculiar doctrine. In
Professor Rhys Davids's articles on the Buddhist sects 1
there is an excellent summary of what we know of these
Eighteen Schools, with references to other authorities.
Then we have mention of another famous division in the
Buddhist Church, viz. the Great and Small Vehicles.
Yuan-chuang tells us that " the tenets (or practises) of
the Great and the Small Vehicles differ widely”. Ta
hsiao -êrh - shêng -chü -chih - ch'ü -pie ( Les = TE E or it
區別). Julien translates— " Les partisans du grand et du
petit Vehicle forment deux classes à part”, but this does
not seem to give the author's meaning. The term chü -chih
lit. resting or sojourning denotes here tenets, or outward
observances or practises, and ch'ü-pie means very unlike or
generically different. Yuan -chuang does not state that the
adherents of the two systems formed two classes apart :
he knew that in some places they even lived together in
one monastery. But he tells us that the tenets of the
two Systems, their ways of belief and conduct were far
apart. It is a pity that the word Vehicle has come to
be generally used as the rendering for the Sanskrit Yāna
in the words Mahāyāna and Hinayāna. We should often
1 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Soc. 1891 and 1892.
THE TWO SYSTEMS. 165
substitute for it some term like Creed or System, and

Hīnayāna should be the Primitive and Mahāyāna the
Developed System. As is well known, it was the adherents
of the latter who gave the name “ Small Vehicle” to the
creed from which their own grew. Their doctrines and
religious observances came to differ very widely from
those of the early system. The Mahāyānists had a more
expansive Creed, a different standard of religious perfection,
and a more elaborate cult than the Hinayānists. As to
particular tenets, they differed very much from the early
Buddhists in such matters as opinions about arhats and
Bodhisattvas, their views of the relation of the Buddha
to mankind, of the efficacy of prayer and worship, and of
the elasticity of the Canon. Our author illustrates his
statement as to differences in the Great and Little
Systems by one or two examples, at least such is the
general opinion as to the passage which follows. In the
rendering here given its reads — They have sitting in silent
reverie, the walking to and fro, and the standing still:
Samādhi and Prajñā are far apart, and many are the noisy
discussions'. Julien's translation, which seems to be the
result of a serious misconstruction of the passage is -
"Les uns méditent en silence, et, soit en marchant, soit
en repos, tiennent leur esprit immobile et font abstraction
du monde ; les autres différent tout à fait de ceux -ci par
leurs disputes orageuses”.! The text, given below, plainly
does not admit of this rendering which does great violence
to meaning and construction. In this passage ting, or
" absorbed meditation" ( Samādhi), seems to be declared to
be far apart from prajna, hui or “ transcendental wisdom.
But samādhi, although known to early Buddhism , is
characteristic of Mahāyānism , and is often found, as here,
with hui, which is strictly Mahāyānist. We read of a
great controversy which was carried on between two
Hinayāna Schools as to the relative merits of samādhi
1 The text is- 有宴默思惟經行住立定悲悠隔證

評殊*
166 BASIS OF THE HIERARCHY.
and prajñā. But we should perhaps understand our author

here as stating that the Hinayānist practices of quiet
thought, walking up and down, and standing still were far
removed from the Samādhi and Prajñā of the Mahayānists.
For the sentence—•Wherever there is a community of
Brethren it makes rules of gradation' the original is
* Hill Fit Bj, and Julien translates— “ Suivant le lieu
qu'ils habitent, on leur a fait un code de règlements et de
défenses d'une nature spéciale." This is not in accordance
with Buddhism, and it is not a fair rendering of the
author's words. These mean that each community of
Brethren had its own hierarchy promoted according to a
recognized system. The system of promotion, Yuan -chuang
explains, was briefly this , the Brethren in any establish
ment were advanced according to their ability to expound
and teach the canonical treatises of the Vinaya, Abhid
harma, or Sūtras. In the D text the original is “ without
distinguishing Vinaya, Abhidharma, Sūtra, in Buddha's
canon- (HE Z it prm 1 L 1 ** ), but the B text has the
words chi- fan (fl ) after Fo-ching, and C adds the word
kua (11 ) after fan. Julien having the reading of the B
text translates— " Les règles de la discipline ( Vinaya ), les
Traités philosophiques (Šāstras), les textes sacrés (Sūtras),
les Prédictions ( Vyākaraņas), &c. sont tous également des
livres du Buddha ". He tells us in a note how he gets
" les Prédictions”, viz. by altering the c of the text to .
This emendation is quite untenable and unnecessary, as
is also the insertion of " & c." by the translator. There is
no classification of the Buddhist Scriptures which contains
the four heads of division given in Julien's translation .
All the canon is contained in the Three Baskets (or
Stores), Vinaya, Sūtra, and Abhidharma, and the Chi ( 2 )
or “ les Prédictions " constitute one of the subdivisions of
the sūtra. In the passage under consideration the words
1 But in the passage quoted by Julien and in other places ching
or sūtra is given as one of the classes of Scripture along with the
Shou - chi or Predictions ; the ching the first the class
of scriptures the Chi (or Shou -chi) being also one of the twelve.
PRIVILEGES OF THE LEARNED . 167
Chi-fan are not wanted ; they were probably inserted to

satisfy the demands of style.
The first step in promotion, Yuan -chuang relates, was
that a Brother who could teach one treatise (or class of
writings) in the Canon “ was exempted from serving under
the Prior” . For the words within inverted commas the
original is - Nai-mien -sêng -chih - shih ( T5 3 EU), and
Julien translates— " est dispensé des devoirs de religieux
et dirige les affaires du couvent”. This faulty inter
pretation, it will be seen , puts the disciple of one talent
above the disciples of two or more talents. The Sêng
chih -shih or Karmadāna' in a Buddhist monastery had
control of its secular affairs, and the common monks were
under his orders for all kinds of menial work. When a
Brother proved himself well versed in one subject or
department of the canon , and skilled in eloquent exposition
of the same , he was , as a first step in advancement ,
exempted from performing the ordinary work of the
establishment. This exemption was granted also in
monasteries to which the learned Brother went as a guest .
There is an Abhidharma treatise in which we find an
illustration of our text. A stranger monk arrives in a
monastery and is treated as a guest at first. Afterwards
the Prior tells him that according to his seniority he is
to take part in the daily routine of the establisment . But
the guest said -No, I am not to work ; I am a Ph. D.,
a Lun -shih , and his claim to be exempted was allowed . 1
For the words here rendered by •But as for those to
whom religious teaching has been offered in vain the
original is # 15 € P9 l . Julien wrongly connecting these
words with what precedes translates "A son arrivée, il
passe sous des portes triomphales”. It will be readily
admitted that yi-mên cannot be translated “ triumphal
gates” and that hsü -p'i cannot possibly be rendered by
" il passe sous". The term yi-mên, lit. " door of meaning ”
is used in the senses of article of creed , essential doctrine,
1 Sar. Vin. Mu-tê- ka, ch. 6 (No. 1134 ); Abhi-ta -vib -lun, ch. 118.
168 THE FOUR CASTES .
course of instruction . In ordinary Chinese literature the

term is not unknown and it is an honourable epithet or
distinction. A yi-mên is an unselfish or public -spiritual
clan , as a family which keeps together for a long time,
five or six generations, living and messing on the same
premises. But here yi-mên has a Buddhistic use and
means " cause of religious instruction ". Then hsü -p'i is
“ vainly open ", and the clause means " as for those to whom
religious teaching has been offered to no purpose". It
introduces the words which follow, telling the dreadful
fate of the man who does not learn, and yet pretends to
be wise .
THE CASTES OF INDIA.
Our author passes on to give a few particulars about

the division of the people of India into castes. His
statements may be loosely rendered as follows
There are four orders of hereditary clan distinctions. The first
is that of the Brāhmins or “ purely living " ; these keep their
principles and live continently, strictly observing ceremonial
purity. The second order is that of the Kshatriyas, the race of
kings ; this order has held sovereignty for many generations, and
its aims are benevolence and mercy. The third order is that of
the Vaisyas or class of traders , who barter commodities and
pursue gain far and near. The fourth class is that of the Sūdras
or agriculturists ; these toil at cultivating the soil and are in
dustrious at sowing and reaping. These four castes form classes
of various degrees of ceremonial purity . The members of a
caste marry within the caste, the great and the obscure keeping
apart. Relations whether by the father's or the mother's side
do not intermarry, and a woman never contracts a second
marriage. There are also the mixed castes ; numerous clans
formed by groups of people according to their kinds, and these
cannot be described.
It will be seen from this passage that Yuan-chuang,

like other Chinese writers on India, understood the term
Brāhman as meaning those who had brahman in the sense
of a chaste continent habit of life. The Kshatriyas were
the hereditary rulers, and as such their minds were to
be bent on benevolence and mercy. This is in accordance
INTERMARRYINGS . 169
with Manu who lays it down that the king should be a

protector to his people. Yuan - chuang here puts the castes
in the order given in brahmin books, but in the Buddhist
scriptures the Kshatriyas are usually placed above the Brāh
mins. The phrase which he applies to the Vaisyas, whom
he calls the trading caste, viz. " they barter what they
have not" is one of some interest. The words are mao
ch'ien -yu -wu ( fl & ME), and they are to be found in the
Shu -ching with the substitution of 1 for tk, the two
characters having the same sound but very different mean
ings. Our pilgrim, it will be noticed, makes the Sūdras
to be farmers. But in Manu, and in some Buddhist works,
the Vaisyas are farmers, and the business of the Śūdras
is to serve the three castes above them . 3
The sentence here rendered “ The members of a caste
marry within the caste, the great and the obscure keep
ing apart” is in the original hun -chü -tóung-ch'in -fei-fu -yi-lu
( m # TE H . 1% ), lit. “marriages go through the
kindred, flying and prostrate different ways”. Julien
translates the words- " Quand les hommes ou les femmes
se marient, ils prennent un rang élevé ou restent dans
une condition obscure, suivant la difference de leur origine.”
This rendering seems to be absurd and it does violence
to the text leaving out the two words t'ung -ch'in and
mistranslating yi-lu. What our author states seems to
be clear and simple. Marriages take place within a caste,
and a Vaiśya man, for example, may marry any Vaisya
maid. And he will marry no other. To Yuan - chuang a
caste was a gens or a clan denoted by one surname (KE)
and all who belonged to the gens were kindred , they were
of one jāti. So members of the caste might intermarry
provided they were not already related by marriage. But
though a man might espouse any maid of his caste, the
rich and great married among themselves, and the poor
1 Ch . 1. 89 et al .
2 L. C. C. Vol. iii, p. 78, Shu -Ching, ch. 2.
ở Ch:êng -shih-lun, chu 7 (No. 1274) ; Manu 1 , 91.
170 THE ARMY IN INDIA .
and obscure kept to themselves in their marriages. The

words fei, " flying ” and fu “ prostrate”, used for prosperous
and obscure have a reference to the first chapter of the
Yih-ching. With what Yuan - chuang tells us here we
may compare Manu who lays down the law that “ a father
ought to give his daughter in marriage to a distinguished
young man of an agreeable exterior and of the same class ”,
and of the lady he says— “ let her choose a husband of
the same rank as herself.” 1
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing )" are properly not
" castes”, but guilds and groups of low craftsmen and
workmen . These include weavers, shoemakers, hunters,
fishermen, and also'water- carriers and scavengers. Albe
runi's account of these and his description of the four
castes may be used as a commentary to the short account
given by our pilgrim.2
THE ARMY.
We have next a short notice of the army of India

beginning with its head, the Sovereign. Of the latter
Yuan -chuang states according to Julien's rendering— “ La
série des rois ne se compose que de Kchattriyas, qui, dans
l'origine, se sont élevés au pouvoir par l'usurpation du
trône et le meurtre du souverain. Quoiqu'ils sont issus de
familles étrangères, leur nom est prononcé avec respect”.
The italics are mine and they indicate interpolations, un
necessary and unwarranted, made by the translator, who
seems to have forgotten the passage he had just trans
lated. What our author states is to this effect
The sovereignty for many successive generations has been exer
cised only by Kshatriyas : rebellion and regicide have occasionally
arisen, other castes assuming the distinction
that is, calling themselves kings. The sovereign de jure
Yuan - chuang thought, was always of the Kshatriya caste,
and it was that caste alone which could lawfully produce
1 Manu IX, 88.

2 Alberuni , ch. IX.
SOCIAL AND LEGAL MATTERS . 171
a king, but there were instances of men of other castes,

Śūdras for example, raising themselves to the throne.
Our author proceeds.
The National Guard (lit. warriors) are heroes of choice valour,
and, as the profession is hereditary, they become adepts in
military tactics. In peace they guard the sovereign's residence,
and in war they become the intrepid vanguard.
The army is composed of Foot, Horse, Chariot, and Elephant
soldiers. The war -elephant is covered with coat-of-mail, and his
tusks are provided with sharp barbs. On him rides the Com
mander-in -chief, who has a soldier on each side to manage the
elephant. The chariot in which an officer sits is drawn by four
horses, whilst infantry guard it on both sides. The infantry go
lightly into action and are choice men of valour ; they bear a
large shield and carry a long spear ; some are armed with a
sword or sabre and dash to the front of the advancing line of
battle. They are perfect experts with all the implements of war
such as spear, shield, bow and arrow, sword, sabre & c. having
been drilled in them for generations. !
SOCIAL AND LEGAL MATTERS.
Our pilgrim next sums up the character of the Intian

people.
They are of hasty and irresolute temperaments , but of pure
moral principles. They will not take anything wrongfully, and
they yield more than fairness requires. They fear the retribution
for sins in other lives, and make light of what conduct produces
in this life. They do not practise deceit and they keep their
sworn obligations.
He then describes the judicial processes and modes of
punishment
As the government is honestly administered and the people live
together on good terms the criminal class is small. The statute
law is sometimes violated and plots made against the sovereign ;
1 For They are perfect experts with all the implements of war?
the original is 凡諸成器莫不鋒銳 , and Julien translates
“ Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes". But
this is manifestly wrong and a little reflection should have shewn
Julien that shields and slings , two of the armes de guerre, are not
piquantes or tranchantes. On p. 77 of this volume of the Mémoires
Julien translates fêng-jui by “ la superiorité”.

words fei, " flying ” and fu “ prostrate", used for prosperous
young man of an agreeable exterior and of the same class”,
The “ mixed castes (tsa-hsing 1 KE)" are properly not
fishermen , and also'water-carriers and scavengers. Albe
rudi's account of these and his description of the four
THE ARMY .

Yuan-chuang states according to Julien's rendering—“La
trône et le meurtre du souverain . Quoiqu'ils sont issus de
familles étrangères, leur nom est prononcé avec respect” .
cised only by Kshatriyas: rebellion and regicide have occasionally
that is , calling themselves kings. The sovereign de jure
1 Manu IX , 88.
SOCIAL AND LEGAL MATTERS. 171

an as the profession is hereditary, they become adepts in
soldiers. The war- elephant is covered with coat-of-mail, and his
tusks are provided with sharp barbs . On him rides the Com
mander -in - chief, who has a soldier on each side to manage the
been drilled in them for generations . '
Our pilgrim next sums up the character of the Intlian

people.
They are of hasty and irresolute temperaments, but of pure
sworn obligations .
punishment
the original is 凡諸成器莫不鋒銳, and Julien translates
“ Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes" . But
Julien that shields and slings, two of the armes de guerre, are not
piquantes or tranchantes. p. 77 of volume of the Mémoires
Julien translates fêng -jui by " a superiorité".

words fei, “ flying" and fu “ prostrate ", used for prosperous
may compare Manu who lays down the law that " a father
young man of an agreeable exterior and of the same class ”.
The “ mixed castes (tsa-hsing # * ) " are properly not
" castes", but guilds and groups of low craftsmen and
fishermen, and also 'water -carriers and scavengers. Albe
THE ARMY.

necessary and unwarranted , made by the translator, who
1 Manu IX , 88.
2 Alberuni , ch. IX .

an as the profession is hereditary, they become adepts in
battle . They are perfect experts with all the implements of war
such as spear, shield, bow and arrow, sword, sabre &c. having
been drilled in them for generations . "

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
1 For «They are perfect experts with all the implements of war?
the original is 凡諾成器莫不鋒銳, and Julien translates
“ Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes”. But
piquantes or tranchantes. p. 77 olume of the Mémoires
Julien translates fêng -jui by "la superiorité".

words fei, " flying" and fu " prostrate", used for prosperous
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing $18.)" are properly not
fishermen, and also ' water - carriers and scavengers. Albe
THE ARMY.

Yuan -chuang thought, was always of the Kshatriya caste,
1
1 Manu IX , 88.
2 Alberuni , ch . IX .

and in war they become the intrepid vanguard .
soldiers. The war-elephant is covered with coat- of-mail, and his
mander-in-chief, who has a soldier on each side to manage the
lightly into action and are choice men of valour; they bear a
such as spear, shield, bow and arrow, sword, sabre & c . having

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
1 For «They are perfect experts with all the implements of war'
“ Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes”. But
piquantes or tranchantes. p . 77 of volume of the Mémoires

words fei, " flying" and fu “ prostrate”, used for prosperous
may compare Manu who lays down the law that “a father
young man of an agreeable exterior and of the same class ” ,
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing $ # ) " are properly not
workmen. These include weavers, shoemakers, hunters,
fishermen, and also'water-carriers and scavengers. Albe
THE ARMY.

Yuan-chuang states according to Julien's rendering— “ La
Yuan- chuang thought, was always of the Kshatriya caste ,
3
1 Manu IX, 88.
2 Alberuni , ch . IX.

Sūdras for example, raising themselves to the throne.
nd, as the profession is hereditary, they become adepts in
mander -in -chief, who has a soldier on each side to manage the
been drilled in them for generations. '

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
“ Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes ”. But
piquantes or tranchantes. On p. 77 of olume of the Mémoires
Julien translates fêng -jui by " la superiorité".
170 THE ARMY IN INDIA.

words fei, " flying" and fu “ prostrate", used for prosperous
young man of an agreeable exterior and of the same class”.
The “mixed castes (tsa -hsing * * £)" are properly not
fishermen, and also 'water-carriers and scavengers. Albe
THE ARMY.

Yuan -chuang states according to Julien's rendering— “ La
1 Manu IX, 88.

2 Alberuni, ch. IX.

and , as the profession is hereditary, they become adepts in
mander-in- chief, who has a soldier on each side to manage the
been drilled in them for generations . '

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
1 For They are perfect experts with all the implements of war'
Julien translates fêng.jui by " la superiorité ".

words fei, " flying ” and fu “ prostrate", used for prosperous
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing #ff )” are properly not
" castes ”, but guilds and groups of low craftsmen and
fishermen, and also ' water-carriers and scavengers. Albe
THE ARMY.

Yuan-chuang states according to Julien's rendering—“ La
arisen , other castes assuming the distinction
1 Manu IX, 88.

2 Alberuni , ch. IX .

soldiers. The war- elephant is covered with coat- of-mail, and his

people.
moral principles. They will not take anything wrongfully , and
sworn obligations.
punishment
“Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes ” . But
Julien translates fêng- jui by “la superiorité".

words fei, " flying” and fu “ prostrate”, used for prosperous
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing # #E)" are properly not
THE ARMY.

1 Manu IX, 88.


The National Guard ( lit. warriors) are heroes of choice valour,
mander- in -chief, who has a soldier on each side to manage the
lightly into action and are choice men of valour; they bear
been drilled in them for generations . !

people .
sworn obligations.
punishment
1 For "They are perfect experts with all the implements of war'
Julien translates fêng-jui by “ a superiorité".

words fei, " flying " and fu “ prostrate”, used for prosperous
The “ mixed castes (tsa-hsing # #f)" are properly not
"castes", but guilds and groups of low craftsmen and
THE ARMY.

1 Manu IX , 88.

Our author proceeds .

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
" Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes”. But
piquantes or tranchantes. p. 77 of this volume of the Mémoires
Julien translates fêng.jui by " la superiorité” .

words fei, “ flying” and fu “ prostrate”, used for prosperous
Yih -ching. With what Yuan - chuang tells us here we
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing # * )" are properly not
THE ARMY .

Yuan-chuang states according to Julien's rendering—"La
familles étrangères, leur nom est prononcé avec respect” .
1 Manu IX, 88.


The National Guard (lit. warriors ) are heroes of choice valour,
been drilled in them for generations."

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
the original is 凡諾成器莫不鋒銳 , and Julien translates
"Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes " . But
Julien translates fêng.jui by “ la superiorité".

words fei, “ flying” and fu “ prostrate", used for prosperous
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing # * E)" are properly not
THE ARMY.

1 Manu IX, 88.


and, as the ofession is hereditary, they become adepts in

people.
for sins in other lives , and make light of what conduct produces
sworn obligations.
punishment
together on good terms the criminal class is small . The statute
“Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes" . But
Julien translates fêng.jui by “la superiorité ".

words fei, “ flying” and fu " prostrate", used for prosperous
may compare Manu who lays down the law that "a father
and of the lady he says—“ let her choose a husband of
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing # * #:) " are properly not
THE ARMY .

Yuan- chuang thought, was always of the Kshatriya caste,
1 Manu IX, 88.

2 Alberuni, ch. IX .

soldiers. The war-elephant is covered with coat-of-mail, and his
been drilled in them for generations.'

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
1 For «They are perfect experts with all the implements of war?
the original is les27 l , and Julien translates
Julien translates fêng- jui by “ la superiorité ".

words fei, " flying” and fu “ prostrate”, used for prosperous
may compare Manu who lays down the law that "a father
and of the lady he says—“let her choose a husband of
the same rank as herself." 1
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing #ff #E)" are properly not
THE ARMY.

1 Manu IX, 88.

2 Alberuni, ch. IX.

and, as the profession is hereditary, the become lepts in
soldiers. The war-elephant is covered with coat -of-mail, and his
such as spear , shield, bow and arrow, sword, sabre &c. having
been drilled in them for generations. '

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
1 For «They are perfect experts with all the implements of war ?
the original is 凡諾成器莫不鋒銳, and Julien translates
"Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes " . But
Julien translates fêng-jui by "la superiorité".

words fei, " flying” and fu " prostrate ", used for prosperous
and of the lady he says—“let her choose a husband of
The “ mixed castes (tsa -hsing the hai ) " are properly not
" castes ", but guilds and groups of low craftsmen and
fishermen, and also'water -carriers and scavengers. Albe
rupi's account of these and his description of the four
THE ARMY.

i Manu IX, 88.


The National Guard ( lit. warriors) are heroes of choice valour,
mander- in -chief, who has a soldier on each side to manage the

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
"Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes" . But

words fei, " flying " and fu “ prostrate”, used for prosperous
ought to give his daughter in marriage to- a distinguished
young man of an agreeable exterior and of the same class",
The “ mixed castes ( tsa-hsing it Bext )" are properly not
THE ARMY.

Yuan-chuang states according to Julien's rendering— “La
1 Manu IX, 88.


soldiers . The war -elephant is covered with coat-of-mail, and his
mander-in - chief, who has a soldier on each side to manage the
lightly into action and are choice men of valour ; they bear

people.
sworn obligations.
punishment
“ Toutes leurs armes de guerre sont piquantes ou tranchantes” . But
Julien translates fêng.jui by “ la superiorité".
172 SOCIAL AND LEGAL MATTERS.
when the crime is brought to light the offender is imprisoned

for life; he does not suffer any corporal punishment, but alive
and dead he is not treated as member of the community ( lit. as
a man). For offences against social morality, and disloyal and
unfilial conduct, the punishment is to cut off the nose, or an
ear, or a hand , or a foot, or to banish the offender to another
country or into the wilderness. Other offences can be atoned
for by a money payment.
The narrative proceeds to describe the four ordeals by
which the innocence or guilt of an accused person is
determined .
These are by water, by fire, by weighing, and by poison. In
the water ordeal the accused is put in one sack and a stone in
another, then the two sacks are connected and thrown into a
deep stream ; if the sack containing the stone floats, and the
other sinks, the man's guilt is proven. The fire ordeal requires
the accused to kneel and tread on hot iron, to take it in his
hand and lick it ; if he is innocent he is not hurt, but he is
burnt if he is guilty. In the weighing ordeal the accused is
weighed against a stone ; and if the latter is the lighter the
charge is false, if otherwise it is true. The poison ordeal
requires that the right hind leg of a ram be cut off, and ac
cording to the portion assigned to the accused to eat, poisons
are put into the leg, and if the man is innocent he survives, and
if not the poison takes effect.
Julien takes a very different meaning out of the text
for the last sentence. He understood the author to state
that the poison ordeal consisted in placing in the incised
thigh of a ram " une portion des aliments que mange le
prévenu ”, poisons having been previously spread over the
“ portion ", and if the ram then died the accused was guilty,
and if the poison did not work he was innocent. But
this cannot be regarded as the meaning of the text (which
is not, however, very clearly expressed). Our author's
account of these trials by ordeal in India differs both as
to the actual ordeals, and the mode of procedure with
them , from the descriptions to be found in other works.
Manu, for example, does not give either the weighing or the
poison ordeal, but these are mentioned by other authorities. 1
· Manu VIII, 114 ; Alberuni Vol. ii, p. 159.
METHODS OF SALUTATION . 173
ACTS OF SALUTATION AND REVERENCE.
Our author next tells us about the ways of shewing

respect and doing homage among the people of India.
He relates
There are nine degrees in the etiquette of shewing respect.
These are (1) greeting with a kind enquiry, (2) reverently bow
ing the head, (3) raising the hands to the head with an inclina
tion of the body, (4) bowing with the hands folded on the breast,
(5) bending a knee, (6) kneeling with both knees (lit. kneeling
long), (7) going down on the ground on hands and knees, (8)
bowing down with knees, elbows, and forehead to the ground,
( 9) prostrating oneself on the earth. The performance of all
these nine from the lowest to the highest is only one act of
reverence. To kneel and praise the excellences (of the object]
is said to be the perfection of reverence. If [ the person doing
homage] is at a distance he bows to the ground with folded
hands, if near he kisses ( lit. licks) the foot and rubs the ankle
(say, of the king). All who are delivering messages or receiving
orders tuck up their clothes and kneel down. The exalted
person of distinction who receives the reverence is sure to have
a kind answer, and he strokes the head or pats the back [of the
person paying respect], giving him good words of advice to
shew the sincerity of his affection . Buddhist monks receiving
the courtesies of respect only bestow a good wish. Kneeling is
not the only way of doing worship. Many circumambulate any
object of reverential service, making one circuit or three circuits,
or as many as they wish if they have a special request in mind.
Our author's statement here that the nine degrees of
showing respect enumerated by him made one act of
worship or reverence does not appear in Julien's trans
lation. The original is fan -ssă -chiu -têng -chi-wei- yi-pai (
EL MENYE 31 ), and Julien connecting this with the
words which follow renders the whole thus- " La plus
grande de ces démonstrations de respect consiste à s'age
nouiller devant quelqu'un après l'avoir salué une fois et à
exalter ses vertues ". This sentence cannot possibly be
regarded as a translation of the text which Julien evidently
did not understand. According to Yuan -chuang's state
ment there were nine degrees of showing respect but to
go through all these constituted only one service of worship
174 DISPOSING OF THE DEAD. 1
or reverence. Perhaps no one of the nine was ever per

formed alone as an act of respect, and we often find in
Buddhist literature four or five actions performed to make
one service of reverence. 1 But we may doubt whether
the whole nine acts were often gone through as one act
of worship. The Buddhist Brother, however, spoke of
performing the chiu -pai or “ nine reverences " to his abbott
or other senior in religion. This phrase is found in
popular literature, e. g. in the Shui-hu -chuan , and it is
apparently sometimes used like our “ your obedient humble
servant". Although Yuan-chuang does not state so ex
pressly, yet his language seems to indicate that the refer
ence in this passage is to the reverence or worship paid
to kings, great Brāhmins, and the Buddha. It will be
noticed that he does not make any mention of the signs
of respect to a superior shewn by taking off one's shoes,
or by uncovering the right shoulder.
SICKNESS AND DEATH.
We have next a few particulars as to the ways in which

the people of India treat their sick and dead. Our author
tells us
Every one who is attacked by sickness has his food cut off for
seven days. In this interval the patient often recovers, but if
he cannot regain his health he takes medicine. Their medicines
are of various kinds, each kind having a specific name. Their
doctors differ in medical skill and in prognostication.
At the obsequies for a departed one (the relatives] wail and
weep, rending their clothes and tearing out their hair, strik
ing their brows and beating their breasts . There is no distinction
in the styles of mourning costume, and no fixed period of
mourning. For disposing of the dead and performing the last
rites there are three recognized customs. The first of these is
cremation, a pyre being made on which the body is consumed .
The second is water -burial, the corpse being put into a stream
to float and dissolve. The third is burial in the wilds, the body
being cast away in the woods to feed wild animals.
1 P -i- ni-mu- ching, ch. 4 (No. 1138 ); Life ch. III and Julien I,
p. 144 .
SUICIDE OF THE OLD . 175
When the sovereign dies the first thing is to place his suc
cessor on the throne in order that he may preside at the reli
gious services of the funeral and determine precedence. Meri
torious appellations are conferred on the living ; the dead have
no honorary designations. No one goes to take food in a family
afflicted by death, but after the funeral matters are again as
usual and no one avoids ( the family ). Those who attend a
funeral are regarded as unclean, they all wash outside the city
walls before entering [the city].
As to those who have become very old, and whose time of
death is approaching, who are afflicted by incurable disease and
fear that their goal of life has been reached, such persons are
content to separate from this world, and desire to cast off
humanity, contemptuous of mortal existence and desirous to be
away from the ways of the world . So their relatives and friends
give them a farewell entertainment with music, put them in a
boat and row them to the middle of the Ganges that they may
drown themselves in it, saying that they will be born in Heaven ;
one out of ten will not carry out his contemptuous views.
The Buddhist Brethren are forbidden to wail aloud (i. e. over
a departed one) ; on the death of a parent they read a service
of gratitude; their " following the departed" and " being earnest
about his death” are securing his bliss in the other world .
The clause “ one out of ten will not carry out his con
temptuous views ” is a literal rendering of the original
Shih -yu -ch‘i-yi-wei-chin -pi-chien (+ # # - # 1B ).
Julien, connecting the first part of this with what precedes
and the latter part with what follows, translates — “ On en
compte un sur dix. Il y en a d'autres qui, n'ayant pas
encore complètement renoncé aux erreurs du siècle, sortent
de la famille et adoptent la vie des religieux”. The words
which I have placed in italics are the translator's inter
polations, and the last clause is for the words Ch'u -chia
sêng-chung which belong to the next sentence. This
treatment of the text quite destroys its meaning. What
the author states is that out of ten old men who declare
that they are sick of life, and want to leave it, only one
is found acting inconsistently at the critical moment, say
ing that he is sick of life, and yet shrinking from suicide
by drowning in the Ganges.
The Buddhist Brother, we are told, may not lament
176 REVENUE AND TAXATION .
over the death of a parent, but he shews his grateful

remembrance by a religious service, and his filial piety by
obtaining for a deceased parent a happy hereafter. The
expressions “following the departed ” and “ being earnest
about his death " are taken from the first chuan of the
Lun-yü. There Tseng-tzŭ says that “ if there be earnest
ness about the death (of a parent) and a following of the
departed one ( i. e. parent) the moral character of the
people will return to a state of thorough goodness". By
" earnestness about the death of a parent” the Confucianist
meant being careful to have all the funeral rites duly
observed ; and by " following the departed parent" he
meant keeping up the solemn services of worship to the
deceased . These were services in which a man shewed
his perfect filial piety, but the professed Buddhist carried
out his views of filial piety and a future state in securing
to his parents happiness in other spheres of existence .
To the Confucianist the death of a relative was the " end"
of the relative, but to the Buddhist death was only a
passing to another life.
REVENUE AND TAXATION .

Our author next gives us a few particulars about the
fiscal matters of Government in India.
As the Government is generous official requirements are few .
Families are not registered, and individuals are not subject to
forced labour contributions. Of the royal land there is a four
fold division : one part is for the expenses of government and
state worship, one for the endowment of great public servants,
one to reward high intellectual eminence, and one for acquiring
religious merit by gifts to the various sects. Taxation being
light, and forced service being sparingly used, every one keeps
to his hereditary occupation and attends to his patrimony. The
king's tenants pay one sixth of the produce as rent. Tradesmen
go to and fro bartering their merchandize after paying light
duties at ferries and barrier stations. Those who are employed
in the government service are paid according to their work.
They go abroad on military service or they guard the palace ;
1 Lun-Yü , ch. 1 .
GENERAL PRODUCTS OF INDIA . 177
the summonses are issued according to circumstances and after

proclamation of the reward the enrolment is awaited. Ministers
of state and common officials all have their portion of land, and
are maintained by the cities assigned to them .
In this passage the words for " every one attends to
his patrimony” are in the original chü-tien -k -ou -fên (11
15 ), and Julien translates “ tous cultivent la terre
pour se nourrir ”. This is not a correct rendering of the
words and is at variance with what follows about the
traders. The kou -fên in China was originally the farm
of 100 mou given out of government lands to a married
couple to maintain the family and keep up the ancestral
worship. This farm was called kou-fên -shih -ye-chih -t'ien
(OF THE # ) or “ the arable land which is hereditary
property for the maintenance of the family". Then trien
( ) which means " to cultivate", means also " to administer "
or “ manage", and t'ien -kou -fên is " to look after the family
property”, k'ou -fên being used in a general sense.
As to one sixth of the crop being paid by the king's
tenants as rent we find mention of this in Manu and other
authorities. 1
GENERAL PRODUCTS OF INDIA.

Our author now proceeds to tell us something of the
commodities which India produces and first of its vege
table products. He writes
As the districts vary in their natural qualities they differ also
in their natural products. There are flowers and herbs, fruits
and trees of different kinds and with various names. There are ,
for example, of fruits the āmra or mango, the āmla or tamarind,
the Madhūka (Bassia latifolia ), the badara or Jujube, the kapittha
or wood-apple, the āmala or myrobalan , the tinduka or Dios.
pyros, the udumbara or Ficus glomerata, the mocha or plantain ,
the nārikela or Cocoa- nut, and the panasa or Jack -fruit. It is
impossible to enumerate all the kinds of fruit and one can only
mention in a summary way those which are held in esteem
among the inhabitants. (Chinese] jujubes, chestnuts, green and
red persimmons are not known in India. From Kashmir on, pears,
1 Manu VII. 130, 131 , VIII. 308.

M
178 FOODS AND DRINKS.
plums, peaches, apricots, grapes are planted here and there ;

pomegranates and sweet oranges are grown in all the countries.
As to agricultural operations, reaping the crops, preparing the
soil (lit. ploughing and weeding), sowing and planting go on in
their seasons according to the industry or laziness of the people.
There is much rice and wheat, and ginger, mustard , melons,
pumpkins, kunda (properly the olibanum tree) are also culti
vated . Onions and garlic are little used and people who eat
them are ostracised .
Milk, ghee, granulated sugar, sugar-candy, cakes aud parched
grain with mustard-seed oil are the common food ; and fish,
mutton, venison are occasional dainties (lit. are occasionally
served in joints or slices). The flesh of oxen , asses, elephants,
horses, pigs, dogs, foxes, wolves, lions, monkeys, apes is forbidden ,
and those who eat such food become pariahs.
There are distinctions in the use of their wines and other
beverages. The wines from the vine and the sugar-cane are the
drink of the Kshatriyas ; the Vaiśyas drink a strong distilled
spirit ; the Buddhist monks and the Brāhmins drink syrup of
grapes and of sugar-cane ; the low mixed castes are without any
distinguishing drink .
As to household necessaries there is generally a good supply
of these of various qualities. But although they have different
kinds of cooking implements they do not know the steaming
boiler (i. e. they have not large boilers such as are used in large
households in China). Their household utensils are mostly
earthenware, few being of brass. They eat from one vessel in
which the ingredients are mixed up ; they take their food with
their fingers. Generally speaking spoons and chop-sticks are
not used, except in cases of sickness when copper spoons are used.
Gold, silver, t'u - shih (bronze ?), white jade, and crystal lenses
are products of the country which are very abundant. Rare
precious substances of various kinds from the sea-ports (lit. sea
bays) are bartered for merchandize. But in the commerce of
the country gold and silver coins, cowries, and small pearls are
the media of exchange.
The words " From Kashmir on " in the first paragraph
of the above passage seem to mean “ from Kashmir on
towards China " . But Julien understood the words in a
very different sense and translated the passage containing
them as follows l_ “ Depuis que les deux espèces de poiriers
1 The words are 梨泰桃杏蒲萄等果迦淫彌羅國已
來往往間植石榴甘橘諸國皆樹。
FRUIT TREES OF INDIA. 179
li et nai, le pêcher, l'amandier, la vigne et autres arbres

à fruits ont été apportés du royaume de Cachemire, on
les voit croître de tous côtés. Les grenadiers et les
orangers à fruits doux se cultivent dans tous les royaumes
de l'Inde." In this, not to notice other faults, we have
the words " ont été apportés" interpolated to the serious
detriment of the author's meaning. Yuan-chuang knew
better than to state that pears, and plums, and the other
fruits mentioned had been brought from Kashmir into
India and there cultivated everywhere. Throughout the
Records there is only, I believe, a single mention of any
of these fruit - trees in India. This one instance is to be
found in the account of Chi-na -po -ti in Chuan IV ( Julien
II, p. 200), and there the peach and pear are represented
as having been first introduced into India from China. In
no account of India, so far as I know, down to the present
time are the above trees enumerated among those grown
commonly throughout the country. Ibn Batuta does not
mention them and they are not given in Sir. W. Hunter's
account of India. But they are grown in many countries
between Kashmir and China, and in Chuan XII of the
Records we find several instances mentioned. On the other
hand pomegranates, which are said to grow wild in the
Himalayan region, and sweet oranges have been extensively
cultivated in India for many centuries.
M *
CHAPTER VI.
CHUAN II CONT” .
LAMPA TO GANDHĀRA .
Гr OUR pilgrim has now reached the territory which he,
like others before and after him, calls India. But it
is important to remember that the countries which he
describes from Lan -p'o to Rajpur both inclusive were not
regarded by the people of India proper as forming part
of their territory. It was only by foreigners that these
districts were included under the general name India.
To the inhabitants of India proper the countries in question
were “ border lands” inhabited by barbarians. This was
a fact known to Yuan - chuang, but he named and described
these States mainly from information obtained as he
travelled. The information was apparently acquired chiefly
from the Buddhist Brethren and believing laymen resident
in these countries. To these Buddhists Jambudvīpa was
India and the miracles and ministrations of the Buddha
extended over all the great region vaguely called Jambu
dvīpa. Moreover the great foreign kings who had invaded
India from the north had included these States in their
Indian empire and the memory of these kings survived in
the Buddhist religious establishments.
LAN -PO (LAMPA ).
From Kapis the pilgrim continued his journey going east
above 600 li through a very mountainous region ; then crossing
a black range he entered the north of India and arrived in the
Lan-p'o country.
LAMPA TO GANDHĀRA . 181
Yuan-chuang writes this name E , and this apparently

is for him the name both of the country and its capital.
Some other authors write 1 and the local pronun
ciation was perhaps something like Lampa or Lumba.
The word is supposed to represent the old Sanskrit Lam
pāka, and the Lambatai of Ptolemy, and the district has
been identified with the modern Laghman (or Lughman ), the
Lamghanat of Baber. This emperor mentions the curious
tradition which derives the name Lamghanat from Lam,
father of Noah , whose tomb was supposed to be in the
country.3 But no probable explanation of the name
Lampa (or Lumba ) seems to have been given, and the
word is probably foreign, that is, non -Indian.
Lampa is described by the pilgrims as being above 1000 li in
circuit, having on the north the Snow mountains and on the
other sides black ranges .
Another writer of the T'ang period represents this
country as of much greater dimensions than those here
given and as extending on the north to Kunduz and lying
west of the Wu-je-chih or Anavatapta Lake. So also in
Baber's time Lamghanat was a large region of much
greater extent than Yuan -chuang's Lampa or the modern
Lughman.
The capital, Yuan-chuang tells us, was above ten li in circuit.
For several centuries the native dynasty had ceased to exist,
great families fought for preeminence, and the state had recently
become a dependency of Kapis. The country produced upland
rice and sugar-cane, and it had much wood but little fruit; the
climate was mild with little frost and no snow ; the inhabitants
were very musical but they were pusillanimous and deceitful,
ugly and ill-mannered ; their clothing was chiefly of cotton
(pai-tieh) and they dressed well. There were above ten Buddhist
monasteries and a few Brethren the most of whom were Mahāyā
nists. The non -Buddhists had a score or two of temples and
they were very numerous.
1 See e . g. Sung- Shih , ch. 490.

2 A. G. I. p. 42 : Mc Crindle's India from Ptolemy p.p. 104, 106 .
3 Baber p . 141-143.
4 Fang-chib, ch. 1.
182 LAMPA .
In the common texts here the author is made to state

that the non -Buddhists were very few , but the old reading
is found in the A text, viz. to, “ many" and it is evidently
the right one. This reading moreover is confirmed by
the Fang -chih which quoting from our pilgrim's account
of this country tells us that in it " the non-Buddhists were
remarkably numerous " .
This country does not seem to have ever been much
known to the Chinese generally ; and it is rarely mentioned
even in the translations of the Buddhist books, or in the
accounts of the travels and in the biographies of eminent
worthies of the Buddhist religion. There was, however,
at least one distinguished Buddhist scholar who is called
a Brahmin from the Lampa country and who is recorded
as having visited China. This pious and learned Brother,
we are informed, in the year A.D. 700 assisted in the
translation from Sanskrit into Chinese of a celebrated
treatise of magical invocations. 1 Lampa was evidently a
district of some importance and it may have been known
by some native or local name,
udr
NAGAR . Wirsockaia si bculie
The pilgrim, according to the narrative in the Records , pro
ceeded from Lampa south-east above 100 li, crossing a high
mountain and a large river, and reached the Na-kie(ka) -lo-ho
country. Su :
The Life here represents Yuan -chuang as going south
from Lampa and crossing a small range on which a tope
to commemorate the spot at which the Buddha having
travelled on foot from the south rested on arriving in
these regions. Then the Life makes the pilgrim continue
his journey from this range still going southward for above
1
1 The title of this treatise is " Pu-kóung -chüan -80-tóo -lo -ni- ching ”
( Bun. No. 314). The translator's name is given as Li-wu -tao and he
is called a brāhmin of Lan-pio in “ North India" . It is doubtful,
however, whether the Chinese text of No. 314 was actually the work
of this man ; see the note appended to the work. See also Su-ku
chin -yi- ching -t'u -chi (No. 1488 ).
NAGARA - KOT. 183
twenty li, descending the hills and crossing a river into

the Na -ka - lo -ho country .
This country, which we may suppose to have been called
by a name like Nagar, is one of considerable interest ; and
as the account given of it in the Records and the Life
is peculiar, and rather puzzling, it may be useful to exa
mine the account at some length.
In the Records Yuan-chuang describes Nagar as being above
600 li (about 120 miles) from east to west and 250 or 260 li
(about 50 miles) from north to south . The country was sur
rounded on all sides by high mountains steep and difficult of

passage. Its capital was above 20 li in circuit, but there was
no king and the State was a province of Kapis. Grain and
fruits were produced in abundance, the climate was mild , the
people were of good character, courageous, slighting wealth
and esteeming learning, reverencing Buddha and having little
faith in other religious systems. But although there were
many Buddhist establishments the Brethren were very few .
There were five Deva-Temples and above 100 professed non
Buddhists .
About two li to the east (in the Life, south -east) of the capital
stood a great stone tope above 300 feet high which had mar
vellous sculptures. Close to this tope on the west side was a
vihāra and adjoining the vihāra on the south was a small tope.
The former of these two topes was said to have been built by
king Asoka at the place where Sakya Pusa, having spread in
the mud his deer-skin mantle and his hair for Dīpankara Buddha,
received from the latter the prediction of Buddhahood. At the
periodic annihilations and restorations of the world the traces
of this incident are not effaced, and on fast days showers of
flowers descend on the spot, which is regarded with great reverence .
The small tope was at the spot where the mantle and hair were
spread on the mud, (the other tope] having been erected by
king Asoka in a retired place off the highway.
Yuan- chuang next takes us into the city ” and tells us of the
foundations which still remained of the grand tope which , he
was infornied, had once contained a tooth- relic of the Buddha.
Close to these was a remarkable small tope of unknown origin,
and popularly supposed to have come down out of space. The
narrative in our text next takes us to a tope above ten li
south-west of " the city ". This tope marked the spot at which
the Buddha alighted from his aerial voyage from Mid-India to
this country. Near the of the Descent on the east side
was another tope to commemorate the spot at which, on the
184 THE BUILDINGS AND RELICS.
occasion of the meeting, the P'usa bought five lotus flowers for
an offering to Dīpankara Buddha.
Continuing in a south -western direction from “ the city', and
at a distance of above twenty li from it, the pilgrim takes us
to a small range of rocky hills containing a stone monastery
with lofty halls and tiers of chambers all silent and unoccupied.
Within the grounds of this establishment was a tope 200 feet
high built by king Asoka.
Going on again south-west from this monastery we come to
a ravine with a torrent the banks of which were steep rocks.
In the east bank was the cave inhabited by the Gopāla dragon,
very dark and with a narrow entrance, and with water trickling
from the rock to the path. In this cave the Buddha had left
his shadow or rather a luminous image of himself in the rock,
once a clear and perfect resemblance, but at the period of our
pilgrim's visit to the district the wonderful likeness was only
dimly visible and only at certain times and to certain persons.
Outside the Shadow Cave were two square stones on one of
which was a light-emitting impress of the Buddha's foot. On
either side of the Shadow Cave were other caves which had
been used by the Buddha's great disciples as places for ecstatic
meditation (samādhi). In the immediate neighbourhood of the
Shadow Cave also the pilgrim found various topes and other
objects associated with the Buddha's personal visit to this
district.
Following the narrative in the Records we have now to return
to " the city '. Starting again from it and going in a south -east
direction for above thirty li we come to a city called Hi-lo for
He-lo ). This city, which was four or five li in circuit had a
strong elevated situation with charming gardens and ponds.
Within it was a two-storeyed building in which were carefully
preserved the Usbnīsha -bone of the Buddha, his skull, one of
his eyes, his mendicant's staff, and one of his clerical robes. To
the north of this Relic-house was a wonder-working tope which
could be shaken by a touch of the finger.
There are one or two discrepancies between the account
here given and that in the Life. Thus in the Records
the Buddha comes to Nagar country through the air and
alights at a spot ten li south -west from “ the city', but in
the Life he arrives on foot at a place north of Nagar.
Then as to Hilo, the Life differs from the Records in
placing this city at about 12 li distance south -east from
the Flowers Tope.
THE NAMES NAGAR AND HILO . 185
The Nagar of our text, it is agreed, is represented by

the region in modern times called Nungnehar, that is,
Nine Rivers. In Baber's time Nungnihar , “ in many
histories written Nekerhar ", was a tuman of Lamghan
(Lampa).1 The Nagar country thus included the present
district of Jelalabad, the valley of the Cabul River from
Darunta on the west to Mirza Kheyl on the east and,
according to Mr Simpson, it " might reach from about
Jugduluck to the Khyber " .2 Our text makes Yuan-chuang
visit two cities of this country, the capital and Hilo the
former capital. As to the latter all investigators seem to
be agreed that the Hilo of Yuan -chuang and the other
pilgrims is represented by the modern Hidda (or Heida
or Hada), a place situated about five miles south of
Jelalabad.
As to the site of the city called Nagar supposed to
have been the capital of the country "in the Buddhist
period ” there is some diversity of opinion. The Na-kie
(ka)-lo-ho of Yuan -chuang is evidently the Na-kie(ka) of
Fa -hsien who uses the name for city and country. It is
also the Na -kie city and the Na-ka-lo-ho of the Sung -yun
narrative in the " Ka- lan -chi", and also the Na-kie of a
Vinaya treatise translated in A.D. 378.3
Julien makes Na-ka-lo-ho stand for Nagarahāra, and in
a note he tells us that in the Sung annals we find Nang
go-lo-ho-lo which answers exactly to the Indian ortho
graphy furnished by the inscription discovered by Captain
Kittoe. Julien is of course followed , and his identification
accepted, by subsequent writers ; and on his and Lassen's
authority the P. W. gives Nagarahāra as the name of a
kingdom . But this word cannot be made out of Yuan .
chuang's four characters which apparently give the full
name. Then as to Nang -go -lo- ho -lo the writer in the
1 Baber p . 141 .
2 J. R. A. S. Vol . xiii . Art. VII .
3 Fo-kuo-chi, ch. 13 ; Ka-lan- chi, ch. 5 ; Pi-ni-ye-ching (the " Chie
yin -yuan -ching". Bun. No. 1130 ).
186 IDENTIFICATIONS OF NAGAR .
“ Sung Shi ” quotes a Buddhist monk who evidently wrote

without knowledge. The passage referred to by Julien
puts Udyāna, which was immediately to the north of
Gandhāra, twelve days' journey to the east of that country.
Then it places Gandhāra at a distance of twenty day
journey eastward from Nang- go-lo-ho-lo and it makes the
latter to be ten days' journey to the east of Lampa. But
Yuan -chuang's Nagar was only five or six days' journey
north-west from Gandhāra and about twenty miles south
or south- east from Lampa. Thus Nang -go - lo -ho -lo does
not agree with Nagar either in distances or directions
and its situation is imaginary and impossible. Then the
Nagarahāra of Kittoe's Sanskrit inscription of about the
gth or 9th century is evidently not the Nagar of Yuan
chuang and the other Chinese pilgrims. The inscription
represents Viradeva, son of Indra Gupta a Brahman of
Bengal, as becoming a Buddhist and going to the wholy
convent called Kanishka" ( śrīmat Kanishkam upagamya
mahā-vihāram) in Nagarahāra.? Now there is no mention
by any of the pilgrims of a great Kanishka monastery in
Nagar, city or country. But there was a celebrated one
in Gandhāra near Purushapur and the Nagarahāra of the
Kittoe inscription is evidently the Gandhāra country.
Cunningham places the capital of Yuan -chuang's Nagar
" at Begrām, about two miles to the west of Jalalabad ”. 3
Saint Martin supposes it to have been a little to the west
of this Begrām . Mr Simpson, who writes after careful
inspection and study of the locality, places the site of the
Nagar capital west of Begrām on a rocky elevation at
the junction of the Surkhāb and Cabul rivers. No one
of these identifications meets all the requirements of the
descriptions, but each is supported to a certain extent by
the statements in the Records.
If we take the narrative in the Records and read it in
1 Sung-Shib , l. c.
2 J. A. S. Ben. Vol. xvii, p . 494.
3 A. G. I. p. 44 .
IT WAS A FORTRESS. 187
connection with that in the Life we find that there were

three cities in this district visited by the pilgrim. These
are the capital, the city of the Dīpankara Buddha, and
Hilo the city of the Ushṇīsha relic. Now as the Records
make mention of only the first and third of these by name
it may perhaps be taken for granted that Yuan-chuang
mixed up in his mind the first and second when writing
out his notes. So the term " the city” seems to stand
sometimes for the capital but more frequently for the city
of Dipankara. The confusion apparently affected the
compilers of the Life also.
Combining the two narratives we find that Yuan - chuang
on entering the country apparently went directly towards
the capital. This he describes, as has been stated, as
"above 20 li [in circuit)”. The word Chou for "in circuit ”
is found only in the D text, but some such term is needed
and the use of Chou agrees with Yuan - chuang's usual way
of describing towns and districts. The reader will observe,
however, that we are not told anything about the natural
and artificial characteristics of the capital, about its
situation or surroundings. This silence is very extra
ordinary if we regard the city to have been on the site
proposed and described by Mr Simpson.
Now the description of the place which this explorer
gives seems to be that of a fortress rather than a city.
And Nagar was perhaps at this time a strong fortress,
and it was called the capital because it was the official
residence of the Governor appointed by the king of Kapis.
Yuan-chuang apparently did not enter this city as he
begins his description of the sacred objects of the country
with those outside of “ the capital". The last character
in Yuan -chuang's Na -ka - lo -ho may stand for kot which
means a fortress, and names like Nagkot, Nagarkot are
met with in several regions of " North India ".1 The Nagar
of our text may be the Nagarkot which Alberuni mentions
as containing the annals of the Shāh dynasty of Kābul.
1 See e. g. Nagarkot in Alberuni, Vol. ii, p. 11 .

188 DIPANKARA'S CITY.
Moreover the Adinapūr of Baber was apparently on the

site of Yuan-chuang's Nagar (or Nagar-kot) and it was a
fort. Baber describes the fort as " situated on an eminence,
which, towards the river, is forty or fifty gez ( 100 feet or
upwards), in perpendicular height”, a description which
agrees with that given by Mr Simpson of the Nagar rock.
This fort Baber tells us was the official residence of the
darogha or commandant of the district.
Let us now substitute " Nagar fortress " for " the Capital"
and “ the city” in the first part of the pilgrim's narrative.
We find then that the great Asoka tope was about two
li or nearly half a mile to the east (or south -east) of the
fortress. Turning to Masson and Simpson we find that
they give a tope called “Nagara Goondée" which is
apparently about three furlongs to the east or south-east
of the Nagar rock. 1
From the Flower Tope near the Asoka Tope the pilgrim ,
according to the Life, set out south -east for Hilo, the
city of the Ushṇīsha relic. On the way apparently, but
this is not quite clear, he learns of the Gopāla Dragon
cave with the miraculous likeness of the Buddha. Wishing
to visit this, Yuan-chuang had to go out of his way to the
Têng-kuang ( * ) city in order to obtain a guide. The
term Têng-kuang is used to translate the word Dīpankara,
name of a very early Buddha, but we need not suppose
that it represents the name of the city. Now the Têng
kuang city was apparently that called Na -kie( ka ) by
previous pilgrims, and it was apparently a little to the
west of the site of the modern Jelalabad. One name for
it was Padmapur or Lotus city. This is given by some
Chinese as Hua-shi-chiêng, or Flower City ; and it is said
to be another name for the capital of the Nagar country.
A more common name for Dipankara’s City in Buddhist
books is Dīpavatī from dipa, a torcli or light. We may
for the present, however, use Padmapur to represent the
name of the city, as we have no means of knowing what
| Masson's Ar. Ant. p . 100 et al .
THE SHADOW CAVE. 189
the name actually was, that is, supposing it not to have

been simply Nagar.
This Padmapur then, let us assume, was the Na-ka city
which had the ruins of the Tooth-tope, a tope which had
been seen by Fa-hsien in perfect condition. It was this city
also from which Hilo was distant about 30 li to the south
east. Then from it Yuan -chuang went south -west to the
Shadow -Cave, and from this south - east to Hilo.
Now going from Padmapur south -west at a distance of
above 20 li was a small rocky hill which had a great
Buddhist monastery with an Asoka tope above 200 feet
high. This monastery and tope may be represented by
the ruins at Gunda Chismeh of Mr Simpson's map, " the
smooth rounded mound of a tope and the rectangular
mound of a vihara ”. Some distance from this on the east
bank of a torrent was the Dragon's cave with the luminous
picture of the Buddha on the rock. Fa-hsien places the
cave about half a Yojana south from the Nakie city.
His words are “ Half a Yojana south of Nakie city is a
cave as you follow the course of the hills towards the south
west". The words in italics are for the Chinese ti ITG
i to which our translators understood to mean a great
mountain towards the south -west. The phrase poh -shan is
certainly used in the sense of a " great mountain " and
this is its proper meaning. Here, however, as in some
other cases the construction seems to require that the
words be taken in the sense of going along a hill (or
series of hills ). This word poh is probably, as has been
stated already, the poh of hui-poh ( im W ) of Chuan I of
these Records, and also the poh (tulj) of various passages
in the Fo-kuo-chi and other works.
There does not seem to be any satisfactory explanation
of the names Nagar and Hilo. If the former be for
Nagara its memory may be kept up in the modern
designation Begrām which like Nagara means a " city ".
Or the syllable Nag or Nak may possibly be for the
Indian word nāga which denotes the sun , a snake, a
mountain, an elephant. Masson says that the old name
190 HILO CANNOT MEAN BONE .
for the country was Ajūna and Saint Martin and Cun
ningham think this word may be a corruption of another
old name for it, viz. Udyānapur or " the city of the
Garden " . But no one seems to give any authority for
this last old name and it is apparently unknown to Chinese
authors and translators. It may be added that this district
is referred to in some Chinese books as in the Yue -shi
(Getæ) country of North India. It is also called Ye-pro
kan -tê (* # BE ), that is perhaps, Yavakāņda, and it
is said to be to the west of Udyāna.
As to Hilo, Cunningham would have us regard this
word as a transposition of the Sanskrit word Hadda,
meaning a “ bone ". But there were several Hilos in North
India, and the relic supposed to have given the name is
not called in Sanskrit by any term containing a word for
" bone ". It was the Ushạisha of the Buddha that Hilo
contained along with other relics of the Buddha . Some
Chinese translators, it is true, call the relic “ the bone of
the top of Buddha's head," but others give a different
rendering, or keep the original word. The full name and
some of the translations will be given a few pages farther
on. We may perhaps regard the name in our text as for
Hilā which was probably a local pronunciation for Silā.
This word means a rock or rocky eminence, and the name
suits the description of the place.
BODHISATTVA AND DIPANKARA.
From the account given of the Nagar country by our
pilgrim we see that the district had several objects of
attraction to a Buddhist. The principal of these objects
were the mementos of the Pusa's meeting with Dīpankara
Buddha, the luminous image of Gautama Buddha in the
Dragon's cave, and his Ushṇīsha-bone. A few additional
observations about each of these may be of interest to
the student.
The story of the Pusa in an exceedingly remote period
of time in his existence as a Brahman student meeting
the Dīpankara Buddha and giving him worship and service
LEGEND OF DIPANKARA . 191
is a well known one. It is found in the Sanskrit Maha

vastu 1 and Dívyāvadāna, 2 in the Pali Jātakas, 3 and in
several forms in Chinese translations from Indian ori
ginals. No one of all these treatises, so far as I know,
places the scene of this meeting in a country called Nagar.
In the different accounts various names are given to the
city of the incident. Thus it is called Rammanagara (or
Rammavati or Rammagama). This would seem to point
to Ayodhya, the modern Oudh, but the Jātaka places
Ramma- city in “ the frontier territory”. The city is also
called Dīpavati or Dipavat 5 from dīpa, a light. It is also
Padma-pura or Lotos-city, in Chinese Lien -hua -ch'êng or
Hua-shi-ch'êng. The last name means simply Flower city
and it is properly applied to Pāļalipur. It is said, how
ever, as has been seen, to be an old name for Nagar city
and it was given on account of the Lotus Ponds of the
city.
The Piusa as brahmin student, variously named Megha,
Su-medha and otherwise, on his way to see Dīpankara
Buddha met a maiden carrying seven lotus flowers for the
service of a shrine in the palace grounds. The Pusa
bargained with the maiden for five of her flowers that he
might have them to throw on the Buddha as he passed
in procession. At the spot where the flowers were bought,
an act involving great consequences in the distant future,
king Asoka had built a tope. It is remarkable that the
Pali Jātaka does not make any mention of the purchase
and offering of the lotus flowers.
Then there was the place at which the Piusa spread
out his deer-skin mantle and his hair on the muddy road
1 Mahāvastu T. I, p. 193.
2 Divyāv. p . 246.
3 Rhys Davids' Birth Stories p. 7 ; Bigandet's Legend, Vol. i, p. 7.
4 Mahāvamsa Int. p. XXXII.
5 Yin-kuo -ching ( Bun. No. 666) .
6 Fo-shuo-t'ai-tză-sui-ying-pên-chi-ching, ch. 1 (Bun. No. 665) ;
Tseng -yi-a -han -ching, ch. 11 (Bun. No. 543 ); Hsing - chi-ching, chs . 2, 3
(Bun. No. 680).
192 LEGEND OF DIPANKARA .
to preserve Dipankara's feet from being defiled. On the

road by which this Buddha was proceeding to the capital
on this memorable occasion were several dirty muddy
places which the people were trying to make clean. The
brahmin student, at his own request, was allowed to put
right a hollow in the road made by running water. Un
able to fill up this muddy gap on the approach of the
Buddha, he spread out in it his deerskin mantle, and then
lay down prostrate with his long hair spread out for the
Buddha to step on. Though the world had passed away
and been renewed since the time of Dipankara and Megha
(or Sumati) yet the depression in the road remained visible,
being renewed with the renewal of the world. Close to
the spot was a small tope of great antiquity, the successor
of the original wooden stake, and not far from it was a
very magnificent tope built by king Asoka.
This myth of the Pusa and the Dīpankara Buddha
seems to be very unbuddhistical, and its origin should
perhaps be sought outside of religion. We remember that
one of Gotama's royal ancestors was a king Dīpankara
who with “ his sons and grandsons also twelve royal princes
governed their great kingdom in Takkasilā best of towns." ı
A picture of this king, with a conquered chief prostrate
before him , may have suggested the story. Such a picture
may be seen in Plate VII fig. 5 of the “ Ariana Antiqua ."
Compare with this the illustration of Dīpankara and the
Pusa in Burgess's “ Buddhist Cave Temples" p. 66. Here
the Buddha does not tread on the hair of the prostrate
devotee at his side. The story is explained by some as
originally an allegory to express Gautama's resolve to
undergo all things in this world of impurities in order to
obtain perfect wisdom and teach the way thereof to mortal
creatures. A simpler theory is that the brahmin student
laid down his deer-skin mantle and his hair before the
Buddha to declare to the latter the student's resolve to
give up Brahminism and become a professed Buddhist.
1 Dīpavamsa p. 131 .
THE SHADOW CAVE . 193
As such he must shave his head and cease to wear gar

ments made of the skins of animals.
THE SHADOW CAVE.
According to Yuan-chuang's account the Gopāla-Dragon

cave, with the likeness of the Buddha shining at times in
the rock opposite the entrance, was on the east side of a
torrent among the heights to the south -west of the Nagar,
that is, the Padma city. M* Simpson thinks that the
range of hills which extends from the Ahin Posh Tope
south of Jelalabad south-west to Sultanpur does not suit
Yuan -chuang's description of the surroundings of this cave .
But his objections seem to be based mainly on the oc
currence of the words cascade and mountain in the trans
lations. There is nothing, however, corresponding to either
of these terms in the original either of the Life or Re
cords. The road from the city was a bad one and
dangerous, but it led to a hamlet with a monastery. Not
far from this, above the steep bank of a foaming torrent,
was the cave.
The Gopāla Dragon of this cave, Yuan -chuang tells us,
and the story seems to be his only, was originally a
cowherd in this district at the time of the Buddha.
Annoyed at a reproof from the king he vowed terrible
vengeance. Then going to the Tope of Prediction he
prayed to become a dragon ; and immediately fulfilled his
prayer by committing suicide, and returning to the world
as a malignant demon determined to make havoc. Hear
ing of his spiteful cruel designs, the Buddha came through
the air from Mid-India, converted the dragon, and left
him a luminous likeness of himself immanent in the inner
rock of his cave. Yuan-chuang saw the likeness of the
Buddha and a great deal more. According to the tra
dition the Buddha was alone in the cave when he caused
his likeness to go into the rock, but Yuan-chuang saw
also in the wonderful manifestation the Piusas and saints
who attended the Buddha in his ministrations.
N
194 THE SHADOW CAVE .
In the “ Ka -lan -chi” the narrative at the part about the

Nagar country has this statement- " On to Ki -lo- lo - lu ,
saw the cave of Buddha's shadow , advancing 15 paces into
the hill, the entrance facing west”. Burnouf, who treats
this short passage as corrupt, makes “Gopāla Cave” out
of the four Chinese characters represented in the above
transcription. This he effects by treating the first lo as
a mistake for po and the last character lu as a mistake
for chi , a deer for a cave as he represents it. But if we
take the Chinese characters as we find them they give us
453 Kulala-lok, that is, the Pottery people. Now this reminds
us of an interesting passage in the Chinese version of the
Life of King Asoka. There Yasa tells the king how the
Buddha, just before his death , converted the Dragon -king
Apalala , the Potter, and the Chandāla Dragon - king.
Burnouf translating from the Sanskrit text of this passage
has “ the potter's wife the Chandāli Gopāli” while the
editors of the Divyāvadāna treat Kumbhakari (Potter's wife)
as a proper name.2
With reference to this cave and its surroundings the
following passage from the “ Ariana Antiqua" may be found
of some interest— “ Tracing the skirts of the Siah koh, is a
road leading from Bala Bagh to Darunta , and thence across
the river of Kabul and Jelalabad to Laghman. From Bála
Bagh to the ferry at Darunta may be a distance of seven miles.
At about five miles on this road, coming from Bala Bagh,
we meet the topes of Kotpur, situated a little on our right
hand. The first is in the midst of cultivation about one
hundred yards from the road ; a deep ravine, through
which flows a stream derived from the Surkh Rúd (red
river), separates it from its two companions. These stand
on a dák, or barren level, overspread with fragments of
1 A -yü -wang -ching, ch. 2 (No. 1343 ). In ch . 6 of this treatise the
chandāla Dragon-king is called Ku -pro -lo (Gopāla ), and in ch . 1 of
the “ A - yü -wang -chuan ” he is the “Ox-Dragon" of Gandhavat. In
the “ Tsa -a -han -ching ", ch . 23 (No. 544) Buddha subdues the dragon
Apalāla, “ the potter chandala ', and the Gopāli dragon .
2 Bur. Int. p. 377 : Divyāv. p . 348. See Legge's 'Fa Hian', p. 29.
THE SHADOW CAVE . 195
potter's ware ; and here coins, rings, and other relics are
sometimes found . The spot was, therefore, an ancient
place of sepulchre." In the Life of Asoka ', however, the
Gopala cave is located in Gandhära.
In another Chinese Buddhist work we learn that the
Buddha once went to “North India " to the Yue - shi
(Geta ) country and thence to the west of this. Here he
overcame a fierce wicked Rakshasī, spent a night in her
cave , and left his shadow on a rock in it like that in the
Gopāla cave. In another Buddhist treatise, moreover,
there is mention of a district called Na -kie -lo or Na-kie
han (or a )-lo. Here also was a rākshasī cave, and Buddha
came from India to convert the rakshasī and left his
luminous image in the cave. This cave was in the side
of the mountain Ansu, in the Champak grove of the old
rishi, close to a Dragon's lake, and north of the Blue
Lotus fountain . The district in which this cave was
situated was evidently not the Nagar country of our

pilgrim. He also mentions two other caves with luminous
images of Buddha in other parts of India.
There is also something not quite clear in his location
of the cave in Nagar. He seems to describe it as in the
east bank of a torrent, yet he tells us that there was to
the west of it a large flat stone on which the Buddha
spread his robe to dry. According to Fa -hsien also there
was a tope, 100 paces west of the cave, which was made
by Buddha and his disciples as a pattern. Near this,
moreover, was a monastery with above 700 monks in it,
of which Yuan-chuang does not make mention.
THE USHNİSHA-BONE.
The next of the great objects of interest to Buddhists
in this country was the Ushộisha -bone of the Buddha in
1 Ar. Ant. p. 64. The conclusion drawn in the last sentence of

this passage is not quite justified by the premises.
2 Ta - chih -tu -lun, ch. 9 (Bun. No. 1169).
3 Kuan-Fo -san-mei-hai-ching, ch . 7 (No. 430).
196 THE USHNĪSHA BONE.
Hilo. This is called by Yuan - chuang and the other pil

grims Buddha's ting-ku (MI) or Bone of the top of the
head. The Sanskrit term is Ushṇīsha -śīrshas or Ushmisha
siraskatā. As to the latter part of these compounds there
is no doubt, the words being from siras, the head. But
in the literature of India the word ushṇīsha has two
meanings. ( 1 ) the hair done up into a coil on the top of
the head and (2) a peculiar kind of turban or other head
dress . But the Buddhas cut off their hair and did not
wear caps or turbans. So a new use was given to the
term in Buddhism , and it was applied to the cranial pro
tuberance which was one of the thirty-two distinguishing
marks of a Buddha. This protuberance was supposed to
be a sort of abnormal development of the upper surface
of the skull into a small truncated cone covered with flesh
and skin and hair. But some, like Yuan -chuang, regarded
it as a separate formation on, but not a part of, the top
of the skull. This Ushṇīsha -sirsha among the Buddhists
was one of the thirty -two marks not only of a Buddha
but also of a Chakravartin and a Mahā -purusha. But,
as Senart has pointed out, it is not in the list of the
signs of the Great Man (Mahā -purusha) in Brahminical
writings such as the “ Brihat Samhitā ” . 2
According to Yuan -chuang's description the Ushṇīsha
in Hilo was
twelve inches in circumference, with the hair -pores distinct, and
of a yellowish white colour. It was kept in a casket deposited
in the small tope made of the seven precious substances which
was in the second storey of the decorated Hall . Pilgrims made
a fragrant plaster, and with it took a cast of the upper surface
of the bone ; and according to their Karma read in the traces
on the plaster their weal or their woe.
In addition to the term already given as a rendering
for Ushṇīsha there are several other Chinese translations
1 In Max Müller's Dharma-samgraha p . 54 ushnīsha is translated

by " Cap ". This rendering is not supported by any Buddhist authority,
and it is at variance with the descriptions and explanations given
in the Buddhist books.
2 Essai sur la leg. du Bud . p. 111 .
THE USHNISHA BONE. 197
or interpretations of the Sanskrit word. Thus we have

ting-jou- chi (JT ) that is, “ the flesh top -knot on the
top of the head ”, and ju -chi-ku or “ the bone of the flesh
top -knot." " The Buddha is also described as having, as
one of the thirty -two marks, “ on the top of his head the
ushṇīsha like a deva sun -shade” ,2 or as having " on the
top of his head the ushộisha golden skull -top bone” ;3 and
we also read that on the top of the Buddha's head is
" manifested the ushnisha", that is, manifested occasionally
as a miraculous phenomenon. It is also stated that the
ushṇīsha is not visible to the eyes of ordinary beings. 4
Nearly two hundred years before Yuan -chuang's time
a Chinese pilgrim by name Chih -mêng (49 TL) had seen ,
it is recorded, the Ushṇīsha -bone along with other relics
of the Buddha in Kapilavastu, but this must be regarded
as a mistake of a copyist.5 Two later pilgrims Tao -lin
and Hsüan -chao, the latter a contemporary of Yuan
chuang, visited Kapis and there paid reverence to the
ushṇīsha or skull -top bone of the Buddha.6 By Kapis
we are probably to understand Nagar then a part of the
Kapis kingdom . Then a century after Yuan - chuang's time
Wu-kung went to see " Sakya Julai's skull -top bone (or
Ushnisha) relic " in the city of Gandhāra .?
It is interesting to observe that we do not find mention
of any Buddhist monks as being concerned in any way
with this precious relic. Fa-hsien, indeed, places it in a
ching -shê or temple, but this was apparently only the name
which he gave to the building because it contained the
relic. Yuan -chuang does not make mention of any sacred
1 Hsing -chi-ching, ch . 9 : Kuan - Fo -san -mei-hai-ching, ch . 1 , where

the ting-shang-jou -chi is one of the 32 marks ofa ta-chang -fu ( K **
or Mahāpurusha; Chang-chao -fan - chih - ch'ing -wen - ching Bun. No.734 ).
2 Fa-chi-ming-shu-ching (No. 812).
3 Chung- hsü-ching, ch . 3 (No. 859).
4 Ta -ming- san-tsang - fa -shu, ch. 48 (No. 1621).
5 Kao-sing-chuan, ch . 3.
6 Hsi-yü -ch'in , ch. 1 , 2.
7 Shih-li-ching, and J. A. T. VI, p. 357.
198 THE USHNĪSHA BONE .
building; he refers only to a tall two-storey building and

this is apparently the high two-storeyed Hall of Fa -hsien.
The latter pilgrim also mentions the small tope of the
seven precious substances in which the casket containing
the ushṇīsha was kept. This little tope is described by
Fa-hsien as being moreover free , opening and shutting, and
about five feet in height.1
The official custodians of the relic paid all expenses by
charging the devout pilgrims according to a fixed tariff
for seeing the relic, and for also taking an impression of
its upper surface in clay or wax, and they acted in like
manner with the other Buddha relics under their care .
The “ Bone of the top of Buddha's skull ”, in shape
like a wasp's nest or the back of the arched hand,
which was shown to believing pilgrims in Hilo was of
course an imposture. It was perhaps the polished skull
cup of some ancient Sakian chief preserved originally as
an heir-loom . We have seen that a segment of the
Buddha's skull-bone was preserved as a sacred relic in
the Kapis country.
GANDHĀRA.
The pilgrim's narrative in the Records proceeds to relate that
" from this” (that is, from somewhere near the site of the modern
Jelalabad) he went south -east among hills and valleys for above
500 li and came to the Kan -to-lo (Gandhāra) country. This
country was above 1000 li from east to west and above 800 li
north to south , reaching on the east to the Sin (in the D text,
1 Fo -kuo - chi, ch.XIII . The term which is here rendered by " free"
is chie- t'oh ( 194 W ). In the translations of the passage the chie
t'oh-t'a becomes “ tours de delivrance” , “ Final emancipation tower ”.
and “ Vimoksha tope ". Nothing is known of such topes or towers ;
and there is no meaning in the translations. A chie -toh - t'a is a
tope, not closed up, but provided with a door opening and shutting
as required. Other topes containing relics were securely fastened,
but this one was released from the bonds of solid masonry so far
as the relic was concerned .
2 It was made of flesh and bone, was of the capacity of the
hollow of the hand, of a dark colour, round, and very beautiful.
(Abhi-ta - vib. ch. 177).
Con i ‫ گر‬i c Sacer cime
the camme
> Ti į ittih
GANDHARA . 199
Sin - tu ) river. The capital Pu -lu -sha- pu -lo ( Purushapur) was

above 40 li in circuit ; the royal family was extinct and the
country was subject to Kapis ; the towns and villages were
desolate and the inhabitants were very few ; in one corner of
the royal city (Kung-ch'êng) there were above 1000 families. The
country had luxuriant crops of cereals and a profusion of fruits
and flowers ; it had much sugar-cane and produced sugar-candy.
The climate was warm with scarcely any frost or snow ; the
people were faint-hearted, and fond of the practical arts ; the
majority adhered to other systems of religion, a few being
Buddhists.
The Kan -to- lo of this passage is doubtless the Gandhāra
or Gandhára of Indian writers. In a Chinese note we
are told that the old and incorrect name was Gandhavat
(Kan -to -wei) and that the country was in “ North India ".
But in several Chinese treatises Kan -to -wei or the short
form Kan -t'o is the designation of a large and rather
vague region which does not always correspond to the
Gandhāra of our pilgrim . Thus Fa - hsien, for example,
uses it to denote a city and district in this region quite
distinct from the Purushapur district. 1 In the ka -lan -chi
we find Gandha, and also Gandhāra , used to designate
both a city and the country in which the city was situated.2
The Wei -Sliu places the district of Gandha to the west
of Udyāna and makes it quite distinct from Kapin.3 Then
Gandhavat and Gandhāra are names of a vague " north
country ” in which was the inexhaustible treasure- store of
the nāga-rāja Elāpatra . In some books we find Gandhāra
associated with Kapin (Kashmir) either as a part of the
latter or as à neighbouring state. Thus the apostle
Madhyantika was deputed to go to “ Kapin Gandhāras cha ”,
and here I think the syllable che (or cha ) in the Chinese
translations stands for the Sanskrit word cha meaning
1 Fo -kuo- chi, ch. 12.

2 Ch . 5 .
3 Ch . 102.
4 See A - na - pin -ti-hua -ch'i-tzŭ - ching (No. 619) : Tseng- yi-a -han
chin , cl. 49 ( No. 543) : Fo-shuo- Mi-lê-ta- cheng-ro-ching (No. 209):
Divyāv. p . 61 .
200 GANDHĀRA.
“ and ”. 1 In Wu-kéung's 'Itinerary' Gandhāra is described

as the eastern capital of Kapin, the winter residence of
the king of that country, but to the west of Kashmir.2
The name Gandhāra is an old one in Buddhist literature
and it is found in one of the Asoka Edicts. It is inter
preted in some places as meaning “ Earth -holder" ,4 but
while there is a Sanskrit word dhāra meaning " holding”
there does not seem to be any Sanskrit word like gan
meaning " Earth ". Taken as Gandhavat the name is ex
plained as meaning hsiang -hsing (15) or “ scent-action "
from the word gandha which means scent, small, perfume.5
In some books we find the name Shih -shih ( )-kuo
or “ Cave country” applied to Gandhāra and the capital
called Shih -shih -ch'êng or Cave city, and this is evidently
another name for Takshasilā. An old or native name for
Gandhāra is given as Ye-po -lo ( ! ) perhaps for Abār,
but this seems to have been local and temporary. We
are told , in fact, that it ceased to be used after the
country was conquered by the Ye-ta (melk or të 10 ) that
is, the Yets or Gats apparently near the end of our 5th
century.7 Further in some Chinese books Gandhāra is
said to be the Hsiao-yue-ti country, the district of the
offshoot of the Yue-ti or Getae, or at least to include the
region so called.8 The Ye-ta, who were a powerful people
in Central Asia in the 5th century, are also said to have
been of the Yue -ti stock, 9 but some regard them as of
Turkish , and others as of Tibetan origin .
In the above passage the words taken to denote that
1 Shan -chien -lü -vib, ch. 2 (No. 1125) : cf. Mah . ch . XIII.
2 Shih -li- ching
3 No. 5 of the Rock Edicts. Fleet in Ind. Ant. Vol. xxii, p. 178.
4 A- yü-wang -ching, ch . 10 commentary ).
5 Su -kao - seng -chuan, ch . 2 ( No. 1493).
6 A -na- pin -ti-hua-chi- tai - ching ; A -yi-wang- hoi-hoai- mu- yin -yuan
ching (No. 1367 ).
7 Ka -lan -chi, ch .5 ; Wei- shu , ch . 102.
8 Wei -shu l. c.; T‘ung.chih - Jiao s. v. of St.
9 Tung -chien -kang -mu s. Liang Wu Ti * j 3rd year.
PURUSHA - PURA . 201
Gandhāra had “ much sugar-cane and that it produced

sugar-candy (lit. stone-honey )” are To The o
translators in their renderings here have inserted a gloss
which makes Yuan -chuang state that the sugar-candy was
made by the people from the sugar -cane. Julien trans
lates the words— “ il produit aussi beaucoup de cannes à
sucre et l'on en tire du miel en pierre (du sucre solide )."
Here the words " l'on en tire " are not warranted by the
text which has merely the ordinary word ch'u . This word
here as in other passages of the Records simply means
“ it ( that is, the country) yields or produces". We know
also from other sources that the Chinese at this time did
not know of sugar as a product of the sugar -cane. In
consequence of information obtained from India the Em
peror Tang Tai Tsung sent a mission to that country
to learn the art of making sugar and candy from the
Sugar-cane. This candy was merely molasses dried or
"sugar in pieces”. It was at first “ hard (or stone) honey"
to the Chinese, as sugar was honey to the ancient westerns. 1
The Pu -lu -sha-pu -lo or Purushapur of our text has been
supposed to be the Parshawar of later writers, the Pu
rushāvar of Alberuni, and the Peshawer of modern times.2
Fa -hsien uses the term “ Purusha country" ; and makes this
a distinct place four days' journey south from his Gandhavat
country. Sung- yun does not seem to have known the name
Purusha, and he uses Gandhāra for country and capital.
As has been stated, the Nagarahāra of Kittoe's Sanskrit
inscription is evidently the city and district called Pu
rushapur. This name is interpreted as meaning " the city
of the Hero " , in Chinese Chung-fu -kung ( * ) or
Hero's Palace, 3 the Purusha or " Hero" being Vishnu as
the conqueror of the terrible Asura .
Yuan -chuang proceeds to state that
7
1 Pên- ts-ao-lang - mu, ch. 33; Tang- Shu, ch. 021 second part. I.
2 A. G. I. p. 47 ff. for this and Gandhāra generally : Alberuni i
Vol . ii , p. 11 .
3 Su -kao - geng -chuan, ch. 2 .
202 THE BUDDHA'S BOWL.
of the Buddhist Masters in India who since old times had

written śāstras (lun juht) there were Nārāyaṇa - deva, Wu - cho
(Asanga) Pusa, Shih - ch'in ( Vasubandhu) Pusa, Dharmatāra ,
Manoratha (?), and Pārsva the Venerable who were natives of
this district.
Julien translates this passage as follows— “ Depuis l'an

tiquité, ce pays a donné le jour à un grand nombre de
docteurs indiens qui ont composé des Traités ( Castras);
par exemple à Narāyaṇa Deva, Asañga, Vasoubandhu ,
Dharmatrāta, Manorhita, Arya Parçvika, &c. & c .” There
is nothing in the text, however, corresponding to the
grand nombre, the par exemple, or the dc. dc. of this
rendering. Instead of the word pu ( 7 ) , which is in Julien's
Chinese text, there should be yu ( pj), the reading of the
A and D texts. Of the writers of śāstras or disquisitions
mentioned here only three are known as authors of Buddhist
books which have come down to us, viz. Asanga, Vasu
bandhu , and Dharmatāra. The Nārāyana -deva appears
again in this treatise as a deva or god, and it is perhaps
the incarnation of Vishnu so named that is represented
here as a philosophical Buddhist writer, or Yuan - chuang
may have heard that the “ Dharma- śāstra " which bears
the name of Vislınu was written by the god. But we must
remember that Nārāyana is a name common to several
ancient philosophers of India. The other sästra -writers
of Gandhāra will meet us again as we proceed.
There were above 1000 Buddhist monasteries in the country
but they were utterly dilapidated and untenanted . Many of
the topes also were in ruins. There were above 100 Deva
temples, and the various sects lived pell-mell. In the north-east
part of the capital were the remains of the building which
once contained the Buddha's Alms-bowl. After the Buddha's
decease the Bowl had wandered to this country, and after
having been treated with reverence here for some centuries, it
had gone on to several other countries, and was now in P : o -la -ssi
( Persia).
The Buddha's Bowl was seen by Fa -lisien in a monastery

in Purusha, where it was in the care of the Buddhist
Brethren . Kumārajiva saw it in Sha- le or Kashgar, and
THE BUDDHA'S BOWL. 203
1
Chih -mêng saw it in Kapin . Our pilgrim here represents

the Bowl as having passed away from Purushapur and as
being in Persia, but the Life instead of Persia has Benares.
According to other authorities the Buddha's Bowl moved
about from place to place, passing mysteriously through
the air, and working miracles for the good of the people
until it passed (or passes) out of sight in the palace of
the Dragon -king Sagara. There it will remain until the
advent of Maitreya as Buddha when it will appear again
to be a witness. According to some texts the Bowl was
broken once by the wicked king Mihirakula, but the pieces
seem to have come together again. As no one less than
a Buddha could ever eat from this Bowl, so no one less
than a Buddha could move it from its resting - place; borne
by the hidden impulses of human karma it floated about
from one chosen seat to another as Buddhism waxed or
waned.2
About eight or nine li to the south -east of the capital was a

large and very ancient sacred Pipphal Tree above 100 feet high
with wide- spreading foliage affording a dense shade. Under it
the Four Past Buddhas had sat, and all the 996 Buddhas of the
Bhadra kalpa are to sit here; the images of the Four Buddhas
in the sitting posture were still to be seen . When Sakya Julai
was sitting under this tree with his face to the south he said
to Ananda - Four hundred years after my decease a sovereign
will reign , by name Kanishka, who a little to the south of this
will raise a tope in which he will collect many of my flesh and
bone relics ” . To the south of the Pipphal Tree was the tope
erected by Kanishka. Exactly 400 years after the death of
the Buddha Kanishka became sovereign of all Jambudvīpa, but
he did not believe in Karma, and he treated Buddhism with
contumely. When he was ont hunting in the wild country a
white hare appeared ; the king gave chase, and the hare suddenly
disappeared at this place. Here among the trees the king dis
covered a cow -herd boy with a small tope three feet high he
had made. " What is this you have made ?" asked the king.
The boy replied telling the Buddha's prophecy, and informing
Fo-kuo - chi, ch.12 : Kao -seng -chuan, ch . 2, 3.

? See " Fo -mie -tu -hou -kuan - lien -sung -ching " (No. 124); Lien-hua
mien -ching, ch. 2 (No. 465 ).
204 THE KANISHKA TOPE.
Kanishka that he was the king of the prophecy, adding that he

had come to set in motion the fullfilment of the prophecy.
With this the king was greatly pleased ; he straightway became
a Buddhist, and proceeded to accomplish the prediction. Trust
ing to his own great merits, he set about building a great tope
round the site of the boy's small tope, which was to be con
cealed and suppressed by the great tope. But as the latter rose
in height the small tope always topped it by three feet. The
king's tope was one and a half li in circuit at the base, which
was 150 feet high in five stages, and the tope had reached the
height of 400 feet. The boy's tope was now suppressed and the
king was greatly pleased. He completed his tope by the addition
of twenty five gilt copper disks in tiers, and having deposited
a ho of relics inside, he proceeded to offer solemn worship. But
the small tope appeared with one half of it out sideways under
the south -east corner of the great base. The king now lost
patience and threw the thing up. So [the small tope) remained
as it was (i. e. did not all come through the wall) with one half
of it visible in the stone base below the second stage, and
another small tope took its place at the original site. Seeing
all this the king became alarmed , as he was evidently contending
with supernatural powers, so he confessed his error and made
submission. These two topes were still in existence and were
resorted to for cures by people afflicted with diseases. South
of the stone steps on the east side of the Great Tope were two
sculptured topes, one three and the other five feet high, which
were miniatures of the Great Tope. There were also two images
of the Buddha, one four and the other six feet high , represent
ing him seated cross-legged under the Bodhi Tree. When the
sun shone on them these images were of a dazzling gold colour,
and in the shade their stone was of a dark violet colour. The
stone had been gnawed by gold -coloured ants so as to have the
appearance of carving, and the insertion of gold sand completed
the images. On the south face of the ascent to the Great Tope
was a painting of the Buddha sixteen feet high with two heads
from one body. Our pilgrim narrates the legend connected with
this very curious picture as he learned it at the place.
Above 100 paces to the south - east of the Great Tope was a
white stone standing image of Buddha eighteen feet high, facing
north, which wrought miracles, and was seen by night to
circumambulate the Great Tope. On either side of the latter
were above 100 small topes close together. The Buddha images
were adorned in the perfection of art. Strange perfumes were
perceived and unusual sounds heard [at the Great Tope) , and
divine and human genii might be seen performing pradakshiņa
round it. The Buddha predicted that when this tope had been
su ‫ہو رہی ہے ۔‬ ? ĈFio lo hii
THE KANISHKA TOPE . 205
seven times burned, and seven times rebuilt, his religion would
come to an end. The Records of former sages stated that the
tope had already been erected and destroyed three times. When
Yuan - chuang arrived he found there had been another burning,
and the work of rebuilding was still in progress. x
The description of the origin and structure of the
Kanishka Tope in this passage is not very full or clear ;
and the interpretation here given differs in some important
points from Julien's rendering. There are, however, other
accounts of this unique building which may help to
supplement our author's narrative. The white hare which
appeared to Kanishka and led him to the fated spot was
the agent of Indra ; so also was the herd-boy who had
made the small tope. Or rather the boy was Indra
himself, and as the builder and the material were not of
this world the tope could not be like the common build
ings of its class. One authority describes it as being
made of cow-dung ; but when an unbeliever pressed it to
try, the hollow which he made with his fingers could not
be filled up, and remained to testify to the miraculous
character of the tope. 1
According to our pilgrim Kanishka's Tope was 400 feet
high with a superstructure of gilt-copper disks, the base
being in five stages and 150 feet in height. Julien makes
the words of the text mean that each of the five stages
was 150 feet high, but this is not in the original and does
not agree with the context. Then the passage which tells
of the miracle of the small tope coming out half -way
through the wall of the Great Tope is thus rendered by
Julien- “ Quand il (i. e. the king) eut achevé cette con
struction, il vit le petit stoupa , qui se trouvait au bas de
l'angle sud -est du grand, s'élever à côté et le dépasser de
moitié . " But the text does not place the small tope at
the south - east corner of the great one, and the king is
described as building it " autour de l'endroit où était le
petit stoupa ”. Then the words pang -ch'u -ch'i-pan (1
1 The Hsi-yü-chih quoted in Fa- yuan - chu -lin, ch . 38.

206 KANISHKA'S TOPE.
# ) lit. " side put out its half ” cannot possibly be made
to mean “ s'élever à côté et le dépasser de moitié" . This
rendering moreover spoils the story which tells us that
the king had finished his tope, and was pleased with his
success in enclosing the small tope, when the latter was
seen to thrust itself half through the stone wall of his
tope. Then we learn that on seeing this “ the king's mind
was ruffled and he threw the thing up ". The Chinese for
this clause is wung- sin - pu -pring-pien -chi-chih -ch'i (E =
7FE F *), and Julien translates : “ Le roi en
eprouva une vive contrariété et ordonna sur-le -champ de
l'abattre". Here the word ordonna is a bad interpolation,
and the term chin - chi has been misunderstood . It means,
as usually, to give up , renounce, abandon . The king had
built his great relic-tope, but he could not carry out the
ambitious design he had to mi-fuh by his power the
small tope which, unknown to him , was the work of the
god Indra, so he wanted to abandon the whole affair.
In the Fang-chih the king is wrongly represented as
putting aside (chih -ch‘i) the small tope when proceeding
to build his own. At the time of Yuan -chuang's visit
the small tope half-out through the wall still remained in
that position, and the second small tope was to be seen
at the original site of the first one. The position he
assigns to his second small tope does not agree with the
statement that Kanishka enclosed the site of the original
small tope within the inclosure of his Great Tope. Per
haps the small tope appearing half -way out through the
wall of the great one may have been a sculpture in alto
relievo in the latter. Mr Simpson in the XIVth Vol. of
the Journal of the R. A. S. has described such sculptured
topes, and given us a sketch of one.
Yuan - chuang's account of the Great Tope and the little
one associated with it from the beginning agrees in the main
with Fa -hsien's account, but does not much resemble the
descriptions in other works. We must remember, however,
that what he records is largely derived from others, while
his predecessors saw the Great Tope in the splendour of
KANISHKA'S TOPE . 207
its perfect condition. One account represents the base

of the Tope as 30 ( for 300 ) feet in height, above this was
a structure of polished and sculptured stone in five storeys,
then a structure of carved wood about 120 feet high, then
came the roof on which was erected a spire bearing fifteen
gilt disks. Sung- yun, like Yuan -chuang, makes the height
of the main building to be 400 feet; above this Sung -yun
saw an iron pillar 300 feet high supporting thirteen tiers
of gilt disks ( lit. gold basins ). He makes the total height
700 feet, while others make it 550, 632, 800, and 1000 feet.
One of the names by which the tope was known was the
“ Thousand Foot Tope ” ( 6 A ). It was also called
the Chio - li (1 ) Tope. This term Chioli we have seen
was applied to the pair of vihāras at Kuchih (Kutzŭ ), and
it is used to designate other vihäras and topes. If the
name were always written as above we could regard it as
a native term meaning “ piebald, brown and yellow ”, chio
denoting a sparrow and li an oriole. But the characters
vary and the word is expressly said to be foreign and to
mean striped or chequered in two or more colours. This
sense would suit the Great Tope with its dark -coloured
stone variegated by yellow tracings. It is apparently this
building which is called in a Buddhist work the “ Earth
and Stone Tope”. This will recall to the reader the very
interesting general description of the topes of this region
given in the Ariana Antiqua, a description which also
illustrates our pilgrim's account of the Great Tope. 1
In a Vinaya treatise the prediction of the building of
this tope is made by the Buddha not to Ananda but to
the Vajrapāņi P'usa. The Buddha going about with this
P'usa from place to place in “ North India " came to the
hamlet of the Ho-shu -lo (is) ), that is, the Kharjūra
or wild date tree. Here the two sat down ; and Buddha,
pointing to a small boy making a mud tope at a little
distance, told the Pusa that on that spot Kanishka would
erect the tope to be called by his name.2
1 Wei -shu l. c.; Ka-lan - chi, 1. c.; Ar. Ant. p. 56.
2 Saz. Vin . Yao- shib, ch. 9 .
208 KANISHKA'S VIHĀRA .
The description in the Records goes on

To the west of the Great Tope was an old monastery built
by Kanishka ; its upper storeys and many terraces were connected
by passages to invite eminent Brethren and give distinction to
illustrious merit, and although the buildings were in ruins they
could be said to be of rare art. There were still in the monastery
a few Brethren all Hinayānists. From the time it was built it
had yielded occasionally extraordinary men, and the arhats and
śāstra-makers by their pure conduct and perfect virtue were still
an active influence .
This old monastery is apparently the “Kanik-caitya"

of Alberuni, the " vihāra of Purushāvar" built by king
Kanik . It was also the " Kanishka-mahă - vihāra " of Kittoe's
inscription, “where the best of teachers were to be found ,
and which was famous for the quietism of its frequenters”.
Within the modern city of Peshawer is an old building
called the Ghor Khattri (the Gurh -Katri of Baber) and
known also as the Caravanserai (or the Serai). This was
once a Buddhist monastery “ with numerous cells”. Does
it represent the great Kanishka vihāra ?
In the third tier of high halls of the Kanishka vibāra was
the chamber once occupied by the Venerable Po- li-ssă -fo (Pārsva):
it was in ruins, but was marked off. This Pārśva was originally
a brahmin teacher, and he remained such until he was eighty
years old. Then he became converted to Buddhism and received
ordination. The city boys hereupon jeered at him as an old
and feeble man , and reproached him with wishing to lead an
idle life, unable to fulfill the duties of a monk in practising
absorbed meditation and reciting the sacred Scriptures. Stung
by these reproaches the old man withdrew into seclusion, and
made a vow not to lay his side on his mat until he had mastered
the canon, and had attained full spiritual perfection and powers.
At the end of three years he had completely succeeded, and
people out of respect called him Reverend Side (or Ribs) because
he had not laid his side on his mat for so long a time.
The Po-li-ssů - fo ( Pārsva) of this passage is called in
other works Po-she ik k) which may be for Passo the
Pali form of Pārsva. As this word means side it is
translated into Chinese by Hsie (3) which also means
1 Pi-po-sha -lun, or Vibhāshāśāstra, ch . 1 (No. 1279).

THE PATRIARCH PĀRSVA. 209
side or ribs. The Buddhist Doctor with this name was

also called Nan -shêng or " Hard to be born ”, which is
perhaps a translation of Durjāta. He was so called be
cause, for misdeeds in a former existence, he was six (or
sixty) years in his mother's womb, and was born with gray
hair. Regarded as one of the Patriarchs he is placed by
some ninth, and by others tenth, in the line of succession,
and as such he is said to have been a native of “ Mid
India ” and to have lived in the 5th century B. C. But
these statements are to be set aside as comparatively late
inventions. From other sources we learn that Pārsva
was a native of North India, and that he was a con
temporary of king Kanishka, at whose Buddhist Council
he assisted. His date is thus the first century A.D., and
he is said to have lived 400 years after the Buddha's
decease . All authorities agree that he was a bhikshu of
great zeal and devotion, an ardent student and an in
defatigable propagator of Buddhism, eloquent and expert
in argument. Among the numerous converts he made the
greatest was the celebrated Asvaghosha who was a brahmin
teacher having an unchallenged preeminence in his own
country in Mid India. Pārsva, however, defeated him in a
public discussion, and according to agreement Aśvaghosha
became his disciple, and was ordained as a bhikshu.2
Pārsva is cited by our pilgrim as a maker of śāstras ; but
no treatise bearing his name is known to have come down
to us, and there does not seem to be any particular work
ascribed to him in the Chinese books although he is
often quoted in some of these. Nor is there anything,
so far as we know, to confirm or warrant Yuan-chuang's
story of Pārsva being ordained at the age of 80 years, and
1 In “ Fo -tsu -tóung -chi" (No. 1661), ch . 34, and in “ Fu-fa -tsang-yin

yuan - ching ” (No. 1340) Pārsva is the ninth Patriarch ; in the “ Chih
yue- lu ", ch . 3, he is the tenth .
2 Ma-ming-p'u-sa-chuan (No. 1460). See also Tär. S. 59 and Was.
S. 52 note and 231 .
3 E. g. in the Abhi - ta - vib., and the Abhi - shun - chêng - li - lun
(No. 1265).
0
210 VASUBANDHU.
the city boys jeering at him in consequence. We do read in

a work already cited that when Pārýva was on his way
to Mid India the boys at one town made fun of him for
wearing shoes, and carried these off from him.
On the east side of Pārsva's chamber was the old house in
which Shih -ch'in ( THE # 2) Pusa ( Vasubandhu) composed the A
p'i-ta-mo-ku-shi-lun (Abhidharmakośa - śāstra), and posterity in
reverential remembrance had set a mark on the old house.
As Yuan-chuang has told us, Vasubandhu was a native

of this country, having been born in Purushapur. His
father's name was Kausika and his mother's Bilindi, and
he was the second of three brothers all named Vasubandhu.
The eldest became celebrated as the great Buddhist
teacher Asanga, the youngest was called Bilindibhava
from his mother's name, and the middle one remained
Vasubandhu simply. This last following the example of
his elder brother became a Buddhist monk, and was at
first an adherent of the Vaibhāshikas of the Sarvāstivādin
School.1
The Abhidharmakośa - Šāstra , or " Disquisition on the
Treasury of Buddhist Philosophy", mentioned here, origi
nated with 600 aphorisms in verse composed by Vasu
bandhu as a Sarvāstivādin Vaibhāshika. These were sent
by the author from Ayodhyā to the Kashmir Vaibhāshikas
who were greatly pleased with them . But as the aphorisms
were very terse and hard to understand , the Brethren re
quested the author to expand them into a readable form .
Vasubandhu in the meantime had become attached to the
Sautrāntikas, and when he expanded his aphorisms into
a prose treatise he criticised some of the doctrines of the
Kashmir Vaibhāshikas from the point of view of a Sau
trantika. This book also was written in Ayodhyā in the
reign of Vikramāditya or his son Balāditya. It was re
garded by the Vaibhāshikas of Kashmir as hostile to
them , and it was refuted by the learned Sanghabhadra
1 Ta-shêng-pai-fa-ming-mên-lun (No. 1213) Intn ; P'o- su-p-an-tou

(Vasubandhu)-fa -shi-chuan (No. 1463 ); Was. S. 240.
MANORATHA . 211
who composed two treatises against it and in defence of

the Vaibhāshikas. But Vasubandhu's treatise continued
to have a great reputation and it was held in esteem by
the adherents of both “Vehicles". Several commentaries
were written on it in Sanskrit, and it was twice trans
lated into Chinese, the first translation being by the great
Indian Buddhist Paramārtha, and the second by our
pilgrim . In this treatise the author does not shew any
hostility to the Vaibhashikas, and he frankly acknowledges
his indebtedness to them . 1
The Vasubandhu of this passage, who will meet us
again, is not to be confounded with the Buddhist of the
same name who is given as the 21st of the Patriarchs of
the Buddhist Church .
About fifty paces south from Vasubandhu's house was the
second tier of high halls ; here the śāstra-master Mo -nu -ho -la -t'a
(# WITH) (Manoratha)composed a “ vibhāsha- lun” . This
Master made his auspicious advent within the 1000 years after
the Buddha's decease ; in youth he was studious and clever of
speech. His fame reached far and clericals and laymen put
their faith in him. At that time the power of Vikramāditya
king of Srāvasti was widely extended ; on the day on which he
reduced the Indias to submission he distributed five lakhs of
gold coins among the destitute and desolate. The Treasurer,
fearing that the king would empty the Treasury, remonstrated
with him to the following effect - Your Majesty's dread influence
extends to various peoples and the lowest creatures. I request
that an additional five lakhs of gold coins be distributed among
the poor from all quarters; the Treasury being thus exhausted
new taxes and duties will have to be imposed ; this unlimited
taxation will produce disaffection ; so Your Majesty will have
gratitude for your bounty, but Your Ministers will have to bear
insulting reproaches. The king replied that giving to the needy
from the surplus of public accumulation was not a lavish ex
penditure of public money on himself, and gave the additional
five lakhs in largesse to the poor. On a future occasion the
king, while out hunting, lost trace of a wild boar and rewarded
the peasant who put him on the track with a lakh of gold coins.
Manoratha had once paid his barber a like sum for shaving his
1 See Abhi-kü -shê (koša )-lun (No. 1267), and Abhi-kośa-shih-lun

(No. 1269) ; Abhi-kosa-lun-pen-sung (No. 1270).
0*
210 VASUBANDHU .

a work already cited that when Pārsva was on his way
which Shih -ch'in (fl #l) Pusa (Vasubandhu) composed the A
p'i-ta -mo-ku -shi-lun (Abhidharmakośa - śāstra), and posterity in
As Yuan - chuang has told us, Vasubandhu was a native
he was the second of three brothers all named Vasubandhu,
School. 1
The Abhidharmakośa-Šāstra, or " Disquisition on the
were very terse and hard to understand, the Brethren re
1 Ta -shêng - pai-fa-ming -mên - lun (No. 1213) Inta ; P'o- su-p'an-tou

( Vasubandhu )-fa -shi-chuan (No. 1463 ); Was. S. 240.
MANORATHA . 211

the adherents of both “ Vehicles". Several commentaries
his indebtedness to them. 1
second tier of high halls ; here the śāstra-master Mo -nu -ho - la -t'a
#HIJ
( THL ) (Manoratha)composed a “ vibhāsha-lun ” . This
with him to the following effect Your Majesty's dread influence
1 See Abhi-kü -shê(koša )-lun (No. 1267), and Abhi-kośa-shih-lun

O*
210 VASUBANDHU .

which Shih - ch'in (PIE *) Pusa (Vasubandhu) composed the A
p'i-ta -mo-ku -shi-lun ( Abhidharmakośa - śāstra ), and posterity in

School. 1
The Abhidharmakośa -Šāstra, or " Disquisition on the
1 Ta -shêng -pai-fa-ming -mên -lun (No. 1213) Inta ; P'o-su-p-an-tou

(Vasubandhu )-fa -shi-chuan (No. 1463) ; Was. S. 240 .
MANORATHA . 211

the adherents of both “Vehicles". Several commentaries
hostility to the Vaibhāshikas, and he frankly acknowledges
the Buddhist Church.
second tier of high halls ; here the śāstra -master Mo-nu - ho -la -ta
#Hill
( ) (Manoratha)composed a “ vibhāsha - lun”. This
the poor from all quarters ; the Treasury being thus exhausted
gratitude for your bounty , but Your Ministers will have to bear

O*
210 VASUBANDHU .

wearing shoes , and carried these off from him.
which Shih -ch'in (fl # 2) Pusa (Vasubandhu) composed the A
p'i-ta -mo-ku -shi-lun ( Abhidharmakośa - śāstra ), and posterity in

School.1
The Abhidharmakosa - śāstra, or " Disquisition on the
1 Ta-shêng -pai-fa -ming -mên -lun (No. 1213) Inta ; Pío- su-p-an-tou
( Vasubandhu )-fa - shi-chuan (No. 1463 ); Was. S. 240.
MANORATHA . 211

the adherents of both “ Vehicles ". Several commentaries
were written o it in Sanskrit, and it was twice trans
second tier of high halls ; here the śāstra -master Mo -nu - ho - la -ta
(* T ) (Manoratha)composed a “ vibhāsha- lun” . This
Manoratha had once paid his barber like sum for shaving his
1 See Abhi-kü -shê(kośa )-lun (No. 1267), and Abhi-kośa-shih -lun

O*
210 VASUBANDHU .

which Shih -ch'in (fl #l) Pusa (Vasubandhu) composed the A
při -ta -mo-ku -shi-lun (Abhidharmakośa - śāstra ), and posterity in
School. 1
The Abhidharmakośa - śāstra, or “ Disquisition on the
Treasury of Buddhist Philosophy ', mentioned here, origi
were very terse and hard to understand , the Brethren re
reign of Vikramaditya or his son Balāditya. It was re
1 Ta-shêng -pai- fa -ming -mên -lun (No. 1213) Inta ; Pio- su-p-an-tou
( Vasubandhu )-fa-shi- chuan (No. 1463) ; Was. S. 240 .
MANORATHA . 211

the adherents of both “ Vehicles". Several commentaries
pilgrim. In this treatise the author does not shew any
hostility to the Vaibhāshikas, and he frankly acknowledges
again , is not to be confounded with the Buddhist of the
second tier of high halls ; here the śāstra -master Mo -nu -ho - la -ta
(* T ) (Manoratha)composed a “ vibhāsha-lun”. This
1 See Abhi-kü-shê( kośa)-lun (No. 1267), and Abhi-kośa -shih -lun

O*
210 VASUBANDHU.

which Shih - ch'in (XL ) Pusa ( Vasubandhu) composed the A
pói-ta -mo-ku -shi-lun ( Abhidharmakośa - śāstra), and posterity in

School. 1
The Abhidharmakośa -śāstra, or " Disquisition on the
Treasury of Buddhist Philosophy ”, mentioned here, origi
who were greatly pleased with them. But as the aphorisms
1 Ta -shêng -pai-fa -ming -mên -lun (No. 1213) Inta ; P'o- su-p'an-tou
(Vasubandhu)-fa -shi-chuan (No. 1463) ; Was. S. 240.
MANORATHA . 211

the adherents of both “Vehicles”. Several commentaries
second tier of high halls ; here the śāstra -master Mo -nu -ho - la -ta
(# WITH ) (Manoratha)composed a “ vibhāsha-lun ” . This
Manoratha had once paid his barber like sum for shaving his

O*
210 VASUBANDHU.

a work already cited that when Pārśva was on his way
which Shih-ch'in (fl #l) Pusa (Vasubandhu) composed the A
p'i-ta -mo-ku - shi-lun (Abhidharmakośa - śāstra), and posterity in
School. 1
The Abhidharmakośa -śāstra, or " Disquisition on the
bandhu as a Saryāstivādin Vaibhāshika. These were sent
1 Ta-shêng-pai-fa-ming-mên-lun (No. 1213) Intn ; P'o-su-p'an-tou

(Vasubandhu)-fa -shi-chuan (No. 1463 ); Was. S. 240.
MANORATHA . 211

the adherents of both “ Vehicles ”. Several commentaries
second tier of high halls ; here the śāstra -master Mo-nu - ho - la -ta
#KIT (Manoratha)composed a “ vibhāsha-lun” . This
1 See Abhi-kü -shề(koša )-lun (No. 1267), and Abhi-kośa-shih-lun

0*
212 MANORATHA .
head, and the State annalist had made a record of the circumstance.
This fact had wounded the king's pride, and he desired to bring
public shame on Manoratha. To effect this he called together
100 learned and eminent non -Buddhists to meet Manoratha in
discussion. The subject selected for discussion was the nature
of the sense-perceptions about which, the king said, there was
such confusion among the various systems that one had no
theory in which to put faith . Manoratha had silenced 99 of his
opponents and was proceeding to play with the last man on the
subject, as he announced it, of "fire and smoke " . Hereupon the
king and the Non- Buddhists exclaimed that he was wrong in
the order of stating his subject for it was a law that smoke
preceded fire. Manoratha, disgusted at not being able to get a
hearing, bit his tongue, sent an account of the circumstances to
his disciple Vasubandhu, and died. Vikramāditya lost his kingdom,
and was succeeded by a king who shewed respect to men of
eminence. Then Vasubandhu solicitous for his Master's good
name came to this place, induced the king to summon to another
discussion the former antagonists of Manoratha, and defeated
them all in argument.
The name of the great Buddhist master here called

Mo-nu -lo-ha -t'a , and translated by Yuan -chuang Ju -yi
(ku ) or “ As you will ”, has been restored by me as
Manoratha. Julien here as in the Vie having the B
reading Mo-no -ho -li (Fu -t'a restores the name as Manorhita.
This seems to be a word of his own invention, but it has
‫رو‬
been adopted by the P. W. , and by subsequent writers
on our pilgrim's narrative. The Chinese characters of
Julien's text, however, cannot be taken to represent this
word, and they might stand for a word like Manoriddha.
This would perhaps suit Yuan-chuang's rendering, and also
the Tibetan term Yid- on. But Manoratha is the name
given by Burnouf from the Abhidharma-kośa-vyākhya, by
Paramārtha, who translates it by Hsin -yuan or " Mental
desire", and by Schiefner in his translation of Täranātha. 1
But the Tibetan books make the bearer of the name to
be a native of South India and a contemporary of Nāga
sena .
This Manoratha is not to be regarded as the same
1 Bur. Int. p . 567 ; Life of Vasubandhu (No. 1463) ; Tăr. S. 3, 298 .

MANORATHA . 213
person as the Manor or Manura who is represented as

the 21st (or 22 ) Patriarch.
Yuan-chuang here ascribes to Manoratha the composition
of a Vibhasha -lun , that is an expository Buddhistic treatise.
Julien very naturally took this term to be the name of a
particular treatise which he calls the “ Vibhāshā śāstra ”.
There is a learned and curious work in the Canon with
the name “ Vibhāshā -lun ”, the authorship of which is
ascribed to Shi-tio-pan -nói (P BEE ) restored by Julien
as " Siddhapaņi", and by some to Kätyāyani-putra, but not
to Manoratha.1 Nor is this last the author of the treatise
bearing the name “ Vibhashā -vinaya ", or of any other work
in the sacred Canon.
According to Yuan -chuang Manoratha flourished (lit.
was seen to profit, tu a phrase from the Yih -Ching)
within 1000 years after the decease of the Buddha. This,
taking the Chinese reckoning, would place the date of the
śāstra-master before A.D. 150.
The pilgrim relates of Vikramāditya that “ on the day
on which he reduced the Indias to submission he distri .
buted five lakhs of gold coins ” —For these words the
Chinese is shih - ch'ên -chu - In -tu - jih -yi-wu-yih - chin -ch‘ien
chou -kei ( Lili E 1 EN JE I 7 lt HYA) . Julien ,
who instead of chu , the reading of the A, C, and D texts,
had yi ( ) of the B text, translates— “ Quand un de ses
envoyés arrivait dans (un royaume de) l'Inde, il distribuait
chaque jour cinq cent mille pièces d'or pour secourir les
pauvres, les orphelins et les hommes sans famille.” This
is very absurd and is not in the text. The first character
here shih is not needed, and is not in the D text ; and
the meaning seems to be very clear that, on the day on
which India became subject to him , the king distributed
five lakhs of gold coins among his own needy and deso
late. Then the narrative makes the Treasurer try to
frighten the king by proposing that he should distribute
another lakh, among the poor from all quarters, thereby
1 Bun. No. 1279 and He 9 of Jap. Reprint.
214 THE SENSES AND SENSE - PERCEPTION .
exhausting the Treasury and causing oppressive taxation.

The Treasurer's speech, which is rather absurd , seems to
be clearly expressed ; but Julien does not seem to have
understood its meaning. A little farther on we have the
reasons alleged by the king for summoning the non
Buddhists and Buddhists to a public debate. He said
" he wanted to set right seeing and hearing and study
(lit. travel in) the real objects of the senses ” ( ok ki
ist it lit tä ), the diverse theories on sense perceptions hav
ing led to confusion and uncertainty. The king's language
refers to the great controversies about the senses and
their objects, and the word he uses for the latter, ching
( tä ), is that employed in Yuan-chuang's translation of the
Abhidharmakośa -lun . There were great differences of
opinion among the rival schools as to the relations be
tween the senses and their respective objects. Thus, for
example, as to sight, it was discussed whether it was the
eye or the mind which saw, and whether the “ true realm "
of sight was colour or form. For the purpose at least of
suppressing Manoratha, the philosophers at the debate
were agreed on the point that smoke should precede fire.
From the Kanishka Monastery Yuan -chuang went north -east
above 50 li, crossing a large river, to the city which he calls
Pu -se-ka -lo -fa -ti (Pushkaravati). This was about fourteen or
fifteen li in circuit, was well peopled, and the wards were con
nected by passages. Outside the west gate of the city was a
Deva - Temple with a marvel-working image of the Deva. To
the east of the city was an Asoka tope on the spot where the
Four Past Buddhas had preached. The Buddhist sages who in
old times came from " Mid India" to this district and taught
mortals were very numerous . It was here that Vasumitra com
posed his “ Chung-shih - fên - Abhidharma- lun ". Four or five li
north of the city was an old monastery in ruins and with only
a few Brethren who were all Hinayānists. In it Dharmatrāta
composed the “ Tsa -abhidharma -lun ”.
The Pushkaravati of this passage, which the Life makes
to be 100 li from the Kanishka Monastery, is evidently
the Fo-sha-fu of the Ka -lan -chi and the Pukaravati of
other works, and it is supposed to be represented by the
modern Hashtnagar. Here according to our text Vasu
DHARMATRĀTA . 215
mitra composed his “ Chung -shih -fên ( * ! )-Abhidharma

lun” or “ Abhidharma-prakarana -pada-śāstra”. It is worthy
of note that Yuan-chuang, who is sparing in his references
to his predecessors, uses here the translations of the title
of this work given by Guņabhadra and Bodhiyaśa, the
first translators of the treatise. For his own version
Yuan -chuang used a more correct translation of the title
“ Abhidharma -p- in -lei -tsu ( 2 )-lun ” l. Yuan-chuang here
ascribes to Dharmatrāta the authorship of a work which
he calls “ Tsa -abhidharma -lun ". But no treatise with this
name is known to the collections of Buddhist scriptures,
and it is perhaps a mistake for " Tsa-abhidharma-hsin (j )
lun " ; there is in the Canon a work with this name and it
is ascribed to Dharmatrāta (or Dharmatūra ) as author.2
Beside the monastery was an Asoka tope some hundreds of
feet high, the carved wood and engraved stone of which seemed
to be the work of strangers. Here Sākya Buddha in his P'usa
stage was born 1000 times as a king, and in each birth gave his
eyes in charity. A little to the east of this were two stone
topes, one erected by Brāhma and one by Indra, which still
stood out high although the foundations had sunk. At the
distance of 50 li to the north- west of these was a tope at the
place where the Buddha converted the Kuei-tzŭ -mu or " Mother
of Demons”, and forbade her to kill human beings. The people
of the country worshipped this Demon -mother and prayed to
her for offspring.
The word "thousand" in the statement here about the
thousand gifts of his eyes by the Bodhisattva in as many
previous existences as a king is perhaps a mistake. De
scribing the commemorating tope our author tells us that
the tiao-mu-wên -shih -p'oh -yi-jen -kung (HET TIL
I). These words seem to have the meaning given to
them above, but they have also been taken to mean " the
carved wood and engraved stone are superhuman work ”.
Julien's translation, which is the tope “ est fait en bois
sculpté et en pierres veinées ; les ouvriers y ont déployé
un art extraordinaire" seems to be far wrong.
The Kuei-tzů -mu or “Mother of Demon-children " of
this passage is evidently the goddess whom I-ching iden
216 THE GODDSSS HĀRĪTĪ.
tifies with the Ha-li-ti (Hārītī) of the Sarvāstivādin Vinaya .?

This goddess, in the time of the Buddha, was a Yakshini
living near Rajagriha, and married to a Yaksha of Gan
dhāra. Her name was Huan -hsi (Nandā ?) or " Joy ", and
she was supposed to be a guardian deity to the people
of Magadha. But as the result of a spiteful wish in a
previous life she took to stealing and eating the children
of Rājagaha. When the people found that their goddess
was secretly robbing them of their offspring to feed her
self and her 500 sons, they changed her name to Hārīti
or Thief. On the petition of the victims the Buddha
undertook to put an end to the Yakshini's cannibal mode
of life.2 In order to convert her he hid her youngest and
favourite son, in one account called Pingala, in his alms
bowl, and gave him up to the mother on her promise to
renounce cannibalism and become a lay member of his
communion. Then to provide for the subsistence of the
mother and her numerous offspring the Buddha ordained
that in all monasteries food should be set out for them
every morning. In return for this service the Yakshini
and her sons were to become and continue guardians of
the Buddhist sacred buildings. The Sar. Vin. does not
make any mention of Hārīti undertaking to answer the
prayers of barren women for children , but in one of the
sūtras the Kuei-tzŭ-mu agrees to comply with the Buddha's
request in this matter.3 I-ching tells us that the name
Kuei-tzŭ-mu was used by the Chinese before they had
the story of Härīti, and a goddess of children with that
name is still worshipped by Chinese women. She is com
1 Nan - hai-ch‘i -kuei, ch. 1 and Takakusu p. 37.

2 Sar. Vin. Tsa -shih (No. 1121 ), ch. 31.
3 See the “ Kuei-tzŭ -mu -ching ” (No. 759) where the scene is laid
in the 7 th country ; Tsa -pao -tsang -ching (No. 1329) ch. 9 where
the baby is Pin-ka-lo ( Pingala) and the name of the country is not
given ; Tsa-a-han-ching, ch . 49 where the scene is in Magadha and
the demon -mother's baby is Pi-lêng -ka. See also Waddell's Buddhism
of Tibet' p. 99 ; and Ch‘i - Fo - so - shuo -shên . chou - ching, last page
(No. 447).
SAMA JATAKA . 217
monly represented by a standing image with a baby in

her arms and two or three children below her knees as
described by I-ching. As the word kuei has only un
pleasant associations ever since the Tiang period the
Chinese have occasionally substituted for it in the name
of this goddess the word for nine, calling her Kiu-tzů-mu,
" Mother of nine ( that is, many) sons "
Above 50 li north from the scene of the conversion of the
Kuei-tzŭ-mu was another tope. This marked the place at which
the Prusa in his birth as Sama while gathering fruit as food
for his blind parents was accidentally shot by a poisoned arrow
aimed by the king at a deer of which he was in pursuit. The
perfect sincerity of the Pusa's conduct moved the spiritual
powers and Indra provided a remedy which restored the son
to life .
It will be remembered that Brahminical literature has
a similar story about Krishna. The Jātaka is a well
known one and is related in several books. 1
From the ſamaka (or Sama) Tope journey of above 200 li
south-east brought the pilgrim to the city called Po -lu -sha
( Palusha ). To the north of this city was a tope to mark the
place at which the Piusa in his birth as Prince Su -ta -na
(Sudāna) bade adieu on being sent into exile for having given
the elephant of the king his father to a brahmin. At the side
of this tope was a monastery with above fifty Brethren all
adherents of the " Small Vehicle " . Here the Master of Sāstras,
īśvara, composed the " Abhidharma-ming -chêng- lun ”.
The Palusha of this passage was apparently about
100 li to the south - east of Pushkaravati. Cunningham
has proposed to identify it with the modern Palo-dheri
which is about forty miles from Pushkaravati or Hasht
nagar . As it is also, however, apparently about forty
miles south - east from the Samaka tope, Palo -dheri may
correspond to the site of Palusha.
The name Sudāna of the text is explained in a note as
meaning “ having good teeth ", but this, as has been pointed
out by others, is evidently wrong. Better renderings are
1 See Wilkins' Hind. Myth. p. 188, 209 ; Jātaka Vol. VI. p. 71 ;

P -u - sa -san -tzu - ching (No. 216 ); Liu-tu-chi-ching, ch. 5 (No. 143).
218 VESSANTARA JATAKA .
Shan-yü and Shan-shih ( Hi or J toil), both meaning

liberal or generous. As Sudāna is apparently an epithet
for the prince whose name was Viśvantara (Wessantara),
so Shan-ya or “Good -teeth ” may have been the name of
the much prized white elephant which the prince gave
away to the brahmin from the hostile country.
As to the Abhidharma treatise which Yuan - chuang here
ascribes to the śāstra master Isvara no work with the
name “ Abhidharma-ming-chêng - lun " seems to be known
to the Buddhist canon. Instead of the ming - chêng (IJ E)
of the ordinary texts the D text has ming -têng (! ), mak
ing the name to be the “Abhidharma Shining lamp
śāstra”.
Outside the east gate of the Palusha city was a monastery
with above 50 Brethren all Mahāyānists. At it was an Asoka
tope on the spot at which the brahmin, who had begged the
son and daughter of the Prince Sudāna from him on the Tan
to - lo -ka (Dantaloka) mountain , sold the children. Above twenty
li north-east from Palusha was the Dantaloka mountain on
which was an Asoka tope at the place where Prince Sudāna
lodged. Near it was the tope where the Prince having given
his son and daughter to the Brahmin the latter beat the children
until their blood ran to the ground ; this blood dyed the spot
and the vegetation still retained a reddish hue. In the cliff was
the cave in which the Prince and his wife practised samādhi.
Near this was the hut in which the old rishi lived; above 100 li
north from it beyond a small hill was a mountain ; on the south
of this was a monastery with a few Brethren who were Mahā
yānists ; beside this was an Asoka tope where the rishi Tu -chio
(Ekaśringa) once lived ; this rishi was led astray by a lustful
woman and lost his superhuman faculties, whereupon the lustful
woman rode on his shoulders into the city.
In their renderings of the text of the above passage
the translators have made a serious mistranslation which
injures the narrative. They make the pilgrim state that
the tope at the east gate of Palusha was at the place
where Prince Sudāna sold his two children to a brahmin .
But the Prince never did anything like this, and the
Chinese states clearly that it was the brahmin who sold
the children after having begged them from their father
on the mountain. This agrees with the context and with
VESSANTARA JĀTAKA . 219
the story in the Scriptures. According to the latter the

brahmin on the instigation of his wife went to the Danta
mountain to beg the Prince to give him the son and
daughter of whom the Prince and his wife were very
fond ; and by his urgent entreaty he prevailed on the
father, in the absence of the mother, to give up the
children to serve in his household. But when the Brahmin
brought them to his home his clever wife saw they were
of superior birth, and refused to keep them as slaves.
Hereupon the brahmin took them away to sell, and against
his will, under the secret influence of Indra, he found him
self with the children at the royal city, where they fell
into the hands of the king their grandfather. This happy
incident led to the recall of the all- giving Prince and his
faithful devoted consort.
Then the stone-hut on the Danta mountain was not
merely one which had been inhabited by "a rishi". It
was the hut supposed to have been once occupied by the
old rishi Akshuta, in Chinese transcription A -chu - t'ê, the
Acchuta of Fausböll. This was the aged hermit who wel
comed the banished Prince and family on their coming
to stay on his mountain.
The name of this mountain is given by Yuan - chuang
as Tan -to- lo -ka , which Julien restored as Dantaloka ; the
restoration has been adopted by the P. W., and by sub
sequent writers. But the old and common form of the
name in Chinese translations is Tian -t'eh ( # 1 H), and the
original may have been Danda . The Mountain of punish
ment” would be an appropriate designation, and the
suggestion is strengthened by the Tibetan rendering
“ forest of penance”. Our pilgrim places the mountain
at a distance of above twenty li north -east from Palusha ;
but instead of twenty we should probably read 2000 li
as in the Fang -chih. All the legends represent the
mountain of exile as being far away from any town or
place of human habitation. It was beyond the Chetiya
country, or in Udyāna , or in Magadha. In the Jātaka
it is called Vamkaparvata, and a Chinese authority ex
220 THE ISISINGA LEGEND .
plains Tan -t'eh -shan as meaning “ the dark shady mountain

(yin -shan )". 1
In his remarks about the rishi whom he calls “ Single
horn" (or Ekasringa) our pilgrim is apparently following
the " Jätaka of Rahula's mother" . In this story, the scene
of which is laid in the Benares country, the ascetic of
mixed breed, human and cervine, is named Unicorn on
account of the horn on his forehead. He has attained
great power by his devotions and becoming offended he
stops the rain . The king is told that in order to save
his country from a prolonged drought he must find a
means by which the rishi's devotions will be stopped. A
very clever rich " lustful woman " comes forward and
undertakes to seduce the saint. She takes 500 pretty
girls with her, and by means of love potions, disguised
wines, and strong love-making she overcomes the rishi and
makes him fall into sin . Beguiling her lover-victim to the
city of Benares she pretends on the way to be faint and
the rishi carries her on his shoulders into the city. In
other versions of this curious wellknown legend the lady
who woos and wins the simple, innocent, but very austere
and all -powerful, hermit is a good princess, the daughter
of the king of the country. For her father's sake and at
his request she undertakes the task of wiling the saint
from his austerities and devotions: he is captivated, be
comes the princess's lover, marries her and succeeds her
father on the throne. In most versions of the story the
saint to be seduced is called Rishyasringa, the Pali
Isisinga ; the lady who leads him astray is Sāntā in the
Chinese translations and some other versions, but Nalini
or Nalinikā in other versions. In the " Jataka of Rāhula's
1 Liu -tu -chi-ching, ch. 2 : T'ai -tzŭ -su -ta -na -ching (No. 254) in this
work the elephant's name is Su -tan -yen ; Hardy M. B. p . 118 ; Jāt.
Vol. VI last jātaka where the mountain is Vamkapabbato ; Feer's
Chaddanta - játaka p. 81 ; Schiefner Tib . Tales p. 257.
2 Ta-chih-tu -lun, ch . 17 ; cf. Hsing - chi-ching, ch . 16.
3 Kshemendra's Kalpalatā in J. B. T. S. Vol. i. P. II, p. 1 , here
the rishi is Ekasringa, the lady is the Princess Nalinī, and the two
PANINI. 221
mother ” the rishi and his tempter are respectively the

Bodhisattva and his wife Yasodhara, but in the Jātaka
it is the wise father of the rishi who is the Bodhisattva,
and the rishi and the lady are a certain bhikshu and his
former wife.
Above 50 li to the north -east of Palusha (Julien's Varusha ?)
was
a great mountain which had a likeness (or image) of
Maheśvara’s spouse Bbīmā-devī of dark -blue stone. According
to local accounts this was a natural image of the goddess ; it
exhibited prodigies and was a great resort of devotees from all
parts of India ; to true believers, who after fasting seven days
prayed to her, the goddess sometimes shewed berself and
answered prayers. At the foot of the mountain was a temple
to Maheśvara -deva in which the Ash -smearing “ Tīrthikas” per
formed much worship .
Going south -east from the Bhimala (or Bhima) Temple 150 li
you come to Wu-to-ka-han-tu (or ch'a) city, twenty li in circuit
and having the Indus on its south side ; its inhabitants were
flourishing and in it were collected valuable rarities from various
regions.
A journey of above 20 li north -west from Wu - to -ka -han - tíu
brought one to the Po (or Sha)-lo- tu -lo city, the birth place of
the rishi Pāņini who composed a shêng-ming-lun ( Treatise on
Etymology). At the beginning of antiquity, our author continues,
there was a very luxuriant vocabulary. Then at the end of the
kalpa, when the world was desolate, and void the immortals
became incarnate to guide mankind ; and from this written docu
ments came into existence , the flow of which in after times
became a flood. As opportunity arose Brahma and Indra pro
duced models. The rishis of the various systems formed each
his own vocabulary ; these were emulously followed by their
successors, and students applied themselves in vain to acquire
a knowledge of their systems. When the life of man was a
century Pāņini appeared ; of intuitive knowl and great eru
dition he sorrowed over the existing irregularities and desired
to make systematic exclusions and selections. In his studious
excursions he met Siva to whom he unfolded his purpose ; the
god approved and promised help. So the rishi applied himself
earnestly to selecting from the stock of words and formed an
are the Bodhisattva and Yasodhara of after births, cf. Apps I of the
same Vol.; Mahāvastu T. III, p. 143; Bud . Lit. Nep. p. 63 ; Taka
kusu in Hansei Zashi Vol. xiii , No. 1 ; Jāt. Vol . v, p. 123 where the
lady is Nalinikā, p. 152 where she is the apsarā Alambusā.
222 PANINI.
Etymology in 1000 stanzas each of 32 words ; this exhausted

modern and ancient times and took in all the written language.
The author presented his treatise to the king who prized it
highly and decreed that it should be used throughout the country;
he also offered a prize of 1000 gold coins for every one who
could repeat the whole work. The treatise was transmitted from
master to disciple and had great vogue, hence the brahmins of
this city are studious scholars and great investigators.
The pilgrim goes on to tell a story which he heard on the
spot. Within the city of Pro (or Sha )-lo -tu - lo was a tope where
an arhat had converted a disciple of Pāņini. Five hundred
years after the Buddha's decease a great arhat from Kashmir in
his travels as an apostle arrived at this place. Here he saw a
brahmin teacher chastising a young pupil : in reply to the arhat's
question the teacher said he beat the boy for not making pro
gress in Etymology. The arhat smiled pleasantly and in ex
planation said – You must have heard of the treatise on Etymology
made by the rishi Pāṇini and given by him to the world for
its instruction . The brahmin replied—“He was a native of this
city ; his disciples admire his excellences, and his image is still
here" . To this the arhat answered – This boy of yours is that
rishi. He added that in his previous existence Pāṇini had
devoted all his energies to worldly learning but that from some
good Karma he was now the teacher's son. He then told the
teacher the story of the 500 Bats who long ago allowed them
selves to be burned to death in a decayed tree through delight
in hearing a man read from the Abhidharma. These 500 Bats
came into the world in recent times as human beings, became
arhats, and formed the Council summoned by king Kanishka
and the Reverend Pārsva in Kashmir which drew up the
Vibhāsha treatises. The arhat added that he was an unworthy
1
one of the Five Hundred, and he advised the teacher to allow
his dear son to enter the Buddhist church . Then the arhat
disappeared in a marvellous manner and the teacher became a
Buddhist and allowed his son to enter the Buddhist church ; he
became a devoted believer, and at the time of the pilgrim his
influence in the district was still a very real one.
The image or likeness of Bhimā-devī here mentioned
was apparently a dark -blue rock in the mountain supposed
to have a resemblance to that goddess. Julien, however,
understood the passage to mean that there was a statue
and he makes the author state that the people said,
“ la statue de cette déesse s'est formée toute seule”. But
what the people said was that “ this goddess' likeness (or
PANINI. 223
image) was a natural (or self-existing) one"-JE Fhen *

# Hin B text FE instead of He ).
Then the Bhimala of the next paragraph in the B text,
the others having Bhima, is taken by Julien to be a
mistake for Bhimā. But the texts are quite correct,
Bhima and Bhimala being names of Siva. There is no
mention in the text of a temple to Bhīmā, but there is a
temple to Siva at the foot of the mountain and from it
the journey begins.
The name of the city here transcribed Wu -to -ka -han - t'u
(or ch'a ) (16 hoor ) is tentatively restored by
Julien as Uda -khāņda, but the characters give us a word Pullin
much liker Udaka-khaņda. In two texts of the Life the
name of the city is given as Wu -to-ka -han -pêng (*).
Saint Martin and Cunningham consider that this city was
on the site of the later Ohind (or Waihand), but the
identification seems to be doubtful.
In the next paragraph we have Pāṇini's city called in
Julien's text Po- lo -tu -lo. As the great Grammarian is
supposed to have been a native of Salātura Julien pro
posed to regard Po here as a mistake for Sha ; in this
he is probably right as the A text here has Sha. All
the other texts, however, have Po celor ) and one
does not like to regard them all as wrong. Still for the
present it is better to regard Sha ( ) as the correct
reading, the name transcribed being ſalātura. It is re
markable that neither in the part of the Life which tells
of the pilgrim's visit to Gandhāra nor in the Fang -chih
have we any mention of Panini and his birth place. But
in the third chuan (Book) of the Life we read of "the
rishi Panini of the Po-lo- môn -tu-lo city of Gandhāra in
North India " ( 北印度健財羅國婆羅門羅邑波賦
JE 10 ). These words are in Julien's rendering “ dans le
royaume de Gandhara, de l'Inde du Nord, un Brāhmane
nommé le Richi Po -ni-ni (Pānini ) de la ville de Tou-lo
(Śālātoula)”. Here the learned translator must have known
that he was doing violence to the text and that the word
Po-lo-mên or Brāhmana could not possibly be severed from
C -1 da
infine
224 PANINI.
tu-lo and made to apply to Pāṇini who here, as in the

Records, is styled a rishi. It is perhaps possible that the
men in the text is a copyist's interpolation and that the
original reading was Po - lo -tu - lo as in the common texts
of the Records.
When our author writes of the Immortals, the devas
of long life, becoming incarnate, he is referring to the
restoration of our world after its last destruction. The
first beings to occupy the new earth were the time expired
devas of one of the Heavens and they did not become in
carnate in the ordinary sense ; they came to earth with
the radiance and beauty of gods and with the aerial ways
of celestial beings. But they did not come to teach
men and it was a very long time after their descent when
human beings first began to have a written language.
The reader of this passage about Pāņini will observe
that the pilgrim gives the date of king Kanishka as
500 years after Buddha's decease. This is not in accor
dance with the common Chinese chronology of Buddhism
which makes the death of the Buddha to have taken place
in the ninth century B. C.
1 Ta -lu -t'an - ching, ch. 6 .

CHAPTER VII.
CHUAN (BOOK) III.

UDYĀNA TO KASHMIR .
From Udakakhanda city a journey north over hills and across
rivers (or valleys) for above 600 li brought the traveller to the
Wu-chang-na country. This country was above 5000 li in circuit;
hill and defile followed each other closely and the sources of
river -courses and marshes were united . The yield of the culti
vated land was not good ; grapes were abundant, but there was
little sugar - cane ; the country produced gold and iron in the D
text, gold coins) and saffron ; there were dense woods and fruits
and flowers were luxuriant. The climate was temperate with
regular winds and rain. The people were pusillanimous and deceit
ful; they were fond of learning but not as a study, and they
made the acquisition of magical formulæ their occupation. Their
clothing was chiefly of pai-tieh (calico). Their spoken language
was different from , but bore much resemblance to, that of India,
and the rules of their written language were in a rather un
settled state.
A note added to our text tells us that Wu-chang-na
means “ park ”, the country having once been the park of
a king, (viz. Asoka, according, to the 'Life'). The Wu- chang
na of the narrative is perhaps to be read Udana and it
stands for Udyāna which means “ a park ”. Other forms
of the name in Chinese works are Wu -tu or -ch'a ( or )
perhaps for Uļa. Wu-ch'ang (! ) used by Fa-hsien, Wu
ch'ang ( th ) in the Ka-lan-chi, Wu -tien (or yun)-nang (ti
or pl #) used by Shih-hu of the later Sung period, and
· T'ung-chien-kang-mu, T'ang Kao Tsung Tsung-chang 20 y.

P
Hun
226 THE SWĀT VALLEY .
the unusual form Wu-sun -ch·ang (FF: 1h ). But the territory

denoted by these varieties of name does not always corre
spond to the Wu -chang -na of our text. In some Chinese
translations this country is vaguely denominated “ Yue-ti
(Getæ) Country”.! There may possibly have been a native
name like Uda from which the Sanskrit form Udyāna and
the Pali Uyyāna were formed. Our pilgrim's Udyāna,
according to Cunningham, comprised the present districts
of Pangkora, Bijāwar, Swât, and Bunir.2 The country is
represented by Yuan - chuang as not yielding good crops,
and this is not in agreement with the accounts in other
works which describe it as a well watered region yielding
good crops of rice and wheat. 3
The people of Udyāna held Buddhism in high esteem and
were reverential believers in the Mahāyāna. Along the two sides
of the Su - pro- fa -su -tu river there had formerly been 1400 Mo
nasteries but many of these were now in ruins , and once there
had been 18 000 Brethren but these had gradually decreased
until only a few remained ; these were all Mahāyānists who
occupied themselves with silent meditation ; they were clever at
reciting their books without penetrating their deep meaning ;
they lived strictly according to their rules and were specially
expert in magical exorcisms. There were five redactions (pu) of
the Vinaya taught, viz. the Fa-mi (Dharmagupta ), the Hua -ti
(Mahīšāsika), the Yin -kuang (Kasyapiya ), the Shuo- yi-ch'ie-yu
( Sarvāstivādin) and the Ta -chung (Mahāsangkika) Vinaya. Of
Deva-Temples there were above ten and the various sectarians
lived pellmell.
The river here called Su -pro-fa -su -tu according to the
B, C, and D texts is the Subhavastu, the Swāt of modern
geography. In the old A text the reading is Su -pro -su -tu
representing a form like Svastu. The name Swāt is applied
not only to the river but also to the district through which
it flows.
The five redactions of the Vinaya which the pilgrim
found in force in this country are the more or less hete
1 E. g. in the Ta-chih-tu-lun , ch. 9.
2 A. G. I. p. 81 . For recent observations on this country see
H. A. Deane in J. R. A. S. for 1896 p. 655 .
3 Wei -Shu, ch . 102.
MAHAYANISTS AND HINAYĀNISTS. 227
rodox editions ascribed to five disciples of Upagupta.

Instead of Mahāsañgkika we find Vatsiputra, but this
name is supposed to be used as an equivalent for Mahā
sangkika. This fivefold Vinaya is often mentioned in
Buddhist treatises and another enumeration of it is Stha
vira, Dharmagupta, Mahiśāsika, Kāśyapiya, and Sarvāsti
vādin.1 I -ching, who gives a fourfold division of the Vi
nayas, says he never heard of the five -fold division in India ;
his four chief schools (or redactions) are the Sthavira, the
Sarvāstivādin, the Mahāsañgkika, and the Sammatiya.2 It
will be noticed that according to our pilgrim all the
Buddhists in Udyāna were Mahāyānists and yet followed
the Vinaya of the Hinayānists ; Fa-hsien represents the
Brethren here as Hinayānists.3
This country had four or five strong cities of which Mêng
kie (or ka)-li was chiefly used as the seat of government. This
city was 16 or 17 li in circuit and had a flourishing population.
The Mêng-kie-li of the text may represent a word like Tellich
Mangkil. Cunningham has identified the city with the
modern Manglaur (or Minglaur), a large and important
village at the foot of one of the north -west spurs of the
Dosirri mountain between Swāt and Boner, and Major
Deane thinks that the identity is undoubted.
Four or five li to the east of the capital was a tope of very
many miracles on the spot where the P'usa in his birth as the
Patiently-enduring rishi was dismembered by the Ka -li king.
Julien understood the words of this passage ,
EW #LI , to mean that the rishi cut off his own limbs
on behalf of the king. But the word wei ( 15 ) here, as
often , is used to convert the following active verb into a
passive one and has the sense of “ was by ”; so used the
word is said to be in the ch'ü -shêng and to be equivalent
to pei (55) in the sense of “ by ”. The “Patiently-enduring
rishi” is the Kshānti or Kshānti -vādin ( Pali, Khantivādi),
1 Fang -yi-ming -yi, ch . 4 Sec. 41 ; Seng -chi-lü, ch. 40.

2 Nan-hai-chéi-kuei Int., and Takakusu Int. p. XXI, and p. 7.
3 Fo-kuo-chi, ch . 8.
P*
228 KHANTIVĀDA JATAKA.
or Kshānti- bāla or Kshāntivat of the Buddhist scriptures, 1

and called Kundakakumāra in the Jātāka. The " Ka -li
king” is the king named Kali or the king of the country
named Kali or Kalinga. The word Kshānti means “ patient
endurance”, and Kali is interpreted as meaning “fighting”,
or “ quarreling ". We find the story of this wicked king
Kali hacking to pieces the good hermit who was endea
vouring to make himself perfect in patient endurance told
in several Buddhist books with some variations of detail.
It forms the Kshāntibala chapter of the Hsien - yü -ching
or “ Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish ”, and it is the
"Khantivādi Jātaka " in the Pali Jātaka.2 In these books
the scene of the action is laid in the vicinity of Benares,
and in some of the other accounts the name of the loca
lity is not given . The Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish
calls the king Kali, but the Jātaka and some other autho
rities call him Kalābu, in Chinese transcription Ka -lan - fu
(ibu ). The wording of our author's text here recalls
the reference to the story in the 14th chapter of the Chin
kang-ching or Vajra -chchedikā, and there the Sanskrit
text leaves no doubt as to the meaning of the words. In
the Jātaka the king orders his executioner to flog and
mutilate the patient rishi and the king personally only
administers a parting kick . But in other versions it is
the king himself who in his wrath hacks off the various
limbs of the Kshānti rishi who is not in all versions the
Piusa destined to become Gautama Buddha.
A note to the B text here tells us that there is a gap
after the words of this paragraph, but the note is not in
the other texts, and there is no reason to suppose that
anything has fallen out. It is to be observed that neither
Fa-hsien nor Sung -yun makes any mention of the Kshanti .
rishi tope in this country.

From Mangkil, the pilgrim tells us, a journey north - east of
about 250 li brougt him to a mountain in which was the A -po
1 Hsien - yü - ching, ch. 2 : Der Weise u. d. Thor, S. 60.

2 Jātaka, Vol. iii, p . 39.
APAL ĀLA NĀGA . 229
lo -lo ( A palāla)-Dragon Spring, the source of the Swāt river.

This river flows away from its source south -west; it keeps its
coldness through spring and summer, and morning and evening
(in one text, every evening) the flying spray, rainbow -tinted,
sheds brightness on all sides. The dragon of the spring in the
time of Kāśyapa Buddha was a man named King (or Keng)-ki
(Gañgi ? Julien), able by his magical exorcisms to control dragons
and prevent them from sending violent rains. For his services
in this way the inhabitants had given him fixed yearly con
tributions of grain. But the contributions fell off, and the
magician, enraged at the defaulters, expressed a wish to be in his
next birth a wicked malicious dragon, and in consequence he
was reborn as the dragon of this spring, the white water from
which ruined the crops. Sakyamuni Buddha came to this district
to convert the dragon ; on this occasion the Vajrapāņi god struck
the cliff with his mace, and the dragon becoming terrified took
refuge in Buddhism. On his admission to the church the Buddha
forbade him to injure the crops, and the dragon asked to be
allowed to have these once every twelve years for his maintenance ;
to this petition Buddha compassionately assented. And so once
every twelve years the country has the " white water” infliction .'
Major Deane says that the distance and direction here
given by our pilgrim “ bring us exactly to Kalām, the point
at which the Utrot and Laspur (Ushu in our maps)
streams meet. The junction of these is the present head
of the Swat river."
The word Apalāla means without straw , and it is ren
dered in Chinese by Wu - tao -kan (* Fi) meaning " with
out ricestraw " . Another translation is Wu-miao ( )
that is " without sprouting grain”. The name seems to
have been given to the dragon of the Swāt on account
of the ravages among the crops made by the floods of
that river. We read in the Sarvata Vinaya2 that the
Buddha, on a certain occasion near the end of his career,
took with him his attendant Yaksha named Chin -kang -shou
or Vajrapāņi, and went through the air to the country
1 For this Jātaka see Fo - shuo - póu - sa - pên - hsing - ching, ch. 2
(No. 432) ; Ta-chih-tu-lun, ch. 14 ; Liu -tu - ching, ch. 5 (No. 143) ; Hsien
chie-ching, ch . 4 (No. 403). In the Ch'u-yao-ching, ch. 23 (No. 1321 )
the story is told of Siddhārtha while preparing to become Buddha.
Sar. Vin. Yao-shih, ch. 9.
230 APALALA NĀGA.
beyond the Indus to subdue and convert this dragon.

When Buddha arrived at the palace of the dragon the
latter became greatly enraged, and caused fierce showers
of rain and hail to descend on the Buddha. Determined
to put the dragon in terror Buddha caused the Yaksha
to smite the adjoining mountain with his adamantine club,
whereupon a vast fragment of the mountain fell into the
dragon's tank. At the same time Buddha caused a magic
fire to appear all around the place. Then the dragon ,
frightened and helpless, came to Buddha's feet, gave in
his submission, and was converted with all his family. It
is worthy of note that in this Vinaya story the dragon
king is required by Buddha to take up his abode in
Magadha. This dragon is also called A -pro -lo and we
find the Spring which was his residence located in the
“ Yue- shi ( Getæ) country of North India ” or simply in
“ North India ”. The “ A -yü -wang -chuan ” places the home
of this dragon in Udyāna, but the “ A -yü -wang-ching" and
the Divyāvadāna do not mention his country. In a Vinaya
treatise, apparently from Pali sources, we read of a dragon
called Alāpalu in Kapin (Kashmir ), who is overcome and
converted by the great arbat Madhyantika (Majjhantika)
who had come as an apostle to introduce Buddhism . 1 >
This legend seems to be a version of the story here nar
rated , Majjhantika taking the place of the Buddha.
Julien in his translation of the description of the Swāt
river here seems to have followed the text of the Life
rather than that of his author. The latter does not state
that an arm of the river flows to the south -west; it is,
as the passage and context show , the river itself which
1
so flows. Nor does Yuan -chuang state that " dans ce pays
il gêle au printemps et en été”, for that would be at
variance with his former statement about the climate of
the country ; it is the river which is cold through spring
and summer . Moreover, although fei-hsüe does mean
“flying snow ”, it also means “flying spray ", and that is its
1 Shan - chien -lu - vibhasha, ch . 2 (No. 1125).
FOOTPRINTS OF THE BUDDHA . 231
meaning here. There was apparently a cascade near the

source of the river ; and the morning and evening (or, the
evening) sun daily shone on the dense white spray tossed
up in the air, and made it bright and beautiful with the
colours of the rainbow .
The " white water” of this district is referred to by
other authorities. Thus Alberuni ' quotes Jivašarman to
the effect that " in the country of Svāt, opposite the district
of Rīri (?) there is a valley in which 53 streams unite ;
during the 26th and 27th days of the month Bhädrapadā
the water of this valley becomes white, in consequence of
Mahādeva's washing in it, as people believe” . According
to the Fang -chih it was the rains which the dragon sent
that made the water plague.
Above 30 li south-west from the Apalála dragon spring, and
on the north bank of the river, was a large flat stone with the
Buddha's footprints; these, the size of which varied with the
religious merit of the measurer, were left by the Buddha when
he was going away after having converted the dragon ; a building
had been erected over them and people from far and near came
to make offerings. Above 30 li farther down the river was the
rock on which Buddha had washed his robe, the lines of the
robe being still distinct like carving.
Above 400 li south from Mangkil was the Hi-lo mountain ;
the stream of the mountain valley flows west ; as you go up it
eastward flowers and fruits of various kinds cover the water
course and climb the steeps ; the peaks and precipices are hard
to pass, and the ravines wind and curve ; you may hear the
sound of loud talking or the echo of musical strains : square
stones like couches (in D, topes) made by art form an unbroken
series over the gulley. It was here that Ju-lai once gave up
his life for the hearing of a half- stanza of doctrine.
The stone with the miraculous footprints of the Buddha
and the rock on which he had washed his robe and spread
it out to dry are described in the Fo -kuo - chi and the
Ka-lan-chi, and the accounts in these works should be
compared with our pilgrim's narrative. For the words
“ the streams of the gorge flow west and as you go up
them eastward ”, Julien has " Les eaux de la vallée se
1 Alberuni Vol. ii , p . 182.

1
232 A CURIOUS JATAKA.
partagent à l'ouest et remontent ensuite du côté de l'orient."

This cannot, however, be taken as the meaning of the
text which is À K L te vi di I lit. " the water of
the mountain -valley goes off to the west ; going up east
against the course of the stream —". The pilgrim is
probably here describing a part of his journey from Uda
kahantu to the capital of Udyāna. In the last sentence
of the present passage we have reference to a curious
Jātaka. In a very far off time when there was no Buddha
in the world the Pusa was a brahmin student living on
the Himavat; he knew all secular lore, but had never
heard the teaching of Buddhism . He expressed his great
desire to learn at any cost some of the doctrines of that
religion, and Indra, wishing to prove the sincerity of the
brahmin's desire, disguised himself as a hideous rākshasa,
came to the Himavat, and appeared before the Brahmin.
On behalf of the latter he uttered half of the stanza
beginning with the words "all things are impermanent” ;
the brahmin was delighted and asked for the other half.
But the rākshasa refused to utter this until the brahmin
promised to give himself up as food to the rakshasa in
reward for the recital. When the second half of the
stanza was uttered the brahmin threw himself from a tree
towards the rākshasa ; but the latter in his form as Indra
saved the devotee's life.
Above 200 li south from Mangkil at the side of a mountain
was the Mo-ha - fa -na (Mahāvana or Great Wood) monastery.
Ju-lai long ago as Piusa was the Sa - fo -ta - chih king ; to avoid
his enemy he gave up his kingdom and going into obscurity
came to this place ; here he met a mendicant brahmin, and hav
ing nothing whatever to give the brahmin, he made the latter
bind him and deliver him up to the king his enemy, the reward
offered for the exiled king being the latter's alms to the brahmin . 1
The Monastery of the Great Wood according to Major

Deane “ was apparently on the western, or north-western, 1
slopes of the present Mahaban. Numerous ruins exist on
1 See the Ta -pan -nie-pan -ching, ch. 14 (No. 113) ; Hsüan -chi- pai
yuan-ching ch. 4 (No. 1324) ; Ta-chih-tu-lun, ch. 12.
THE GREAT WOOD. 233
the lower slopes and also on the higher portions of Ma

haban " . But Dr Stein thinks that Mahāban is too far
away, and that the Mahāvana monastery was at Pinjkoțai
at Sunigram . In the B and D texts the name of the
good king is given as Sa-fo-ta -chih ( Z ), but in- !
stead of chih the other texts have ta repeated. The name
is interpreted as meaning " All- giving ", and the original
was either Sarvadā, as in some places, or Sarvadada as /
in other passages. Our pilgrim's version of this pretty
jātaka agrees with the story in the Buddhist books except
that in these the locality is not given.2
North -west from the Mahāvana monastery, and 30 or 40 li
down the mountain , was the Mo-yü (Pelak) monastery with a ohn
tope above 100 feet high, and at the side of it a large square
stone on which were the Buddha's footprints. These were left
when the Buddha treading on the stone sent forth a Koți of ray
of light which illumined the Mahāvana Monastery while he
related his former births to men and devas. At the base of the
tope was a stone of a pale yellow colour yielding a constant
exudation ; it was here that the Buddha as Prusa hearing Buddhist
doctrine wrote the sacred text with a splinter from one of his bones.
A note added to the text here tells us that Mo- yu is
in Chinese tou, a general name for all kinds of pulse.
Julien reads the second character of the word as su and
regards the transcription as representing the sanskrit word
Masura which means lentils. But all my texts have Mo
yu and this agrees with the Glossary. The native inter
pretation may be a mistake, and the Chinese characters ico
may represent Mayū for Mayukha, a word which means
brightness, a ray of light. This suggestion is strengthened
by the statement which our pilgrim makes about the
Buddha here shedding a bright light which lit up the
Mahāvana Monastery. The incident of the Buddha in
one of his previous births taking a splinter of one of his
bones to write out a Buddhist text is taken from a Jātaka
mentioned in several of the Chinese writings. In some
1 Ind. Ant. Vol . xx pp. 58.

2 See Ta- chih-tu-lun , ch . 12 and 33.
234 THE DEVIL AS BRAHMIN.
1
versions of the story the Pusa's name is Ai (or Lo -fa

or ** :), “Loving or Rejoicing in dharma" 1, but in
other versions he is Yü-to-lo (or Yu-to-li), and in the Der
Weise u. d . Thor' he is Udpala.? As the price of hearing
a sacred text of Buddhism the P'usa agreed to write the
text with a pencil made from one of his bones on paper
made from his skin and with his blood for ink. The
person who made this hard bargain was a brahmin or
the Devil disguised as such.
Sixty or seventy li to the west of the Mo-yü Monastery was
an Asoka tope to mark the spot at which the Prusa in his birth
as Shih-p'i-ka (Śivika) king sliced his body to ransom a pigeon
from a hawk .
A note added to the Chinese text here tells us that

Shih-pói-ka, the correct form for the old Shih -p'i, means
" giving”, but we are not bound to accept either the cor
rection or the interpretation. The story of the Rajah of
Sivi (or Raja Sivi) saving a pigeon chased by a hawk,
and then cutting off portions of his own flesh to weigh
against the pigeon, and finally putting his skeleton in the
scales in order to have an equivalent in weight for the
bird which still remained heavier, is told or referred to
in many Buddhist books. It is found also in old Brah
minical literature and Dasaratha is reminded by his queen
how
“ His flesh and blood the truthful Saivya gave
And fed the hawk a suppliant dove to save ” .
According to the common versions of the story the
hawk was Indra bent on proving or tempting the king,
and the pigeon is in some versions Agni, in others Visva
karma, or a “frontier king ".3 In the “Liu -tu -chi- ching"
the king's name is given as Sarvadā. In the “ Hsien -yü 1
ching”, and in other works, the capital of Sivi is Dīpavati

1
1 Ta - chih -tu -lun, ch. 16 and 49.
2 Hsien - yü -ching, ch . 1 ; Der Weise u. d. T., S. 15 ; P'u -sa -pen
hsing -ching, ch. 3 where the Prusa is the rishi Yu -to - li (f !).
3 Liu-tu -chi-ching, ch . 1 .
SERPENT MEDICINE . 235
or Devapati, the Devawarta of " Der Weise u. d. Thor" . 1

Fa-hsien makes the scene of this deed of charity to have
been in the So- ho -to, that is probably Svāt, country, to
the south of his Udyāna.2 In some works Sivi is a per
sonal name, in others the name of a people or country,
and there is a king Sivi among the supposed ancestors
of Gautama Buddha.3 Yuan-chuang apparently understood
his Sivika to be a personal name or epithet.
Above 200 li north-west from the Pigeon -ransom Tope and in
the Shan -ni-lo-she valley was the Sa -pao- sha -ti monastery with
a tope above 80 feet high. It was here that Ju-lai in his
existence as Indra encountered a year of famine with pestilence.
In order to save the people's lives the P'usa as Indra changed
himself into a great serpent lying dead in the valley ; the
starving and distressed , in response to a voice from the void,
cut from his body pieces of flesh which were at once replaced,
and all who ate were satisfied and cured. Near this Monastery
was the Su -mo great tope where Ju -lai in his Indra life in a
time of plague changed himself into a Su -mo serpent and all
who ate his flesh were cured. By the side of the cliff at the
north of the Shan -ni-lo - she valley was a tope with powers of
healing. It was here that Ju - lai in his existence as a king of
peacocks pecked the rock and caused water to flow for the
refreshment of his flock ; there was a spring and the traces of
the peacock's feet were to be seen on the rock.
The Shan -ni -lo -she of this passage may be, as Julien
suggests, for Sanirāja, and the Sa -pao-sha -ti for the word
Sarpaushadhi. This latter means “ serpent medicine", and
this agrees with the rendering in the Chinese note to the
ordinary texts. The D edition gives the translation as
“ Earth Medicine”, but this is probably the result of some
copyist's error. The Su -mo of the text is perhaps for
Soma, although Julien restores it as Sūma and translates
Su -mo -shê by " water serpent".
Major Deane supposes our pilgrim's Sanirāja to be “ the
Adinzai valley entered from Swat at Chakdara ". In this
1 Hsien -yü - ching, ch . 1 ; Der Weise u . d . T., S. 16 .

2 Fo - kuo - chi , ch . 9 .
3 Dip. p. 132.
236 UTTARASENA, KING OF UDYĀNA.
Chakdara district, he tells us, there is a large tope which

is still known to some of the people by the name Suma.
In a Buddhist sūtral we read of the Bodhisattva in his
birth as Indra becoming a great reptile called Jen -liang
chung (ET ) interpreted as meaning " the reptile bene
volent and of healing efficacy ". When the Kuru country
was afflicted with plague Indra caused a voice from the
void to call the people to cut from his ( that is, the
reptile's) body, and eat the flesh, and be cured. The people
flocked to the carcase, and eagerly cut pieces of its flesh
which never suffered diminution, new flesh replacing the
pieces cut away . A similar story is found in other books ;
but the inexhaustible benevolent animal is usually a large
fish.2
About sixty li south-west from Mangkil city and on the east
side of a great river was the tope erected by Uttarasena, king
of this country, to enclose his share of the relics of the Buddha's
body, and near this was the tope which that king built to mark
the spot at which his large white elephant bearing the precious
relics had suddenly died and become a rock.
There does not seem to be any mention either of Udyāna
or of Uttarasena in the various accounts given in the
various Nirvāna treatises of the division of the Buddha's
relics. But other authorities relate how a female elephant
named Mo -tu (or Mata) bearing relics of Buddha to a
north country died suddenly on the way, was afterwards
reborn as a human creature and became an arhat with
an enormous appetite.3 Yuan -chuang also tells in another
1 Ta- pao - chi-ching, ch . 8 (Bun. No. 23 (3) ).

2 Hsien-yü-ching, ch . 7 ; Der Weise u. d. T., S. 215 ; Piu -sa - pen
hsing -ching, ch . 3.
3 Abhi.-ta - vib ., ch. 42. Major Deane tells us that on the Swat
River "between Ghaligai and Shankardar, the natives of the country
describe the remains of a stūpa as still standing ; and this is un
doubtedly that referred to by the Pilgrim - for the Pilgrim records
next a large rock on the bank of the great river, shaped like an
elephant. This rock is a conspicuous landmark existing near the
river, about twelve miles from the village of Thana, and near Ghali
gai", op. c. p. 660.
KING MAITRIBALA . 237
place of an arhat of Kashmir who in a previous existence

had been a king's elephant, and had been given to a monk
to carry some Buddhist scriptures. When the elephant
died he was reborn as a human being, entered the Buddhist
church, and rose to be an arhat.
West from Mangkil above 50 li and across a large river was
the Lu -hi-ta -ka (Rohitaka or Red) tope above 50 feet high
erected by Asoka. At this place Ju -lai in his birth as Tzŭ -li
( Compassion -strength) king drew blood from his body 'to feed
five Yakshas.
The Tzů -li, “ whose strength is compassion ”, of this

passage is the king Maitra -bala (or Maitribala ) of certain
Jātakas. This king, who lived in an unknown past and
in an undefined country, had administered his kingdom
so perfectly that the Yakshas in it were reduced to star
vation, as they could not obtain human blood and life on
which to subsist. At last five of these creatures came to
the king and laid their sad case before him. The king
in utter pity made five incisions in his body and refreshed
the Yakshas with his blood. Having done this he taught
them the way of mercy to creatures, and induced them to
take the vows of good life as Buddhists. Very long after
wards when the king came into the world and became
Buddha these five Yakshas were born as human creatures
and became Ajñāta Kaundinya and his four companions,
the first disciples of the Buddha.
In this passage “ Rohitaka tope" probably denotes " the
tope of Rohitaka". This was the name of a town or village
and in an interesting passage of the Sarvata Vinaya it is
placed in India south of Kashmir.2 It was here that
Buddha, while lodged and entertained by a good Buddhist
Yaksha, gave his disciples leave to eat grapes purified by
fire and to drink grape-syrup. The grapes offered to the
disciples on this occasion are said to have been brought
1 Pu-Ba -pen -sheng -man -lun , ch. 3 where the Pusa is king Tzu -li
(FI ) ; Hsien-yü-ching, ch. 2 where the king's name is Mi-k‘a-lo
po-lo but rendered in Chinese by Tzu-li ; Jātakamāla (Kern) S. 41.
2 Sar. Vin . Yao -shih, ch . 9.
238 THE WONDERFUL STONE .
from Kashmir by the Yakshas, and the fruit was new to

the disciples. Major Deane thinks that the village of the
tope is that now called Hazara and adds that the natives
describe the tope as still existing. 1
Above thirty li to the north-east of Mangkil was the O-pu-to
(Adbhuta or Marvellous) stone tope above forty feet high. The
Buddha had preached and taught here, and after his departure
the tope emerged from the ground and became an object of
worship. West from this stone tope across a great river thirty
or forty li was a Buddhist temple (ching-shê) in which was an
image of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Kuan -tzŭ -tsai Piusa) of
mysterious power with miraculous manifestations ; it was an
object of pilgrimage for Buddhists and its worship was con
tinuous.
North-west from this image 140 or 150 li was the Lan - po - luo
mountain on which was a dragon-lake above 30 li in circuit.
The pilgrim then tells the story of the exiled Sakya from Kapi
lavastu who came to this place, married the dragon's daughter,
assassinated the king of Udyāna and reigned in his stead ; this
king was the father of Uttarasena. After this we have the story
of the mother of king Uttarasena being converted by the Buddha
and regaining her sight.
The marvellous stone tope of this passage, Major Deane
tells us, is said to be still in existence, but this may be
doubted. Above 30 li west from this tope was the Buddhist
temple which Deane following B. wrongly calls “ Vihāra”,
and about 140 li north-west from this we have the Lan
po-lu mountain. “This measurement”, Major Deane writes,
“ brings us exactly to the head of the Aushiri valley, which
drains into the Panjkora near Darora. How the Pilgrim
got his distance over several valleys and intervening high
spurs, it is difficult to conjecture. But on the hill to
which it brings us there is found a large lake, more than
a mile in length ."
Our pilgrim represents the conversion of Uttarasena's
mother and the restoration of her sight as having occurred
at Mangkil. In the Sarvata Vinaya the conversion of the
queen -mother is stated to have occurred in a city called
1 Op. c. p . 660.
DAREL AND BOLOR. 239
Tao-ku -lu -ko FM

( ) or “ Grain-loft” which was appa
rently in this region. 1
TA-LI-LO (DĀREL).
The narrative in the Records now proceeds.
North -east from Mangkil over hills and across gulleys ascend
ing the Indus by hazardous paths through gloomy gorges, cross
ing bridges of ropes or iron chains, across bridges spanning
precipices or climbing by means of pegs for steps, a journey of
above 1000 brings you to the Ta -li - lo valley, the old seat of
government of Udyāna. The district yields much gold and
saffron. In the valley is a great Monastery by the side of which
is a carved wooden image of Tzú -shih Prusa (Maitreya Bodhi
sattva) of a brilliant golden hue and of miraculous powers ; it is
above 100 feet high ; it was the work of the arhat Madhyāntika
who by his supernatural power thrice bore the artist to Tushita
Heaven to study Maitreya's beautiful characteristics ; the spread
of Buddhism eastwards dates from the existence of this image.
It is worthy of note that the Life represents Yuan
chuang as only learning of the road to Ta- li-lo, whereas
the text of the Records seems to imply that he actually
travelled from Mangkil to that place. One text of the
Life also makes the distance between the two places to
be only ten li, but in the D text it is 1000 li as in the
Records. The Ta -li-lo valley is apparently, as Cunningham
suggests, the To - li country of Fa-hsien and the modern
Dārel ; it may be also the Ta-la-to (Dard ?) of a Buddhist
śāstra.2 The great wooden image of Maitreya in this
district was a very celebrated one, and it is strange to
find our pilgrim making it 100 feet high while Fa-hsien
makes it only 80 feet high.3
PO-LU- LO ( BOLOR).
Proceeding east from Ta-li-lo across mountains and gulleys

going up the Indus, by flying bridges over precipices, a journey
of above 500 li brought you to the Po -lu -lo country. This was
1. Sar. Vin . l. c .
2 A. G. I. p. 82 ; Abhi-ta -vib., ch . 79 ( Ta -la -to E ).
3 Fo-kuo-chi, ch. 6.
240 TAKSHA -SILA .
above 4000 li in circuit and was situated in the Great Snow

Mountains, it was long from east to west and narrow from north
to south; it produced wheat and pulse and gold and silver. The
people were rich, the climate was cold ; the inhabitants were
rude and ugly in appearance ; they wore woollen clothes, their
writing was very like that of India but their spoken language
was peculiar. There were some hundreds of Buddhist Monasteries;
and some thousands of Brethren who were without definite
learning, and were very defective in their observance of the rules
of their Order.
The Po- lu - lo of this passage is apparently, as has been
suggested by others, the Bolor of later writers and the
modern Balti or Little Tibet. But it may be doubted
whether the pilgrim's account was derived from a personal
visit; it may have been all obtained at Mangkil. Accord
ing to the Fang-chih the traveller after a journey of 500 li
east from Dārel crossed the Oxus east into the Po -lu -lo
country. The narrative in the Life does not make any
mention of this country.
TAKSHASILA .
From this (i. e. Bolor) the pilgrim returned to Utakahantu
(Udaka Khanda) city, went south across the Indus here three
or four li broad and flowing south - west (in B and C but in D
south) pure and clear, to the Takshasilā country. This was above
2000 li in circuit, its capital being above ten li in circuit. The
chiefs were in a state of open feud, the royal family being
extinguished ; the country had formerly been subject to Kapis
but now it was a dependency of Kashmir ; it had a fertile soil
and bore good crops, with flowing streams and luxuriant vege
tation ; the climate was genial ; and the people, who were plucky,
were adherents of Buddhism. Although the Monasteries were
numerous, many of them were desolate, and the Brethren , who
were very few , were all Mahāyānists.
The Ta -cha -shi -lo ( Takshasilā or Taxila ) of this passage
seems to be described by the pilgrim as adjacent to
Gandhāra, but Fa-hsien makes Takshasilā to be seven days'
journey east from his Gandhāra. These two travellers
treat Takshasilā as a district separate from Gandhāra,
1 Fo-kuo- chi, ch . 11.
TAKSHA - SILĀ. 241
but in several of the Buddhist books it appears as a part or

city of that country. Fa-hsien explains the name as meaning
“ cut off head” as if the second part of the word were
śira. Another author translates it by sio-shih (17 ) or
" severed rock ”, 1 and another by ts'o- shih ( 7 ) or
" chiseled rock ; it is rendered by " rock - cave" ,3 and inter
preted as meaning “ the Rock of the Takkas". The Pali
form of the name is Takkasilā. In very old times, it is
fabled, a city called Bhadrasilā was on the site afterwards
occupied by Takshasilā, 4 and in modern times the latter
has also had the name Mārīkala.5 Baron Hügel thought
that the site of the old city corresponded with that of
the present Rawal-Pindi,6 but Cunningham places the site
of Takshasilā at the modern Shahdheri, a mile to the
north -east of Kālaka-serai. There seems to be much in
favour of Cunningham's identification which has been gene
rally accepted . According to the statements in the
Buddhist books Takshasilā was at one time an important
trading centre, and a great seat of learning specially
famed for its medical teachers. It formed a part of
Asoka's empire; and that sovereign, and after him his son,
were viceroys appointed to reside at it before they suc
ceeded to the throne.9
Above 70 li to the north-west of the capital was the tank of
the I-lo- po -ta -lo (Elāpattra) Dragon -king above 100 paces in
circuit, its limpid water beautiful with various-coloured lotuses.
This dragon was the bhikshu who in the time of Kāśyapa
1 Hsing- chi-ching, ch. 38 .

2 A -yü -wang- ching, ch. 10 .
3 E. g. in A - yu -wang - hsi -huai-mu -yin -yuan -ching (Bun. No. 1367).
It is sometimes doubtful whether the name “ Rock -cave” is applied
to Takshasilā or to Gandhāra .
4 Bud. Lit. Nep. p. 310.
5 Alberuni Vol. i , p. 302 .
6 Travels in Kashmir and the Panjab p. 230 et al .
7 A. G. I. p. 104 ; Mc Crindle's Invasion of India by Alexander
the Great p. 342.
9 Ta -chuang- yen -lun - ching, ch. 8, 15.
9 Divyẫy. p. 371 ; A -si- vang -chuan, ch. 1.
Q
242 ERĀPATHA NAGA -RAJA .
Buddha destroyed an l -lo- po-ta - lo tree ; hence when the natives

are praying for rain or fine weather they have to go with a
monk to the tank , and when they have cracked their fingers,
and spoken the dragon fair, they are sure to have their prayers
answered.
The story here alluded to of the very ancient Buddhist
monk who was afterwards reborn as the Elāpattra Dragon
king is told with slight variations in several Buddhist
books. The monk was a very pious good ascetic living
in a lonely hermitage among Cardamon (Elā ) plants or
" Ila trees” . He was much given to ecstatic meditation ,
and on one occasion he remained absorbed in thought all
the morning and until it was the afternoon. He then
arose, took his bowl, and went in the usual manner into
the town or village, to beg his daily food. The people,
seeing him beg for food out of hours, upbraided him , and
made disagreeable remarks about his violation of the rules
of his Order. The monk became annoyed and irritated
by these remarks, and went back to his hermitage. Here
he paced up and down as usual, but being in a bad
temper he could not endure the touch of the leaves of
the Elā (or " Ilā trees" ). So he tore them off and angrily
strewed them on the ground. When the Buddha Kāśyapa
came to remonstrate with him for injuring the plants, and
tried to bring him to a proper frame of mind, the monk
was rude to the Buddha, and refused to take his reproof.
For the two offences, eating food in the afternoon and
breaking off the Elā leaves (or scorning the Buddha's
reproof for doing so), the monk was reborn as a Dragon
king. In this form he had a monstrous, hideous, and
distressing body with seven heads from each of which
grew an “ Ilā tree”, and so long was his body that it
reached from Benares to Takshasilā, a distance of above
200 Yojanas. While the Buddha was at Benares this
Elāpattra dragon came thither seeking for the explanation
of an incomprehensible verse, and having assumed the form
of a universal sovereign, he presented himself in the con
gregation of the Buddha. The latter, however, caused the
dragon to resume his proper form , and then informed him
THE FOUR GREATTREASURES . 243
that at the advent of Maitreya he would be released from

the dragon existence. Elāpattra then undertook to lead
a life of gentleness and mercy not doing harm to any
creature. 1 In all the Chinese transcriptions the name
Elā (or Ilā)-pattra is given both to the tree which the
bhikshu injured and to the dragon -king, but there does
not seem to be any plant or tree with the name Elā
pattra. I -ching transcribes the name of the dragon I- lo
po as if for Elāpat, and he uses a different transcription
for the name of the great Treasure.
From the Dragon - Tank Yuan - chuang proceeded south-east for
above thirty li to a place between two ranges of hills where
there was an Asoka tope above 100 feet high. This marked th
spot at which, according to the Buddha's prediction, when
Maitreya comes as Buddha one of the four great natural Treasures
of valuables will be in existence.
The four great Treasures here alluded to are those of

Elāpattra in Gandhāra, Pānduka in Mithila, Piñgala in
Kalinga, and Sankha in the Kasi ( Benares) country.2
According to some authorities it was at Savatthi that the
Buddha made to Anāthapindaka the announcement of the
existence of these four hidden Treasures to be revealed
at the time when Maitreya comes to be Buddha, but other
versions of the story differ.3 So also some accounts re
present the Treasures as being already made use of by
the people who every seventh year, on the seventh day of
the seventh month, drew at will from the Treasures, which
did not experience any diminution. When Maitreya
comes as Buddha the Elāpattra, Pāņduka, and Pingala
Treasures are to be transferred to that of Sankha. In
the Tsêng -yi-a -han -ching we find the terms dragon and
1 Fu-kai-chêng-so -chi-ching in the EFFI,ch . 11 ; Sar. Vin.

Tsa -shih, ch. 21 ; J. B. T. S. Vol. ii, P. 1 , p. 2 ; Rockhill Life p. 46.
2 See Divyāv. p. 61.
3 Anāthapindada - hua - ch'i - tzŭ -ching (No. 649); Tsêng -yi- a -han
ching, ch. 49.
4 Upasaka - chie.ching, ch. 5 (No. 1088 ). See also Sar. Vin. Yao
shih, ch . 6.
Q*
244 LEGEND OF THE SEVERED HEAD.
dragon -king applied to Elāpattra in connection with the

Treasure at Takshasilā in Gandhāra, but in the other
accounts there is no reference to a dragon. Some think
that Elāpattra was the name of a king, but it was pro
bably the name of the place afterwards extended to the
Tank and the dragon of the Tank. It was undoubtedly
this Elāpattra Treasure which our pilgrim here mentions
as a sacred spot divinely protected and marked by a tope.
Above twelve li to the north of Takshasilā city, the pilgrim
continues, was an Asoka tope which on Fast days sent forth a
brilliant light accompanied by divine flowers and heavenly music.
Yuan - chuang learned at the place that within recent times a
miracle had occurred in connection with this tope. A woman
afflicted with a repulsive skin -disease bad come to it for purposes
of worship ; finding the building in a very filthy state she set
to work to cleanse it, and having succeeded in this she presented
flowers and incense. Thereupon her disease left her, and she
became a beautiful woman, breathing a perfume of blue lotus.
At the site of this tope, Yuan -chuang tells us, the Prusa as
Chandraprabha (Moon -brightness) king cut off his own head as
an act of charity, and did this in 1000 similar births.
Fa -hsien simply relates that the Prusa here once gave
his head in charity to a man, and adds that this act gave
its name to the country, as if Taksha -sira or " Severed
head ” .1 In another treatise it is the king of the Kan-yi
( HJ ) country who agrees to give his head to a wicked
and importunate petitioner, but when the latter draws his
sword to cut off the king's head, a deity intervenes and
saves the king's life.2 In this Jätaka the king is the
Pusa, and the cruel petitioner is Devadatta. This story
is told with some variations in the “ Divyāvadāna Mālā ”
where the king is Chandraprabha, and his head is actually
cut off by the petitioner.3 In one book we read of Prince
Moon-brightness ( Chandraprabha ) giving his blood and
marrow to heal a poor distressed man. It is rather
1 Fo-kuo - chi l . c.
? Liu-tu-chi-ching, ch. 1 .
3 Bud . Lit. Nep. p . 310.
4 Ta -chih -tu -lun, ch. 12 .
KUMĀRA -LABDHA. 245
curious to find the story which Yuan-chuang here tells

about the woman afflicted with a loathsome skin disease
cleansing the sacred building and offering flowers and in
consequence becoming healed and endowed with beauty
and a sweet breath quoted in an Abhidharma-vibhāsha
Šāstra .
Near the Head-giving Tope, Yuan-chuang relates, was an old
ruinous Monastery occupied by a few Brethren. It was in this
monastery that the Sautrāntika Doctor in Buddhism by name Kou
mo - lo -lo -to (Kumāralabdha) once composed expository treatises.
The name of this learned Buddhist Śāstra -master as
given here is translated in a Chinese note by Tung- shou
( 3 ) or "Received from the Youth ”, that is from Ku
māra, the god of war, the name being Kumāralabdha. In
the Life the name is given as Ku (Kou )-mo-lo -to and trans
lated wrongly by "youth's life”. Kumāralabdha, we learn
from another part of the Records, was a native of this
country, but he wastaken byforce to Kabandha where ? ?
the kingof the country gave him a splendid monastery Riepan
in the old palace grounds. He was, we are told elsewhere,
the founder of the Sautrāntika School, and he was cele
brated over all the Buddhist world for his genius, his
great learning, and his controversial abilities. He was
one of the " Four Suns illuminating the world ", the three
others being Asvaghosha, Deva, and Nāgārjuna.2 Kumā
ralabdha is mentioned by Taranātha as a Sautrāntika
Master by the name Gzon-nu-len or “ Youth -obtained ”, but
he seems to be little known in Buddhist literature and
history.3 He may perhaps be the great Kiu ( Ku )-mo-lo-to
who is the 18th (or 19th) in the list of Buddhist Patriarchs. 4
On the north side of the south hill to the south - east of the
capital was a tope above 100 feet high erected by king Asoka
1 Abhi-ta - vib ., ch. 114. Here Asoka had built a Chaitya at the
place where king Chandraprabha had given 1000 heads (his own head
1000 times )
2 Ch. 12 ; J. Vol. iii , p . 213.
3 Tär . S. 78 .
- Fu - fa - tsang - yin -yuan -chuan, ch . 6 ( No. 1310 ).
246 LEGEND OF PRINCE KUNALA .
on the spot where his son Prince Ku -lang-na ( for Ku -na - lang),
or Kunāla, had his eyes torn out by the guile of his step-mother ;
the blind came here to pray, and many had their prayers answered
by restoration of sight. Our pilgrim then proceeds to tell his
version of the story of Kunāla's career ; of Asoka on the advice
of his wicked second queen sending his son to govern Takshasilā,
of the blinding of this prince there by the cruel deceitful action
of this queen, of the return of the prince and his princess to
the king's palace, and of the restoration of the prince's eyesight
effected by the Buddhist arhat Ghosha.
Some versions of this pathetic story represent Asoka as
sending his son to restore order in Takshasila on the
advice of a Minister of state and without any interference
on the part of Tishyarakshā, the cruel, vindictive, libidi
nous queen , and in some accounts the prince dies after
his return home without having any miracle to restore
his eyes. His name was Dharmavivardhana, and his father
gave him the sobriquet Kunāla because his eyes were
small and beautiful, precisely like those of the Himavat
bird with that name. The blinding of this pious and
virtuous prince was the consequence of bad Karma wrought
in a far- past existence. He had blinded 500 deer, accord
ing to one story ; or an arhat, according to another version ;
or he had taken the eyes out of a chaitya, according to
the Avadāna-kalpalatā. Ghosha, the name of the arhat
who restored eyesight to Kunāla, was also the name of
a physician of this district who was celebrated as an
oculist.
The Takshasilā city and region were celebrated from
old times, and we read of the king of the country who
was contemporary with the Buddha coming to Rājagaha
on the invitation of king Bimbisāra to see Buddha. This
king became a convert and was ordained , but he died by
an unhappy accident before he could return to his king
dom . With reference to this country in later times we
1
1 A -yü -wang -chuan, ch. 3 ; A -yü -wang-hsi-huai-mu-yin -yuan - ching 1
( the Prince is sent on the advice of Yasa) ; Fa- yi-ching (it )

where the story is like that told by Yuan -chuang ; Divyāv. p . 416 ;
Bur. Int. p . 404 ; Bud. Lit. Nep. p. 61.
WEALTH OF TAKSHILA . 247
have the following interesting passage in Cunningham's

“Ancient Geography of India " - " At the time of Asoka's
accession the wealth of Taxila is said to have amounted
to 36 kotis or 360 millions of some unnamed coin, which,
even if it was the silver tanyka, or six pence, would have
amounted to nine crores of rupees, or £ 9,000,000. It
is probable, however, that the coin intended by the Indian
writer was a gold one, in which case the wealth of this
city would have amounted to about 90 or 100 millions of
pounds. I quote this statement as a proof of the great
reputed wealth of Taxila within fifty years after Alexander's
expedition" (p. 106 ). The whole of this statement is based
on Burnouf's translation of a passage in the Asokāvadāna
in the " Introduction à l'histoire du Buddhisme Indien "
( p. 373) which reads— “ Le roi (i. e. Asoka) fit fabriquer
quatre-vingt-quatre mille boîtes d'or, d'argent, de cristal
et de lapis-lazuli; puis il y fit enfermer les reliques. Il
donna ensuite aux Yakchas et déposa entre leurs mains

quatre - vingt-quatre mille vases avec autant de bandelettes,
les distribuant sur la terre tout entière jusqu'aux rivages
de l'océan, dans les villes inférieures, principales, et
moyennes, où (la fortune des habitants] s'élevait à un koti
[de Suvarņas). Et il fit établir, pour chacune de ces villes,
un édit de la Loi.
En ce temps-là on comptait dans la ville Takchasila
trente-six koțis [de Suvarņas). Les citoyens dirent au roi :
Accorde-nous trente-six boîtes. Le roi réfléchit qu'il ne
le pouvait pas, puisque les reliques devaient être distri
buées. Voici donc le moyen qu'il employa : Il faut re
trancher, dit - il, trente-cinque koțis. Et il ajouta : Les
villes qui dépasseront ce chiffre, comme celles qui ne
l'atteindront pas, n'auront rien ” .
It will be observed that in this passage the words “ la
fortune des habitants" and " de Suvarnas" are introduced
by the learned translator to supplement the language and
complete the meaning of his author. But these words do
not seem to be warranted by the Sanskrit original, which
apparently refers to inhabitants, and not to coins. This
248 THE LION CITY.
interpretation is supported by two out of the three Chinese

translations, the third translation being apparently from
a different text. The passage translated by Burnouf would
thus mean something like the following - The king had
84 000 boxes made to hold Buddha's relics. These boxes
he gave to Yakshas to distribute among all large, medium ,
and small towns having a koți of inhabitants. But the
people of Takshaſila said- We are thirty - six koțis in
number and we want thirty-six boxes. The king seeing
he could not give a box for every koți of inhabitants in
his dominions said to the Takshasilans - No, you must
knock off thirty-five koțis for the rule is to be that a box
is to be given only to those places which have exactly a
koți of inhabitants neither more nor less. 1
According to one story the people of Takshasila accepted
the king's conditions and received a box of relics. But
from other accounts it is to be inferred that they did not
obtain any of the relics. Neither Fa -hsien nor our pilgrim
refers to the presence in this country of one of the
84 000 boxes containing Buddha's relics distributed by
Yakshas for Asoka.
SIÑHAPURA.
From this (that is, the neighbourhood of Taksbasilā) going south
east across hills and valleys for above 700 li you come to the
Seng-ha -pu -lo (Siñhapura) country ; this was about 3500 li in
circuit with the Indus on its west frontier. The capital fourteen
or fifteen li in circuit rested on hills and was a natural fortress.
The soil of the country was fertile, the climate was cold, the
people were rude, bold, and deceitful. There was no king and
the country was a dependency of Kashmir.
The text of this paragraph by itself and taken in con
nection with what follows presents serious difficulties.
Although the pilgrim seems to describe himself here as
1 Divyāv. p . 381. In A-yü -wang-chuan, ch. 1 and in Tsa-a-han

ching, ch. 23 it is a matter of population , and in A -yü -wang -ching,
ch . 1 it is a question of money. The particular form of expression
11sed seems to be susceptible of both these interpretations.
SIÑHAPURA. 249
going south -east from Takshasila to Sinhapura, yet a little

further on he represents himself as returning from the
latter to the north of the former. In the Life, at this
part of Yuan- chuang's journey, the D text makes him hear
of ( H ) Sinhapura at Takshasila, but the other texts state
that Siñhapura was among ( H ) the hills and valleys
700 li south-east from Takshasilā . In another passage of
the Life Siñhapura is placed about twenty-two days'
journey from Takshasilā and apparently to the east of
that city, but the direction is not given.1 If the rest of
the narrative with which we are now concerned be correct
it would seem that north -east should be substituted for
south -east in the statement of the direction of Siñhapura
from Takshasilā. We cannot imagine Yuan -chuang going
700 li (about 140 miles) south - east from Takshasilā, then
turning back to the north of that district, and setting out
from it again south -eastwards. From the context here it
seems to be clear that Yuan -chuang places Siñhapura
to the north of Takshasilā rightly or wrongly. Moreover
the “ Fang -chih ” which places Siñhapura to the south - east
of Takshasilă, following the Records, yet makes the latter
place to be south of the former.
Cunningham, in his “Ancient Geography of India ”, iden
tifies the capital of Sinhapur with Ketās " situated on
the north side of the Salt Range, at 16 miles from Pind
Dādan Khan, and 18 miles from Chakowāl , but not more
than 85 miles from Shah - dheri or Taxila " .2 This identi
fication, to which Cunningham did not adhere, has since
been established by Dr Stein to his own satisfaction and
that of Dr Bühler.3 It is true that distance from Taxila,
extent of territory, situation of capital, and one or two
other details do not tally, but such discrepancies are not
insuperable difficulties to an enthusiastic Indian archæo
logist.
1 Ch. 5. The Tang-Shuh (ch. 221 ) agrees with Yuan-chuang in
placing Singhapura 700 li to the south -east of the Taxila district.
2 A. G. I. p. 124.
3 Trübner's Or. Rec. No. 249 p . 6.
250 A SCENE OF SUNSHINE.
Near the south of the capital was an Asoka tope the beauty
of which was impaired although its miraculous powers continued,
and beside it was a Buddhist monastery quite deserted. Forty
or fifty li to the south - east of the capital was a stone tope above
200 feet high built by Asoka. Here were also more than ten
tanks large and small— “ a scene of sunshine" . The banks of
these tanks were of carved stone representing various forms and
strange kinds of creatures. The struggling water ( that is, the
river which supplied the tanks) was a clear brawling current ;
dragons, fish, and other watery tribes moved about in the
cavernous depths; lotuses of the four colours covered the sur
face of the clear ponds; all kinds of fruit trees grew thick
making one splendour of various hues and , the brightness of
the wood mixing with that of the tanks , the place was truly a
pleasure ground.
The words “ a scene of sunshine ” in this passage are a
quotation and in the original are ying-tai-tso -yu (lldeti
ti) " a sunshine borne left and right". The meaning is
that there was a continuous line of brightness along the
sides of the tanks and the stream by which they were
supplied. Julien understood the passage to mean that
the tanks surrounded the tope " à gauche et à droite,
d'une humide ceinture" . But this seems to be impossible
and is not in the original. Our pilgrim saw (or was told)
that the mountain stream formed a pool or tank in its
course, flowed out from this and formed another, and so
on, making above ten tanks, the stream all the way between
the tanks being above ground in the daylight. The people
had afterwards furnished these tanks with facings for their
banks made of curiously carved stone.
Supposing Ketās to be the modern representative of
Siñhapura we may compare with Yuan -chuang's account
the description which Di Stein gives from personal ob
servation of the scenery at Mürti a few miles south-east
from Ketās- “ The bed of the Ketās brook forms in the
narrow and very picturesque Gamdhala valley a number
of small tanks, and at a bend, where there are two large
basins, stands the hill of Mürti. From the top of the
hill I heard distinctly the murmuring of the brook, which
on leaving the chief tank, forces its way between a number
SVETA MBARA JAINS. 251
of boulders. Dense groups of trees, such as Hiuen Tsiang

describes, are reflected in the limpid waters of the tanks,
which still swarm with fish”. Dr Stein also saw at Ketās
" two richly-ornamented stone pillars which were stated to
have come from Mūrti”. “ The sculptures on their capitals
differ”, he adds, “ but are decidedly in the Jaina style,
showing seated , naked male figures with garlands in their
hands. You will understand that they forcibly reminded
me of Hiuen Tsiang's " balustrades of different shapes and
of strange character ”.” The words within inverted commas
at the end of this paragraph are an incorrect quotation
from Burnouf who puts “ balustrades ” in italics and within
brackets to show that the word is the gloss which he adds
to his text. There is nothing whatever corresponding to
the word in the Chinese .
Our pilgrim continues his description and tells us that beside
[ the tope ?) was a Buddhist monastery which had long been un
occupied. Not far from the tope, he says, was the place at
which the founder of the “ White -clothes” sect having come to
realize in thought the principles for which he had been seeking
first preached his system , the place being now marked by a
memorial beside which a Deva- Temple had been erected. The
disciples [of the founder of the White -clothes sect] practise
austerities persevering day and night without any relaxation.
The system which their founder preached, Yuan-chuang says,
was largely taken from the doctrines of the Buddhist canon .
He proceeded according to classes and made rules of orderly
discipline; the great (i. e. senior) disciples are Bhikshus and the
small ones are called ſramañeras ; their rules of deportment and
ritual observances are much like those of the Buddhist system ;
but they leave a little hair on the head and they go naked, or
if they wear clothes these have the peculiarity of being white.
By these differences of detail they have gradually become quite
distinct (viz. from the Buddhists). The images of their “deva
teacher ” they have venturned to make like those of Buddha,
with the difference as to clothing, the distinguishing marks being
the same .
From a careful study of all this passage and the pre

ceding one about the Siñhapur country and the objects
of interest which it contained, one feels very much inclined
to believe that the pilgrim did not visit the place on this
252 YUAN- CHUANG ON THE JAINS.
occasion and that he obtained his information about it at

Takshasilā and elsewhere. What he tells us about the
“ white robed non-Buddhists, pai-yi-wai-tao ( a kf it ) is
very interesting, but it is vague and unsatisfactory. This
sect was evidently, as has been pointed out by others, the
Svetāmbaras, a development of primitive Jainism. But
who was the founder of it who attained spiritual enlighten
ment and began to preach his system in this region ? The
spot had a memorial of the event at the time of Yuan
chuang's visit, or as Julien translates— " Aujourd'hui, on
y voit une inscription ". But this seems to be more than
is in the original - chin -yu -feng -chi ( 4 tu), which
perhaps means only “ there is now a memorial of the event
set up ”. Beside this memorial there had been erected a
“ Deva - Temple”. Julien adds— " Les sectaires qui le frequen
tent”, but the Chinese has only chói- t'u ( It W ) which means
“ his disciples”, that is, the followers of the founder of the
sect. The pilgrim is telling us now of the Svetambara
and Digambara ascetics generally. Severe austerities were
inculcated and practised by the Jains from their first
appearance and wherever they lived. The constitution,
doctrines, and outward observances of their religion with
certain exceptions named had, according to our pilgrim ,
been appropriated from Buddhism . It is thus plain that
Yuan -chuang had been taught that Jainism as a system
was later in origin than Buddhism, and was mainly derived
from the latter. His remarks on this subject appear very
extraordinary when we remember that the Nirgrantha (or
Jain) sect figures largely in the Buddhist canonical works.
It was evidently a large and influential body in the time
of Gautama Buddha, who was an avowed opponent of the
system, and argued strongly against its teaching as to the
efficacy of bodily austerities. As Yuan-chuang must have
known, the Jains had their ritual code and their religious
and philosophic creed and organisation at the time of the
founder of Buddhism .
It should be noticed that our pilgrim does not make
mention of a Jain establishment at Siñhapur, or of any
FEEDING THE TIGRESS. 253
inhabitants whatever in the neighbourhood of the tope.

There were at the place a Buddhist monastery without
Brethren and a Deva - Temple, but no Jain temple or
monastery is mentioned. Thus Dr Stein's sculptures from
Mūrti “ decidedly in the Jaina style” and thus enabling
him to find “ Hiuen Tsiang's long-looked for Jaina temple "
must wait for further developments. The Ketās district
as described by Dr Stein seems to present some agreement
with our pilgrim's Siñhapura in its natural scenery, having
a stream, a series of tanks, and dense vegetation. But
this does not amount to much ; and as it is apparently the
only point in which there is any resemblance, it is not
enough for a basis of identification.
Our pilgrim proceeds to relate that from this (i. e. the Siùha
pura district) he went back to the north confines of the Taksha
šilă country, crossed the Indus, and travelled south - east going
over a great rocky Pass. Here long ago the Prince Mahāsattva
gave up his body to feed a hungry tigress. About 140 paces
from this was a stone tope at the spot to which Mahāsattva
pitying the wild beast's feeble state came; here piercing himself
with a dry bamboo he gave his blood to the tigress , and she
after taking it ate the Prince ; the soil and the vegetation of the
spot had a red appearance as if blood-dyed. Travellers suffering
from the wild thorns of the place, whether they are believers or
sceptics, are moved to pity.
This story of the compassionate Prince giving his body
to save the lives of a starving tigress and her cubs is told
with variations in several Buddhist books. The version
which Yuan - chuang apparently had before him was that
given in the " Hsien -yü -ching " which agrees in the main
with Schiefner's translation from the Tibetan.1 According
to the story there was once many kalpas before the time
of Gautama Buddha a king of a great country the name
of which is not given. But the name of the king was
Mahāratna (or Mahāratha ), and he had three sons the
youngest of whom was called Mahāsattva. This prince
grew up to be good and gentle, and very compassionate
1 Hsien -yü -ching, ch. 1 ; Der Weise u. d . T., S. 21 ; P'u -sa-pên
sheng - man -lun, ch. 1. Cf. Bud. Lit. Nep, p. 247.
254 STORY OF THE TIGRESS .
to all creatures. It happened that one day he and his

brothers were strolling among the hills when they saw
near the foot of a precipice a tigress with two cubs. The
tigress was reduced to a skeleton, and was so utterly
famished with hunger that she was about to eat her young
ones. Prince Mahāsattva , seeing this, left his brothers, and
desirous of saving the animal's life, and the lives of her
cubs, threw himself down the precipice, and then lay still
for the tigress to eat him . But she was too weak and
exhausted to take a bite out of his body. So he pricked
himself with a sharp thorn and thus drew blood . By
licking this blood the wild beast gained strength, and then
she devoured the prince leaving only his bones. When
his parents found these, they had them buried , and then
raised a mound or tope at the grave. This Mahāsattva
was the Buddha in one of his numerous preparatory stages
of existence as a Boddhisattva.
Other versions of the story give the number of the
tigress' cubs as seven, the number in the Life. This
jātaka, sometimes called the Vyaghrī (or Tigress) Jātaka,
is not in the Pali collection, but the story is in Hardy's
“ Manual of Buddhism ” where the Piusa is a brahmin
named Brahma and lives near Daliddi, a village not far
from the rock Munda (otherwise called Eraka). In one
version the Pusa is the prince Chandanamati son of king
Gandhaśri of Gandhamati ( that is, Gandhära ); 2 in another
he is a Prince in the Panchāla country, and in another
the scene of the self-sacrifice is not localised. The Chinese
pilgrim of the Sung period found the precipice from which
Mahāsattva threw himself in a mountain to the west of
Kashmir. 3
The word which Yuan -chuang uses in this passage for
" tigress" is the unusual one wu-tu ( or as in D ).
This word , also written till pronounced wu -t'u, is the
1 M. B. p . 94 .
2 P.u -sa -t'ê -shen -ssă -ngo -hu -ch'i -t'a - yin - yuan - ching (No. 436).
3 Ma T. 1. , ch. 338.
THE MĀNIKYALA TOPE . 255
old Central-China name for a tiger, and it is also a re

cognized term but of very rare occurrence .
To the north of the Body -offering Tope was a stone A soka
tope above 200 feet high with very artistic ornamentation and
shedding a miraculous light. Small topes and above 100 small
shrines encircled the grave ; pilgrims afflicted with ailments made
circumambulation, and many were cured . To the east of this
tope was a monastery with above 100 Brethren all Mahāyānists.
We have thus two topes at this place to commemorate
the self-sacrifice of the Piusa to save the life of the tigress.
Cunningham has identified one of these, apparently the
stone one, with the great Mānikyāla Tope, and he quotes
the Chinese pilgrims' testimony in support of this identi
fication. Now Fa-hsien places the scene of the “ body
offering ”, and the site of the memorial tope, at a spot two
days' journey east from his Takshasilā , which was seven
days' journey east from his Gandhāra ; Sung -yun, who does
not mention any tope, places the scene eight days' journey
south -east from the capital of Cdyāna; and Yuan -chuang
puts it above 200 li (about 40 miles) south - east from the
north of the Takshasila country. For Sung-yun's Udyāna
Cunningham substitues Gandhāra, for Yuan - chuang's " north
of Takshasilā ” he substitutes “ Taxila ", and he makes the
“ Indus ” of the Records to be a mistake for the “ Suhan”
River. Then he finds that the three pilgrims have thus
exactly described the situation of the great Mānikyāla
Tope, which is about 34 miles south -east from Shah -dheri.
The identification of this tope with either of those men
tioned here by Yuan-chuang seems to be attended with
serious difficulties. The large stone tope was built by
Asoka and the other one (according to tradition) was built
either by a king of Gandhāra contemporary with the
Buddha or by Asoka, and the Mānikyāla tope cannot be
referred to an earlier period than the first century of our
The tope near the “ grave " or spot in which Mahā
sattva's bones were interred was known as the “ Sattva
1 See Fang-yen ( i ), ch. 8.

2 A. G. I. p. 121 .
256 VARSA REGIO OF PTOLEMY.
śarīra Tope” or more fully as the “ Tope of the relics of

the Bodhisattva having given up his body to the tigress.”
It was supposed, we are told, to have been built by the
king of Gandhāra after he had heard the pathetic story
from the Buddha .
The Monastery mentioned in the above passage was
visited by the Chinese pilgrim monk by name Fa -shêng
( L ), a native of Kao -ch'ang, about the beginning of
the 5th century A.D. He found it a large establishment
frequented by about 5000 Brethren, and the great tope
was then daily visited by crowds of pilgrims coming to be
cured of infirmities.
From this ( i . e. the place of the interment of Mahāsattva's
bones) the pilgrim proceeded eastward above 50 li to an isolated
hill. Here was a monastery with above 200 Brethren, all students
of the Mahāyāna system , amid luxuriant vegetation and with
pellucid streams and tanks. Beside the monastery was a tope
above 300 feet high which marked the place where the Buddha
once converted a wicked Yaksha, and made him give up the
eating of animal food.
Continuing his journey, our pilgrim travelled south -east over
hills for above 500 li, and arrived at the Wu - la - shih country.
This was a very hilly region above 2000 li in circuit, with little
cultivated land ; the capital was seven or eight li in circuit, but
there was no ruler and the country was a dependency of Kashmir ;
the people were rough and deceitful, and they were not Buddhists.
About four li to the south-east of the capital was an Asoka tope
above 200 feet high , and at its side was a monastery which con
tained a few Brethren all Mahāyānists.
The Wu - la -shih of this passage, in the D text of the
Life Wu -la -cha, perhaps represents an original like Uras
or Uraksh. The word for " over hills " (shan ) is in most
of the texts, but not in all. Cunningham identifies this
country with the “ Varsa Regio of Ptolemy, and with the
modern district of Rash , in Dhantāwar, to the west of
Muzafarabād ”. That is, Yuan -chuang places the district of
Uras about 125 south-east from the Takshasilā country;
and Cunningham , without any warning or explanation,
places it above 100 miles to the north - east of that country. 1
1 A. G. I. p . 103.
DOUBTFUL IDENTIFICATIONS . 257
M. St. Martin, who had made the same identification,

suggests that there is a mistake in our author's text which
should have north -east instead of south -east. 1 But this
latter is the reading of all the texts, and of the Life, and
the Fang-chih. In another passage of the Life, however,
we find Kashmir placed 50 yojanas distant from Taksha
silā in a north - east direction. 2 There are apparently
mistakes in the pilgrim's account of some of the places
in this part of his narrative with respect to their relative
positions ; and, on the other hand, the identifications pro
posed are not to be accepted as absolutely correct. A
later investigator, who also silently ignores the pilgrim's
statement of direction, thinks that “ the country of Urasa
corresponded pretty nearly to that of the modern Hazara,
if we include in that term the whole tract up to the Indus,
now held by the Tamaolis, the Hassarzais, the Akazais
and others". This writer regards Haripur as corresponding
to Yuan-chuang's capital of Uras, the actual city being
now represented by Pir-māmaka, a Mahometan shrine
close under the citadel of Haripur. The identification
here proposed, it will be seen, practically agrees with that
proposed by previous investigators.3
From Uras, the pilgrim goes on to narrate , he continued his
journey south -east above 1000 li over mountains and along
dangerous paths and across iron bridges to the country of Kashmir.
Our pilgrim transcribes this name Ka-sse-mi-lo (ne
#), and the transcription in the Tang-Shu and other
works is Ko -shih -mi (ten).
1 Julien Vol. iii, p. 321.

2 Ch. 5 and Julien Vol. i, p. 262.
3 Rerd C. Swymerton in Ind. Ant. Vol. xx, p. 336 .
R
CHAPTER VIII.
CHUAN III CONTD.
KASHMIR TO RAJAPUR .
KASHMIR .
For an account of the pilgrim's entry into Kashmir,

and his arrival at the capital of that country, we are in
debted to the narrative in the Life. This treatise tells
us that Yuan-chuang entered Kashmir territory by the
rocky Pass which formed the western approach to the
country. At the outer end of the Pass he was received
by the maternal uncle of the king, who had been sent
with horses and conveyances to escort him to the capital.
On the way thither the pilgrim passed several Buddhist
monasteries in which he performed worship ; and at one,
the Hushkara ( 22) -vihāra, he spent a night. Dur
ing the night the Brethren of the monastery had dreams
in which they were informed by a deity that their guest
was a Brother from Mahā - China who, desirous of learning,
was travelling in India on a pilgrimage to Buddhist sacred
places ; the Brethren were also exhorted by the deity to
rouse themselves to religious exercises in order to earn
by their proficiency the praise of their illustrious guest.
This was repeated on each of the few days occupied by
the pilgrim and his party in reaching the royal Dharma
sāla which was about a yojana from the capital. At this
building the king was waiting to receive the pilgrim and
conduct him into the city. His Majesty was attended by
1 Ch . 2.
HOSPITALITY IN KASHMIR . 259
his grandees, and by certain Buddhist monks from the

capital, and he had a magnificent retinue of above 1000 men.
He treated his Chinese visitor with marked ceremonious
respect, and mounted him on one of his large elephants
when setting out for the city. On his arrival here the
pilgrim lodged for one night in the Jayendra ( NE
BE #L )-monastery, but next day on the king's invitation he
took up his quarters in the palace. Then His Majesty
appointed some scores of Brethren with the illustrious
Bhadanta Ch'êng ( F), or ? Yasa, at their head to wait
on his Chinese guest. He also invited Yuan -chuang to
read and expound the Scriptures, gave him twenty clerks
to copy out Mss, and five men to act as attendants. The
pilgrim remained here two years and devoted his time to
the study of certain sūtras and śāstras, and to paying
reverence at sacred vestiges (that is, places held in reve
rence by Buddhists ).
Neither the Records nor the Life gives the name of the
king of Kashmir who so hospitably entertained our pilgrim .
It was, apparently, the same king who about this time,
as we learn on I-ching's authority, received another Chinese
pilgrim , by name $üan-hui ( th), and entertained him to
as a guest in the palace for about a year, when some
boy
unpleasantness arose which caused Süan -hui to leave and
continue his wanderings .'
Coming back to the text of the Records we find a
Chinese editorial note added to the word Kashmir telling
us that Kiſ-Ka )-p'in ( ) was an old and incorrect
name for the country. But in many Chinese treatises
Ka-pin is a geographical term of vague and varying
extension, and not the designation of a particular country.
It is applied in different works to Kapis, Nagar, Gandhāra,
Udyāna, and Kashmir. The region first called Kapin was
once occupied by the Sakas (# ), a great nomad people
who spread themselves over vast regions to the north-west
1 Hsi- yi -chiu, ch. 1 ; Chavannes Mém. p. 46.

R*
260 KAPIN AND KASHMIR .
from what is now the district of Kashgar.1 Afterwards

applied less vaguely Kapin was the name of a country
south of the Tsóung-Ling and subject to the Great Yue-ti
(Getæ), and it is said to have been a synonym for the
Tsao ( # ) of the Sui period ." But by several Chinese
writers, and translators of Buddhist books into Chinese,
both before and after our pilgrim's time, the word Kapin
is used to designate the country which he and others call
Kashmir. Thus for the " charming Kāśmir -city " of the
Divyāvadāna the Chinese translation has simply Kapin.
Then we read of the rishi Revata , who lived on a mountain
in Kapin , being converted by the Buddha, and building a
tope (or chaitya) for the Buddha's hair- and nail-relics.
This Revata is “ Raivataka, a bhikshu of Saila Vihāra at
Kasmir”, and the " Śaila vihara” was the Cliff ( )
Monastery not far from the old capital of Kashmir.. But
by Chinese writers generally Kapin seems to have been
always loosely applied ; and even down to the Tang period
the word was used by them to designate a region which
did not correspond to that afterwards known to them as
Kashmir . Thus in the Hsi-yi -chih, a Buddhistical treatise
of the Sui period, Kapin is evidently the Kapis of other
works, the country of Buddha's skull-bone and of the
Chinese Monastery. Even the T'ang -Shu treats Kashmir
and Kapin as names of two countries, and gives descriptive
particulars about each. In other works of the T'ang
period we find Kapin apparently used to denote the Nagar
and Kapis of earlier writings.
The word Kashmir is transcribed in Chinese in several
ways giving slight differences as Kasmir and Kashmir,
and it is explained as meaning “Who goes in ? " . It is
said to have arisen at the time when Madhyāntika induced
the dragon to turn the lake into dry land in the manner
to be presently described. When the people saw the arhat
1 Han-Shu, ch. 96 , P. I.
2 Divyāv. p. 399 ; Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 23 ; Ta - chih -tu -lun, ch. 9;
Abhi- ta - vib . ch. 125 ; Bud . Lit. Nep . p. 76.
THE ROCKY PASS. 261
sitting where water had been a moment before, they were

afraid to venture to him, and kept exclaiming to each
other — Who goes in? 1 This etymology, which reminds
one of Dean Swift, is curious but not satisfactory. Burnouf
suggested that Kaśmir might be for Kāśyapa -mir, and
one variety of the Chinese transcriptions is Ka- ye (that
is Ka -sa often used for Kāśyapa )-mi-lo ( ihn * ) er
Kasyapa -mir, but these characters may simply be for
Kaśmir.
The pilgrim gives a short general description of Kashmir in
his usual manner . It was, he states, above 7000 li (1400 miles)
in circuit, surrounded by high steep mountains over which were
narrow difficult Passes, and the country had always been im
pregnable. The capital, which had a large river on its west
side, was 12 or 13 li from north to south and four or five li
from east to west. The district was a good agricultural one
and produced abundant fruits and flowers; it yielded also borses
of the dragon stock, saffron, lenses, and medicinal plants. The
climate was very cold in season with much snow and little wind.
The people wore serge and cotton (pai- tieh) ; they were volatile
and timid , being protected by a dragon they crowed over their
neighbours; they were good-looking but deceitful ; they were
fond of learning and had a faith which embraced orthodoxy and
heterodoxy (that is, Buddhism and other religions). The Buddhist
Monasteries were above 100 in number, and there were above
5000 Buddhist Brethren ; and there were four Asoka topes each
containing above a pint (shêng) of the bodily relics of the Buddba.
Į The circuit which our pilgrim here assigns to the country
of Kashmir is about 3000 li above that given to it by
Ma Tuan-lin and other authorities, and it is evidently
much too great. The rocky Pass ( lit. “ stone gate”), by
which the pilgrim entered the country, was evidently the
western Pass which terminates near the town of Barā
mūla (Varāhamula ). This is Alberuni's " ravine whence
the river Jailam comes ; at the other end of this ravine
is the watch station Dvāz, on both sides of the river
Jailam. Thence, leaving the ravine, you enter the plain,
and reach in two more days Addisthān, the capital of
1 Yi-ch'ie-ching-yin -yi, Supplement ch. 1 .

262 CAPITAL OF KASHMIR .
Kashmir, passing on the road the village of Ushkāra,

which lies on both sides of the valley, in the same manner
as Baramülā ” .i In the text of the Life the Prince is
represented as meeting the pilgrim at the outer end of
the Pass, but as he had horses and carriages with him,
we must understand him as waiting for the pilgrim at the
Dvār at the inner end of the Pass. In the T'ang-Shu
the name of the capital of Kashmir is given as Po -lo -wu
lo -pu -lo ( 32 341 i 2) that is Barāmüla- (or Varāha
müla)-pura. Other authorities give Pii- lo -ta che PE )
that is Bhirath, or Shan-chien ( FY ) meaning " of good
solidity", as names for the capital in previous periods.2
Our pilgrim represents the capital as having a large river
on its west side, and the T'ang-Shu tells us that this was
the Mi-na-si-to (5 # # % ) or, perhaps, Menāsitā.
C. Among the products of Kashmir specified by the pilgrim
in this passage is an article the name of which here as
in other passages is given by me as " saffron ". The ori
ginal for this is Yuh-chin- Isiang ( # ) which Julien
and others always render by Curcuma or turmeric. But
this undoubtedly is not the meaning of the term here and
in other passages of the Records and Life. The word
hsiang means “ incense " or " perfume", and Yuh - chin ,
pronounced like Guh-kum, evidently represents a foreign
word. In Sanskrit one name for saffron is Kunkuma, and
Yuh -chin in its old pronunciation is to be regarded as a
transcription of this word, or of a provincial variation of
it like the Tibetan Gurkum . That Yul -chin -hsiang is
" saffron " is seen also by comparing the Tibetan and
Chinese translations of a Sanskrit passage which tells of
Madhyāntika's proceedings in Kashmir . The valuable
plant which this arhat carries off from the Gandhamādana
Mountain, and introduces into Kashmir, is called saffron
1 Alberuni Vol. i , p. 207. So Baron Hügel leaving 'this “Indian

Paradise" "passed through a rock which together with the river
forms a strong barrier" . Travels in Kashmir and the Panjab p. 172
(tr. Jervis) .
? Abhi- ta -vib ., ch . 125.
LENSES IN KASHMIR . 263
in the Tibetan rendering, and Yuh-chin in the Chinese

version. 1 The saffron plant, Crocus sativus, has been
greatly cultivated in this country from a very early period.
Its flowers were long ago used to adorn the necks of
oxen at the autumn festival in the country, and they were
boiled in aromatic spirits to make a perfume.2 This, or
some preparation of the flowers, was largely used in
northern countries in the service of worship offered before
images in Buddhist temples. The flowers of the saffron
plant are still largely used in decoctions, both as a con
diment and as a pigment, by many of the inhabitants of
Kashmir.3 But the fei(# !)-yuh-chin or purple saffron was
forbidden as a dye-material to the Buddhist Brethren.
It seems very likely that the term Yuh-chin-hsiang is
sometimes used in a loose manner and applied to turmeric,
just as the name “ Saffron ”, we learn, is often given to
turmeric and saffflower. 4
The word for " lenses " in Yuan -chuang's description in
the passage under consideration is huo - chu ok 14 ), lit.
" fire pearls ", and this is rendered by Julien “ lentilles de
verre”. The pilgrim was here apparently translating the
Sanskrit word dahanopala which means fire-stone, burning
gem , and is a name for crystal lenses. These "fire pearls"
are described as being like crystal eggs, and one of the
tortures of the Hungry Ghosts is that for them the drops
of rain turn into “fire pearls".
The reader will observe that our pilgrim, in his enume
ration of some of the chief products of Kashmir, has not
a word about its grapes and wine. Yet the country was
celebrated for its grapes, and it was long the only place
i Sar. Vin. Tsa-shib , ch . 40 ; Tār, S. 12 ; A -yü-wang-chuan, ch . 4.

See Dr Bretschneider in Ch. Notes and Queries, Vol. iii, p. 55 and
iv , p . 97.
2 Abhi-ta -vib , ch . 12 ; Fa -yuan - chu -lin , ch. 36.
3 On the saffron of Kashmir see Lawrence's “ Valley of Kashmir ”
p. 342 .
4 Glossary of Ang-Ind . Terms s. v. Saffron .
264 BUDDHISM IN KASHMIR .
in all the parts about India in which wine was made from
the juice of the grape .
With reference to the state of Buddhism it is remarkable
that our pilgrim gives the number of Buddhist establish
ments in this country as only 100, while Wu-kóung, who
lived in it for some time above a century later, gives the
number at his time as 300. '
Kashmir is one of the most important and most famous
lands in the history of the spread and development of
Buddhism . In the literature of this religion we find
frequent reference to the capital, and the country generally,
in terms of praise and admiration . The pious, learned,
and eloquent Brethren of the region seem to have had a
great reputation even at the time of king A soka, who is
represented as calling on the disciples of Buddha dwelling
in the charming city of Kaśmir" to come to his Council. 2
When the Buddha and the Yaksha Vajrapāņi.-not Ananda
as Yuan-chuang relates-were returning through the air
from the conquest and conversion of the Dragon of Udyāna,
as they were over the green vales of Kashmir Buddha
drew Vajrapāni's attention to them.3 Into these, the
Buddha predicted, after my pari-nirvāṇa an arhat named
Madhyāntika will introduce my religion, and the country
will become distinguished as a home of the Brethren
devoted to absorbed meditation ( Samādhi) and prolonged
contemplation ( Vipassanā ). In another book the Buddha
is represented as having prophesied that Kashmir would
become rich and prosperous as Uttaravat, that Buddhism
would flourish in it, the number of the disciples being
beyond counting, and that it would become like the Tushita
Paradise. The country, he said , would be like Indra's
Pleasure-garden, or the Anavatapta Lake district, and it
would be a real " great Buddhist Congregation ."
The pilgrim proceeds with bis narrative and relates the story
i Shih-li-ching; J. A. 1895, p. 341 ff.

2 Tsa- a- han- ching, ch. 23 ; Divyāv, p . 399.
3 Sar. Vin . Yao - shih , ch . 9.
* Lien - hua- mien -ching, ch. 2 (Bun. No. 465).
LEGEND OF MADHYANTIKA . 265
of Madhyāntika's coming. According to the native records, he

states, Kashmir was originally a dragon-lake. When the Buddha,
having subdued the wicked dragon of Udyāna, had arrived above
Kashmir on his way through the air to Central India he said
to Ananda— “ After my decease Madhyāntika, an arhat, will in
this place establish a country, settle people, and propagate
Buddhism”. In the 50th year after Buddha's decease, the pilgrim
continues, Ananda's disciple the arhat Madhyāntika, perfect in
spiritual attainments, having heard of Buddha's prediction was
delighted. He accordingly came hither and took his seat in a
wood at a great mountain . Here he made miraculous exhibitions
and the dragon seeing these asked the arhat what he wanted.
" I want you to grant me room for my knees in the lake", was
the reply, i. e. I want to have as much dry land in the lake as
will enable me to sit cross-legged. The dragon thereupon pro
ceeded to grant the arhat's request by withdrawing water from
the lake, but Madhyāntika by the exercise of his supernatural
powers enlarged his body until the dragon had drawn off all the
water of the lake. Then the dragon was accommodated in a
lake to the north-west of the old one, and his relations and
dependents went to live in a small one. The dragon now begged
Madhyāntika to remain permanently and receive due service,
but the arhat replied that this was impossible as the time was
near for his pari-nirvāņa. At the dragon's request, however,
Madhyāntika consented that his 500 arhats should remain in
Kashmir as long as Buddhism lasted in the country, the land to
become again a lake when Buddhism ceased to exist. Madhyān
tika now by his miraculous powers built 500 monasteries, and
afterwards he bought foreign slaves to serve the Brethren .
Some time after his decease these inferiors became rulers of the
country ; but neighbouring states despising them as a low-born
breed would not have intercourse with them , and called them
Kritā or “ the Bought".
This account of Madhyāntika does not quite agree with
any of the older accounts in Buddhist books. These,
however, present some interesting and important points of
difference among themselves. Yuan -chuang's narrative
follows the version which is to be found with slight
variations of detail in the “ A - yü -wang - chuan ” version of
the Asokāvadāna, the Sarvata Vinaya, and in the Tibetan
texts translated by Schiefner and Rockhill. 1 In these
1 A - yü -wang -chuan , ch. 4 ; Sar. Vin. Tsa- shih, ch . 40 ; Tār. 1. c.;

Rockhill Life p. 166 ff.
266 LEGEND OF MADHYANTIKA .
Madhyāntika is a disciple of Ānanda, converted and

ordained in the last moments of Ananda's life; he is a
master of 500 disciples, and comes with these from the
Himavat to the place where Ananda is about to pass
away ; on a magic isle in the Ganges Ananda ordains the
master and his disciples and all immediately attain arhat
ship ; they want to pass away before Ananda, but he gives
the master Buddha's commission for him to go and teach
Buddhism in Kashmir, and the commission is accepted.
The name given to the master, and also apparently to
his disciples, is explained as meaning Mid-water (opi zje ),
as if Madhyan-taka ( for udaka), because they were ordained
and perfected on an island in the Ganges ; it is also
explained by Mid-day (\ ) as if Madhyan -dina, because
the ordination took place at mid -day. But according to
the “ Shan -chien -lü -vibhāsha", Buddhaghosha, the “Dipa .
vamsa ”, and the “ Mahāvaņsa ", Maddhyāntika, called
Majjhantiko the thera, lived in the time of Moggala-putta
Tissa, and was sent by that head of the church from
Pāțaliputra to Kashmir and Gandhāra. Then there is
a Kashmir Abhidharma treatise in which we have a
dragon called “ Fearless " in the country. This dragon
plagues the 500 arhats in their monasteries ; the arhats
have no magic powerful enough to drive the dragon away;
a foreign Brother comes who has no skill in magic and
no supernatural powers whatever ; by the power of a pure
strict life (śīla) he, using only a polite request, rids the
country of the dragon.2 In the Pali versions of Madhyān
tika's story the name of the dragon is Aravāla, the A-lo
pro-lu of the Chinese translation ; in the Sarvata Vinaya
it is Hu -lung, the Hulunta of Rockhill. This dragon
was
a wicked spiteful creature sending floods to ruin
crops, according to the Pali accounts, and he is perhaps
the original of the Udyāna dragon.
i Shan- chien-lü -vib, ch. 2 ; Vinaya, Vol. iii, p. 315 ; Dip. VIII.
1. 4 ; Mah. ch . XIJ.
2 Abhi -ta- vib, ch . 44 .
LEGEND OF MAH ADEVA . 267
Our pilgrim next gives a brief account of the settlement of

500 arhats from India in Kashmir, an event which he assigns
to the hundredth year after Buddha's decease in the reign of
Asoka king of Magadha. This great and powerful sovereign
was a firm believer in Buddhism, we are told , and charitable to
all creatures .There were [at his capital] 500 arbats and 500
ordinary Buddhist monks, all of whom were treated by the king
with equal reverence and attention. Among the ordinary Brethren
was one Mabādeva, a man of great learning and wisdom , a
subtle investigator of name and reality who put his extraordinary
thoughts into a treatise which taught heresy. All this man's
acquaintances followed his heretical reasonings. The king follow
ing his personal inclinations and taking the part of those whom
he liked, unable to distinguish the arhat from the common monk,
summoned all to the Ganges with the intention of causing them
all to be drowned. But the arhats , finding their lives in danger ,
used their supernatural powers, and flew through the air to
Kashmir, where they settled on the hills and in the vales . When
the king learned this he became distressed, went to Kashmir to
apologize to the arhats, and to beg them to return. They,
however, stedfastly refused to go back, so the king built 500
monasteries for them, and gave up all Kashmir for the benefit
of the Buddhist church.
This is Yuan -chuang's short and condensed abstract,
which cannot be properly understood without some know
ledge of Mahādeva's career as this is related in the
" Abhidharma -mahā - vibhāsha -lun " 1 and other treatises.
According to the Abhidharma work, Mahādeva was the
son of a brahmin merchant of Mathurā . While still a
very young man he took advantage of his father's pro
longed absence from home on business and formed an
incestuous connexion with his mother. When his father
returned Mahadeva murdered him , and soon afterwards
he fled with his mother. Finding that a Buddhist arhat
had an inconvenient knowledge of his guilty life he
promptly killed the arhat. Then finding that his mother
was not true to him he murdered her also. By thus
taking the lives of his parents and an arhat he had com
mitted three unpardonable offences; in the technical
1 Ch. 99 .
268 LEGEND OF MAHADEVA .
language of Buddhism he had "made three immediate

karmas” GEE * ), three ānantarya karmas. Stung
by conscience, and haunted by fear, he now skulked from
place to place until he reached Pāțaliputra. Here he
resolved to enter religion, and he easily persuaded a monk
of the Kukuțārāma vihara to have him ordained. He
now devoted all his energies and abilities to his new
profession and, having zeal and capacity, he soon rose to
be the head of the establishment, and the leader of a
large party in the church at Pāļaliputra. His intellectual
abilities were much above those of the ordinary brethren,
but his orthodoxy was doubtful, and his moral character
was not above suspicion. Mahādeva claimed to have
attained arhatship, and he explained away circumstances
which seemed to be destructive of his claim . In answer
to queries from younger brethren he enunciated five dogmas,
or tenets, which led to much discussion, and at length to
open dissension. These tenets were, ( 1 ) An arhat may
commit a sin under unconscious temptation, (2) One may
be an arhat and not know it, (3) An arhat may have
doubts on matters of doctrine, (4) One cannot attain
arhatship without the aid of a teacher, (5) The “noble
ways" may begin by a shout, that is, one meditating
seriously on religion may make such an exclamation as
“ How sad !" and by so doing attain progress towards per
fection. These five propositions Mahādeva declared to be
Buddha's teaching, but the senior Brethren declared them
to be Mahādeva's invention and opposed to the orthodox
teaching. There were at the time four " sets ” or “ parties"
of Buddhists at Pāțaliputra, and these had bitter contro
versies about the five propositions. When dispute ran
high the king, on Mahādeva's suggestion , called an assembly
of all the monks to have an open discussion and vote on
the subject, the king being a friend and patron of Mahā
deva. When the assembly was summoned it was attended
by a number of senior Brethren, who were arhats, and by
an immense number of ordinary ordained members of the
church. The superior Brethren argued and voted against
LEGEND OF MAHADEVA . 269
the five propositions, but they were far outnumbered by

the inferior members who were all friends of Mahādeva.
When the discussion and voting were over the wrangling
still continued, and the king ordered all the brethren to
be embarked in rotten boats and sent adrift on the Ganges ; i
by this means he thought it would be shewn who were
arhats and who were not. But at the critical moment
500 arhats rose in the air, and floated away to Kashmir.
Here they dispersed, and settled in lonely places among
the vales and mountains. When the king heard what had
occurred he repented, and sent messengers to coax the
arhats to return to his capital, but they all refused to
leave. Hereupon he caused 500 monasteries to be built
for them , and gave the country to the Buddhist church.
These 500 arhats introduced and propagated the Sthavira
school in Kashmir, and the majority of inferior brethren
at Pāțaliputra began the Mahāsañghika school.
It will be noticed that in this account we have neither
the name of the king nor the date of the schism. But
in the " I-pu-tsung-lun" and the " Shi-pa-pu-lun" the king
is Asoka, and the time above 100 years after Buddha's
decease. Additional information on the subject will be
found in Wassiljew's “ Buddhismus ” and in Schiefner's
" Tāranātha " .1 In the " Shan-chien -lü -vibhāsha" and in the
passages of the Pali works referred to in connection with
Madhyāntika we find mention of a Mahadeva at Pătali
putra.2 But this man lived apparently a good and pious
life, and he was sent by Tissa as a missionary to the
Andhra country. He preached (or composed) the “ Deva
dūta -sūtra " that is the Deva -messenger sūtra, in Chinese
Tien -shi-ching (F file $ 1 ), and he seems to have been
successful in propagating Buddhism. This may be the
Mahādeva of the northern treatises, the popular and in
fluential abbott of Pāțaliputra. But the latter dies, and
1 Was. Bud. S. 62 ; Tār. S. 51 and 293 ; Rhys Davids in J. R. A.S.

1892 , p. 9.
2 Shan - chien -lü -vib. ch. 2 ; Vinaya Vol. iii, p. 316.
270 KANISHKA'S COUNCIL.
is cremated with peculiar circumstances at the capital,

and there is no mention of his mission to Andhra. On
the other hand it seems possible that the Brethren , sent
away in different directions as apostles, were men who
had taken prominent parts in the controversies which had
arisen among the Buddhists of Pāțaliputra. All accounts
seem to agree in representing their Mahādeva as a man
of unusual abilities and learning ; and the story of his
great crimes as a layman, and his unscrupulous ambition
as an abbott, related in the Abhidharma treatises are
probably the malicious inventions of enemies.
Our pilgrim next proceeds to relate the circumstances con
nected with the great Council summoned by Kanishka. This
king of Gandhāra, Yuan-chuang tells us, in the four hundredth
year after the decease of Buddha, was a great and powerful
sovereign whose sway extended to many peoples. In his leisure
hours he studied the Buddhist scriptures, having a monk every
day in the palace to give him instruction. But as the Brethren
taught him different and contradictory interpretations, owing to
conflicting tenets of sectarians, the king fell into a state of
helpless uncertainty. Then the Venerable Pārsva explained to
His Majesty that in the long lapse of time since Buddha left
the world disciples of schools and masters with various theories
had arisen, all holding personal views and all in conflict. On
hearing this the king was greatly moved , and expressed to Pārsva
his desire to restore Buddhism to eminence, and to have the
Tripitaka explained according to the tenets of the various
schools. Pārsva gave his cordial approval of the suggestion,
and the king thereupon issued summonses to the holy and wise
Brethren in all his realm . These came in crowds from all
quarters to Gandhära, where they were entertained for seven
days. They were far too numerous, however, to make a good
working Council, so the king had recourse to a process of
selection . First all had to go away who had not entered the
saintly career - had not attained one to the four degrees of per
fection . Then of those who remained all who were arhats were
selected and the rest dismissed ; of the arbats again those who
had the " three-fold intelligence " and the " six -fold penetration "
were retained ; and these were further thinned out by dismissing
all of them who were not thoroughly versed in the Tripitaka
and well learned in the “ Five Sciences" . By this process the
number of arhats for the Council was reduced to 499 .
Yuan-chuang goes on to tell that the king proposed Gandhāra
KANISHKA'S COUNCIL. 271
as the place of meeting for the Council, but that this place was
objected to on account of its heat and dampness. Then Rāja
gaha was proposed, but Pārsva and others objected that there
were too many adherents of other sects there, and at last
was decided to hold the Council in Kashmir. So the king and
the arbats came to his country, and here the king built a
monastery for the Brethren .
When the texts of the Tripitaka were collected for the making
of expository Commentaries on them, the Venerable Vasumitra
was outside the door in monk's costume. The other Brethren
would not admit him because he was still in the bonds of the
world , not an arhat. In reply to his claim to deliberate, the
others told him to go away and come to join them when he
had attained arhatship. Vasumitra said he did not value this
attainment & spittle-he was aiming at Buddhahood and he
would not have any petty condition (“go in a small path " ); still
he could become an arhat before a silk ball which he threw in
the air fell to the ground. When he threw the ball the Devas
said to him so as to be heard by all—Will you who are to
become Buddha and take the place of Maitreya, honoured in the
three worlds and the stay of all creatures—will you here realize
this petty fruit ? The Devas kept the ball, and the arhats made
apologies to Vasumitra and invited him to become their President,
accepting his decisions on all disputed points.
This Council, Yuan-chuang continues, composed 100 000 stanzas
of Upadeśa śāstras explanatory of the canonical sūtras, 100 000
stanzas of Vinaya - vibhāshā -śāstras explanatory of the Vinaya,
and 100 000 stanzas of Abhidharma- vibhāshā śāstras explanatory
of the Abhidharma. For this exposition of the Tripitaka all
learning from remote antiquity was thoroughly examined ; the
general sense and the terse language [of the Buddhist scriptures]
were again made clear and distinct, and the learning was widely
diffused for the safe- guiding of disciples. King Kanishka had
the treatises, when finished, written out on copper plates, and
enclosed these in stone boxes, which he deposited in a tope
made for the purpose. He then ordered the Yakshas to keep
and guard the texts, and not allow any to be taken out of the
country by heretics ; those who wished to study them could do
80 in the country. When leaving to return to his own country
Kanishka renewed Asoka's gift of all Kashmir to the Buddhist
church .
This account of king Kanishka's Council and its work

is very interesting, but it requires to be supplemented by
some notes and explanations. There are also some
272 KANISHKA'S COUNCIL .
statements of the author which, in the abstract here given,

are different from the versions given in Julien's full trans
lation. Thus Yuan - chuang represents the king as sum
moning the arhats to make vibhāshā-lun, that is, discussions
on, or expositions of, the Canonical works. Julien, however,
makes the author state that the king “ voulut composer
(un traité intitulé) Vibhāshā çāstra ". Here the words
which I have put in brackets are an addition by the
translator and do injury to the text. Again, when all
was ready for the Council to proceed to work, the Vener
able Vasumitra, Yuan - chuang tells us, hu -wai-na -yi ( 5
Bit ) which Julien translates “se tenait en dehors de
de la porte et raccommodait son vêtement” . But the
words mean simply " was outside in monk's costume". The
term na (sometimes written * )-yi is of very frequent use
in this sense of “ bhikshu's clothing". Thus the monk's
complete dress is called “ the five na -yi of the cemeteries”,
and we read of a Brother na -yi-yen -tso, “ sitting meditating
in monk's dress ; it was one of the rules of Devadatta's
fraternity that the members should for life “ don na - yi”.
The expression in our text is used to indicate that Vasu
mitra was an ordinary bhikshu, not an arhat.1
The story which follows about the attempt to exclude
Vasumitra from the deliberations of the Council, because
he was only an ordinary bhikshu, is a feeble imitation of
the story about Ananda at the First Council. In our
text Yuan - chuang, going according to Mahāyānist tradi
tions, identifies the Vasumitra of Kanishka's time with
Buddha's disciple of the same name. The latter, as the
Buddha is represented telling his audience, had in a far
past existence been a monkey ; as such he acquired a
knowledge of and faith in Buddhism , and he received the
prediction that in a future birth he would become Buddha ;
in the time of Gautama Buddha he had been born as a
human creature and in due course of time had become a
1 Vasumitra-90 -chi-lun, ch. 2 (No. 1289) ; Kao -sêng-chuan, ch. 3 ;

Shih-sung- li, ch. 36.
LEGEND OF VASUMITRA . 273
disciple and risen to great eminence. But something

remained over from his simious life which led him to play
and gambol occasionally, and so give cause of offence .
Buddha, however, explained the circumstances, and stated
that Vasumitra was so take the place of Maitreya, and
finally succeed the latter as Buddha with the name Shih
tzŭ -yue (or merely Shih -tzū )-Ju -lai, that is, Lion-moon (or
Lion) Tathāgata . Thus the Vasumitra of Yuang-chuang's
story having the rank of a Bodhisattva (being a “ Pusa
bhikshu as he is called) was above the degree of arhat
according to Mahāyānist teaching, and hence his refusal
in the story to acquire the “petty fruit ". It was probably
a survival of simious propensities which made him play
with the ball of silk in the very solemn circumstances
here related. The story here told about Vasumitra is
very like one given in an old Mahāyāna śästra about this
p'usa. But in the latter treatise it is a stone which he
throws in the air ; the stone is caught and held by devas
who tell Vasumitra that he is to seek bodhi, that they
are to obtain emancipation through him, and that after
twenty kalpas he will become Buddha.2
Vasumitra, here as in other places translated Shih -yu
(1 k ), is a name common to several illustrious Buddhists ,
in the early periods of the church. The personal disciple
of the Buddha already mentioned who is destined to be
come Buddha may perhaps be the sthavira with this name
who is placed by one authority next in succession to
Upagupta.3. Then we have the Sāstra -Master Vasumitra,
mentioned in the Records, who composed the “ Abhidharma
prakarana-pāda-śāstra” already noticed, and the “Abhi
dharma-dhātukāyapāda-śāstra".4 It was probably also this
author who composed the “ Wu -shih -lun " to which Dhar
matrāta supplied a short expository commentary. This is
• Fo-shuo-shih-tzŭ-yue-Fo-pên-shêng-ching (No. 414 ): Tsun - Vasu
mitra - P'usa -so -chi-lun , Preface (No. 1289 ).
2 Wei-jih - tsa -nan -ching (No. 1328).
3 Dharmatara -shan -ching, ch. 1 (No. 1341).
4 Abhi-chie-shen-tsu-lun (No. 1282).
S
274 THE VARIOUS VASUMITRAS.
apparently not the Bodhisattva Vasumitra to whom is

ascribed the authorship of the “ Arya Vasumitra- Bodhi
sattva -sañgiti - śāstra”. The “ Abhidharma-mahāvibhāshā
Šāstra " is also said to have been the work of the 500
arhats of Kanishka's Council with Vasumitra at their
head. But there is nothing either in this treatise or the
Sañgiti-śāstra to show that these works were written at
the time of Kanishka, nor is there anything in either to
show that it was wholly or in part the work of Vasumitra.
It is only in one text out of four that the Sangiti-śāstra
appears with Arya Vasumitra on the title-page as author.
These two treatises contain references to Vasumitra and
quotations from him , and the “ Vibhasha" work mentions
him as one of the " Four Great Lun -shi of the Sarvāsti
vādin School" . He was noted among the learned and
ingenious Doctors of this School for his theory about the
threefold division of time and states of existence. He
held that the Past, Present, and Future are all realities
and that they differ as to their wei (1) "locations", or
“ Conditions” as Mr Rockhill renders the corresponding
Tibetan term. Then there is also the Vasumitra who
composed the important treatises “Chih-pu-yi-lun” and
“ Yi- pu -tsung-lun ".2 Moreover there is the Vasumitra who
furnished a commentary to Vasubandhu's celebrated “ Abhi
dharma-kośa - śāstra ", but of him little or nothing seems
to be known.3 The Vasumitra who is given as the seventh
Patriarch in the succession from Kāśyapa, and who is
supposed to have lived in the 6th century B. C., need not
be further mentioned.4
The unfriendly feeling exhibited by the 499 arhats of
Kanishka's Council in our pilgrim's narrative towards
Vasumitra reminds us, as has been stated, of Ananda
and the First Council. But the old Mahāyāna Šāstra to
1 See Tsun-Vasumitra-P'usa-so-chi-lun. Cf. Tār. S. 67 ff.

2 Chih-pu-yi-lun (No. 1285) ; Yi-pu-tsung-lun (No. 1286).
3 Bur. Int. p. 566 ff.
4. Chih -yue-lu, ch . 3.
MEANING OF UPADESA . 275
which reference has been made tells us of an envious

opposition to Vasumitra on the part of certain junior
Brethren, and the hostility is not represented as con
nected with the Council. In both accounts, however, the
genius and learning of Vasumitra are indispensable, and
he overcomes the enmity, and gains the admiration of
the Brethren.
The pilgrim tells us that when Vasumitra was admitted
the Council being duly constituted proceeded to its work
which was, not to revise or rearrange the canonical
treatises, but to furnish these with commentaries and
discussions. Taking the sūtras first the arhats composed
100 000 stanzas of upadeśa or explanatory comments on
these. Julien makes the author say they composed "le
traité Oupadêça çāstra ", and here again the addition of
"le traité” spoils the meaning. Although there are upa
deśas to several individual sūtras, or to a class of sūtras,
there does not seem to have ever been a general upadesa
śāstra for all the sūtra-pitaka.
This word upadeśa seems to have puzzled some of the
early translators from Sanskrit into Chinese, and some
of them apparently did not understand its meaning and
derivation . One curious explanation of it is that it is
" oral instruction to leave lust and cultivate goodness". 1
As the designation of a class of canonical treatises it is
translated by Lun-i ( l or Discussion. The term was
technically used to denote a treatise made by a bhikshu,
and explanatory of the teachings of a canonical sūtra,
and the work itself might become a recognized sūtra. It
was then called a Sūtra -upadeśa to distinguish it from the
primitive Upadeśa-sútras, and it was also called a Maho
padeśa, or Great Upadeśa. An essential requisite of such
a work was that its teachings should be perfectly in ac
cordance with those of the accepted canon. An upadeśa
presented for approval, and rejected on account of its
1 Sui-hsiang-lun, ch. 1 No. 1280).

S*
276 THE COMMENTARIES COMPOSED
heterodoxy is called a Karopadeśa . The Council composed

also 100 000 stanzas explaining the Vinaya — “ Vinaya
vibhāshā-lun”. There is an extant treatise entitled “ Sar
vata (or Sarvāstivādin )-vinaya-vibhāshā ” which may have
been regarded as the work of the Council. Unfortunately
there is only a Chinese version of this work which is in
nine chuan , of unknown date, and imperfect. The original,
however, was evidently composed at a time long after the
Buddha, in a country outside of India, and for the use
of foreigners. There is nothing in the work, however, to
shew that it was the work of Kanishka's Council.2
According to our pilgrim this Council further made
100 000 stanzas of exposition or discussion of the Abhi
dharma - Abhidharma- vibhasha -lun . There are several
vibhāshā treatises in this section of the canon, and it
would seem that there are others which have disappeared.
In the existing collections of Buddhist books in China
we find a treatise known by its short name “ Vibhāshā
lun", its full title being “ Vibhäshā - shuo. Abhidharmā
shtakhanda". This book is sometimes wrongly ascribed
to Katyāyanīputra who apparently composed the original
text to which this work serves as a commentary. The
author of the “ Vibhāshā -lun ” is given as Shi-t-ê-p'an-ni,
the native pronunciation being perhaps something Siddha
vanni. This man apparently lived in Kashmir and, accord
ing to his own statement, about 1000 years after Buddha's
death . Another vibhāshā treatise is the short one entitled
“ Wu-shi ( . Ti) -vibhāshā-lun ”, composed by the great
Dharmatāra . This is an exposition of Vasumitra's “ Wu
shi-lun ”, a treatise which does not appear among the
canonical books. Then we have the long and important
work called “ Abhidharma (or Abhidharmata ) -vibhāshā .
lun” already mentioned. This treatise, which was evidently
1 Ta-pan -nie -p'an -ching (No. 114) ; Yi-ch'ie -ching-yin -yi, ch. 17 ;
Sar. Vin. Mātrika, ch. 6.
2 Sar. Vin. Vibhashā (Nos. 1135 and 1136 ).
3 Vibhāshā -lun, end of treatise (No. 1279).
4 Wu -shih - vibhashă -lun (No. 1283).
AT KANISHKA'S COUNCIL . 277
written in Kashmir, was composed, according to the trans

lators into Chinese, by 500 arhats. It is an exposition
and discussion of Katyäyaniputra's " Abhidharma-jñāna
prasthāna-śāstra”, the short Chinese translation for which
is “ Fa - chih -lun " ( tren). But the “ Abhidharma- ta
vibhāshā -lun " was evidently not composed by the Kanishka
Council for, not to mention other matters, it relates a
miracle which it says occurred formerly in the reign of
that king .
The word vibhāshā is often rendered in Chinese by
Kuang -shuo ( 5 ), comprehensive statement, or Kuang
chie ( lei ), comprehensive explanation. But more ap
propriate renderings are chung-chung -shuo ( Fieli tij t) and
fên - fên -shuo ( II), meaning statement by classes or
sections. It denotes properly a commentary or discussion
on a canonical text, especially on an Abhidharma treatise.2
The term, however, seems to have become restricted, by
some at least, to the Abhidharma commentaries written
by certain masters in Buddhism , chiefly of Kashmir, who
attached themselves to the Sarvāstivādin School. These
Masters are very often called Vibhāshā -shi ( ii ), but they
are also sometimes called by other names such as Kashmir
shi. A vibhāshä must apparently be a commentary on
an abhidharma treatise elucidating the text by the opi
nions of various authorities, and it is not necessary that
the author should be bound by the views of the Sarvāsti
vādins or any other school or sect. There are also, as
has been seen, Vinaya-vibhāshās, and these are Commen
taries or discussions on Vinaya rules as promulgated by
certain disciples or enforced by certain schools.
Yuan -chuang's remarks about the learning brought to
the making of the explanatory commentaries on the Tripi
taka do not appear in the translations. The extent of
the commentators' investigations is doubtless overstated,
but there is evidence of great study and research in the
1 Yi-ch'ie -ching- yin - yi, ch. 17.

2 Tsa- abhi- hsin - lun, Int. et al. (No. 1287).
278 KANISHKA'S COUNCIL .
“ Vibhāshā -lun ” and “ Abhidharma-mahā vibhāshā- lun ". In

these books we find an extraordinary acquaintance with
Buddhist learning of various kinds, and also with Brahmin
ical learning including the original Indian alphabets, the
Vedas and their angas .
It is to the statements made by our pilgrim about
Kanishka's Council that we are indebted for nearly all
our information about the Council. In later Tibetan
books we find mention of it and some particulars about
it which do not agree with Yuan -chuang's account. In
the Life of Vasubandhu also we read of an assembly
meeting in Kapin (Kashmir) 500 years after Buddha's
decease . It contained 500 arhats and 500 Bodhisattvas
with Katyāyani-putra as President, the Vice - President
being Asvaghosha. These sages compiled the " Sarvata
Ahhidharma " and composed for it a commentary - vibhāshā.
When the latter was finished it was written out on stone
by Aśvaghosha, and placed under guard, and the king,
whose name is not given, forbade the carrying away of
any part of the treatise out of the country. This account
also does not agree with Yuan-chuang's narrative which
must be treated with suspicion as probably containing
some grave mistakes. The discovery of the copper plates
which he mentions, with the treatises inscribed on them,
would help much to make known the Buddhism taught in
the schools of Kashmir in or about the first century of
our era .
Our pilgrim continues his narrative and tells us of the invasion

of Kashmir, and the assassination of its Kritiya usurping sover
eign, by the king of the Tokhara country Himatala, in the
600th year after the Buddha's decease. We are told that after
Kanishka's death a native dynasty had arisen in Kashmir, and
its sovereign had become a persecutor of Buddhism . Hereupon
the king of Himatala, who was a Sakya by descent and a zealous
Buddhist, determined to drive the cruel Kritiya king from his
1 Tar. S. 58 ff., 298.

2 Vasubandhu- chuan (No. 1463) ; Was . Bud. S. 238 ff.
ANOTHER TOOTH- RELIC. 279
throne and restore Buddhism. By a stratagem , cunningly devised

and skilfully carried out, he succeeded in killing the king of
Kashmir. He then banished the chief ministers of the Court,
and reinstated Buddhism as the religion of the country, and
then returned to his own kingdom . But, the pilgrim adds, in
the course of time the Kritiyas, who still hated the Buddhists
and bore them grudges, regained the sovereignty and at Yuan
chuang's time the country had no faith in Buddhism and gave
itself up to other sects.
The Himatala of this passage is a country of which
we have some account in the XIIth chuan (Book) of these
Records, and it will meet us again.
The pilgrim now proceeds to mention some of the noteworthy
sacred objects connected with Buddhism in this district, and he
begins with a Monastery containing above 300 Brethren, and at
it a tope built for a Tooth-relic of the Buddha. These build
ings, he tells us, were situated on the south side of a mountain
to the north of the old capital, and above ten li south -east from
the new capital. The tooth, brought from India, was preserved
in the tope, and Yuan-chuang describes its size and colour. We
have also the legend of the acquisition of this relic by a per
secuted monk of the country who had gone to India on a
pilgrimage.
The Tooth - relic here mentioned was not allowed to
remain in Kashmir and was carried away a few years
after Yuan -chuang's visit by the great king ſilāditya. 1
Our pilgrim goes on to describe that about fourteen li (about
three miles) to the south of the Monastery at the Tooth -tope
was a small Monastery which contained a standing image of the
Piusa Kuan -tzŭ -tsai (Kuan-yin Pusa ). To importunate earnest
worshippers this P'usa occasionally caused his golden body to
emerge from the image.
On a mountain above thirty li south-east from this were the
ruins of a fine large old monastery. At the time of the pilgrim's
visit, he tells us, only a two-storey building in one corner of it
was inhabited, and this contained thirty Brethren who were all
students of the Mahāyāna system. It was in this monastery
1 There was a sacred tooth in Kashmir in Baron Hügel's time .

The Brahmins of Báramulla, in whose keeping it was, declared that
the tooth was that of an ancient jin , but Hügel says it was an ele
phant's tooth “and of no great age to judge from its appearance."
280 SANGHABHADRA AND SKANDHILA .
that the Šāstra-master Sanghabhadra composed the “ Shun- chêng

li- lun ( LIE ).” To the right and left of the monastery
were topes to great arbats , and the relics of these were all still
in existence. Hither monkeys and other wild animals brought
flowers as offerings of worship, and they did this regularly as
if acting under instructions. Many other strange things occurred
on this mountain. Thus a wall of rock would be split across
and footprints of horses would be left on the top of the moun.
tain. But the latter were deceptive, being tracings made by the
arhats and their novices when out on parties of pleasure ; such
traces left by them as they rode to and fro were too numerous
to mention . Above ten li east of the Buddha- tooth monastery
in the steep side of the northern mountain stood a small mo
nastery. Here the great Šāstra -Master So -kan -ti-lo ( )
or Skandhila, composed the “ Chung - shih - fên -pri -po- sha -lun "
(眾事分望般沙論).
The Šāstra-master Sanghabhadra will come before us

again in chapter X. The treatise here mentioned by the
name “ Chung-shih -fên -pói-pro -sha (vibhāshā )-lun” does not
seem to be known to the Buddhist canon, at least it is
not in the existing catalogues or collections. It was ap
parently a vibhāshā or disquisition on Vasumitra's treatise
already mentioned the "Chung -shih-fên-abhidharma-lun”
called also the " Abhidharma-p'in -lei-tsu -lun ”, the Sanskrit
original for which is given as “ Abhidharma-prakaraña
pāda- śāstra ” (Bun. No. 1292). Julien suggests “ Vibhāshā
prakarana-păda as possibly the original title of Skandhila's
treatise. This Šāstra -master, also styled " Arhat", of whom
very little seems to be known, was also the author of the
short but interesting treatise entitled “ Shuo -i-ch'ie-yu-ju
abhidharma-lun ". But the characters for Shuo-i-ch'ie-yu
meaning " Sarvāstivādin " are generally omitted and the
work is known by its short name “ Ju-abhidharma-lun"
which is in Sanskrit, according to B. Nanjio, “ Abhidhar
māvatāra-śāstra". This retranslation of the title, however,
may possibly not be the correct one. The book is an
introduction or entrance ( Ju V) to the study of the
Abhidharma, and its original title may have been some
thing like “ Abhidharmapraveśana -śāstra”. It is to our
THE ELEPHANT - APPETITE STORY . 281
pilgrim that we are indebted for the Chinese translation

of this little treatise .
Within the grounds of this little monastery, the pilgrim tells
us, was a stone tope over the bodily relics of an ancient arhat.
This arhat, who has been referred to already, had been a very
large man with the appetite of an elephant : so the people of
the time jeered at him as a glutton without a conscience. When
the time for his passing away was near he said one day to the
people—“I am soon to take the remainderless [to die] ; I wish
to explain to you the excellent state to which I have personally
attained ” . But the people only jeered the more, and collected
together to see what would befall. The arhat then addressed
them thus— “ I will now tell you the causal connection of my
past and present states. In my last existence before this one I
had through previous karma the body of an elephant in the
stable of a raja of East-India. While I was there a Buddhist
monk from Kashmir came to travel in India in search of sacred
books. The raja gave me to the monk to carry his books
home, and when I reached this country I died suddenly. As a
result of my merit from carrying the sacred books I was next
born as a human being, and then enjoying the residue of my
good fortune I became a Buddhist monk in early life.” The
arhat goes on to tell the people how he assiduously sought and
at length obtained spiritual perfection . The only survival from
his former bodily existence was his elephantine appetite, and by
the exercise of self-restraint he had reduced his daily food by
two-thirds. Finally in the presence of the scoffing and un
believing spectators he rose in the air and there, in the smoke
and blazes of a burning ecstasy, he went into final extinction, and
a tope was erected over the relics which fell to the earth.
The story here related bears considerable resemblance
to a story told in the Mahā -vibhāshā -śāstra. There a
she-elephant named Mo-t'u (or -ch'a ) carries relics of the
Buddha from a foreign country to Kashmir where she
dies ; she is then re-born as a male child and becoming
a bhikshu attains arhatship. But the arhat retains the
elephant's appetite and requires a hu (bushel) of food
every day. When he is about to pass away he proposes
to explain to certain nuns his " superior condition " but
1 This treatise is Bun . No. 1291. In the name of the author the
first syllable is Sa ( ) instead of the So of our text.
282 PŪRNA AND BODHILA .
they only jeer at him. Then he tells them his history,

and so explains his great appetite, which he says he had
moderated, reducing his daily food from a bushel and a
half to a bushel per diem . The reader will remember
that Uttarasena brought his share of the Buddha's relics
home on an elephant, and that the elephant died on reach
ing a place not many miles from the capital of Udyāna.
The pilgrim goes on to relate that at a distance of above
200 li north-west from the capital was the monastery of the
Shang-lin, that is perhaps, Merchant's-wood: Here the Šāstra
Master Pu -la -na (Pūrņa) composed an “ expository vibhāshā
lun ” ( F * f ; ). To the west of the capital 140 or 150 li
north of a large river and adjoining the south side of a hill was
a Mahāsañgika Monastery with above 100 inmates. Here the
Śāstra-Master Fo- ti- lo composed the “ Chi-chên -lun ” of the Ma
hāsañgika School.
By the words here rendered " expository vibhāshā-lun”
the pilgrim probably only intended to describe the character
of the śāstra, not to give the name of the treatise written
by Pūrņa. There does not seem to be any work by this
author in existing catalogues and collections of Chinese
translations of Buddhist works, and we cannot be certain
who is the Pūrņa here mentioned. A book already men
tioned, No. 1282 in Mr Bun. Nanjio's Catalogue, is referred
by one authority to a Purņa as its author.
The name of the other Šāstra-Master of this passage,
Fo-ti -lo Julien thinks may be for Bodhila. In a note to
the text the word is explained as meaning “ Bodhi-taking”.
But nothing seems to be known either about the man, or
the “ Chi-chên-lun” which he composed.
It is worthy of notice that none of the Buddhist mo
nasteries in Kashmir mentioned by Yuan-chuang seem to
have been known to other pilgrims and writers ; and that
Buddhist establishments at or near the capital, and in
other parts of the country, mentioned by other authorities
were apparently unknown to Yuan -chuang, although they
were evidently in existence at the time of his visit. Some
1 Abhi-ta -vib ., ch . 42.

SCHOLARS IN KASHMIRS. 283
of the vihāras in Kashmir mentioned in Wu-kóung's Itine

rary were evidently of a date subsequent to that of our
pilgrim, but several were much older. Then the pilgrim
Süan -hui, already mentioned, visited the monastery of the
Dragon-Tank Mountain where the 500 arhats were wor
shipped, and this monastery does not seem to have been
known to our pilgrim. The reader will have noted also
that Yuan -chuang when giving the numbers of the Mo
nasteries and Brethren in Kashmir does not tell to which
“ Vehicle" the Brethren were attached. But we know
from other sources that they were mainly Hinayānists of
the Sarvāstivādin School, although as we learn from the
Records and Life there were also Mahāyānists. At the
capital the Brethren of the two “ Vehicles" seem to have
been living together, and the greatest among them, Cheng
(or Yasa ?) was evidently a Hīnayānist. The other Brethren
mentioned in the Life are Visuddhasimha and Jinabandhu
who were Mahāyānists, Suga- (ta-)mitra and Vasumitra
who were Sarvastivādins, and Suryadeva and Jinatrāta
who were Mahäsangikas.
PAN -NU -TS O.
From this (that is perhaps, the vicinity of the capital of

Kashmir) the pilgrim travelled, he tells us, through a difficult
mountainous district south-west for above 700 li to the Pan -nu
tsío country. This region he describes as being above 2000 li
in circuit, as abounding in hills and mountain valleys, with
narrow areas of cultivation. The country yielded grain and
flowers; sugar-cane and fruits, except grapes, abounded. The
country produced the mango, the fig (here called the udumbara ),
and the plaintain, and these trees were grown in orchards near
the dwelling - houses. The climate was hot, the people were
daring and straight-forward, they wore chiefly cotton clothing,
and they were sincere believers in Buddhism. The Buddhist
monasteries , of which there were five , were in a ruinous con
dition, and the country was a dependency of Kashmir. In a
monastery to the north of the capital were a few Brethren, and
to the north of this was a wonder-working tope made of stone.
The Pan -nu -tsto of this passage has been identified with
the modern Punach, or Punats as the Kashmiris call it
284 PUNACH AND RAJAORI.
according to Cunningham . Instead of 2000 li as the

circuit of the country given in some texts of the Records
the old reading was 1000 li, and this agrees with Cun
ningham's statement of the size of the district. In some
old texts of the Life the name is given as Pan-nu-nu-tso
( * Hur ) in which the second nu may be due to a
copyist's carelessness, this character being one of the two
characters given to indicate the sound of nu
RAJAPURA
Our pilgrim goes on to relate that from Punach a journey
south -east of above 400 li brought him to the Ho -lo -she-pu -lo
(Rājapura) country. This he describes as being above 4000 li
in circuit its capital being above ten li in circuit. It was a
difficult country to travel in as it was very hilly with narrow
valleys ; it was not fertile and it resembled Punach in products
and climate, and like that country it had no sovereign of its
own and was subject to Kashmir. There were ten Buddhist
monasteries and the Brethren were few in number ; there was one
Deva-Temple, but the non - Buddhists were very numerous.
The native annotator to our text here makes Rājapura
to be in “ North India ", but the annotator to the Fang
chih represents it as a state outside of India . The country
has been identified by Cunningham with “ the petty chief
ship of Rajaori, to the south of Kashmir ” .2 In some texts
of the Life the direction of Rājapura from Punach is south
instead of the south-east of our text.
Here our pilgrim inserts the following interesting general
observation about the countries through which he had
lately been passing
“ From Lampa to Rājapura the inhabitants are coarse and plain
in personal appearance, of rude violent dispositions, with vulgar
dialects, and of scant courtesy and little fairness ; they do not
belong to India proper but are inferior peoples of frontier (i. e.
barbarian) stocks."
As to this statement we may observe that the native
editor of the Records has referred all these countries from
1 A. G. I. p . 128.
2 A. G. I. p. 129.
RAJAPURA . 285
Lampa to Rājapura to “ North India ” . Moreover our

pilgrim's remarks at the beginning of Chuan II seem to
indicate that he regarded all these countries as being in
cluded in the great region called India. There, however,
he was writing as a foreigner, and here he is writing from
the point of view of a Indian. The summary character
which he here gives of the inhabitants of these countries
is not to be fully accepted, and it does not seem to agree
with his own descriptions in the preceding pages.
CHAPTER IX .
(CHUAN IV.)
CHÊH-KA (TAKKA ?) TO MATHURĀ .

From Rajapur the pilgrim proceeded south -east down a bill
and across a river 700 li to the Cheh-ka country. This was
above 10 000 li in circuit ; it lay between the P‘i-po-she (Bibas)
river on the east and the Indus on the west ; the capital was
above 20 li in circuit. The crops of the country were upland
rice and spring wheat; it yielded gold , silver , bell-metal ( tíu - shih ),
copper, and iron ; the climate was hot with much violent wind ;
the inhabitants had rude bad ways and a low vulgar speech ;
they wore glossy white clothing made of silk, muslin &c.; few
of them believed in Buddhism , and most served the Devas; there
were ten Buddhist monasteries , and some hundreds of Deva .
Temples . On from this country there were numerous Punyasāl's
or free rest -houses for the relief of the needy , and distressed ; at
these houses medicine and food were distributed and so tra
vellers having their bodily wants supplied, did not experience
inconvenience .
In the Life we are told that our pilgrim on leaving
Rājapur went south -east , and after a journey of two (or
three ) days crossed the Chandrabhaga (Chenāb ) river to
the city of Jayapur. Here he spent a night in a non
Buddhist monastery outside the west gate of the city.
From this he went on to Śākala in the Cheh-kal (in one
text Li-ka) country , from that to the city Narasimha , and
thence eastward to a palāśa wood. Here he had an
encounter with brigands and narrowly escaped with his
life. From the village beyond this wood he resumed his
journey and reached the eastern part of the Cheh -ka
country. Here he found a large city , and in a mango
FINE MUSLIN CLOTHES. 287
grove west of it lived a brahmin 700 years old, looking

like a man of thirty years, and having all his mental and
bodily powers. He had been a disciple of the great
Nāgārjuna, and he was well acquainted with the sacred
lore of Brahmins and Buddhists. With him Yuan -chuang
seems to have studied the . " Pai-lun ” and the “ Kuang- pai
lun", the latter of which our pilgrim afterwards translated .
The clause in the above passage from the Records
rendered “ they wore glossy-white clothing made of silk,
muslin, & c.” is in the original yi- fu -hsien-pai-so -wei-kiao
she- ye- yi-chao-hsia -yi (K IK E B F # H1 TK
). This is translated by Julien “ Ils s'habillent avec
des étoffes d'une blancheur éclatante qu'on appelle Kiao
che-ye (Kaûçeya-soie) , et portent des vêtements rouges
comme le soleil levant , & c ." But Kaušeya, with which
we have met already, and chao-hsia are the materials of
the white garments worn by the people. The words chao
hsia -yi cannot possibly be made to mean " et portent des
vêtements rouges comme le soleil levant” . Chao-hsia de
notes the light vapours of dawn, the eastern glow which
heralds sunrise. But it is the name given by the Chinese
Buddhist pilgrims and writers to certain fine transparent
fabrics which they found in India and other foreign
countries. Thus the dancing girls of Fu-nan are described
as “ using chao-hsia for clothing ". This material was a
very fine white gauze or muslin capable of being dyed ;
it was soft and transparent like the fleecy vapours of
dawn. The images of the Prusas, and other Buddhist
worthies, were often made to represent these beings as
wearing chao-hsia-chün or skirts of transparent material.
Such koa vestments may be seen on many of the Buddhist
figures found in India and depicted in books. But chao
hsia as an article of clothing was evidently a kind of
muslin simply fine and light."
1 See the “T'ang-Shu, ch . 22, 197 et al.; Fo-shuo-t'ê-lo-ni-ching,
ch. 2 (No. 363, tr. 653). Cf.
“And the far up clouds resemble
Veils of gauze most clear and white . "
288 KING MAHIRAKULA .
Further, in this passage we have the sentence beginning

with— “ On from this country there were numerous Punya
śālas ”. For this the original is tzů -kuo-yi-wang-to -yu - fu
she (vt eft % # 1 ). Julien translates the whole
sentence thus— “ Il y avait jadis, dans ce royaume, une
multitude de maisons de bienfaisance ( Pounyaçālās ), où
l'on secourait les pauvres et les malheureux. Tantôt on
y distribuait des médicaments, tantôt de la nourriture.
Grâce à cette resource les voyageurs ne se trouvaient
jamais dans l'embarras" . This rendering quite spoils the
author's statement which is to the effect that at the time
of his travels Rest-houses, at which food and medicine were
distributed gratis, abounded in Cheh -ka and the countries
of India about to be noticed. These Rest-houses or Fu
she are called Punyaśālas in Chuan XII, but in the
account of the present country the Life calls them Dharma
śālas. This latter word, in Pali Dhammaśāla, is the name
given to the Hall for preaching, but it seems to be also
used to designate the free Rest-houses.
On his way to the capital of this country (which was probably
also called Cheh-ka) and about fourteen li south -west from it
Yuan-chuang came to the old capital called Śākala. Some cen.
turies previously a king named Mo-hi-lo-ku-lo (Mahirakula),
who had his seat of government at this city, ruled over the
Indians. He was a bold intrepid man of great ability and all
the neighbouring states were his vassals. Wishing to apply his
leisure to the study of Buddhism, he ordered the clergy of this
country to recommend a Brother of eminent merit to be his
teacher. But the clergy found difficulty in obeying the com
mand, the apathetic among them not seeking notoriety, and
those of great learning and high intelligence fearing stern
majesty. Now at this time there was an old servant of the
king's household who had been a monk for a long time. Being
clear and elegant in discourse and glib in talking, this man was
selected by the congregation of Brethren to comply with the
royal summons. This insulting procedure enraged the king who
forthwith ordered the utter extermination of the Buddhist church
throughout all his dominions. Now the king of Magadba at
this time, Bālāditya by name, was a just and benevolent ruler
and a zealous Buddhist and he rebelled against the order for
the persecution of Buddhists. When Mahirakula proceeded to
PERSECUTION UNDER MIHIRAKULA . 289
invade the territory of Bālāditya to reduce him to obedience

the latter accompanied by several myriads of his subjects with
drew to an island. Mahirakula came in pursuit but he was taken
prisoner. On the petition of Bālāditya's mother the prisoner
was set free and allowed to go away. His younger brother having
taken possession of the throne he took refuge in Kashmir, and
here he repaid hospitality by treachery, and having murdered
the King he made himself ruler. Then he renewed his project
of exterminating Buddhism, and with this view he caused the
demolition of 1600 topes and monasteries, and put to death nine
kotis of lay adherents of Buddhism. His career was cut short
by his sudden death, and the air was darkened, and the earth
quaked, and fierce winds rushed forth as he went down to the
Hell of unceasing torment.
This passage reads like a romance founded on a basis
of fact. The Mahirakula of our pilgrim has been identi
fied with king Mihirakula of Kashmir, and his king Bālā
ditya of Magadha is supposed to be possibly the Nara
Bālāditya of coins.1 But there are difficulties in the way
of accepting these identifications. There is first the differ
ence in the forms Mahirakula and Mihirakula, but this
is perhaps unimportant and need not be further noticed.
The form Mahirakula seems to be confined to the pilgrim,
and he may have used it to suit his erroneous rendering
of the name by Ja-tsu or “Great Clan”. But the Mini
rakula of the Inscriptions began his reign in A. D. 515,
while the king of whom Yuan -chuang tells lived " some
centuries " before the pilgrim's time. Other authorities also
seem to place Mikirakula at a date much before A. D. 515.
Thus in the “ Lien - hua -mien -ching” or “the sūtra of Lotus
flower - face ” Mihirakula, a reincarnation of the Lotus-flower
face arhat, appears as the King who exterminates Bud
dhism in Kapin (Kashmir) and breaks the Buddha's bowl.2
This sūtra must have been composed some time before
A. D. 574 the date of its translation (according to one
account), and the contents seem to indicate that it was
i See Mr. Fleet on Mihirakula in Ind. Ant. Vol. XV p. 245 f ., and

the correspondence at p. 346 f .: J. R. A. S. Vol. XXI p. 114—5 :
J. P. T. S. 1896 p.p. 87, 110 : Lawrence's Valley of Kashmir p. 185.
? Lien -hua- mien -ching che 2 (No. 465).
T
néco Cinican RE
290 SĀKALA
written long after the death of Mihirakula . It relates

that after this event seven deva -putras became incarnate
in succession in Kashmir, and that they restored Buddhism.
The meaning of this evidently is that the king was succeed
ed by seven sovereigns who were all patrons of Buddhism .
Then in the “ Fu -fa -tsang -yin -yuan -ching ”, translated A.D.472,
a persecuting king called Mi- lo -ku ( 2 ), that is evi
dently Mihirakula, destroys the Buddhist sacred buildings
and slaughters the Brethren in Kapin (Kashmir). " He
beheads the 23rd , and last (according to this work), of the
great Buddhist Patriarchs, by name Shih -tzu ( lih +) that
is, Simha. This last event according to the “ Chih -yue-lu ”
occurred in A. D. 259.2 No authority is given for this date
and it is not to be implicitly accepted , but it is interesting
to note that the Rājatarangini makes twelve reigns inter
vene between Kanishka and Mihirakula . If we allow an
average of 15 years for these reigns we get A.D. 80 + 180
or A.D. 260 for the accession of Mihirakula .
The Life and Records leave the situation of the ruined
city of Sākala rather uncertain. The latter work tells us
that this city was 14 or 15 li south-west from the new
capital, of the situation of which, however, we are not told
anything. In the Life Sākala is three (or four) days' journey
or about 300 li (about 60 miles) south -east from Rājapur
and on the east side of the Chenal. Then the old capital
of the Records does not appear in the Life which on the
other hand mentions a large city on the eastern confines
of Che-Ka and this city does not appear in the Records.
Cunningham , against both the Life and the Records, places
Sākala about 120 miles to the south-west of Rājapur. He
identifies Yuan-chuang's Cheh -ka (or Tsekia), as name
of a city, with “ the ruins of a large town, called Asarur
whieh accord almost exactly with the pilgrim's description
of the new town of Tsekia " . This Asarur is “ exactly
112 miles distant from Rajaori ( Rājapur) in a direct line
* Fu - ia- tsang- yin -yuan -ching, ch . 6 (No. 1340).

2 Chi-yue-lu, ch. 3.
THE CHINESE ALLOTMENT. 291
drawn on the map", that is, 112 miles to the south -west
of Rājapur. But it is very evident that Yuan-chuang >
journey from the latter to the capital of Cheh-Ka was a
zig -zag one always, however, tending eastward, and Asarur
cannot be the pilgrim's capital of that country.
In Sākala was a Buddhist monastery with above 100 Brethren
all adherents of the Hinayāna system. In this Monastery Piusa
Vasubandhu composed the " Shêng-yi-t-i-lun "KA
( ). A
tope beside this monastery marked a place where the Four Past
Buddhas had preached , and there were footprints where they
had walked up and down.
The śāstra here ascribed to Vasubandhu does not seem
to be known to the Buddhist collections. Julien restores
the Sanskrit name as “ Paramārtha satya śāstra ", but this
is only a probable conjecture.
The Cheh -ka (5 lm ) of this passage is Lih ( )-ka in
one text of the Life, and this latter form is found in other
works. It is possible that the original for both transcrip
tions was a word like Țikka or Țekka, ch and I sounds
being both used to represent the t of Sanskrit. The term
in our text has been restored as Tchēka, Takka and Taki.
It designated a country which was not in India, but was
one of the foreign states which lay between Lampa and
India, and should have been included in the pilgrim's
general survey at the end of the last chuan .'
CHI - NA -PUH- TI.

From the Che-ka (or Tekka) district Yuan-chuang continued
his journey going eastward for above 500 li and came to the
country which he calls Chi-na -p'uh -ti (Z # # ). This di
strict was above 2000 li and its capital 14 or 15 li in circuit: it
produced good crops of grain but did not abound in trees : the
inhabitants had settled occupations and the national revenue
was abundant: the climate was warm and the inhabitants had
feeble timid ways. The learning of the people embraced Bud
dhism and secular knowledge, and orthodoxy and heterodoxy
had each its adherents . There were ten Buddhist monasteries
and nine Deva-Temples.
1 For this country see A. G. I. p. 179.

T*
292 VINĪTA - PRABHA.
The Chinese annotator here has translated the name of

the country by Han -fêng to w ), and Julien, who reads
the characters of the name as Tchi-na - po -ti gives the
Sanskrit original as “Tchinapati", meaning "Lord of China".
But Han -fêng means China-fief not China -lord, and the
characters for pruh-ti cannot be taken to represent pati.
They evidently stand for bhukti which is translated by
fêng in the sense of possession , portion.1 So China- bhukti
is the China -allotment, and the China-bhukti-deśa was the
district assigned to China, that is to the China hostage
according to Yuan - chuang's story.
One of the ten monasteries here mentioned was, accord
ing to the Life, called T'u - she- sa -na, which perhaps stands
?? for Toshāsan meaning " Pleasure-giving". This monastery
was apparently at the capital, and Yuan -chuang found in
it a monk eminent for learning and piety. The name of
this monk was Vinītaprabha, and he was the son of an
Indian prince. This monk was the author of two commen
taries on Abhidharma works, and Yuang -chuang remained
here fourteen months studying with him various Abhidharma
treatises.
Going back to the narrative in the Records we have
the pilgrim's explanation how the name China-bhukti came
to be given to this region .
When Kanishka was reigning the fear of his name spread to
many regions so far even as to the outlying vassals of China to
the west of the Yellow River. One of these vassal states being
in fear sent a hostage to the court of king Kanishka, (the hostage
being apparently a son of the ruler of the state). The king
treated the hostage with great kindness and consideration, allowing
him a separate residence for each of the three seasons and pro
viding him with a guard of the four kinds of soldiers. This
district was assigned as the winter residence of the hostage and
hence it was called Chinabhukti. The pilgrim proceeds to relate
how Peaches and Pears were unknown in this district and the
parts of India beyond until they were introduced by the “ China
1 Sanskrit-Chinese Voca ary . In the C text of the Life instead

of -p-u we have -kin ( 18 ), but this may be only a copyist's mistake.
AN OLD BLUNDER . 293
hostage". Hence, he tells us, peaches were called " Chināni" and
pears were called " China -rājaputra ".
The Sanskrit names here given for the peach and the
pear seem to be known only from this narrative. Later
authorities tell us that these fruits are indigenous in the
country, and the whole story of the hostage is possibly
an invention. One Sanskrit name for the peach is given
in a glossary as āru and this name is still in use : and a
name for the pear is given as tanasa but this word does
not seem to be known. Further the “ China” known to einer ZET
the people of India before the arrival of Chinese pilgrims o ir 43. 1.4
and afterwards was apparently not the “Flowery Middle
Country ", but rather a region occupied by a tribe living
to the west of the Chinese empire, far west of the Yellow
River. This “ China ” was watered by the rivers Sita and
Chakshu and it was one of the countries in the north- east.
The name was afterwards extended to the " Flowery Land"
apparently by the Buddhist writers and translators of
India and Kashmir. Our pilgrim tells his readers that
the people of Chinabhukti had great respect for the “ East
Land ” and that pointing to him they said one to another
“ He is a man of the country of our former king ”.
Cunningham thinks that the capital of this country may
be represented by the present Patti, "a large and very
old town situated 27 miles to the north-east of Kasur and
10 miles to the west of the Biās river".1 But notwithstand
ing the presence of the ubiquitous brick -bats and old
wells, this proposed identification need not be seriously
considered . It is not at all probable that the name
Chinabhukti was ever generally known or used for the
district to which it is applied by the pilgrim. He seems
indeed to be the only authority for the name. Not only
so but a copyist's error in transcribing it has unfortuna
tely been perpetuated. In the Life, and in one place in
the old texts of the Records, the first syllable of the word
was left out by mistake. It was evidently this mistake
1 A. G. I. p. 200 .
294 THE TAMASA - VANA MONASTERY .
which led to the use of Na -p-uh -ti instead of Chi-na -p-uh -ti
as the name for the country next to Țekka in the Fang
chih and in maps and treatises of later times.
TAMASĀVANA.
From the capital of Chinabhukti the pilgrim went south - east
above 500 li to the Ta -mo-su -fa -na (Tamasāvana) Monastery.
This had above 300 Brethren of the Sarvāstivādin School who
led strict pure lives and were thorough students of the Hinayāna.
Here each of the 1000 Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa assembles a
congregation of devas and men and preaches the profound ex
cellent Religion. Here also in the 300th year after Sakyamuni
Buddha's nirvāņa the Sastramaster Ka -to -yen -na composed his
“ Fa -chih -lun ”. This monastery had an Asoka tope above 200 feet
high beside which were the spots on which the Four Past
Buddhas had sat and walked up and down. Small topes and
large caves in unknown number succeeded each other closely,
all having relics of arhats who since the beginning of this kalpa
here passed away for ever. Surrounding the Hill -Monastery for
a circuit of twenty li were hundreds and thousands of Buddha
relic topes very close together.
In the Life the distance from the capital of Chinabhukti
to the Tamasāvana monastery in 50 li or only one tenth
of the distance here given. Our pilgrim's Ta -mo- su -fa -na
is undoubtedly the Tamasāvana (or Tāmasavana) or
" Darkness-wood ” of other authors. This was apparently
the name both of the monastery and of the district in
which it was situated. The monastery must have been at
an early date a noted seat of Buddhism as Brethren from
it were among the great Doctors invited by king Asoka
to his Council. The description of the summoning of this
Council is given in several treatises from one original
apparently. It is interesting to note the agreement and
difference of these treatises in the matter of the Tamasā
vana. In the Divyāvadāna the reading is " Tamasāvane"
and the A -yü -wang -ching in agreement with this has An
lin or “ Darkness -wood ", the interpretation given by our
pilgrim. But the Tsa-a-han-ching instead of Tamasāvana
has To-po-poh which is evidently for Tapova, the original
being probably Tapovana. In the A-yü-wang-chuan the
KATYAYANĪ- PUTRA. 295
“ dhirās Tamasāvane” is rendered by Chou - ye-wu -wei lit.

" day-night fearless”, that is, the brave of the Day-night.
The phrase in ordinary Chinese would mean “day and
night without fear", but here the term chou -ye is used in
the sense of “ the darkness of day". It corresponds to the
chow -an or Day-darkness" of another treatise and both
terms evidently stand for Tamasā.2
With reference to this Monastery we read that the
Buddha accompanied by the faithful yaksha Vajrapāņi
passed over a dark green wood on his way through the
air to convert the Dragon-king Apalāla . Addressing the
Yaksha Buddha prophecied that in that place 100 years
after his decease a vihāra would be erected to be called
“ Darkness-wood” which should be preeminent for absorbed
meditation.3
The Šāstra-master here called Ka-to-yen-na (Katyāyana)
was Kātyāyanīputra, and his śăstra here mentioned exists
in two Chinese translations one of which is by our pilg
rim .
For the words in the text here interpreted as meaning
“ Surrounding the Hill-monastery for a circuit of twenty
li were hundreds and thousands of Buddha -relic topes very
close together”, Julien has— " Les couvents, qui s'élèvent
tout autour de la montagne, occupent un circuit de vingt
li. On compte par centaines et par milliers les stoupas
qui renferment des che-li (Çariras-reliques) du Bouddha.
Ils sont très -rapprochés et confondent mutuellement leur
ombre". This rendering seems to be inadmissible and to
give a meaning very different from what the author intend
ed to convey . Yuan-chuang does not make the absurd
statement that there were Buddhist monasteries for twenty
li all round a hill, but he tells us that there were thousands
of relic -topes all round the "Hill monastery". The Hill
1 Divyāv. p. 399 : A-yü-wang-ching, ch . 3 : Isa -a -han - ching, ch. 23 :

A -yü -wang -chuan ch . 1 (chou-ye-wu-wei t ).
2 Ta-chuang -yen-lun, ch. 5 (No. 1182), chow-an .
3 Sar. Vin. Yao-shih, ch . 9.
4 Bun . No. 1273, 1275.
296 JALANDHARA .
monastery” was the Tamasāvana ; and it was so called by

the pilgrim because it was isolated, and not subject to a
superior establishment. This use of the word shan ( L )
in the senses of wild, independent , rustic is very common,
and the phrase shan -ka-lan meets us again in these Records.
The monastery Tamasāvana as our pilgrim describes it
was a spacious comprehensive establishment. It had accom
modation for 300 Brethren : it contained a tope and sacred
places of the Buddhas, and the caves and memorial topes
of numerous deceased arhats ; and then all round it for
twenty li were many thousand Buddha -relic topes. In other
treatises the establishment is called a Wood or Hill, and
it was evidently different in character from ordinary vihāras.
SHÊ-LAN -TA-LO ( JĀLANDHARA).
From Tamasāvana a journey of obout 140 li north -east brought
the pilgrim to the She- lan -ta - lo (Jālandhara) country. This coun
try was above 1000 li east to west and 800 li north to south ,
and its capital was twelve or thirten li in circuit. The region
yielded much upland rice with other grain, trees were widely
spread, and fruits and flowers abounded ; the climate was warm ;
the people had truculent ways and a mean contemptible appear
ance , but they were in affluent circumstances. There were above
50 Monasteries with more than 2000 Brethren who made special
studies in the Great and Little Vehicles. There were three
Deva-Temples with more than 500 professed non - Buddhists of
the Pasupata sect. A former king of this country had been a
patron of non-Buddhistic systems ; afterwards he met an arhat and
learning Buddhism from him became a realous believer. Thereup
on the king of “ Mid - India ” appreciating his sincere faith gave
him sole control of matters relating to Buddhism in all India.
In this capacity (as Protector of the Faith) the king of Jālandhara
rewarded and punished the monks without distinction of persons
and without private feeling. He also travelled through all India
and erected topes or monasteries at all sacred places.
The She-lan-ta-lo of this passage was long ago restored
as Jālandhara, the name of a city and district in the north
of the Panjab. But it may be noted that the Life here
1 A. G. I. p. 136.
KING UDITA . 297
and the Fang-chih have She-lan - ta -na as if for Jālandhana ';

in another passage the Life has She-lan -ta, and this is
the form of the name used by I-ching 2. In the Sung pil
grim's itinerary the name is given Tso -lan-to-la (LW BE
that is, Jālandhana 3.
Of the 50 Monasteries here mentioned one was doubtless
the Nagaradhana vihāra mentioned in the Life. In it
Yuan -chuang found the learned Brother named Chandra
varma with whom he spent four months studying the
“ Chung-shib -fên -vibhāshā", or Commentary on the “ Chung
shih -fên -Abhidharma-lun " already noticed.
Our pilgrim, it will be noticed, represents the Brethren
in this district as “making special studies in the Mahā
yāna and Hinayāna". His words are ta -hsiao -ērh -shêng
chuan -mên -hsi-hsio ( # WP9 7 ). These words
are translated by Julien- “ que l'étude particulière du
grand et du petit Vehicule partage en deux classes distinc
tes ". This is a very unhappy rendering and the inter
polation of the words “ partage en deux classes distinctes”
is unwarranted and spoils the author's statement. What
he wished us to unterstand was that the Brethren in the
various Monasteries devoted themselves as they pleased
to particular lines of study in the Mahāyānist and Hina
yānist books.
According to the Life our pilgrim revisited Jālandhara ,
and on that occasion was well treated by the king of
“ North -India " who had his seat of government in the city
with this name. The king is called Wu-ti or Wu-ti-to
( t ) restored as Udito. It was evidently the same
king who treated courteously, and entertained hospitably,
another Chinese pilgrim whose name was Hsüan -chao
( 12) 4 whom we have met already.
1 Life ch. 5 and J. I. p . 260-1 .

2 Hsi-yü-chéiu, ch. 1 and Chavannes Mémoires pp. 14, 15 and notes.
3 Ma I. l., ch. 338.
• Hsi-yi-chiu 1. c.
298 KU-LU-TO .
KU-LU-TO.
From Jālandhara the pilgrim travelled north - east, across moun
tains and ravines, by hazardous paths, for above 700 li, and came
to the country which he calls Kulto . This region, which was
above 3000 li in circuit, was entirely surrounded by mountains.
Its capital was 14 or 15 li in circuit. It had a rich soil and
yielded regular crops, and it had a rich vegetation abounding
in fruits and flowers. As it was close to the Snow Mountains it
had a great quantity of valuable medicines . It yielded gold,
silver, red copper, crystal lenses and bell -metal (teu -shih ). The
climate grew gradually cold and there was little frost or snow.
There were in the country twenty Buddhist Monasteries with
above 1000 Brethren of whom the most were Mahāyānists, a
few adhering to the Schools (that is, belonging to the Hinayāna
system). Of Deva-Temples there were fifteen and the professed
non - Buddhists lived pell -mell. On both sides of the steep moun
tain-passes were caves (which had been the lodging -places of
arhats and rishis. In this country was a tope erected by Asoka
to mark the place at which the Buddha on his visit to the
district had preached and received members into his church.
In the statement here made about the climate of the
country the words " grew gradually cold ” are in the ori
ginal chien -han (if). This is the reading of the A and
C texts, but the B and D texts instead of chien have yü
( fr ) meaning, passing, excessive, which is manifestly wrong.
The latter was the reading of Julien's text, and as it did
not suit the words which follow- " there was little (wei
) frost or snow", he decided to substitute chêng ( ute)
for the wei of his text. He then translates - "il tombe
souvent du givre et de la neige". But this violent altera
tion seems to be unnecessary, and wei is the reading of
all the texts.
In the Fang -chih the name of this country is given as
Ku -lu -to-lo and also Ku -lu - lo . Cunningham considers that
the distance and bearing of the district from Jālandhara
correspond “ exactly with the position of Kullu, in the
upper valley of the Byas river", and he regards it as the
Kulūtā of other writers !. This latter term is the name
1 'Ancient Geography of India' p . 142.

LADĀK . 299
of a country in the north-west division of the Brihat Sam

hita '. As the Sanskrit word kula means, along with other
things a heap or collection the Ku -lu -to country is perhaps
the Chi -chi ( h ) or “ Accumulation" district of the Sar
vata Vinaya. Buddha there goes from the Tamasāvana
to the Chi-chi district where he converts and receives
into his church a Yaksha who afterwards builds a mona
stery. The district also obtained a relic of the Buddha's
body for which a tope was built called the Chi-chi Tope 2.
The pilgrim now tells us of two countries which he did not
visit. Going north , he writes, from Kuluto for above 1800 li
you come to the Ko-hu -lo country : still farther north above L
2000 li was the Mo-lo -so (or-sha) country, the roads being very
bad and cold .
Cunningham regards the Lo-hu-lo of this passage as

" clearly the Lho- yul of the Tibetans and the Lāhul of
the people of Kullu and other neighbouring states". The
pilgrim's Mo-lo-so, Cunningham says- " must certainly be
Ladāk .” He regards the so of the name as a mistake for
po, and Mo-lo-po, he says, would give us Mar-po “ the
actual name of the province of Ladāk ”. A note to our
Chinese text here tells us that another name for Mo-lo-so
was San -po-ha. The two countries here mentioned were
of course outside of India.
SHE-TO-TU-LU .
From Kuluto the pilgrim travelled south, over a high mountain
and across a great river, for above 700 li, and reached the coun
try called She- to -tu -lu. This was above 2000 li in circuit, bounded
on the west by a large river (supposed to be the Sutlej), and its
capital was 17 or 18 li in circuit. It was an a agricultural and
fruit -producing country, and yielded much gold, silver, and other
precious substances. The inhabitants were in good circumstances
and led moral lives, observing social distinctione and adhering
devoutly to Buddhism. In and about the capital were ten mona
steries, but they were desolate, and the Brethren were very few .
About three li to the south-east of the capital was an Asoka
1 Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII . p. 182.

? Sar. Vin. Yao- shih, ch . 9.
300 PARYĀTRA .
tope above 200 feet high , and beside it were traces of spots on
which the Four Past Buddhas had sat and walked up and down.
Nothing seems to be known of the country and city
here described, and the suggestions for identification re
quiring some tampering with the text are not of much
value ?. The restoration of the name as Satadru has been
generally accepted, but the transcription seems to require
rather Šatadure, and this is perhaps better than Satadru
which is the name of a river (the Sutlej): the characters,
however, may represent Śatadru.
PHO-LI-YE-TA-LO (PĀRYĀTRA).
From Śatadru the pilgrim proceeded south-west, and after a
journey of over 800 li, reached the country called Po-li- ye-ta -lo
(Pāryatra ). This country was above 3000 and its capital about
14 li in circuit. It had good crops of spring wheat and other
grain , including a peculiar kind of rice which in 60 days was
ready for cutting. Oxen and sheep were numerous, and fruits
and flowers were scarce : the climate was hot and the people
had harsh ways, they did not esteem learning and were not
Buddhists. The king, who was of the Fei -she ( v ) (Vaisya
stock , was man of courage and military skill. There were eight
Buddhist monasteries in a bad state of ruin : the Brethren , who
were very few in number, were Hīnayānists. There were above
ten Deva-Temples and the professed non-Buddhists were above
1000 in number.
The district here described has been identified by M.

Reinaud “ with Pāryatra or Bairāt" and this identification
has been accepted.2
The rice of this country which grew and ripened in
60 days could not have been the ordinary upland or dry
rice, as Jo thinks, for that was well known to the pilgrim
as a product of his own country and of several lands
through which he had recently passed. It must have been
a special variety , as the Cochin -China rice, to which Julien
refers, is a peculiar variety.
1 See Julien III. p. 335 : A. G. I. p. 144.

2 Julien III. p . 336 : A. G. I. p. 337.
MATHURĀ . 301
MATHURĀ.
From Pāryatra, the pilgrim continues, a journey of above 500 li
eastwards brought him to the country called Mo (or Mei)-tu -lo
(or Mathurā).
This name is translated in some Chinese glossaries by
“ Peacock ”, as if Mayūra. It is also said to be derived
from madhu, honey , as if the spelling of the name
were Madhurā. M * Growse considers that the word is proba
bly connected with the Sanskrit root math , “ to churn",
" the churn forming a prominent feature in all poetical
descriptions of the local scenery" . In connection with
this it is interesting to observe that in a Buddhist scrip
ture a sick bhikshu is represented as unable to obtain
milk at Mathurā.2 There was also a story of a great
giant Madhu from whom the name of the city and district
was derived. This also points to the form Madhurā.
Yuan-chuang describes the country of Mathurā as being above
5000 li in circuit, its capital being above twenty li in circuit.
The soil, he says, was very fertile and agriculture was the chief
business : mango trees were grown in orchards atthe homesteads
of the people : there were two kinds of this fruit, one small and
becoming yellow when ripe, and the other large and remaining
green. The country produced also a fine striped cotton cloth
and gold : its climate was hot : the manners and customs of the
inhabitants were good : the people believed in the working of
karma, and paid respect to moral and intellectual eminence.
There were in the district above twenty Buddhist monasteries,
and above 2000 Brethren who were diligent students of both
“ Vehicles" . There were also five Deva-Temples and the pro
fessed adherents of the different non - Buddhist sects lived
pell-mell.
When Fa -hsien visited this country he also found 20
monasteries but he estimated the number of Brethren as
about 3000.3
We now come to a passage which presents some serious
difficulties. It seems to be faulty both in form and sub
1 Growse's Mathurā p. 73 (2d ed.). See below p. 31 ) .

2 A-yü-wang-ehing, ch. 9.
3 Fo-kuo-chi, ch. 16.
302 THE BUILDINGS AT MATHURA .
stance and it has perplexed native scholars. For the

present we may render it as follows.
There are three topes all built by Asoka : very numerous traces
left by the Four Past Buddhas : topes (or a tope) for the relics
of the following holy disciples of Sakya Ju-lai, viz. Sāriputra,
Mudgalaputra, Pūrņamaitriyāniputra, Upāli, Ananda, and Rāhula :
topes for Mañjuśrī and the other P-usas. In the “Three Longs"
of every year, and on the six Fastdays of every month, the
Brethren with mutual rivalry make up parties, and taking mate
rials of worship with many valuables, repair to the images of
their special patrons. The Abhidharma Brethren offer worship
to Sāriputra, the Samādhists to Mudgalaputra, the Sūtraists to
Purnamaitriyāniputra, the Vinayists to Upāli, the bhikshunis to
Ananda, and the śrāmaneras to Rāhula : and the Māhāyanists to
the various Piusas. On these days the topes vie with each other
in worship : banners and sunshades are displayed, the incense
makes clouds and the flowers are scattered in showers, sun and
moon are obscured and the mountain -ravines convulsed : the king
and his state'smen devote themselves to good works.
The difficulties of this passage begin with the first sen
tence, and a native scholar took from the paragraph a
very different meaning from that here given. He under
stood the author to state that there were three Asoka
topes, viz. one for the numerous traces left by the Four
Past Buddhas, one for the holy disciples of the Buddha,
and one for the P'usas. There is something to be said
in favour of this interpretation, but it does not quite suit
either the construction or the context. With the present
interpretation we have the bald statement that there were
three Asoka topes. The Fang -chih places these within
the capital ; but our text does not give any information
as to their situation, or structure, or the purposes for
which they were erected. So also the next clause— " very
many traces of the Four Past Buddhas" -seems to require
at its head either the — “ viz. a tope for" of the Chinese
scholar, or the “ On montre" which Julien prefixes. Then
as to the topes for the relics of the great disciples the
term for relics is i-shên ( ) lit. " left bodies”, and
Julien translates i- shên stūpa by “ Divers stoūpas renfer
mant les corps". But i- shên here, as in other passages,,
means only the ashes, bones or other relics left after crem
STATUES OF THE SAINTS . 303
ation, shen being used as the equivalent of the Sanskrit

word for body, Sarīra, which is also used in the sense of
a “ bodily relic”. Then we have this difficulty, that not
only was no one of the great disciples here named buried
at Mathura, but also there is no authority for stating that
the relics of any one of them were conveyed to this district.
Moreover, as the Fang - chih points out, Rāhula was suppos
ed not to have tasted death. This treatise, accordingly
suggests that the word for body (shên) should not be taken
here in its ordinary sense, but should be unterstood as
meaning a visible symbol, such as an image or other likeness.
The reader will observe that our pilgrim represents the
worshippers as paying reverence, not to the topes, but to
images or pictures apparently set up for the occasion.
Fa -hsien in his general survey of “ Mid - India ” including
the Mathurā district, tells us that at the Buddhist vihāras
there were topes to Śāriputra, Madgalyāyana ( Yuan -chuang's
Mudgalaputra ), Ananda, and to the Sūtras, the Vinaya,
and the Abhidharma. To some of these topes services
were offered, but he describes the Śrāmaņeras as making
offerings to Rāhula not to his tope, and he describes the
Mahāyānists as offering worship to " Prajñāparamitā,
Mañjuśrī, and Kuan-shi- yin ” .1
Then our pilgrim is perhaps wrong in representing the
Abhidharmists as worshipping Śāriputra, the Samādhists
as worshipping Mudgalaputra, and the Sūtra Brethren as
worshipping Pūrņa -Maitriyāniputra. Sāriputra was dis
tinguished among the disciples for his great spiritual wis
dom or prajñā, but he had nothing to do with the Abhi
dharma, which did not come into existence until after his
death. So Mahāmaudgalyāyana was great in magic, in
his superhuman powers, but not in samādhi. Maitriyāni
putra is sometimes praised as a good expounder of the Master's
teaching but he is not specially associated with the sūtras.
Julien takes Manjuśrī to be one of the holy disciples
of the Buddha, and the author of Fang-chih ; and others
1 Fo -kuo- chi.
304 FAST MONTHS AND FAST DAYS .
have taken the same meaning out of the text. But Man
jusri was not a human being : he was one of the great
Bodhisattvas, often figuring as first or chief of all these
Mahāyāna creations.
This passage tells us that the Brethren went in parties
to offer worship to their respective patrons in the “Three
Longs ” of the year and the Six Fast- days of each month .
By the “ Three Longs" we are probably to understand the
first, fifth, and ninth months of each year which were
called the “ Three Long Months" and the “ Three Long
Fasts". The Six Fast-days were the 8th, 14th, 15th of each
half-month or the gth, 14th, 15th, 23th, 29th, 30th of each
month. This has been made known to us by Julien who
obtained his information from a late Chinese Buddhist
compilation. In this work under the heading “ Nine Fast
Days" we find the above three month-fasts and six monthly
day-fasts given as making up the “ Nine Fast-days”. This
seems to be rather a peculiar way of reckoning, and Julien
gets over the difficulty by changing month into “in the
month ”, and making the “ nine Fast-days” literally nine
days. But then, what is to be done with the Fasts called
the “ Three long months” or “Three long Fasts ” ? The
reason for the religious observance of these periods by
the Buddhist clergy and laity is given in several books.
In the three months specified Indra (or according to
some Visvamitra, or according to others the four Deva
rājas) by means of secret emissaries made a careful exa
mination into the conduct and modes of life of the in
habitants of Jambudvīpa (India). So all the people of
that continent were on their best behaviour in these months,
they abstained from flesh and wine, and even from food
lawful in ordinary times, and they offered worship and
practised good works. They also kept holiday and visit
ed the shrines of their divinities to pray for earthly
blessings. In these months there were no executions of
criminals and no slaughter of animals was allowed. Thus
i Fo - shuo -chai-ching (No. 577) : Shih-shih-yao-lan, ch. 3 : Fo -tsu
tung- chi, c. 33 (No. 1661 ).
UPOSATHA CELEBRATIONS . 305
the “ Three Long Fasts” were evidently in their origin a

popular rather than a Buddhistic institution, and Buddhism
may have adopted them to a certain extent as a matter
of expediency. They are never mentioned, however, in the
canonical treatises.
The “ Six Fast- days of every Month” were also popular
religious holidays before the time of the Buddha. Accord
ing to some accounts these days, like the three months,
were devoted by Indra's messengers to a roving inspection
of the moral and religious conduct of the people of India 1.
The people on their part were careful on these days to
fast, and offer worship, and do good works, in the hope
of receiving material recompense such as fine weather and
good crops. This sort of observance was called the " Cow
herd's Fast " . But the Parivrājakas of the Tirthikas
devoted these six days to the public reading of their
scriptures, and the Buddha followed their example. He
ordained that on these days the Pratimoksha should be
recited in a select congregation of the Brethren ; and he
seems also to have appointed the reading of the Dharma
on these days, the Uposatha days, to the people 2
Our pilgrim is apparently wrong in representing the
Buddhist Brethren as spending the first, fifth, and ninth
months in the manner here indicated. The fifth month
was part of the Retreat from the rains, and the Brethren
could not break up Retreat for a whole month and go away
to a tope or a monastery to pay respect to their special
patrons and enjoy themselves with their companions. Fa
hsien makes the festival of Patron -worship occur once a
year after Retreat, each set having its own day, and this
is more likely to be correct than Yuan-chuang's account.
According to Fa-hsien also it was the people who provided
the illuminations and flowers for the topes while the clergy
preached. These topes, moreover, in his narrative through
out the region of which he is writing were apparently
1 Ssă -tien -wang -ching (No. 722) : Tseng -yi-a-han -ching, ch. 16
2 "Vinaya Texts' (S. B. E.) Vol. 1. pp. 239, 240.
U
306 UPAGUPTA MONASTERY .
attached to or near monasteries, but the topes of our pil

grim's account do not seem to have been connected with
any Buddhist establishment.
Returning to our pilgrim's description of this district
we read that
going east from the capital five or six li one comes to a "hill
monastery ” the chamber of which was quarried in a steep bank,
a narrow defile being used to form its entrance. This monastery
had been made by the venerable Upagupta and it enclosed a
tope with a finger -nail relic of the Buddha. Through the north
rock-wall of the monastery was a cave above 20 feet high by
30 feet wide, within which were piled up fine four-inch slips of
wood (that is, tallies). When the Venerable Upagupta was
preaching and converting, every married couple which attained
arhatship put down a tally here, but for single members of families
although they became arhats no record of the fact was kept.
The words for “a hill-monastery ” in this passage are
yi-shan -ka -lan and Julien translates them “ un kia-lan situé
sur une montagne”. As has been seen a " hill-ka-lan" was
a rural non-descript vihāra not attached to any superior
establishment. Then Julien makes the pilgrim locate the
Tally-cave “ dans une caverne qui est au nord de ce kia
lan " . The text has ka-lan-pei-yen-hsien-yu-shih-shih (Thu
It M H TT ) that is, in the steep rock on the north
of the ka-lan is a cave. The word yen does not mean
une caverne but a steep wall of rock, and the entrance
to the Tally- cave was through the rock which formed the
north side of the Vibāra -Cave. This interpretation of the
text will be found to agree with descriptions given in
other treatises.
The site of the Upagupta monastery, as we may call
the Hill ka-lan, of our author's narrative was apparently
the place called the Urumunda (or Urumaņda or Ruru
manda) Hill, and the Rimurunda of M : Rockhill's Tibetan
text. The name Urumanda is rendered in Chinese by
" Great Cream ” ( 44 ), its literal signification, and
near the hill there was a “Great Cream ” town or village.
To describe or indicate this hill various forms of ex
1 A -yü -wang - ching, ch . 9.

UPAGUPTA MONASTERY. 307
pression are used. Thus seen from a distance it was "an

azure streak ”; it was also a " line of green forest", and a
“ wood of green trees" . On or at this hill, according to
some authorities, the brothers Nața and Baţa constructed
the Națabața -vihāra, to which they afterwards invited Upa
gupta when he came to live at Mathurā. This is suppos
ed to be the "Hill ka -lan " of our pilgrim but it may
have been a separate establishment. This “ Hill ka- lan"
was evidently the house or vihāra of Upagupta on the
Urumaņda hill, and it was probably a large natural cave
improved by art to constitute a monastery. Connected
with the monastery was the cave in which the disciples
converted by Upagupta's teaching, on their attainment of
arhatship deposited each a slip of wood or bamboo. 1 This
cave is also represented as a “made house " but this is
evidently a mistake2. Its dimensions vary in different
books, one authority making it 18 chou long, by 12 chou
wide, and 7 chou high 3. In our pilgrim's description we
should probably regard " above 20 feet high" as a mistake
for "above 20 feet long" other writers giving the length as
24 or 27 feet, the height being about 9 or 10 feet. Then
Yuan -chuang's statement, that tallies were kept only of
married couples attaining arhatship is very silly and does
not agree with the accounts in other Chinese books.
According to these every one who through Upagupta's
teaching and guiding became an arhat added his tally
to the pile. Upagupta had marvellous success as a
Buddhist missionary at Mathurā : he converted many thou
sands of lay people, and through him 18 000 disciples
attained arhatship. When he died all the tallies deposit
ed by these arhats were taken away and used at his cre
mationt. Yet Yuan-chuang would have us believe that he
saw them still filling up the cave.
1 Sar. Vin. Yao- shih, ch . 9.
2 A-yi-wang-chuan, ch . 5.
3 Sar. Vin. I. c. The sh'ou ( 3:1) was about 11/2 foot. See also A
yü -wang-ching, ch. 6.
4 Sar. Vin. l. C .: Tār. S. 14 f.
U*
308 URUMANDA HILL .
In some books the hill on which was the Națabata

vihāra occupied by Upagupta is called Sira or Uśira,
although we also have mention of the Uśira hill without
any reference to a cave or monastery . This Uśira hill
was at the side of the “ Urumanda Hill ” and the latter
name may have included the two hills and the wood or
forest adjoining.
General Cunningham considered the site of Upagupta's
monastery to be that of the Id-gah or Katra of the present
Muttra, and this opinion has been adopted by others.
But it is undoubtedly wrong. A later investigator ,
M: Growse, writes : “General Cunningham, in his Archæo
logical Report, has identified the Upagupta monastery
with the Yasa vihāra inside the Katra : but in all proba
bility he would not now adhere to this theory; for, at the
time when he advanced it, he had never visited the Kan
kāli Tīlā, and was also under the impression that the
Fort always had been, as it now is, the centre of the city.
Even then, to maintain his theory, he was obliged to have
recourse to a very violent expedient, and in the text of
the Chinese pilgrim to alter the word 'east' to 'west, because,
he writes, “ a mile to the east would take us to the low
ground on the opposite bank of the Jamuna, where no
ruins exist”, forgetting apparently Fa Hian's distinct state
ment that in his time there were monasteries on both
sides of the river, and being also unaware that there are
heights on the left bank at Isapur and Mahában, where
Buddhist remains have been found. The topographical de
scriptions of the two pilgrims may be reconciled with existing
facts without any tampering with the text of the narrative.
Taking the Katra, or the adjoining shrine of Bhútesvar,
as the omphalos of the ancient city and the probable site
of the great stupa of Sariputra, a short distance to the
east will bring us to the Kankāli Tilā, i. e. the monastery
of Upagupta ”.2 This is very positive but not quite con
i Tár. 1. c.: Ta-pei- ching (No. 117).

2 Growse op . c. p . 112.
LEGEND OF THE HONEY . 309
vincing, and where did Mr Growse get his " great stupa of
Śáriputra" ?
This Upagupta monastery is apparently the “ Cream
village” vihära of a Vinaya treatise, one of the many
Buddhist establishments mentioned as being in the Mathurā
district. 1 It may also perhaps be the Guha vihāra of the
Lion Pillar inscriptions. We find it called the Natika
sanghārama, and the Națabața (or Natibați)-vihāra, as
already stated , and the Națabhaţikāranyāyatana of the
Divyāvadana.3 It was evidently in a hill among trees and
not far from the city of Mathurā, but Yuan-chuang seems
to be the only authority for placing it about a mile to the
east of the city. This would apparently put the Urumanda
hill on the east side of the Jumna, and the situation
assigned to the Monkey Tope in the next paragraph agrees
with this supposition.
The pilgrim's narrative proceeds to state that to the south -east
of the cave (that is, the Cave monastery) and 24 or 25 li (about
five miles) from it was a large dried up pond beside which was
a tope. This was the place , Yuan -chuang tells us, at which
when the Buddha was once walking up and down a monkey
offered him some honey. The Buddha caused the honey to be
mixed with water and then distributed among his disciples.
Hereupon the monkey gambolled with delight, fell into the pit
(or ditch) and died, and by the religious merit of this offering
was born as a human being.
The story of a monkey or a flock of monkeys (or apes)
presenting wild honey to the Buddha is told with varia
tions in several Buddhist scriptures. In some the
scene of the story is laid near Vaiśāli 4 (and our pil
grim, it will be seen, tells of a troop of monkeys offering
honey to the Buddha at this place ), in some at Śrāvasti ",
1 Sang- chi -li , ch. 8.

2 J. R. A. S. for 1894 p. 526 .
3 Divyāv ch. XXVI and p. 385 : Bur. Int. p. 378 : Ta-pei-ching.
4 Chung- a -han -ching, ch . 8 : Sar. Vin . Yao -shih , ch. 18. Cf. Re
cords, ch . 7.
3 Hsien -yü -ching, ch . 12 : Der Weise u. d. T. S. 347.
310 THE HONEY LAD.
and in some at the Natika village . The following account

of the whole matter is taken chiefly from the “ Hsien -yü
ching". The Buddha was once visited at Śrāvasti by a
Brahmin householder who was son-less and wished to
know whether he was to die so. Buddha consoled him
with promise of a son who should become a distinguished
member of the church . In due time the son was born ,
and because it was observed that about the time of his
birth the honey-vessels in the house became full of honey,
he received the name “ Honey -prevailing". In Chinese the
name is Mi-shêng ( % ) and the Sanskrit original is
written Mo-t'ou -lo -se-chih, that is, Madhurasachi or "Sweet
Influence", viz. born with the good omen of honey. This
boy in time became a disciple of the Buddha who ex
plained to Ananda that Mi-shêng in a long - past previous
existence had been a bhikshu, that he had then once been
disrespectful to a senior Brother. The senior rebuked
him gently and Mi-shêng was penitent, but he had to
suffer punishment for his thoughtless rude language by
500 births as a monkey. It was in the last of these births
that the incident of the honey-offering occurred. The
Buddha and his disciples had halted for rest one day
under some trees by a tank not far from Śrāvasti. Here
a monkey came and took Buddha's bowl and soon after
returned with it full of honey and offered it to the Buddha.
The latter sent the monkey back first to remove the in
sects from the honey and afterwards to add water to it.
When the honey was thus “ pure", that is, fit for bhikshus'
use Buddha accepted it and distributed it among his dis
ciples. The monkey was now up a tree again, and seeing
his honey accepted and distributed he frisked about with
delight until he fell and was drowned in the pit below.
But by the merit of the gift of honey he was immediately
born again as a human creature and became the disciple
Mi-shêng. In another treatise the name of the bhikshu
Sar. Vin . P'o -sêng- shih, ch. 12. This may be the Natika of Uru
manda, the village and the monastery having the same name.
LEGEND OF UPAGUPTA . 311
is given as Madhu - Vasishịha, his family name being Va

sishtha' , and in another work he is called Mi-hsing or
“ Honey-nature”. In one book the monkey skips with
delight but does not fall into the water 3, and in another
he dies and is born again in Paradise. 4
The story of the monkey and the honey, here repeated
by the pilgrim , being told of Mathurā as an expla
nation of the name, must have arisen at a time when
the form used was Madhurā . There is also another
monkey or ape story connected with Mathurā. In a pre
vious existence, the Buddha once explained , Upagupta
was born as a monkey (or ape) and became the chief of
a troop of monkeys living at Urumanda. As such he made
offerings and shewed much kindness to 500 Pratyeka
Buddhas who were living on another part of Urumanda.
The merit of his conduct to these worthies brought the
monkey birth as a human being in his next existence, and
in it, as the bhikshu Upagupta, he rose to be a most suc
cessful preacher, a peerless saint, and a Buddha in all
but the bodily signs.5
The pilgrim goes on to narrate that to the north of the dried
up pond, and not far from it, was a large wood in which were
footsteps of the Four Past Buddhas, left by them as they walked
up and down . Hard by these were topes to mark the places at
which Sariputra and the others of the Buddha's 1250 great dis
ciples had practised absorbed meditation. There were also memo
rials of the Buddha's frequent visits to this district for the pur
pose of preaching
The “ large wood” of this passage, which lay between
the Upagupta Monastery and the Dried-up Pond, may be
the forest generally mentioned in connection with Uru
manda. But it is at least doubtful whether any of the
1250 disciples ever practised samadhi in this neighbour
i Sar. Vin. P'o - sêng -shih , ch . 12.
2 Sar. Vin . Yao -shih , ch . 18.
3 Chung - a- han -ching, ch . 8.
+ Sáng- chi - li , ch . 29.
5 Fu- fa -tsang - yin - yuan -ching, ch. 3 : Sar. Vin . Yao -shih, ch. 9 :
Divyāv. Ch . XXVI .
312 MATHURA .
hood. The Urumanda district was a great resort of asce

tics devoted to serenity of mind and prolonged meditation,
but this was after the time of Upagupta. Then the
Buddha's visits to the Mathurā district do not seem to
have been numerous, even if we accept records of doubtful
authenticity. We are told that he expressed a dislike to
the country which had, he said, five defects. The ground
was uneven , it was covered with stones and brick -bats, it
abounded with prickly shrubs, the people took solitary
meals, and there were too many women . 1 We find men
tion of the Buddha visiting the country on one occasion
and lodging in a mango-tope near the Bhadra river.2 On
another occasion he lodged with his disciples in Ass Yak
sha's palace (or the monastery of Ass Yaksha) which was
apparently outside the capital.3 He also passed through
this country with Ananda when returning from his mission
to “ North - India", going among the yung-chün -jen ( JE N
or Sūrasenas until he reached Mathurā city.
It is worthy of notice that in his account of Mathurā
and the surrounding district the pilgrim does not give
the name of any hill, or river, or town, or Buddhist esta
blishment in the country. His information about the dis
trict is meagre and his remarks about the Buddhist ob
jects of interest in it seem to be confused and to a certain
extent second-hand. He apparently did not visit the capi
tal, and made only a hurried journey across a part of the
country. It seems very strange that he does not mention
by name the famous Urumunda (or Urumanda) Hill, so
intimately connected, as we have seen , with the introduc
tion of Buddhism into the district, and evidently an old
place of resort for contemplative ascetics of other religious
1 Sar. Vin . Yao -shih , ch . 10.
2 Tsa -a -han -ching, ch . 2 and 24. The mango topes seem to have
all disappeared from the Mathurā district.
3 Sar. Vin. Yao -shih , ch. 10. This building was properly not a
monastery, but a hall or temple. It was apparently on the occasion
of the Buddha's returning m the north hat he made the stay at
Mathurā, converting the wicked Yakshinīs, and preaching his religion.
MATHURA . 313
systems. Nor does he mention the great river which flow

ed past the east side of Mathurā city. Fa-hsien men
tions this river which he calls Pu -na ( fiti # 3) short for the
Yao ( -pu-na ( Yabuna) of his translations. Our pilgrim
in his translations and in this chuan transcribes the name
Yen -mou -na (Yamunā). Then he does not seem to have
heard of such wellknown Buddhist establishments as the
vihāra of the Hsien-jen ( fili )-chü - lao or Rishi village
(or town), or the vihāra of the Grove the Ts“uny -lin ( )
-ssů . The former was on the east and the latter on the
west side of the Jumna . Ts-ung -lin is supposed to be
for the Sanskrit Pinda -vana : it could not have been Kri
shna's Vrindā -vana, which was on the opposite side of
the river.
1 Sang -chi-li, ch . 8.
CHAPTER X.
CHUAN IV CONTD.
STHĀNEŚVAR TO KAPITHA.
From the Mathurā country the pilgrim, according to his narra
tive, proceeded north-east, and after a journey of above 500 li,
reached the Sa -ta -ni-ssi -fa-lo (Sthāneśvara) country. He tells
us this country was above 7000 li in circuit, and its capital, with
the same name apparently, was above twenty li in circuit. The
soil was rich and fertile and the crops were abundant : the cli
mate was warm : the manners and customs of the people were
illiberal : the rich families vied with each other in extravagance.
The people were greatly devoted to magical arts and highly
prized outlandish accomplishments: the majority pursued trade,
and few were given to farming : rarities from other lands were
collected in this country. There were (that is, at the capital
apparently) three Buddhist monasteries with above 700 professed
Buddhists, all Hinayānists. There were also above 100 Deva
Temples and the non - Buddhists were very numerous.
The capital, the pilgrim goes on to describe, was surrounded
for 200 li by a district called the “ Place of Religious Merit "
Fu - ti ( W ) . The origin of this name Yuan -chuang learned
at the place to be as follows. The “Five Indias ” were once
divided between two sovereigns who fought for mastery, inva
ding each other's territory and keeping up unceasing war. At
length in order to settle the question of superiority, and so give
peace to their subjects, the kings agreed between themselves to
have a decisive action. But their subjects were dissatisfied and
refused to obey their kings' commands. Thereupon the king
[of that part of India which included Sthāneśvara] thought of an
expedient. Seeing it was useless to let his subjects have a voice
in his proposals, and knowing that the people would be influen
ced by the supernatural, he secretly sent a roll of silk to a clever
brahmin com him to come to the palace. On his arrival
there the brahmin was kept in an inner chamber, and there he
KAURAVAS AND PANDAVAS. 315
composed (that is, by the King's inspiration) a Dharma-sūtra

( that is, a treatise on Duty). This book the king then hid in a
rock -cave, where it remained for several years until vegetation
covered the spot. Then one morning the king informed his
ministers at an audience that he had been enlightened by Indra,
who told him in a dream about an inspired book hidden in a
certain hill. The book was brought forth, and officials and people
were enraptured. By the king's orders the contents of the scrip
ture were made known to all, and the sum of them was briefly
this
Life and death are a shoreless ocean with ebb and flow in
endless alternation : intelligent creatures cannot save themselves
from the eddies in which they are immersed . I have an admi
rable device for saving them from their woes, and it is this
Here we have for 200 li round this city the place of religious
merit for generations of the ancient sovereigns, but as its evi
dences have been effaced in the long lapse of time, people have
ceased to reflect on the efficacy of the place, and so have been
submerged in the ocean of misery with no one to save them
from perishing. Now all who, being wise, go into battle and die
fighting, will be reborn among men : slaying many they will be
innocent and will receive divine blessings : obedient grand-chil
dren and filial children serving their parents while sojourning in
this district will obtain infinite happiness. As the meritorious
service is little, and the reward it obtains great, why miss the
opportunity ? Once the human body is lost there are the three
states of dark oblivion : hence every human being should be dili
gent in making good karma, thus all who engage in battle will
look on death as a return home
The the king ordered an enrolment of heroes for battle, and
an engagement took place on this ground. The bodies of those
killed in battle were strewn about in confused masses, so great
was the number of the slain, and the huge skeletons of these
heroes still cover the district, which popular tradition calls the
Place of Religious Merit.
The whole of this passage about the “ Place of Religious
Merit" is curious and interesting, giving, as has been pointed
out by others, the story which our pilgrim heard on the
spot about the wars of the Kauravas and Pandavas. It
reads like an extract from the Bhagavadgitā. The passage
which, in the present rendering of it, is treated as being
the sum of the inspired teaching of the sūtra, is made by
Julien, in his version, to be a proclamation by the king of
CHAPTER X.
CHUAN IV CONT”.
STHĀNEŚVAR TO KAPITHA .
tive, proceeded north -east, and after a journey of above 500 li,
reached the Sa - t-a -ni-ssi - fa -lo (Sthāneśvara) country. He tells
soil was rich and fertile and the crops were abundant: the cli
illiberal : the rich families vied with each other in extravagance .
and few were given to farming: rarities from other lands were
Temples and the non -Buddhists were very numerous .
Fu -ti ( 14 ). The origin of this name Yuan -chuang learned
at the place to be as follows. The “ Five Indias" were once
brahmin commanding him to come to the palace. On his arrival

this
from the eddies in which they are immersed. I have an admi
innocent and will receive divine blessings : obedient grand- chil
Merit ” is curious and interesting, giving, as has been pointed
spot about the wars of the Kauravas and Pāņdavas. It
CHAPTER X.
CHUAN IV CONTD.
STHĀNEŚVAR TO KAPITHA .
reached the Sa -t'a - ni-ssi - fa -lo (Sthāneśvara) country. He tells
illiberal: the rich families vied with each other in extravagance.
prized outlandish accomplishments : the majority pursued trade,
Temples and the non-Buddhists were very numerous.
The capital , the pilgrim goes on to describe, was surrounded
for 200 li by a district called the “Place of Religious Merit"
Fu-ti ( Thich ju ). The origin of this name Yuan -chuang learned
[of that part of India which included Sthāneśvara) thought of an
brahmin commanding him to come to the palace. On his arrival
composed ( that is, by the King's inspiration ) a Dharma -sutra

rock - cave, where it remained for several years until vegetation
this
from the eddies in which they are immersed . I have an admi
innocent and will receive divine blessings : obedient grand -chil
service is little , and the reward it obtains great, why miss the
was the number of the slain , and the huge skeletons of these
Julien , in his version, to be a proclamation by the king of
CHAPTER X.
CHUAN IV CONTD.
STHĂNESVAR TO KAPITHA .

tive, proceeded north - east, and after a journey of above 500 li,
reached the Sa -t'a -ni-ssi -fa -lo (Sthāneśvara) country. He tells
illiberal : the rich families vied with each other in extravagance .
Temples and the non -Buddhists were very numerous.
Fu -ti ( ). The origin of this name Yuan -chuang learned
at the place to be as follows. The “Five Indias " were once
have a decisive action . But their subjects were dissatisfied and
in his proposals, and knowing that the people would be influen .
min commanding him to come to the palace. On his arrival
composed (that is, by the King's inspiration) a Dharma- sūtra

(that is, a treatise on Duty). This book the king then hid in a
certain hill. The book was brought forth , and officials and people
this
innocent and will receive divine blessings : obedient grand-chil
look on death as a return home-
Merit" is curious and interesting, giving, as has been pointed
reads like an extract from the Bhagavadgītā. The passage
CHAPTER X.
CHUAN IV CONTD.
STHANEŠVAR TO KAPITHA.
From the Mathurā country the pilgrim , according to his narra
reached the Sa -t'a-ni-ssi -fa- lo (Sthāneśvara) country. He tells
illiberal: the rich families vied with each other in extravagance.
prized outlandish accomplishments : the majority pursued trade,
Buddhists, all Hīnayānists. There were also above 100 Deva
Temples and the non-Buddhists were very numerous .
for 200 li by a district called the “ Place of Religious Merit"
Fu-ti ( Jb ) . The origin of this name Yuan-chuang learned
peace to their subjects , the kings agreed between themselves to
nin commanding to come to the palace. On his arrival
composed (that is, by the King's inspiration) a Dharma -sūtra

(that is, a treatise on Duty). This book the king then hid in a
this-
innocent and will receive divine blessings : obedient grand- chil
was the number of the slain , and the huge skeletons of these
spot about the wars of the Kauravas and Pāņdavas. It
the sum of the inspired teaching of the sutra, is made by
Julien , in his version , to be a proclamation by the king of
CHAPTER X.
CHUAN IV CONTD.
STHANEŠVAR TO KAPITHA.
reached the Sa -t-a -ni- ssă -fa-lo (Sthāneśvara) country. He tells
the same name apparently , was above twenty li in circuit. The
illiberal : the rich families vied with each other in extravagance.
Temples and the non-Buddhists were very numerous.
for 200 li by a district called the “Place of Religious Merit"
Fu -ti ( Jb ) . The origin of this name Yuan-chuang learned
at the place to be as follows. The “Five Indias " were once
ding each other's territory and keeping up unceasing war.
have a decisive action . But their subjects were dissatisfied and
br in commanding him to come to the palace. his arrival

rock - cave, where it remained for several years until vegetation
certain hill. The book was brought forth , and officials and people
this-
innocent and will receive divine blessings : obedient grand -chil
r
1
316 STHANESVARA.
Sthäneśvara . The last clause of the passage is treated

by him as a separate sentence and he translates it thus
" Là -dessus, tous les hommes combattirent avec ardeur et
coururent joyeusement à la mort", that is, before the king
called on the people to enlist in his service. This treat
ment of the text seems to be a very unfortunate one as
Yuan -chuang makes a clear distinction between the coun
sel of the Dharmasūtra ( Fa -ching it: ), and the king's
proceedings after the promulgation of the counsel.
Four or five li to the north-west of the capital, the pilgrim
relates, was an Asoka tope made of bright orange bricks, and
containing wonder-working relics of the Buddha. Above 100 li
south from the capital was the Ku - hun - t'u (in some texts -cha)
monastery : this had high chambers in close succession and
detached terraces : the Buddhist Brethren in it led pure strict
lives .
The Ku -hun -tu (or ch'a ) of this passage may perhaps,
as has been suggested , be for Govinda. Another restora
tion proposed is Gokantha, and this is the name adopted
by Cunningham , but it does not seem possible that the
Chinese characters are a transcription of this word. Go
vinda is a common name for Krishna, but it may have
been the name of the village in which the monastery here
described was situated.
The Sthāneśvara of this passage has been identified
with the modern Thānesar (Tānesar, Tanessar) in Ambala.
Cunningham seems to regard this identification as beyond
question ', although in perhaps no point of distance, direc
tion or measurement do the two places correspond. Thā
nesar is about 180 miles to the north -north -west of Ma
thurā 2, and Sthānesvar was about 100 miles to the north
east of that place : the area of the country as given by
the pilgrim is too great by one fourth and that of the
“ holy land” ( Yuan - chuang's Place of Happiness, that is
Religious Merit ) is too small by half. Moreover the Fu -ti
of the Records cannot be regarded as a translation of
1 A. G. I. p . 328 : J. III. p. 339.

2 Alberuni Vol. I. p . 199.
ŚRUGHXA. 317
Dharma-Kshetra, another name for the Kuru -Kshetra. Be

sides, this latter name designated a large plain above
100 miles to the south -east of Thānesvar, and the Fu-ti
was all round the city Sthănesvara for only about 40 miles.
Cunningham in his usual manner proposes to get over
some of the difficulties by taking liberties with the pil
grim's text. It is better, however, to regard our pilgrim
as being correct in his statement of distance and direction
from Mathurā to Sthänesvara, and as deriving his infor
mation on other matters from the Brethren in the monas
teries. He seems to represent himself as going to the
great monastery 100 li (about 20 miles) south from the
capital. Had he made a journey to the south of Thāne
sar, he would probably have told us of the celebrated
Tank in the district about which Alberuni and Tavernier
relate wonderful things.1
ŚRUGHNA .
The pilgrim continuing the story of his travels relates
that
from this ( that is apparently, Sthāneśvara) he went north - east
for above 400 li and came to the country Su-lu-k -in-na.
The Life, which calls this country Lu -k'in -na, makes it
to be 400 li to the east of Sthāneśvara. Our pilgrim's
transcription has been restored as Śrughna, but this does
not seem to be right. Another transcription is Su -lu -kie
(ka ) -K'ün , and this and the transcription in the text seem
to point to an original like Srukkhin or Srughin . Cun
ningham , taking the "from this " of the text to mean from
the Govinda monastery, makes the 400 li to be counted
from that monastery and accordingly gives the distance
from Sthāneśvara to śrughna as only 300 li.2 But the
Life, and the Fang-chih, make Yuan -chuang start from
and count from Sthāneśvara, and as it seems likely that
1 Alberuni Vol. II. p. 145 : Bernier's Travels (Constable's Or.

Misc. ) p . 302.
2 A. G. I. p . 345.
318 MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA.
Yuan-chuang did not go to the Govinda monastery, I think

we should understand the “from this " of the text to mean
from the capital. Cunningham identifies the city Śrughna
with the modern village of Sugh which “is surrounded on
three sides by the bed of the old Jumna " . But as the
measurements and distances given by Yuan -chuang, as
usual, do not agree with those required by Cunningham,
we may perhaps regard the identification as not quite
established .
Proceeding with his description of Śrughna the pilgrim
tells us that
it was above 6000 li in circuit, bounded on the east by the Gan
ges and on the north by high mountains, and that through the
middle of it flowed the river Yen -mo -na (Jumna). The capital,
above 20 li in circuit, was on the west side of the Jumna, and
was in a ruinous condition. In climate and natural products the
country resembled Sthāneśvara. The inhabitants were naturally
honest : they were not Buddhists : they held useful learning in
respect and esteemed religious wisdom. There were five Buddhist
monasteries and above 1000 Buddhist ecclesiastics, the majority
of whom were Hinayānists, a few adhering to " other schools”.
The Brethren were expert and lucid expounders of abstract doc
trines, and distinguished Brethren from other lands came to them
to reason out their doubts. There were 100 Deva-Temples, and
the non-Buddhists were very numerous.
The statement here that the majority of the Buddhist

Brethren in Śrughna “ learned the Little Vehicle and a
few studied other schools” is rather puzzling as all the
Eighteen Schools ( pu ) belonged to the Hīnayāna. All
the texts, however, agree, and the Fang-chieh shews a
wise discretion by omitting the difficult words. By the
" other schools ” Yuan-chuang may have meant the Sau
träntikas and other schools which had arisen in the later
development of Buddhism, and were independent of the
old schools and the two “ Vehicles". The pilgrim heard
expositions of the doctrines of the Sautrāntikas during his
stay in the country. But we must also remember that he
uses the terms Mahāyāna and Hinayāna in a manner
which is apparently peculiar to himself.
THE RIVER GANGES . 319
The narrative proceeds To the south- east of the capital

and on the west side of the Jumna outside the east gate of a
large monastery was an Asoka tope at a place where the Ju-lai
had preached and admitted men into his church. Beside this
tope was one which had hair and nail-relics of the Ju-lai,
and round about were some tens of topes with similar relics of
Śāriputra, Mudgalaputra, and the other great arhats. After the
Buddha's decease the people of this country had been led astray
to believe in wrong religions and Buddhism had disappeared .
Then Šāstra-masters from other lands defeated the Tirtbikas
and Brahmins in discussions, and the five monasteries already
mentioned were built at the places where the discussions were
held in order to commemorate the victories.
A journey of above 800 li east from the Jumna (that is, at
Śrughna) brought the pilgrim to the Ganges. The source of
this river, he adds, is three or four li wide : the river flows south
east to the sea , and at its mouth it is above ten li wide : the
waters of the river vary in colour and great waves rise in it :
there are many marvellous creatures in it but they do not injure
any one : its waters have a pleasant sweet taste and a fine sand
comes down with the current. In the popular literature the
river is called Fu -shui or “ Happiness-water” that is, the water
(or river) of religious merit. Accumulated sins are effaced
by a bath in the water of the river : those who drown them
selves in it are reborn in heaven with happiness : if the bones
of one dead be consigned to the river that one does not go
to a bad place : by raising waves and fretting the stream
(that is, by splashing and driving the water back) the lost soul
is saved .
In the Life and the Fang-chih the pilgrim proceeds to

the “ Source of the Ganges” which is 800 li to the east
of the Jumna and this is supposed to be what the pilgrim
meant to state. But the context and the sequel seem to
require us to take him literally as simply coming to the
Ganges. It was apparently at a place to the south of the
" Source of the Ganges" that he reached that river. This
“ Source of the Ganges ” is supposed to be Gangādvāra or
Hardwar, the place where the Ganges emerges from the
Sivalik mountains into the plains. The expression here
rendered “ the waters of the river vary in colour ” is shui
sê - Tsang- lang ( 6 t ) that is, “ the water in colour
is Tsang -lang", or clear and muddy. The allusion is to
320 STORY OF DEVA'S PILGRIMAGE .
the Tsang -lang river which, as we learn from a boy's song

quoted in Mencius, ran sometimes clear and sometimes
muddy.1 Julien translates the words by “ La couleur de
ses eaux est bleuâtre", a rendering which is not correct
from any point of view. Then as the original for Fu-shui,
“ River of religious merit " (lit. Religious merit water) Julien
gives Mahābhadrā, which is a name for the Ganges but
is not the equivalent of Fu -shui. This term is a literal
rendering of the Sanskrit and Pali word Punyodaka, merit
water, and Punyodaka is the name of a river in the world
beyond. The reason why the name was transferred to the
Ganges is to be found in the next paragraph of our pas
sage, in which the pilgrim describes the spiritual efficacy
of the water of the river. In this paragraph the words
rendered -by raising waves and fretting the stream the
lost souls (or spirits) are saved " are yang-pro-chi-liu -wang
hun -huochi (15 kit ito Ću Ti 03). Julien connects
these words with the preceding clause which states that
if the bones of a dead person are consigned to the river
that person does not go to a bad place, Julien making the
author add “ pendant que les flots se gonflent et cou
lent en bondissant, l'âme du défunt passe à l'autre rive".
The first clause of this is not a translation of the Chinese,
and Julien's failure to understand his author has spoiled
this passage and his rendering of the story about Deva
Piusa which follows.
Our pilgrim , in connection with his remarks about the
popular belief in the spiritual virtues of the water of the
Ganges, that is presumably at Gangādvāra, relates the
following annecdote
Deva P'usa of the Chih-shih -tzŭ-kuo (or Simbala country), pro
foundly versed in Buddhist lore and compassionate to the simple,
had come hither to lead the people aright. At the time of his
arrival the populace, male and female, old and young, were as
sembled on the banks of the river and were raising waves and
fretting the current. The Prusa solemnly setting an example bent
his head down to check and turn the stream . As his mode of
1 Mencius, ch. 7. P. I.
LEGEND OF DEVA. 321
procedure was different from that of the rest, one of the Tirthi
kas said to him-Sir, why are you so strange ? Deva answered
-My parents and other relatives are in the Simhala country,
and as I fear they may be suffering from hunger and thirst, I
hope this water will reach thus far, and save them . To this
the Tirthikas replied — Sir, you are in error and your mistake
comes from not having reflected - your home is far away with
mountains and rivers intervening-to fret and agitate this water,
and by this means save those there from hunger, would be like
going back in order to advance, an unheard of proceeding. Deva
then replied that if sinners in the world beyond received bene
fits from this water, it could save his relatives notwithstanding
the intervening mountains and rivers. His arguments convinced
his hearers ; who thereupon acknowledged their errors, renounced
them, and became Buddhists,
The Chih-shih -tzŭ kuo or Simhala country of this pas

sage has been taken to be Ceylon, the country generally
so designated, but it may be here the name of a country
in India. Yuan -chuang, as will be seen hereafter, pro
bably knew that Deva was a native of South - India and
not of Ceylon.
According to the story here related, when Deva found
the people on the river-side splashing the water, he set
himself to lead them to right views. He assumed a grave
air and an earnest manner, and while the others were
merely going through a religious rite, he seemed to be
making a serious effort to force the river back. As he
evidently desired, his strange manner attracted attention ;
and he was able to turn the Tirthikas' criticism against
themselves. Here Julien gives a rendering which seems
to be against construction and context, and makes the
story absurd. The Chinese for " giving an example " or
“ leading aright" here is chi-yin ( ik 51 ) which Julien trans
lates “ voulut puiser de l'eau ". But the phrase is of com
mon occurrence and generally in the sense of " lead by
example" or " set in the right course" .
In this Srughna (or Srughin) country, we learn from
the Life, the pilgrim enjoyed the society of a learned Doc
tor in Buddhism, by name Jayagupta. The pilgrim remained
here one winter, and half of the spring following; and “ when
X
322 MATIPURA .
he had heard all the vibhāshā of the Sautrantika School "

he continued his journey.
With reference to Yuan -chuangs mention of the Buddha
having preached at the capital of this country, it may be
stated that the story of the Buddha visiting Srughna and
there meeting the Brahmin named Indra, who was proud
of his youth and beauty, is told in the Divyāvadāna and
in the Sarvata Vinaya.
MO-TI-PU-LO (MATIPUR ).
The pilgrim proceeds to narrate that crossing to the east bank
of the river (that is, the Ganges) he came to the Mo- ti - pu -lo (Mati
pur) country. This was above 6000 li, and its capital above 20 li
in circuit. It yielded grain, fruits, and flowers, and it had a
genial climate. The people were upright in their ways : they
esteemed useful learning: were well versed in magical arts : and
were equally divided between Buddhism and other religions.
The king, who was of the Śūdra stock (that is caste) did not
believe in Buddhism, and worshipped the Devas. There were
above ten Buddhist monasteries with above 800 Brethren mostly
adherents of the Sarvāstivādin school of the Hinayāna. There
were also above fifty Deva-Temples and the sectarians lived
pell-mell.
The Mo -ti-pu -lo or Matipur of this passage has been
identified by Saint-Martin and Cunningham with Madāwar
or “Mandāwar, a large town in western Rohilkhand, near
Bijnor”.2 But in Cunningham's Map No. X, to which he
refers us, Madāwar is to the south-east of Srughna and
to the south of Gangādvāra, whereas Matipur was to the
east of Srughna and east of the "Source of the Ganges", if
we are to regard that as the place at which the pilgrim
halted before crossing the river. Then, as usual, the areas
of the country and its capital do not agree with Cunning
ham's requirements.
Four or five li south from the capital, the pilgrim continues,
was the small monastery in which the Šāstra-master Guņaprabha
composed above 100 treatises including the “ Pien - chèn - lun"
1 Divyāv. p. 74 : Sar. Vin. Yao- shih, ch. 9.

2 A. G. I. p. 348.
LEGEND OF GUNAPRABHA . 323
( 1 ) or Truth-expounding Treatise. This Guņaprabha,

Yuang- chuang tells us, from being a very clever boy had grown
up to be a man of great intellectual abilities, and of wide and
varied learning. He had at first been a student of the Mabā
yāna system, but before he had thoroughly comprehended the
abstruse mysteries of that system , he was converted to the Hina
yāna by the perusal of a Vaibhāsha treatise. After this he com
posed several tens of treatises in refutation of the Mahāyāna
principles, and in defence of the Hinayāna tenets. He was also
the author of some scores (several ters and more) of secular
books : he set aside as wrong the standard treatises of his pre
decessors. But in his comprehensive study of the Buddhist
canonical scriptures Guņaprabha had experienced difficulties on
above ten points, and of these his prolonged application did not
bring any solution. Now among his contemporaries was an ar
hat named Devasena, who was in the habit of visiting the Tushita
Paradise. This Devasena, by his supernatural powers, on one
occasion took Guņaprabha, at the request of the latter, up to the
Tushita Paradise to have an interview with Maitreya Bodhisattva,
and obtain from the Bodhisattva the solution of his spiritual
difficulties. But when presented to Maitreya Guņaprabha was
too proud and conceited to give the Bodhisattva his due reve
rence, and accordingly Maitreya would not solve his difficulties.
As Guņaprabha remained stubborn in his self-conceit even after
one or two unsuccessful visits, and as he would not be guided
by the counsels of Devasena, the latter refused to take him any
more into Maitreya's presence. Hereupon Guņaprabha in angry
disgust went into solitude in a forest, practised the “ Penetration
developing samādhi", but, not having put away pride, he was
unable to attain arhatship.
The Tushita Paradise, as is well known, is the Heaven

in which the Bodhisattva Maitreya sojourns between his
last incarnation on earth and his future advent as Buddha.
The Šāstra-master Guņaprabha in this passage considers
himself, as a fully ordained Buddhist bhikshu, to be supe
rior to the Bodhisattva who was enjoying the pleasures
of a prolonged residence in Paradise ; and accordingly
Guņaprabha persists in his refusal to show to Maitreya
the reverence due to a great Bodhisattva, and conse
quently fails in his career.
The last clause in the above passage is given according
to the correction of the Ming editors. This makes the
324 TATTVA SANDESA.
text to read pu -tê-chêng -kuo ( 7 ), that is, “he

could not realize the fruit”, viz-of arhatship. The old
reading of some texts was pu-shih (A$) chêng-kuo, meaning
"he quickly realized the fruit ". The D text has pu-chêng
tao-kuo, which also means “ he did not attain to arhatship”,
and this is doubtles the author's meaning.
In a note to the name of Guņaprabha's treatise, the
“ Pien -chên -lun ", mentioned in the above passage Julien
restores the Sanskrit original as " Tattvavibhanga căstra".
This seems to show that he had forgotten the restoration
of the name, given in translation and in Chinese transcrip
tion, which he had made in the Life. There he makes the
name to be “ Tattvasatya çāstra", and this restoration has
been adopted by subsequent writers although it does not
correspond to the translation of the name given by Yuan
chuang and the Chinese annotator. Now the characters
which Julien makes to stand for satya are san - ti-sho E
* ) for sandeśa, and the name of the treatise was evi
dently Tattvasandeśa or “Exposition of Truth ”, Yuan
chuang's Pien -chên, with the word for śāstra (lun) added. ?
This treatise, which at one time had some fame, expoun
ded the views of the Sarvāstivādin school, but it is un
known to the existing collections.
The Guņaprabha of Parvata here mentioned is not to
be confounded with the great Vinaya master of the same
name mentioned by Tāranātha.2 Burnouf was of opinion
that our Guņaprabha might be the Gunamati, Master of
Vasumitra, mentioned in the " Abhidharmakośa - vyākha ",
but there does not seem to be any ground for this un
likely supposition.3 In the gth chuan of our treatise we
find a Guņamati disputing with a great master of the San
khya system.
Three or four li north from Guņaprabha's monastery, Yuan
chuang's narrative proceeds, was a monastery with above 200
Brethren, all Hinayānists. It was in this monastery that the
i Life Ch. 2 : J. I. p . 109.
2 Tār. S. 126 et al .: Wass. Bud, S. 84 .
3 Bur. Int. p. 566 : Le Lotus de la bonne Loi p . 358.
SANGHABHADRA AND VASUBANDHU. 325
Sāstra-Master Sanghabhadra ended his life. This Sanghabhadra,

it is added, was a native of Kashmir, and a profound scholar in
the Vaibhāsha śāstras of the Sarvāstivādin school.
In this passage it is especially important to avoid Julien's
rendering. " [Le Traité] Vibhacha çāstra” as the treatise
of Sanghabhadra to be presently noticed does not deal
with the special work called “ Vibhāsha -lun ".
Contemporary with Sanghabhadra, Yuan -chuang continues, was
Vasubandhu Bodhisattva, devoted to mystic doctrine, and seeking
to solve what was beyond language. This man in refutation of
the Vibhāshā masters composed the “ Abhidharma-kośa - śāstra ”
ingenious in style and refined in principles. Sanghabhadra was
moved by the treatise, and devoted twelve years to its study:
then he composed a treatise which he called the " Kosa -pao " or
“ Bud -hail”, śāstra. This work he entrusted to three or four of
his cleverest disciples, telling them to use his unrecognized learn
ing, and this treatise, to bring down the old man Vasubandhu
from the preeminenee of fame which he had monopolized. At
this time Vasubandhu, at the height of his fame, was in Sākala
the capital of Cheika ; and thither Sanghabhadra and his chief
disciples proceed with the view of meeting him. But Vasubandhu
learning that Sanghabhadra was on the way to have a discussion
with him , hastily packed up and went off with his disciples. To
these he excused his conduct by alleging his age and infirmities,
and he added that he wished to allure Sanghabhadra to Mid
India where the Buddhist pundits would shew the charater of
his doctrines. Sanghabhadra arrived at the monastery at Mati
pur the day after Vasubandhu had left it, and here he sickened
and died . On his deathbed he wrote a letter of regret and apo
logy to Vasubandhu, and entrusted it, with his treatise, to one of
his disciples. When the letter and book were delivered to Vasu
bandhu with Sanghabhadra's dying request, he was moved and
read them through. He then told his disciples that Sanghab
hadra's treatise though not perfect in doctrine was well written ,
that it would be an easy matter for him to refute it, but that
out of regard for the dying request of the author, and as the
work expounded the views of those whom he (Vasubandhu) follow
ed, he would leave the work as it was only giving it a new name.
This name was “ Shun -chêng - li-lun ", the Sāstra which accords
with orthodox principles ( Nyāyānusāra - śāstra ). The tope erected
over Sanghabhadra's relics, in a mango grove to the north-east
of the monastery, was still in existence.
The above passage has been condensed from Yuan
chuang's text and the reader will observe that; according
324 TATTVA SANDESA.
text to read pu -tê-chêng-kuo ( 75 W ), that is, “he

could not realize the fruit”, viz-of arhatship. The old
reading of some texts was pu -shih (A$) chêng -kuo, meaning
"he quickly realized the fruit". The D text has pu-chêng
tao-kuo, which also means “ he did not attain to arhatship”,
"Pien-chên-lun", mentioned in the above passage Julien
restores the Sanskrit original as " Tattvavibhanga cāstra " .
name to be " Tattvasatya çāstra", and this restoration has
which Julien makes to stand for satya are san - ti- sho E
* ) for sandeśa, and the name of the treatise was evi
dently Tattvasandeśa or “Exposition of Truth ”, Yuan
chuang's Pien -chên, with the word for śāstra ( lun) added .
name mentioned by Tāranātha.2 Burnouf was of opinion
Vasumitra, mentioned in the " Abhidharmakośa -vyākha",
find a Gunamati disputing with a great master of the San
khya system.
Three or four li north from Guņaprabha’s monastery, Yuan
Brethren , all Hinayānists. It was in this monastery that the
1 Life Ch. 2 : J. I. p . 109.
2 Tár. S. 126 et al .: Wass. Bud . S. 84 .
SANGHABHADRA AND VASUBANDHU. 325

the Vaibhāsha sastras of the Sarvāstivādin school.
rendering. " [Le Traité] Vibhacha çāstra” as the treatise
with the special work called “ Vibhāshā-lun ”.
the Vibhāshā masters composed the “ Abhidharma-kośa -śāstra "
then he composed a treatise which he called the “ Kośa-pao" or
“ Bud - hail", śāstra. This work he entrusted to three or four of
disciples proceed with the view of meeting him. But Vasubandhu
with him , hastily packed up and went off with his disciples. To
par the day after Vasubandhu had left it, and here he sickened
and died . On his deathbed he wrote letter of regret and apo
work expounded the views of those whom he (Vasubandhu) follow
ed , he would leave the work as it was only giving it a new name.
This name was " Shun -chêng -li-lun ”, the Sāstra which accords
with orthodox principles (Nyāyānusāra-śāstra ). The tope erected
of the monastery, was still in existence .
chuang's text and the reader will observe that ; according
324 TATTVA SANDESA.
text to read pu -tê-chêng -kuo ( W ), that is, whe

could not realize the fruit”, viz -of arhatship. The old
reading of some texts was pu-shih (9$) chêng -kuo, meaning
"he quickly realized the fruit " . The D text has pu -chêng
tao -kuo, which also means " he did not attain to arhatship”,
" Pien - chên -lun ", mentioned in the above passage Julien
restores the Sanskrit original as " Tattvavibhanga cāstra " .
name to be “ Tattvasatya çastra", and this restoration has
which Julien makes to stand for satya are san -ti-sho E
# ) for sandeśa, and the name of the treatise was evi
dently Tattvasandeśa or “ Exposition of Truth ”, Yuan
chuang's Pien -chên , with the word for śāstra (lun) added."
name mentioned by Tāranātha. ? Burnouf was of opinion
Vasumitra, mentioned in the " Abhidharmakośa -vyākha",
find a Guņamati disputing with a great master of the San
khya system .
Three or four li north from Guņaprabha's monastery, Yuan
Brethren, all Hinayānists. It was in this monastery that the
1 Life Ch. 2 : J. I. p. 109.
2 Tär. S. 126 et al .: Wass. Bud. S. 84 .
SANGHABHADRA AND VASUBANDHU . 325

the Vaibhāsha śāstras of the Sarvāstivādin school.
rendering. “ [Le Traité] Vibhacha çästra" as the treatise
with the special work called “ Vibhäsha -lun ".
the Vibhāshā masters composed the “ Abhidharma-kośa-śāstra"
then he composed a treatise which he called the " Kosa -pao " or
“ Bud -hail", śāstra. This work he entrusted to three or four of
disciples proceed with the view of meeting him . But Vasubandhu
with him, hastily packed up and went off with his disciples. To
pur the day after Vasubandhu had left it, and here he sickened
and died . On his deathbed he wrote letter of regret and apo
work expounded the views of those whom he (Vasubandhu ) follow
ed, he would leave the work as it was only giving it a new name.
This name was “ Shun -chêng - li-lun ", the Sāstra which accords
with orthodox principles (Nyāyānusāra-śāstra). The tope erected
of the monastery, was still in existence .
chuang's text and the reader will observe that; according
326 SANGHABHADRA'S BOOK.
to Yuan -chuang's information , Sanghabhadra was not, as

Tāranātha represents him, the master of Vasubandhu.
He is rather the young Doctor in Philosophy who is pre
sumptuous enough to take up arms against the great chief
renowned far and wide as peerless in dialectics. There is
nothing in the text to shew that he and Vasubandhu were
personal acquaintances, or that they ever met. So also in
the Life of Vasubandhu the two men are apparently un
known to each other, and never meet." Then as to the
" Abhidharma-kośa- śāstra " it will be remembered that accor
ding to Yuan - chuang it was composed by Vasubandhu in
Purushapur of Gandhāra, and this does not agree with
the account in the Life of Vasubandhu. Yuan -chuang
Iso tells us, and the statement has been often repeated,
that Vasubandhu composed this treatise in order to refute
the Vaibhāshikas. But, as has been stated already, this
is not correct . The original verses were compiled by
him as a Sarvāstivādin Vaibhāshika, and the Commentary,
still mainly Vaibhāshika, gives a development to certain
questions from the Sautrantika point of view .
As to the treatise which Sanghabhadra wrote to demo
lish the Abhidharma-kośa according to Yuan-chuang the
original title is given in the text as Kosa -hail-lun. In the
name " Abhidharma-kośa śāstra" the word kośa is used in
the sense of a bud, the verses being buds in which were
folded the flowers of Buddhist metaphysics awaiting deve
lopment. So the Kośa-pao-lun, or Bud -hail-treatise, is to
be understood as the work which was to spoil all the hope
and promise of the Koša. Vasubandhu, Yuan-chuang tells
us, changed the name to " Shun - chêng - li- lun " the " Sastra
which follows Right Principles", and the Life of Vasubandhu
gives the title as " Sui-shih -lun ” or the “ Šāstra which
follows the True” . These names are probably only diffe
rent renderings of a name like Nyāyānusāra- or Anusāra
Šāstra. But the story about the “ Bud -hail" title must be
1 Vasubandhu - chuan (No. 1463 ).

2 See ch. VI. p.
VIMALA -MITRA . 327
discarded as the work itself shews that the author intended

the title to be something like Nyāyānusāra - śāstra. Moreover
in his subsequent treatise abridged from this he calls his
large work “ Shun -chêng-li-lun" . With the wicked title
should go the statements about the author writing the
book in a spirit of envious hostility against Vasubandhu.
Nothing of this appears in the treatise ; and on the con
trary, as Vasubandhu stated, the work developes the views
of Vasubandhu and those whom he followed. In its ob
servations on the verses of the original treatise it some
times uses the words of Vasubandhu's own commentary.
The work condemns as heterodox certain opinions ascribed
to the Sthaviras and the Sūtra-lords (Ching -chu ), but Vasu
bandhu is not mentioned by name. Tāranātha mentions
a treatise called “ Abhidharmakośabhāshyațīkā-tattva” which
he ascribes to Sthiramati. Another name for it is given
as the “ Thunder -bolt" ,2 and it is perhaps not impossible
that this may be the “ Bud-hail” treatise ascribed by Yuan
chuang to Sanghabhadra.
The pilgrim's narrative proceeds to relate that beside the mango
plantation which contained Sanghabhadra's tope was another tope
erected over the remains of a Sāstra-Master named Vimala -mitra.
This man, who was a native of Kashmir and an adherent of the
Sarvata school, having made a profound study of canonical and
heterodox scriptures, had travelled in India to learn the mysteries
of the Tripitaka. Having gained a name, and finished his studies,
he was returning to his home, and had to pass Sanghabhadra's
tope on the way. At this place he sighed over the premature
death of that great Master under whom he had studied. He
lamented also that Vasubandhu's teaching was still in vogue, and
he expressed his determination to write a refutation of the Mahā
yana system , and to efface the name of Vasubandhu. But he in
1 Abhidharma-tsang -bsien -tsung -lun (No. 1266). The word tsang

in this title is evidently a translation of kośa and not of pitaka. In
the name of the original treatise the word kośa has been explained
as meaning not only bud but also core, sheath, integument, and other
things. Sangbabhadra, however, does not seem to have taken the
word in the sense of bud either in the Anusāra -śāstra or in this
abstract.
2 Tār. S. 130 note, and S. 319 and note.
328 MITRASENA .
stantly became delirious, five tongues emerged from his mouth,

and his life -blood gushed forth. He had time to repent, and to
warn his disciples ; but he died and went, according to an arhat,
to the Hell which knows no intermission . At the time of his
death there was an earthquake, and a cavity was formed in the
ground at the spot where he died. His associates cremated the
corpse, collected the bones, and erected a memorial (that is, the
tope) over them .
It is unusual for a tope to be erected in memory of a
man reputed to have gone to Hell, and a Chinese annotator
has suggested that stupa here is a mistake for ti ( 1 )
meaning " place". But the correction is not necessary, as
the tope was erected by the personal friends of Vimala
mitra, who did not think he had gone to Hell. As this
man's dead body was cremated it seems strange that the
arhat should have declared he had gone down into the
Avichi Hell. It was evidently not the human being Vimala
mitra who had so descended, but his alter ego, the embo
died karma which had been formed and accumulated in
successive births.
From the Life we learn that the pilgrim remained
several months in this district studying Guņaprabha's Pien
chên -lun or “ Tattvasandeśa śāstra ", already mentioned, and
other Abhidharma commentaries. He also met here the
Bhadanta Mi-to-se-na, that is Mitasena (or Mitrasena ),
ninety years old who had been a disciple of Guņaprabha
and was a profound scholar in Buddhist learning.
In the north -west of Matipur, Yuan -chuang proceeds to relate,
on the east side of the Ganges was the city Mo- yü -lo (or Ma
yūra) above twenty li in circuit. It had a large population and
streams of clear water : it produced bell-metal (tíu -shih ), rock
crystal, and articles of jewelry. Near the city and close to the
Ganges was a large Deva-Temple of many miracles, and in its
inclosure was a tank the banks of which were faced with stone
slabs, the tank being fed by an artificial passage from the Ganges.
This was called the Ganges-Gate and it was a place for making
religious merit and extinguishing guilt : there were constantly
many thousands of people from distant regions assembled here
bathing. Pious kings erected Punyasālas in the district for the
free distribution of dainty food and medical requisites to the
kinless and friendless.
BRAHMAPURA . 329
The "Ganges-Gate" of this passage is said to be the Gan

gādvāra of Indian writers, the modern Hardwar (or Hari
dvār), the “ Source of the Ganges " already mentioned. As
Yuan -chuang apparently did not go to Mayūra, we should
perhaps regard him as writing about Gangādvāra only
from information given to him by others. Cunningham
thinks that this Mayūra "must be the present ruined site
of Māyāpura, at the head of the Ganges canal".1 But
Mo -yü -lo cannot be taken as a transcription of Māyāpura,
and this town was on the west side of the Ganges whereas
Mo- yü -lo ( Mayūra) was on the east side of that river.
Our pilgrim proceeds to relate that going north “ from this"
above 300 li he came to the Po-lo-hih-mo-pu-lo country. This
was more than 4000 li in circuit, with mountains on all sides,
its capital being above twenty li in circuit. It had a rich flour
ishing population, and a fertile soil with regular crops : it yield
ed bell-metal ( t'u -shih) and rock-crystal : the climate was coldish :
the people had rough ways : they cared little for learning and
pursued gain. There were five Buddhist monasteries, but there
were very few Brethren : there were above ten Deva-Temples
and the sectarians lived pell- mell .
The Pro-lo-hih -mo-pu -lo of this passage has been restored
by Julien, who here transliterates Po-lo -ki-mo, as Brahma
pura ; and the restoration , said by Cunningham to be correct,
lias been generally accepted. Although Pro - lo -hih -mo is
not the usual transcription for Brahma, we may perhaps
regard these sounds as standing here for this word. Brahma
pura is the name of a city which is in the north -east
division of the Brihat Samhita2, but in our author it is
the name of a country. Cunningham , who treats the north
of our text as a mistake for north-east, finds the country
in “ the districts of Garhwāl and Kumaon " . 3 It is not very
clear whether the pilgrim meant us to understand that he
started on his journey to this country from Mayūra, or
from Matipura. The Fang- Chih took the former as the
1 A. G. I. p. 351.
2 Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII. p. 172.
3 A. G. I. p . 355.
Mighrmor Sanipo habe in Tobel can va22 I'm
! Werlin Perendine which wa, nupjonilnim Wealen for now )
Tubit ?
330 EASTERN WOMEN'S LAND.
starting - place, but it is perhaps better to regard Matipur

as the “this" of the text from which the pilgrim goes north
300 li. This construction is in agreement with the Life
which has no mention of Mayūra.
To the north of this country (Brahmapura ), and in the Great
Snow Mountains, was the Suvarṇagotra country. The superior
gold which it produced gave the country its name. This was
the “ Eastern Woman's Country" (that is, of the Chinese) so called
because it was ruled by a succession of women . The husband
of the queen was king , but he did not administer the govern
ment. The men attended only to the suppression of revolts and
the cultivation of the fields. This country reached on the east
to T -u - fan (Tibet ), on the north to Khoten , and on the west to
San -po-ha (Malasa).
The Suvarṇagotra country of this passage is perhaps
the Suvarnabhū or Gold-region in the north-east division
of the Brihat -Sanhitā , which Kern regards as "in all likeli
hood a mythical land".1 Our pilgrim was taught to iden
tify this district with the “ Eastern Woman's -Country" of
his countrymen, which is undoubtedly a mythical region.
Further the situation of the Eastern Woman's Country is
far away from the region in which Yuan-chuang places
his Suvarṇagotra. This name is translated properly in a
note to the text by “ the Golds" that is, the Gold family ,
but the author evidently regarded the name as meaning
“ the land of gold ”.
KU -PI-SANG -NA (GOVIŠANA).

From Matipur the pilgrim continued his journey, he goes on
to state, travelling south-east for above 400 li to the country of
Ku -p'i -shuangíor sang)-na . This country was above 2000 li in
circuit ; and its capital, which was 14 or 15 li in circuit, was a
natural stronghold. There was a flourishing population : every
where was a succession of blooming woods and tanks: the cli
mate and natural products were the same as those of Matipur.
The people had honest sincere ways, they applied themselves to
learning and were fond of religious merit : most of them
were non -Buddhists, and sought the joys of this life. There
1 Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII. p. 190 .

AHICHATRA. 331
were two Buddhist monasteries with above 100 Brethren all Hina .
yānists. Of Deva-Temples there were above 30, and the secta
rians lived pell-mell. Close to the capital was an old monastery
in which was an Asoka tope to mark the spot at which the
Buddha preached for a month on religious essentials. Beside
this were sites of the sitting places and exercise grounds of the
Four Past Buddhas, and two topes with hair and nail relics of
the Julai .
For the Ku -pói-sang -na of our pilgrim's text Julien

suggests Govišana as a possible restoration, and Saint
Martin proposes Goviśāna, but a word like Govisanna
would be nearer the Chinese sounds. Cunningham thinks
that the capital of this country was on the site of " the
old fort near the village of Ufain which is just one mile
to the east of the modern Kāshipur”. The country he
thinks, “must have corresponded very nearly to the modern
districts of Kāshipur, Rāmpur, and Pilibhit” .' The Fang
chih here agrees with the Records, but the Life does not
mention the journey from Matipur to Govisana.
For the words “religious essentials” in the penultimate sen
tence of the above passage the original is chu-fa -yao (
E ) which may also be translated “ the essentials of
things”. These words are rendred by Julien— “ les vérités
les plus essentielles de la loi".
NGO-HI-CH'I-TA-LO (AHICHATRA ?)
From Govišana , our pilgrim proceeds to tell us, he travelled
south-east above 400 li, and came to the country which he calls
Ngo(or O). hi- ch'i - ta lo . This country was above 3000 li in cir .
cuit : its capital , which was in a strong position, was 17 or 18 li
in circuit. The country yielded grain, and had many woods and
springs, and a genial climate. The people were honest in their
ways, they studied abstract truth ( tao ) and were diligent in
learning, with much ability and extensive knowledge. There
were above ten Buddhist Monasteries , and more than 1000 Brethren
students of the Sammitiya School of the Hinayāna. Deva-Temples
were nine in number, and there were above 300 professed ad
herents of the other systems Pāśupatas who worshipped Jśvara
(Siva). At the side of a Dragon Tank outside the capital was
1 A. G. I. p. 357.
332 VILASANA.
an Asoka tope where the Ju-lai preached to the Dragon for

seven days. Beside it were four small topes at the sitting and
exercise places of the Four Past Buddhas.
The first character for the name of the country here
described is written in some texts and in others,
and the sound of these characters is given as Ngo or wo,
or o or yo. In the Life this syllable is omitted and the
name is given as Hi-chói-ta -lo, apparently by mistake
although it seems to be the reading of all the texts. The
Life also makes the pilgrim go from Brahmapura south
east above 400 li to this country. Julien restores the
name in our text as Ahikshetra, but the characters seem
to require a word like Ahichitra. Cunningham adopts the
account in the Records and writes the name Ahichatra
which , he says, is still preserved although the place has
been deserted for many centuries. The district of Ahichatra,
he believes, occupied the eastern part of Rohilkhand .'
PI-LO - SHAN -NA .
From Ahichitra, the pilgrim tells us, he went south (according

to the other texts but according to D, east) about 260 li and
crossing the Ganges went to the south (or according to the
B text, south -west) into the Peż -lo-shan -na country. This was above
2000 li in circuit and its capital above ten li in circuit. It re
sembled Ahichitra in climate and products. The people were
mainly non -Buddhists, a few reverencing Buddhism. There were
two Buddhist Monasteries with 300 Brethren all Mahāyāna stu
dents. There were five Deva- Temples and the sectarians lived
pell-mell. In the capital was an old monastery within the in
closure of which stood an Asoka tope at the pilgrim's time in
ruins. It was here that the Buddha delivered during seven days
the sūtra called yun-chie- ch'u-ching ( 1 ). By its side
were vestiges of the sitting and exercise places of the Four Past
Buddhas.
The name of the country here described is restored by

Julien tentatively as Viraśāna, but it may have been some
thing like Vilašāņa or Bhilasana. Pi-lo - shan -na ( 4 )
is the reading in the A , B, and C texts of the Records,
1 A. G. I. p. 359.
SANKASSA. 333
and in the Fang- chih, but in the D text of the Records

and in the Life the reading is Pi-lo -na ( )-na which may
be for a word like Bhiladana.
Cunningham identifies the capital of the Pói-lo-shan -na
of our text with "the great mound of ruins called Atranji
khera which is situated on the right or west bank of the
Kāli Nadi, four miles to the south of Karsana, and eight
miles to the north of Eyta, on the Grand Trunk Road ” .!
The name of the sūtra which the pilgrim says the Buddha
delivered at the capital of this country is given as yun
chie-chºu -ching. This means “ the sūtra of the place of the
elements of the skandha ”, and it may represent a Sanskrit
name like Skandhadhātusthāna sutra (B. Nanjio suggests
“ Skandhadhātuupasthāna sūtra” ), the “ sūtra of the basis
of the elements of phenomena ”, that is, of the senses and
their objects. No sūtra with a name like this seems to
be known to the collections of Buddhist scriptures, and
the Fang -chih merely states that the Buddha preached
for seven days " the dharma of the elements of the skandha".
KAPITHA OR SĀNKAŚYA.
From Pi- lo -shan - na, the narrative proceeds, a journey of above
200 li south-east brought the pilgrim to the Kah -pi-ta (Kapitha)
country. This was more than 2000 li, and its capital above twenty
li in circuit : the climate and products of the district were like
those of P-i - lo- shan-na. There were four Buddhist monasteries
(that is perhaps, at the capital) and above 1000 Brethren all of
the Sammatiya School. The Deva - Temples were ten in number
and the non-Buddhists, who lived pell-mell, were Saivites.
Above twenty li east (according to the A, B, and C texts, but
in the D text, west) from the capital was a large monastery of
fine proportions and perfect workmanship : its representations
of Buddhist worthies were in the highest style of ornament.
The monastery contained some hundreds of Brethren, all of the
Sammatiya School, and beside it lived their lay dependents some
myriads in number. Within the enclosing wall of the monastery
were Triple stairs of precious substances in a row south to north,
and sloping down to east, where the Julai descended from the
1 A. G. I. p. 365.
334 SANKASSA .
Tayastiņsa Heaven. The Ju-lai had ascended from Jetavana to

Heaven and there lodged in the “ Good -Law -Hall ” where he had
preached to his mother : at the end of three months he was
about to descend. Then Indra by bis divine power set up triple
stairs of precious substances, the middle one of gold, the left
one of crystal, and the right one of silver. The Buddha descend
ed on the middle stair, Brahma holding a white whisk came
down with him on the right stair and Indra holding up a jeweled
sunshade descended on the left stair, while devas in the air
scattered flowers and praised the Buddha. These stairs survived
until some centuries before the pilgrim's time when they sank
out of sight : then certain kings on the site of the original stairs
set up the present ones of brick and stone adorned with precious
substances and after the pattern of the original stairs. The pre
sent stairs were above 70 feet high with a Buddhist temple on
the top in which was a stone image of the Buddha, and images
of Brahma and Indra were at the top of the right and left stairs
respectively and these images like the originals appeared to be
descending .
By the side of these was an Asoka stone-pillar of a lustrous
violet colour and very hard with a crouching lion on the top
facing the stairs: quaintly carved figures were on each side of
the pillar, and according to one's bad or good deserts figures
appeared to him in the pillar. Not far from the Stairs was a
tope where the Four Past Buddhas had sat and walked up and
down : beside it was a tope where the Ju-lai had taken a bath :
beside this was a Buddhist temple where the Julai had gone into
samādhi. Beside the temple was a large stone platform 50 paces
long and seven feet high where the Julai had walked up and
down, all his footsteps having the tracery of a lotus- flower : and
on both sides of it were small topes erected by Indra and Brahma.
In front was the place where the bhikshuni Lotus flower -colour
(Uttpalavarnī) wishing to be first to see the Buddha on his de
scent from Heaven transformed herself into a universal sovereign.
At the same time Subhūti sitting meditating on the vanity of
things beheld the spiritual body of Buddha. The Julai told Ut
palavarṇā that she had not been the first to see him for Subhūti
contemplating the vanity of things had preceded her in seeing
his spiritual body. The Buddha's exercise platform was enclosed
by a wall and had a large tope to the south-east of which was
a tank the dragon of which protected the sacred traces from
wanton injury.
The Life gives the direction in which the pilgrim tra
velled from F'i-lo -shan -na to Kah -pi-ta as east instead of
the souh-east of our text, but this may be a slip, the dis
SANKASSA . 335
tance between the places being the same in the two

books.
Our pilgrim's Kah - pi-t'a has naturally been restored as
Kapitha, and we may retain the restoration for the pre
sent, although the word seems to be otherwise unknown.
The transcription may, however, be for Kalpita, a word
which has, with other meanings, that of “ set in order ". It
was perhaps this name which the translator of a sūtra
had before him when he gave An -hsiang-hui ( 6 ),
“ Orderly arranged Meeting ” as the name of the place of
the Buddha's descent." A note to our text here tells us
that the old name of Kapitha was Sêng-ka -she ( 194).
This is a transcription of the name which is given as
Sankāsya or Sāngkaśya (in Pali, Sankassa). It is the San
kasa of some, the Sakaspura of Spence Hardy, and the
modern Sankisa.2 The name Sankāśya or a variety of it
seems to have been generally employed by the Buddhist
writers of India, and the translators into Chinese and
Tibetan usually centented themselves with transcriptions
of the original. Another name for the place of the Buddha's
Descent is that used in the Itinerary of Wu-kóung. There
it is designated Ni-fo -wa-lo ( VE US), a puzzling word
which the translators have taken to stand for the Sanskrit
Devāvatāra.3 This is doubtless correct, and the district
obtained the name Devāvatāra or Devatāvataraṇam , in
Chinese Tien -hsia -ch'ü (FF ) 4, “Place of Devas' De
scent", because Brahma, Indra, and hosts of inferior devas
here appeared descending to earth with the Buddha. But
as this name was not Buddhistic in appearance, the Deva
Fo -shuo - yi-tsu -ching, ch. 2 (No. 674). But the Kah-pi- t'a of our
text may be the Kapisțbala of the Brihat sañhita which the author
of that work places in Madhyadeśa-see Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII p. 180
and Alberuni I. p. 300.
2 For Sakaspura and the Cingalese version of the visit to Heaven
and descent therefrom see M. B. p. 308. For Sankisa see A. G. I.
p. 368 .
3 Shih-li-ching : J. A. T. VI. p. 358.
+ Divyāv. p. 150 : Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 19.
334 SANKASSA .
Tayastimsa Heaven. The Ju-lai had ascended from Jetavana to

Heaven and there lodged in the “Good -Law -Hall” where he had
one of crystal, and the right one of silver. The Buddha descend.
descending .
In front was the place where the bhikshuni Lotus flower - colour
( Uttpalavarnī) wishing to be first to see the Buddha on his de
At the same time Subhūti sitting meditating on the vanityof
things beheld the spiritual body of Buddha. The Julai told Ut.
palavarṇā that she had not been the first to see him for Subhūti
wanton injury.
velled from F'i- lo -shan -na to Kah -pi- t'a as east instead of
SANKASSA . 335

books.
Our pilgrim's Kah -pi-t'a has naturally been restored as
which has, with other meanings, that of " set in order ". It
was perhaps this name which the translator of a sütra
had before him when he gave An-hsiang-hui ( int ),
" Orderly arranged Meeting ” as the name of the place of
the Buddha's descent.1 A note to our text here tells us
that the old name of Kapitha was Sêng-ka -she (1 h ).
Sankaśya or Sāngkāśya ( in Pali, Sankassa). It is the San
modern Sankisa.2 The name Sankāsya or a variety of it
it is designated Ni-fo-wa -to (VE % ), a puzzling word
Chinese Tien -hsia -ch'ü (FF ) 4, “ Place of Devas' De
· Fo-shuo -yi-tsu -ching, ch. 2 (No. 674). But the Kah -pi-tía of our
text may be the Kapisțbala of the Brihat sanhita which the author
and Alberuni I. p. 300 .
P. 368.
• Divyāv. p. 150 : Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 19.
334 SANKASSA .

Heaven and there lodged in the “ Good-Law-Hall” where he had
one of crystal, and the right one of silver. The Buddha descend
descending.
In front was the place where the bhikshuni Lotus flower-colour
At the same time Subhūti sitting meditating on the vanityof
things beheld the spiritual body of Buddha. The Julai told Ut.
palavarņā that she had not been the first to see him for Subhūti
wanton injury.
velled from F'i- lo -shan -na to Kah -pi-ta as east instead of
the souh- east of our text, but this may be a slip, the dis
SANKASSA . 335

books.
sent, although the word seems to be otherwise unknown .
which has, with other meanings, that of " set in order ". It
had before him when he gave An -hsiang -hui ( p ),
"Orderly arranged Meeting ” as the name of the place of
the Buddha's descent. 1 A note to our text here tells us
that the old name of Kapitha was Sêng-ka -she ( 49 in).
Sankaśya or Sängkasya (in Pali, Sankassa ). It is the San
modern Sankisa.2 The Dame Sankāsya or a variety of it
it is designated Ni-fo -wa -to (VE W ), a puzzling word
Chinese Trien -hsia -ch'ü (FF ) 4, “ Place of Devas' De
scent ", because Brahma, Indra , and hosts of inferior devas
· Fo -shuo - yi-tsu - ching, ch. 2 (No. 674). But the Kah -pi-ta of our
text may be the Kapisthala of the Brihat sañhita which the author
and Alberuni I. p. 300.
p . 368 .
• Divyāv. p. 150 : Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 19.
334 SANKASSA.

Heaven and there lodged in the “ Good -Law - Hall " where he had
one of crystal, and the right one of silver. The Buddha descend .
sunshade descended on the left stair , while devas in the air
descending .
By the side of these was an Asoka stone - pillar of a lustrous
facing the stairs : quaintly carved figures were on each side of
down , all his footsteps having the tracery of a lotus- flower : and
In front was the place where the bhikshuni Lotus flower -colour
At the same time Subhūti sitting meditating on the vanity of
things beheld the spiritual body of Buddha. The Julai told Ut
palavarņā that she had not been the first to see him for Subhūti
his spiritual body. The Buddha’s exercise platform was enclosed
wanton injury.
velled from F'i- lo -shan -na to Kah -pi- t'a as east instead of
SANKASSA . 335

books.
which has, with other meanings, that of “ set in order ”. It
had before him when he gave An -hsiang -hui ( p ),
"Orderly arranged Meeting" as the name of the place of
the Buddha's descent. A note to our text here tells us
that the old name of Kapitha was Sêng -ka -she ( 49 in).
Sankāsya or Sängkasya (in Pali, Sankassa). It is the San
modern Sankisa.2 The name Sankāsya or a variety of it
it is designated Ni.fo-wa-to (UE É % ), a puzzling word
obtained the name Devāvatāra or Devatāvataraṇam, in
Chinese Tien -hsia -ch'ii (FF ) 4, “ Place of Devas' De
1 Fo -shuo - yi-tsu -ching, ch. 2 (No. 674). But the Kah -pi- tía of our
text may be the Kapisthala of the Brihat saõhita which the author
and Alberuni I. p. 300 .
p. 368.
Divyāv. p. 150 : Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 19.
336 SANKASSA .
or Devatā was probably dropt in popular use, and the

name Avataraṇam employed to denote the Buddha's De
scent. Mr Rockhill's Tibetan text in his Life of Buddha
relates that Buddha descended to the foot of the Udum .
bara tree of the Avadjaravana (sic) of the town of Sām
kaśya ”.1 Here the Tibetan probably wrote Avajaravana
by a slip for Avatāravana or Avataraṇam .
From a curious little sūtra 2 we learn that there had
once been at the place afterwards called Sankāsya an old
chaitya (or tope), built in honour of Kāśyapa Buddha by
his father, and called Sêng-ka-shih (Sankāśya ). Before the
time of Gautama Buddha, however, this chaitya had sunk
down until it was all underground. When the Buddha
descended from Heaven at this place, he caused the Chaitya
to emerge above ground as a memorial of his return to
earth. Afterwards it was found that the chaitya as it
stood interfered with the traffic of the city, and so the
king ordered it to be demolished. But during the night
the chaitya left its site to the north of the city, and passed
over the city to a spot in a wood about twenty li south
of it. The chaitya of this sūtra is elsewhere a temple;
and is described as the model for the one which five kings
on Buddha's suggestion erected near its site.3 This temple,
called the Gods or Kings' Temple, was erected as a me
morial of the Buddha's Descent, and was probably the
temple of our pilgrim's description . In the old sūtra, it
will be observed, the chaitya of Kāśyapa Buddha is called
Sankāśya, and this name is transferred to the city. As
such the name is interpreted in another work as meaning
kuang -ming ( ) or “ brightness", " clearness”,4 and this
may indicate a reference to the legend of the chaitya of
Kāśyapa Buddha.
The story of Gautama Buddha leaving Jetavana for the
1 Rockhill Life p . 81 .
2 Fo-shuo-ku-shu-ching (feat hitit ).
3 Tsêng -yi-a -han -ching, ch. 28.
4 A -yü -wang - ching, ch. 3.
LEGEND OF UPPALAVANNA . 337
Trayastrimśa Heaven, spending there the three months of

Retreat expounding his religion to his mother and the
devas, and of his glorious descent to earth again, is refer
red to in many Chinese Buddhist books, and with only few
serious variations of detail. In some works the place of
descent is near a sand, or a large tank, outside of San
kāśya city ?, and here the " tank" of the translation may
represent avatūra in the original, this word having also
the meaning of tank or pond. In some treatises the scene
of the Descent is at Kanyākubja, which is placed in the
Sankāśya country by one authority, and in the Andhra
country by another . The Tope of the Descent was the
fifth of the Eight Great Topes connected with the Buddha's
career, and it was at Kanyākubja. Wu-Kóung went to
Devāvatāra to see this tope, but neither Fa-hsien3 nor our
pilgrim makes any mention of a great tope in their de
scriptions of the sights of the place, although Yuan-chuang,
as we have seen , incidentally mentions a “ great tope"
afterwards.
The legend of the bhikshuņi Utpalavarņā making herself
a magic Chakravartī, or Universal Sovereign , by which to
be the first to greet Buddha on his descent ; and her re
buke by the latter, who told her that Subhūti, seeing the
spiritual body of Buddha, had been before her, is in several
Buddhist works . But it is not in the account of the
Descent given in the Tsa -a -han - ching, and in another treat
ise we have the bhikshunī, but Subhūti is not mentioned
by name. The words “ transformed herself” in the state
ment that the nun “transformed herself into a Chakravarti "
are for the terms hua -tso (1 £ ff.) and hua - wei (46 S) of
the text. But the former, which is apparently taken from
the Fo -kuo -chi or some other work, means create or pro
duce the appearance of by magic. Utpalavarṇā was an
1 A - yü -wang -chuan, ch. 2 ; Tsêng -yi-a -han -ching, l. c.

? Ta-shêng -pên -shêng -hsin - ti-kuan -ching, ch. 1 (No. 955) ; Pa-ta
ling -tra -ming- hao - ching (No. 898 ).
3 See Fo - kuo - chi, ch . 17 .
Y
338 LEGEND OF UPPALAVANŅĀ.
arhat, and so had supernormal powers. She thus, accord

ing to various accounts, produced the appearance of a
chakravarti with his seven treasures, 1000 sons, and fourfold
army, and transferring herself into her own magic Chakra
varti, obtained the foremost place in front of the actual
kings and all the crowd assembled to welcome Buddha ."
Subhūti at this time was sitting, according to Yuan- chuang,
in a cave ( that is, on the Gridhrakūța mountain near Rāja
gaha ), but another version makes him to be in his own
house. Knowing that the Buddha was coming down from
Heaven he reflected on the vanity of phenomena, and rea
lizing in himself the nature of phenomena, he beheld, by
the vision of spiritual wisdom, the spiritual body of Buddha,
that is, the transcendental philosophy of Prajñāpāramitā.
The Utpalavarņā (in Pali , Uppalavaņņā ) of this passage
was one of the greatest and most noted of the bhikshunīs
ordained by the Buddha. Her life as a laywoman had
been extremely unhappy and, according to some legends,
very immoral. She had two experiences which were
especially distressing and produced on her a profound
effect leading her, according to one account, to renounce
the world. While living with her first husband she found
him living in adultery with her mother , and her second
husband brought home, as his concubine, her daughter by
her first husband. Each of these experiences pierced
her with sharp agony; and she left her home for ever.2
When she became converted , and was admitted into the
Buddhist church as a bhikshunī, she devoted herself to
religion with enthusiasm , and attained arhatship. But
1 Ta-chih-tu-lun , ch. 10, Ta -sheng-tsao -hsiang -kung-tê- ching, ch . 1

( No. 288).
2 Mi-sa-sai-lü, ch. 4 (No. 1122) ; Tib . Tales p. 206. A very differ
ent account of this lady's admission into his church by the Buddha
is given in the Fa-chü - pi- yü -ching, ch. 1 (No. 1353) where she is
called simply Lien-hua or Utpala. For the previous existences of
Uppalavaņņā see Dr Bode's “ Woman Leaders of the Buddhist Refor
mation ” in J. R. A. S. for 1893 p . 532. For her misfortunes see
also Therī-Gāthā p. 144 and p. 198 (P. T. S.).
SUBHŪTI. 339
even as a nun she was put to shame and had trouble. And
her death was sad, for she was brutally attacked by Deva
datta and died from the injuries inflicted by him. ' Her
name " Blue lotus colour” may have been given to her, as
some suppose, because she had eyes like the blue lotus ;
but it is also said to have been indicative of her great
personal beauty, or of the sweet perfume which her body
exhaled .
Subhūti is interpreted as meaning “ Excellent Manifes
tation " which is Yuan -chuang's translation , or “ Excellent
good auspices”, and is rendered in several other ways. It
was the name of the Disciple who is sometimes mentioned
along with Mahākāsyapa, Aniruddha and other great dis
ciples of the Buddha. But he is best known as the ex
ponent and defender of the doctrines of Prajñāpāramitä.
He was a son of a learned brahmin of Śrāvasti, and was
educated in the orthodox learning. Afterwards he became
a hermit, and then was converted to Buddhism and ordained. 3
i Sar. Vin. Pío -sêng-shih, ch. 10 (No. 1123).

2 Divyāv. p. 361 ; Saddharmapundarīkā , chs. 1 and 4.
3 Bud. Lit. Nep. p . 296 ; Ching -lü -yi-hsiang, ch. 13 (No. 1473).
Y*
CHAPTER XI.
CHUAN V.
KANYĀKUBJA TO VIŠOKA .
From the neighbourhood of Sankāsya the pilgrim went north
west for nearly 200 li to the Ka-no-kü-she (Kanyākubja) country.
This he describes as being above 4000 li in circuit. The capital,
which had the Ganges on its west side, was above twenty li in
length by four or five li in breadth ; it was very strongly de
fended and had lofty structures everywhere; there were beautiful
gardens and tanks of clear water, and in it rarities from strange
lands were collected . The inhabitants were well off and there
were families with great wealth ; fruit and flowers were abund
ant, and sowing and reaping had their seasons. The people
had a refined appearance and dressed in glossy silk attire ; they
were given to learning and the arts, and were clear and sug
gestive in discourse ; they were equally divided between ortho
doxy and heterodoxy. There were above 100 Buddhist monasteries
with more than 10,000 Brethren who were students of both the
“ Vehicles " . There were more than 200 Deva-Temples and the
non - Buddhists were several thousands in number,
The reading “ north -west ” at the beginning of this pas

sage is that of the Common texts of the Records and Life;
but the D text of the Records has “ south - east". This
agrees with Fa -hsien's narrative !, confirms the correction
proposed by Cunningham ?, and, as Kanauj is to the south
east of Sankassa, is evidently the proper reading. Moreover
in the itinerary of the Sung pilgrim Kanyākubja is two
stages (chóêng fi ) to the east of Sankāsya 3. Fa-hsien
1 Fo -kuo - chi, ch. 18.
2 Anc. Geog . Ind . p. 76 .
3 Ma T. 1. ch. 338.
KANYĀKUBJA . 341
makes the distance between these two places to be seven

yojanas or above 40 miles and this agrees roughly with
Yuan -chuang's 200 li.
Yuan -chuang here gives to the capital and extends also
to the country the correct name Ka -no -kü -she ( L # 124)
that is, Kanyākubja, while Fa -hsien, like some other wri
ters, gives the name which was probably in use among
the natives, viz. Ka -nao-yi or Kanoyi, that is, the modern
Kanauj (or Kanoj). Another transcription of the classical
name is Kan -na -ku -po-she ($4 aut fi t ) which is wrongly
translated by @rh -ch'u ( IF 1 ) or “ Ear -emanation ”. In a
note to our text the name is properly rendered by “ Hunch
backed maidens”, the translation which the pilgrim uses,
and the story of the origin of the name is related by the
pilgrim .
According to this story long ages ago when Brahmadatta was
king, and men lived very many years the name of the city was
Kusumapura (that is , Flower-Palace or city). King Brahma
datta was a mighty sovereign and a great warrior ; he had also
the full number of 1000 sons wise and valorous and 100 fair and
virtuous daughters. On the bank of the Ganges there lived at
this time a rishi the years of whose life were to be counted by
myriads ; he was popularly called the “ Great- Tree -Rishi", because
he had a banyan tree growing from his shoulders; the seed of
the tree had been dropt on him by a bird , had taken root and
grown to be a huge tree in which birds had been building their
nests while the rishi remained unconscious in a trance of pro
longed absorbed meditation (samādhi). When he had emerged
from the trance, and moved about, he had glimpses of the king's
daughters as they chased each other in the wood near the river.
Then carnal affection laid hold on him , and he demanded of the
king one of his daughters in marriage. But all the princesses
refused to wed “ Great- Tree - Rishi", and the king was in great
fear and distress . In this extremity, however, the youngest
daughter made a sacrifice of herself by offering to marry the
rishi in order to save her father and country from the effects of
his displeasure. But when the circumstances were told to him
the old rishi was very much enraged at the other princesses for
not appreciating him properly , and he cursed them with imme
diate crookedness. In consequence of this the ninety nine prin
cesses all became bowed in body, and the capital of the country
was henceforth known as the city of the Hunch-backed Maidens.
342 KANYAKUBJA .
This is a very silly story which probably has a good

moral. The brahmins, it will be remembered, have a similar
story to account for the name of the city of Kanauj . They
relate that Vāyu, the Wind- god, also called a rishi, be
came enamoured of the 100 daughters of Kusanābha, king
of this country. The princesses refused to comply with
the god's lustful desires, and he in his ire made them all
back-bowed, and from this circumstance the city got its
name Kanyäkubja . Another name for the district or
country is Mahodayā, explained as meaning " the land of
great prosperity". It is sometimes described as being in
the Andhra country, as we have seen, and it is also said
to be in the middle of India, in Madhyadeśa.
It will be seen that in the description which Yuan
chuang gives of Kanyākubja in the above passage he
represents the Ganges as being on its west side. Cunning
ham makes him place that river on the east side, but this
is a mistake. Other old authorities place the Ganges
on the east side of Kanauj, where it still is. The city is
also described as being on the Kāli-nadi an affluent of
the Ganges on its west side. Fa-hsien merely describes
the capital as reaching to the Ganges; but this evidently
was not on the west side, as he tells of a tope on the
north bank of the river about six li to the west of the
capital .
Our pilgrim here gives the number of Buddhist esta
blishments in and about the capital as 100. This number
seems to point to a great increase of Buddhism in the
district from the time of Fa-hsien, as when that pilgrim
visited the Kanauj country there were apparently only two
Buddhist monasteries at the capital. The " non - Buddhists”,
or yi- tao ( L) , of our pilgrim who meet us so often in
the Records, were evidently the priests or other professed
ministers of the various non - Buddhist systems of religion.
These must have increased and Buddhists decreased at
Kanyakubja after our pilgrim's time, as when the Sung
1 Dowson's Cl . Dict. Ind . Myth. s. v. Vāyu .
HARSHAVARDHANA . 343
pilgrim visited the district he found topes and temples

numerous but there were no monks or nuns.
We have next an account of the sovereign ruling at
Kanauj and his origin.
This sovereign was of the Vaiśya caste, his personal name was
Harshavardhana, and he was the younger son of the great king
whose name was Prabhakaravardhana. When the latter died he
was succeeded on the throne by his elder son named Rāja
(or Räjya) vardhana. The latter soon after his accession was
treacherously murdered by Śasangka , the wicked king of Karna
suvarna in East India, a persecutor of Buddhism. Hereupon the
statesmen of Kanauj, on the advice of their leading man Bāni
(or Vāni), invited Harshavardhana, the younger brother of the
murdered king, to become their sovereign . The prince modestly
made excuses, and seemed unwilling to comply with their request.
When the ministers of state pressed Harshavardhana to succeed
his brother and avenge his murder, the narrative goes on to
relate, the prince determined to take the advice of the Bodhi
sattva Avalokitesvara (whose name is here given correctly in
translation Kuan -tzŭ -tsai, the “Beholding Lord'). An image of
this Bodhisattva, which had made many spiritual manifestations,
stood in a grove of this district near the Ganges. To this he
repaired ; and after due fasting and prayer, he stated his case to
the Bodhisattva . An answer was graciously given which told
the prince that it was his good karma to become king, and that
he should, accordingly, accept the offered sovereignty and then
raise Buddhism from the ruin into which it had been brought
by the king of Karnasuvarna, and afterwards make himself a
great kingdom . The Bodhisattva promised him secret help, but
warned him not to occupy the actual throne, and not to use the
title Mahārāja. Thereupon Harshavardhana became king of
Kanauj with the title Rajaputra and the style Siladitya.
Continuing his narrative the pilgrim goes on to state that as
soon as Silāditya became ruler he got together a great army,
and set out to avenge his brother's murder and to reduce the
neighbouring countries to subjection. Proceeding eastwards he
invaded the states which had refused allegiance, and waged in
cessant warfare until in six years he had fought the Five Indias
(reading chü JE . According to the other reading ch'ên E ,
had brought the Five Indias under allegiance). Then having en
larged his territory he increased his army, bringing the elephant
corps up to 60,000 and the cavalry to 100,000, and reigned in
peace for thirty years without raising a weapon . He was just
in his administration , and punctilious in the discharge of his
344 HARSHAVARDHANA .
duties. He forgot sleep and food in his devotion to good works.

He caused the use of animal food to cease throughout the Five
Indias, and he prohibited the taking of life under severe penal
ties. He erected thousands of topes on the banks of the Ganges,
established Travellers Rests through all his dominions, and erec
ted Buddhist monasteries at sacred places of the Buddhists. He
regularly held the Quinquennial Convocation ; and gave away in
religious alms everything except the material of war. Once a
year he summoned all the Buddhist monks together, and for
twenty one days supplied them with the regulation requisites.
He furnished the chapels and liberally adorned the common
balls of the monasteries. He brought the Brethren together for
examination and discussion , giving rewards and punishments
according to merit and demerit. Those Brethren who kept the
rules of their Order strictly and were thoroughly sound in theory
and practice he " advanced to the Lion's Throne" (that is, pro
moted to the highest place) and from these he received religious
instruction ; those who, though perfect in the observance of the
ceremonial code, were not learned in the past he merely honour
ed with formal reverence; those who neglected the ceremonial
observances of the Order, and whose immoral conduct was noto
rious, were banished from his presence and from the country.
The neighbouring princes, and the statesmen , who were zealous
in good works, and unwearied in the search for moral excellence,
he led to his own seat, and called “ good friends ”, and he would
not converse with those who were of a different character. The
king also made visits of inspection throughout his dominion, not
residing long at any place but having temporary buildings
erected for his residence at each place of sojourn, and he did
not go abroad during the three months of the Rain-season
Retreat. At the royal lodges every day viands were provided
for 1000 Buddhist monks and 500 Brahmins. The king's day
was divided into three periods , of which one was given up to
affairs of government, and two were devoted to religious works.
He was indefatigable, and the day was too short for him.
Before proceeding to the next part of our pilgrim's nar

rative we may add a few notes to his very interesting
account of the great Harshavardhana. At the beginning
of the above passage we are told that this king was of
the Fei-she (ofi *) or Vaisya caste (or stock ). This state
ment Cunningham thinks is a mistake, the pilgrim confound
ing the Vaisa or Bais Rajputs with the Vaiśya caste . Cun
ningham may be right. But we must remember that Yuan
HARSHAVARDHANA. 345
chuang had ample opportunities for learning the ante

cedents of the royal family, and he must have had some
ground for his assertion. Harshavardhana's father, Pra
bhākaravardhana, a descendant of Puspabhūti king of
Sthāṇeśvara in Śrīkantha, “ was famed far and wide
under a second name Pratāpaśīla ". To him were born
two sons Rājyavardhana and Harshavardhana and a
daughter Rājyaśrī, and he had also an adopted son Bhandi
the son of his queen's brother . The princess Rājyaśrī
was evidently, as the “ Harşa -carita " represents her, an in
telligent, accomplished lady, and she was apparently in
terested in Buddhism . She was present as a listener seated
behind Harshavardhana when the Chinese pilgrim gave
the latter a lecture on Buddhism . It may be noted here
also that the Fang-chih represents Harshavardhana as
“ administering the government in conjunction with his
widowed sister", a statement which is not, I think, either
in the Life or the Records. Very soon after Rajyavardhana
succeeded his father on the throne he had to go away to
avenge the murder of his brother-in-law, and to rescue
his sister imprisoned in Kanyākubja. He was successful
in battle, but he fell into a snare laid for him by the
Gauda king, according to the “ Harsa- carita ", and was
treacherously murdered. Hereupon Harshavardhana became
king, and at once proceeded to rescue his sister, take re
venge, and make great conquests. This is the ſilāditya
of our pilgrim's narrative and of the Life, a very inter
esting and remarkable personage.
With Yuan -chuang's story of Harshavardhana going to
consult Avalokitesvara we may compare the statement in
the “ Harşa -carita" that he “was embraced by the goddess
of the Royal Prosperity, who took him in her arms and,
seizing him by all the royal marks on all his limbs, for
ced him , however reluctant, to mount the throne, – and
this though he had taken a vow of austerity and did not
swerve from his vow, hard like grasping the edge of a
1 Harşa-carita, ch . IV. (Cowell and Thomas tr.)

duties . He forgot sleep and food in his devotion to good works.

halls of the monasteries. He brought the Brethren together for
ed with formal reverence ; those who neglected the ceremonial
The neighbouring princes, and the statesmen, who were zealous
he led to his own seat, and called “ good friends", and he would
king also made visits of inspection throughout his dominion , not
He was indefatigable, and the day was too short for him .

the Fei-she (ni *) or Vaisya caste (or stock). This state
ing the Vaisa or Bais Rajputs with the Vaiśya caste . Cun
HARSHAVARDHANA. 345

Sthāņeśvara in Srikantha, “ was famed far and wide
under a second name Pratāpaśīla ”. To him were born
two sons Räjyavardhana and Harshavardhana and a
the son of his queen's brother ! The princess Rājyasri
also that the Fang -chih represents Harshavardhana as
widowed sister ”, a statement which is not, I think, either
in the Life or the Records. Very soon after Rājyavardhana
avenge the murder of his brother- in -law, and to rescue
Gauda king, according to the “ Harsa -carita ”, and was
consult Avalokiteſvara we may compare the statement in
the " Harşa-carita " that he " was embraced by the goddess
1 Harşa -carita, ch . IV. (Cowell and Thomas tr.)


year he summoned all the Buddhist monks together , and for
halls of the monasteries . He brought the Brethren together for
and practice he " advanced to the Lion's Throne ” (that is, pro
rious, were banished from his presence and from the country .
The neighbouring princes , and the statesmen , who were zealous
in good works , and unwearied in the search for moral excellence ,
he led to his own seat, and called " good friends”, and he would
not converse with those who were of a different character . The
erected for his residence at each place of sojourn , and he did
not go abroad during the three months of the Rain - season
Retreat . At the royal lodges every day viands were provided
was divided into three periods, of which one was given up to
affairs of government, and two were devoted to religious works .
He was indefatigable , and the day was too short for him .

the Fei-she (vi) or Vaisya caste (or stock ). This state
ing the Vaisa or Bais Rajputs with the Vaiśya caste. Cun

bhākaravardhana , a descendant of Puspabhūti king of
Sthāņeśvara in Śrīkantha , “ was famed far and wide
the son of his queen's brother ? The princess Rājyaśrī
was evidently, as the " Harșa -carita " represents her, an in
widowed sister”, a statement which is not, I think, either
avenge the murder of his brother - in -law, and to rescue
Gauda king, according to the “ Harşa -carita”, and was
king, and at once proceeded to rescue his sister, take re.
venge, and make great conquests. This is the Śīlāditya
the “ Harşa-carita” that he “was embraced by the goddess
ced him, however reluctant, to mount the throne, and
1 Harşa -carita, ch . IV. (Cowell and Thomas tr.)


twenty one days supplied them with the regulation requisites .
and practice he " advanced to the Lion's Throne" ( that is, pro
ceremonial code , were not learned in the past he merely honour
observances of the Order , and whose immoral conduct was noto
rious , were banished from his presence and from the country .
The neighbouring princes , and the statesmen , who were zealous
he led to his own seat , and called “ good friends ", and he would
not go abroad during the three months of the Rain - season
for 1000 Buddhist monks and 500 Brahmins . The king's day
affairs of government , and two were devoted to religious works .

the Fei -she ( of W) or Vaisya caste (or stock). This state

Sthäņeśvara in Srikantha, " was famed far and wide
was evidently, as the “ Harşa-carita" represents her, an in
also that the Fang- chih represents Harshavardhana as
avenge the murder of his brother-in-law, and to rescue
his sister imprisoned in Kanyakubja. He was successful
Gauda king, according to the “ Harşa -carita ”, and was
the “ Harşa -carita " that he “ was embraced by the goddess
ced him , however reluctant, to mount the throne, and
1 Harşa -carita, ch. IV. (Cowell and Thomas tr.)


examination and discussion, giving rewards and punishments
he led to his own seat, and called “ good friends ” , and he would
not go abroad during the three months of the Rain -season
He was indefatigable, and the day was too short for him .

the Fei -she ( ufi ) or Vaiśya caste (or stock). This state
HARSHAVARDHANA. 345

Sthāņeśvara in Srikantha , " was famed far and wide
under a second name Pratāpasila ". To him were born
also that the Fang-chih represents Harshavardhana as
avenge the murder of his brother -in - law, and to rescue
Gauda king, according to the “ Harsa -carita”, and was
treacherously murdered . Hereupon Harshavardhana became
the “ Harşa -carita " that he “was embraced by the goddess
1 Harşa-carita, ch. IV. (Cowell and Thomas tr.)


year he summoned all the Buddhist monks together , and for
observances of the Order , and whose immoral conduct was noto
rious , were banished from his presence and from the country .
The neighbouring princes, and the statesmen , who were zealous
he led to his own seat, and called " good friends” , and he would
Retreat . At the royal lodges every day viands were provided
for 1000 Buddhist monks and 500 Brahmins . The king's day
affairs of government, and two were devoted to religious works .

the Fei-she ( pf *) or Vaisya caste (or stock). This state

Sthāņeśvara in Srikantha, “ was famed far and wide
two sons Räjyavardhana and Harshavardhana and aa
was evidently, as the “ Harşa-carita” represents her, an in
the latter a lecture on Buddhism. It may be noted here
widowed sister ", a statement which is not, I think , either
avenge the murder of his brother - in -law, and to rescue
Gauda king, according to the “ Harşa -carita ", and was
ced him, however reluctant, to mount the throne, – and
1 Harşa-carita, ch . IV. (Cowell and Thomas tr.)


and practice he "advanced to the Lion's Throne" (that is, pro
rious , were banished from his presence and from the country.
he led to his own seat, and called " good friends", and he would
He was indefatigable, and the day was too short for him.

the Fei -she ( ufi ) or Vaisya caste (or stock ). This state
ing the Vaisa or Bais Rajputs with the Vaisya caste. Cun

Sthāņeśvara in Srikantha , “ was famed far and wide
the son of his queen's brother . The princess Rājyasri
was evidently, as the “ Harşa -carita ” represents her, an in
avenge the murder of his brother -in -law, and to rescue
Gauda king, according to the “Harsa -carita", and was
With Yuan- chuang's story of Harshavardhana going to
1 Harşa- carita, ch . IV. (Cowell and Thomas tr.)

sword " .1 It seems probable that Harshavardhana in the

early part of his life had joined the Buddhist church and
perhaps taken the vows of a bhikshu, or at least of a lay
member of the Communion . His sister, we learn from the
Life, had become an adherent of the Sammatiya school
of Buddhism.2 Our pilgrim's sympathetic and generous
praise of king Harshavardhana may be compared with
the pompous, fulsome, and feigned panegyric of the king
by Bāņa.
In the above transcript from the Records the words
rendered “reigned in peace for thirty years without raising
a weapon " are in Julien's translation - " Au bout de trente
ans, les armes se reposerent". The text is Ch'ui-san -shih
nien -ping -ko-pu -ch'i (E E + E F $ To jų ). Here the
word ch'ui is employed, as frequently, to denote “ don the
imperial robe”, that is, to reign gently and happily. Thus
the pilgrim tells us that there were thirty years of Silā
ditya's reign in which there were peace and good govern
ment. Our pilgrim has expressly stated that the king's
conquests were completed within six years, and it is against
text and context to make him represent the king as fight
ing continuously for thirty or thirty -six years. When his
wars were over Silāditya (the style of Harshavardhana as
king) proceeded to put his army on a peace footing, that
is, to raise it to such a force that he could overawe any
of the neighbouring states disposed to be contumacious.
We shall presently see how a word from him was enough
for the king of one of those states. Having thus made
himself strong and powerful Silāditya was able to live in
peace, and devote himself to the duties and functions of a
pious but magnificent sovereign. He was now as fond of
the solemn pomps and grand processions of religion as
he had been of the marshalling of vast hosts, the “magni
ficently stern array" of battle, and the glories of a great
victory.
We find two dates given for the death of king ſiladitya,
1 Harșa-carita, ch. 1V. (Cowell and Thomas tr.) p . 57.
2 Life, ch . 5 .
THE LION'S THRONE. 347
Chinese history placing it in the year A. D. 648 and the

Life in 6551 Taking thirty-six years as the duration of
his reign we thus have 612 or 619 as the date of his
accession. The latter date agrees with a Chinese state
ment that the troubles in India which led to Silāditya's
reign took place in the reign of Tang Kao Tsu (A. D. 618
to 627). But the date 648, or rather 647, is perhaps the
correct one. It must have been in 641 or 642 that, in
conversation with our pilgrim , Silāditya stated that he had
then been sovereign for above thirty years. This also
gives 612 for the year of his accession, and the addition
of six years to the thirty gives 648 as the date of his
death. But the Chinese envoy despatched in the early
part of that year found, on his arrival in the country, the
king dead, and a usurper on the throne. Moreover it was
in 648 that Yuan -chuang submitted his Records to Tai
Tsung, and Silāditya must have been dead before this
work was drawn up in its present form.
For the words rendered in the above passage by “ ad
vanced to the Lion's Throne " that is, promoted to be
chief bhikshus, the Chinese is t'ui-sheng -shi-tzů -chih -tso
(fe fifi + ). This Julien understood to mean
" caused them to go up on the throne" . The words might
probably have this meaning in other places, but no good
bhikshu would mount a räja's throne, and it seems better
to take shi-tzů-chih -tso here in its Buddhist sense as the
throne of the head of the Order. The term, we know, does
mean a king's throne, but Siladitya did not use a throne;
and the other use of the term seems to be here more
correct and suitable. The Lion's Throne of the Buddhists
was originally the seat reserved for the Buddha, as leader
of the congregation, in the chapels and Halls of the
Monasteries; and afterwards it became the throne or seat
of the chief bhikshu of a place. Promotion to the Lion's
Throne was given locally by pious kings, and did not inter
1 See Ma T. 1 , ch. 338 ; Tung -chien - bang - mu, ch. 40 (Tang Tai
Tsung Chên - kuan 22 y .); Life, c . 5.
348 BĀSKARAVARMA .
fere with precedence among the Brethren. Here Silā

ditya promotes the most deserving bhikshus at his court,
and makes them his private chaplains, personally receiving
from them religious instruction .
By the term “ good friend ” shan -yu (reti ), which the
pilgrim here tells us was applied by the king to devout
princes and statesmen , we are to understand the kalyāna
mitra of Buddhist use. This term means good or auspi
cious friend, and it is also employed in the sense of spiri
tual adviser, or good counseller in matters of religion .
Returning again to our text we have now an episode
which belongs to a date five or six years later than the
visit of which the pilgrim is here telling. To be under
stood properly the narrative must be read in connection
with the account of Kāmarūpa in Chuan 10 and with the
story given in the corresponding passage of the Life.
The pilgrim , we learn from these texts, was on his way back
to China, and had gone again to the great monastery of Nālandā
in Magadha. Here he wished to remain for some time continu
ing his studies in Buddhist philosophy which had been begun
there some years before. But Bāskaravarma, styled Kumāra,
the king of Kāmarūpa (that is, Assam), had heard of him and
longed see him . So he sent messengers to Nalandā to invite
and urge the pilgrim to pay him a visit. Yuan -chuang at first
declined and pleaded his duty to China, but his old Buddhist
teacher Sīlabhadra convinced him that it was also his duty to
go to Kāmarūpa on the invitation of its king who was not a
Buddhist. The pilgrim at length yielded , travelled to that country,
and was received by the king with great honour. In the course
of a conversation His Majesty said to Yuan -chuang.- “ At pre
sent in various states of India a song has been heard for some
time called the “ Music of the conquests of Ch'in (Tsin) wang”
of Mahächina - this refers to Your Reverence's native country
I presume". The pilgrim replied, " Yes, this song praises my
sovereign's excellences” .
At this time king ſiladitya was in a district the name of
which is transcribed in our Chinese texts in several ways. Julien
calls it “ Kadjoughira", and Cunningham identifies it with the
" A special seat or pulpit, called a “ Lion's Throne", was some

times given by a king to the Brother whom he chose to be Court
preacher.
MUSIC OF CHIN WANG'S VICTORY . 349
modern Kānkjol). He had been on an expedition to a country

called Kung- yü - ta , and was on his way back to Kanauj to hold
a great Buddhist assembly there. Hearing of the arrival of the
Chinese pilgrim at the court of king Kumāra he sent a summons
to the latter to repair to him with his foreign guest. Kumāra
replied with a refusal, saying that the king could have his head
but not his guest. “I trouble you for your head ”, came the
prompt reply. Thereupon Kumāra became submissive , and pro
ceeded with the pilgrim and a grand retinue to join Śīlāditya.
When this sovereign met Yuan-chuang, our text here relates,
having made a polite apology to the pilgrim (literally, having
said , I have fatigued you ) he made enquiry as to Yuan -chuang's
native land, and the object of his travelling. Yuan -chuang an
swered that he was a native of the great T'ang country, and that
he was travelling to learn Buddhism . The king then asked
about this great Tang country, in what direction it lay, and how
far it was distant. Yuan -chuang replied that his country was
the Maháchina of the Indians and that it was situated some
myriads of li to the north -east of India . The king then relates
how he had heard of the Ch'in( Tsin -wang- T'ien -tzŭ (F# E
+ 7 ), that is, the Deva-putra Prince Ch'in, of Mahachina,
who had brought that country out of anarchy and ruin into
order and prosperity, and made it supreme over distant regions
to which his good influences extended. All his subjects, the
king continues, having their moral and material wants cared for
by this ruler, sing the “ song of Ch‘in -wang's conquests", and
this fine song has long been known here. The king then asks
the pilgrim whether this was all true, and whether his Great
Tang country was the country of the song.
In reply the pilgrim states that Chi-na ( 7 #f ) that is, Chin
was the designation of a former dynasty in his native land, and
that Ta T'ang denoted the present dynasty ; that the sovereign
then reigning, Tai Tsung, had been styled Ch'in -wang before
he came to the throne, the title Emperor ( Tien-tzŭ) having been
given to him on his accession. He then adds a compendious
description of Ch‘in -wang as Prince and Emperor.
The musical composition about which our pilgrim here
represents the two Indian rulers as enquiring was known
in China as the Cl -in -1cdng- p'o-clê -luảo (% T fk Ali 4% )
or the “ Music of Ch'in -wang's victory ”. Its history is
briefly as follows. In the year A. D. 619 T'ang Kao Tsu's
· See Töung-chien-kang-mu, ch . 39 ( T‘ang T'ai Tsung 1st y.) ; T'ang.

Shu, ch . 2 and 21 ; Ma T. l., ch . 129.
350 CHIN WANG .
second son Ch'in -wang, or Prince of Ch'in, by name Shih

min succeeded in suppressing the serious rebellion of Liu
wu-chow (sieť H ) who ultimately fell into the hands of
the Turks and was killed by them . In commemoration of
Ch'in -wang's military achievments in suppressing this rebel
lion his soldiers got up a musical performance with song
and dance. This musical composition was entitled “ Chéin
wung-p‘o -ch'ên -ydo” and also “ Shên -kung ( Filia Uh) -p-o-ch'ên
-yļo”, but it came to be generally known by its short
name “ Po- ch'ên -yảo”. The dancing or posture-making
performance was called Ch'i-tê-wu ( t ) or " Dance
of the Seven Virtues”, the name containing a classical
allusion. The dancing was performed by a company of
128 men in silver hauberks and armed with spears. The
emperor Kao Tsu ordered that the “ P'o-ch'ên -yao ” should
be given when a victorious general returning from a suc
cessful campaign entered the capital. At the banquet
which Tai- Tsung, formerly Ch‘in-wang, gave on his acces
sion to the throne the dance and music were both per
formed. It is interesting to find that the fame of Tang
Tai- Tsung's glory and achievments had reached the two
Indian rulers if we can rely on our pilgrim's statements.
It is also very remarkable that neither of Yuan -chuang's
translators had read of Ch'in -wang, and it is pitiful to
find Beal telling his readers that the Chéin -wang of this
passage is Chéin -Shi-Huang -ti of B. C. 221 .
The Records and the Life next go on to relate how
the kings Siladitya and Kumāra, with their distinguished
Chinese guest, proceeded by land and river in grand pro
cession to the city of Kanyākubja where Silāditya had
convoked a great Buddhist assembly. From this city, when
the functions were over, the kings, we learn from the Life,
with their Chinese guest, and attended by magnificent reti
nues, went on to Prayāga for the great periodical distri
bution of religious gifts and alms which was to be made
there by Siladitya; and at that place our pilgrim bade his
hosts farewell.
Before we take up again the thread of our pilgrim's
account of Kanyākubja we may add a few words about

the great king who treated him with such marked distinc
tion and kindness. This king, Silāditya or Sri-Harsha
deva or Harsha, “ the Akbar of the Hindu period of In
dian history ”, was not only a great and successful warrior
and wise and benevolent ruler : he was also an intelligent
devoted patron of religion and literature, and he was
apparently an author himself. His father had been a
sun -worshipper; but he himself, while retaining publicly
the religion of his father, and tolerant and liberal to other
sects, was evidently strongly attached to Buddhism . As to
his literary tastes we learn from I -ching that the king
once called for a collection of the best poems written : of
the compositions sent in to him 500 were found to be
strings of jātakas (Jātakamālā). According to this author
also Sılāditya put together the incidents of the Cloud
riding (Jimūta -vāhana) Bodhisattva giving himself up for
a nāga , into a poem to be sung, that is, he composed the
“ Nāgānanda". An accompaniment of instrumental music
was added, and the king had the whole performed in
public, and so it became popular.! The king was also a
great traveller, and a seeker after knowledge of various
kinds. His information about the martial fame and ex
ploits of the Chinese emperor Tai- Tsung may have been
acquired on one of his expeditions to distant provinces.
In the year 641 he sent an envoy to the Chinese Court,
and apparently he sent another soon after. His title in ' n baie
the documents connected with the former embassy seems
to have been " king of Magadha".
We return now to the pilgrim's description of Kanyā
kubja, and an abridgment of his account of the Buddhist
memorials of the neighbourhood is all that is given in
these pages.
To the north -west of the capital was an Asoka tope where the
Buddha had preached excellent doctrines for seven days; beside
it was a tope where the Four Past Buddhas had sat and walked
for exercise ; and there was a small tope over hair- and nail-relics
| Nan-hai-ch'i-kuei, sec. 32 and Takakusu p. 163.
352 NAVADEVAKULA .
of the Buddha. South of the Preaching Tope and close to the

Ganges were three Buddhist monasteries enclosed by a common
wall but each having its own gate. These vihāras had beautiful
images, the Brethren were grave and reverend, and there were
thousands of lay Buddhists to serve them . The shrine or temple
(ching-she) of the three- f vihāra had a casket containing a won
der -working tooth of the Buddha an inch and a half long, which
was exhibited to crowds of visitors for a charge of one gold
coin each . There were other sacred Buddhist buildings near the
city, and there were also splendid temples to the Sun-god and
to Maheśvara respectively.
From Kanyākubja , the pilgrim tells us, a journey of above
100 li south-east brought him to the city na-fo - ti-po-ku-lo
( Navadevakula). This city which was on the east bank of the
Ganges, was above twenty li in circuit, with flowery groves and
clear ponds giving interchange of sunshine and shadow . To the
north-west of it, and also on the east bank of the Ganges, was a
magnificent Deva -Temple. Five li to the east of the city were
three Buddhist monasteries enclosed within one wall but with
separate gates : in these monasteries were above 500 Brethren
all Sarvāstivādins. Near the monasteries were the remains of
an Asoka tope where the Buddha had preached for seven days.
Three or four li north of the monasteries was another Asoka
tope. This marked the spot at which 500 hungry demons,
having come to the Buddha and attained an understanding of
his teaching, exchanged the demon state for that of devas.
The Na - fo -t'i -po-ku -lo of this passage, restored as
Navadevakula, means “ New Deva- Temple”, and the site
of the city so called is supposed to be represented
by the present Nohbatgang. This city has also been
identified with or declared to be near the village (in one
text, but in the other texts, wood) of A (or Ho)-li (BoT or
No !) which Fa-hsien places three yojanas south of Kanauj
and on the other side of the Ganges. Our pilgrim's city
may have been in the district of the wood (or village) but
it cannot be identified with the latter. In the Life this
city is not mentioned , and the Fang- chih calls it “ Nava
deva city ". It is not unlikely that it was from the splen
did Deva-temple which Yuan -chuang here describes very
briefly that the city obtained its name. This temple, which
i See Julien III. p. 350 ; A. G. I. p. 382.

BUDDHADA SA . 353
was evidently of recent date, may have been devoted to

the worship of Vishnu whose name Hari may be the word
transribed by Fa -hsien's A (or Ho -li.
Instead of “ 500 Hungry ( 9) Demons” in this passage,
the reading of the D text and the Fang-chih, the common
texts have more than (1) 500 Demons”. This latter is
doubtless a copyist's error and the Dreading is the cor
rect one. From another source we learn that the Five
Hundred Hungry Demons came to the Buddha and im
plored his pity: he thereupon requested Maudgalyayana
to feed them. The Buddha had to enlarge their needle
throats to enable them to swallow the food : having eaten
they burst, died, and went to Heaven . The Buddha ex
plained that these creatures had once been so many lay
Buddhists, and in that capacity had spoken rudely to
bhikshus, calling them “Hungry Demons" when the bhikshus
called on their morning rounds begging their daily food.
The karma of this sin produced the rebirth of the up
āsakas 500 times as Hungry Demons, and their faith in
the Buddha, and prayer to him , obtained their release from
misery and their birth in Heaven.
The pilgrim , as we learn from the Life, remained at
Kanyākubja three months, being lodged in the Bhadra
vibāra. Here he studied with the learned Buddhist monk
Pii-li-ye-se-na (Viryasena) the vibhāshā (or expository)
treatise by Fo -shih ( Ti ), “ Buddha's Servant” or Buddha
dāsa, called the Chou (j )- or “ Varma-vibhāshā.” Julien ,
who apparently had a different text here, represents the
pilgrim as reading the vibhāshā of Buddhadāsa " et le
mémoire du maitre ching -tcheou (Ārya-varma) sur le Pi
po -cha ( le vibhācha )". A Buddhadāsa will be found men
tioned in Yuan - chuang's account of " Hayamukha" as the
author of a mahā -vibhāshā -śāstra. As this work was a
book of the Sarvāstivādin school of the Hinayāna its author
cannot have been the Buddhadāsa who was a contempo
rary of Vasubandhu and a disciple of his brother Asanga.
1 Sar. Vin. Yao -shih , ch . 2.

Z
354 AYODHYA .
Very little seems to be known about any śāstra-writer

with the name Buddhadāsa, and there is no author with
this name in the catalogues of Buddhist books as known
in China and Japan.
A - YÜ -TÊ (AYODHYĀ ).
From the neighbourhood of Navadevakula city, according to
the Records, the pilgrim continued his journey, going south - east;
and after travelling above 600 li, and crossing the Ganges to the
south, he reached the A -yii- tê (Ayudha or Ayodhyā) country.
According to the account in the Life it was from Kanauj
that Yuan -chuang went 600 li south - east to Ayudha. The
capital of this country , which was about a mile to the
south of the river, has been identified with the Ayodhyā
of other writers, the old capital of Oudh. On account of
difficulties of direction and distance Cunningham proposes
a different site for Yuan -chuang's Ayudha '. But it seems
to be better to adhere to Ayodhyā, and to regard Yuan
chuang's Ganges here as a mistake for a large affluent of
the great river. The city was on the south bank of the
river, and about 120 miles east-south -east from Kanauj .
Its name is found written in full A -yi -tê- ye (BPJ MAH),
Ayudhya (Ayodhyā ) , and the city is said to have been the
seat of government of a line of kings more or less mythi
cal.2 We know also that to the Hindus Ayodhyā was
the old capital of Rāma and the Solar race. It is possible
that an old or dialectic form of the name was Ayuddha,
and the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word , which
suits either form , means invincible or irresistable. Moreover
we find that Yuan -chuang makes his Ayudha the tempo
rary residence of Asanga and Vasubandhu , and other
authorities represent Ayodhyā as a place of sojourn for
these two illustrious brothers . Then the Ayudha of Yuan
1 A. G. I. p. 385. As will be seen there are serious difficulties

in the identification of Yuan- chuang's Ayudha with the Sha-ki of
Fa -hsien and with the Ayodhyā of other writers.
2 Chung -hsü - ching, ch . 1 (No. 859 ).
VASUBANDHU AND ASANGA. 355
chuang is apparently the Sha -ki or Saket, that is Ayodhyā,

of Fa-hsien ; this was ten yojanas south-east from the Ho
li village which was three yojanas south from Kanauj.
Alberuni makes Ayodhyā to have been about 150 miles
south - east from Kanauj, being 25 farsakhs down the
Ganges from Bāri, which was 20 farsakhs east from Ka
nauj. It is the Sāketā or Oudh of the Brihat-sanhitā
which merely places it in the “Middle country ".2 It may
be mentioned in passing that there is no reference to
Ayudha in the account of king Silāditya's progress from
Kanauj by land and river to Prayāga.
The Ayudha country, the Records proceeds to tell us, was
above 5000 li in circuit, and the capital was above twenty li in
circuit. The country yielded good crops, was luxuriant in fruit
and flower, and had a genial climate. The people had agreeable
ways, were fond of good works, and devoted to practical learning.
There were above 100 Buddhist monasteries, and more than 3000
Brethren who were students of both “ Vehicles ". There were ten
Deva - Temples, and the non-Buddhists were few in number.
Within the capital, the author continues, was the old monas
tery in which Vasubandhu Piusa in the course of some scores
of years composed various śāstras Mahāyānist and Hinayānist.
Beside this monastery were the remains of the Hall in which
Vasubandhu had expounded Buddhism to princes and illustrious
monks and brahmins from other countries . Four or five li north
from the capital, and close to the Ganges, was a large Buddhist
monastery, with an Asoka tope to mark a place at which the
Buddha had preached to devas and men for three months on the
excellent doctrines of his religion. Four or five li west from
this monastery was a Buddha - relic tope, and to the north of the
tope were the remains of an old monastery. Here Shih -li- lo -to
(restored by Julien as Śrīlabdha), a śāstra-master of the Sautran
tika School, composed a sautrantika vibhasha -śāstra .
In a mango plantation five or six li to the south -west of the
city was the old monastery in which Asanga Póusa had learned
and taught. By night the Piusa went up to the Tushita Heaven,
and there received from Maitreya the materials of three treatises
which he taught by day to his disciples. These treatises, Yuan
chuang tells us, were the “ Yü -ka - shih -ti- lun " (HR the file de viny),
1 Alberuni Vol. I. p . 200 .

2 Ind . Ant. Vol . XXII . p . 174, 189.
356 MAITREYA'S THREE BOOKS.
the “ Chuang-yen -ta-shêng.ching-lun" ( LE RAHE ), and the

Chung-pien-fên-pie-lun" ( in 57 $11) A ).
The large Buddhist Monastery and tope, which in this
passage are placed four or five to the north of the capital,
are described in the Life as being to the north -west of the
city, the distance being the same.
Our pilgrim's Srilabdha, whose name is translated by
Shêng -shou ( * ) " Received from the Victorious”, may
perhaps be Tāranātha's " Sūtra -āchārya - Bhadanta Srīlābha ”,
a Kashmirian and the founder of a School 1 .
The three Buddhist treatises which Yuan - chuang here
states were communicated to Asanga by Maitreya require
a short notice. The name Yü -ka -shih -ti-lun most likely
stands for “ Yogāchārya -bhūmi-śāstra ”, as in Julien's re
translation, but it is possible that this was not the ori
ginal name of the Sanskrit treatise. We have the work
in Yuan-chuang's translation, made with the help of several
Brethren, and with an interesting introduction by the pil
grim's friend, the distinguished scholar and official Hsü
Ching -tsung (if ak 5 :), whose name has a bad mark against
it in history. The treatise, which is a very long one, was
uttered, we are told, by Maitreya. It is a metaphysical
religious work on the basis of Buddhism , but it is not a
yoga treatise as the term yoga came to be understood,
nor is the word shih to be taken here in its ordinary
sense of “master”. The yoga -shih is merely a disciple
who devotes himself to profound continued meditation in
the seventeen ti (bhūmi) or provinces of faith and know
ledge. It is not unlikely that the name which Mr. Bunyiu
Nanjio gives as the second name of this treatise, viz.
“ Saptadasa - bhūmi- (or bhūmika )-śāstra -yogāchāryabhūmi”,
is the correct or original title. 2
The “ Chuang-yen -ta - shêng-ching-lun” is evidently, as
Julien restores the name, the " Sūtrālañkāra -ţikā ", the
word Mahāyāna, which is required by the Chinese trans
1 Tār, S. 4 , 67 .
2 Bun. No. 1170.
MAITREYA'S THREE BOOKS. 357
lation, being omitted from the title. We find the name

also given as “ Ta -shêng -chuang -yen -ching -lun”, and a trea
tise so designated composed by Asanga was translated by
Prabhāmitra, a kshatriya of Magadha and a contemporary
of our pilgrim. This translation is evidently a work of
great merit, and the treatise is interesting as giving
Asanga's exposition and defence of Mahāyānism . It is a
work in verse with a prose commentary throughout, but
there is no reference to Maitreya as author or inspirer
either of verses or commentary .!
The third treatise here said to have been communicated
by Maitreya to Asanga is called by our pilgrim “ Chung
pien -fên -pie-lun ”, the Sanskrit original name being “Mad
hyānta - vibhāga- Šāstra ". But this treatise, of which there
are two Chinese translations, is represented as the work
of Vasubandhu . The Chinese name which Yuan -chuang
here uses for it is that given to Paramārtha's translation,
his own translation having a name slightly different. The
treatise in both translations gives the “ Pien -chung-pien -lun
sung ” by Maitreya, with a running commentary on it by
Vasubandhu. Maitreya's work is a very short one in seven
poems on seven subjects; and it was this work apparently
which Maitreya, according to Yuan -chuang in this passage,
communicated to Asanga. The term Madhyānta -vibhaga
seems to mean, as translated into Chinese, " distinguishing
between the mean and the extremes ”, that is, holding the
mean between the negation and the assertion of existence. ?
Above 100 paces to the north-west of the Mango Grove was
a Buddha -relic tope and beside it were old foundations at the
place where Vasubandhu P'usa descended from Tushita Paradise
to have an interview with his elder brother Asanga Pusa. Our
pilgrim here represents these two brothers as natives of Gandhāra,
and as having lived in the millenium succeeding the Buddha's
decease (that is, according to the Chinese reckoning, before the
third century of our era). A sanga , he tells us , began his
Buddhist religious career as a Mahīšāsika and afterwards became
a Mahāyānist: and Vasubandhu began his religious career in
1 No. 1190 .
2 Nos. 1244, 1245 , and 1248.
358 ASANGA AND VASUBANDHU.
the school of the Sarvāstivādins. Yuan- chuang here tells a

curious story about the two brothers and a great scholar who
was a friend and disciple of Asanga, by name Fo-t'ê-sêng -ha,
translated by Shih - tzŭ -chiao or “ Lion -intelligence", the Sanskrit
original being Buddha -siñha. These three Brethren made an
agreement that when one of them died and went to Heaven he
should come back to earth at the first opportunity to enlighten
the survivors as to his circumstances. The first to die was the
disciple Buddhasiſha, but in Heaven he forgot his promise.
Then three years afterwards Vasubandhu died and went to Tu
shita Heaven. He had been dead six months, and no message
had come from him, so the heretics declared that he and Buddha
simha had gone to a bad place. But at length Vasubandhu
remembering his agreement found it in his power to keep it.
So in the form of a Deva-rishi he descended to earth and visited
his brother, telling him how he and Buddha-siſha had fared in
Maitreya's Paradise.
The story here given about the death of Vasubandhu

is at variance with the accounts of the brothers given in
the Life of Vasubandhu, and other works, according to
which the elder brother dies first, leaving the younger
brother still living and writing.
The pilgrim next tells of an old monastery 40 li north-west
from Asanga's chapel, and having its north side close to the
Ganges. Within this a brick tope marked the place at which the
conversion of Vasubandhu to Mahāyānism began. According to
the version of the story here given Vasubandhu , having come
from North India to Ayudha, heard a portion of the Mahāyāna
treatise Shih -ti-ching ( + + A) recited by a disciple of Asanga,
and was thereby led to reflect. He became convinced that he
had been wrong as a Hinayānist opponent of Mahāyānism , and
was ready to cut out his tongue as the offending member which
had reviled the “ Great Vehicle" . But his elder brother, who
had wished to bring about Vasubandhu's conversion, interfered
and taught him to use his tongue in the praise and preaching
of his new creed.
In other works Asanga uses the pretext of fatal sickness

to bring his brother from Ayodhyā to visit him at Puru
shapura, and there reasons with him and converts him to
Mahāyānism . After the death of Asanga , his brother com
posed several treatises all expounding and defending Mahā
HAYAMUKHA . 359
yānism ; and he died in Ayodhyā at the age of eighty years.I

The Shih -ti- ching or “ Sūtra of the Ten Lands” of this
passage is doubtless the work called Shih -chu -ching ( No.105),
the Dasabhumika -sútra. One of Vasubandhu's numerous
treatises is a commentary on this sūtra entitled Shih -ti
ching-lun (No. 1194).
A-YE-MU-K- A .
From Ayudha the pilgrim travelled east, he writes, above

300 li, and crossing the Ganges to the north, arrived in the A
ye-mu-kía country. This country he describes as being 2400 or
2500 li in circuit with its capital , situated on the Ganges, above
20 li in circuit. In climate and natural products the country
resembled Ayudha : the character of the people was good, they
were studious and given to good works. There were five Buddhist
monasteries with above 1000 Brethren who were adherents of the
Sammatiya School, and there were more than ten Deva -Temples.
Not far from the capital on the south-east side, and close to the
Ganges, were an Asoka tope at a place where the Buddha had
preached for three months, traces of a sitting and walking place
of the Four Past Buddhas, and a dark -blue -stone tope with
Buddha- relics. Beside this last was a monastery with above
200 Brethren, and in it was a beautiful life- like image of the
Buddha : its halls and chambers rose high, and were of exquisite
workmanship. It was in this monastery that the Sāstra-Master
Buddhadāsa composed his great vibhāshā treatise of the Sarvāsti
vādin School.
The name of the country here transcribed A - ye-mu-kóa

was restored by Julien in his translation of the Life as
Ayamukha, but in the present passage he makes these
syllables stand for Hayamukha. This latter restoration
seems to be inadmissible; and as 4- is the first syllable
of the name in all the texts of the Life and Records, and
in the Fang-chih, we must regard Ayamukha as the name
which the pilgrim transcribed . It is not impossible that
the correct form may have been Hayamukha or Āyamukha,
the former word meaning " Horse-face " and the latter mean
ing a creek or channel. Cunningham , who finds Yuan
1 Vasubandhu - chuan (No. 1463).

360 HUMAN SACRIFICE .
chuang's Ayudha in the present Kākāpur, thinks that

Ayamukha may be represented by “ Daundia -khera on the
northern bank of the Ganges". But these identifications
are mere conjectures and are of little use. 1
In the corresponding passage of the Life we are informed
that the pilgrim left Ayudha in a boat along with a party
and proceeded east down the Ganges towards Ayamukha .
When about 100 li on the way, in a wood of asoka trees,
the boat was attacked by Thugs who robbed the party.
When these Thugs saw that the Chinese pilgrim was an
uncommonly fine-looking man they decided to sacrifice
him to their cruel deity Durgā. From this terrible fate
the pilgrim was preserved by a providential hurricane
which put the wicked Thugs in fear, and made them release
their doomed victim, treat him with awe and reverence,
and under his teaching give up their wicked profession,
and take the vows of lay- Buddhists. After recording this
episode the Life goes on to state that the pilgrim " from
this went above 300 li east and crossed to the north
of the Ganges into the Ayamukha country ". The " this"
here may be taken to mean the place of the encounter
with the Thugs, and the distance from Ayudha to Aya
mukha would then be 400 li. But the words "from this"
in the above extract from the Life should perhaps be
treated, in accordance with the text of the Records, as indi
cating Ayudha city as the point of departure. The pil
grim apparently travelled by land eastwards from the
place where the boat was seized by the Thugs, and he
crossed to the north side of the river near Ayamukha
city. This river cannot have been the Ganges and it may
have been the Sai. We may even doubt whether the river
in the Asoka wood on which the Thugs had their pirati
cal boats was the Ganges proper .
The great vibhāshā treatise, which Yuan-chuang here
tells us was composed by Buddhadaśa in a monastery of
this country, is probably the “ Varma -vibhāshā ” already
1 A. G. I. p . 387.
PRAYĀGA . 361
mentioned, above p. 353, in connection with the pilgrim's

account of Kanauj.
PRAYĀGA.
From Ayamukha the pilgrim went south- east, he tells us, and
after a journey of more than 700 li, crossing to the south of
the Ganges and the north of the Jumna he came to the Po-lo
ya-ka ( Prayāga) country.
There is evidently something wrong in the accounts
which our pilgrim has given of his journeys in these districts.
He applies the name “Ganges”, apparently to more than
one river, and it seems probable that his Ayudha and
Ayamukha were on an affluent or affluents of the Ganges
proper. From Kanauj he may have made an excursion
to these two cities. From Ayamukha he apparently return
ed to the Ganges somewhere near Navadevakula, which
was 20 miles to the south - east of Kanauj. From the
neighbourhood of this place to Prayāga, going south-east,
is about 140 miles or 700 li. Cunningham seems to take
no notice of the statements in the Records and Life that
Ayamukha was to the east of Ayudha. Moreover he
wrongly represents Yuan -chuang as going by boat all the
way down the Ganges south-east from the latter city to
Ayamukha. So we cannot wonder that he finds it impos
sible to make distances agree. 1
The pilgrim goes on to state that the Prayāga country was
above 5000 li in circuit, and the capital above 20 li in circuit.
This city, which apparently had the same name, he places at the
junction of two rivers (viz. the Ganges and the Jumna ). He
praises the country, the climate, and the people. He tells us there
were only two Buddhist establishments and very few Brethren
all Hīnayānists. There were some hundreds of Deva -Temples
and the majority of the inhabitants were non-Buddhists.
In a champaka grove to the south-west of the capital was an
old Asoka tope to mark the spot at which the Buddha once
overcame his religious opponents (that is, in controversy ). Beside
it were a Buddha-hair-and-nail relic tope and an Exercise ground.
Near the relic tope was an old monastery in which Deva Pusa
1 A. G. I. p. 388.
362 RELIGIOUS SUICIDE .
composed the “ Kuang -pai-lun" for the refutation of the Hina

yānists and the conquest of the Tirthikas .
Prayāga, the capital of this country, corresponds, as has
been shown by others, to the modern Allahabad. The
word Prayāga means sacrifice, or a holy ground set apart
for sacrifices.
The Deva Pusa of this passage has been already met
with at the Sources of the Ganges. His treatise here
mentioned, the “ Kuang- pai- lun ", which we have in Yuan
chuang's translation, is a very short one in verse arranged
under eight headings. It denounces the belief in individual
permanence and argues against brahmins and others . "
In the capital, the pilgrim goes on to relate, was a celebrated
Deva- Temple in front of which was a great wide-spreading um
brageous tree. In this tree once lodged a cannibal demon, hence
the presence of numerous bones near the tree. Visitors to the
temple, under the influence of bad teaching and supernatural
beings, had continuously from old times all lightly committed
suicide here. Lately, however, a very wise and learned brahmin
of good family had tried to convert the people from their evil
belief and stop the practice of suicide. He accordingly went up
to the temple and in the presence of friends proceeded to kill
himself in the usual way by mounting the tree to throw himself
down from it. When up the tree, addressing the spectators he
said “ I am dying ( lit. have death ); formerly I spoke of the
matter as an illusion , now I have proof that it is real ; the devas
with their aerial music are coming to meet me, and I am about
to give up my vile body from this meritorious spot.” As the
Brahmin was about to throw himself down from the tree to be
killed his friends tried to dissuade him from the act, but their
counsels were in vain . They then spread their garments below
the tree ; and when the Brahmin fell he was unhurt, but was in a
swoon. When he recovered he said to the by -standers— “ What
is seen as the devas in the air summoning one is the leading of
evil spirits, not the acquisition of heavenly joy".
The story here told leaves somewhat to be supplied in
order to make it as intelligible to us as it was to Yuan
chuang's Chinese readers. For some reason not explained
in the story it had long been an article of popular belief
1 Bun . No. 1189.

SPIRITS AT TIME OF DEATH. 363
that suicide at this Deva-Temple led to birth in Heaven .

Then those who “ threw away their lives " here were evi
dently left unburied and were supposed to be devoured by
the man -eating demon who lived in the great tree. This
tree was undoubtedly a banyan, and Cunningham thinks
that “ there can be little doubt that the famous tree here
described by the pilgrim is the well-known Akshay - Bat,
or " undecaying Banian tree”, which is still an object of
worship at Allahabad”.
Not long before the time of Yuan -chuang's visit, he
tells us, a brahmin " of good family” had tried to convert
the people from their folly in committing suicide here.
The Chinese rendered by “ of good family” is tsu -hsing-tzů
( like the 7 ) lit. " Son of a clan " . This expression is one of
very common use in Buddhist books and means simply
"a gentleman ”. Yet Julien here translates it by “ dont le
nom de famille était Fils (Pouttra)". 1
This brahmin gentleman , when up in the banyan tree,
hears music and sees beings ; and he thinks (or pretends
to think) that these are the harbingers of a happy death
giving an entrance into Heaven. But when he recovers
from his swoon he recognizes, and declares, that he only
saw in the air devas summoning him , that these were evil
deities coming to meet him , and that there was no heavenly
joy. The language here used belongs partly to a popular
Chinese belief or fancy. The Chinese generally believe
that dying persons often receive intimation or indication
of what is to be their lot after they depart this life, and
the information is supposed to be often conveyed by the
appearance of a certain kind of emissary from the other
world. These messengers from the world beyond are said
to chie-yin ( 51) or to yin the dying individual, that is
to welcome or introduce him. It is these terms which are
1 The phrase tsu-hsing-tzŭ is the equivalent of the Indian term

kulaputra, “ son of a family", that is, clansman, and the clansmen
were regarded as well- born . In the Buddhist books tsu -hsing -tzŭ is
applied to eminent laymen, and also to bhikshus, who moreover use
it in speaking of themselves.
364 ARENA OF LARGESSE .
here translated by " coming to meet ” and “ leading ”. The

Brahmin mistook the character of the welcome to be given.
We are probably to understand that he taught his friends,
and the people generally, that the music and angels of the
suicides were in all cases harbingers of posthumous misery,
not of bliss in Heaven.
On the east side of the capital and at the confluence of the
rivers, the pilgrim proceeds, was a sunny down about ten li
wide covered with a white sand. This down was called in the
popular language " The Grand Arena of Largesse". It was the
place to which from ancient times princes, and other liberal bene
factors, had come to make their offerings and gifts. Yuan-chuang
then proceeds to describe how king ſilāditya acted on the occa
sion to which reference has already been made. The king, as
we have seen, went in state from Kanauj to this place for his
customary quinquennial great distribution of gifts, and alms, and
offerings. He had come prepared, and he gave away all the
public money, and all his own valuables. Beginning with offer
ings to the Buddhist images on the first day, Yuan - chuang bere
tells us , the king went on to bestow gifts on the resident
Buddhist Brethren , next on the assembled congregation , next on
those who were conspicuous for great abilities and extensive
learning, next on retired scholars and recluses of other religions,
and lastly on the kinless poor. This lavish distribution in a
few (according to the Life in 75) days exhausted all the public
and private wealth of the country, but in ten days after the
Treasury was emptied it was again filled.
At the junction of the rivers and to the east of the Arena of
Largesse, Yuan - chuang continues, every day numbers of people
arrived to die in the sacred water, hoping to be thereby reborn
in Heaven. Even the monkeys and other wild creatures came
to this place, some bathed and then went back , others fasted
here until they died. In connection with this statement Yuan
chuang tells a story of a monkey which lived under a trce close
to the river, and starved himself to death at the time of Šīlā
ditya's visit. He adds that this occurrence led to the following
curious and trying austerity -performance on the part of the local
devotees given to austerities. High poles were erected in the
Ganges at this place, each with a projecting peg near the top ;
at sunrise a devotee mounted a pole ; holding on to the top with
one hand and one foot, and supported by the peg, he stretched
out his other arm and leg at full length. In this posture he
followed keenly with his eyes the sun's progress to the right;
when the sun set the devotee came down from his perch to
SELF - TORTURE . 365
resume it next morning. This painful austerity was practised

with the view of obtaining release from mortal life, and it was
carried on for several tens of years without relaxation.
This story of our pilgrim seems to be rather silly and
not very intelligible. One cannot see the connection be
tween the monkey's suicide and the devotees' practice on
the poles. But if we regard the date given for the mon
key's death, viz. the time of Silāditya's visit, as an acci
dental mistake (which the context seems to show it must
be ) then we probably have here a fragment of some old
story told to account for absurd austerities still practised
at the time of Yuan-chuang's visit. According to the
Fang -chih the monkey of the pilgrim's story was a husband,
and his wife was attacked and killed by a dog. The hus
band found the dead body of his wife, and with pious care
carried it to the Ganges, and consigned it to that sacred
river ; then he gave himself up to grief, would not take
any food, and after a few days died. It is probable that
the original story also told how the bereaved monkey
every morning went to the top of one of the poles at the
bank of the river, and sat there gazing intently at the sky ;
that he came down at evening, and spent the night in his
lonely home, and that when he died he rejoined his wife
in Heaven. When the history of this pious uxorious mon
key became generally known, seekers after Heaven were
moved to adopt the means which they had seen the mon
key use. So they set up poles in the river, and sat perched
on these after the manner of monkeys, as the pilgrim
describes, craning their necks to watch the sun through
all his course from east to west. This is what they thought
the pious intelligent monkey had been doing.
KOŚĀMBI.
From Prayāga the pilgrim went, he tells us, south -west through
a forest infested by wild elephants and other fierce animals, and
after a journey of above 500 li (about 100 miles) he reached the
Kiao- shang -mi (that is Kaušāmbī or Kosambī) country. This
is described by the pilgrim as being above 6000 li in circuit, and
366 KOSAMBI.
its capital (evidently named Kośāmbī) as being above 30 li in

circuit. It was a fertile country with a hot climate : it yielded
much upland rice and sugar-cane ; its people were enterprising,
fond of the arts, and cultivators of religious merit. There were
more than ten Buddhist monasteries , but all in utter ruin ; and
the Brethren, who were above 300 in number, were adherents
of the Hīnayāna system. There were more than fifty Deva
Temples and the non- Buddhists were very numerous.!
In the corresponding part of the Life distance and
direction of Kosambi from Prayāga are also given as
above 500 li to the south -west. This agrees with the state
ment, in a subsequent part of the Life, that the pilgrim
on leaving Prayāga journeyed south -west through a jungle
for seven days to Kosambi. Cunningham, (who was misled
by Julien's slip in writing 50 li, instead of 500, in his trans
lation of the Life) identifies the city of Kosambi here de
scribed with the modern Kosam, which is only 38 miles
by road south-west from Allahabad.2 M. Saint-Martin
could not offer any identification for our pilgrim's Kosambi,
and seems to think that it lay to the north - west not south
west of Prayāga.3 Cunningham's identification has been
conclusively shown to be untenable by M Vincent A. Smith,
whose studies on the subject have led him to the conclusion
that " the Kaušāmbi twice visited by Hiuen Tsiang is to
be looked for, and, when looked for, will be found, in one
of the Native States of the Baghelkhand Agency, in the
valley of the Tons River, and not very far from the East
Indian Railway, which connects Allahabad with Jabalpur.
In short, the Satnā (Sutna) railway station marks the
approximate position of Kaušāmbi". But this identifica
1 There is reason for suspecting the genuiness of the passage in
the 5th chuan of the Life which seems to be a remembrance of the
passage in the 3rd chuan . In transcribing the name Ghoshila the
author uses characters different from those in the 3rd chuan and
from those in the Records. This passage also makes the pilgrim go
back from Prayāga to Kosambi south -west, and continue his journey .
from the latter going north -west.
2 A. G. I. p . 391.
3 J. III . p . 352 and see Map in J. II .
* J. R. A. S. for 1898. [See now Dr Yost's article, ibid. 1904.]
POSITION OF KOSAMBĪ. 367
tion also is beset with difficulties which seem to me

insurmountable. For the pilgrim to go south - west
from Prayāga was to go out of his line of travel, and
although this detour might be necessary for one visit it
would be unnecessary on the return journey. M* Smith
has noticed the discrepancy between Yuan - chuang's loca
tion of Kosambī and that given by Fa -hsien, and he thinks
the latter's north -west is a clerical mistake for south-west,
but, on the other hand, Yuan -chuang's south-west may be
an error for north - east. Mr Smith, moreover, has not
noticed the important difference between the Life and the
Records as to the distance and direction of Visakhā from
Kosambi, and this difference increases the difficulty of
identification.
Now our pilgrim's statements here, as to the bearing
and distance of Kosambi from Prayāga and other places,
are not in agreement with other accounts of the situation
and bearings of Kosambi. Thus the Life, which in one
place reproduces the words of the Records, in another
passage makes Pi- so -ka ( Visoka ), on the way to Śrāvasti,
to be 500 li east of Kosambī, while the Records, as we
shall see presently, puts it about 880 li to the north-north
east of the city. Again, Fa -hsien places the Kosambi
country thirteen yojanas (about 90 miles) to the north
west of the Deer Park to the north of Benares.' This
would make the city of Kosambi lie to the north of
Prayāga. Then in the Vinaya we find that in going from
Rajagriha to Kosambi one went by boat up the river, that
is, the Ganges. Further we read of the Buddha on his
way from Srāvasti to Kosambi passing through the town of
Bhaddavatikā, and this was the name of the swift elephant
of the king of Kosambī.3 In some books the Kosambi
and Kosala countries are adjacent, and the bhikshus of
Sravasti and Kosambi keep Retreat at the same town in
i Fo -kuo - chi, ch . 31.

2 Vin . Chul. XI . 1 .
3 Jātaka Vol. I. p. 206 (Chalmers tr.)
368 KING UDAYANA .
the Kosambi country.1 So also when a hermit's life is

threatened by the king of Kosambi in the Udayana Park
the hermit flies to Srāvasti.2 Further in the Sutta Nipāta
the deputation from the Brahmin Bāvari going to visit
the Buddha at Śrāvasti proceed to “ Kosambi and Sāketa
and Srāvasti" . 3 From all these it would seem that
Kosambi, instead of being 500 li to the south -west of Pra
yāga, was rather to the north of that place, and it evi
dently was not very far from Śrāvasti. It was the capital
of the Vatsa in Chinese Tu -tzŭ 4 7 " Calf") country,
and the land of of the Vatsas was in the Middle Region
of the Brihat Samhitā . 4
Within the old royal inclosure (kung) of the capital, the pilgrim
relates, was a large Buddhist temple (ching-shê) over sixty feet
high in which was a carved sandal-wood image of the Buddha
with a stone canopy suspended over it. This image made mira
culous manifestations, and no power could move it from its place :
so paintings made of it were worshipped , and all true likenesses
of the Buddha have been taken from this image. It was the
one made for king Udayana by the artist conveyed to the Tra
yastrimsa Heaven by Mudgalaputra at the king's request. When
the Buddha descended to earth near Sankāsya the image went
out to meet him and the Buddha put it at ease saying – “ What
I want of you is that you convert those distressed by error and
and that you teach posterity ”.
The Udayana of this passage was the prince born to
the king of Kosambi on the day on which the Buddha
was born. His name (in Pali books Udena) is translated
into Chinese in a note here by ch'u -ai ( 1 ), “ yielding
affection "; but it is also rendered by chu -kuang ( ) , “ yield
ing brightness", by jih -tzŭ ( 7 ) “ the Sun ", by jih -chu
( EJ ) or jih -ch'u both meaning “ Sunrise ". He is represent
ed as originally a cruel wicked king with a very bad
temper, and as an enemy to the Buddhists. But he took
1 Sêng-ki-li , c . 28.
2 Sar. Vin. Tsa - shih, ch . 3.
3 Sutta Nipāta p. 185 ( P, T. S.).
• Divyāv. p . 528 : Yin -kuo.ching, ch.1 (No. 666) ; Ind.Ant. Vol.XXII.
pp . 170. 181 .
GHOSILA ON GHOSITA. 369
into his harem the peerless beauty whose father, when the
Buddha refused to take her to wife, gave her to the king.
This concubine was wicked and ambitious; and she poison
ed the king's mind against the queen , whom she slander
ed as unfaithful to him . Her influence with the king was
so great that he ordered the queen to be put to death .
She, however, was innocent, and was a pious Buddhist,
and her good karma turned aside the weapons of death,
and preserved her life.1 Greatly moved by this miracle ,
the king repented, joined the Buddhists, and became an
enthusiast in the new religion (as we see by the passage
under consideration). The image, according to one state
ment, was taken to China, and according to the Life it
went of itself through the air to Khoten. A copy of the
image had been brought to China as early as the time of
Han Ming- Ti.
After mentioning certain memorials of the Four Past Buddhas
and of the Buddha at this part of the capital the pilgrim pro
ceeds - In the south-east corner of the city are the ruins of the
house of the Elder Ku - shih -lo (IL & XX ) or Ghoshila. Here
also were a Buddhist Temple, a Hair-and-Nail-relic tope, and the
remains of the Buddha's bath -house. Not far from these but
outside the city on the south - east side was the old Ghosilārāma,
or Monastery built by Ghoshila, with an Asoka tope above 200
feet high. Here, writes Yuan- chuang, the Buddha preached for
several years. Beside this tope was a place with traces of the
sitting and walking up and down of the Four Past Buddhas, and
there was another Buddha Hair -and -nail relic tope.
The Ghosila of this passage was a great man of very

small stature : he was one of the three chief ministers of state
of Kosambī in the time of the Buddha, who converted him
and admitted him as a lay- disciple. Then Ghoshila, within
his own grounds, set up an ārāma or Monastery for the
Buddha ; and it was in it that the Buddha usually lodged
on his visits to Kosambı. These, apparently, were not
very frequent, and we do not know Yuan - chuang's autho
1 Divyāv. ch. XXXVI: Dh. p . 172 ff.: Fo -shuo -yu -tien -wang-ching
(No. 38 ): Yu - t'é -yen -wang- ching (No. 23 ( No. 29) .
AA
370 THE VIDYĀMATRASIDDHI.
rity for his statement that the Buddha preached here for
several years. In Pali literature this Ghosila is called
Ghosita the setthi, and his monastery is the Ghositārāma.
His name is translated in some of the Chinese versions
of Buddhist books by Mei-yin ( ¥ ) or “ Fine Voice”.
In his infancy and childhood this Ghosita had a long
series of the most exciting escapes from attempts to mur
der him . 1
To the south-east of the Ghoshilārāma, Yuan-chuang proceeds,

was a two-story building with an old brick upper -chamber ; and
in this Vasubandhu lodged and composed the Wei- shih -lun
(M € or ) for the refuting of Hīnayānists and the con
founding of non-
n - Buddhists.
The Sanskrit original of the name given here, as in

other passages of the Life and Records , as Wei - shih
lun is restored as “ Vidyāmātra siddhi śāstra " by Julien,
M: Bunyiu Nanjio gives “ Vidyāmātrasiddhi" as the
Sanskrit name, and applies it to several other works,
such as the “ Chóêng - wei - shih - lun ” .? This last is a
commentary by Dharmapāla, Sthiramati, and eight other
Piusas on Vasubandhu's " Wei -shih -san -shih -lun (or with
sung)". The little treatise Wei - shih - lun is called in
the Ming collection “ Ta - shêng -Lêng -ka - ching -wei- shih
lun” that is “ Mahāyāna-Lankā-sūtra-vidyāmātra śāstra”,
a name which does not appear in the old texts, and is
perhaps unauthorized.3 Some of the old texts give the
title as “ Ta -shêng -wei-shih -lun ", and this is warranted by
the contents. There are three Chinese translations of this
treatise, bearing different names, and with variations in the
matter. The first translation is by Gautamaprajñāruchi
(or according to some, by Bodhiruchi.) A. D. 5203, the
second is by Paramārtha about A. D. 5604, and the third
i See J. R. A. S. 1898 p. 741 ; Divyāy. p. 529 .

2 Bun. No , 1197.
3 N 1238 .
No. 1239.
EMMAR
ASANGA'S COMMENTARY. 371
by our pilgrim in the year 661.1 The treatise has another

title- “ P'o-sê -hsin -lun ( hit t = A )", that is, “ the sāstra
which refutes matter and mind ”. The book is a small
philosophical poem with an explanatory commentary on
the relations of mind and matter. teaches the unrea
lity of phenomena, and consequently of our sense-percep
tions apart from the thinking principle, the eternal mind
unmoved by change and unsoiled by error. This work
was regarded by its author as an exposition of the Buddha's
views and teaching on the relation of mind to matter. It
quotes and refutes tenets of the non -Buddhist Vaiseshikas
and of the Buddhist “ Vibhashā masters of Kashmir ".
Some of the author's tenets are to be found in the " Lan
kāvatāra sūtra ", but we cannot properly describe the Wei
shih -lun as a commentary on that sūtra.
In a mango wood east of the Ghosilārāma were the old found
ations of the house in which Asanga Piusa composed the “ Hsien
yang-shêng -chiao -lun ".
The translation of the title of Asañga's work here given
means " the śāstra which developes Buddhism ” that is,
developes Buddha's teaching. The treatise, which we have
in Yuan -chuang's translation ?, is an exposition and deve
lopment of the “ Yogāchāryabhūmi śāstra ” already men
tioned .
At a distance of eight or nine li south -west from the capital,
Yuan -chuang proceeds, was a venomous dragon's cave in which
the Buddha had left his shadow after subduing the venomous
dragon . This was a matter of record, but the shadow was no
longer visible. Beside the Dragon's Cave was an Asoka-built
tope, and at the side of it were the traces of the Buddha's exer
cise - ground, and a hair -and -nail-relic tope at which in many
cases the ailments of devotees were cured in answer to prayer.
This Kosambi country is to be the last place in which the Sakya
(muni] religion will cease to exist ; hence all, from king to
peasant, who visit this land feel deeply moved, and return weep
ing sadly.
1 No. 1240.
2 No. 1177 .
AA *
372 THE EXTINCTION OF BUDDHISM .
According to the Mahäsañgika Vinaya the malicious

dragon of Kosambi, An-pro-lo ( H 311) by name, was
subdued by the bhikshu Shan -lai ( 3 ) or Svāgata ."
Mi Cockburn, who does not accept the situation of the
Dragon's cave given by our pilgrim , is disposed to identify
the cave with one now called “ Sītā's Window " . This is
" an ancient Buddhist Hermit's cave, cut into the vertical
face of a precipice 50 feet high. This precipice forms the
scarp of the classic hill of Prabhāsa , Allahabad District" .2
But this description, it will be observed, does not suit the
pilgrim's account of the neighbourhood of the cave.
Our pilgrim here, it will be noticed, speaks of the Shih
ka-fa or Sakya dharma, that is, the dispensation of Sak
yamuni, the system of belief and conduct which he esta
blished. The final extinction of this system which was to
take place in Kosambi is predicted by the Buddha in the
“ Mahāmāyā sūtra" . At the end of 1500 years from the
Buddha's decease a great bhikshu at this city was to kill
an arhat : the disciples of the latter would avenge the
murder of their master by the slaughter of the bhikshu .
The troubles caused by these crimes would lead to the
destruction of topes and viharas, and finally to the com
plete extinction of Buddhism . As the 1500 years were
at the time of the pilgrim's visit about at an end, pious
Buddhists were distressed at the signs of the near fulfil
ment of the prophecy.
From the Dragon's cave, the pilgrim tells us, he proceeded in
a north- east direction through a great wood and, after a journey
of above 700 li, he crossed the Ganges to the north , to the city
of Ka -she-pu -lo (that is, Kāśapura or Kājapura ). This was above
ten li in circuit, and its inhabitants were in good circumstances.
Close to the city were the ruins of an old monastery where
Dharmapāla had once gained a great victory over the non
Buddhists in a public discussion . The discussion had been brought
about by a former king who wished to destroy Buddhism in the
1 Sáng - ki-li, ch . 20.

2 J. Ben . A. S. Vol . LVI. p . 31 .
3 Mo-ha-mo-ya-ching, ch . 2 (No. 382 ).
DEVAŚARMAN AND GOPA. 373
country. Beside these ruins was an Asoka tope, of which 200

feet still remained above ground, to mark the place at which
the Buddha had once preached for six months, and near this
were traces of the Buddha's exercise ground and a tope with
his hair- and- nail relics.
The name of this city, which is not mentioned in the

Life, is restored by Julien as Kāśapura.
P-I- SHO-KA.
From Kāśapura, the pilgrim narrates, he went north 170 or

180 li to the country which he calls Pi (or Ping, or Pi or Fi).
sho-ka (that is, perhaps, Visoka ). This country was above 4000 li
in circuit and its chief city was sixteen li in circuit. The grain
crops of the country were very plentiful, fruit and flowers abound
ed, it had a genial climate, and the people had good ways, were
studious and given to good works. It had above twenty Buddhist
monasteries and 3000 Brethren who were all adherents of the
Sammatiya School. There were above 50 Deva-Temples and the
non -Buddhists were very numerous.
On the east side of the road south of the capital was a large
monastery. In it the arhat Devaśarman composed his “ Shih
shên - lun ” in which he denied the Ego and the non -Ego. At
this place there had also been another arhat by name Gopa, who
wrote the treatise “ Shêng-chiao-yao -shih - lun” (or “ Šāstra on the
essential realities of Buddhism " ), affirming the existence of the
Ego and the non - Ego . The opposite doctrines of these two
great religious philosophers led to serious controversies in the
church .
The Life, which as we have seen makes Visoka to be

500 li to the east of Kosambi, places the large monastery
of this passage on “ the left side (east) of the south -east
road”, but tung, “ east ” is possibly a clerical error for
ch'êng, " city". The Life also gives the name of Devaśarman's
treatise as “ Shih-shên-tsu-lun ( EA)", “ the sāstra
of the Foot of the Perception Body”. We have the work
in Yuan -chuang's translation, the title being as in the
Life with the word Abhidharma prefixed . Its Sanskrit
title has been restored as " Abhidharma Vijñānakayapāda
1 No. 1281. See Bur. Int. p. 448 : Tār. S. 56 and 296.

374 DHARMAPĀLA .
śāstra ", but its short title, is “ Vijñānakāya sastra " as in

our pilgrim's translation here. The treatise is one of the
Six Pada ( Tsu ) called Abhidharma sūtra of the Sarvāsti
vādin School, and it was considered by the Vaibhäshikas
as canonical, but by the Sautrantikas as only the work of
a bhikshu. Yuan -chuang, it will be noticed, calls the
author an arhat, but in other places he is merely a bhik
shu or sthavira. The work is a tedious argumentative
treatise combating the views of a Moginlin who denied
the reality of the Past and the Future, and arguing against
other tenets apparently held by other early Buddhists.
Our pilgrim's statement that it denied the Ego and the
non-Ego, or " I and men ”, is a very unsatisfactory one.
The treatise by Gopa mentioned in the present passage
does not seem to be in the Chinese collections of Buddhist
works, and nothing is known apparently about the author
or his work. As Devaśarman is supposed to have lived
about 400, or, according to some, about 100 years after
the Buddha's decease Gopa must have lived about the
same time.
At this large monastery also, Yuan -chuang proceeds to narrate,

Hu -fa (Dharmapāla) Prusa once held a discussion for seven days
with 100 Hinayāna śāstra -masters and utterly defeated them.
In this district, moreover, the Buddha lived for six years preach
ing and teaching. Near the tope which commemorated his stay
and work and which stood near the large monastery was a mar
vellous tree ; it was six or seven feet high. This tree had been
developed from a tooth-stick which the Buddha after using it
had cast down . The tooth -stick took root and grew and flou
rished , and it still remained a tree in spite of the persistent efforts
of heretics to cut it down and destroy it.
The Tooth - stick tree of this passage was above 70 feet

high according to the Life and the Fang-chih. Fa-hsien,
it will be remembered , has a similar story about his city
of Sha-ki , and there the tree, as in our text, was only
seven feet high.
Cunningham thinks he proves that the Pi-sho-ka or
Visoka (?) of Yuan -chuang is the Sha-ki (or Sha-ti) of
THE TOOTH - STICK TREE . 375
Fa-hsien, and the Saketā or Ayodhyā of Indian literature.

But in his arguments he seems to quite ignore the fact
that Fa-hsien places Shaki thirteen (not as Legge has by
a slip, three) yojanas or nearly 100 miles in a south-east
direction from Kanauj and so either at or near Yuan
chuang's Ayudha which was 100 miles south- east from
Kanauj. Then Cunningham makes the name of this city
to be the same as that of the lady Visākhā: but Yuan
chuang, like others, transcribes the lady's name by three
characters different from those which he uses for writing
the name of this city. Further, from Shaki to Śrāvasti
the direction was south and the distance eight yojanas or
less than 50 miles, while from Visoka to Srāvasti it was
500 li or about 100 miles in a north -east direction. More
over the Life, as has been stated, places Visoka 500 li
to the east of Kosambi. So, unless we agree with Mr V. Smith
in treating Fa-hsien's distances and directions as mistakes,
we cannot make Yuan-chuang's Visoka to be Fa-hsien's
Shaki, but the former may perhaps be taken to represent
the Sāketa of the Buddhist scriptures.
The precisely similar stories about the Buddha's tooth
stick becoming and remaining a miraculous tree are in
favour of the identification of Sha -ki and Visoka. But
they are not enough to prove that the two names denoted
one city, as such stories were probably invented for several
places. We have already met with a tooth- stick tree in
the early part of the Records, and we are to meet with a
third in a future chapter.
It is not impossible that Yuan-chuang made an excursion
from Kosambi to Kaśapura, returned to Kosambi, and
from the latter continued his journey going east to Visoka.
This would agree with the account in the Life which does
not mention Kaśapura. M: V. Smith thinks that Yuan
chuang's Kasapura “may very plausibly be identified with
the group of ruins centreing round Mohanlalganj" fourteen
miles south of Lucknow . He adds-- " Kursī, in the Bāra
1 A. G. I. p . 401 .
376 KAŚAPURA.
banki District, about 27 miles in a direct line from Mohan

lālganj, corresponds admirably in position with Višākhā
[that is Visoka] which was 170 or 180 li (less than 30
miles) from Kāśapura ”.! But these proposed identifications
are not given as strictly accurate, and, as Mr Smith ad
mits, the identifications must await further researches.
1
op . c. p . 523.
CHAPTER XII.
CHUAN VI.
ŚRĀVASTI TO KUSINĀRĀ.
From the Visoka district the pilgrim travelled, he tells us,
above 500 li (about 100 miles) north - east to the Shih -lo- fa -si-ti
(Śrāvasti) country. This country was above 6000 li in circuit :
its “ capital" was a wild ruin without anything to define its areas ;
the old foundations of the “ Palace city " were above twenty li
in circuit, and although it was mostly a ruinous waste yet there
were inhabitants. The country had good crops, and an equable
climate : and the people had honest ways and were given to
learning and fond of good works. There were some hundreds
of Buddhist monasteries of which the most were in ruins : the
There were
Brethren, who were very few , were Sammatiyas.
100 Deva -Temples and the non - Buddhists were very numerous .
This city was in the Buddha's time the seat of government of
king Prasenajit and the foundations of this king's old palace
remained in the old “ Palace city”. Not far east of these was
an old foundation on which a small tope had been built : this
was the site of the large chapel (Preaching Hall) which king
Prasenajit built for the Buddha . Near the site of the chapel
was another tope on old foundations : this marked the site of
the nunnery (ching - she) of the Buddha's foster -mother, the bhik
shuni Prājapatī, erected for her by king Prasenajit. A tope to
the east of this marked the site of the house of Sudatta the
Elder (chief of the non -official laymen ). At the side of this was
a tope on the spot where Angulimāla gave up his heresy . This
Angulimāla , whose name denotes Finger - garland , was a wicked
man of Śrāvasti who harried the city and country , killing people
and cutting a finger off each person killed , in order to make
himself a garland. He was about to kill his own mother in
order to make up the required number of fingers, when the
Buddha in compassion proceeded to convert him. Finger -gar
land on seeing the Buddha was delighted , as his Brahmin teacher
378 SĀVATTHI.
had told him that by killing the Buddha and his own mother
he would obtain birth in Heaven . So he left his mother for the
moment , and made a motion to kill the Buddha. But the latter
kept moving out of reach, and by admonishing the murderer
led him to repentance and conversion. Finger-garland then was
admitted into the Order, and by zealous perseverance he attain
ed arhatship
In this passage the pilgrim, according to his usual prac
tice, gives the Sanskrit form of the name of the country
he describes, viz—Śrāvasti. This was properly not the
name of the country, which was Kosala, but of the capi
tal of that country. Fa-hsien uses the old and generally
accepted transcription She-wei ( ), perhaps for Sevat
or Săvatthi, and he makes the city so called the Capital
of Kosala , and eight yojanas south from his Sha -kil. This
last name, which may have been Sha - kói, or Sha - ch'i, or
Sha -ti, is supposed to represent Sāketa, but the restoration
of the name and the identification of the place are uncer
tain. Mr V. Smith would change Fa -hsien's south here to
north -east and his eight yojanas to eighteen or nineteen
yojanas, changes which seem to be quite inadmissible as
the pilgrim evidently made the journey. In the Vinaya
we find the city of Srāvasti stated to be six yojanas from
Sāket, and the former is apparently to the east of the
latter.3
The site of the Srāvasti of the present passage was
long ago confidently identified by Cunningham with that of
“ the great ruined city on the south bank of the Rapti,
called Sahet- Mahet" in which he discovered a colossal
statue of the Buddha with an inscription containing the
name " Sravasti". This identification has been accepted
and defended by other investigators, but there are several
strong reasons for setting it aside. These are set forth
i Fo-kuo-chi , ch. 20.

2 J. R. A. S. 1898. p . 523.
3 Vin . Mah. VII . In another Vinaya treatise (Sêng-ki-lü, ch . 11)
from Srāvasti to Sha - ki is a two days' journey for Upali.
4 Arch. Sur. India Vol. I. p. 330, XI. p. 78 : A. G. I. p. 409. Set
Mahet by W. Hoey, J. A. S. Bengal Vol. LXI (Extra number): An an
THE PALACE CITY. 379
by Mr V. Smith who, after careful study and personal exa

mination of the districts, has come to the conclusion that
the site of Srāvasti is in the district of Khajūrā in Nepal,
a short distance to the north of Balāpur and not far from
Nepālganj in a north -north -east direction. But this pro
posed identification also has its difficulties, and must await
further developments. No discoveries have been made to
support the identification, but there seems to be the usual
supply of mounds and ruins.
The terms rendered in this passage by “ capital” and
“ palace -city " are respectively tu -ch'êng (*B hl) and kung
ch'êng ( ghi). But by the term tu -ch'êng here we are to
understand “ the district of the capital”, what is called in
other books “ the Srāvasti country" as distinguished from
“ the Kosala country ". Kung -ch'êng here is taken by Julien
to mean " the palace", and by Beal to mean “ the walls
enclosing the royal precincts ". But we must take the
term in this passage to denote “ the walled city of Srā
vasti". That this is its meaning in our text is clear from
what follows, and from the corresponding passages in the
Life and the Fang -chih, and the description in the Fo
kuo - chi. In these treatises the words tu, tu -chaêng, and
ch'êng, all used in the sense of capital, are the equivalents
of our pilgrim's kung -ch'êng. His usual term for the chief
city of a country is ta -tu -ch'êng, and he seems to use tu
ch'êng here in a peculiar sense. It has been suggested
by a learned and intelligent native scholar that the tu
chóêng of this passage denotes the towns and cities of
Kosala which were inferior and subordinate to the capi
tal , the lang-c ^ êng. The te- cl :êng of ancient China were
the cities which were the official residences of the sub
ordinate feudal chiefs whose sovereign reigned at the royal
capital. According to this interpretation the pilgrim states
that the other cities of the country were in such utter de
cient inscribed statue from Srāvasti , by Th . Bloch Ph.D. (J.A.S. Bengal

Vol . LXVII . p . 274.)
1 op . c. p . 527, and J. R. A , S. 1900 Art. I.
380 PRASENAJIT.
solation that their boundaries could not be defined ; but

the capital, though also in ruins, had old foundations by
which its area could be ascertained. But it is perhaps
better to take tu -chiêng here as meaning " the Śrāvasti
district ”.
The pilgrim here tells us that Śrāvasti had some hun
dreds of Buddhist monasteries, very many of which were
in ruins. This statement as to the number of Buddhist
monasteries in the district is not in agreement with other
accounts which represent Śrāvasti as having only two or
three Buddhist establishments. It will be noticed that
Yuan -chuang mentions by name only one monastery, viz—
the great one of the Jetavana. Fa-hsien, however, tells of
98 (in some texts 18) monasteries, all except one occupied,
being round the Jetavana vihāra. The translation which
our pilgrim gives for the name Prasenajit ( in Pali , Pase
nadi) is Shêng-chün (JF E) or “ Overcoming army". I
ching, who transcribes the king's name as in the text and
also by Pio -se-ni (i / E ) , gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng-kuang (JF * ). 1 The latter
means “ Excelling brightness ", and the name is said to
have been given to the son born to Brahmadatta king of
Kosala on the morning of the birth of the Buddha, on
account of the supernatural brightness which then appeared.
Another rendering for the name transcribed Po-se -ni is
Ho-yue ( F1 10 ) which means cheerful, happy-looking 2 The
two latter translations seem to require as their original a
derivative from prasad ( the Pali pasidati), and the tran
scription Po -se-ni, which is the one in general use, seems
to point to a dialectic variety like Pasenid.
Of the old sites in Śrāvasti of which our pilgrim here
tells us, the nunnery, the house of Sudatta, and the place
of Añgulimāla's conversion are mentioned by Fa-hsien.
But the earlier pilgrim does not seem to have known of
i Sar. Vin . Tsa -shih, ch. 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih - êrh-yu - ching ( No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA. 381
or seen the remains of the king's palace or those of the

chapel built by the king for the Buddha.
In Julien's translation of the last paragraph in the
above account of the ancient sites of Śrāvasti city we have
one of his mischievous glosses, which has been , as usual,
followed and adopted by others. He translates— “ Ce fut
en cet endroit qu'[un des sectaires appelés] Yang -kiu -li
mo-lo (Angouli-mālyas), abjura ses erreurs”. There is no
thing in the text to warrant the words which I have put
within square brackets. If Julien had known the story
he would not have written thus, nor of " les Angoulimā
lyas”, and “ des scélérats du royaume de Çrāvasti ” in the
continuation. The pilgrim's narrative tells of only one man
who had obtained the ill-sounding nick -name Angulimāla
or Finger -garland. As the pilgrim knew the story this
man was only a cruel murderer of Śrävasti who cut off a
finger from each person he killed, and strung the fingers
into a garland. He also wanted to kill his own mother
and the Buddha to secure him rebirth in Heaven.
The story of this terrible murderer is told more fully
and with several variations of detail in other books. In
some versions of the story the original name of the man
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu- nao (FEM ) or
Inoffensive. He was at first a brahmin student of mar
vellous bodily and mental powers, and he was the disciple
of a celebrated master. This master had a wife fair and
frail, and Ahimsaka was falsely accused by her of having
made an attack on her virtue. Fearing to lay violent
hands on the troublesome clever disciple the jealous master
thought to get rid of him by a terrible task. So he en
joined on Ahimsaka the necessity of attaining to immor
tality by abstinence from all food for a week, and within
that period collecting 1000 fingers from as many human
beings, whom he was to slay with a certain sword. The
disciple very reluctantly undertook the task, and went
about killing people and cutting off a finger from each
person he killed, until he had obtained 999 fingers. At
this stage his mother having come to him with food he
380 PRASENAJIT .

better to take tu -ch'êng here as meaning " the Śrāvasti
district” .
Yuan -chuang mentions by name only one monastery, viz
the great one of the Jetavana. Fa -hsien, however, tells of
our pilgrim gives for the name Prasenajit (in Pali, Pase
nadi) is Shêng-chün (JFC ) or “ Overcoming army". I
also by Pro-se-ni Gili TË ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng-kuang (IJF ). The latter
Another rendering for the name transcribed Po-se-ni is
Ho-yue ( F " ) which means cheerful, happy-looking 2 The
scription P:o-se -ni, which is the one in general use, seems
to point to a dialectic variety like Pusenid .
i Sar. Vin. Tsa-shih , ch. 20; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

? Shib - érh -yu -ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA . 381

one of his mischievous glosses, which has been, as usual,
en cet endroit qu'[un des sectaires appelés] Yang -kiu -li
mo- lo (Angouli-mālyas), abjura ses erreurs”. There is no
he would not have written thus, nor of "les Angoulimā
lyas”, and “ des scélérats du royaume de Çrāvasti” in the
or Finger- garland. As the pilgrim knew the story this
man was only a cruel murderer of Śrāvasti who cut off a
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nao (11. 1 ) or
beings, whom he was to slay with a certain sword . The
380 PRASENAJIT.

better to take tu -ch'êng here as meaning "the Srāvasti
district” .
98 ( in some texts 18) monasteries, all except one occupied,
our pilgrim gives for the name Prasenajit ( in Pali, Pase
nadi) is Shêng-chün (IFT) or “ Overcoming army”. I
also by Pro - se -ni ( F. ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng-kuang (J } ). The latter
Another rendering for the name transcribed P o-se-ni is
Ho-yue (Fu ) which means cheerful, happy -looking 2 The
scription Pro-se-ni, which is the one in general use, seems
to point to a dialectic variety like Pasenid .
of Añgulimāla's conversion are mentioned by Fa -hsien.
1 Sar. Vin. Tsa-shih, ch. 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih -êrh - yu - ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA . 381

en cet endroit qu '[un des sectaires appelés] Yang-kiu -li
mo-lo (Angouli -mālyas), abjura ses erreurs". There is no
he would not have written thus, nor of "les Angoulimā
who had obtained the ill- sounding nick -name Angulimāla
or Finger-garland. As the pilgrim knew the story this
and the Buddha to secure him rebirth in Heaven .
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nao 47
( ) or
380 PRASENAJIT.

better to take tu -ch'êng here as meaning “ the Srāvasti
district ".
the great one of the Jetavana. Fa -hsien , however, tells of
being round the Jetavana vihāra . The translation which
our pilgrim gives for the name Prasenajit (in Pali , Pase
nadi) is Sheng-chün ( * ) or “ Overcoming army”. I
also by Pio -se -ni (iki E) , gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng -kuang ( JF * ). The latter
Ho- yue ( F11 ) which means cheerful, happy -looking.2 The
scription Po-se-ni, which is the one in general use, seems
i Sar. Vin . Tsa -shih , ch . 20 ; Rockhill's Life p . 16.

2 Shib - érh -yu -ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA. 381

followed and adopted by others. He translates— " Ce fut
en cet endroit qu'[un des sectaires appelés] Yang-kiu -li
mo-lo ( Angouli-mālyas), abjura ses erreurs”. There is no
he would not have written thus, nor of “les Angoulimā
lyas”, and “ des scélérats du royaume de Crāvasti” in the
or Finger-garland . As the pilgrim knew the story this
finger from each person he killed , and strung the fingers
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nao (11!. 14 ) or
thought to get rid of him by a terrible task . So he en
380 PRASENAJIT.

better to take tu -chiêng here as meaning “ the Srāvasti
district" .
our pilgrim gives for the name Prasenajit (in Pali , Pase
nadi) is Shêng-chün (IF 1) or “ Overcoming army". I
also by Pro -se -ni (ik E ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng -kuang ( lis * ). The latter
account of the supernatural brightness which then appeared .
Another rendering for the name transcribed Po- se -ni is
Ho-yue ( 1 " ) which means cheerful, happy -looking.2 The
scription Pro-se- ni, which is the one in general use, seems
1 Sar. Vin. Tsa-shih , ch. 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih - êrh -yu -ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA . 381

mo -lo ( Aïgouli -mālyas), abjura ses erreurs ”. There is no
man was only a cruel murderer of Śrävasti who cut off a
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nao ( fill. a) or
380 PRASENAJIT.

better to take tu - ch'êng here as meaning “ the Śrāvasti
district” .
nadi) is Shêng-chün ( ) or “ Overcoming army”. I.
also by Pio-se-ni Gif E ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng -kuang ( lis * ). The latter
Another rendering for the name transcribed Po-se - ni is
Ho-yue ( FI 10 ) which means cheerful, happy-looking 2 The
scription P'o -se- ni, which is the one in general use, seems
of Añgulimāla's conversion are mentioned by Fa -hsien .
i Sar. Vin . Tsa -shih, ch . 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih -êrh -yu - ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA. 381

en cet endroit qu '[un des sectaires appelés] Yang-kiu -li
mo- lo ( Angouli -mālyas), abjura ses erreurs”. There is no
who had obtained the ill - sounding nick - name Angulimāla
or Finger-garland. As the pilgrim knew the story this
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nao ( fill 19 ) or
380 PRASENAJIT ,

better to take tu -chiêng here as meaning “the Śrāvasti
district ”.
the great one of the Jetavana. Fa-hsien, however, tells of
nadi) is Shêng-chün (UFT ) or “Overcoming army”. I
also by P'o -se -ni Cik E ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng-kuang (J * * ). 1 The latter
Another rendering for the name transcribed Po -se-ni is
Ho-yue ( FI 1 ) which means cheerful,happy -looking.2 The
scription Po-se-ni, which is the one in general use, seems
1 Sar. Vin . Tsa -shih , ch . 20 ; Rockhill's Life p . 16.

2 Shih-êrh-yu-ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA . 381

en cet endroit qu'(un des sectaires appelés] Yang -kiu -li
mo-lo ( Angouli-mālyas), abjura ses erreurs " . There is no
who had obtained the ill - sounding nick -name Angulimāla
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu - nao ( Hill M ) or
380 PRASENAJIT .

better to take tu-ch'êng here as meaning " the Śrāvasti
district" .
nadi) is Shêng -chün ( ** ) or “ Overcoming army ". I
also by Po -se-ni Gü E ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng-kuang (J} * ). 1 The latter
means “ Excelling brightness", and the name is said to
Another rendering for the name transcribed Po -se -ni is
Ho- yue ( FI 14t ) which means cheerful, happy-looking 2 The
derivative from prasad (the Pali pasidati), and the tran
scription P:o-se- ni, which is the one in general use, seems
i Sar. Vin. Tsa-shih , ch. 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih - êrh - yu - ching ( No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA . 381

lyas”, and “ des scélérats du royaume de Crăvasti” in the
who had obtained the ill -sounding nick -name Angulimāla
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nao ( 11l. ) or
380 PRASENAJIT .

better to take tu - ch'êng here as meaning " the Śrāvasti
district" .
nadi) is Shêng-chün ( FT ) or " Overcoming army". I
also by Pio-se-ni Give u E ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng -kuang ( J * * ). The latter
account of the supernatural brightness which then appeared .
Another rendering for the name transcribed Po -se -ni is
Ho-yue ( FI 10 ) which means cheerful, happy -looking.2 The
derivative from prasad ( the Pali pasidati) , and the tran
scription P:o-se-ni, which is the one in general use, seems
to point to a dialectic variety like Pusenid.
i Sar. Vin . Tsa -shih , ch . 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih - érh -yu -ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA . 381

en cet endroit qu'(un des sectaires appelés] Yang -kiu -li
lyas", and " des scélérats du royaume de Çrāvasti" in the
who had obtained the ill- sounding nick -name Angulimāla
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nuo ( 1.16. 13) or
Inoffensive . He was at first a brahmin student of mar
tality by abstinence from all food for a week , and within
380 PRASENAJIT .

better to take tu -chiêng here as meaning " the Śrāvasti
district ".
the great one of the Jetavana . Fa-hsien, however, tells of
nadi) is Shêng-chün (IFT) or “ Overcoming army". I
also by Pło-se-ni ( ie E ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng -kuang ( 1% * ). 1 The latter
Ho- yue ( FI 14+ ) which means cheerful, happy-looking 2 The
scription Pro-se- ni, which is the one in general use, seems
to point to a dialectic variety like Pusenid .
of Añgulimāla's conversion are mentioned by Fa-hsien .
i Sar. Vin . Tsa -shih , ch . 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih -êrh -yu -ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA . 381

mo -lo ( Angouli-mālyas), abjura ses erreurs”. There is no
who had obtained the ill-sounding nick - name Angulimāla
or Finger- garland. As the pilgrim knew the story this
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nuo ( JE TA) or
380 PRASENAJIT .
solation that their boundaries could not be defined; but

better to take tu -chêng here as meaning " the Śrāvasti
district ".
nadi) is Shêng-chün JT)( or “ Overcoming army". I
also by Pro-se -ni Cik E ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng-kuang (JB * ). 1 The latter
Another rendering for the name transcribed P'o-se-ni is
Ho-yue F
( t) which means cheerful, happy-looking 2 The
derivative from prasad (the Pali pasidati), and the tran
scription Po -se- ni, which is the one in general use, seems
i Sar. Vin. Tsa-shih, ch. 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih -êrh - yu - ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA. 381

followed and adopted by others. He translates— " Ce fut
en cet endroit qu' un des sectaires appelés] Yang -kiu -li
lyas", and " des scélérats du royaume de Çrāvasti" in the
who had obtained the ill - sounding nick - name Angulimāla
or Finger -garland . As the pilgrim knew the story this
man was only a cruel murderer of Srāvasti who cut off a
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu -nao ( fill mi or
380 PRASENAJIT.

better to take tu -ch'êng here as meaning " the Śrāvasti
district".
nadi) is Shêng-chün (15 ) or “ Overcoming army". I
also by Po-se-ni ( ist (E ), gives our pilgrim's translation
and another rendering, shêng -kuang (US X ). The latter
Ho-yue ( Ful ) which means cheerful, happy-looking. The
derivative from prasad (the Pali pasidati ), and the tran
scription Po -se-ni, which is the one in general use, seems
Of the old sites in Śrävasti of which our pilgrim here
of Añgulimāla's conversion are mentioned by Fa -hsien.
i Sar. Vin. Tsa-shih, ch. 20 ; Rockhill's Life p. 16.

2 Shih-êrh-yu-ching (No. 1374)
ANGULIMĀLA . 381

mo-lo (Angouli-mālyas ), abjura ses erreurs”. There is no
man was only a cruel murderer of Srāvasti who cut off a
was Ahimsaka or Innocent, in Chinese Wu- nao ( HHE. 1) or
thought to get rid of him by a terrible task . So he en
382 ANGULIMĀLA .
was about to kill her, in order to complete his tale, when

the Buddha appeared on the scene. The misguided youth
soon yielded to Buddha's power, was converted and ordain
ed, and rapidly attained arhatship .' In some of the
Buddhist Scriptures Finger -garland is merely a cruel
highwayman robbing and murdering, and rendering the
roads impassable. The Buddha goes to the district in
fested by the murderer, and he goes unattended moved
by great compassion : he meets with the murderer, calls
on him to stay in his evil course and give way to his good
karma.2
Our pilgrim and Fa - hsien, we have seen , found within
Srāvasti city a memorial of the place where this Finger
garland had been converted, and sanctified, and beatified.
But this is against the general testimony of the Buddhist
writings. According to these the murders were commit
ted and the sudden conversion effected in the country
beyond Srāvasti), or at a place very nearly ten yojanas
from that cityø, or in the Angutala countryć, or in the
land of Magadha.6
The pilgrim proceeding with his description relates as
follows
“ Five or six li south of the city is the She- to wood (Jetavana)
which is the kei-ku -tu -yuan (Anāthapindadārāma) the temple
which king Prasenajit's great Minister Sudatta erected for the
Buddha : formerly it was a sanghārāma (monastery), now it is in
desolate ruin.”
According to Fa - hsien the Jetavana vihara was 1200 pu

(paces) outside the south gate of Srāvasti, on the west
side of the road , with a gate opening to the east, that is,
1 M. B. p. 257. Hsien -yü -cbing, ch . 11 , and Der Weise u. d. T.

S. 300 : Ang -ku -mo -ching (No. 621 ) where the student has to collect
100 fingers: Tsêng- yi-a-han-ching, ch. 31 .
2 Rhys Davids Questions of Milinda in S. B. E. Vol. XXXVI,
p. 355 : J. P. T. S. for 1888 p . 2 : Fo -shuo -Ang -ku -chi-ching (No. 622).
3 Fo - shuo - ang -ku -chi-ching.
• Ang -ku -mo- lo - ching (No. 431).
5 Tsa-a -han -ching, ch . 38 (Ang-ku-to -lo 2 % ).
6 Pie -yi-tsa -a- han - ching, ch . 1 .
THE TETAVANA VIHĀRA . 383
toward the highway. The 1200 pu of this account made

above 5000 feet, and so the two pilgrims are in substantial
agreement as to the situation of the Jetavana monastery.
In other accounts this establishment is represented as
being at a convenient distance from the city of Srāvasti',
but Nāgārjuna seems to describe it as having been within
the city. The term here, as before, rendered " temple"
is ching -shê, and Yuan -chuang seems to use it in this
passage in the sense of “ vibāra ” . This is the sense in
which the term is commonly used by the early Chinese
Buddhist writers and translators. Thus Fa-hsien calls the
great establishment now under notice the C hi-huan ( for
Jetavana)-ching-shê. In our text this term is evidently
used as the equivalent of ārāma, in the sense of
monastery, and covers all the buildings of the great esta
blishment.
The name " Sudatta " is translated by our pilgrim Shan
shih ( T ) or “ Well- bestowed ” (also interpreted as "Good
giver" ), and his kei-ku -tu is the old and common rendering
for Anāthapiņdada. Yuan-chuang here calls Sudatta a
“ high official” ( ta - ch'ên * E ) , and this title is applied
to the man by other writers 3, but he was only a setthi
or Householder. He had been engaged in trade, and had
enormous wealth ; he is said to have been a butcher, but
this is probably a late invention.
At the east gate of the Jetavana monastery were two stone
pillars , one on each side of the entrance : these, which were 70
feet high, had been erected by king Asoka ; the pillar on the
left side was surmounted by a sculptured wheel and that on the
right side by an ox.
The statement in this paragraph agrees precisely with
Fa -hsien's account of the two pillars. Julien's rendering
of it is inexplicable and Beal's is not correct.
1 See the She-wei -kuo- Chéi-huan -ssŭ - t'u -ching ( 1 ) Tit

} [G] % ) ; Ssu-fến-li, ch. 50; Sang-ki-li, ch. 23.
2 Fu - kai - chêng -hsing-so-chi- ching, ch . 4 : Tsêng -yi-a -han - ching,
ch . 33.
3
e. g. in Hsien-yü - ching, ch. 10 .
384 THE TETAVANA VIHARA .
On the site of the Jetavana monastery the pilgrim found only

one building standing in solitary loneliness. This building was
the brick shrine which contained the image of the Buddha made
for king Prasenajit. This image, which was five feet high, was
a copy of that made for king Udayana of Kosambi already
mentioned .
This shrine was also the only building which Fa-hsien

found in the Jetavana, and according to him it was the
image in it which came from its pedestal to meet the
Buddha on his return from the Trayastrimsa Heaven, and
which was to serve as a model for all future images of
the Buddha.
We have next Yuan -chuang's version of the oft-told
story how the Jetavana, and the Anāthapiņdada ārāma
came into the possession of the Buddhists.
The setthi Sudatta, noted for his munificent charity, wished
to build a vihāra for the Buddha whom he invited to visit him
at his home in Śrāvasti. Buddha sent Śāriputra as an expert
to act as manager in the matter for Sudatta. The only suitable
site that could be found near Srāvasti was the Park of Prince
Jeta . When the Elder asked the prince to sell his park the
prince said joking- “ Yes , for as many gold coins as will cover
it" . This answer delighted Sudatta, and he at once proceeded
to cover the ground with gold coins from his treasury (not as
Julien bas it, from the trésor royal). When all the ground ex
cept a small piece was covered the prince " asked Sudatta to
desist, saying , “ The Buddha truly is an excellent field , it is
meet I sow good seed ” : so on the uncovered ground he erected
a temple”. Then the Buddha said to Ananda that as the ground
of the park had been bought by Sudatta, and the trees had been
given by Prince Jeta, the two men having like intentions, their
merits should be respected and the place spoken of as “ Jeta's
trees Anāthapindada's ārāma" .
In Julien's rendering of this passage he makes the pil
grim represent Sudatta as unable to cover all the Park
with gold , but this is not in the text. Then Julien trans
lates the words Fo-ch'êng-liang -t'ien (Tells ali RF by
" C'est, en vérité , l'excellent champ du Bouddha ", but this
is not at all the meaning of the expression. The words
state plainly that the Buddha is an “ excellent field ” or
generous soil, and this sort of expression is of very com
JETAVANA VIHARA. 385
mon occurrence in the Buddhist Scriptures. To give alms

of food or clothing, or do any service to Buddhas, Pusas,
or eminent monks or nuns, was to sow good seed in good
ground , the crop to be reaped either in this life or in
one to come. Hence the beings to whom such meritorious
services are rendered are called " excellent fields", and of
these the most " excellent field” always is the Buddha. In
the present case the Prince wished to share in the reward
which Sudatta would have, and in order to secure this
result he remitted a portion of the price for the ground
and built a " temple ” ( ching -shê) for the Buddha on the
space unoccupied by gold coins. Some other accounts
represent Jeta as refusing to sell even for as many gold
coins as would cover the park ; and when Sudatta claims
that the mention of a sum makes a bargain, and Jeta
maintains it does not, the Judges to whom the matter is
referred decide against the Prince. This last is also re
presented as contributing a porch or vestibule to Sudatta's
vihāra, and in no case is he described as building the
whole monastery.1 The statement which Yuan-chuang here
makes the Buddha address to Ananda about the trees
having been given by the Prince, and the ground purchas
ed by Sudatta, is a stupid invention to account for the
common way of designating the vihāra in Chinese trans
lations. It was not the pilgrim , however, who invented
the story, as it is found in other accounts of the trans
action.2
The original Jetavana monastery, which was probably
neither very large nor substantial and was not well pro
tected, was destroyed by fire in the Buddha's lifetime.3
After the death of Sudatta the place was neglected as
there was no one to look after the grounds and buildings.
A new vihāra was afterwards built on a greater scale but
this also was burnt to the ground. At one time, we read,
1 Ssi -fến -li 1. c.; Chung-hoi-ching, ch. 11 (No. 859).

2 e. g. in Fo-shuo-Po-ching-ch'ao (No. 379).
3 Shih -sung -lü, ch. 61 .
BB
386 JETAVANA VIHARA.
the place was utterly abandoned by the Buddhist Brethren

and was used as the king's stables, but the buildings were
again rebuilt and reoccupied by Buddhist monks. In its
palmy days, before its final destruction and abandonment,
the Jetavana monastery must have been a very large and
magnificent establishment. We may believe this without
accepting all the rather legendary descriptions of it still
extant. Some authorities give the extent of the Park as
80 ching or about 130 square acres. 1 Others tell us that
the grounds were about ten li (or two miles) in length by
above 700 pu (paces) in with, and that they contained
120 buildings, or even several hundred houses of various
kinds.2 There were chapels for preaching and halls for
meditation , messrooms and chambers for the monks,
bathhouses, a hospital, libraries and reading-rooms, with
pleasant shady tanks, and a great wall encompassing all.
The Libraries were richly furnished, not only with ortho
dox literature but also with Vedic and other non- Bud
dhistic works, and with treatises on the arts and sciences
taught in India at the time. The monastery was also well
situated, being conveniently near the city, and yet away
from the distracting sights and noises of the streets.
Moreover the Park afforded a perfect shade, and was a
delightful place for walking in during the heat and glare
of the day ; it had streams and tanks of clear cool water ;
it was also free from noxious stinging creatures; and it
was a favourite resort of the good and devotional people
of all religions. The native beauties and advantages of
the place had been greatly improved by its first Buddhist
occupants, for the Buddha directed his disciples to plant
trees in the grounds and by the roadside. He also caused
the grounds to be protected from goats and cattle, and
had a supply of water brought in by artificial means.3
1 Fo -shuo - Poh -ching - ch'ao.

2 Shê -wei -kuo - Ch'i-huan -ssu -t'u -ching: Shih -êrh -yu -ching (No. 1374
tr. A. D. 392).
3 Ssă- fên-lü, ch. 50.
THE BUDDHA NURSES A SICK MAN. 387
Continuing his description Yuan-chuang tells us that at the

north -east of the Anāthapiņdadārāma was a tope to mark the
spot at which the Buddha washed a sick bhikshu. This was a
Brother who was suffering pain and living in isolation . The
Master seeing him asked him what was his malady and why
he was living alone. The Brother replied , I am of an indolent
disposition and intolerant of medical treatment, so I am now
very ill and have no one to attend on me. Then the Buddha
was moved with pity and said to him- Good sir, I am now
your medical attendant. Thereupon he stroked the patient with
his hand, and all the man's ailments were cured. The Buddha
then bore him outside the chamber, changed his bed, washed
him and dressed him in clean clothes, and told him to be zealous
and energetic. Hearing this the Brother felt grateful and be
came happy in mind and comfortable in body.
This story is related in several of the Buddhist Scrip
tures with some variations of detail. According to the
Vinaya, and some other authorities, the Buddha and An
anda one day going the rounds of the Jetavana establish
ment found a Brother lying in a chamber apart from all
the others, and suffering from a troublesome and unpleas
ant malady. The sick man, who was apparently quite
helpless, explained to Buddha that the Brethren left him
to himself because he had been useless to them . This
means that he had been a selfish lazy man refusing to
help others or do his proper share of work. In the Vinaya
the incident is made the occasion of the Buddha drawing
up rules for the care to be taken of a sick bhikhshu by
the Brethren.1 In one book the Buddha is represented
as telling the neglected sick Brother that his present mis
fortunes were the result of ill conduct in a previous exis
tence.2 In two treatises the scene of the incident is laid
at Rajagaha, and these have other differences of detail. 3
To the north-west of the ārāma, we are next told, was a small
tope which marked the spot at which Maudgala-putra (Maud
1 Vin. Mah . VIII. 26 : Sêng-ki-lü , ch. 28. See also the story in
Vibhāshā -lun, ch. 11 (scene not given) .
2 Fo-sbuo-shêng-ching, eh. 3 (No. 669 tr. A. D. 285 ).
3 Tseng - yi -a- han-ching, chi 40 ; Pu-sa - pen-sheng - man -lun, ch. 4
(No. 1312 tr. cir. A. D. 970).
BB *
388 MAGIC LESS THAN WISDOM .
galyāyana or Moggallāno) made an ineffectual attempt to raise

the girdle (or belt) of Sariputra against the will of the latter.
Once , the pilgrim relates, when the Buddha was at the Anava
tapta Lake with a congregation of men and devas he discovered
that Śāriputra was absent, and he sent Maudgalaputra through
the air to summon him to the meeting . In a trice Maudgala
putra was in the Jetavana Vihāra where he found Säriputra
mending his canonical robes. When the Master's request was
communicated to him Sāriputra said he would go as soon as
his mending was finished , but Maudgalaputra threatened to carry
him off by his supernormal powers. Säriputra then cast his
girdle on the floor and challenged his friend to lift it. Maud
galaputra tried all his magical powers ; but although he produced
an earthquake he could not move the girdle. So he went back
alone through the air to Buddha, and on his arrival found Śāri
putra already seated in the congregation. Thereupon Maudgala
putra declared that he had learned from this occurrence that the
potency of riddhi (possession of supernormal physical powers)
was inferior to that of prajñā (spiritual intuition or transcen
dental wisdom ).
This little story is told in several Buddhist treatises with
considerable additions. In the “ Tsêng-yi-a -han -ching " ? it
is the Dragon -king of the Anavatapta Lake who misses
Śäriputra from the congregation , and asks Buddha to send
for him. Here the legend is given with ridiculous wild
exaggerations and, as in Yuan-chuang's version , there is
the presence of an unfriendly feeling between the two great
disciples. In the “ Ta -chih -tu - lun " 2 the Buddha and his
arhats are assembled at the Anavatapta Lake for the pur
pose of hearing jātakas told, and Sāriputra is missed.
Maudgalyāyana is sent to bring him , and in order to hasten
matters he finishes the mending of Sariputra's garment
by magic, a procedure which suggests to Sāriputra the
idea of the trial of prajñā against riddhi. When Maud
galyāyana saw that he could not even lift his friend's
girdle from the ground against the owner's will, he knew
it was useless to think of taking the man himself by the
ear, or the shoulder, through the air to the Anavatapta
1 Ch . 29.
2 Ch. 45 .
THE MURDERED HARLOT. 389
Lake. The Buddha used this incident, as he used certain

other events, to teach the superiority of high spiritual
attainments over the possession of great magical powers.
Near the " Raising -the girdle Tope ", the pilgrim proceeds, was
a well from which water had been drawn for the use of the
Buddha. Close to it was an Asoka tope containing a relic of
the Buddha, and there were in the vicinity , at places where he
took exercise and preached , memorial topes at which there were
miraculous manifestations with divine music and fragrance. At a
short distance behind the Jetavana monastery was the place at
which certain non-Buddhist Brāhmachārins slew a harlot in order
to bring reproach on the Buddha. These men, as Yuan -chuang's
story goes, hired this harlot to attend the Buddha's discourses
and thus become known to all . Then they secretly killed her
and buried her body in the Park. Having done this they pro
ceeded to appeal to the king for redress, and he ordered investi
gation to be made. When the body was discovered at the mo
nastery the heretics exclaimed that the great Śramana Gautama,
who was always talking of morality and gentleness, after having
had illicit intercourse with the woman had murdered her to
prevent her from talking. But thereupon the devas in the air
cried out that this was a slander of the heretics.
Fa - hsien and other authorities give the name of the un

fortunate harlot of this story as Sundarī. This, it will be
remembered, was the name of the fair charmer who once
led astray a wise and holy ascetic. The word means
beautiful woman, and it is rendered in some Chinese trans
lations by Hao-shou or “ Good - Head ”.1 The woman of
our story is also called Sundaranandi,2 which is the name
of a nun in the primitive Buddhist church. She is re
presented as the disciple (and apparently, the mistress) of
one of the old non - Buddhist teachers of Kosala (or of
another district). Seeing these teachers distressed at the
growing preeminence of Gautama Buddha, she suggested
to them the expedient here described for ruining Gautama
and restoring her master and the other teachers to their
former position of influence. But some authorities like
Yuan -chuang and Fa-hsien represent the harlot as having
1 Fo-shuo-yi-tsu-ching, ch . 1 (No. 674 ).
2 Pu -sa-ch'u -tai-ching, ch. 7 (No. 433 ).
390 DEVADATTA'S PIT.
been forced by the Brahmins to attend the Buddha's ser

mons, and afterwards submit to be murdered. According
to one account the Buddha had in ages before been an
actor, and the woman a harlot at the same time and in
the same place : the actor had then killed the harlot for
her ornaments, and buried her body at the hermitage of
a Pratyeka Buddha.1 In another old story this Sundari
had been in a former birth a wicked queen, and the
Buddha had been the wise and faithful servant of the
king her husband.2
Continuing his narrative the pilgrim states that above 100 paces
to the east of the Jetavana monastery was a deep pit through which
Devadatta, for having sought to kill the Buddha by poison, went
down alive into Hell. Devadatta, the son of Hu - fan -wang (“ Peck
food -king " ), had in the course of twelve years by zealous per
severance acquired the 80,000 compendia of doctrine; and after
wards, for the sake of its material advantages, he had sought to
attain supernormal power. He associated with the irreligious
(lit. wicked friends) and reasoned with them thus , “I have all
the outward signs of the Buddha except two, a great Congrega
tion attends me, and I am as good as the Ju-lai”. Putting these
thoughts in practice he broke up the Brotherhood (that is, by
alluring disciples from the Buddha to himself). But Maudgalya
putra and Śāriputra, under Buddha's instructions and by his
power, won the strayed Brethren back. Devadatta, however, kept
his evil mind, put poison in his finger-nails with a view to
kill Buddha in the act of doing him reverence, and fared as in
the story .
The temporary “ breaking up " of the Brotherhood insti
tuted by Gautama Buddha by the schism caused by his
cousin Devadatta is a famous incident in the history of
the primitive Buddhist Church. The story of the schism
is narrated in several books at greater or less length and
with a few variations of detail.3 According to some
accounts there were 500 weak young Brethren seduced
from the Buddha by Devadatta, and after a short time
1 Hsing-ch'i-hsing -ching (No. 733).

2 Fo -shuo - Poh - ching-ch'ao.
3 Vin . Chul. VII, 3 ; Rockhill Life p. 94 ; Dh. p. 145 ; Ssū - fên -lü ,
ch . 46.
THE DEVADATTA LEGEND . 391
brought back again by Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana.

These 500 men then misled by the great schismatic had
been his dupes many ages before. In one of their former
births they had all been monkeys forming a band of 500
with a chief who was Devadatta in his monkey existence.
On the advice of their chief these simple monkeys set
themselves to draw the moon out of a well, and were all
drowned in the attempt by the breaking of the branch by
which they were swinging. 1
It is worthy of note in connection with Yuan -chuang's
description that Fa -hsien did not see any pit here. The
latter describes the spots at which the wicked woman and
Devadatta went down into Hell as having marks of identi
fication given to them by men of subsequent times. The
design and attempt to murder the Buddha by poison here
described by Yuan - chuang are mentioned also by Fa -hsien,
and they are found in the Tibetan texts translated by
Mr Rockhill,2 but they are not in all the accounts of
Devadatta's proceedings. The great learning and possession
of magical powers here ascribed to Devadatta are men
tioned in some of the canonical works, and his claim to
be the equal of his cousin in social and religious quali
fications is also given.3 But his abrupt bodily descent
into Hell is generally ascribed to other causes than merely
the abortive attempt to poison the Buddha.
Our pilgrim here, as we have seen , calls Devadatta's
father Hu -fan -wang which is a literal rendering of Drono
danarāja. This Dronodanarāja was a brother of king
Suddhodana the father of Gautama Buddha. By a strange
slip of the pen Julien makes the pilgrim here describe
Devadatta as “ le fils du roi Ho-wang ", and the mistake is
of course repeated by others. We are to meet with this
troublesome man Devadatta again in the Records.
1 Sáng-ki-lü, ch. 7.
2 Rockhill Life p. 107 .
3 Shih-sung-lü, ch. 36 ; Tsêng -yi- a -han -ching, ch. 47 ; Abhi-ta -vib .,
ch . 116 .
392 CHINCHA'S SLANDER .
To the south of Devadatta's fosse, Yuan -chuang continues,

was another pit through which the bhikshu Ku -ka -li (Kokālika)
having slandered the Buddha went down alive into Hell.
This man Kokālika is better known as a partisan of
Devadatta than as enemy of the Buddha. He was, we
learn from other sources, an unscrupulous friend and fol.
lower of Devadatta, always praising his master and call
ing right wrong and wrong right in agreement with him.
They had met in a former state of existence when Kokā
lika was a crow and Devadatta a jackal. The latter had
scented the corpse of an unburied eunuch, and had nearly
devoured its flesh, when the hungry crow, eager to get
bones to pick, praised and flattered the jackal in fulsome
lying phrases. To these the latter replied in a similar
strain, and their feigning language brought on them a re
buke from a rishi who was the Pusa ...
Still farther south above 800 paces, the pilgrim proceeds, was
a third deep pit or trench. By this Chan - che, the Brahmin
woman , for having calumniated the Buddha, passed alive into
Hell . Yuan -chuang then tells his version of the story of Chan
che whom he calls a disciple of the Non- Buddhists. In order
to disgrace and ruin Gautama, and bring her masters into repute
and popularity, she fastened a wooden basin under her clothes
in front. Then she went to the Jetavana monastery and openly
declared that she was with child, illicitly, to the preacher, and
that the child in her womb was a Sakya. She was believed by
all the heretics ; but the orthodox knew she was speaking slander.
Then Indra, as a rat, exposed the wicked trick, and the woman
went down to “ Unremitting Hell” to bear her retribution.
The loyal bad woman of this story, called by the pil
grim “ Chan -che the Brahmin woman ", is the Chincha-mā
navikā of the Pali Scriptures ? This Pali name may also
be the original for the Chan - che -mo -na of Fa -hsien and
others, another form of transcription of the name being
Chan -che-mo-na -ki with nü , “ woman ", added.3 But we
find the original name translated by Pao -chih ( 5 ) or
1 Fo-shuo -sheng -ching, ch . 3 ; Sar. Vin. P'o-seng-shih, ch . 18.

2 Dh.p. 338 ; Jāt. 3.298 ; 4.187. Chinchī in Hardy M. B. p. 284.
3 Pu-sa-chu-tai -ching, cl. 7.
VARIOUS LEGENDS OF CHINCHĂ . 393
" Fierce-minded ”, that is, Chandamanā, which was apparently

the early form of the name. In a Chinese translation of
a Buddhist work the woman is designated simply the
" Many -tongued Woman ” .2 According to one authority she
was a disciple of the Tirthika teacher Kesakambala, and
it was at the instigation of this teacher that she pretend
ed to be with child to the Buddha in the manner here
described . Another version of the story, and perhaps the
earliest one, makes Chan-che (or Chanda ) a Buddhist nun
led astray by evil influences. When her trick with the
basin is discovered she is sentenced to be buried alive,
but the Buddha intercedes for her, and she is only banish
ed. Then the Buddha gives a very satisfactory explana
tion of the woman's conduct. She had come in contact
with him long ago in his existence as a dealer in pearls,
and he had then incurred her resentment. They had also
met in another stage of their previous lives when the
P'usa was a monkey, and Chanche was the relentless wife
of the Turtle (or the Crocodile) and wanted to eat the
monkey's liver. So her desire to inflict injury on the
Buddha was a survival from a very old enmity.3 The
Pali accounts and Fa - hsien agree with Yuan-chuang in
representing Chan - che as going down alive into Hell, but,
as has been stated , Fa-hsien differs from Yuan-chuang in
not making mention of the pit by which she was said to
have passed down.
The narrative next tells us that 60 or 70 paces to the east of
the Jetavana Monastery was a temple ( ching - shê) above sixty
feet high which contained a sitting image of the Buddha with
his face to the east. At this place the Julai had held discussion
with the Tīrthikas (wai-tao). To the east of this ching -shê was
a Deva - Temple of the same dimensions which was shut out from
the western sun in the evening by the Buddhist temple, while
1 Fo-shuo-shếng-ching, ch. 1 (Here Chan-che is a nun).

2 Hsing- ch'i-hsing- ching, ch. 1.
3 Fo -shuo -shêng - ching, ch. 1 : Jātaka (tr. Chalmers) Vol. I. p. 142.
4 In some of the books e. g. in the Ch‘ü -tai- ching and the Fo
shuo-shêng -ching the woman does not undergo any punishment; in
the former treatise moreover the occurrence takes place at Vesāli.
394 SĀRIPUTTA'S TOPE.
the latter in the morning was not deprived of the rays of the
sun by the Deva-Temple.
Fa-hsien also saw these two temples , and he has given
a similar account of them . But he applies the name
Ying-fu ( ) or “ Shadow Cover” to the Deva-temple
while Yuan -chuang gives it to the Buddha -temple: in the
former case the term means Overshadowed and in the
latter it means Overshadowing.
Three or four li east from the Overshadowing Temple, Yuan
chuang continues, was a tope at the place where Sāriputta had
discussed with the Tirthikas. When Säriputta came to Srāvasti
to help Sudatta in founding his monastery the six non - Buddhist
teachers challenged him to a contest as to magical powers and
Sāriputta excelled his competitors.
The contest of this passage took place while Sāriputta
was at Srāvasti assisting Sudatta in the construction of
the great monastery. But the competition was not with
the “ six great teachers" : it was with the chiefs of the
local sects, who wished to have the young and successful
rival in religion excluded from the district. In our passage
it will be noted that the pilgrim writes of Säriputta dis
cussing with the non -Buddhists, and this seems to be ex
plained as meaning that he fought them on the point of
magical powers. This is in agreement with the story as
told in some of the Buddhist books. All the leading oppo
nents of the Buddha were invited to meet Sāriputta at
an open discussion : they came and when all were seated
the spokesman of the Brahmins, Red - eye by name, was
invited to state the subject of discussion . He thereupon
intimated that he wished to compete with Säriputta in
the exhibition of magical powers : this was allowed and the
result was that Sāriputta came off conqueror.
Beside the Śāriputra Tope was a temple (ching - she) in front
of which was a tope to the Buddha. It was here that the Buddha
1 Chung -hsü -ching, ch .12 ; Rockhill Life p. 48. This tope to śāri
putra is not mentioned by Fa -hsien ; it is perhaps the tope to śāri
putra in the Jetavana pointed out to Asoka in the Divyāv. p. 394 ;
A - y - wang -chuan, ch. 2.
THE EIGHT GREAT TOPES. 395
worsted his religious opponents in argument, and received Mother

Visākhā's invitation .
The spot at which the Buddha silenced his proud and
learned opponents at Śrāvasti was supposed to have been
marked by a special tope. This was one of the Eight
Great Topes , already referred to , associated with the
Buddha's career. We cannot regard the tope of this
paragraph, or the temple of a previous passage, as the
celebrated Great Tope of Śrāvasti.1
Of the lady here called “ Mother Visakha " we have to
make mention presently. The invitation or request here
mentioned was probably connected with the Hall she made
for the Buddha and his disciples. 2
To the south of the Accepting-invitation Tope, the pilgrim
proceeds, was the place at which king Virūdhaka, on his way
to destroy the Sakyas, saw the Buddha, and turned back with his
army. When Virūdhaka ascended the throne, Yuan -chuang re
lates, he raised a great army and set out on the march [from
Śrāvasti to Kapilavastu] to avenge a former insult. A bhikshu
reported the circumstance to the Buddha ; who thereupon left
Śrāvasti, and took his seat under a dead tree by the roadside.
When the king came up he recognized Buddha , dismounted, and
paid him lowly reverence. He then asked the Buddha why he
did not go for shade to a tree with leaves and branches. “ My
clan are my branches and leaves”, replied Buddha, “ and as they
are in danger what shelter can I have ? ” The king said to him
self— “ The Lord is taking the side of his relatives let me
return ” . So he looked on Buddha moved with compassion , and
called his army home .
Near this place, the pilgrim goes on, was a tope to mark the
spot at which 500 Sakya maidens were dismembered by this
same king's orders. When Virūdhaka had taken his revenge on
the Sakyas he selected 500 of their maidens for his harem. But
1 Dr. Hoey proposes to identify the ching -shê with its tope of
this passage with “ the ruins named Baghaha Bári” near Sahet Mahet,
and he thinks that this may be the site of “ Visakha's Pūrvaráma ”.
But this is quite impossible, and the pilgrim does not note, as
Dr. Hoey says he does, that the ching-shê was "in strict dependence
on the Sanghārāma (of the Jetavana )", op . c. p. 38.
2 Or the request which the Buddha aecepted may have been
Mother Visakhā's petition to be allowed to present robes to the Brethren.
396 KING VIRŪDHAKA .
these young ladies were haughty, and refused to go, "abusing the
king as the son of a slave" (li - ch‘i - wang - chia -jen-chih - tzŭ
171
# E * I ŹF). When the king learned what they

had done , he was wroth , and ordered that them aidens should be
killed by mutilation. So their hands and feet were cut off, and
their bodies were thrown into a pit. While the maidens were in
the agonies of dying they called on the Buddha, and he heard
them . Telling his disciples to bring garments (that is, for the
naked maidens) he went to the place of execution. Here he
preached to the dying girls on the mysteries of his religion, on
the binding action of the five desires, the three ways of trans
migration, the separation from the loved, and the long course of
births and deaths. The maidens were purified and enlightened
by the Buddha's teaching, and they all died at the same time
and were reborn in Heaven. Indra in the guise of a Brahmin
had their bodies and members collected and cremated , and men
afterwards erected the tope at the place.
Not far from this tope, the pilgrim tells us, was a large dried
up pond, the scene of Virūdhaka's extinction . The Buddha
had predicted that at the end of seven days from the time of
the prophecy the king would perish by fire. When it came to
the seventh day the king made up a pleasure party by water
and remained in his barge with the ladies of his harem on the
water in order to escape the predicted fate. But his precautions
were in vain, and on that day a fierce fire broke out on his
· barge, and the king went alive through blazes into the Hell of
unintermitting torture.
We are to meet with this king Virūdhaka again presently
in connection with his sack of Kapilavastu. Fa-hsien, with
out mentioning the dead tree, makes the place at which
the Buddha waited for Virudhaka to have been four li
to the south- east of Srāvasti city and he says there was
a tope at the spot. In Buddha's reply to the king about
his kindred being branches and leaves there was probably
in the original a pun on the words sākkhā , a branch, and
Śākya. By the answer of the Buddha the king knew that
he was speaking from an affectionate interest in his rela
tives, and the king was accordingly moved to recall his
army. The Buddha repeated the interview with the king
twice and then left the Sakyas to the consequences of
their karma.
The number of Sākya maidens carried off by Virūdhaka
WOOD OF RESTORED EYES . 397
is reduced to six in the Vibhāshā -lun !, but some other

treatises have the 500 of our text.2 In one treatise the
number of the maidens is raised to 12 000, and they are
all made whole by Buddha, and become bhikshunis.3
The Chinese words here rendered " abusing the king as
a son of a slave" are translated by Julien- " accablèrent
d'injures les fils de la famille royale”. But this cannot be
accepted ; and the meaning seems clearly to be that the
young ladies called their king insultingly " son of a slave",
that is, of a slave mother. Virūdhaka's mother, we know,
had actually been a household slave, but “ son of a female
slave " seems to have been among the Sakyas a favourite
term of abuse for the king of Kosala.
By the " three ways of transmigration ” of Buddha's
address to the maidens the pilgrim probably meant us to
understand the way of pain, the way of perplexity, and
the way of moral action. These three “ ways" are the
agents which by their constant interaction produce the
ceaseless revolutions of life and death . But the term
san-tíu (or its equivalent san -tao) is also used by the
Buddhists in several other senses.
Continuing his narrative the pilgrim relates that three or four
li to the north-west of the Jetavana Vihāra was the “Wood of
obtained eyes ( Tê-yen - lin 1 ) in which were traces of an
exercise-place of the Buddha, and scenes of arhats' samādhi, all
marked by memorial topes. The story was that once 500 brig
ands had harried this country. When these criminals were arrest
ed king Prasenajit caused their eyes to be torn out, and the men
to be abandoned in a deep wood. Here they cried in their
sufferings on the Buddha who, in the Jetavana monastery, heard
their cry, and was moved with pity. A genial breeze blew heal
ing from the Snow -Mountains, and the men regained eyes and
sight. When they saw the Buddha before them they became
converted, paid joyful homage to the Buddha, and went away
leaving their sticks which took root.
1 Ch. 11 .
2 Tsêng-yi-a-han-ching, ch . 26 ; Sar. Vin. Tsa-shih, ch. 9 ; Rockhill
Life p . 121 .
3 Ta-pan-nie-p'an-ching, ch . 14 (No. 114).
• Ta-ming -san - tsang-fa -shu, ch . 12 (No. 1621).
398 THE ANDHAVANA .
Fa - hsien, who also places the “ Wood of obtained eyes"

four li to the north -west of the Jetavana Vihāra, does not
know of brigands, and the 500 who receive their sight
and plant their sticks were blind men resident at the
monastery. Julien suggests “ Aptanetravana " as possibly
the Sanskrit original for “ Wood of obtained eyes", but
we know that the name was Andhavana. This means the
dark or blind wood, and it was translated by An -lin ( 1 )
with the same meaning, or by Chou ( )-an -lin, the “ Wood
of day-darkness”. “ Obtained Eyes” and “ Opened Eyes ”
(k‘ai-yen) are names which must have been given long
after the Buddha's time, and it is possible that they exist
only in translations. The Andhavana, as we learn from
the pilgrims and the Buddhist scriptures, was a favourite
resort of the Buddhist Brethren for meditation and other
spiritual exercises. Here the early bhikshus and bhik
shunis spent a large portion of their time in the afternoons
sitting under the trees on the mats which they had carried
on their shoulders for the purpose. The Wood was very
cool and quiet, impervious to the sun's rays, and free from
mosquitoes and other stinging torments.
Before we pass on to the next city in our pilgrim's
narrative we may notice some of the more important
omissions from his list of the interesting sights of the
Srāvasti district. There were two mountains in this dis
trict, one called the T'a-shan or Pagoda Hill, that is per
haps, Chaityagiri, and the other called the Sa (in some
texts Pro)-lo-lo or Salar (?) mountain, and of neither of
these have we any mention.2 Some of the serious Brethren
in the early church resorted to these mountains, and lived
on them for several months. Then our pilgrim does not
notice the A -chi- lo (BAT (or ) ) or Aciravati River
i See Sêng-ki-lü , ch. 9 ; Tsêng- yi-a - han -ching, ch . 33 ; Vibhāshā
lun, ch . 13 ; Sam. Nik. Vol. I. p. 128, 135 (P. T. S.). In the Sêng.
ki-lü (ch. 29) we find the rendering " opening eyes wood ", and so in
other places .
2 Sêng -ki-lü, ch. 32 ( Ta-shan ); Chung -a -han -ching, ch. 8 ( So or Pio
-lo - lo shan).
THE PUBBARAMA AT SĂVATTHI. 399
which flowed south - eastwards past the Śrāvasti city: nor

does he mention the Sundara (or Sun -te -li) or Sundarīkā
River. We read in other books also of the Pond of
Dismemberment”, and this is not mentioned by the pilgrim.
It was the basin of water near which the Sakya maidens
were mutilated and left to perish. This is apparently the
Pu -to-li, the "celebrated water of Śrāvasti ", also called
Patali and Patala. The Tibetan translators apparently
had Pātali which they reproduce literally by " red -colour
ed ". But the original was perhaps Pātala which is the
name of a Hell, and it will be remembered that Yuan
chuang places the pond or lake through which Virūdhaka
went down into Hell close to the spot at which the mai
dens were mutilated . Then the lake is said to have re
ceived a name from this dismemberment. In the Avadāna
Kalpalatā it is called the Hastagarbha or “ Hand-contain
ing" Lake, and this is apparently the meaning of the
Tibetan name which Rockhill seems to translate " the
pool of the severed hand ”.2 Then that one of the Eight
Great Topes of the Buddha which was at Śrāvasti is not
mentioned, unless we are to regard it as the tope at
Buddha's shrine already noticed . But the strangest and
most unaccountable omission is that of the Pūrvārāma or
East monastery. This great and famous establishment
was erected by Visākhā known in religion as “ Mrigāra's
Mother " . She was actually the daughter-in -law of Mrigāra;
but after she converted that man , and made him a devout
Buddhist, she was called his mother. In Pali her mona
stery is called Pubbārāma Migāramātu Pāsāda, that is,
the East Monastery the Palace of Migära's mother. This
name is translated literally into Chinese, but the trans
lators also render Migāramātu by Lu -mu or “ Deer-mother ”,
and Migāra is “ Deer -son ” . This monastery which was
1 Sêng-ki-li, ch. lẽ et al. ( A -chi-fo river ); Chung-a -han -ching,

ch . 29 ; Tsêng-yi-a-han-ching, ch. 6 ; Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 47 ; Sam.
Nik. Vol. I. p. 167 ; Fa- chü -pi-yü - ching, ch . 1 .
2 Sang-ki-li, ch. 3 ; Shih- sung -lu, chi 46 ; Rockhill Life p. 121.
400 KASYAPA THE BUDDHA .
second only to the Jetavana Vihāra was in a disused royal

park. There were buildings at it for the residence of the
bhikshus and bhikshunis, and there were quiet halls for
meditation and for religious discourse. Fa-hsien makes
mention of this famous establishment and places its site
six or seven li to the north-east of the Jetavana Vihāra.
This agrees with references to the monastery in other
books which place it to the east (or in the east part) of
the city, and not far from the Jetavana. 1
Above sixty li to the north-west of Śrāvasti, the pilgrim
narrates, was an old city, the home of Kāśyapa the previous
Buddha. To the south of this old city was a tope where this
Buddha after attaining bodhi met his father, and to the north
of the city was a tope with his bodily relics : these two topes
had been erected by king Asoka.
Fa -hsien , who places Kāśyapa Buddha's natal city 50 li
to the west of Śrāvasti, calls the city Tu -wei ( * 13 ff .). These
characters probably represent a sound like Topi, and the
city is perhaps that called Tu -yi in a Vinaya treatise. ?
Fa -hsien also mentions topes at the places where Kāśyapa
Buddha met his father, where he died, and where his body
was preserved, but he does not ascribe any of these topes
to Asoka. Hardy's authority makes Benares to have been
the city of this Buddha and this agrees with several sūtras
in Chinese translations. In a Vinaya treatise Benares is
the city, and the king Ki-li-ki ( th ) erects a grand
tope at the place of Kassapa Buddha's cremation.3
1 M. B. p. 233 ; Angut. Nik. Vol. IIl. p. 344 (P. T. S.) ; Tsa -a

han- ching, ch. 36 ; Chung- a- han -ching, ch . 29; Ta-chinh -tu-lun, ch . 3.
The term Pūrvārāma (or Pubbārāma) is sometimes interpreted as
meaning " what was formerly an ārāma", or " a former ārāma”, but
this does not seem so suitable as “ East ārāma” . In the Sar. Vin .
Tsa -shih , ch. 11 , 1-ching has Lu-tză-mu-chiu -yuan (HE 7 )
or “the old ārāma of Migaramāta ” .
2 Tu -yi ( 11 ) is called a chü - laoof the Śrāvasti country in Sêng
ki -li, cl . 23 .
3 M. B. p. 99 : Ch'i-Fo-fu-mu-hsing-tzŭ -ching (No. 626) ; Fo-shuo
chói-Fo - ching (No. 860); Fo- shuo-Fo-ming-ching, ch . 9 (No. 404) where
the name of the city chih-shih (40 li) is said to be an old name
OLD SITES IN KOSALA . 401
There were some other places of interest to Bud

dhists which are described in Buddhist books as being
in this Kosala country. One of these was the Ka - li- lo
( ihl hu ) Hall which was at a large cave not far from
the capital. 1 This transcription is perhaps for Kațira which
means a cave, and may have been the name of a hill; or it
may be for Kareru, a place often mentioned in the Pali
books. It was in the Kalilo Hall that the Buddha deliver
ed the very interesting cosmological sütra entitled " Ch'i
shih -yin -pên - ching ”. Then near the capital was the So
lo-lo com 3 9H ), that is, Sālāra hill, with steep sides, in the
caves of which Aniruddha and some hundreds of other
bhikshus lodged.2 Farther away and about three yojanas
from Srāvasti was the Sakya village called Lu -tang ( * )
or Deer-Hall. Here the Buddha had an establishment in
which he lodged and preached, and in which he was visited
by the king of Kosala.3
for Benares : Sar. Vin. Tsa - shih , ch. 25, where Ki-li -ki king of Benares
erects a grand tope to this Buddha.
i Ch'i-sbih - yin -pên - ching (No. 549).
? Chung - a -han- cling, ch. 19.
3 Tsêng-yi-a-han-ching, ch . 32.
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Watters, Thomas. On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629-645 AD. Vol. 1. Royal Asiatic Society, 1904.

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THOMAS WATTERS M. R.A.S.

EDITED , AFTER HIS DEATH ,

S. W. BUSHELL, M.D.; C.M.G.

CHAP . 1. TITLE AND TEXT 1

As will be seen from Dr. Bushell's obituary notice of

reader is requested therefore never to lose sight of the

Full indices, by the author and ourselves, and two .

maps which Mr. Vincent Smith has been kind enough to

author whose untimely death was an irreparable loss to

Nālanda, May 1904.

With very much regret for the loss of an old friend,

fifty -six years ; his mother is still living at Newtownards.

spots in all parts of the Chinese empire. He was

“ Lao - tzŭ . A Study in Chinese Philosophy." Hongkong,

In our own Journal two interesting articles were con

A far more important and extensive work remains in

YÜAN CHWÄNG OR HIQUEN THSANG ?

The name of the celebrated Chinese pilgrim and trans

Sir Thomas Wade has been kind enough to explain

Hiouen , seeing that this has received the sanctification

only that of Mr. Beal , appear to be in harmony with

The followingworks of this series are now for sale at the

Arrangements have been madefor the publication of the

On the title-page of the Asi-yü -chi it is represented as

is for at least nine out of the twelve chüan practically

is based on the text recognized in Korea and it supplies

figure Julien's treatise are corrected and its notes supply

de la Vie de Hiouen Thsang" is an abstract, and of which

1 Su -kao -seng -chuan, 1. C .: Shên-seng-chuan (No. 1620) ch . 6.

and I do not know of any authority for Julien's rende

1 T‘ung - chih - liao, the Li Tie-liao, ch. 3. These circumstances

We have to come down to the end of the third century

effects of his just decisions and benevolent government

i Hou Han- shu, ch. 62 .

old -fashioned kind. True to his principles he took office

evidences of the Buddha's ministrations. He had learned,

1 Fo -tsu -tung -chi (No. 1661), ch . 29.

where no other had ever been, he had seen and heard

his unbelief, and it was too easy to convince him where

Sākyamuni', and when he was gone his followers raised

1 Chên -ming -mu- t'u ( ZO ) last page: Fo-tsu -tung-chi, 1. c.

of Yuan-chuang whose name he does not think it necessary

birth and career, we read with attention the Preface

i Life, ch . 8 : Ku-chin-i-ching-tru-chi (No. 1487) last page: Post

that the pilgrim acting under Imperial orders translated

1 See Life ch . 10. Julien's translation of this passage cannot be

Mahāyānist sūtras 224 pu

Dharmagupta sūtras, Vinaya, śāstras 42 99

time of Yao and Shun ) jusqu'à nos jours c'est en vain

1 The term here rendered “ assumed empire ” is yü-chi ( 1jp fo )

dance with Heaven, and taking advantage of the times it con

result of his perfect government. If I did not mention them in

second Emperor of the Tang dynasty. For though, as

to greatness. Then taking the little child, he read fate's

won Empire. For he was wise and daring in counsel and

he made some permanent contributions to the native

excellence. His genius gave life to all his laws and in