Edited

By Sandhya Jain



PUBLISHER’S NOTE
In the year 2004, on returning from South East Asia, Nobel Prize recipient, Sir Vidia Naipaul requested us to arrange a meeting with
a group of Delhi based thinkers to share the impressions of his visit. He was simply overwhelmed with what he saw in South East
Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia etc. We hurriedly, invited about twenty people to a get together with Sir Vidia. The
meeting held on June 15, 2004 was attented by Sarva Shri Dinanath Mishra, Balbir Punj, Brij Kishore Sharma, Shankar Saran,
Meenakshi Jain, Sandhya Jain, Ram Madhav, Devendra Swarup and some others. Sir Vidia described how he was astonished to see
deep Indian cultural influence in the region not only in the past but even today. He felt sad that present day Indians appeared to have
little recollection of the grandeur of their ancient civilization and its lasting contribution to the world civilization. He felt strongly that
it would be a worth while endeavour to prepare a compendium of foreign perceptions of India down the ages.

During later discussions, it was decided that the project would cover the period from earliest times up to the mid-nineteenth century,
the changed sensibility towards India thereafter consequent to the establishment of the British Colonial rule, being well known. The
present volumes are the result of these deliberations.

We are thankful to Sandhya Jain and Meenakshi Jain for agreeing to take up the project despite their other professional commitments
and completing it so meticulously. We are grateful to Prof. Devendra Swarup for having agreed to coordinate the project till its
fruition. Sandhya Jain compiled and edited the material for the first volume, while Meenakshi Jain prepared the remaining three
volumes. Both of them have recorded their experiences and impressions in detailed Introductions to their respective volumes
separately.

We wish to place on record our heartfelt gratefulness to Sir Vidia for not only conceiving the project, but also for painstakingly going
through volumes I and III and making many valuable suggestions which the editors have attempted to incorporate. We feel indebted
to Prof. Lokesh Chandra and Dr. B.M. Pande for their valuable contribution in the preparation of the first volume. We are highly
grateful to Prof. Devendra Swarup, without whose continuous active guidance and involvement, this ambitious project would not have
seen the light of the day.

We are conscious that many other compilations of foreign accounts on India are already available, but we do feel that this series of
four volumes will add much to the present knowledge of our readers in this area and also pave the way for publication of many other
volumes based on the first hand study of the original sources in foreign languages other than English as, it was painfully discovered
during the preparation of these volumes that most of the material still lies untranslated into English, which is the only window
available to most of the Indian Scholars. With this Note, we offer these volumes to our readers and cordially invite their comments and
suggestions, which would help us to improve the quality of the later editions.

INTRODUCTION
The idea of a compilation on India through the eyes of incredulous and enchanted foreign observers was mooted by Sir Vidia Naipaul
during a conversation in October 2004, with a view to providing contemporary readers with a bird’s-eye view of how this ancient land
has ever fascinated and attracted the merchant, the student, the curious, the adventurer, and the devout. These accounts by outsiders
offer valuable insights into the history and culture of an epoch in which Indian records were generally deficient from the perspective
of modern scholars. The classical writers (mainly Greeks and Romans) and Buddhist pilgrims (Chinese, Koreans) who traversed the
region in the early historical period bore witness to the sheer abundance of India’s material civilisation, the vastness and variety of
her landscape, and her well-earned reputation for spiritual and philosophical efflorescence.

For students of Indian history, these testimonies have proved exceptionally helpful in piecing together the political history of the land
and gleaning information on a host of worldly matters on which the native Indian literature of the same period was lacking. Indian
tradition tended to portray historical persons and events, traditions, social, moral, legal, and economic issues, from a civilisational
perspective, with a view to providing instruction on dharma (the Hindu moral paradigm), artha (wealth, prosperity and well-being),
1
kama (worldy desires and aspirations) and moksa (salvation) . Rooted in the poetic labours of Sutas and Magadhas, royal eulogists
who preserved the genealogies of the gods, sages, kings and heroes, these became the bedrock of our itihasa-purana tradition, the
sources for the myriad Puranas, and Itihasas such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which, G.P. Singh argues, “include almost
2
all the elements of historical tradition” . By the age of the Imperial Guptas, royal archives evolved, though these were prone to
3
destruction during periods of political unrest.

Early European travellers and colonial historians tended to dismiss the Indian system of codifying the key facts and lessons of history
as mythology, though A.L. Basham conceded, “...we have ample evidence to show that great empires rose and fell in India, and that, as
in religion, art, literature and social life, so in political organisation India produced her own system, distinctive in its strength and
4
weakness.” For Europeans inheriting the Greek tradition of historiography, the Indian system of recording chronology in a cosmic
time-scale of yugas (aeons) was incomprehensible, though modern scientists, astronomers, and climatologists debunking the hysteria
over ‘global warming’ are working along the time-scales of Hindu cosmology. Kalhana’s medieval text, Rajatarangini, is generally
hailed as the first historical account based on proper chronology, though it too deferred to the Puranas as source materials. Indeed, no
account of Indian history can bypass the ancient traditions and source materials as Indian history is simultaneously civilisational and
chronological.

From a modern perspective, however, it must be admitted that India’s early indigenous literary corpus is often difficult to date with
even reasonable accuracy. The Jainas took to writing early and scrupulously dated all their manuscripts (and monuments and
sculptures); modern historians have neglected to scour their literature to settle problems of disputed chronology in India. With regard
to the classical writers, however, there is broad academic agreement over the dates of their travels and writings. They had an
inquiring mind and eagerly sought details about the religious and worldly lives (which they delineated strictly) of the Indian natives
they encountered.

These ancient adventurers were interested in the political history and forms of government, administrative and social systems,
military techniques and rules of warfare, taxes, climate and physical landscape, rivers, hills, mountains, flora and fauna, agriculture,
trade and commerce, ports, mineral resources, mining and deep sea excavation, social and economic conditions of the Indian
kingdoms, the morals and manners of the people, the religious diversity and coexistence, and the actual as well as the ideal conduct of
kings. They were enthralled by the multitude of tribes and their linguistic varieties, as also the unique Indian ability to communicate
secular and sacred ideas across differences of tribe and language, so that India presented a matchless cultural continuity even in that
primeval epoch; they were also impressed by the innumerable settlements (villages, fortified cities) that they encountered.

In our own era, the classical records facilitated the identification of archaeological discoveries, which have deepened our knowledge
of the hoary past immeasurably. Yet a word of caution is in order as, for all the light they throw upon ancient society, many authors
were so enchanted at arriving in a land so remote from their own – whose civilisational accomplishments had reached their own
shores – that they betrayed immense gullibility, swallowing without introspection implausible tales of fabulous races, mythical
creatures, and supernatural attainments. Their credulity is surprising in view of the fact that the ancient Greeks themselves possessed
a vast intellectual repertoire, with a sophisticated genre of literature and drama, and knowledge of the disciplines of history,
geography, mathematics and astronomy, and several well developed schools of philosophy.

Some of this confusion has been attributed to the Greek domination of Egypt and northern Africa, and their tendency to equate India
with Ethiopia (Sudan region), a fallacy that persisted even after the voyages of merchants and the travails of Alexander had opened
this part of the world to their scrutiny. This partially explains the otherwise inexplicable medley of society and customs, race and
colour, topography, geography, climate, flora and fauna that the Greeks reported to their native audience. Even the highly erudite
Philostratus thought that the Ethiopians were an Indian people who revolted against their king Ganges and killed him; this led to their
5
expulsion from India, whereafter they settled near Egypt, forming Ethiopia.

Modern scholars trace much of this confusion to Alexander, who carried his own chroniclers along on his campaign to Persia and
India; they recklessly transposed Greek mythology and even topography on to the Indian landscape, as part of an exercise to impress
their domestic audience regarding their king’s heroic exploits. Thus they superimposed or equated their gods Bacchus, Prometheus,
Dionysus and Herakles with divinities encountered in India, and insisted their gods had visited this land in the hoary past and
bequeathed to it its present religion. Nowhere did the Greek writers pause to wonder why, if that were indeed the case, there was so
little in common between their own customs, religious practices and philosophies, and those of the ancient Hindus whose lands they
were seeking to conquer.

Respecting the good sense, taste, and enhanced awareness of the modern reader, we have eliminated from the present selection most
of the utterly absurd stories which invited the contempt of even contemporary (and later) Greek and Roman scholars, in favour of
narratives that showcase the exalted philosophical speculations, unique social customs, and the natural wealth and material
abundance that mesmerised India’s foreign guests. Our selections from these authors follow conventional chronology, as we believe
chronology is the skeleton of history. A brief biographical sketch of the respective authors gives modern readers a flavour of the range
of their original and surviving corpus, their mental and physical exertions to acquire and depict an accurate picture of the country,
and their success in gleaning information about the land and people in the face of complex difficulties of communication and
comprehension. What emerges is an impressive continuity of India’s civilisational journey, her ideas and philosophies, customs and
practices, material wealth and grandeur, and, above all, her early and unique ability to marry mundane existence to the quest for
spiritual truth and liberation.

Despite an often peculiar cocktail of fact and fiction, the classical texts are a treasure trove of information about political history,
contemporary rulers, forms of government, administrative institutions, military weapons and rules of warfare, geography, flora, fauna,
mineral wealth, natural wealth of rivers and agricultural produce, economic issues like taxation, articles of trade and commerce,
social customs and religion, monks and asceticism, the personal virtue of women and the hoary practice of sati by women and self-
immolation by ascetics (both already entrenched practices which made a strong impression upon the Greeks), and a host of other
issues. Yet these amateur scribes sometimes mistook tales from the epics and other legends for reality and this may well be the
genesis of the fabulous races and unbelievable creatures that dot the pages of India’s history as written by her foreign admirers.

At other times, the writers were clearly superimposing Ethiopian facts or fables on to the Indian landscape. Onesicritus claimed that
Kathaea elected the most handsome citizen as king, but he was obviously influenced by Herodotus who mentioned this as an Ethiopian
6 7 8
custom. His allusion to ebony as a product of Ethiopia was transferred to India by others. Apart from such obvious inaccuracies,
the early European idealisation of India is a legacy of the ancient Greeks. They attributed to Indians great virtues, extraordinary
beauty and longevity, benevolence, a highly developed sense of justice, piety and kindness, largely because they did not face any
malice or pettiness from the populace, despite the cruelty and violence of most of Alexander’s battles.

The rise of Christianity caused Europe to retreat into a cocoon. Thereafter, Buddhist pilgrims who traversed the land between the
fourth and the eighth centuries, visiting the major monasteries and sites consecrated by the presence of the Buddha, to study and
acquire authentic copies of the scriptures, wrote significant accounts spanning a range of subjects. This uninhibited intellectual and
spiritual exploration of India’s sanskritic culture and way of life came to an abrupt end with the rise of Islam in Arabia in the seventh
century, and its outward thrust into Europe, north Africa, central Asia and the Indian sub-continent, where it fought to establish
political and religious supremacy.

India’s hoary visitors

9
The Phoenicians were probably the first Mediterranean peoples to explore the Arabian Sea and import Indian products as early as
975 BC. Hiram, king of Tyre, reportedly sent his fleet from Ezion Geber at the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to obtain ‘ivory, apes and
10
peacocks’ from the port of Ophir to decorate the palaces and temples of King Solomon. These are generally regarded as Indian
products. The Arabian Sea, named Erythraean Sea by the Greeks, linked India to west Asia via the Persian Gulf, probably from the
time of the Indus Valley civilisation. Another sea-route to south Arabia at the Red Sea-Arabian Sea junction most likely opened up in c.
11
1000 BC, when the Sabaens or Himyarites set up cities in southern Hijaz and Hadramaut. Herodotus said the Egyptian ruler Necho
(c. 610 BC) sent ships with Phoenician sailors into the Indian Ocean (i.e. Arabian Sea) through the Persian Gulf. Around the same
12
time, Hanno, a Phoenician admiral of Carthage, sailed to India.

Indian philosophy and wisdom captivated the outside world, and there was early contact between Indian and Greek philosophers.
Pythagoras (c. 580 BC) and Histaspis, father of the Persian king Darius, reputedly visited India to study philosophy. Some of the
authors who virtually shaped the early Mediterranean view of India include:

1. Skylax of Karyanda (also Caryanda), Greek historian and geographer of the sixth century BC. He wrote the first account by a
traveller when sent to explore the Indus from Kaspatyros by the Persian king Darius I, who wanted to annex the lower valley of the
Indus. He sailed down the Indus to the sea and westward to the Red Sea. His account can be traced in fragments recorded by later
writers, which mostly concern legends about India.

2. Hekataeus of Miletus. His Geography mentions some Indian names: Indoi, Indus, Kallatiai, Argante, Gandarii, Kaspatyros, and
Opiai, a people of the Indus.

3. Herodotus (489-425 BC), History.

4. Ktesias (also Ctesias, 489-425 BC) the Knidian, a contemporary of Hippocrates. His Indika, written while serving as royal physician
at Persia, is a cocktail of fact and fiction, though he confirms Herodotus’ documentation of Indian merchandise, merchants, and
envoys, thereby signifying regular traffic by land and sea routes.

India’s legendary wealth enticed Alexander. Marching through Persia and Afghanistan, he crossed the Jhelum and the Chenab, but
could not proceed beyond the Beas as his soldiers and officers became nervous and edgy over the unexpected and sustained ferocity
of native resistance. Splitting his forces at the southern mouth of the Indus, he led one part by land and entrusted the other to
Nearchus to explore the route to the mouths of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Alexander believed the ocean was nearby as the ‘Indian
Gulf’ (Arabian Sea) formed “one stretch of water with the Persian Gulf, and the Hyrcanian Sea (Caspian Sea) with the Indian Gulf.
From the Persian Gulf our fleet shall sail around to Libya, as far as the Pillars of Heracles (Straits of Gibraltar)” [Anabasis Alexandri, v.
26.1-3].

Nearchus, a native of Crete, raised and educated at the Macedonian court along with prince Alexander, chronicled his master’s
invasion of India in 326 BC, along with an account of the perilous voyage to which he owes his place in history. The sources diverge
sharply regarding the total strength of the fleet. Arrian speaks of two thousand vessels; Diodorus of one thousand; in the Indika Arrian
13
mentions 800, manned by seafaring communities like the Phoenicians, Cypriots, Carians and Egyptians who served in the army.
Nearchus’ memoirs, like other early Greek works of the era, are lost; some portions have percolated down to us through the works of
Strabo and Arrian (second century AD).

Alexander’s retreat is said to have fortified trade routes as he appointed local governors in the provinces through which he marched.
His geographers and historians strove to make detailed and accurate reports about their passage in the region. Amyntas’
measurements of the daily marches were confirmed by Megasthenes when he visited Chandragupta Maurya at Pataliputra. The
14
geographers found that Indians had a precise knowledge of their land, and thus garnered information about towns, rivers and
mountains far beyond the army’s ingress. In the division of empire after Alexander’s death, Nearchus received Lykia and Pamphylia,
which he ruled under the overlordship of Antigonos. The year of his death is unknown; he last finds mention in history in 314 BC.

The geography of the world, particularly of Persia, was of immense interest to the Greeks. They believed that the largest rivers
originated in the greatest mountain ranges, and hence regarded the Hindukush as the greatest watershed in Asia from which all
rivers, including the Indus, flowed. At the time of Aristotle, Alexander’s teacher, there was a raging debate over the flooding of the
Nile. The Greeks believed the Red Sea was an enclosed body of water and the Nile flowed southwards and joined the Indus, which
15
also emptied its waters into the Southern Ocean. They maintained that due to this purported connection between the Indus and the
Nile, India’s monsoon rains triggered the flooding of the Nile in Egypt.

The Greeks made their second attempt at direct contact with India when King Euergetes II of the Ptolemy dynasty of Egypt deputed
Eudoxus (115 BC) with a shipwrecked Indian sailor. The two successfully negotiated a round trip of the Malabar coast, returning with
a rich harvest of spices and precious stones, which Euergetes seized for having financed the voyage. The hapless Eudoxus set sail
again, only to vanish from the radar of history. The knowledge gleaned from these voyages was lapped up eagerly by the geographers,
especially in Alexandria. Working there in the third century BC, Eratosthenes struggled to understand the world on the basis of
scientific concepts; the evidence suggests his depiction of India was truer than Ptolemy’s four centuries later. Claudius Ptolemy’s
Geographia was translated into Arabic in the eighth century, but we do not know if he made any maps as none have been found. He
erred in giving India an east-west coastline; the Chinese knew it was a peninsula.

Envoys to Palimbothra (Patna), such as Megasthenes from the Greek ruler Seleucus I (c. 305 – 304 BC), Deimachus from the Syrian
court, and Dionysius from the Egyptian, wrote about India. The Seleucid Empire covered Mesopotamia, northern Syria and western
Iran; trade with India was by both land and sea and included items such as teak, spices, jewels, incense, costus (a medicinal plant,
16
Sanskrit kushtha) and cinnamon. The envoys gathered information about India’s location relative to other countries, her boundaries
and shape, length and breadth, physical features, wealth, the character of the people and the nature of their social and political
institutions. Most of their data pertained to north India, though the Greek envoy travelled more widely and meticulously collected
material for his magnum opus, Indika, which became a major sourcebook for subsequent writers. Megasthenes’ facts were sometimes
mistrusted by writers like Strabo, and as the original is lost, it is difficult to judge the merits of their doubts. R.C. Majumdar felt his
recreated corpus suffers from grave deficiencies and deserves only cautious acceptance, as we shall see later.

Megasthenes arrived in India in 302 BC and penned what is generally held to be the first dated account of the times. India ran a
lucrative sea-trade with the Persian Gulf ports of Mesopotamia and the Red Sea ports of Egypt. The principal land route was the
caravan trail from Taxila to Balkh. A few decades later, Chandragupta’s grandson, Asoka, sent monks to Greece and Egypt to spread
the message of Buddha. Preceptors were also sent to Sri Lanka, southeast Asia, China, Tibet and Mongolia, stimulating a sharp rise in
visitors from these regions, compelling later rulers to keep track of the movements of foreigners.

By the time the Romans became the predominant power in the Mediterranean, the region had a roaring sea trade with India. The
Romans set up trading stations along the west coast, as evidenced by the discovery of their coins. So great was the flow of silver and
gold from Rome that Pliny protested in the Senate against Rome’s one-way trade with India; but India had no use for any Roman
produce.
17
Indian merchandise reached the port of Berenike (also Berenica) on the Red Sea. History credits Egyptian navigator Hippalus with
unravelling the secret of the regularity of the monsoon winds and being the first foreigner to sail directly across the Arabian Sea to
18
Mouziris (Cranganore) , th ough Indian sailors were obviously using the monsoon currents much earlier. Pliny said boats left
Berenike in mid-summer and sailed to the mouth of the Arabian Gulf, after which they took another forty days to reach Mouziris.
19 20
Alexander’s contemporary, Strabo, witnessed 120 ships sailing from Myos Hormos on th e Egyptian coast to India.

The return trip began in December, under a north-east wind, till the boats entered the Arabian Gulf and met with a south or south-
west wind. This made a round trip possible in the course of a year. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, written in the mid-first century
AD, gives a detailed account of the voyage and the goods traded at each port. The Periplus refers to several navigational techniques
that enabled sailors to identify the approaching coast by observing changes in the colour of the water and the presence of sea-snakes.
As sailing in the Indian Ocean was determined by the cycle of the monsoon winds, the correct interpretation of natural phenomena
21
was critical for success at sea.

22
Susan Gole says there must have been several sailors’ manuals in this period, though the Periplus is the only one concerning India
which has survived. It provides the first detailed description of local boats in the Indian Ocean in the early centuries CE. On India’s
south-west coast, the Periplus describes the sangara, large dugout canoes held together by a yoke, and the huge kolandiophonta that
sail across to Chryse and the Ganga region (section 60). Pliny refers to ‘canoes made of hollowed tree-trunks’ used to transport
23
pepper from the district of Cottonara to Becare in south India (Historia Naturalis VI. xxvi. 104-6).

A modern copy of a manual in the Kutchi dialect of Gujarat survives, but nothing is known of its origins. The early Indians were
inveterate travellers by land and sea, and it is quite remarkable that no sea charts have survived as it appears logical that sailing
directions would have been written down and followed. Indeed, literary sources indicate the use of charts, the Sanskrit terms being
24
citra or alekhya, painting or delineation. Buddhaswami’s fifth-century text, Brhatkathaslokasamgraha, refers to details of a
25
particular sea, direction and place being inscribed on a wooden board with a cover (samputaka) and used to locate a lost ship.

Unlike the Greeks, the Romans had no patience with geographical speculation and theory. Their maps of Asia survive in the Peutinger
Tables, a twelfth or thirteenth century copy of a map made around the first century AD. Spread across twelve sheets, it is a road map
of all principal roads of the empire. The eleventh sheet showing India has few details; what is pertinent is that it is based on
26
information different from that available to Ptolemy.

Post-Christian era writers relied mostly on secondary sources and lacked personal knowledge. The author of the Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea probably visited the seats of commerce on the western seaboard and collated information for the benefit of Greek
merchants and traders on the route between Egypt, India and East Africa. His text is in koine Greek, a dialect easily understood by
merchants and traders, and enumerates the coasts to be avoided along with the major landfalls: “to set a course along the coast of
Arabia is altogether risky, since the region offers poor anchorage, is foul with rocky stretches, cannot be approached because of cliffs,
27
and is fearsome in every respect” (section 20).

Kosmas (also Cosmas) Indikopleustes (Indian voyager), a merchant who later became a Christian monk (probably Nestorian), was in
western India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from 535 to 547 AD, and seems to have visited the Malabar coast. His Topographia Christiana
describes India’s trade with Sri Lanka and countries berthing at its southern coasts. The Tamils had already made a mark trading in
pepper, pearls and beryls, which drew merchants from east and west. The Periplus and Topographia contain a wealth of information
garnered from traders, travellers visiting India, envoys from India to the emperors at Rome or Constantinople, and from Indians
themselves settled in Alexandria.

No significant travelogue exists between 302 BC and 535 AD, though some secondary historical accounts appeared. The Greek ruler
of Egypt, Ptolemy Philadelpus (285-247 BC) sent Dionysius as envoy to the Maurya ruler Bindusara. Greeks from Egypt were frequent
visitors to India in the third century BC; Greek names for certain items of common use came to resemble their Tamil equivalents.
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Claudius Ptolemy, Alexandrian astronomer, mathematician and geographer, drew a map of India, which was published in 1475.

Maritime commerce with China

India’s maritime commerce with China goes back to 680 BC when her merchants sailed eastwards, marketing Indian products such as
rubies, pearls, and sugar. They set up Indian colonies in Pegu, Cambodia, Java, Sumatra and Borneo and trading settlements in
southern China and the Malayan peninsula. In the first century BC, the Kushans of the Yueh-chi tribe settled in Bactria began to press
into India and it was during their rule that Indian sages made inroads into China. The earliest reference to India in Chinese works
dates from the second century BC and speaks of Yan-tu or Yin-tu, meaning Hindu, and Shin-tu meaning Sindhu. After Hiuen Tsang’s
extensive travels in the mid-seventh century, maps were made in China to illustrate his book, the Si Yu Ki. These divided India into five
parts, hence the reference to Five Indies or Gotenjiku Zu.

Chinese pilgrims coming to India to pay homage at the sacred Buddhist sites and to procure copies of manuscripts of the Buddha’s
teachings had a clear idea of the shape of the country. Fa-hien, the first important monk to arrive, began his journey by land in 399
AD, via the south of the Gobi Desert and Yarkand, and entered India through the Indus Valley. Besides the central Asian route, there
were two other overland routes from China to India. The one through Yunan province, Upper Burma and Assam was not commonly
used; the other was through Tibet and Nepal. Fa-hien spent a decade (AD 401?-412?) in northern India, living for three years in
Pataliputra. He arrived during the reign of Chandragupta II. Though primarily concerned with the study of Buddhism, accomplished at
Pataliputra, he described many cities, rulers and other interesting facts in his narrative. He noted that India is narrow towards the
south and broad towards the north, like the faces of its people.

These early Buddhist pilgrims endured great hardships of travel and communication in their ardent desire to understand Buddhist
theology and ritual. Their writings are more lucid than those of the classical authors, but by no means exempt from similar gullibility.

Exceptions to this malady include I-tsing who focused upon the purity of Buddhist ritual and the life sketches of Chinese and Korean
monks visiting India around the time of his own stay in the country, and the somewhat pedantic Korean Hye Ch’O (Chinese, Hui Chao),
who arrived when the armies of the new faith of Islam were cutting through central Asia. Though historically important, Hye Ch’O’s
work survives only in the form of a fragment, which suffers many deficiencies, but as it is little known outside the world of scholars,
we have deemed it appropriate to reproduce it in full for the benefit of the general reader.

Alexander: Curiosities of a well chronicled story

Any narrative about ancient India’s foreign chroniclers necessarily begins with the audacious ingress of the Macedonian king into the
region, and his unceremonious withdrawal from the shores of the Beas. Although there is evidence of cultural and commercial
exchanges between India and the regions of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf prior to Alexander’s advent, western historians have
insisted on giving the king the credit for opening India up to the western world. The youthful Alexander has cast an enduring spell
upon Western literary and historical traditions. His pronounced sense of his place in history led him to take his own historians along
on his conquest; they in turn depicted him in a manner consistent with the expectations of a Greek audience, even if this involved
taking some liberties with truth. In this sense, his expedition was simultaneously as much mythical as it was factual.

The prevalent Greek historical tradition of the time may well explain the curious discrepancies in the accounts of history’s most
famous invasion. The Greeks maintained copious records from very early times, and Alexander himself wrote lengthy epistles to his
mother. His admiral Nearchus, master pilot Onesicritus, geographer Aristobulus, and general Cleitarchus penned what were
purported to be eye-witness accounts of the various battles of the Indian campaign. Subsequent Greek scholars regarded the
narratives of Onesicritus and Cleitarchus as untrustworthy, though Arrian accessed Aristobulus’ work.

Despite Alexander’s precautions, the earliest surviving histories of his conquests originate in the Roman Empire only three centuries
later, in response to new political needs. They begin with Diodorus Siculus’ Bibliotheke, a universal history; Plutarch comes more than
29
a century later, when Rome was the ascendant power in the Mediterranean. The works of Arrian, Strabo, Curtius Rufus, J ustinus,
and the unknown author of the Itinerarium Alexandri Magni, written for the guidance of Emperor Constantius II in his war against
Persia, reputedly rest upon the original accounts of Alexander’s own scribes.

Contemporary scholars are reappraising the hitherto accepted legends regarding Alexander’s Indian conquest. The influence of the
Macedonian encounter on Indian culture, followed by Greek settlements in Bactria and its environs, is being subjected to fresh
scrutiny in the light of new research. Hitherto, the sources regarding Alexander’s successes were mainly textual, in the form of
chronicles, letters (some of dubious value), myths, and above all, colonial interpretations of their historical significance.
Archaeological excavations over the past decades, however, have yielded coins, inscriptions, and the remains of settlements, which
are being scrupulously analysed. What emerges is a view that Alexander, and later the Indo-Greeks, were confined to the periphery of
Indian polity and culture, and hence failed to impact upon the larger Indian consciousness.

Historians have generally agreed that the campaigns in Bactria and India were brutal and tough, and the purported victory against
king Porus his greatest military success. At Hydaspes (Jhelum), Alexander faced a numerically superior foe; Greek writers show great
deference towards Porus, portraying him as an impressive warrior, five cubits (over two metres) tall, handsome, proud and
magnificent astride his war elephant. When the battle was lost, he did not flee the carnage in the manner of Darius the Great King,
but continued to fight with his troops until, wounded on the right shoulder and weak from loss of blood, he finally turned away.
Impressed at his heroism and grandeur, Alexander wished to save his life and deputed his lieutenants to bring Porus to him.

Both the battle and the daring strategies which gave Alexander the upper hand in the contest have been diligently examined by
scholars. There are many inconsistencies in the accounts that have come down to us, though the generals Aristobulus and Ptolemy, as
also the garrulous Coenus, were supposed to have been present. Plutarch claimed his version was based on Alexander’s description of
the battle in his letters. Arrian simply recorded the differing versions of Aristobulus and Ptolemy though, as a younger contemporary
of Plutarch, he would have been aware of Alexander’s letters, which may reasonably be considered the definitive version of the
encounter, and it is certainly curious that Arrian neglected to refer to them. There are similar variations in narratives regarding Porus’
defence, capture, and speech before Alexander. Hence modern scholars doubt the Greek version of this battle; all surviving accounts
have been written many centuries after the event.

According to the conventional narrative, Porus fought valiantly, and when finally defeated, met the conqueror with remarkable
equanimity and grace. On being asked by the victor how he would like to be treated, he famously responded: “Treat me, O Alexander,
30
in a kingly way!” Awed, the conqueror reinstated Porus as king of the Pauravas, adding substantially to his realm, truly a kingly way,
and Porus became a loyal friend.

Scholars now doubt if Porus, who emerged from the conflict with a significantly enlarged kingdom, truly came off worst in this martial
31
engagement, especially as Alexander soon thereafter withdrew from India. Having entered the country with 120,000 men and
32
15,000 horsemen, he withdrew with barely a fourth of the force. Greek accounts of battles with other heroic tribes, particula rly
during the retreat when no territorial gains were to be made, depict large-scale mayhem with the burning of cities and massacre of
the populace and large-scale taking of prisoners. This suggests that Alexander may have faced unremitting hostility from the native
tribes, and probably had to fight to clear a passage back home, a situation at variance with the nobility of his encounter with Porus.

Undeniably, India stripped Alexander of his halo of invincibility. The Greeks had some awareness of India’s fighting prowess even
before Alexander marched eastwards to vanquish the Persian king Darius III in 331 BC, avenging Greece’s previous defeat by Xerxes
in 480 BC. Herodotus mentions an Indian (Pathan) contingent that fought at Plataea in 479 BC during Xerxes’ invasion of Greece.
After Alexander subdued Bactria (modern Turkestan) up to Amu Darya (river Oxus), he crossed the Hindukush in spring 327 BC and
engaged with fearsome tribes from a base near modern Kabul. The following year he crossed the Indus and received a cordial
reception from the Taxila ruler (near modern Rawalpindi), who had turbulent neighbours. Thereafter, he reputedly defeated Porus
(Puru), whose kingdom lay between the Jhelum and the Chenab, before proceeding to the banks of the Beas.

At this legendary spot, at this poignant hour in the political destiny of India, the triumphant Greek army famously mutinied and
refused to advance further to combat more puissant warriors for uncertain gains. Greek authors recount Alexander’s desperate pleas
to his soldiers to quickly complete the remaining wars in the country as its principal power (Porus) stood vanquished and the fabled
wealth of the East lay in the lands just beyond, compared to which the bounty from the Persians appeared niggardly. Offering
generous bribes, the king promised they would now fill their personal coffers and the whole of Macedonia and Greece with pearls,
33
precious stones, gold, and ivory. Coenus refuted this contention, eloquently enumerating the formidable forces awaiting them across
the shore. Coenus’ speech – which hardly sounds like the voice of a general of a triumphant army – has also suffered from
contradictory reportage. Curtius stressed the distress of the soldiers; Plutarch did not mention it. Diodorus emphasised the ‘utmost
34
misery’ of the soldiers and Alexander’s attempt to placate them by permitting them to plunder and bribing their wives and children.

The subsequent abrupt exodus of the supposedly victorious Greeks has been projected as Alexander’s concession to spare his army
certain decimation in the arid Indian summer. Whatever the true reason, it cannot be disputed that India was the only land to stop the
world conqueror in his tracks by the steadfast resistance of courageous tribes and tiny republics.

Modern scholars view the ‘great army’ that struck fear in the hearts of the Greek warriors as a diplomatic ruse, as the great historical
Indian empire (the Maurya) did not rise until after Alexander’s departure, and that too, in distant Magadha. It is probable that the war
35
elephants that terrified the Greeks were those of Porus, and that the Greek warriors were simply worn out fighting the puny but
fierce tribes they encountered all the way after leaving Persepolis, with no commensurate benefits in the form of war booty, thereby
36
exhausting even the gains made in Persia. This may explain Alexander’s insignificant impact on India, particularly in the Gangetic
plain where new powers were rising, with the result that there is no reference to him in Sanskrit literature. However, the labours of
successive Greek historians under the Roman Empire centuries later perpetuated his legend in the Greek, Roman and later even Arab,
Persian and European worlds. Alexander’s memory was still throbbing in the early centuries of the Christian Era when Philostratus’
semi-fictional account of the travels of Apollonius of Tyana shows him visiting Porus’ temple where he claims to have seen bronze
37
reliefs of Alexander’s feats.

The king retreated via the Indus, devastating all h e encountered en route, before finally reaching Susa in Persia in May 324 BC. He
died the subsequent year, and by 317 BC, the last vestiges of Greek authority in the Punjab had vanished. Babylonian ruler Seleucus
Nikator’s attempt to seize Alexander’s Indian provinces in 306 BC was rebuffed, and in a treaty the subsequent year, he ceded Kabul,
Kandahar, Herat and modern Baluchistan to Chandragupta, in return for 500 elephants.

Modern scholars challenge the veracity of Greek sources in establishing a dependable chronology of Indian history. They view Greek
‘reliability’ as a colonial legacy, worthy of scrutiny. The early British quest for the Greeks was less a ‘scientific’ inquiry into India’s
archaeological heritage and history and more a search for the beginnings of Empire, which the British perceived themselves as
38
inheriting from the Greeks. Similarly, they question the true extent of Alexander’s legacy in north India, particularly in the use of
Greek a s a language of culture, as was the case with Persian in the medieval era.

Percival Spear exemplifies the colonial mindset when he claims Alexander’s lasting importance lies in the opening of viable routes
between India and the West; his fleet proving the potential of the sea route; his army the land route via Kabul, Mulla Pass and
Baluchistan. These were kept open for two centuries by the Hellenistic Age that followed his advent.

Jean-François Salles counters that Nearchus’ voyage, for all its grave dangers and grim privations, was an escape from India and not
an approach to India. Its principal purpose was to accompany and assist Alexander’s return by land, while also sometimes exploring
39
this ‘new’ region. It is pertinent that Nearchus’ records contain hardly any nautical information, at least in Arrian’s excerpts. Yet this
Alexandrine scheme of entering India via the Hi ndukush and returning via the Persian Gulf gripped the imagination of Greek writers
and was replicated in the third century AD in Philostratus’ Life of Apollonius, though the sage’s adventures supposedly took place in
40
the first century AD. This formula lends credence to the belief that Indian sailors may have assisted Nearchus’ journey.

According to his historians, Alexander was keen to personally navigate the whole circuit of the sea from India to Persia. He feared
only the length of the voyage and the possibility that the fleet may be marooned on a coast without harbours or proper supplies, thus
ruining his hitherto good fortune and reputation for success, which the Greeks were loathe to admit had been tarnished by a puissant
and irreverent India! Yet Alexander instantly faced difficulties in finding a commander with the nerve for adventure and glory, and the
ability to execute his (Alexander’s) plans. Nor was it easy to persuade the Greek soldiers to overcome their fears of the hazardous
41
expedition and mount the ships.

Nearchus offered to lead the expedition to Persia if the sea proved navigable and the jour ney “within the power of man to perform.”
In the absence of other volunteers, Alexander had no choice, despite his reluctance to place such a close friend in danger. Nearchus
set off when the Etesian winds which inhibit summer navigation subsided, in the year when Kephisidoros was the Archon at Athens.

Arriving months later at Susa, they received Alexander’s returning army and celebrated their safe return with gusto. The almost
simultaneous arrival of the fleet and the army at Susa vindicates the view that the voyage was conceived as a safety valve to protect a
portion of the Greek army from India’s indomitable tribes. The fact that the retreating Alexander, having abandoned his dream of
world (certainly of Indian) conquest, had to engage in several intense battles on his way back home, suggests that besides the climate
and the terrain, the natives tormented him every inch of the way. Alexander’s Indian experience can be pithily summed up in the
philosopher’s query to Onesicritus: “For what purpose has Alexander come all the way hither?”

Percival Spear says that Alexander introduced Persian influences into India. He conquered the highly developed and complex
Achaemenid empire, and he and his Seleucid successors adopted and adapted its institutions. The Mauryan empire that rose after his
departure resembled Persian and not Greek models. The Kharosthi in Asoka’s (273-232 BC) inscriptions is closer to Aramaic than
Greek. Still, it is generally held that Alexander and later the Seleucids settled large numbers from the Greek world in this region.

Megasthenes
It would be appropriate to reappraise the entrenched legacy of the celebrated Megasthenes, who enjoys unique status among India’s
early historiographers. The Greek envoy’s depiction of occupation-based castes and other social customs have so dominated academic
discourse and popular imagination that some obvious deficiencies in the corpus that has come down to us have, as R.C. Majumdar
protests, failed to receive the attention they deserve. Megasthenes was deputed as envoy to Sandrocottus, generally identified with
the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta (though some academics believe the issue is far from settled). By all accounts, he resided at
Palimbothra (Pataliputra, modern Patna) and frequently called upon the Indian ruler. Whatever the length of his stay in the country, he
appears to have come to India only once. He had also met Porus and rated him higher than Sandrocottus/Chandragupta.

Megasthenes owes his enduring fame to his book, Indika, which later writers freely accessed for information on India. The Indika has
not survived, and our own knowledge of Megasthenes rests on passing references by Strabo, Arrian, Pliny and Clemens Alexandrinus,
which indicate that he lived with Seleucus Nicator and Sibyrtius, satrap of Arachosia. Majumdar says there is ambiguity about the
dates of his arrival and the duration of stay in India, though he probably arrived just before 300 BC, after the treaty between
Chandragupta Maurya and Seleucus Nicator, founder of the Seleucid dynasty and empire.

The Indian system of social organisation made a deep impression upon the Greek envoy. Yet his listing of seven castes was inaccurate,
though it is unclear if the mistake was made by Megasthenes or by successive writers who claimed him as their source. The German
scholar Schwanbeck prepared a ‘critical edition’ of the Indika by collecting all fragments based on Megasthenes; the English
translation was by J.W. McCrindle. Majumdar questions the merit of this exercise as the selected ‘Fragments’ fall into four categories,
viz., passages other writers specifically attributed to Megasthenes; passages closely resembling the former but not specifically
attributed to Megasthenes; passages preceding or following these two categories; and long passages falling in one of the three
groups, including incidental notices. He opines that while the first two types of passages can with some justice be ascribed to the
Indika, this may not apply to other selections.

Defending his thesis, Majumdar says that the first Fragment, from History of Diodorus (II 35-42), which Schwanbeck designated “An
Epitome of Megasthenes,” spans over fourteen printed pages without once mentioning the Greek envoy. Equally suspect, he says, is
Diodorus’ claim that Alexander advanced as far as the Ganga. As Megasthenes was of the same era as Alexander and resided at
Pataliputra on the banks of the Ganga, maintaining close affinity with the ruler and the populace, he would surely have known the
limits of Alexander’s advance. Strabo records that Craterus wrote to his mother that Alexander marched as far as the Ganga; hence it
is probable that Diodorus gathered his faulty data from Craterus or others, rather than Megasthenes.

Strabo acknowledges referring to Megasthenes and others; Majumdar believes Diodorus also accessed other works. Had he relied
solely or even principally upon Megasthenes, he would certainly have cited him for authenticity. As C.H. Oldfather, Diodorus’ English
translator notes: “It cannot be known whether Diodorus used Megasthenes directly or through a medium; his failure to mention his
name a single time is a little surprising, if he used him directly” (Diodorus of Sicily, English trans., 1935).

Diodorus in fact often departs from Megasthenes. He claims the breadth of India from east to west is 28,000 stadia; Megasthenes
speaks of 16,000 stadia (a point on which Schwanbeck and McCrindle concur). A differential of 75% in measurement between a book
and its supposed archetype raises legitimate doubts. Diodorus further asserts that the Indus may be the largest river in the world
after the Nile, but Arrian quotes Megasthenes to say the Ganga is much larger than the Indus. Interestingly, McCrindle’s Fragment II
observes that the Nile and the Danube together do not equal even the Indus, let alone the Ganga (M-II, 47). Majumdar concludes that
Fragments I and II cannot originate from the same Indika; yet both have been uncritically accepted as such by Schwanbeck and
McCrindle.

Schwanbeck’s Fragment XXVII comprises four paragraphs from Strabo (53-56), held to derive from Megasthenes. Yet Strabo only
thrice cites Megasthenes as his authority for three isolated statements (one each in paras 53, 54, and 56), though he covers myriad
topics. As Strabo did refer to several sources and often cited them, it cannot be presumed he relied solely on Megasthenes for all
information included in a single para or consecutive paras which mention the envoy. If Fragment XXVII derived solely from the Indika,
three specific citations of Megasthenes for three separate statements would be redundant; most likely only those three statements
derive from him.

Some mistakes are conspicuous. Strabo cites Megasthenes while describing seven castes (Paras 39-41 and 46-49 of Fragment XXXIV),
but digresses to discuss wild animals (Paras 42-45 of Fragment XXVII) before returning to the theme of caste. It is possible to view the
discussion on wild animals as an auxiliary note to para 41 on the third caste of shepherds and hunters, as they deal with animals. At
the end of Para 45 Strabo says, “Let me now return to Megasthenes and continue his account from the point where I left it.”

Para 49 relates to the seventh caste, whose members held the chief offices of State. The succeeding Paras 50-52 describe the officers
without once alluding to Megasthenes, yet they are presumed to rest on Indika. Further, while describing the third caste of shepherds
and hunters, Strabo strays into a long thesis on elephants and other animals, based on “both Megasthenes and others”. Hence, the
additional note on the seventh caste cannot be blindly accepted as sourced from Indika, though Strabo does not explicitly say it
derived from other sources. As Strabo and Diodorus differ significantly in details about the second, fourth, and sixth castes, both can
hardly have relied only upon Megasthenes for their facts.

Majumdar notes that the reference to Municipal and Military Boards of administration in the narrative on the seventh caste has led
many scholars to doubt if Kautilya’s Arthasastra, which is silent about such bodies, was actually written in the reign of Chandragupta
Maurya. He advises caution while invoking Megasthenes on any issue where his name is not specifically cited.

Besides, Megasthenes was by no means the sole source of information about eastern India. Arrian avers: “a few authors have
described the country as far as the river Ganges and the parts near its mouth and the city of Palimbothra.” Majumdar laments that
Schwanbeck simply assumes that the Indika was the most exhaustive account of India and that later classical writers trusted it so
much that one could presume they sourced their work wholly from Megasthenes, unless specifically stated otherwise. This is despite
Schwanbeck being aware that writers like Eratosthenes, Strabo, Arrian and Pliny were wary of Megasthenes and his Indika.

Arrian observed that Megasthenes insisted that the story of gold-digging ants was true, though he could not verify it. Schwanbeck
pleads that Megasthenes accurately recorded all that he himself observed as well as what was told to him by others. Majumdar retorts
that as Megasthenes clearly lacked the faculty of discrimination, one must be prudent while assessing his accounts. His blind
acceptance of the most unnatural phenomena and incredible tales about men and animals adds weight to this warning.

Other writers were hardly flawless. Strabo claims that Megasthenes said Indians were ignorant of the art of writing, but
42
simultaneously quotes a testimonial by him to the effect that Indians knew writing! Strabo quotes Nearchus that Indians wrote on
linen cloth, while Curtius mentions the use of the barks of trees for writing in Alexander’s time. In fact, Indians were quite adept in
writing as can be s een from the subsequent rock and pillar inscriptions of Chandragupta’s grandson Asoka; the well-formed letters of
the script indicating a long gestation period of many centuries. The implications of the use of writing are significant as writing is a
critical technology of the intellect. It facilitated the organisation of complex tasks such as sorting and storage of information under
43
numeric and alphabetic heads, use of charts and maps, and stimulated art and culture. Of course, all Greeks without exception were
enchanted by the Brahmins and Sramanas (Buddhist and Jaina ascetics), and made strenuous attempts to understand the Hindu
doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

Overall, the evidence suggests that the classical writers were prone to error owing to a poor understanding of the country and society,
and a tendency to generalise on the basis of isolated facts, such as the contention that there were no slaves in India. Ancient Smritis
and literature mention slavery; the Arthasastra classifies slaves and details their rights, disabilities, and terms of release. Majumdar
believes this inaccuracy derived from a mental comparison between the depressed condition of slaves in Greece and Rome, while
Indian slaves seemed comparable to domestic servants.

*
The core question concerning Alexander’s intrusion into north-west India is whether it had a lasting significance in Indian history. The
king is reported to have settled a large number of Greek mercenaries in regions north of the Hindukush, though here again the
figures differ. Arrian (IV.22) mentions 13,500 soldiers in the Oxus valley, while Curtius says another 4,600 were left in Arachosia
(VII.3-4). Besides, there were the pensioned soldiers settled in newly founded towns; Alexander reputedly founded seventy
44
Alexandrias. After his death in 323 BCE, Seleucus I (Nicator) and the Indo-Greeks introduced Greek populations in the area, but
their impact on the language and culture of the natives was negligible. The Greek influence in the Indian north-west (including
present day Afghanistan and Pakistan) was best reflected in Gandhara art, in the form of Buddha’s robes; his posture; Vajrapani in the
45
form of Heracles; mythological figures such as satyrs, Corinthian columns, and other decorative elements.

To our modern sensibilities, the history of our ancient past appears as a fable, hazy and incomplete. Before we turn to our extracts, it
would be in order to me ntion the inadequacies in the present work. The compiler is not acquainted with the Greek, Latin, Chinese or
Korean languages, and has relied solely upon standard English translations. The compilation is offered in as accurate a chronological
sequence as possible, with fragmentary references placed at the end of the section on classical writers, in order to complete the
narrative while reflecting the incomplete nature of our materials. The choice of passages is based upon a perception of what will
interest the general reader thirsty for knowledge about the past, in a compact and accessible format. This has necessitated drastic
46
pruning of available materials, as our purpose is not to relive the travails of the weary travellers of yore, but to highlight the extant
social, political, religious, cultural, commercial and geographical reality of that era, captured by q uill pen and ink by amateur
biographers, either deeply or tangentially, according to their individual abilities and perceptions. We have, as per convention, retained
the original spellings of the author or translator, and for convenience of style avoided use of diacritical marks, opting instead to
italicise Indian words. Special thanks are due to Ms Rekha Gupta who painstakingly checked the manuscript for errors; needless to
add, all errors and shortcomings are the sole responsibility of the compiler.

We conclude with illuminating excerpts about the Brahmin dynasty that built Angkor Vat in Kampuchea (Cambodia), and the Ayodhya
princess who married into the royal family of Korea. Although these are not, strictly speaking, by foreign writers who visited India in
our chosen epoch, we feel they round off the narrative and would enchant the reader. At the very end are brief sketches of Chinese
and Korean pilgrims by I-tsing, who sought to honour the monks who came in search of the Law and perished far from home. They
highlight the volume of spiritual traffic to India in those difficult days.

We have tried to avoid lengthy footnotes or explanatory notes, except to indicate information that adds to the meaning and readability
of the narratives. A brief resumé about each author precedes the selected passages, to provide the reader with context and
perspective, and it is our sincere hope that this approach will help construct a mental picture of the flowering of India’s rich, diverse,
and unbroken heritage in the epoch in which she became renowned as the ‘golden bird.’

—Sandhya Jain

 CHAPTER — 1
HERODOTUS

Herodotus, the designated Fat her of History in the Western tradition, was born between 490 and 480 BC at Halikarnassos, a town
in Caria on the south-west coast of Asia Minor (Anatolia of the Greek world), then subject to Persian rule. He died sometime after the
outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC, at Thurii, a city of Magna Graecia on the Tarentine Gulf, where he penned his famous
History (or The Histories). McCrindle observes that Herodotus had a poor knowledge of India. He knew it was one of the remotest
provinces of the Persian Empire towards the east, but had no real notion of its extent and exact location. His work contains the first
reference to the legend of gold-digging ants, whose strenuous efforts reputedly produced the huge gold tribute India gave Persia in
the reign of Darius. The passages selected below are based on Bohn’s Herodotus translated by Cary, in the works of J.W. McCrindle
47
and R.C. Majumdar.

BOOK I
India’s export of dogs:

192. …. Moreove r he (Babylonian governor Tritantaechmes) kept so great a number of Indian dogs that four great villages of the
48
plain were appointed to provide food for the dogs and eased from all other burdens. Such were the riches of the governor of
Babylon.

BOOK III
Fabulous tribute to Persia:

97. Darius, son of Hystaspes, set up twenty Satrapies (provincial governorships), and assessed each nation for taxes. (Of these
49
Satrapies) Twentieth: The Indians, the most populous of all the nations in the world, paid the largest sum – 360 talents of gold-dust.

People, language and attire:

98. I will now describe the method by which the Indians obtain the great quantity of gold which ena ble them to pay the above-
mentioned quantity of gold-dust. That part of India towards the rising sun is all sand. Indeed of all the inhabitants of Asia of whom we
have any reliable information, the Indians are the most easterly – beyond them the country is uninhabitable desert. There are many
tribes of Indians who speak different languages; some of them are pastoral and nomadic, and others not. Some inhabit the marsh-
country by the river. The people eat raw fish which they catch by going out in boats made of reeds, – each boat made from a single
joint. These Indians make their garment from a sort of rush which grows in the river, gathering it and beating it out, and then weaving
it into a kind of matting which they wear to cover their chests, like a breastplate.

Vegetarian ethic:

100. Other Indians have the following different custom: they neither kill anything that has life, nor sow anything, nor are they wont to
have houses, but they live upon herbs, and they have a grain the size of a millet in a pod, which springs spontaneously from the earth,
this they gather, and boil it and eat it with the pod. When any of them falls ill, he goes and lies down in the desert, and no one takes
any thought about him, whether dead or sick.

Gold-digging ants:
50 51
102. There are other Indians bordering on the city of Caspatyrus and the country of Pactyice, settled northward of the other
52
Indians, whose mode of life resembles that of the Bactrians. They are the most warlike of the Indian s, and these are they who are
sent to procure the gold; for near this part is a desert by reason of the sands. In this desert, then, and in the sand, there are ants in
size somewhat less indeed than dogs, but larger than foxes. Some of them are in possession of the King of the Persians, which were
taken there. These ants, forming their habitations underground, heap up the sand, as the ants in Greece do, and in the same manner;
53
and they are very like them in shape. The sand that is heaped up is mixed with gold. The Indians therefore go to the desert to get
this sand, each man having three camels, on either side a male one harnessed to draw by the side, and a female in the middle. This
last the man mounts himself, having taken care to yoke one that has been separated from her young as recently born as possible; for
camels are not inferior to horses in swiftness, and are much better able to carry burdens.

104. The Indians then adopting such a plan and such a method of harnessing, set out for the gold, having before calculated the time,
so as to be engaged in their plunder during the hottest part of the day, for during the heat the ants hide themselves under the ground.
Amongst these people the sun is hottest in the morning, and not, as amongst others, at mid-day.

105. When the Indians arrive at the spot, having sacks with them, they fill them with the sand, and return with all possible expedition.
For the ants, as the Persians say, immediately discovering them by the smell, pursue them and they are equalled in swiftness by no
other animal, so that the Indians, if they did not get the start of them while the ants were assembling, not a man of them could be
saved. Now the male camels (for they are inferior in speed to the females) slacken their pace, dragging on, not both equally, but the
females, mindful of the young they have left, do not slacken their pace. Thus the Indians, as the Persians say, obtain the greatest part
of their gold; and they have some small quantity more that is dug in the country.

Geography and abundance:

106. The extreme parts of the inhabited world somehow possess the most excellent products; as Greece enjoys by far the best
tempered climate. For in the first place, India is the farthest part of the inhabited world towards the east, as I have just observed; in
this part, then, all animals, both quadrupeds and birds, are much larger than they are in other countries, with the exception of horses;
in this respect they are surpassed by the Medic breed called the Nysaean horses. In the next place, there is abundance of gold there,
partly dug, partly brought down by the rivers, and partly seized in the manner I have described. And certain wild trees there bear
54
wool instead of fruit, that in beauty and quality excels that of sheep; and the Indians make their clothing from these trees.

BOOK IV

Darius’ expedition to the Indus:

44. A great part of Asia was explored under the direction of Darius. He being desirous to know in what part the Indus, which is the
second river that produces crocodiles, discharges itself into the sea, sent in ships both others on whom he could rely to make a true
55
report and also Scylax of Caryanda. They accordingly setting out from the city of Caspatyrus and the country of Pactyice, sailed
down the river towards the east and sunrise to the sea; then sailing on the sea westward, they arrived in the thirtieth month at that
place wh ere the King of Egypt despatched the Phoenicians… to sail round Libya. After these persons had sailed round, Darius
subdued the Indians and frequented this sea.

BOOK VII
Indian warriors in the Persian army of Xerxes:

65: The Indians wore garments of tree-wool and carried bows of reed and iron-tipped arrows of the same. Such was their equipment;
they were appointed to march under the command of Pharnazathres, the son of Artabates.

86. The Indians were armed in like manner as their foot; they rode swift horses and drove chariots drawn by horses and wild asses.
56
187. That is the number of Xerxes’ whole armament: but none can say what was the exact sum of cooking women, and concubines
and eunuchs; nor of the beasts of draught and burden and the Indian dogs that were with the host, could any one tell the number, so
many they were.

 CHAPTER — 2
KTESIAS THE KNIDIAN

Ktesias (also Ctesias) was the first to giv e the Greeks a special treatise on India, a region previously known from marginal
references in the Geography of Hekataios of Miletos and the History of Herodotus. Ktesias hailed from Knidos, an important
Lacedaemonian colony on the coast of Karia. His father was Ktesiokhos (or Ktesiarkhos), and the family belonged to the Asklepiadai
priestly caste, whose hereditary profession was medicine. He was a younger contemporary of Hippokrates (also Hippocrates of Cos,
famous Greek physician of the Age of Pericles), but his date of birth is unknown. He must have become famous before 416 BC, when
he went to Persia and lived 17 years as physician to the royal court, first under Darius II and then under his successor Artaxerxes
Mnemon. He accompanied the latter in battle against Cyrus and cured a wound received in the battle of Kunaxa (V. Anab. I viii, 27).
He returned to his own country in 398 BC, after which nothing is known of him.

Ktesias had a literary flair and wrote several works, the most important being a history of Persia. He wrote a Treatise on India, Indika,
which is lost, but was abridged by Photios, Patriarch of Constantinople in AD 858, and other writers. It was based on information
gathered from Persian officials travelling to India on the king’s service, and from Indians who visited the Persian Court as merchants
or envoys bearing presents and tribute from the princes of Northern India, part of which was then subject to Persian rule.

Given his proximity to India, it is inexplicable why Ktesias never visited the land that fascinated him so much, especially since, as royal
physician, he had a special interest in medicaments available in India to treat problems like snake-bite, which would have led him to
do commerce with the visiting caravans of merchants. The regular traffic between royal envoys and travellers in his time would have
made travel safe and reasonably comfortable. Perhaps his royal duties kept him fully occupied. Yet he seems to have found ample time
to converse with the foreign guests and indulge his quest for knowledge of this part of the world.

Ktesias’ colourful account of the Assyrian Queen Semiramis’ ill-fated expedition to India has been dismissed by serious scholars in the
absence of corroborative evidence from other sources. Greek historians like Arrian said she died before reaching India. Yet Ktesias
would have us believe that Semiramis butchered 300,000 black oxen, distributed their meat among artisans and workers, had dummy
57
elephants made from the skins, and transported them to India by hiding a camel and rider inside each! It is probable that Ktesias
merely adapted a version of Homer’s famous Trojan Horse to an Indian landscape.

Ktesias was quite susceptible to fantasia; this exasperated ancient scholars who referred to hi m in the absence of other sources on
India. Modern scholars have partially repaired his reputation by concluding that some of his errors, especially regarding fabulous
races and incredible animals, derived from confusion regarding stories rooted in the two great epics and other narratives. We have
selected extracts that scholars believe possess some academic merit.

FRAGMENT I. ECLOGA IN PHOTII, BIBL. LXXII, P. 144 SEQQ.

On the extraction of gold:

4. He notices the fountain which is filled every year with liquid gold, out of which are annually drawn a hundred earthen pitchers filled
with the metal. The pitchers must be earthen since the gold when drawn becomes solid, and to get it out the containing vessel must
needs be broken in pieces. The fountain is of a square shape, eleven cubits in circumference, and a fathom in depth. Each pitcherful of
58
gold weighs a talent. He notices also the iron found at the bottom of this fountain, adding that he had in his own possession two
swords made from this iron, one given to him by the king of Persia (Artaxerxes Mnemon), and the other by Parysatis, the mother of
that same king. This iron, he says, if fixed in the earth, averts clouds and hail and thunderstorms, and he avers that he had himself
59
twice seen the iron do this, the king on both occasions performing the experiment.

Dogs, gems, the heat:

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5. We learn further that the dogs of India are of very great size, so that they fight even with the lion; that there are certain high
mountains having mines which yield the sardine-stone, and onyxes, and other seal stones; that the heat is excessive, and that the sun
appears in India to be ten times larger than in other countries; and that many of the inhab itants are suffocated to death by the heat.
Of the sea in India, he says, that it is not less than the sea in Hellas; its surface however for four finger-breadths downward is hot, so
61
that fish cannot live that go near the heated surface, but must confine themselves always to the depths below.

River Indus and the giant reeds:

6. He states that the river Indus flows through the level country, and through between the mountains, and that what is called the
Indian reed grows along its course, this being so thick that two men could scarcely encompass its stem with their arms, and of a
height to equal the mast of a merchant ship of the heaviest burden. Some are of greater size even than this, though some are of less,
as might be expected when the mountain it grows on is of vast range. The reeds are distinguished by sex, some being male, others
62
female. The male reed has no pith, and is exceedingly strong, but the female has a pith.

On the people and the worship of the sun:

8. He describes the Indians as extremely just, and gives an account of their manners and customs. He mentions the sacred spot in the
midst of an uninhabited region which they venerate in the name of the Sun and the Moon. It takes one a fifteen days’ journey to reach
63
this place from Mount Sardous. Here for the space of five and thirty days the Sun every year cools down to allow his worshippers to
celebrate his rites, and return home unscorched by his burning rays. He observes that in India there is neither thunder nor lightning
nor rain, but that s torms of wind and violent hurricanes which sweep everything before them, are of frequent occurrence. The
morning sun produces coolness for one half of the day, but an excessive heat during the other half, and this holds good for most parts
of India.

9. It is not, however, by exposure to the sun that the people are swarthy, but by nature, for among the Indians there are both men and
women who are as fair as any in the world, though such are no doubt in a minority. He adds that he had himself seen two Indian
women and five men of such a fair complexion.
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11. He writes that in the middle of India are found the swarthy men called Pygmies , who speak the same language as the other
Indians. They are very diminutive, the tallest of them being but two cubits in height, while the majority are only one and a half…. Of
the Pygmies three thousand men attend the king of the Indians, on account of t heir great skill in archery. They are eminently just, and
have the same laws as the Indians.

Silver mines and gold:

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12. There is much silver in their part of the country, and the silver-mines though not deep are deeper than those in Baktria. Gold also
is a product of India. It is not found in rivers and washed from the sands the like gold of the river Paktolos, but is found on those many
high-towering mountains which are inhabited by the Griffins, a race of four-footed birds, about as la rge as wolves, having legs and
claws like those of the lion, and covered all over the body with black feathers except only on the breast where they are red. On
66
account of those birds the gold with which the mountains abound is difficult to be got.

Justice and crimes:

14. The justice of the Indians, their devotion to their king and their contempt of death are themes on which he loves to expatiate. He
notices a fountain having this peculiarity, that when any one draws water from it, the water coagulates like cheese, and should you
then detach from the solid lump a piece weighing about three obols, and having triturated this, put the powder into common water, he
to whom you give this potion blabs out whatever he has done, for he becomes delirious, and raves like a madman all that day. The king
avails himself of this property when he wishes to discover the guilt or innocence of accused persons. Whoever incriminates himself
67
when undergoing the ordeal is sentenced to starve himself to death, while he who does not confess to any crime is acquitted.

The health of Indians :

15. The Indians are not afflicted with headache, or toothache, or ophthalmia, nor have they mouthsores or ulcers in any part of thei r
68
body. The age to which they live is 120, 130, and 150 years, though the very old live to 200.

A dog-headed race:

20. He writes that on the mountains just spoken of there live men having heads like those of dogs, who wear the skins of wild beasts,
an d do not use articulate speech, but bark like dogs, and thus converse so as to be understood by each other. They have larger teeth
than dogs, and claws like those of dogs, only larger and more rounded. They inhabit the mountains, and extend as far as the river
Indus. They are swarthy, and like all the other Indians extremely just men. With the Indians they can hold intercourse, for they
understand what they say, though they cannot, it is true, reply to them in words, still by barking and by making signs with their hands
and their fingers like the deaf and the dumb, they can make themselves understood. They are called by the Indians Kalystrioi, which
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means in Greek dog-headed. Their food is raw flesh. The whole tribe numbers not less than 120,000 men.

Vegetable dyes:

21. Near the sources of this river (Hyparkhos, Pliny says Hypobarus) there grows a certain purple flower, which is used for dying
purple, a nd is not inferior to the Greek sort, but even imparts a far more florid hue. In the same parts there is a wild insect about the
size of a beetle, red like cinnabar, with legs excessively long. It is as soft as the worm called skolex and is found on the trees which
produce amber, eating the fruits of those trees and destroying them, as in Greece the wood-louse ravages the vine-trees. The Indians
70
grind these insects to a powder and therewith dye such robes, tunics, and other vestments as they want to be of a purple hue. Their
dye-stuffs are superior to those used by the Persians.

A tribe of cattle-herders:

22. The Kynokephaloi living on the mountains do not practice any of the arts but subsist by the produce of the chase. They slaughter
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the prey, and roast the flesh in the sun. They rear however great numbers of sheep and goats and asses. They drink the milk of the
sheep and the whey which is made therefrom. They eat moreover the fruit of the Siptakhora – the tree which produces amber, for it is
sweet. They also dry this fruit, and pack it in hampers as the Greeks do raisins. The same people construct rafts, and freight them
with the hampers as well as with the flowers of the purple plant, after cleansing it, and with 260 talents weight of amber, and a like
weight of the pigment which dyes purple, and 1000 talents more of amber. All this cargo, which is the season’s produce, they convey
annually as tribute to the King of the Indians. They take also additional quantities of the same commodities for sale to the Indians,
from whom they receive in exchange loaves of bread and flour and cloth which is made from a tree-grown stuff (cotton). They sell also
swords such as they use in hunting wild beasts, and bows and javelins, for they are fell marksmen both in shooting with the bow and
in hurling the javelin. As they inhabit steep and pathless mountains they cannot possibly be conquered in war, and the king moreover
once every five years sends them as presents 300,000 arrows and as many javelins, 120,000 shields and 50,000 swords.

23. These Kynokephaloi have no houses but live in caves. They hunt wild beasts with the bow and the spear, and run so fast that they
can overtake them in the chase…. That man is considered the richest who possesses most sheep, and in property of this sort consists
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all their wealth…. They are just, and of all men are the longest-lived, attaining the age of 170, and some even of 200 years.

Wild asses or rhinoceroses:

25. Among the Indians, he proceeds, there a re wild asses as large as horses, some being even larger. Their head is of a dark red
colour, their eyes blue, and the rest of their body white. They have a horn on their forehead, a cubit in length [the filings of this horn,
if given in a potion, are an antidote to poisonous drugs]. This horn for about two palm-breadths upwards from the base is of the purest
white, where it tapers to a sharp point of a flaming crimson, and, in the middle, is black. These horns are made into drinking cups, and
such as drink from them are attacked neither by convulsions nor by the sacred disease (epilepsy). Nay, they are not even affected by
poisons, if either before or after swallowing them they drink from these cups wine, water, or anything else. While other asses
moreover, whether wild or tame, and indeed all other solid-hoofed animals have neither huckle-bones, nor gall in the liver, these one-
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horned asses have both. Their huckle-bone is the most beautiful of all I have ever seen, and is, in appearance and size, like that of
the ox. It is as heavy as lead, and of the colour of cinnabar (vermillion) both on the surface, and all throughout. It is exceedingly fleet
and strong, and no creature that pursues it, not even the horse, can overtake it.

Rhinoceros hunt:

26. On the first starting it scampers off somewhat leisurely, but the longer it runs, it gallops faster and faster till the pace becomes
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most furious. These animals therefore can only be caught at one particular time – that is when they lead out their little foals to the
pastures in which they roam. They are then hemmed in on all sides by a vast number of hunters mounted on horseback, and being
unwilling to escap e while leaving their young to perish, stand their ground and fight, and by butting with their horns and kicking and
biting kill many horses and men. But they are in the end taken, pierced to death with arrows and spears, for to take them alive is in no
way possible. Their flesh being bitter, is unfit for food, and they are hunted merely for the sake of their horns and their huckle-bones.

On a lethal worm:

27. He states that there is bred in the Indian river a worm like in appearance to that which is found in the fig, but seven cubits more
or less in length, while its thickness is such that a boy ten years old could hardly clasp it within the circuit of his arms. These worms
have two teeth – an upper and a lower, with which they seize and devour their prey. In the daytime they remain in the mud at the
bottom of the river, but at night they come ashore, and should they fall in with any prey as a cow or a camel, they seize it with their
teeth, and having dragged it to the river, there devour it. For catching this worm a large hook is employed, to which a kid or a lamb is
fastened by chains of iron. The worm being landed, the captors hang up its carcase, and placing vessels underneath it leave it thus for
 75
thirty days. All this time oil drops from it, as much being got as would fill ten Attic kotylai. At the end of the thirty days they throw
away the worm, and preserving the oil they take it to the king of the Indians, and to him alone, for no subject is allowed to get a drop
of it. This oil [like fire] sets everything ablaze over which it is poured and it consumes not alone wood but even animals. The flames
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can be quenched only by throwing over them a great quantity of clay, and that of a thick consistency.

Perfumes and unguents:

28. But again there are certain trees in India as tall as the cedar or the cypress, having leaves like those of the date palm, only
somewhat bro ader, but having no shoots sprouting from the stems. They produce a flower like the male laurel, but no fruit. In the
Indian language they are called karpion, but in Greek muroroda (unguent-roses). These trees are scarce. There oozes from them an oil
in drops, which are wiped off from the stem with wool, from which they are afterwards wrung out and received into alabaster boxes of
stone. The oil is in colour of a faint red, and of a somewhat thick consistency. Its smell is the sweetest in all the world, and is said to
diffuse itself to a distance of five stadia around. The privilege of possessing this perfume belongs only to the king and the members of
the royal family. A present of it was sent by the king of the Indians to the king of the Persians, and Ktesias alleges that he saw it
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himself, and that it was of such an exquisite fragrance as he could not describe, and he knew nothing whereunto he could liken it.

29. He states that the cheese and the wines of the Indians are the sweetest in the world, adding that he knew this from his own
experience, since he had tasted both.

Mine ral wells:

30. There is a fountain among the Indians of a square shape and of about five ells in circumference. The water lodges in a rock. The
depth downward till you reach the water is three cubits and the depth of the water itself three orguiai. Herein the Indians of highest
distinction bathe [both for purification and the averting of diseases] along with their wives and children; they throw themselves into
the well foot foremost, and when they leap in the water casts them up again, and not only does it throw up human beings to the
surface, but it casts out upon dry land any kind of animal, whether living or dead, and in fact anything else that is cast into it except
iron and silver and gold and copper, which all sink to the bottom. The water is intensely cold and sweet to drink. It makes a loud
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bubbling noise like water boiling in a caldron. Its waters are a cure for leprosy, and scab. In the Indian tongue it is called Ballade.

 CHAPTER — 3
STRABO

Greek geographer and historian, Strabo, was born in Amasia, a Hellenised city and roy al residence of the kings of Pontus in Asia
Minor. The dates of his birth and death are unknown, but he lived in the reign of Augustus and also when Tiberius ruled in AD 21.
Groskurd believes he died three years later. His father’s family is unknown, but his maternal relatives who held important offices
under Mithradates V and VI were of Hellenic and Asiatic origin. Strabo himself was completely Greek in language and education. Like
Herodotus, he was a veteran traveller and had ventured eastwards upto Armenia. He did not visit India, and had a poor opinion of the
writings of Nearchus and Megasthenes. His Geography, finalised between AD 17 and 23, is hailed as the most important ancient work
79
on the subject, and includes a section (Book XV) on India and Persia. The selected extracts are from McCrindle. Though Strabo
appears to follow Alexander’s route in describing India’s wonders, we have excluded the battles and confined our selections to the
Indian country and people.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF STRABO

BOOK XV
Strabo confesses he has not visited India:

2. I must ask the reader to receive my description of this country with some indulgence, for it lies at a great distance off, and not
many persons of our nation have seen it; such as have visited its shores have seen a part of it only, and their accounts consist chiefly
of what they heard from report.

The self-immolation by Indian sages deeply impacted the Greek mind:

4. The merchants of the present day who sail from Egypt to India by the Nile and the Arabian Gulf have seldom made a voyage as far
as the Ganges. They are ignorant men and unqualified for writing an account of the places they have visited. From one place in India
80 81
and from one king, Pandion, but according to other writers, Porus, there came to Caesar Augustus gifts and an embassy
accompanied by the Indian Sophist who committed himself to the flames at Athens, like Kal anos, who had exhibited a similar
spectacle in presence of Alexander.

10. From the former disc ussion it appeared that the views set forth by Eratosthenes in the third book of his Geography, in a summary
concerning the country regarded as India at the time of its invasion by Alexander, are the most credible of all. At that period the Indus
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formed the boundary between India and Ariane, which lay immediately to the west, and was subject to the Persians; for in later
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times the Indians occupied a great part of Ariane which they received from the Macedonians.

Fertility and abundance; Greeks fascinated by Indian sugarcane:

20. Megasthenes indicates the fertility of India by the fact of the soil producing two crops every year both of fru its and grain.
Eratosthenes writes to the same effect, for he speaks of a winter and a summer sowing and of rains at both seasons alike; for a year,
he says, never passes in which rain does not fall at these periods, whence ensues a great abundance, the soil never failing to bear
crops. An abundance of fruit is produced by trees; and the roots of plants, particularly of large reeds, are sweet, both in their nature
and by coction; for the water, whether it comes from the clouds or the rivers, is warmed by the rays of the sun. He means, I think, to
say, that what is called by other nations the ripening of fruits and juices is called by the Indians coction, and this tends to produce a
flavour no less agreeable than the coction by fire. To the same cause he attributes the great flexibility of the branches of trees from
which the wheels of carriages are made, as well as the fact that the country has trees upon which wool grows. Nearchus says that
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their webs of fine cotton were made from this wool, and that the Macedonians used it for stuffing mattresses and the padding of
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saddles. The Seric fabrics are of a similar kind and made from some sorts of byssos bark, by combing the fibres. About reeds he has
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noted that they yield honey, although there are no bees; and he mentions a fruit-bearing tree, the produce of which causes
intoxication.

The banyan tree held the Greeks in thrall:

21. India produces many rema rkable trees: among others, one having branches which bend downwards, and leaves which are not less
87
in size than a shield. Onesikritos (also Onesicritus) when describing minutely the country of Mousikanos, which he says is situated in
the most southern part of India, relates that there are some large trees from which branches grow out to the length even of twelve
cubits. These branches then grow downwards as if they had been bent until they touch the ground. They next penetrate into the soil
and take root like shoots that have been planted. Then they spring upwards and form a trunk, whence again, in the manner described,
branches bend themselves downward and plant the ground with one layer after another, and so on in this order, so that from a single
tree there is formed a long shady canopy like a tent supported by numerous pillars. As regards the size of the trees, he stated that
their trunks could scarcely be clasped by five men. Aristoboulos also, where he mentions the Akesines and its confluence with the
Hyarotis (river Ravi) speaks of trees with branches bent downward, and of such a size that fifty horsemen could be sheltered from the
noontide heat under the shade of a single tree (ficus Indica, banyan-tree). According to Onesikritos, however, four hundred horsemen
could be so sheltered.

Vine and medicinal plants:

22. In the country of Mousikanos there grows of itself, he says, a kind of grainlike wheat, and also a vine which produces wine, though
88
other writers assert that there is no wine in India … Both Aristoboulos and other writers related that India produces many medicinal
89
plants which yield a great variety of dyes. He adds that it was ordained by law that if any person discovered a deadly substance, he
should be put to death unless he also discovered an antidote. If he discovered one, he was rewarded by the king. India, like Arabia and
Ethiopia, produces cinnamon and spikenard and other aromat ics. It has a temperature like theirs in respect of the sun’s rays, but it
surpasses them in having copious supplies of water, whence the atmosphere is humid, and therefore more nutritious and productive,
as is equally the case with the land and the water. On this account the land and the water animals in India are found to be of a larger
size than they are in other countries.
Taxila and the reference to snake worship in Abisaros:
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28. Between the Indus and the Hydaspes is Taxila, a large city and governed by good laws. The surrounding country is thickly
peopled and extremely fertile, as the mountains here begin to subside into the plains. The inhabitants and their king, Taxiles, received
Alexander with kindness, and in return came by more than they bestowed, so that the Macedonians were jealous, and said it
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appeared as if Alexander found none worthy of his bounty until he had crossed the Indus. Some say that this country was larger than
92
Egypt. Above this country among the mountains lie the dominions of Abisaros, by whom, as the envoys who came from him related,
were kept two serpents, one of which was 80 and the other 140 cubits in length. This we learn from Onesikritos, who may as well be
called the master fabulist as the master pilot of Alexander. For all the companions of Alexander preferr ed the marvellous to the true,
but this writer seems to have surpassed them all in telling tales of wonder. Some of his statements, however, are probably true and
worthy of record, and must not be passed over even though one distrusts their veracity. Other writers also mention the serpents, and
93
say that the natives hunt them among the Emodoi mountains and rear them in caves.

Kathaians of Sangala, probably Amritsar region, were obsessed with beauty. Greek writers are awed by Sati:

30. … By way of embellishing th eir persons, they dye their beards with a great variety of the most florid hues. This custom prevails
elsewhere among many of the Indians, who bestow great attention on dyeing both their hair and their garments with the colours of
surprising beauty which their country produces. The people in other respects are frugal, but are fond of ornament. A peculiar custom
is mentioned as existing among the Kathaians – that the husband and wife choose each other, and that the wives burn themselves
along with their deceased husbands. The reason for this practice is that the wives would sometimes fall in love with young men, and
desert their husbands or poison them. This law was therefore instituted with a view to suppress the practice of administering poison.
But it is probable that the law never existed nor the circumstances to which its origin is ascribed. It is said that in the country of
Sopeithes there is a mountain not far off, as Gorgos the miner has testified. The Indians being unacquainted with mining and the
smelting of ores do not know their own wealth, and therefore traffic with greater simplicity.

On a powerful breed of dogs in Punjab:

31. It is related that the dogs in the country of Sopeithes are of astonishing courage. Alexander received one hundred and fifty of them
as a present from Sopeithes. To prove their mettle, two were set on to attack a lion, and when these were overpowered, two others set
on. When the contest was about equal, Sopeithes ordered a man to seize one of the dogs by the leg and to drag him away, or if he still
held on, to cut off the limb. Alexander at first refused to let the dog be so mangled, as he wished to save its life, but when Sopeithes
said, ‘I will give you four instead of it,’ he consented, and saw the dog allow its leg to be cut off by slow incision rather than let go its
94
hold.

Simplicity of the people and the sheer wealth of the Mousikanos of Upper Sind:

34. Onesikritos… expatiates in praises of the country of Mousikanos, and notices those characteristics which its inhabitants share
with other Indians, that they are long-lived and that the term of life extends to 130 years (the Seres, however, according to some
writers, are still longer-lived), that they live sparingly and are healthy, even though their country produces everything in abundance.
The following customs, however, are peculiar to them: to have a common meal which they eat in public as did the Lacedemonians,
their food consisting of the produce of the chase; to use neither gold nor silver though they have mines of these metals; to employ
instead of slaves young men in the flower of their age, as the Cretans employ the Aphamiotai, and the Lacedemonians the Helots; to
study no science with attention except that of medicine, for they regard the excessive pursuit of any art, as war for instance and the
like, as wickedness; to have no actions at law but for murder and outrage, for to escape these evils does not lie in one’s own power,
but it is otherwise in the case of contracts where each one can protect his own interests, so that if one of the parties violates his faith,
the other must endure the wrong, for a man must be cautious whom he trusts, and not engross the attention of the city with his
lawsuits. Such are the accounts given by men who accompanied Alexander in his expedition.

Pataliputra and the Hindu caste system:

36. Palibothra [is] a city 80 stadia in length and 15 in breadth. It is of the shape of a parallelogram, and is surrounded by a wooden
wall, pierced with loopholes for the discharge of arrows. It has a ditch in front for the purpose of defence and for receiving the sewage
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of the city. The people in whose country this place is situated are the most distinguished in all India, and are called the Prasioi. The
king in addition to his family name must adopt the surname of Palibothros, as Sandrokottos, for instance, did, to whom Megasthenes
96
was sent on an embassy. This custom also prevails among the Parthians, for all are called Arsakai.
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39. He (Megasthenes) says that the population of India is divided into seven castes. The first in rank but smallest in number are the
philosophers. Persons who wish to offer sacrifices or perform other sacred rites employ their services on their private account, but
the kings employ them on the public account, at what is called the Great Assembly, where at the beginning of the Ne w Year all the
philosophers repair to the king at the gates. Here any of them who may have committed anything useful to writing, or observed any
means for improving the crops and the cattle, or anything of advantage to the state, declares it publicly. If any one is detected giving
false information, thrice the law enjoins him to be silent for the rest of his life, but he who proves to have been correct in his
observations is exempted from paying any taxes or contributions.

40. The second caste consists of the husbandmen, who form the bulk of the population and are of a very mild and gentle disposition.
They are exempted from military service, and cultivate their lands undisturbed by fear. They do not go to cities, either on business or
to take part in their tumults. It therefore frequently happens that at the same time, and in the same part of the country, men may be
seen marshalled for battle and risking their lives against the enemy, while other men are ploughing or digging in perfect security
under the protection of these soldiers. The whole of the land belongs to the crown, and the husbandmen till it on condition of
receiving as wage one-fourth of the produce.

41. The third caste consists of shepherds and hunters, who alone are permitted to hunt and to keep cattle and to sell beasts of burden
or to let them out on hire. In return for clearing the land of wild beasts and birds which infest sown fields, they receive an allowance
of corn from the king. They lead a wandering life and dwell in tents. No private person is permitted to keep a horse or an elephant.
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The possession of either is regarded as a royal privilege. These animals are under the charge of grooms.

Strabo diverts discussion on caste to discuss snakes:

45. Nearchos expresses his surprise at the multitude and malignancy of the tribe of reptiles. They retreat from the plains to the
villages wh ich do not disappear under water at the time of the inundations, and fill the houses. On this account the people raise their
beds to a great height from the ground, and are sometimes compelled to abandon their homes, through the presence of these pests in
overwhelming numbers. In fact, were it not that a great proportion of the tribe suffered destruction by the waters, the country would
be reduced to a desert. The minute size of some and the immense size of others are sources of danger; the former, because it is
difficult to guard against their attacks, the latter by reason of their strength, for snakes are to be seen of sixteen cubits in length.
Charmers go about the country who are supposed to be able to cure snake-bites, and their art of medicine is all but entirely restricted
to this, for they are seldom attacked by diseases, as they live frugally and abstain from wine. When diseases do attack them their wise
men treat them for recovery. Aristoboulos says that he did not see a single example of the magnitudes so much talked of – except a
snake which was nine cubits and a span in length – I myself saw one in Egypt much about that size which had been brought from
99
India. He says also that he saw many serpents of a much smaller size, and asps and large scorpions. None of these however are so
dangerous as the slender small snakes, not more than a span long, which are found concealed in tents, in house utensils, and in walls
and hedges. Persons wounded by them bleed at every pore, and suffer great pain, and die if assistance is not immediately rendered;
but assistance is at command on account of the efficacy of Indian roots and drugs. Not many crocodiles, he says, are to be found in the
100
Indus, and these are harmless to mankind, but most of the other animals of that river are the same as those bred in the Nile, except
the thrissa, the mullet, and the dolphin, on account of the crocodiles, but great numbers ascend the Indus. Small prawns find their
way up as far as the mountains, and the larger sort as far as the junction of the Indus and Akesines. So much then on the subject of
wild animals. Let us now return to Megasthenes, and resume from where we digressed.

Caste system of Megasthenes (continued) :

46. After hunters and shepherds, the fourth caste follows, consisting, he says, of those who work at trades, vend wares, and are
employed in bodily labour. Some of these pay taxes, and render to the state certain prescribed services. But the armour-makers and
shipbuilders receive wages and provisions from the kings for whom alone they work. The commander-in-chief supplies the army with
weapons, and the admiral of the fleet lets out ships on hire both to those who undertake voyages and to merchants.

47. The fifth caste consists of fighting-men, who, when not engaged in active service pass their time in idleness and drinking. They are
maintained at the king’s expense, and hence are always ready, when occasion calls, to take the field, for they carry nothing of their
own with them but their own bodies.

48. The sixth caste consists of the inspectors. To them is entrusted the superintendence of all that goes on, and of making reports
privately to the king. The city inspectors employ as their coadjutors the courtesans of the city, and the inspectors of the camp the
courtesans who follow the army.

49. The seventh caste consists of the counsellors and assessors of the king. To them belong the offices of state, the tribunals of justice
and the general administration of public affairs. No one is allowed to marry out of his own caste, or to exchange one profession or
trade for another, or to follow more than one business. An exception is made in favour of a member of the philosopher caste on
account of his superior merit.

On magistrates, taxes and city administration:

50. Of the magistrates some have the charge of the market, others of the city, others of the soldiery. Some superintend the rivers,
measure the land, as in Egypt, and inspect the sluices by which water is let out from the main canals into their branches, so that every
one may have an equal supply of it. These persons have charge also of the hunters, and have the power of rewarding or punishing
them according to their deserts. They collect the taxes and superintend the occupations connected with land, as those of the
woodcutters, the carpenters, the blacksmiths, and the miners. They make the public roads, and at every ten stadia set up a pillar to
indicate the byroads and distances.

51. Those who have charge of the city are divided into six bodies of five each. The first have the inspection of everything relating to
the industrial arts, the second entertain strangers, assign them lodgings, observe their mode of life by means of the attendants whom
they attach to them, and escort them out of the country, or, if they die, send home their property, take care of them in sickness, and
when they die, bury them. The third body consists of those who enquire at what time and in what manner births and deaths occur, not
only for the purpose of imposing a tax, but also of preventing births or deaths, whether among the high or the low from being
concealed. The fourth body is occupied with retail and barter. Its members have charge of weights and measures, and see that
products in season are sold by public notice. No one is allowed to deal in a variety of articles unless he pays a double tax. The fifth
body supervises manufactured articles and sells them by public notice. What is new is sold separately from what is old, and there is a
fine imposed for mixing them together. The sixth and last body consists of those who collect the tenth of the price of the articles sold.
Fraud in the payment of this tax is punished with death. Such are the functions which these bodies separately discharge. In their
collective capacity they have charge both of their special departments and of matters affecting the public welfare, such as the repairs
of public works, the regulation of prices, and the care of markets, harbours, and temples.

52. Next to the city-magistrates there is a third governing body which directs military affairs. This also consists of six divisions with
five members to each. One division is associated with the admiral of the fleet, another with the superintendent of the bullock-teams
used for transporting military engines, food for the soldiers, provender for the cattle, and other military requisites. They supply
attendants who beat a drum, and others who carry gongs; grooms also for the horses, and mechanists and their assistants. By the
sound of the gong they send out foragers to bring in grass, and by rewards and punishments ensure the work being done with
dispatch and safety. The third division has charge of the infantry, the fourth of the horses, the fifth of the war-chariots, and the sixth of
the elephants. There are royal stables for the horses and elephants, and also a royal magazine for the arms, because the soldier has to
return his arms to the magazine, and his horse and his elephant to the stables. They use the elephant without bridles. The chariots are
drawn on the march by oxen, but the horses are led along by a halter, that their legs may not be galled and inflamed, nor their spirits
damped by drawing chariots. In addition to the charioteer two men-at-arms sit beside him in the chariot. The war-elephant carries
four men – three who shoot arrows from his back – and the driver.

Moral character of Indians :

53. The Indians all live frugally, especially when in camp. They care not to congregate in large unruly masses, and they consequently
observe good order. Theft is a thing of very rare occurrence. Megasthenes, who was in the camp of Sandrokottos which consisted of
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400,000 men, says he found that the thefts reported on any one day did not exceed the value of 200 drachmai, and this among a
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people who have no written laws, but are ignorant of writing, and conduct all matters by memory. They lead nevertheless happy
lives, being simple in their manners and frugal. They never drink wine except at sacrifices. Their beverage is prepared from rice
instead of barley, and their food is principally a rice-pottage. The simplicity of their laws and their contacts appears from the fact that
they se ldom go to law. They have no suits about pledges or deposits, nor do they require either seals or witnesses, but make their
deposits and confide in one another. Their houses and property are for the most part unguarded.

54. Their favourite mode of exercising the body is by friction in various ways, but especially by passing smooth ebony rollers over the
surface of the body. Their tombs are plain, and the mounds raised over the dead, lowly. In contrast to the simplicity they observe in
other matters, they love finery and ornament. They wear dresses worked in gold, and adorned with precious stones, and also flowered
robes made of fine muslin. Attendants follow them with umbrellas; for they hold beauty in high esteem and resort to any device which
helps to improve their looks. They respect alike truth and virtue. Hence they assign no special privileges to the old unless they possess
superior wisdom.

The Indian rulers:

55. The care of the king’s person is entrusted to women, who also are bought from their parents. The bodyguards and the rest of the
soldiery are posted outside the gates. A woman who kills a king when drunk is rewarded by becoming the wife of his successor. The
sons succeed the father. The king may not sleep during the daytime, and at night he is obliged to change his couch from time to time
to defeat plots against his life. The king leaves his palace not only in time of war, but when he has to sit in court to try causes. He
remains there for the whole day without allowing the business to be interrupted, even though the time arrives for attending to his
person. This attention consists in the friction of his person with cylinders of wood. He continues hearing cases while the friction,
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which is performed by four attendants, is still proceeding.

Types of Philosophers, personal discipline, sexual abstinence, vegetarian and other ethics, notions of death:

58. Speaking of the philosophers, he says that those who inhabit the mountains are worshippers of Dionysos, showing as proofs that
he had come among them the wild vine which grows in their country only, and the ivy, and the laurel, and the myrtle, and the box-tree,
and other evergreens, none of which are found beyond the Euphrates except a few in parks, which it requires great care to preserve.
Some of their customs are of a Dionysiac character, their wearing muslin robes and the turban, using perfumes, dressing themselves
in garments dyed of florid hues, and their kings marching out from the palace to the beat of the drum and the jingling of musical bells.
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But the philosophers who live in the plains worship Herakles.

59. According to another principle of division, he makes two sects of the philosophers, one of which he calls the Brachmanes and the
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other the Garmanes. The B rachmanes are held in higher estimation, for they agree more exactly in their opinions. From the time of
their conception in the womb they are under the care and guardianship of learned men who go to the mother, and under the pretence
of using some incantations for the welfare of herself and her unborn child, in reality give her prudent hints and counsels, and the
women who listen to them most willingly are thought to be the most fortunate in their offspring. After their birth the children are
under the care of one person after another, and as they advance in years their masters are men of superior accomplishments. The
philosophers reside in a grove in front of the city within a moderate-sized enclosure. They live in a simple style and lie on pallets of
straw and (deer) skins. They abstain from animal food and sexual pleasures; and occupy their time in listening to serious discourse
and in imparting knowledge to willing ears. But the hearer is not permitted to speak or cough, or even to spit, otherwise he is cast out
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from their society that very day as being a man without self-control. After living in this manner for seven-and-thirty years, each
individual retires to his own possessions, where he lives in security and under less restraint, wearing robes of muslin and a few gold
ornaments on his fingers and in his ears. They eat flesh, but not that of animals which assist man in his labours, and abstain from hot
and highly seasoned food…. The B rachmanes do not communicate a knowledge of philosophy to their wives, lest they should divulge
any of the forbidden mysteries to the profane, if they became depraved, or lest they should desert them if they became good
philosophers; for no one who despises alike pleasure and pain, life and death, is willing to be subject to another; and this is the
character both of a good man and of a good woman.

Their discourse turns most frequently on death. They regard this life as the time, so to speak, when the child within the womb
becomes mature, and death as a birth into a real and happy life for those that are philosophers. On this account they undergo much
discipline as a preparation for death. They consider nothing that befalls men to be either good or bad, for otherwise some persons
would not be affected with sorrow and others with joy by the very same things, their notions being as inane as dreams, nor would the
same persons be affected at different times with sorrow and joy by the very same things. With regard to ideas about physical
phenomena, our author says that they display great simplicity, for they are better in their actions than in their reasoning, their belief
being chiefly based upon fables. On many points, however, their opinions coincide with those of the Greeks, for the Brachmanes say
with them that the world was created, and is liable to destruction, that it is of a spherical figure, and that the Deity who made and
governs it is diffused through all its parts. They hold that the principles of all things are different, but that water was the principle
employed in the formation of the world; that in addition to the four elements there is a fifth nature from which the heaven and the
stars were produced, and that the earth is situated in the centre of the universe. Concerning generation, the nature of the soul, and
many other subjects, they express views similar to those of the Greeks. They wrap up their doctrines about the immortality of the soul
and judgment in Hades in fable after the manner of Plato. This is the account which Megasthenes gives of the Brachmanes.
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60. Of the Sarmanes the most honourable, he says, are those called the Hylobioi. They live in the forests, subsist on leaves and wild
fruits, wear garments made from the bark of trees, and abstain from wine and commerce with women. They communicate with the
kings who consult them by messengers regarding the causes of things, and who through them worship and supplicate the Deity. Next
in h onour to the Hylobioi are the physicians for they apply philosophy to the study of the nature of man. They are frugal in their
habits, but do not live in the fields. Their food consists of rice and barley-meal, which every one gives who is asked, as well as every
one who receives them as a guest. By their knowledge of medicine they can make persons have a numerous offspring and make also
the children to be either male or female. They effect cures rather by regulating diet than by the use of medicines. The remedies in
most repute are ointments and plasters. All others they suppose to partake largely of a noxious nature. Both this class and the other
class of persons practice fortitude as well by undergoing active toil as by enduring suffering, so that they will remain motionless for a
whole day in one fixed posture. Besides these there are diviners and sorcerers and those who are conversant with the rites and
customs relating to the dead, who go about villages and towns begging. Those who are more cultured than these, and mix more with
mankind, inculcate the vulgar opinions concerning Hades, which they think conducive to piety and sanctity. Women study philosophy
with some of them, but they too abstain from sexual intercourse.

On Alexander’s meeting with Brahmin Sages, one of whom returned with him:

61. Aristoboulos says that in Taxila he saw two of the sages, both Brachmanes; the elder had his head shaved, but the other wore his
hair; both of them were followed by their disciples. Their spare time is spent in the market-place; in respect of their being public
counsellors they receive great homage, and have the privilege of taking without payment whatever they want that is offered for sale;
on every person whom they accost they pour oil of sesamum until it trickles down to their face; of honey, which is exposed for sale in
great quantity, and of sesamum they take enough wherewith to make cakes, and their food costs them nothing. They came to
Alexander’s table and took their meal standing, and gave an example of their endurance by retiring to a place that was near where the
elder lying on his back endured the sun and the rains which were now falling, as spring had by this time set in. The other stood on one
leg holding up with both his hands a beam of wood about three cubits long; when the leg became fatigued he supported himself on the
other, and continued thus the whole day long. The younger seemed to have far greater self-control, for having followed the king for a
short distance he quickly turned back home. The king sent after him, but he requested the king to come to him if he wanted anything
at his hands. The other accompanied the king to the end of his days, and in staying with him dressed in a different style and altered
his whole mode of life. When he was reproached by some for so doing, he answered that he had completed the forty years of
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asceticism which he had promised to observe.

Discourse about philosophy with Naked Sages and their choice of fire for the cessation of life:

63. Onesikritos says that he himself was sent to converse with these sages. For Alexander heard that these men went about naked,
inured themselves to hardships, and were held in highest honour; that when invited, they did not go to other persons, but requested
such to come to them if they wished to participate in their exercises or conversations. Such being their principles, Alexander neither
thought it consistent with his dignity to go to them nor cared to compel them to do anything that was contrary to their inclinations and
their native customs. He therefore dispatched Onesikritos to them, who relates that he found at the distance of twenty stadia from the
city fifteen men standing in different postures, sitting or lying down naked, who did not move from these positions till the evening,
when they returned to the city. The most difficult thing to endure was the heat of the sun, which was so violent that no one else could
without pain endure to walk on the ground at midday with bare feet.

64. He conversed with Kalanos, one of these sages, who afterwards accompanied the king to Persis, where he died after the manner of
his country, amid the flames of the funeral pyre on which he had been laid. Onesikritos found him at the time of his visit lying upon
stones. He approached the sage, and, having accosted him, informed him how he had been sent by the king to hear their wisdom, and
to bring him a report of its nature. So then, if there was no objection, he was ready to listen to his discourse. Kalanos, observing that
he wore a mantle, a broad-brimmed cap and long boots, laughed, and said: In former times the world was full of corn and barley, as it
is now of dust; the fountains then flowed, some with water and others with milk, or it might be with honey or with wine and with oil;
but mankind by repletion and luxury became proud and insolent. Then Zeus, indignant at this state of things, made all disappear, and
allotted to man a life of toil. When temperance, however, and other virtues had appeared once more in the world, an abundance of
good things again arose. But at present the condition of satiety and wantonness was approaching, and threatened to do away with the
existing state of things. Having spoken thus, he requested Onesikritos, if he wished to hear him, to strip off his clothes, and lying
down naked on the same stones with himself, to listen to his discourse.

While Onesikritos was hesitating what to do, Mandanis, who was the oldest and wisest of these sages, rebuked Kalanos for his
insolence and for his showing that vice himself even while condemning it in others. He then called Onesikritos to him, and said that he
praised the king because though he ruled over so great an empire, he nevertheless desired wisdom, and was the only philosopher in
arms that he had ever seen. It would indeed be the greatest of all benefits if those who have the power to persuade the willing and
compel the unwilling to learn moderation were men of good sense. ‘I am entitled,’ he added, ‘to indulgence, if, while conversing by
means of three interpreters, who, except the language, understand nothing we say any more than the vulgar, I am unable to
demonstrate the utility of philosophy. One might as well expect water to flow pure through mud.’

65. The tendency of his discourse, he said, was this, that the best doctrine was that which removed pleasure and grief from the mind;
that grief differed from labour in that the former was an enemy and the latter a friend to man; for men exercised their bodies with
labour in order to strengthen their mental powers, by which means they would put an end to dissensions, and would unite in giving
good counsel to all, both to the public and to individuals. They would now unite also in advising Taxiles to receive Alexander as a
friend, for if he received a person better than himself, he would dispose him to good. Mandanis having spoken to this effect, then
enquired whether such doctrines were current among the Greeks. Onesikritos replied ‘that Pythagoras taught a similar doctrine, and
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enjoined his disciples to abstain from animal food; and that Sokrates and Diogenes, to whose discourses he had listened, held like
opinions. Mandanis replied that in other respects he thought they entertained sound notions, but erred on one point by preferring
custom to nature, for otherwise they would not be ashamed to go naked like himself and to subsist on frugal fare – for that was the
best house whic h required least repairs.’ He says also that they busy themselves with enquiries concerning natural phenomena,
prognostics, rains, droughts and diseases. When they repair to the city they disperse themselves in the market-place. If they happen
to meet any who carried figs or bunches of grapes, they take what he bestows without giving anything in return. If he carries oil, he
pours it over them, and they are anointed with it. Every wealthy house is open to them, even the apartments of the women. On
entering they share the repast and join in the conversation. It is considered most disgraceful to have any bodily disease. Hence when
one suspects himself to be infected he rids himself of life by means of fire, for having prepared a funeral pile and anointed himself, he
settles himself upon the pyre, orders it to be kindled, and remains motionless while he is burning.

66. Nearchos gives the following account of the Sages. Some of the Brachmanes take part in political life, and attend the kings as
counsellors. The others are engaged in the study of nature. Kalanos belonged to the latter class. Women study philosophy along with
them, and all lead an austere life. With respect to the customs of the other Indians, he informs us that their laws, whether those
applicable to the community or to individuals, are not committed to writing, and are quite different from those of other nations. For
example, among some tribes it is the custom to offer virgins as a prize to the victor in a boxing-match, so that they may be married
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though portionless. Among other tribes again the land is cultivated by families in common, and when the crops are collected, each
person takes a load for his support throughout the year. The remainder of the produce is burned to give them a reason for setting to
work anew, and not remaining idle. Their weapons consist of a bow and arrows which ar e three cubits long, or a javelin and a shield,
and a broadsword three cubits long. Instead of bridles they use muzzles which differ little from halters, and the lips are perforated
with spikes.

68. As an example of the disagreements among writers on India, we may take what they say about Kalanos. They are at one in stating
that he went away from India with Alexander, and while still with him underwent a voluntary death by fire, but they do not agree as to
the cause and manner of his death; for some have written to this effect: Kalanos accompanied the king in the capacity of his eulogist
beyond the mountains of India, contrary to the common custom of the philosophers of that country, who attend upon their kings,
instructing them in matters relating to the gods, in the same manner as the Magi attend the Persian kings. When he became sick at
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Pasargadai, this being the first sickness he ever had, he put an end to himself in his seventy-third year, without heeding the
entreaties of the king. A pyre was raised and a golden couch placed upon it. He then laid himself down thereon, and having covered
himself up was burned to death. Others again say that a chamber was constructed of wood and filled with the leaves of trees, and
that a pyre having been made upon the roof, he was shut up in it according to his directions, after the procession with which he had
been accompanied – that he then flung himself upon the pyre, and was consumed like a beam of wood along with the chamber.
Megasthenes, however, says that self-destruction is not a dogma of the philosophers, but that those who commit this act are regarded
as foolhardy; that some are naturally of a severe temper and inflict wounds upon their bodies or cast themselves down a precipice,
that those who are impatient of pain drown themselves, and those of ardent tempers throw themselves into the fire. Kalanos was a
man of this stamp. He was ruled by his passions and became a slave to the table of Alexander. He is on this account condemned by the
Indians, but Mandanis is praised, because when messengers from Alexander invited him to go to the son of Zeus, with the promise of
gifts if he complied, and threats of punishment if he refused, he did not go. Alexander, he said, was not the son of Zeus, for he was not
so much as the master of the larger part of the world. For his part he wanted none of the gifts of a man whose desires nothing could
satiate, and as little did he fear his threats, for while he lived India would supply him with food enough, and when he died he would be
delivered from the flesh now wasted with age, and would be translated to a better and a purer state of existence. Alexander
commended him and excused him from coming.
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70. The Pramnai are philosophers opposed to the Brachmanes, and are contentious and fond of argument. They ridicule the
Brachmanes who study physiology and astronomy as fools and impostors. Some of them are called the Pramnai of the mountains,
others the Gymnetai, and others again the Pramnai of the city or the Pramnai of the country. Those of the mountains wear deer-skins
and carry wallets filled with roots and drugs, professing to cure diseases by means of incantations, charms, and amulets. The
Gymnetai, in accordance with their name, are naked, and live generally in the open air practicing endurance, as I have already
mentioned, for seven-and-thirty years. Women live in their society without sexual commerce.

71. The Pramnai of the city live in towns and wear muslin robes, while those of the country clothe themselves with the skins of fawns
or antelopes. In a word, the Indians wear white apparel – white muslin and linen (contrary to the statements of those who say that
they wear garments dyed of florid hues); all of them wear long hair and long beards, plait their hair and bind it with a fillet.

 CHAPTER — 4
PLINY

Gaius Plinius Secundus (c. AD 23-79), the Elder Pliny, was a Roman scholar, statesman, and author of Naturalis historia (Natural
History), comprising 37 books dealing with geography, ethnography, anthropology, physiology, zoology, and other subjects. Pliny went
to Rome after the death of Nero and held several high offices of state, patronised by Vespasian and his son Titus. He published the
first ten books himself about AD 77, dedicated to Titus. The rest were published by his nephew and adopted son, Pliny the Younger,
after his death in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius two years later. Pliny’s Natural History has several valuable references to India
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(Book VI) as they record facts not mentioned elsewhere. The extracts selected are based on English translations of McCrindle (M-
V) and Bostock (The Natural History of Pliny translated by John Bostock and H.T. Riley, London, George Bell and Sons 1890). We have
tried to avoid topics dealt with by other authors, though some overlapping is inevitable in a work of this nature, and nuances by
various authors themselves make interesting reading. We have exclude d narratives on “fabulous races” as utterly irrelevant to the
modern reader.

Position, boundaries, and physical characteristics of India:

Book VI. c. 17 (21) But where the chain of Hemodus rises the communities are settled, and the nations of India, which begin there,
adjoin not only the eastern sea but also the southern, which we have already mentioned under the name of the Indian Ocean. That
part which faces the east runs in a straight line to the bend where the Indian Ocean begins, and measures 1875 miles. Then from this
bend to the south up to the river Indus, which forms the western boundary of India, the distance, as given by Eratosthenes, is 2475
miles. But many authors have represented the total length of its coast as being a sail of forty days and forty nights, and its length from
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north to south as being 2850 miles. Agrippa has estimated its length at 3300 miles, and its breadth at 2300…

Here the appearance of the heavens is entirely changed, and the stars rise differently; there are two summers in the year, and two
harvests having winter between them, while the Etesian winds are prevalent; and during our wi nter the breezes there are light and
the seas navigable. In this country the nations and cities are numberless should one attempt to reckon them all up. It was opened up
to our knowledge not only by the arms of Alexander the Great and of the kings who succeeded him, Seleucus and Antiochus, as well as
by their admiral Patrokles who sailed round even into the Hyrcanian and Caspian seas, but also by certain Greek authors, who resided
with Indian kings, such as Megasthenes, and Dionysius who was sent by Philadelphus, and have thus informed us of the power and
resources of the Indian nations.

However, there is no room for a careful examination of their statements, they are so diverse and incredible. The companions of
Alexander the Great have written that in that tract of India, which he subdued, there were 5000 towns, none less than Cos – that its
nations were nine in number – that India was the third part of all the world, and that the multitude of its inhabitants was past
reckoning. For this there was probably a good reason, since the Indians almost alone among the nations have never emigrated from
their own borders. Their kings from Father Bacchus down to Alexander the Great are reckoned at 153 over a space of 6451 years and
three months. The vast size of their rivers fills the mind with wonder. It is recorded that Alexander on no day had sailed on the Indus
less than 600 stadia, and was unable to reach its mouths in less than five months and a few days and yet it appears that it is smaller
than the Ganges. Seneca, who was our fellow-citizen and composed a treatise on India, has given the number of its rivers at 60, and
that of its nations at 118. It would be as great a difficulty should we attempt to enumerate its mountains. The chains of Imavos,
Hemodus, Paropanisus, and Caucasus are mutually connected, and from their base the whole country sinks down into a plain of
immense extent and bears a great resemblance to Egypt. But that our account of the geography of these regions may be better
understood, we shall tread in the steps of Alexander the Great, whose marches were measured by Diognetes and Baeton.

On the land and the people:

Book VII. c. 2. India and the regions of the Ethiopians are particularly abundant in wonders. In India the largest of animals are
produced; their dogs, for instance, are much bigger than any others, and as for their trees, they are said to be of such vast height that
it is impossible to shoot arrows over them. Such besides is the fertility of the soil, the geniality of the climate, and the abundance of
water, that if we may believe what is said, troops of cavalry can find shelter under a single fig-tree. The reeds are here also of so
prodigious a length that a section between two nodes can make a canoe, capable, in some instances, of holding three men….

Their philosophers, whom they call Gymnosophists, are accustomed to remain in one posture with their eyes immovably fixed on the
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sun from his rising till his going down, and to stand on the burning sands all day long now on one foot and then on the other…

INDIAN ANIMALS
Alexander’s fleet first sees whales at sea:

Book IX. C.2. The most numerous and the largest of these (aquatic) animals are to be found in the Indian Sea. Among t hem are
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baloenoe of 4 jugera, and the pristis, 200 cubits in length. Here, too, are lobsters of 4 cubits and in the river Ganges eels 300 feet
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long. But at sea it is about the time of the solstices when these monsters are most to be seen. For it is then that in these regions the
whirlwinds sweep on amain, the rains desce nd, the hurricanes rush onward, hurled down from the mountain tops, while the sea
upheaved from the very bottom rolls upon its surges the monsters that have been driven from their ret reats in the depths below. At
other times such vast shoals of tunnies are encountered that the fleet of Alexander the Great formed itself into line of battle to
confront them, as it would have done when opposed to a hostile fleet, for except by charging them with long pikes, the danger could
not otherwise be evaded. No shouts, no noises, no crashing blows availed to frighten them. Nothing but their utter discomfiture
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dismayed and confounded them…

The sea turtle and other fish:

C. 12. The Indian Sea produces turtles of such vast size that the shell of a single animal suffices to roof over a habitable cottage.

C. 17. In the Ganges, a river of India, is f ound a fish called the platanista; it has the muzzle and the tail of the dolphin, and is of the
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length of 16 cubits.

C. 35. Those fish called sea-mice, as well as the polypi and the muraenae, are in the habit of coming ashore. In the Indian rivers there
is besides a certain kind of fish which does this and then leaps back, for they pass over into standing waters and streams. Most fishes
are evidently led by instinct to do t his that they may spawn in safety, since in such waters there are no animals to devour their young,
and the waves are less violent. It is still more a wonder to find that they have a comprehension of causation and observe the
recurrence of periods, when we reflect that the best time for catching fish is while the sun is passing though the sign of Pisces.

Varieties of birds:
Book X. 2 (2). Ethiopia and India, more especially, produce birds of diversified plumage, and such as quite surpass all description.

C. 30 (23). By the departure of the cranes which were in the habit of waging war with the pygmies, that race now enjoys a respite
from their hostilities. The tracts over which they travel must be immense, when we consider that they come from such a distance as
the Eastern Sea.

C. 41 (58). Above all, there are birds that imitate the human voice – parrots, for instance, which are even able to converse. This bird is
sent us from India, where it is called the septagen. The body is all over green, except that around its neck it is marked with a ring of
red. It salutes its masters, and pronounces such words as it hears spoken. It becomes very frolicsome under the effects of wine. Its
head is as hard as its beak, and this is beaten with an iron rod if it does not learn to speak what it is being taught, for it feels no pain if
struck elsewhere than on the head.

The Indian ass:

Book XI. C. 46 (106). Horned animals are in general cloven-footed, but no animal has at once a solid hoof and a pair of horns. The
Indian ass alone is armed with a single horn… and is the only instance of a solid-hoofed animal that is provided with a pastern-bone.

C. 10 (45). The Greeks had no knowledge from experience of the urns and bison, although the forests of India are filled with herds of
wild oxen.

INDIAN PLANTS
Wool bearing trees and the ebony tree:

Book XII. 4 (8). In our account of the Seres we have mentioned their trees which bear wool, and have likewise noticed the immense
size of the trees of India. One tree peculiar to that country – the ebony tree – has been extolled by Virgil, who teaches us that it grows
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nowhere else. Herodotus, however, leads us to believe that it was rather a product of Ethiopia, for he informs us that the people of
that country paid every third year to the kings of Persia by way of tribute one hundred planks of ebony wood, together with a certain
amount of gold and ivory.

C. (9). There are two kinds of ebony; t he better sort is scarce, and is remarkably free from knots. It is black and lustrous, and pleases
the eye at once without the aid of art. The other sort is produced from a shrub like cytisus and is found in all parts of India.

Fig tree:

C. (11). The fig-tree of that country produces but a small fruit. Always propagating itself spontaneously it spreads out far and wide
with its vast branches, the ends of which bend downward to the ground to such a degree that in the course of a year they take root
again and young daughters grow around the mother-tree circlewise as in ornamental gardening. Within that enclosure, which is
overshadowed and protected by the rampart of stems thrown out by the tree, shepherds are wont to spend the summer; the circuit of
overarching boughs presenting a scene of great magnificence whether viewed from a distance or from under the leafy canopy. The
higher branches of the tree shoot far up into the sky in multitudinous ramifications from the vast trunk of the parent tree, so that it
very often overspreads a circuit of sixty paces, while its shade covers as much as a couple of stadia. The broad leaves have the shape
of an Amazonian buckler, and hence the fruit being so much covered by the leaves is stunted in its growth, small in quantity, and never
bigger than a bean. The figs, however, being ripened by the rays of the sun piercing through the leaves, are exceedingly luscious and
worthy of the marvellous character of the tree which produces them. These trees are found more particularly in the neighbourhood of
the river Acesines (Chenab).

C. 6 (12). There is a tree still larger which yields a still more luscious fruit – that on which the Indian sages subsist. The leaf, which is
three cubits long and two cubits broad, resembles the wings of birds. The fruit, which grows on the bark, is remarkable for the
wondrous sweetness of its juice, and is so large that one would of itself suffice for four persons. The tree is called the pala and its fruit
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ariena. It is found in greatest abundance in the country of the Sydraci, which formed the limit reached by Alexander’s expedition.
There is besides another tree which resembles this one, though the fruit which it bears is sweeter, and, when eaten, produces severe
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disorders of the bowels. Alexander published an order forbidding any one in his army touching this fruit.

C. (13) The Macedonians have mentioned various kinds of trees (in India) but generally without giving their names. There is one which
resembles the terebinth (turpentine tree) in every respect except the fruit, which is like the almond though it is of a smaller size, and
remarkable for its extreme sweetness. It was found chiefly in Bactra, and some persons took it to be a variety of terebinth rather than
a tree to which it bore a striking resemblance. As to the tree again from which they make a kind of linen cloth, in leaf it resembles the
mulberry tree, while the calyx of the fruit is similar to the dog-rose. It is reared in cultivated grounds, and no other kind of plantation
makes such a charming landscape around a country-seat.

The Indian pepper:

C. 7 (14). The olive-tree in India is sterile, with the exception however of the wild olive. The pepper plant grows everywhere (in India),
and resembles our junipers in appearance, though some writers assert that they only grow on the slopes of Caucasus, which lie
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exposed to the sun. The seeds differ from the juniper by their being enclosed in very small pods such as we see in kidney beans.
These pods make what is called long pepper, if, before they burst open, they are plucked and then dried in the sun. But when they are
allowed to ripen, they gradually split open, and at maturity disclose the white pepper, which then by exposure to the heat of t he sun
changes its colour and becomes wrinkled. These products, however, are liable to a peculiar disease, for if the weather be bad they are
attacked with a smutty kind of blight, which makes the seeds nothing but rotten empty husks, called bregma, a term which in the
Indian language signifies dead. Of all the kinds of pepper this is the most pungent and the lightest, while the white kind is less
pungent than either. The root of this tree is not, as some have supposed, the article called by some writers, Zimpiberi while others call
it Zingiberi (ginger), although its taste is very similar… Long pepper is very easily adulterated with Alexandrian mustard. It sells at
fifteen denarii the pound, the white kind at seven, and the black at four. It is surprising how it has become such a favourite article of
consumption; for while other substances attract us, some by reason of their sweetness, and others because they are of an inviting
appearance, pepper has nothing to recommend it either for fruit or berry, its pungency being the only quality for which it is esteemed;
and yet for this it must be fetched from far away India…. Both pepper and ginger grow wild in their respective countries, and yet here
we buy them by weight like gold and silver. Italy too now produces a kind of pepper-tree… but its ‘pepper’ has not that mature flavour
which the Indian sort acquires by its exposure to the sun.
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C. (15) There is, moreover, in India, a grain similar to pepper, but larger and more brittle, and this is called caryophyllon. The same
country produces also on a thorny shrub a grain resembling pepper which is remarkable for its pungency. The leaves of this shrub are
small and packed closely together like those of the privet. Its branches, which are three cubits long, are of a pallid colour, while its
root is wide-spreading and woody, and of the colour of boxwood. From this root, when boiled along wit h the seed in a copper vessel, is
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prepared the medicament called lycion. The Indians send us this preparation in vessels made from the skins of camels or
rhinoceroses. Some persons in Greece call the shrub itself the Chironian pyxacanthus, the berberry shrub, or box-thorn.

Medicinal herb:
C. 8 (16) Macir also is brought t o us from India. It is the red bark of a large root called by the same name as the tree which grows
from it. What the tree is like I have not been able to learn. A decoction of this bark with honey is used in medicine as a specific for
dysentery.

Sugarcane fascinated all Greek writers:

C. (17) Arabia too produces sugar, but the Indian kind is more esteemed, it is a honey collected in reeds, white like gum, and brittle to
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the teeth. The largest pieces are of the size of a filbert nut; it is only used in medicine.

Aromatic herbs and unguents:

C. 12 (25). There is a root and also a leaf which are both very highly prized by the Indians. The root is that of the costus; it is burning
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hot to the taste, an d has an exquisite aromatic odour; the shrub is otherwise of no use. In the island of Patale, at the very mouth of
the Indus, two kinds of it are found – one black, the other white, and this is the better of the two. The price of this article is five
denarii per pound.

C. 26 Of the leaf, which is that of the nardus, it is but proper we should write at greater length, seeing that it holds the first place
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among unguents. This shrub has a root thick and heavy, but short, black and brittle notwithstanding that it is unctuous, and has a
musty smell like that of the cypirus. It has a sharp, acrid taste, and its leaves are small and thickly set together. At the top the nard
spreads out into ears, and hence it is celebrated as being doubly dowered – with spikes and ears and with leaves that are both of hig h
value.

(Nard’s) purity is tested by its lightness, the redness of its colour, the sweetness of its smell, and more particularly the taste, which
parches the mouth, while at the same time the flavour is most delicious. The price of spikenard is 100 denarii per pound.
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C. 28. The grape of the amomum is in common use. It grows on a wild vine which is found in India, or, as others think, on a shrub
produced on the mountains which rises to the height of a palm-tree. It is plucked along with the root, and is gently pressed together
by the hands, for it very quickly becomes brittle. That kind is most esteemed which has leaves closely resembling those of the
pomegranate, being without wrinkles and of a red colour. The second quality is that which is distinguished by the paleness of its
colour. An inferior kind has a grassy appearance, and the white is the worst of all. This is its colour when old. The price of the
amomum grape is sixty denarii per pound, but when crumbled it sells at forty-nine only.

Cardamom:

C. (29) Similar to these (amomum and amomis), both in name and the nature of the shrub, is cardamomum, the seed of which is of an
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oblong shape. It is gathered in the same way both in India and Arabia. There are four sorts of it. That which is most esteemed is
very green in the colour, unctuous, with sharp angles which make it hard to break; the next quality is of a reddish white tint – the third
is shorter and blacker, while the worst is mottled, friable, and has but a faint smell, which ought to be similar to costum when
ge nuine. Cardamum grows also in Media. The price of the best kind is three denarii.

Indian import from Arabia:

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C. 17 (38). In Arabia, too, the olive-tree distils a tear, with which the Indians prepare a medicament called by the Greeks enhoemon,
and said to be of singular efficacy in cicatrising wounds.

Pliny did not approve of imports of luxury goods:

C. 15 (41). At the very lowest computation, India, the Seres, and the Arabian peninsula drain from our empire yearly one hundred
million of sesterces; so dearly we pay fo r our luxury and our women.
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C.22 (48) Scented calamus, also, which grows in Arabia, is common to both India and Syria.

Mangroves:

Book XIII, c. 25 (51). The officers of Alexander who navigated the Indian seas have left on record a description of a marine tree, the
leaves of which are green while in the water, but which, as soon as they are taken out, are dried into salt. They have noticed also
bulrush es of stone closely resembling the real, and found along the seashore. They found, besides, certain shrubs in the deep sea of
the colour of an ox’s horn, which sent out numerous branches and are red at the tips. These were brittle, and broke like glass when
touched, but in the fire they turned red-hot like iron, though on cooling they resumed their natural colour. In the same region the tide
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covers the woods which grow on the islands though the trees are of a greater height than the tallest planes and poplars. Their
leaves, which never fall off, resemble those of the laurel, their flowers those of the violet both in colour and smell, and their berries
those of the olive. These berries are of a pleasant fragrance, make their appearance in autumn, and fall from the trees in spring. The
smaller trees are entirely covered by the sea. The tops of the tallest stand out of the water, and ships are fastened to them, but when
the tide ebbs they are fastened to the roots. We learn from the same authorities that they saw out in the same sea other trees which
always retained their leaves and produced a fruit like the lupine.

Coconut palm:

Book XIV. c. 16 (19). The fruit of the palm is employed for this purpose (making wine) by the Parthians as well as the Indians, and
indeed throughout all the countries of the East.

Book XV. c.7 (7) The Indians are said to extract oils from the chestnut, sesamum, and rice, and the Ichthyophagi from fish.
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Book XVIII, c. 10 (22) Sesame comes from India, where they extract an oil from it. The grain is of a white colour.

C. 13. In India there is both a cultivated and a wild barley, from which they make excellent bread as well as a kind of pottage. But
their favourite diet is rice, from which a ptisan is prepared like that which is elsewhere made from barley. The leaves of the rice-plant
are fleshy, and similar to those of the leek but broader; the plant itself is a cubit in height, the blossom is purple, and the root is round
like a pearl.

INDIAN MINERALS AND PRECIOUS STONES

Salt mountains:
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Book XXXI. C. 7 (39) There are mountains also formed of native salt, as, for instance, Ormenus , in India, where it is cut out like
blocks from a quarry and is continually reproduced, whence a greater revenue accrues to the sovereigns of the country than they
derive from gold and pearls.
Indian coral and oysters:

Book XXXII. C. 2 (11) Among the people of India as high a value is se t upon coral as in our part of the world is set upon Indian
pearls… The berries of coral are no less appreciated by the men of India than are Indian pearls by women among us. Their
soothsayers and prophets regard coral as the most sacred of amulets ensuring protection against all dangers, so highly do they value
it both as an ornament and an object of devotion.

C. 6 (21) According to the historians of the expedition of Alexander, oysters were found in the Indian Sea a foot in diameter.

Indigo:
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C. 13 (57). It is not long since indicum began to be imported, its price being 17 denarii per pound.

Book XXXV. C. 6 (27) Indicum is tested by placing it on hot coals, when, if it be genuine, it gives out a fine purple flame, and while
smoking, a scent as of rocks near the shore. The price of indicum is twenty sesterces per pound. If used as a medicine, indicum acts as
a sedative fo r ague and other shivering fits and desiccated sores.

Mineral wealth of India:

Book XXXVII. C. 1 (9) The East, too, sends us crystals, there being none preferred to the Indian kind.

C. 2 (11). Amber is found in India, where it is preferable substitute for frankincense. Ctesias says that in India is a river, the
Hypobarus, and that the meaning of its name is the bearer of all good things – that it flows from the north into the eastern Ocean near
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a mountain covered with trees that produce amber (electron), and that these trees are called aphytacoroe, a name signifying
luscious sweetness.

C. 4. (15) At the present day, for the first time six varieties of the diamond (adamas) are recognised. The Indian diamond is not found
embedded in gold, but in a substance akin to crystals, which it equals in transparency and resembles in having six angles and six
highly polished equal sides, while it is turbinated to a point at either extremity, just as if two cones should, to our wonder, be conjoined
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at their bases. As for size, it is as large even as a hazel nut.

C. 4 (16) Next in esteem with us (to diamonds) are the pearls of India and Arabia.

C. 5. (20). It is thought by many that beryls are of the same, or at all events of a like nature with emeralds. India produces them, and
they are rarely found elsewhere…. The Indians take a marvellous pleasure in be ryls that are distinguished by their great length, and
say that these are the only precious stones which they prefer to wear without gold; and hence, after piercing them, they string them
upon elephant bristles. It is agreed that those beryls which are of perfect quality should not be perforated, but should merely be
clasped at their extremities with circlets of gold. They prefer therefore to cut them into the form of a cylinder rather than to set them
as precious stones, since those that are of greatest length are most in fashion. Some are of opinion that beryls are naturally angular,
and that piercing them adds to their splendour in consequence of the removal of the white substance within, while the reflection of
the gold still further brightens their brilliancy, and their thickness no longer mars their transparency…

C. 6 (21) Opals are at once very like and very unlike beryls, and are inferior in value to emeralds alone. India, too, is the sole mother
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of these precious stones, thus completing her glory as being the great producer of the most costly gems.

C. 6 (22). This stone (opal), on account of its extraordinary beauty, has been called by many authors paderos (lovely youth); such as
make a distinct species of it say that it is the gem called by the people of India sangenon.

C. 6 (23). By sardonyx, as the name itself implies, was formerly meant a sarda with a whiteness in it, like the flesh under the human
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finger-nail, the white part being transparent like the rest of the stone; and that this was the character of the Indian sardonyx is
stated by Ismenias, Demostratus, Zenothemis, and Sotacus. The last two give the name of blind sardonyx to all the other stones of this
class which are not transparent, and which have now monopolised the name… Zenothemis writes that these stones were not held in
esteem by the Indians, and that some were so large that the hilts of sw ords were made of them. It is well known that in that country
they are laid bare to view by the mountain streams, and that in our part of the world they were at the outset prized from the fact that
they were almost the only ones among engraved precious stones that do not take away the wax with them from an impression. We
have in consequence taught the Indians themselves by the force of our example to value these stones, and the lower classes more
particularly pierce them and wear them round the neck; and this is now a proof that a sardonyx is of Indian origin.
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c. 6 (24). Zenothemis says there are numerous varieties of the Indian onyx, the fiery-coloured, the black, the cornel with white veins
encircling them like an eye, and in some cases running across them obliquely. The real onyx, he points out, has numerous veins of
varying colours, along with streaks of a milk-white hue, and as these colours harmoniously shade into each other they produce, by
their combinations, a tint of a beauty which is inexpressibly charming.

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C. 7 (29) To the same class of flame-coloured stones belongs that known as the lychnis, so called because its lustre is enhanced by
lamplight, and when so seen is particularly pleasing. It is found in the neighbourhood of Orthosia and all over Caria and the adjoining
localities, but the most approved stones are those which come from India.
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C. 7 (31) In India three varieties of the Sarda are found: the red Sarda, the one called from its thickness pionia, and a third kind
beneath which they place a ground of silver foil. The Indian stones are transparent, those of Arabia more opaque.

C. 8 (40) We shall now treat of precious stones of a purple colour or of shades of purple. Among these, Indian amethysts hold the
foremost place…. The Indian kind exhibits in absolute perfection the loveliest shade of purple. It is the greatest ambition of the dyer
in purple to attain this hue, for it gleams with a tender radiance which does not dazzle one’s eyes like the colours of the carbuncle.
Another kind approaches the hyacinth in colour, and this hue the Indians call socon and the stone itself socondion.

C. 9 (42) Aethiopia produces hyacinths – also chrysoliths – transparent stones of a golden brilliancy. The stones of India are preferred
to these… The best are those which, when placed beside gold, give it a whitish appearance like silver.

C. 9 (45) The same country produces also Xuthon (Xanthon, yellow), a gem worn by the common people there.
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C. 9 (48) Similarly white is the stone called Astrion, which closely resembles crystal, and is found in India on the shores of Patalene.
In the centre of it there shines a star with a refulgence like that of the moon when full.

C. 10. The agates found in India possess like marvellous properties with those found elsewhere, besides great and marvellous
 145
properties peculiar to themselves, for they exhibit the a ppearance of rivers, groves, beasts of burden… and horse trappings.

C. 10 (56) Corallis, which is product of India and Syene, resembles minium (vermilion) in appearance… Chelonia is the eye of the
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Indian tortoise. This stone gets its name from ‘a tortoise.’ Pliny says it was used by magicians for divination.

C. 10 (60) Haematitis is a stone of a blood-red colour… There is another of the same kind called Menui by the Indians, and Xanthos by
the Greeks – being of a whitish tawny colour.

C. 10 (61) Indica reta ins the name of the country which produces it. It is a stone of a reddish colour, but when rubbed it exudes a
liquid of a purple hue. There is another stone of this name which is white and of a dusty appearance. Ion is an Indian stone of a violet
tint, which, however, is seldom found to shine with a full rich lustre.

 CHAPTER — 5
ARRIAN

The Greek historian and philosopher Arrian (Flavius Arrianus) was born about AD 96. He served the Roman Emperor Hadrian as
legatus (Governor) of Cappadocia from AD 181 to 187, and distinguished himself in a military expedition to the Alani . His principal
work, the Anabasis of Alexander, describes Alexander’s life from his accession to his death. The passages selected are self-explanatory
147
and concern the invasion of India. Arrian sources his information from the writings of Aristobulus of Cassandreia and Ptolemy, son
of Lagus, who later became King of Egypt. As both men accompanied Alexander, the Anabasis may be considered as credible a
contemporary account as possible.

THE ANABASIS OF ALEXANDER

BOOK IV, CHAPTER XXII
Alexander reaches the river Cabul, and receives the homage of Taxiles:

…Arriving at the city of Nicaea, he offered sacrifice to Athena and then advanced towards the Cophen, sending a herald forward to
Taxiles and the other chiefs on this side the river Indus, to bid them come and meet him as each might find it convenient. Taxiles and
the other chiefs accordingly did come to meet him, bringing the gifts which are reckoned of most value among the Indians. They said
that they would also present to him the elephants which they had with them, twenty-five in number. There he divided his army, and
sent Hephaestion and Perdiccas away into the land of Peucelaotis, towards the river Indus with the brigades of Gorgias, Clitus, and
Meleager, half of the Companion cavalry, and all the cavalry of the Grecian mercenaries. He gave them instructions either to capture
the places on their route by force, or to bring them over on terms of capitulation; and when they reached the river Indus, to make the
necessary preparations for the passage of the army. With them Taxiles and the other chiefs also marched. When they reached the river
Indus they carried out all Alexander’s orders…

CHAPTER XXV
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The Aspasians are routed despite superior numbers due to Alexander’s superior military tactics; Alexander is wounded on the
shoulder; Macedonians massacre inhabitants fleeing for safety:

Ptolemy indeed says that all the men were captured, to a number exceeding 40,000, and that over 230,000 oxen were also taken, of
which Alexander picked out the finest, because they seemed to him to excel b oth in beauty and size wishing to send them into
Macedonia to till the soil.
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Thence he marched towards the land of the Assacenians; for he received news that these people had made preparations to fight
him, having 20,000 cavalry, more than 30,000 infantry, and 300 elephants.

CHAPTER XXVII
Alexander’s strategic planning turns the tide in his favour at Massaga after four days of intense fighting during which he gets an
arrow wound in his ank le; the survivors are massacred:

… The Indians, as long as the ruler of the place survived, defended themselves gallantly; but when he was struck and killed with a
missile hurled from an engine, and as some of their number had fallen in the siege, which had gone on without any cessation, while
most of them were wounded and unfit for service, they sent a herald to Alexander. He was glad to preserve the lives of brave men; so
he came to terms with the Indian mercenaries on this condition, that they should be admitted into the ranks with the rest of his army
and serve as his soldiers.

They therefore came out of the city with their arms and encamped by themselves upon a hill which was facing the camp of the
Macedonians; but they resolved to arise by night and run away to their own abodes, because they were unwilling to take up arms
against the other Indians. When Alexander received intelligence of this, he placed the whole of his army round the hill in the night,
and intercepting them in the midst of their flight, cut them to pieces. He then took the city by storm, denuded as it was of defenders;
and captured the mother and daughter of Assacenus…

Thence he dispatched Coenus to Bazira, entertaining an opinion that the inhabitants would surrender, when they heard of the capture
of Massaga. He also dispatched Attalus, Alcetas, and Demetrius, the cavalry officer, to another city, named Ora, with instructions to
blockade it until he himself arrived. … The siege of Ora proved an easy matter to Alexander, for he no sooner attacked the walls than
at the first assault he got possession of the city, and captured the elephants which had been left there.

CHAPTER XXVIII
Capture of Bazira—Advance to the Rock of Aornus:

When the men in Bazira heard this news, despairing of their own affairs, they abandoned the city about the middle of the night, and
fled to the rock… For all the inhabitants deserted the cities and began to flee to the rock…called Aornus. For stupendous is this rock
in this land, about which the current report is, that it was found impregnable even by Heracles, the son of Zeus.... The circuit of the
rock is said to be about 200 stades (i.e. about twenty-three miles) and its height where it is lowest, eleven stades (i.e. about a mile and
a quarter). There was only one ascent, which was artificial and difficult; on the summit of the rock there was abundance of pure water,
a spring issuing from the ground, from which the water flowed; and there was also timber, and sufficient good arable land for 1,000
men to till. When Alexander heard this, he was seized with a vehement desire to capture this mountain also, especially on account of
the legend which was current about Heracles... (the rock is captured after a siege and the occupants massacred).

BOOK V, CHAPTER I
Alexander at Nysa:

Alexander spares Nysa because it was founded by the Greek god Dionysus:

In this country, lying between the rivers Cophen and Indus, which was traversed by Alexander, the city of Nysa is said to be situated….
When Alexander came to Nysa the citizens sent out to him their president, whose name was Acuphis, accompanied by thirty of their
most distinguished men as envoys, to entreat Alexander to leave their city free for the sake of the god. The envoys entered
Alexander’s tent… Acuphis began thus to speak “The Nysaeans beseech thee, 0 king, out of respect for Dionysus, to allow them to
remain free and independent; for when Dionysus had subjugated the nation of the Indians, and was returning to the Grecian sea, he
founded this city from the soldiers who had become unfit for military service, and were under his inspiration as Bacchanals, so that it
might be a monument both of his wandering and of his victory to men of after times... From that time we inhabit Nysa, a free city, and
we ourselves are independent, conducting our government with constitutional order. And let this be to thee a proof that our city owes
its foundation to Dionysus; for ivy, which does not grow in the rest of the country of India, grows among us.”

CHAPTER II
Alexander at Nysa:

All this was very pleasant to Alexander to hear; for he wished that the legend about the wandering of Dionysus should be believed, as
well as that Nysa owed its foundation to that deity, since he had himself reached the place where Dionysus came, and had even
advanced beyond the limits of the latter’s march. He also thought that the Macedonians would not decline still to share his labours if
he advanced further, from a desire to surpass the achievement of Dionysus. He therefore granted the inhabitants of Nysa the privilege
of remaining free and independent; and when he heard about their laws, and that the Government was in the hands of the aristocracy,
he commended these things. … He [appointed] Acuphis…Governor of the land of Nysaea.

CHAPTER III
Incredulity of Eratosthenes - Passage of the Indus:

When Alexander arrived at the river Indus, he found a bridge made over it by Hephaestion, and two thirty-oared galleys, besides many
smaller crafts. He moreover found that 200 talents of silver, 3,000 oxen, above 10,000 sheep for sacrificial victims, and thirty
elephants had arrived as gifts from Taxiles the Indian; 700 Indian horsemen also arrived from Taxiles as a reinforcement, and that
prince sent word that he would surrender to him the city of Taxila, the largest town between the river Indus and Hydaspes. Alexander
there offered sacrifice to the gods to whom he was in the habit of sacrificing, and celebrated a gymnastic and horse contest near the
river.

CHAPTER VIII
March from the Indus to the Hydaspes:

When Alexander had crossed to the other side of the river Indus, he again offered sacrifice there, according to his custom. Then
starting from the Indus, he arrived at Taxila, a large and prosperous city, in fact the largest of those situated between the rivers Indus
and Hydaspes. He was received in a friendly manner by Taxiles, the governor of the city, and by the Indians of that place; and he
added to their territory as much of the adjacent country as they asked for. Thither also came to him envoys from Abisares, king of the
mountaineer Indians, the embassy including the brother of Abisares as well as the other most notable men. Other envoys also came
from Doxares, the chief of the province, bringing gifts with them. Here again at Taxila Alexander offered the sacrifices which were
customary for him to offer, and celebrated a gymnastic and equestrian contest. Having appointed Philip, son of Machatas, viceroy of
the Indians of that district, he left a garrison in Taxila, as well as the soldiers who were invalided by sickness, and then marched
towards the river Hydaspes. For he was informed that Porus, with the whole of his army, was on the other side of river, having
determined either to prevent him from making the passage, or to attack him while crossing... Alexander took the forces which he had
when he arrived at Taxila, and the 5,000 Indians under the command of Taxiles and the chiefs of that district, and marched towards
the same river.

CHAPTER IX
Porus obstructs Alexander’s passage:

Alexander encamped on the bank of the Hydaspes, and Porus was seen with all his army and his large troops of elephants lining the
opposite bank. He remained to guard the passage at the place where he saw Alexander had encamped; and sent guards to all the
other parts of the river which were more easily fordable, placing officers over each detachment, being resolved to obstruct the
passage of the Macedonians. When Alexander saw this, he thought it advisable to move his army in various directions, to distract the
attention of Porus, and render him uncertain what to do… Porus was not allowed to keep at rest, or to bring his preparations together
from all sides to any one point if he selected this as suitable for the defence of the passage…

CHAPTER XI
Alexander’s stratagem to get across:

There was in the bank of the Hydaspes, a projecting point, where the river makes a remarkable bend. It was densely covered by a
grove of all sorts of trees; and over against it in the river was a woody island without a foot-track on account of its being uninhabited.
Perceiving that this island was right in front of the projecting point, and that both the spots were woody and adapted to conceal his
attempt to cross the river, he resolved to convey his army over at this place…. He gave Craterus orders not to cross the river before
Porus moved off with his forces against them, or before he ascertained that Porus was in flight and that they were victorious. “If
however,” said he, ‘Porus should take only a part of his army and march against me, and leave the other part with the elephants in his
camp, in that case do thou also remain in thy present position. But if he leads all his elephants with him against me, and a part of the
rest of his army is left behind in the camp, then do thou cross the river with all speed. For it is the elephants alone,” said he, “which
render it impossible for the horses to land on the other bank. The rest of the army can easily cross.”

CHAPTER XI
Passage of the Hydaspes:

[Alexander] …made a secret march keeping far away from the bank of the river, in order not to be seen marching towards the island
and headland, from which he had determined to cross… In the night a furious storm of rain occurred, on account of which his
preparations and attempt to cross were still less observed, since the claps of thunder and the storm drowned with their din the clatter
of the weapons and the noise which arose from the orders given by the officers…. At the approach of day light, both the wind and the
rain calmed down; and the rest of the army crossed over in the direction of the island… They went so secretly that they were not
observed by the sentinels posted by Porus, before they had already got beyond the island and were only a little way from the other
bank.

CHAPTER XV
Arrangement of Porus:
…. Porus…preferred to march against Alexander himself with all his army, and to come into a decisive conflict with the strongest
division of the Macedonians, commanded by the king in person. But nevertheless he left a few of the elephants together with a small
army there at the camp to frighten the cavalry under Craterus from the bank of the river. He then took all his cavalry to the number of
4,000 men, all his chariots to the number of 300 with 200 of his elephants, and all the infantry available to the number of 30,000, and
marched against Alexander. When he found a place where he saw there was no clay, but that on account of the sand the ground was
all level and hard, and thus fit for the advance and retreat of horses, he there drew up his army…

CHAPTER XVIII
Losses of the Combatants - Porus Surrenders:

… Of the Indians little short of 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry were killed in this battle. All their chariots were broken to pieces;
and two sons of Porus were slain, as were also Spitaces, the governor of the Indians of that district, the managers of the elephants and
of the chariots and all the cavalry officers and generals of Porus’ army. All the elephants which were not killed there were captured. Of
Alexander’s forces, about 80 of the 6,000 foot-soldiers who were engaged in the first attack were killed; 10 of the horse-archers, who
were also the first to engage in the action; about 20 of the Companion cavalry, and about 200 of the other horsemen fell. When Porus,
who exhibited great talent in the battle, performing the deeds not only of a general but also of a valiant soldier, observed the
slaughter of his cavalry,…he did not depart as Darius the Great King did,…but as long as any body of Indians remained compact in the
battle, he kept up the struggle. But at last, having received a wound on the right shoulder, which part of his body alone was
unprotected during the battle, he wheeled round… Alexander, having seen that he was a great man and valiant in the battle, was very
desirous of saving his life. He accordingly sent first to him Taxiles the Indian;… he kept on sending others in succession; and last of all
Meroes…

CHAPTER XIX
Alliance with Porus - Death of Bucephalus:

When Alexander heard that Meroes was bringing Porus to him, he rode in front of the line with a few of the Companions to meet
Porus; and stopping his horse, he admired his handsome figure and his stature, which reached somewhat above five cubits. He was
also surprised that he did not seem to be cowed in spirit, but advanced to meet him as one brave man would meet another brave man,
after having gallantly struggled in defence of his own kingdom against another king. Then indeed Alexander was the first to speak,
bidding him say what treatment he would like to receive. The story goes that Porus replied “Treat me, O Alexander, in a kingly way!”
Alexander, being pleased at the expression, said: “For my own sake, 0 Porus, thou shall be thus treated; but for thy own sake do thou
demand what is pleasing to thee!” But Porus said that everything was included in that. Alexander, being still more pleased at this
remark, not only granted him the rule over his own Indians, but also added another country to that which he had before, of larger
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extent than the former. Thus he treated the brave man in a kingly way, and from that time found him faithful in all things.

CHAPTER XXV
The Army Refuses to Advance - Alexander’s speech to the officers:

It was reported that the country beyond the river Hyphasis was fertile, and that the men were good agriculturists, and gallant in war;
and that they conducted their own political affairs in a regular and constitutional manner. For the multitude was ruled by the
aristocrac y, who governed in no respect contrary to the rules of moderation. It was stated that the men of that district possessed a
much greater number of elephants than the other Indians, and that they were men of very great stature, and excelled in valour. These
reports excited in Alexander an ardent desire to advance farther; but the spirit of the Macedonians now began to flag, when they saw
the king raising one labour after another, and incurring one danger after another. Conferences were held throughout the camp… [in
which the soldiers] resolutely declared that they would not follow Alexander any farther, even if he should lead the way. When he
heard of this, before the disorder and pusillanimity of the soldiers should advance to a greater degree, he called a council of the
officers of the brigades and addressed them as follows. “O Macedonians and Grecian allies, seeing that you no longer follow me into
dangerous enterprises with a resolution equal to that which formerly animated you, I have collected you together into the same spot,
so that I may be persuaded by you to return. If indeed the labours which you have already undergone up to our present position seem
to you worthy of disapprobation, and if you did not approve of my leading you into them, there can be no advantages in my speaking
any further. But if, as the result of these labours, you hold possession of Ionia, the Hellespont, both the Phrygias, Cappadocia,
Paphlagonia, Lydia, Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia, Phoenicia, Egypt together with Grecian Libya, as well as part of Arabia, Hollow Syria,
Syria between the rivers, Babylon, the nation of the Susians, Persia, Media, besides all the nations which the Persians and the Medes
ruled, and many of those which they did not rule, the land beyond the Caspian Gates, the country beyond the Caucasus, the Tanias, as
well as the land beyond that river, Bactria, Hyrcania, and the Hyrcanian Sea; if we have also subdued the Scythians as far as the
desert; if, in addition to these, the river Indus flows through our territory, as do also the Hydaspes, the Acesines, and the Hydraotes,
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why do ye shrink from adding the Hyphasis also, and the nations beyond this river, to your empire of Macedonia? Do ye fear that
your advance will be stopped in the future by any other barbarians? Of whom some submit to us of their own accord, and others are
captured in the act of fleeing, while others, succeeding in their efforts to escape, hand over to us their deserted land, which we add to
that of our allies, or to that of those who have voluntarily submitted to us.

CHAPTER XXVI

Alexander’s speech (continued):

“I, for my part, think, that to a brave man there is no end to labours except the labours themselves, provided they lead to glorious
achievements… But, if we now return, many warlike nations are left unconquered beyond the Hyphasis as far as the Eastern Sea, and
many besides between these and Hyrcania in the direction of the north wind, and not far from these the Scythian races. Wherefore, if
we go back, there is reason to fear that the races which are not held in subjection, not being firm in their allegiance, may be excited to
revolt by those who are not yet subdued. Then our many labours will prove to have been in vain; or it will be necessary for us to incur
over again fresh labours and dangers, as at the beginning…”

CHAPTER XXVII
The answer of Coenus:

When Alexander had uttered these remarks, and others in the same strain, a long silence ensued, for the auditors neither had the
audacity to speak in opposition to the king without constraint, nor did they wish to acquiesce in his proposal. Hereupon, he repeatedly
urged any one, who wished it, to speak, if he entertained different views from those which he had himself expressed…. at last, Coenus,
son of Polemocrates, plucked up courage and spoke as follows:- ‘0 king, inasmuch as thou dost not wish to rule Macedonians by
compulsion, but sayest thou wilt lead them by persuasion, or yielding to their persuasion wilt not use violence towards them, I am
going to make a speech, not on my own behalf and that of my colleagues here present, who are held in greater honour than the other
soldiers… but I am going to speak on behalf of the bulk of the army. On behalf of this army I am not going to say what may be
gratifying to the men, but what I consider to be both advantageous to thee at present, and safest for the future. I feel it incumbent
upon me not to conceal what I think the best course to pursue, both on account of my age, the honour paid to me by the rest of the
army at thy behest, and the boldness which I have without any hesitation displayed up to the present time in incurring dangers and
undergoing labours. The more numerous and great the exploits have been, which have been achieved by thee as our commander, and
by those who started from home with thee, the more advantageous does it seem to me that some end should be put to our labours and
dangers. For thou thyself seest how many Macedonians and Greeks started with thee, and how few of us have been left. Of our
number thou didst well in sending back home the Thessalians at once from Bactra, because thou didst perceive that they were no
longer eager to undergo labours. Of the other Greeks, some have been settled as colonists in the cities which thou hast founded;
where they remain, not indeed all of them of their own free will. The Macedonian soldiers and the other Greeks who still continued to
share our labours and dangers, have either perished in the battles, become unfit for war on account of their wounds, or been left
behind in the different parts of Asia. The majority, however, have perished from disease, so that few are left out of many; and these
few are no longer equally vigorous in body; while in spirit they are much more exhausted... Do not lead us now against our will; for
thou wilt no longer find us the same men in regard to dangers, since free-will will be wanting to us in the contests. But, rather, if it
seems good to thee, return of thy own accord to thy own land, see thy mother, regulate the affairs of the Greeks, and carry to the
home of thy fathers these victories, so many and great... Self-control in the midst of success is the noblest of all virtues, 0 king! For
thou hast nothing to fear from enemies, while thou art commanding and leading such an army as this, but the visitations of the deity
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are unexpected, and consequently men can take no precautions against them.”

 CHAPTER — 6
ARRIAN - INDIKA

Besides the Anabasis of Alexander, written in the Attic dialect, Arrian wrote a work on India in the Ionic dialect. Scholars believe he
wished his work to supersede the older and less accurate account by Ktesias of Knidos, which was written in Ionic. The Indika
comprises three parts:- a general description of India based mainly on accounts by M egasthenes and Eratosthenes (chaps. i.—xvii.);
an account of Nearchus’ voyage from the Indus to the Pasitigris based entirely on the latters’ own narrative (chaps. xviii.—xlii); and a
collection of proofs to show that the southern parts of the world are uninhabitable on account of the great heat (chap. xliii to the end).
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Our selections are based upon what would be of interest to the contemporary reader.

General description of India:

II. Now the countries which lie to the east of the Indus I take to be India Proper, and the people who inhabit them to be Indians. The
northern boundaries of India so defined are formed by Mount Taurus, though the range does not retain that name in these parts.
Taurus begins from the sea which washes the coasts of Pamphylia, Lycia, and Cilicia, and stretches away towards the Eastern Sea,
intersecting the whole continent of Asia. The range bears different names in the different countries which it traverses. In one place it
is called Parapamisos, in another Emodos, and in a third Imaos, and it has perhaps other names besides. The Macedonians, again, who
served with Alexander called it Caucasus, - this being another Caucasus and distinct from the Scythian (also Skythian) so that the
story went that Alexander penetrated to the regions beyond Caucasus.

On the west the boundaries of India are marked by the river Indus all the way to the great ocean into which it pours its waters, which
it does by two mouths. These mouths are not close to each other, like the five mouths of the Ister (Danube), but diverge like those of
the Nile, by which the Egyptian delta is formed. The Indus in like manner makes an Indian delta, which is not inferior in area to the
Egyptian, and is called in the Indian tongue Pattala.

On the south-west, again, and on the south, India is bounded by the great ocean just mentioned, which also forms its boundary on the
east. The parts toward the south about Pattala and the river Indus were seen by Alexander and many of the Greeks, but in an eastern
direction Alexander did not penetrate beyond the river Hyphasis, though a few authors have described the country as far as the river
Ganges and the parts near its mouths and the city of Palimbothra, which is the greatest in India, and situated near the Ganges.

Arrian discusses the implausible dimensions of India given by Greek writers, the confusion about whether her length is
from north to south and breadth from east to west, or vice versa, and the great rivers:

III. … But, whatever be its dimensions, the rivers of India are certainly the largest to be found in all Asia. The mightiest are the
Ganges and the Indus, from which the country receives its name. Both are greater than the Egyptian Nile and the Scythian Ister even
if their streams were united into one.

Indians do not invade other nations:

V. [Megasthenes] asserts that there are eight-and-fifty Indian rivers which are all of them navigable. But even Megasthenes so far as
appears, did not travel over much of India, though no doubt he saw more of it than those who came with Alexander the son of Philip,
for, as he tells us, he resided at the court of Sandracottus, the greatest king in India, and also at the court of Porus, who was still
greater than he. This same Megasthenes then informs us that the Indians neither invade other men, nor do other men invade the
Indians for Sesostris the Egyptian, after having overrun the greater part of Asia, and advanced with his army as far as Europe,
returned home; and Idanthyrsos the Skythian issuing from Skythia, subdued many nations of Asia, and carried his victorious arms
even to the borders of Egypt; and Semiramis, again, the Assyrian queen, took in hand an expedition against India, but died before she
could execute her design; and thus Alexander was the only conqueror who actually invaded the country.

Indian monsoon, river creatures, physical features:

VI. … Rain falls in India during the summer, especially on the mountains Parapamisos and Emodos and the range of Imaos, and the
rivers which issue from these are large and muddy. Rain during the same season falls also on the plains of India, so that much of the
country is submerged: and indeed the army of Alexander was obliged at the time of midsummer to retreat in haste from the Acesines,
because its waters overflowed the adjacent plain… the Indian rivers, like the Nile in Ethiopia and Egypt, breed crocodiles, while some
of them have fish and monstrous creatures such as are found in the Nile, with the exception only of the hippopotamus, though
Onesikritus asserts that they breed this animal also. With regard to the inhabitants, there is no great difference in type of figure
between the Indians and the Ethiopians, though the Indians, no doubt, who live in the south-west bear a somewhat closer
resemblance to the Ethiopians, being of black complexion and black-haired, though they are not so snub-nosed nor have the hair so
curly; while the Indians who live further to the north are in person like the Egyptians.

On pearl mining:

VIII. Megasthenes informs us that the oyster which yields this pearl is there fished for with nets, and that in these same parts the
oysters live in the sea in shoals like bee-swarms: for oysters, like bees, have a king or a queen, and if any one is lucky enough to catch
the king he readily encloses in the net all the rest of the shoal, but if the king makes his escape there is no chance that the others can
be caught. The fishermen allow the fleshy parts of such as they catch to rot away, and keep the bone, which forms the ornament: for
the pearl in India is worth thrice its weight in refined gold, gold being a product of the Indian mines.

Alexander only conqueror of India; Indians do not conquer out of sense of justice:

IX. …From the time of Dionysus to Sandracottus the Indians counted 153 kings and a period of 6042 years, but among these a
republic was thrice established * * * * and another to 300 years, and another to 120 years. The Indians also tell us that Dionysus was
earlier than Heracles by fifteen generations, and that except him no one made a hostile invasion of India, even Cyrus the son of
Cambyses, although he undertook an expedition against the Scythians, and otherwise showed himself the most enterprising monarch
in all Asia; but that Alexander indeed came and overthrew in war all whom he attacked, and would even have conquered the whole
world had his army been willing to follow him. On the other hand, a sense of justice, they say, prevented any Indian king from
attempting conquest beyond the limits of India.

Indians remember the dead in deeds; cities of India, especially Pataliputra (Patna):

X. It is further said that the Indians do not rear monuments to the dead, but consider the virtues which men have displayed in life, and
the songs in which their praises are celebrated, sufficient to preserve their memory after death. But of their cities it is said that the
number is so great that it cannot be stated with precision, but that such cities as are situated on the banks of rivers or on the sea-
coast are built of wood, for were they built of brick they would not last long – so destructive are the rains, and also the rivers when
they overflow their banks and inundate the plains; those cities, however, which stand on commanding situations and lofty eminences
are built of brick and mud. The greatest city in India is that which is called Palimbothra, in the dominions of the Prasians, where the
streams of the Erannoboas and the Ganges unite – the Ganges being the greatest of all rivers, and the Erannoboas being perhaps the
third largest of Indian rivers, though greater than the greatest rivers elsewhere; but it is smaller than the Ganges where it falls into it.
Megasthenes says further of this city that the inhabited part of it stretched on either side to an extreme length of eighty stadia, and
that its breadth was fifteen stadia, and that a ditch encompassed it all round, which was six plethra in breadth and thirty cubits in
depth, and that the wall was crowned with five hundred and seventy towers and had four-and-sixty gates. The same writer tells us
further this remarkable fact about India, that all the Indians are free, and not one of them is a slave. The Lakedaimonians, however,
hold the Helots as slaves, and these Helots do servile labour; but the Indians do not even use aliens as slaves, and much less a
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countryman of their own.

Tigers, parrots, apes, snakes:

XV. But the tiger the Indians regard as a much more powerful animal than the elephant. Nearchus tells us that he had seen the skin of
a tiger, though the tiger itself he had not seen. The Indians, however, informed him that the tiger equals in size the largest horse, but
that for swiftness and strength no other animal can be compared with it: for that the tiger, when it encounters the elephant, leaps up
upon the head of the elephant and stran gles it with ease; but that those animals which we ourselves see and call tiger are but jackals
with spotted skins and larger than other jackals. …

But about parrots Nearchus writes as if they were a new curiosity, and tells us that they are indigenous to India, and what-like they
are, and that they speak with a human voice; but since I have myself seen many parrots, and know others who are acquainted with the
bird, I will say nothing about it as if it were still unfamiliar. Nor will I say aught of the apes, either touching their size, or the beauty
which distinguishes them in India, or the mode in which they are hunted, for I should only be stating what is well known, except
perhaps the fact that they are beautiful.

Regarding snakes, too, Nearchus tells us that they are caught in the country, being spotted, and nimble in their movements, and that
one which Peitho the son of Antigenes caught measured about sixteen cubits, though the Indians allege that the largest snakes are
much larger. But no cure of the bite of the Indian snake has been found out by any of the Greek physicians, though the Indians, it is
certain, can cure those who have been bitten. And Nearchus adds this, that Alexander had all the most skilful of the Indians in the
healing art collected around him, and had caused proclamation to be made throughout the camp that if any one were bitten he should
repair to the royal tent; but these very same men were able to cure other diseases and pains also. With many bodily pains, however,
the Indians are not afflicted, because in their country the seasons are genial. In the case of an attack of severe pain they consult the
sophists, and these seemed to cure whatever diseases could be cured not without divine help.

Cotton clothing, jewellery, dyes, footwear, and war weapons:

XVI. The dress worn by the Indians is made of cotton, as Nearchus tells us, cotton produced from those trees of which mention has
already been made. But this cotton is either of a brighter white colour than any cotton found elsewhere, or the darkness of the Indian
complexion makes their apparel look so much the whiter. They wear an under-garment of cotton which reaches below the knee
halfway down to the ankles, and also an upper garment which they throw partly over their shoulders and partly twist in folds round
their head. The Indians wear also earrings of ivory, but only such of them do this as are very wealthy, for all Indians do not wear them.
Their beards, Nearchus tells us, they dye of one hue and another, according to taste. Some dye their white beards to make them look
as white as possible, but others dye them blue; while some again prefer a red tint, some a purple, and others a rank green. Such
Indians, he also says, as are thought anything of, use parasols as a screen from the heat. They wear shoes made of white leather, and
these are elaborately trimmed, while the soles are variegated, and made of great thickness, to make the wearer seem so much the
taller.

I proceed now to describe the mode in which the Indians equip themselves for war, premising that it is not to be regarded as the only
one in vogue. The foot-soldiers carry a bow made of equal length with the man who bears it. This they rest upon the ground, and
pressing against it with their left foot thus discharge the arrow, having drawn the string far backwards: for the shaft they use is little
short of being three yards long, and there is nothing which can resist an Indian archer’s shot - neither shield nor breastplate, nor any
stronger defence if such there be. In their left hand they carry bucklers made of undressed ox-hide, which are not so broad as those
who carry them, but are about as long. Some are equipped with javelins instead of bows, but all wear a sword, which is broad in the
blade, but not longer than three cubits; and this, when they engage in close fight (which they do with reluctance), they wield with
both hands, to fetch down a lustier blow. The horsemen are equipped with two lances like the lances called saunia, and with a shorter
buckler than that carried by the foot-soldiers. But they do not put saddles on their horses, nor do they curb them with bits like the bits
in use among the Greeks or the Celts, but they fit on round the extremity of the horse’s mouth a circular piece of stitched raw ox-hide
studded with pricks of iron or brass pointing inwards, but not very sharp: if a man is rich he uses pricks made of ivory. Within the
horse’s mouth is put an iron prong like a skewer, to which the reins are attached. When the rider, then, pulls the reins, the prong
controls the horse, and the pricks which are attached to this prong goad the mouth, so that it cannot but obey the reins.

Importance of elephants for social status, absence of dowry in marriage:

XVII. The Indians are in person slender and tall, and of much lighter weight than other men. The animals used by the common sort for
riding on are camels and horses and asses, while the wealthy use elephants, - for it is the elephant which in India carries royalty. The
conveyance which ranks next in honour is the chariot and four; the camel ranks third; while to be drawn by a single horse is
considered no distinction at all. But Indian women, if possessed of uncommon discretion, would not stray from virtue for any reward
short of an elephant, but on receiving this a lady lets the giver enjoy her person. Nor do the Indians consider it any disgrace to a
woman to grant her favours for an elephant, but it is rather regarded as a high compliment to the sex that their charms should be
deemed worth an elephant. They marry without either giving or taking dowries, but the women, as soon as they are marriageable, are
brought forward by their fathers and exposed in public, to be selected by the victor in wrestling or boxing or running, or by some one
who excels in any other manly exercise. The people of India live upon grain, and are tillers of the soil; but we must except the hillmen,
who eat the flesh of beasts of chase.

It is sufficient for me to have set forth these facts regarding the Indians, which, as the best known, both Nearchus and Megasthenes,
two men of approved character, have recorded.

 CHAPTER — 7
PERIPLUS MARIS ERYTHRAEI
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The circumnavigation, or Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, is the best account of the trade from the Red Sea and coast of Africa to the
East Indies, when Egypt was a province of the Roman empire. The Erythraean Sea included the whole ocean from the coast of Africa
to the utmost eastern boundary the n known, and was so called because the Greeks called the Red Sea straits as Erythra; it included
the Persian Gulf. Its anonymous author was a Greek merchant of the first century AD, settled at Berenike, a seaport in the southern
extremity of Egypt, from where he made commercial voyages to the seaports of Eastern Africa as far as Azania, to Arabia as far as
Kane, and via the south-west monsoon to the western shores of India. He penned his carefully acquired knowledge about the
navigation and commerce of these coastlines for the benefit of other merchants. The accuracy and utility of the information makes it a
valuable source about the marts of ancient India [Translated from the text as given in the Geographi Graeci Minores, ed. C. Muller:
Paris, 1855].

II. ARTICLES OF COMMERCE MENTIONED IN THE PERIPLUS

Animal Products:

1. Butter, or the Indian preparation therefrom called ghi, a product of Ariake (41); exported from Barugaza (Gulf of Khambhat ) to the
Barbarine markets beyond the Straits (14).

2. Chinese hides or furs. Exported from Barbarikon, a mart on the Indus (39).

6. Coral. (Sans. pravala, Hindi munga.) Imported into Kane (28), Barbarikon on the Indus (39), Barugaza (49), and Naoura, Tundis,
Mouziris, and Nelkunda (56).

7. Coloured lac. Exported to Adouli from Ariake (6). The Sanskrit word is laksha, which is probably a later form of raksha, connected,
as Lassen thinks, with raga, from the root ranj, to dye. The vulgar form is lakkha. Gum-lac is a substance produced on the leaves and
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branches of certain trees by an insect, both as a covering for its egg and food for its young. It yields a fine red dye.

8. Pearl. (Sans. mukta, Hindi, moti) Exported in considerable quantity and of superior quality from Mouziris and Nelkunda (56).

9. Silk thread. From the country of the Thinai: imported into Barugaza and the marts of Dimurike (64). Exported from Barugaza (49),
and also from Barbarikon on the Indus (39).

III. PLANTS AND THEIR PRODUCTS

1. The aloe (Sans. agaru). Exported from Kane (28). The sort referred to is probably the bitter cathartic, not the aromatic sort
supposed by some to be the sandalwood. It grows abundantly in Sokotra, and it was no doubt exported thence to Kane.

4. Bdella, Bdellium, produced on the sea-coast of Gedrosia (37); exported from Barbarikon on the Indus (39); brought from the interior
157
of India to Barugaza (48) for foreign export (49). Bdella is the gum of the Balsamodendron Mukul, a tree growing in Sind, Kathiavad
and the Disa district.

10. Indigo (Sans. nili). Exported from Skythic Barbarikon (39). It appears pretty certain that the culture of the indigo plants and the
preparation of the drug have been practiced in India from a very remote epoch. It has been questioned, indeed, whether the Indicum
mentioned by Pliny (xxxv.6) was indigo, but, as it would seem, without any good reason. He states that it was brought from India, and
that when diluted it produced a n admirable mixture of blue and purple colours… The dye was introduced into Rome only a little
before Pliny’s time.

12. Karpasus (Sans. karpasa; Heb. karpas), Gossypium arboreum, fine muslin – a product of Ariake (41).

13. (Sans. kuta, Heb. kiddah and keziah). Exported from Tabai (12); a coarse kind exported from Malao and Moundou (8, 9); a vast
quantity exported from Mossulon and Opone (10, 13). “This spice,” says Vincent, “is mentioned frequently in the Periplus, and with
various additions, intended to specify the different sorts, properties, or appearances of the commodity. It is a species of cinnamon, and
manifestly the same as what we call cinnamon at this day; but different from that of the Greeks and Romans, which was not a bark,
nor rolled up into pipes, like ours. Theirs was the tender shoot of the same plant, and of much higher value.”

15. Kostus (Sans. kushta, Mar. choka, Guj. katha and pushkara mula). Exported from Barbarikon, a mart on the Indus (39), and from
Barugaza, which procured it from Kabul through Proklais, &c. This was considered the best of aromatic roots, as nard or spikenard
was the best of aromatic plants. Pliny (xii.25) describes this root as hot to the taste and of consummate fragrance, noting that it was
found at the head of Patalene, where the Indus bifurcates to form the delta, and that it was of two sorts, black and white, black being
of an inferior quality. Lassen states that two kinds are found in India – one in Multan, and the other in Kabul and Kasmir.

20. Lycium. Exported from Barbarikon in Indo-Skythia (39), and from Barugaza (49). Lycium is a thorny plant, so called from being
found in Lykia principally. Its juice was used for dyeing yellow, and a liquor drawn from it was used as medicine. It was held in great
esteem by the ancients. Pliny (xxiv. 77) says that a superior kind of Lycium produced in India was made from a thorn called also
Pyxacanthus (box-thorn) Chironia. It is known in India as Ruzot, an extract of the Berberis lyceum and B. aristata, both grown on the
Himalayas.

22. Macer. Exported from Malao and Moundou (8, 9). According to Pliny, Dioskorides, and others, it is an Indian bark – perhaps a kind
of cassia. The bark is red and the root large. The bark was used as a medicine in dysenteries (Pliny xii. 8).

23. Malabathrum, Betel, (Sans. tamalapattra, leaf of the Laurus Cassia), obtained by the Thinai from the Sesatai and exported to India
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(65); conveyed down the Ganges to Gange near its mouth (63); conveyed from the interior of India to Mouziris and Nelkunda for
export (56)… Malabathrum was not only a masticatory, but also an unguent or perfume… From Ptolemy (VII. ii. 16) we learn that the
best Malabathrum was produced in Kirrhadia – that is, Rangpur. Dioskorides speaks of it as a masticatory, and was aware of the
confusion caused by mistaking the nard for the betel.

24. (Sans. sarkara, Prakrit sakara, Arab, sukkar, Latin saccharum) – Honey from canes, called S ugar. Exported from Barugaza to the
marts of Barbaria (14). The first Western writer who mentions this article was Theophrastos, who continued the labours of Aristotle in
natural history. He called it a sort of honey extracted from reeds. Strabo states, on the authority of Nearkhos, that reeds in India yield
honey without bees. Aelian (Hist. Anim.) speaks of a kind of honey pressed from reeds which grew among the Prasii. Seneca (Epist.84)
speaks of sugar as a kind of honey found in India on the leaves of reeds, which had either been dropped on them from the sky as dew,
or had exuded from the reeds themselves. This was a prevalent error in ancient times, e.g. Dioskorides says that sugar is a sort of
concreted honey found upon canes in India and Arabia Felix, and Pliny that it is collected from canes like a gum. He describes it as
white and brittle between the teeth, of the size of a hazel-nut at most, and used in medicine only. So also Lucan, alluding to the
Indians near the Ganges, says that they quaff sweet juices from tender reeds. Sugar, however, as is well known, must be extracted by
art from the plant. It has been conjectured that the sugar described by Pliny and Dioskorides was sugar candy obtained from China.
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29. (Sans. nalada, ‘kaskas,’ Heb. nerd) Nard, Spikenard. Gangetic spikenard brought down the Ganges to Gange, near its mouth
(63), and forwarded thence to Mouziris and Nelkunda (56). Spikenard produced in the regions of the Upper Indus and in Indo-Skythia
forwarded through Ozene (Ujjain) to Barugaza and Barbarikon in Indo-Skythia (49, 39).

The Nardos is a plant called (from its root being shaped like an ear of corn)… Latin Spica nardi, whence ‘spikenard.’ It belongs to the
species Valeriana.

31. Muslin. Seric muslin sent from the Thinai to Barugaza and Dim urike (64). Coarse cottons produced in great quantity in Ariake,
carried down from Ozene to Barugaza (48); large supplies sent thither from Tagara also (51); Indian muslins exported from the
markets of Dimurike to Egypt (56). Muslins of every description, Seric and dyed of a mallow colour, exported from Barugaza to Egypt
(49); Indian muslin taken to the island of Dioskorides (31); wide Indian muslin called monakhe, I.E. of the best and finest sort; and
another sort…ie. coarse cotton unfit for spinning, and used for stuffing beds, cushions, &c., exported from Barugaza to the Barbarine
markets (14), and to Arabia, whence it was exported to Adouli (6).

35. (Sansk. pippali,) long pepper. Kottonarik pepper exported in large quantities from Mouziris and Nelkunda (56); long pepper from
Barugaza (49). Kottonara was the name of the district, and Kottonarikon the name of the pepper for which the district was famous. Dr.
Buchanan identifies Kottonara with Kadatta-Nadu, a district in the Calicut country celebrated for its pepper. Dr. Burnell, however,
identifies it with Kolatta-Nadu, the district about Tellicherry, which, he says, is the pepper district.

41. The finest Bengal muslins exported from the Ganges (63); other muslins in Taprobane (61);… muslins of all sorts and mallow-tinted
sent from Ozene to Barugaza (48), exported thence to Arabia for the supply of the market at Adouli (6).

IV. METALS AND METALLIC ARTICLES

4. Kaltis. A gold coin current in the district of the Lower Ganges (63); Benfey thinks the word is connected with the Sanskrit kalita,
I.E. numeratum.

8. …Indian iron and sword-blades exported to Adouli from Arabia (Ariake?)… The Arabian poets celebrate swords made of Indian
steel. … Indian iron is mentioned in the Pandects as an article of commerce.

V. STONES
1. Gems (carbuncles?) found in Taprobane (63); exported in every variety from Mouziris and Nelkunda (56).

2. Diamonds. (Sans. vajra, piraka). Exported from Mouziris and Nelkunda (56).

3. Gold-stone, yellow crystal, chrysolith? Exported from Barbarikon in Indo-Skythia (39). It is not a settled point what stone is meant.
Lassen says that the Sanskrit word kalyana means gold, and would therefore identify it with the chrysolith or gold-stone…..

5. Onyx (akika – agate). Sent in vast quantities from Ozene and Paithana to Barugaza (48, 51), and thence exported to Egypt (49).

6. Fluor-spath. Sent from Ozene to Barugaza, and exported to Egypt (49). Porcelain made at Diospolis exported from Egypt to Adouli
(6).

The reading of the MS….is to be understood vitrum murrhinum, a sort of china or porcelain made in imitation of cups or vases of
murrha, a precious fossil-stone resembling, if not identical with, fluor-spath, such as is found in Derbyshire. Vessels of this stone were
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exported from India, and also, as we learn from Pliny, from Karmania, to the Roman market, where they fetched extravagant prices.

8. The sapphire. Exported from Barbarikon in Indo-Skythia (39). “The ancients distinguished two sorts of dark blue or purple, one of
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which was spotted with gold.”

9. Hyacinth or Jacinth. Exported from Mouziris and Nelkunda (56). According to Salmasius this is the Ruby. In Solinus xxx. it would
seem to be the Amethyst (Sans. pushkaraja).

10. Glass of a coarse kind. Exported from Egypt to Barugaza (49), to Mouziris and Nelkunda (56). Vessels of glass exported from
Egypt to Barbarikon in Indo-Skythia (39). Crystal of many sorts exported from Egypt to Adouli, Aualities, Mossulon (6,7,10); from
Mouza to Azania (17).

11. Chrysolite. Exported from Egypt to B arbarikon in Indo-Skythia (39), to Barugaza (43), to Mouziris and Nelkunda (56). Some take
this to be the topaz (Hind. piroja).

ANONYMI [ARRIANI UT FERTUR] PERIPLUS MARIS ERYTHRAEI

41. To the gulf of Barake succeeds that of Barugaza and the mainland of Ariake, a district which forms the frontier of the kingdom of
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Mombaros and of all India. The interior part of it which borders on Skythia is called Aberia, and its sea-board Surastrene. It is a
region which produces abundantly corn and rice and the oil of sesamum, butter, muslins and the coarser fabrics which are
manufactured from Indian cotton. It has also numerous herds of cattle. The natives are men of large stature and coloured black. The
metropolis of the district is Minnagar, from which cotton cloth is exported in great quantity to Barugaza. In this part of the country
there are preserved even to this very day memorials of the expedition of Alexander, old temples, foundations of camps, and large
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wells. The extent of this coast, reckoned from Barbarikon to the promontory called Papike, near Astakapra, which is opposite
Barugaza, is 3,000 stadia.

42. After Papike there is another gulf, exposed to the violence of the waves and running up to the north. Near its mouth is an island
called Baiones, and at its very head it receives a vast river called the Mais. Those bound for Barugaza sail up this gulf (which has a
breadth of about 300 stadia), leaving the island on the left till it is scarcely visible in the horizon, when they shape their course east
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for the mouth of the river that leads to Barugaza. This is called the Namnadios.

43. The passage into the gulf of Barugaza is narrow and difficult to access to those approaching it from the sea, for they are carried
either to the right or to the left, the left being the better passage of the two. On the right, at the very entrance of the gulf, lies a
narrow stripe of shoal, rough and beset with rocks. It is called Herone, and lies in front of Astakapra, where it is difficult to anchor,
from the strength of the current and because the cables are cut through by the sharp rocks at the bottom. But even if the passage into
the gulf is secured the mouth of the Barugaza river is not easy to hit, since the coast is low and there are no certain marks to be seen
until you are close upon them. Neither, if it is discovered, it is easy to enter, from the presence of shoals at the mouth of the river.

44. For this reason native fishermen appointed by Government are stationed with well-manned long boats called trappaga and
kotumba at the entrance of the river, whence they go out as far as Surastrene to meet ships, and pilot them up to Barugaza…

45. India has everywhere a great abundance of rivers, and her seas ebb and flow with tides of extraordinary strength, which increase
with the moon, both when new and when full, and for three days after each, but fall off in the intermediate space. About Barugaza
they are more violent than elsewhere; so that all of a sudden you see the depths laid bare, and portions of the land turned into sea,
and the sea, where ships were sailing but just before, turned without warning into dry land…

46. This is the reason why ships frequenting this emporium are exposed, both in coming and going, to great risk, if handled by those
who are unacquainted with the navigation of the gulf or visit it for the first time, since the impetuosity of the tide when it becomes
full, having nothing to stem or slacken it, is such that anchors cannot hold against it…

48. In the same region eastward is a city called Ozene, formerly the capital wherein the king resided. From it there is brought down to
Barugaza every commodity for the supply of the country and for export to our own markets – onyx-stones, porcelain, fine muslins,
mallow-coloured muslins, and no small quantity of ordinary cottons. At the same time there is brought down to it from the upper
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country by way of Proklais, for transmission to the coast, Kattybournine, Patropapigic, and Kabalitic spikenard, and another kind
which reaches it by way of the adjacent province of Skythia; also kostus and bdellium.

49. The imports of Barugaza are –

• Brass or copper and Tin and Lead.

• Coral and Gold-stone or Yellow-stone.

• Cloth, plain and mixed, of all sorts.

• Variegated sashes half a yard wide.

• Storax.

• Sweet clove r, melilot.

• White glass.

• Gum Sandarach.

• (Stibium) Tincture for the eyes,

• Gold and Silver specie, yielding a profit when exchanged for native money.

• Perfumes or unguents, neither costly nor in great quantity.

In those times, moreover, there were imported as presents to the king, costly silver vases, instruments of music, handsome young
women for concubinage, superior wine, apparel, plain but costly, and the choicest unguents. The exports from this part of the country
are-

• Spikenard, costus, bdellium, ivory.

• Onyx-stones and porcelain.

• Ruzot, Box-thorn.

• Cotton of all sorts.

• Silk.

• Mallow-coloured cottons.

• Silk thread.

• Long pepper and other articles supplied from the neighbouring ports.

The proper season to set sail for Barugaza from Egypt is the month of July, or Epiphi.

50. From Barugaza the coast immediately adjoining stretches from the north directly to the south, and the country is therefore called
Dakhinabades (Deccan), because Dakhan in the language of the natives signifies south. Of this country that part which lies inland
towards the east comprises a great space of desert country, and large mountains abounding with all kinds of wild animals, leopards,
tigers, elephants, huge snakes, hyenas, and baboons of many different sorts, and is inhabited right across to the Ganges by many and
extremely populous nations.

51. Among the marts in this South Country there are two of more particular importance – Paithana, which lies south from Barugaza, a
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distance of twenty days, and Tagara, ten days east of Paithana, the greatest city in the country. Their commodities are carried down
on wagons to Barugaza along roads of extreme difficulty, - that is, from Paithana a great quantity of onyx-stone, and from Tagara
ordinary cottons in abundance, many sorts of muslins, mallow-coloured cottons, and other articles of local production brought into it
from the parts along the coast. The length of the entire voyage as far as Limurike (Damirike, Tamil country) is 700 stadia, and to reach
Aigialos you must sail very many stadia further.

52. The local marts which occur in order along the coast after Barugaza are Akabaron, Souppara, Kalliena, a city which was raised to
the rank of a regular mart in the times of the elder Saraganes (Satakarni dynasty), but after Sandanes became its master its trade was
put under the severest restrictions; for if Greek vessels, even by accident, enter its ports, a guard is put on board and they are taken
to Barugaza.

53. After Kalliena other local marts occur…

167 168
54. To the kingdom under the sway of Keprobotras Tundis is subject, a village of great note situate near the sea. Mouziris, which
pertains to the same realm, is a city at the height of prosperity, frequented as it is by ships from Ariake and Greek ships from Egypt. It
lies near a river at a distance from Tundis of 500 stadia, whether this is measured from river to river or by the length of the sea
169
voyage, and it is 20 stadia distant from the mouth of its own river. The distance of Nelkunda from Mouziris is also nearly 500 stadia,
 170
whethe r measured from river to river or by the sea voyage, but it belongs to a different kingdom, that of Pandion. It likewise is
situate near a river and at about a distance from the sea of 120 stadia.
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55. At the very mouth of this river lies another village, Bakare, to which the ships dispatched from Nelkunda come down empty and
ride at anchor off shore while taking in cargo: for the river, i t may be noted, has sunken reefs and shallows which make its navigation
difficult. The sign by which those who come hither by sea know they are nearing land is their meeting with snakes, which are here of a
black colour, not so long as those already mentioned , like serpents about the head, and with eyes the colour of blood.

56. The ships which frequent these ports are of a large size, on account of the great amount and bulkiness of the pepper and betel of
which their lading consists. The imports here are principally –

• Great quantities of specie.

• Gold-stone, Chrysolite.

• A small assortment of plain cloth.

• Flowered robes.

• Stibium, a pigment for the eyes, coral.

• White glass, copper or brass.

• Tin, lead.

• Wine but not much, but about as much as at Barugaza.

• Sandarach (sindurd).

• Arsenic (Orpiment), yellow sulphuret of arsenic.

• Corn, only for the use of the ship’s company, as the merchants do not sell it.

The following commodities are brought to it for export:

• Pepper in great quantity, produced in only one of these marts, and called the pepper of Kottonara.

• Pearls in great quantity and of superior quality.

• Ivory

• Fine silks.

• Spikenard from the Ganges.

• Betel – all brought from countries further east.

• Transparent or precious stones of all sorts.

• Diamonds.

• Jacinths.

• Tortoise-shell from the Golden Island, and another sort which is taken in the islands which lie off the coast of Limurike.

The proper season to set sail from Egypt for this part of India is about the month of July – that is, Epiphi.

57. The whole round of the voyage from Kane and Eduaimon Arabia, which we have just described, used to be performed in small
vessels which kept close to shore and followed its windings, but Hippalos was the pilot who first, by observing the bearings of the
ports and the configuration of the sea, discovered the direct course across the ocean; whence as, at the season when our own Etesians
are blowing, a periodical wind from the ocean likewise blows in the Indian Sea, this wind, which is the south-west, is, it seems, called
in these seas Hippalos [after the name of the pilot who first discovered the passage by means of it]. From the time of this discovery to
the present day, merchants who sail for India either from Kane, or, as others do, from Aromata, if Limurike be their destination, must
often change their tack, but if they are bound for Barugaza and Skythia, they are not retarded for more than three days, after which,
committing themselves to the monsoon which blows right in the direction of their course, they stand far out to sea, leaving all the
gulfs we have mentioned in the distance.
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58. After Bakare occurs the mountain called Pyrrhos (Red) towards the south, near another district of the country called Paralia
(where king Pandion owns the pearl-fisheries), and a city of the name of Kolkhoi (Gulf of Mannar). In this tract the first place met with
is called Balita, which has a good harbour and a village on its shore. Next to this is another place called Komar, where is the cape of
the same name and a haven. Those who wish to consecrate the closing part of their lives to religion come hither and bathe and engage
themselves to celibacy. This is also done by women; since it is related that the goddess (Kumari) once on a time resided at the place
and bathed. From Komarei (towards the south) the country extends as far as Kolkhoi, where the fishing for pearls is carried on.
Condemned criminals are employed in this service. King Pandion is the owner of t he fishery. To Kolkhoi succeeds another coast lying
along a gulf having a district in the interior bearing the name of Argalou. In this single place are obtained the pearls collected near
the island of Epiodoros. From it are exported the muslins called ebargareitides.

60. Among the marts and anchorages along this shore to which merchants from Limurike and the north resort, the most conspicuous
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are Kamara and Podouke (Puducherry) and Sopatma, which occur in the order in which we have named them. In these marts are
found those native vessels for coasting voyages which trade as far as Limurike, and another kind called sangara, made by fastening
together large vessels formed each of a single timber, and also others called kolandiophonta, which are of great bulk and employed for
voyages to Khruse and the Ganges. These marts import all the commodities which reach Limurike for commercial purposes, absorbing
likewise nearly every species of goods brought from Egypt, and most descriptions of all the goods exported from Limurike and
disposed of on this coast of India.

61. Near the region which succeeds, where the course of th e voyage now bends to the east, there lies out in the open sea stretching
towards the west the island now called Palaisimoundou, but by the ancients Taprobane (Sri Lanka).

62. (Returning to the coast,) not far from the three marts we have mentioned lies Masalia (Masulipatam), the seaboard of a country
extending far inland. Here immense quantities of fine muslins are manufactured. From Masalia the course of the voyage lies eastward
across a neighbouring bay to Desarene, which has the breed of elephants called Bosare. Leaving Desarene the course is northerly,
passing a variety of barbarous tribes, among which are the Kirrhadai (Kiratas), savages whose noses are flattened to the face, and
another tribe, that of the Bargusoi (of Nicobar Islands), as well as the Hippioprosopoi or Makroprosopoi (horse-faced or long-faced
men), who are reported to be cannibals.

63. After passing these the course turns again to the east, and if you sail with the ocean to your right and the coast far to your left,
you reach the Ganges and the extremity of the continent towards the east called Khruse (the Golden Khersonese). The river of this
region called the Ganges is the largest in India; it has an annual increase and decrease like the Nile, and there is on it a mart called
after it, Gange, through which passes a considerable traffic consisting of betel, the Gangetic spikenard, pearl, and the finest of all
muslins – those called the Gangetic. In this locality also there is said to be a gold mine and a gold coin called Kaltis. Near this river
there is an island of the ocean called Khruse (Golden), which lies directly under the rising sun and at the extremity of the world
towards the east. It produces the finest tortoise-shell that is found throughout the whole of the Erythraean Sea.
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64. Beyond this region, immediately under the north, where the sea terminates outwards, there lies somewhere in Thina a very
great city, - not on the coast, but in the interior of the country, called Thina, - from which silk, whether in the raw state or spun into
thread and woven into cloth, is brought by land to Barugaza through Baktria, or by the Ganges to Limurike. To penetrate into Thina is
not an easy undertaking, and but few merchants come from it, and that rarely. Its situation is under the Lesser Bear, and it is said to
be conterminous with the remotest end of Pontos, and that part of the Kaspian Sea which adjoins the Maiotic Lake, along with which it
issues by one and the same mouth into the ocean.

66. All the regions beyond this are unexplored, being difficult of access by reason of the extrem e rigour of the climate and the severe
frosts, or perhaps because such is the will of the divine power.

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India’s Trade with the Roman World: A Loan Contract on Papyrus

It is evident from the Periplus and other works that India played a pivotal role in international trade, especially with the Roman
empire and South-east Asia. The discovery of a papyrus recording a loan contract by Roman merchants at the port of Muziris on the
Malabar Coast provides valuable quantified data regarding the early maritime ‘Indo-Roman’ trade. We reproduce this brief extract in
full:

RECTO, COLUMN 2
… of your other agents and managers. And

I will weigh and give to your cameleer another twenty talents for loading up for the road inland to Koptos, and

I will convey [sc. the goods] inland through the desert under guard and under security to the public warehouse for receiving revenues
at Koptos, and

I will place [them] under your ownership and seal, or of your agents or whoever of them is present, until loading [them] abroad at the
river, and

I will load [them] abroad at the required time on the river on a boat that is sound, and

I will convey [them] downstream to the warehouse that receives the duty of one-fourth at Alexandria and I will similarly place [them]
under your ownership and seal or of your agents, assuming all expenditures for the future from now to the payment of one-fourth –
the charges for the conveyance through the desert and the charges of the boatmen and for my part of the other expenses.

With regards to their being – if, on the occurrence of the date of repayment specified in the loan agreements at Muziris, I do not then
rightfully pay off the aforementioned loan in my name – there then being to you or your agents or managers the choice and full power,
at your discretion, to carry out an execution without due notification or summons.

You will possess and own the aforementioned security and pay the duty of one-fourth, and the remaining three-fourth you will transfer
to where you wish and sell, re-hypothecate, cede to another party, as you wish,

And you will take measures for the items pledged as security in whatever way you wish, sell them for your own account at the then
prevailing market price, and deduct and include in the reckoning whatever expenses occur on account of the aforementioned loan,
with complete faith for such expenditures being extended to you and your agents or managers and there being no legal action against
us [in this regard] in any way. With respect to [your] investment, any shortfall or overage [sc. as a result of the disposal of the
security] is for my account, the debtor and mortgager….

VERSO, COLUMN 2
The abbreviation d.=drachman, m=Minas, and t.=talents (of weight when followed by m., of money when followed by d.)

1–3 Gangetic nard, 60 containers, whose value (sc. for the one-fourth customs duty payable at Alexandria), likewise, is being reckoned
at 4500 silver drachmas per container… 45t

4–10 ivory, sound condition, weighing 78t. 54 3/4 m. whose value (sc. for the one-fourth customs duty), likewise, is being reckoned on
a weight of …. 78t 43m. or, converted on the weight scale used by the one-fourth (customs duty) of 95 lbs. to the talent, =7478 lbs., of
which the amount subject to duty (of one-fourth of Alexandria), converting lbs. per talent, is a weigh of [7291 lbs.] in accordance with
the customary reckoning for merchants, or… 76t. 45 m. at 100 d. per m. ….. 76t. 4500 d.

11–15 the remainder, representing the number in tusks removed by the Arabarchs, (which number is) over and above the number
subject to duty (that will be available) for collection of the one-fourth (customs duty), which tusks are also subject to the collection of
the one-fourth (customs duty…..) 11 ¾ m. at the same rate of 100 silver d. per m. 1175 d. for a total of ….. 76t. 5675 d.

16–21 lengths of fabrics, 54 weighing…. 13 t 9 ¾ m. of which, likewise, the value of the one-fourth (customs duty) is being reckoned
on a weight of 12 t. 47m. which, as above, yields for the parcel on the weight scale used by the one-fourth (custom duty), (a weight of)
1214 lbs. but, in accordance, with the customary reckoning for merchants, a weight (for customs’ purchase) of 12 t. 27 m. at 70 silver
d. per m. …… 8t. 4290 d.

22–25 the remainder that was removed (sc. by the Arabarchs), which as above, represents as amount over and above (what will be
available) for collection of the one-fourth (customs duty) (to the amount of) 22¾ m. at the same rate of 70 silver d. per m. 1592 d. 3
ob. total for the lengths of fabric 8 t. 5882 d. 3 ob.

26 total for the value of the ivory 76 t. 5675 d.

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27–29 grand total for the 6 parcels of the cargo exported on the ship Hermapollen in silver 1154 t. 2852 d.

 CHAPTER — 8
AELIAN

Claudius Aelianus flourished in the mid-second century AD, settled in Rome and taught rhetoric in the reign of Emperor Hadrian.
He admired Greek literature and oratory and spoke Greek like a native Athenian. He authored two books, of which “On the
Peculiarities of Animals” gained recognition as a standard work on Zoology. It deals with a large number of birds and animals of India.
177
He also wrote A Collection of Misce llaneous History; a considerable portion relating to India has been translated by McCrindle.

On the prowess of Indian dogs – ability to fight lions:

Book IV. c. xix. Indian dogs must also be reckoned as wild beasts, being unmatched for prowess and courage, and being of the largest
size to be anywhere found. They regard with contempt all other animals. But with the lion the Indian dog sets himself to fight; he
sustains his onset, barks back when he roars, and bites him when he bites. The dog is in the end beaten, but not till he has sorely
harassed his antagonist and mangled him. And yet it sometimes happens that the lion is vanquished by the Indian dog and killed in the
chase. In point of fact, if the dog once clutches him he holds on like grim death. Even if one should approach and with a kn ife cut off
the leg of the dog, the pain will not reduce him to let go his grip. Rather than let go he suffers the limb to be severed, and his jaws
relax not till life is extinct. He then lies prostrate, forced only by death to abandon the fray.

Capturing and training elephants:

C. xxiv. The Indians cannot easily capture a full-grown elephant, for they will neither attempt this, nor are elephants of such an age
permitted to be caught. But the hunters repair to the swamps adjoining a river, and there they catch the young ones. For the elephant
loves grounds that are moist and soft, and enjoys being in the water, and prefers to spend his time in haunts of this nature, so that one
may say he is a creature of the marsh. Now, as they are caught when of tender age and docile, the Indians bring them up delicately,
supplying them with the food they relish most, grooming them carefully and talking to them in soothing accents, for the elephants
understand the native tongue. They rear them, in short, like children, bestowing on them great care and attention, and subjecting
them to a long course of training.

Peacocks:

C. xxi. Describes the peacock, ending with this remark: ‘Alexander, the Macedonian, on seeing these birds in India, was struck with
astonishment, and so charmed with their beauty that he threatened the severest penalties against any one who should kill a peacock.’

The gentle elephant of Porus:

C. xxxvii. When Porus the Indian King was wounded in the battle in which he engaged with Alexander, the elephant on which he rode,
though suffering itself from many wounds, did nevertheless with gentleness and caution draw out with its trunk the darts with which
the body of Porus was pierced, and ceased not to do this until it observed that its master from the excessive loss of blood was
becoming weak and ready to faint. Accordingly it lowered him slowly and gently, and stood still with its knees bent in such a way as
would prevent the body of Porus in descending to be thrown with violence on the ground.

Bane of snakes and antidotes to snake bites:

Book XII. c. xxxii. The products of India are many and varied, and while some attest her happy and amazing fertility, others are such
as to be neither envied nor commended nor desired… I intend to show how the country produces the bane of snakes. It breeds great
numbers of them of different kinds, which it would be an endless task to specify. These snakes are harmful both to men and to the
lower animals. But the same country produces plants which serve as antidotes to their bite, and of these the natives have so much
knowledge and skill that they can apply the remedy suitable for the wound inflicted by any kind of snake. And they make all possible
haste to assist each other when bitten, endeavouring to arrest the virulent and rapid spread of the poison through the body, as the
country supplies in ready abundance the means requisite for this purpose. But a snake, if it kills a man, cannot, as the Indians assert,
…creep into its underground home, the earth refusing to receive it, and casting it out from her household, banishing it so to speak,
from her bosom. So it goes about at large a wanderer and a vagrant, and drags on a miserable existence in the open air, summer and
winter alike, while moreover its mate goes not near it, and its young ones disown their sire. Such a penalty for the killing of a man has
been inflicted by Nature even on the irrational animals, by the providence of God, as I have related, and for him who hath
understanding has the story been told.

Ganga and its creatures:

C. xli. The Ganges, which is an Indian river on springing from its sources, while as yet it has no tributary streams but only its own
waters, has a depth of twenty fathoms, and a breadth of eighty stadia; but when in its progress other rivers have joined it and
augmented its volume of waters, its depth reaches to sixty fathoms, and its breadth spreads out to four hundred stadia… It breeds
fishes of monstrous size, and from the fat of these an unguent is prepared. Turtles also are found in it with a shell not smaller than a
cask which can hold as much as twenty amphorae (about 180 gallons). It breeds also two kinds of crocodiles, and of these one is quite
harmless, while the other devours all sorts of flesh and is unsparingly cruel. They have an excrescence on their snout like that of the
horned serpent. The natives employ their services in inflicting the supreme penalty on malefactors, for they throw to them those who
have been found guilty of the most heinous offences, and so they do not require the services of an executioner.

Splendour of Indian kings:

178
C. xviii. In the Indian royal palace where the greatest of all the kings of the country resides, besides much else which is calculated
to excite admiration,… there are other wonders besides, which I cannot undertake to describe in this treatise. In the parks tame
peacocks are kept, and pheasants which have been domesticated; and among cultivated plants there are some to which the king’s
servants attend with special care, for there are shady groves and pasture-grounds planted with trees, and branches of trees which the
art of the woodsman has deftly interwoven. And these very trees, from the unusual benignity of the climate, are ever in bloom, and,
untouched by age, never shed their leaves; and while some are native to the soil, others are with circumspect care brought from other
parts, and with their beauty enhance the charms of the landscape. The o live is not of the number, this being a tree which is neither
indigenous to India, nor thrives when transported thither. Birds and other animals that wander at freedom and have never been tamed
resort of themselves to India and there build their nests and form their lairs. Parrots are native of the country, and keep hovering
about the king and wheeling round him, and vast though their number be, no Indian ever eats a parrot. The reason of all this is that
they are believed to be sacred and that the Brachmans honour them highly above all other birds. They assign a specious enough
reason for their doing so – namely, that the parrot alone, from the admirable conformation of its vocal organs, can imitate human
speech. Within the palace grounds there are also artificial ponds of great beauty in which they keep fish of enormous size but quite
tame. No one has permission to fish for these except the king’s sons while yet in their boyhood. These youngsters amuse themselves
without the least risk of being drowned while fishing in the unruffled sheet of water and learning how to sail their boats.
Trained elephants pay respects to the king; serve as trained guards:

C. xxii. An elephant trained for the purpose is the first to make an obeisance to the king of the Indians when he leaves the palace to
administer justice, and never forgets this duty, or refuses to perform it. Close by the animal stands its keeper, who gives it a reminder
of the lesson it has been taught by a stroke of the goad, and by accents of the native speech which elephants through a mysterious
endowment of nature peculiar to themselves are capable of understanding. They are also stirred by the war-spirit as if showing that
they keep this lesson in mind. Four-and-twenty elephants are constantly kept as guards of the king’s person, and they relieve each
other in turn just like other guards. They are trained likewise not to fall asleep when on guard, for they are tutored even to do this by
the skill of the Indians.

Horses and elephants and gifts to the king:

C. xxv. Horses and elephants being animals of great use in arms and warfare are held in the highest esteem by the Indians. In their
king’s service they fetch bundles of hay, which they deposit in the stalls, and provender also, which they bring home fresh and green
and undamaged. When the king finds their freight in this condition, he expresses his satisfaction, but if not, he punishes most severely
the men in charge of the elephants and horses. Even very small animals are not beneath his regard, but he even accepts them when
brought to him as presents; for the Indians do not look down with contempt at any animal whatever, whether it be tame or even wild.
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For instance, subjects that are of rank offer the king such presents as cranes and geese, hens and ducks, turtle-doves and attagen,
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partridge and pindals, and others that are smaller than the above-mentioned, such as bokalides and fly-catchers, and what are
called kestrels. They show these below the feathers to prove the extent of their fatness. They give also animals which they have
caught, stags and antelopes, and gazelles and oryxes and unicorn asses (of which I have made previous mention), and also different
kinds of fish, for they bring even these as presents.

Indian sugarcane held the Greeks in thrall:

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Book XV. c. vii. In India, and more especially in the country of the Prasians, liquid honey falls like rain upon the herbage and the
leaves of marsh-reeds, and supplies s heep and oxen with an admirable kind of nutriment, the exceeding sweetness of which the
animals highly relish. Now the herdsmen drive them to those spots where this delicious dew falls and lies, and the cattle in return
supply the herdsmen with a delicious repast, for they yield a very sweet milk which does not require honey to be mixed with it as is
done in Greece.

Pearl fishing:
182
C. viii. The Indian pearl-oyster… is caught in the following manner. There is a city which a man of royal extraction called Soras
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governed at the time when Eukratides governed the Baktrians, and the name of that city is Perimuda. It is inhabited by a race of
fish-eaters who are said to go off with nets and catch the kind of oysters mentioned, in a great bay by which a vast extent of the coast
is indented. It is said that the pearl grows upon a shell like that of a large mussel, and that the oysters swim in great shoals, and have
leaders, just as bees in their hives have their queen-bees. I learn further that the leader is bigger and more beautifully coloured than
the others, and that in consequence the divers have a keen struggle in the depths which of them shall catch him, since when he is
taken they catch also the entire shoal, now left, so to speak, forlorn and leaderless, so that it stirs not, and, like a flock of sheep that
has lost its shepherd, no longer moves forward against any incipient danger. As long, however, as the leader escapes and skilfully
evades capture, he guides their movements and upholds discipline. Such as are caught are put into tubs to decay, and when the flesh
has rotted and run off nothing is left but the round pebble. The best sort of pearl is the Indian and that of the Red Sea.

Wild animals gifted to kings:

C. xiv. The Indian bring to their king tigers made tame, domesticated panthers, and oryxes with four horns. Of oxen there are two
kinds – one fleet of foot, and the other extremely wild, and from [the tails of] these oxen (the yak) they make fly-flaps. The hair on their
body is entirely black, but that of the tail is of the purest white. They bring also pigeons of a pale yellow plumage which they aver
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cannot be tamed or even cured of their ferocity; and birds which they are pleased to call kerkoronoi, as well as dogs of that noble
breed of which we have already spoken; and apes, some of which are white, and others again black. Those apes that are red-coloured
they do not bring into towns, as they have a mania for women, and, if they assault them, are put to death from the abhorrence roused
by such a lascivious outrage.

Worship of snakes encountered by Alexander:

C. xxi. When Alexander was assaulting some of the cities in India and capturing others, he found in many of them, besides other
animals, a snake, which the Indians, regarding as sacred, kept in a cave and worshipped with much devotion. The Indians accordingly
with every kind of entreaty implored Alexander to let no one molest the animal, and he consented to this. Now when the army was
marching past the cave, the snake heard the sound that arose (being very sharp both of hearing and sight), and hissed so loud and
emitted such gusts of rage that every one was terrified and quite confounded. It was said to be seventy cubits long, and yet the whole
of it was not seen, but only its head that projected from the cave. Its eyes, moreover, are reported to have equalled the size of the
large, round Macedonian shield.

Oxen races:

C. xxiv. The Indians make much ado also about the oxen that run fast; and both the king himself and many of the greatest nobles take
contending views of their swiftness, and make bets in gold and silver, and think it no disgrace to stake their money on these animals.
They yoke them in chariots, and incur hazard on the chance of victory. The horses that are yoked to the car run in the middle with an
ox on each side, and one of these wheels sharp round the turning-post and must run thirty stadia. The oxen run at pace equal to that
of the horses, and you could not decide which was the fleeter, the ox or the horse. And if the king has laid a wager on his own oxen
with any one, he becomes so excited over the contest that he follows in his chariot to instigate the driver to speed faster. The driver
again pricks the horses with the goad till the blood streams, but he keeps his hand off the oxen, for they run without needing the
goad. And to such a pitch does the emulation in the match between the oxen rise, that not only do the rich and the owners of the oxen
lay heavy bets upon them, but even the spectators, just as Idomeneus the Cretan and the Locrian Ajax are represented in Homer
betting against each other. There are in India oxen of another kind, and these look like very big goats. These are yoked together, and
run very fast, being not inferior in speed to the horses of the Getae.

Myriad birds:

Book XVI.c.ii. They are also peacocks in India, the largest of their kind anywhere found, and wood-pigeons with pale-green feathers,
which one ignorant of ornithology on seeing for the first time would take to be parrots and not pigeons. They have bills and legs of the
same colour as Greek partridges. There are in India cocks also of the largest size, with crests not red-coloured like those of our cocks
at least, but many-hued like a coronal of flowers. Their rump feathers are neither curved nor curled, but broad, and they trail them as
peacocks do their tails when they do not lift and erect them. The plumage of these Indian cocks (monal pheasants) is of a golden and a
gleaming azure colour like the smaragdus stone.

Taming the panther (not lion) for hunting:

C. xxvi. I have no reason whatever to doubt that lions of the largest size are found in India, and what convinces me is that this country
is such an excellent mother of other animals. But of all the beasts that one can encounter these are the most savage and ferocious.
The skins of these lions look black – the bristly hair of their mane stands erect, and their very aspect strikes the soul with terror and
dismay. If they can be captured before they are full-grown and not otherwise, they can be led by the leash, and with the huntsmen and
their hounds take part in hunting young deer and stags, and boars and buffaloes and wild asses, for, as I am told, they have a very
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keen scent.

Care of royal elephants:

XII. 8. The elephant when feeding at large ordinarily drinks water, but when undergoing the fatigues of war is allowed wine,—not that
sort, however, which comes from the grape, but another which is prepared from rice. The attendants even go in advance of their
elephants and gather them flowers; for they are very fond of sweet perfumes, and they are accordingly taken out to the meadows,
there to be trained under the influence of the sweetest fragrance. The animal selects the flowers according to their smell, and throws
them as they are gathered into a basket which is held out by the trainer. This being filled, and harvest-work, so to speak, completed,
he then bathes, and enjoys his bath with all the zest of a consummate voluptuary. On returning from bathing he is impatient to have
his flowers, and if there is delay in bringing them he begins roaring, and will not taste a morsel of food till all the flowers he gathered
are placed before him. This done, he takes the flowers out of the basket with his trunk and scatters them over the edge of his manger,
and makes by this device their fine scent be, as it were, a relish to his food. He strews also a good quantity of them as litter over his
stall, for he loves to have his sleep made sweet and pleasant. The Indian elephants were nine cubits in height and five in breadth. The
largest elephants in all the land were those called the Praisian, and next to these the Taxilan.

Taming elephants with music:

XI. 44. In India an elephant if caught when full-grown is difficult to tame, and longing for freedom thirsts for blood. Should it be bound
in chains, this exasperates it still more, and it will not submit to a master. The Indians, however, coax it with food, and seek to pacify it
with various things for which it has a liking, their aim being to fill its stomach and to soothe its temper. But it is still angry with them,
and takes no notice of them. To what device do they then resort? They sing to it their native melodies, and soothe it with the music of
an instrument in common use which has four strings and is called a skindapsos. The creature now pricks up its ears, yields to the
soothing strain, and its anger subsides. Then, though there is an occasional outburst of its suppressed passion, it gradually turns its
eye to its food. It is then freed from its bonds, but does not seek to escape, being enthralled with the music. It even takes food eagerly,
and, like a luxurious guest riveted to the festive board, has no wish to go, from its love of the music.

Character of Indians:

L. 4. The Indians neither put out money at usury, nor know how to borrow. It is contrary to established usage for an Indian either to do
or suffer a wrong, and therefore they neither make contracts nor require securities.

FRAGMENTS
FRAG. IV. AELIAN, DE NAT. ANIM., BOOK XVII, 29
When the King of the Indians goes on a campaign, one hundred thousand war-elephants go on before him, while three thousand more,
that are of superior size and strength, march, I am told, behind him, these being trained to demolish the walls of the enemy. This they
effect by rushing against them at the King’s signal, and throwing them down by the overwhelming force with which they press their
breasts against them. Ktesias reports this from hearsay, but adds that with his own eyes he had seen elephants tear up palm trees,
roots and all, with like furious violence; and this they do whenever they are instigated to the act by their drivers.

FRAG. XXIII. AELIAN, IV, 46

Among the Indians are found certain insects about the size of beetles and of a colour so red that at first sight one might mistake them
for cinnabar. Their legs are of extraordinary length and soft to the touch. They grow upon the trees which produce amber, and subsist
upon their fruit. The Indians collect them for the sake of the purple dye, which they yield when crushed. This dye is used for tinting
with purple not only their outer and their under-garments, but also any other substance where a purple hue is required. Robes tinted
with this purple are sent to the Persian king, for the Indian purple is thought by the Persians to be marvellously beautiful and far
superior to their own. This we learn from Ktesias, who says well, for this dye is in fact deeper and more brilliant than the renowned
Lydian purple.

 CHAPTER — 9
Philostratus : Life of Apollonius

Apollonius, a Greek mystic reputed as “the wise man of Tyana,” was maligned in the early centuries AD as an anti-Christ. There are
no authentic contemporary records about his career, though he is credited with performing miracles later attributed to Christ, such as
raising the dead, healing the sick, and rising bodily to heaven. His asceticism and disapproval of animal sacrifice suggest he followed
Pythagoras; his philosophical quest for truth and the welfare of the people set him against famous tyrants. He was accused of
atrocities ranging from sexual license (though he was celibate), corruption (though he renounced his family fortune), dining on the
flesh of infants (a charge dropped when he appeared before the emperor).

Our knowledge of this sage derives from the account written by Philostratus around 220 AD, at the behest of Empress Julia Domna,
wife of Septimius Severus (ruled 193 – 211 AD). Apollonius was born in the early Christian era and died at an advanced age during the
brief reign of Emperor Nerva (96 – 98 AD). Emperor Hadrian had a collection of some of his letters; Philostratus accessed some letters
from a collection then extant. Some letters were ancient forgeries and hence need careful evaluation. A few of Apollonius’ writings
have survived, notably a treatise on sacrifice and a biography of Pythagoras, but most of Philostratus’ sources no longer survive.

Lucian, satirist and essayist of second century Hellenism, was the only writer to mention Apollonius before Philostratus; he was a
critic. One Moeragenes reportedly wrote four books on the sage, which have not survived, but Christian writer Origen suggests these
were derogatory, inspired by philosopher Euphrates, who detested Apollonius. Philostratus lists one credible source about Apollonius’
doings in the Cilician city of Aegae, Maximus of Aegae, in-charge of the Roman emperor’s Greek correspondence (ab epistulis
graecis). But the authenticity of Damis, the source Philostratus most relies upon, is challenged by modern scholars.

In 215, Julia Domna accompanied her son, Emperor Caracalla, through Cappadocia, where he halted at Tyana to honour the memory
of Apollonius, and commissioned a temple in his honour, an event recorded by the historian Cassius Dio. The latter also mentioned
Apollonius’ vision of the murder of Emperor Domitian in Rome while it was actually happening, though he was then at Ephesus.
Apollonius was eulogised as superior to Christ during the Diocletianic persecution of Christians. Hierocles, governor of Bithynia,
penned The Lover of Truth, using Philostratus’ biography to establish that Apollonius of Tyana was Christ’s equal. We know of this
work from the response of Eusebius of Caesarea.

The root cause of conflict between the Romans and Christians was the power to perform miracles. Hierocles accused Christians of
calling their Saviour a god on the basis of sundry miracles, when Apollonius had greater achievements to his credit. By the end of the
fourth century, Apollonius emerged as a key figure in the conflict between Christians and non-Christians. St Augustine insisted the
sage could not be ranked above Jesus Christ, but placed him above Zeus. Byzantine Christianity finally included him in the figurative
decoration of churches, from where he passed into Arab mythology as Balinas, master of talismans.

Philostratus hailed from a prominent literary family of the island of Lemnos, bearing the Roman family name of Flavius. In Lives of the
Sophists, he recorded the Greek literary renaissance under Roman rule, including biographies of important sophists and orators of the
second and early third centuries. Scholars suggest caution in assessing Life of Apollonius. Possibly Vespasian, Apollonius, Dio
Chrysostom and Euphrates did meet in Egypt and discuss the nature of the ideal ruler, a favourite subject of philosophers; but there is
no independent evidence for the existence of Damis and his memoirs.

Charles Blunt translated Philostratus’ Life of Apollonius in 1680, but could not publish the whole text due to an uproar that it
threatened Christianity. In 1809 Rev. Edward Berwick published the first complete translation and revived the old dispute. Historian
Edward Gibbon remarked: ‘Apollonius of Tyana was born about the same time as Jesus Christ. His life (i.e., Apollonius’) is related in so
fabulous a manner by his fanatic disciples, that we are at a loss to discover whether he was a sage, or an imposter.’ In 1832, German
theologian Ferdinand Christian Baur said Philostratus’ biography of Apollonius was anti-Christian propaganda. Philostratus received
serious attention only in the early twentieth century, with the Loeb translation by F.C. Conybeare and the Oxford translation by J.S.
Phillimore, both in 1912. The present selections, confined to Apollonius’ travels to India and his interest in Indian philosophy, are
based on the translation by C.P. Jones (Penguin, 1970).

BOOK I
On Apollonius as a great philosopher:

2. The practices of Apollonius were very like this, and he studied wisdom in a more inspired way than Pythagoras; he also despised
tyrannies. Yet, although he lived in times which were neither ancient nor modern, people do not know him for the genuine wisdom
which he practiced as a philosopher and an honourable man…

I have therefore decided to do something about this widespread misconception and give an accurate account of Apollonius, observing
the chronology of his words and acts and the special character of the wisdom that brought him close to being thought possessed and
inspired. I have gathered my materials partly from the many cities that were devoted to him, partly from the shrines which he set
right when their rules had fallen into neglect, partly from what others have said about him and partly from his own letters. For he
corresponded with kings, sophists, philosophers, Eleans, Delphians, Indians, Egyptians. He wrote about the gods, about customs,
morals and laws; and when wrong was done, he tried to put it right.

3. But my more detailed information I have gathered from a quite cultivated man called Damis who once lived in ancient Nineveh. This
man became a disciple of Apollonius and has left an account of his master’s journeys, on which he claims to have accompanied him,
and also an account of his sayings, speeches and predictions. The notebooks containing the memoirs of Damis were unknown until a
member of his family brought them to the attention of the empress Julia. Since I (Philostratus) was a member of her salon (for she
admired and encouraged every branch of rhetoric), she set me to transcribe these discourses of Damis. I was to pay particular
attention to their style, for the man from Nineveh had a clear one, but rather artless. I have also read the book of Maximus of Aegae,
which contains all that Apollonius did there, and the will written by Apollonius himself, which gives an idea of how inspired he was in
his philosophy. But it is best to ignore the four books which Moeragenes composed about Apollonius, because of the great ignorance
of their subject that they display. So much for the way I gathered my material from different sources and the care I took to assemble
it.

4. Apollonius came from Tyana, a Greek city in the country of Cappadocia. His father had the same name as himself, and the family
was an old one that went back to the founders of the city. Its wealth was exceptional there, even though it is a rich country. When his
mother was still carrying him, she had a vision of an Egyptian spirit, Proteus, whom Homer describes changing into different shapes.
She was not frightened at all, but asked him who her child would be. He replied: ‘Me.’ ‘Who are you?’ she asked, and he said,
‘Proteus, the Egyptian god.’ …

Apollonius attracted to the philosophy of Pythagoras:

7. …When he reached fourteen his father took him to Tarsus to learn from Euthydemus of Phoenicia. This man was a good rhetor as
well as Apollonius’s teacher, and Apollonius became devoted to him, though finding Tarsus corrupt in its ways and inimical to
philosophy... So with his father’s permission he found a new teacher in Aegae nearby, where there was peace that encouraged a love
of wisdom, and interests more suitable for young men… There he had, as fellow-pupils, followers of Plato, Chrysippus and the
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Colonnade, and he also heard the doctrines of Epicurus, not thinking even these unworthy of his attention: but those of Pythagoras
he grasped by some mysterious intelligence… When he reached fifteen he aspired to the life of a Pythagorean, to which some higher
power gave him wings to climb.

[He] persuaded his father to give him a suburban estate with pleasant gardens and fountains in it. ‘You live your own way,’ he said,
‘and I will live Pythagoras’s way.’ …He avoided the meat of animals as something impure that dulled the intelligence, and ate fruit and
vegetables, saying that everything was pure which the earth produced of its own accord. Wine, he said, was a pure drink, since it
came from a plant that had done such good to men, but it disturbed the balance of the mind by darkening the ether in the soul. After
purging his stomach in this way he took to going bar efoot (that was ‘dressing’ to him) and wore clothes of linen, refusing those that
were made from animals. He also grew his hair long, and lived in the sanctuary (temple).

Apollonius decides to be celibate for life:

13. … Now though Pythagoras was praised for his statement that a man should not have intercourse with any woman except his wife,
Apollonius said that the commandment of Pythagoras applied to others, but he himself was not going to marry or have any sex at all…

Apollonius practices silence for five years:

14. Euxenus once asked Apollonius why he did not become a writer since his thoughts were so noble and his diction admirably
forceful. ‘Because I have not yet kept silence,’ he answered. From then on he considered himself bound to silence, and held his tongue
while his eyes and mind read and stored away many things in his memory… He says that this way of life, which he practiced for five
whole years, was extremely difficult, because he could not speak when he had much to say, was forced not to listen when he heard
much to make him angry, and often when he was inclined to correct somebody he used to say to himself, “Be still, my soul, and tongue
too,” and when people’s conversation offended him he had to put off refuting them for the time being.

Apollonius decides to visit India:

18. After this he pondered making a greater journey, and decided on the country of India and the wise men there called Brahmans and
Hyrcanians…

19. And so he arrived in ancient Nineveh, where there is an idol of barbarian type in the shape of Ino the daughter of Inachus, with
little horns projecting from her temples and just breaking through. As Apollonius was staying there and showing more knowledge
about the idol than the priests and the prophets, Damis of Nineveh came to hear him...[and] said, ‘Let us go, Apollonius, you following
God and I following you, for you might find me very useful. I may not know anything else, but I have been to Babylon; and, having
made the journey recently, I know all the cities on the way and the villages, in which there are many attractions, and moreover I know
every one of the barbarian languages. The Armenians have one, the Medes and Persians another, the Cadusians another, and I
understand them all.’ ‘But I, my friend,’ replied Apollonius, ‘know them all, and have learned none’. The man from Nineveh was
amazed, but Apollonius said, ‘Do not be surprised if I know all that men say: I know all that men conceal too.’

20. …I will not neglect these two points: the courage that Apollonius showed in travelling among barbarian tribes given to robbery
and not yet subject to Rome, and the wisdom that enabled him even to attain understanding of the voices of animals, in the Arabian
way. He even learnt this as he was travelling among those Arabs, who of all their nation are the most knowledgeable and skilful in this
science. For it is common to all Arabs to listen to the prophecies of birds instead of oracles, and they understand dumb animals by
eating the hearts of snakes, or (as some say) the livers.

BOOK II
On Apollonius’ stay in India:

19. …they were apparently told by the Indians that the king visited the river in the right season and sacrificed to it black bulls and
horses – black being more highly regarded by the Indians than white, I suppose, because of their own colour. After this sacrifice he
would throw into the river a golden measure, which resembled those used for measuring grain. The Indians had no notion why the
king did this; but the party inferred that this measure was thrown in to ensure either plentiful harvest, which farmers ‘measure’ out,
or else a ‘measured’ flow, so that the river should not come down in spate and swamp the land.

Apollonius arrives in Taxila:

20. Taxila is apparently similar to Nineveh in size, symmetrically fortified like a Greek city, and is the capital of the king who ruled
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Porus’ domain at the time. They say they saw a temple in front of the walls a little less than a hundred feet in length and made of
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stone covered with stucco. Inside it there was a shrine comparatively small for such a large, many-columned temple, but worth
admiring. On every wall there are fixed bronze panels illustrating the deeds of Alexander and Porus. On them, in orichalc, silver, gold
and bronze, there are drawn elephants, horses, soldiers, helmets and shields, with spears, javelins and swords all in iron. A famous
picture, for example one by Zeuxis, Polygnotus or Euphranor, is praised because the artists liked effects of shadow, vividness, and
contrasts of emphasis; and the same effects are apparently to be observed in these pictures where the materials are blended like
colours. The purpose of the pictures also pleased them. Porus had dedicated them after the death of the Macedonian, but even so the
Macedonian is shown as the victor, winning the wounded Porus over and giving him India after he had conquered it. Porus is also said
to have mourned Alexander at his death and grieved for him as a good and noble king; and while Alexander lived he is said never to
have spoken as a king, though Alexander allowed him, or to have given orders to Indians; but like a viceroy he was entirely moderate
and did everything to please his friend.

On the King Porus:

21. My account forbids me to omit the records of this Porus. When the Macedonian was about to cross, some were advising Porus to
make allies of those across the Hyphasis and the Ganges, saying that Alexander would not dare to confront an entirely united India.
Porus replied: ‘If my kingdom is such that it cannot be saved without allies, it would be better not to be king.’ When the news came
that Darius had been captured, he called him ‘the Great King, but no man’. When the groom had prepared the elephant on which he
was to fight, and said to him, ‘This will carry you, king’, he replied, ‘No, I will carry it, if I prove a man worthy of myself’. Advice was
given to him to sacrifice to the river and pray that it should not bear the rafts of the Macedonians or allow Alexander to sail, but he
said, ‘It is not for men in arms to curse.’ And after the battle, when he had shown Alexander how godlike he was and of more than
mortal nature, one of his relatives said to him, ‘Porus, if you had done obeisance when Alexander crossed, you would not have suffered
defeat in battle, or lost so many Indians, or received a wound yourself.’ He replied: ‘I had heard of Alexander’s nobility, and I foresaw
that, if I made obeisance, he would think me a slave, but if war, a king. I preferred to be admired rather than pitied, and I was not
disappointed. I proved myself the man Alexander saw me to be, and so in one day I lost and gained everything.’ This is the character
the Indian is reputed to have had. He is also said to have been outstanding among Indians for his handsomeness and height, which
was greater than that of any man since those at Troy; and he was very young when he fought Alexander.

King of Taxila sends for Apollonius; sees double-storey houses in India:

23. As Apollonius was giving this discourse, messengers arrived from the king with an interpreter, announcing that he would have
Apollonius as his guest for three days, since it was not lawful for strangers to stay in the city longer; and they led the way to the
palace. I have mentioned what the walls of the city were like; the party says that it was a tangle of narrow streets, like Athens, and the
houses were so built that from the outside they appeared to be of only one storey, but when you went inside they proved to be
subterranean, with the same plan below ground as above.

A shrine to the Sun God:

24. They say there was also a shrine of the Sun, with Ajax the elephant pasturing in it, and statues of Alexander in gold and others of
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Porus which were of dark bronze. The walls of the shrine were of red stone that had a golden sheen, giving off a light like the sun’s
rays. The image itself was of mother-of pearl, made in the symbolic shape that all barbarians use for their holy objects.

The royal palace at Taxila:

25. In the palace they apparently saw no elaborate rooms, no bodyguard or watchmen, but just as in the houses of the upper class
there were a few slaves and three or four people awaiting an audience with the king. They say they admired this simplicity more than
the splendour of Babylon, and even more so when they went inside, since it seems that the men’s quarters and the colonnades and the
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whole forecourt were plain.

Apollonius discourses on philosophy with the king:

26. Apollonius concluded that the Indian was a philosopher and, with the interpreter beside him, he said, ‘I am glad, king, to see that
you are a philosopher.’

‘I am very glad,’ he replied, ‘that you think me so.’

‘Is this the custom with you,’ said Apollonius, ‘or did you introduce this moderation into your kingdom?’

‘Our customs are modest, and I observe them even more modestly,’ he replied, ‘I have more than any man, but need little, for all my
friends’ possessions I consider mine.’

‘Your wealth is enviable,’ said Apollonius, ‘if you value your gold and silver less than your friends, from whom you derive many
advantages.’

‘Why,’ he said, ‘I give my enemies a share of my riches too. There are always barbarians hostile to my country, who make incursions
across my borders, so I win them over with this money and they guard my country. They both avoid raiding my possessions and keep
out their barbarian neighbours, who are unmanageable.’

Apollonius asked him if Porus too had paid them money. ‘Porus,’ he said, ‘loved war: I love peace.’

Apollonius was quite won over by these remarks, and was so struck by him that once, when he was rebuking Euphrates for not acting
like a Philosopher, he said, ‘But let us at least respect the Indian Phraotes’ (since that was his name). …

Apollonius also asked him (the king) about his diet and he said, ‘Of wine I drink as much as I sacrifice to the Sun. What I catch in the
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hunt others eat: the exercise is enough for me. My food is vegetables, the centre of date-palms and their fruit and everything that
grows beside the river. I also eat many things that grow on trees: they are harvested by these hands of mine.’ Apollonius was
delighted when he heard this, and kept glancing at Damis.

The victory gates of Alexander:

42. When they had left Taxila and gone two days’ journey, they came to the plain in which Alexander is said to have fought Porus, and
apparently they saw gates there which did not enclose anything but were built as a trophy. On top of them there was dedicated a
statue of Alexander riding an eight-horse chariot, the way he stood when he conquered the viceroys of Darius at Issus. In fact there
are said to be two sets of gates, not far from one another, one being Porus and the other Alexander, represented as they met after the
battle, I suppose, since one of them appears in a gesture of greeting, and the other in a gesture of submission.

43. When they had passed the Hydraotes and passed several tribes, they came to the Hyphasis. About four miles past this they found
altars with this inscription:

‘To my father Ammon, my brother Hercules, Athene of Forethought, Olympian Zeus, the Cabiri of Samothrace, the Sun of India, and
Apollo of Delphi.’

They say there was also a bronze tablet dedicated there with the legend, ‘Alexander stopped here.’ We must conclude that the altars
were set up by Alexander to commemorate the limits of his empire, while I suppose the tablet was dedicated by the Indians across the
Hyphasis to celebrate the fact that Alexander advanced no further.

BOOK III
Apollonius arrives to discourse with the Wise Men of India:

11. They were about to put up in the nearby village, which is less than a few hundred yards from the Wise Men’s hill, when they saw, it
appears, a young man running towards them. He was a particularly dark Indian, but with a bright crescent-shaped mark on his
forehead.

Apollonius is received by Greek-speaking Indians:

12. He ran up to Apollonius and greeted him in Greek, which was not in itself surprising since everybody in the village talked Greek.
But his saying ‘Hello’ to each of them by name amazed all of them except Apollonius; he felt assured of his mission, because he looked
at Damis and said, ‘We really have come to wise men, since they seem to have foreknowledge.’ Immediately he asked the Indian what
he had to do, being eager to meet them. The Indian said, ‘These men you must leave here, but you must yourself come immediately
because the Masters invite you.’
13. The word ‘Masters’ in itself seemed Pythagorean to Apollonius, and he followed gladly.

On the Indian Brahmins:

15. The Wise Men’s nature and their way of life on the hill are described by Apollonius himself, since in one of his addresses to the
Egyptians he says, ‘I saw the Indian Brahmans living on the earth and not on it. Walled without walls, and with no possessions except
the whole world’s.’ This is his rather philosophical account: Damis says that they sleep on the earth, but the earth makes a bed for
them of any kind of grass they choose. He also says he saw them levitating as much as three feet from the ground, not for ostentation,
since that kind of vanity is foreign to them, but because all the rites they perform to the Sun they do above the earth like him,
considering this practice appropriate for the god. The fire which they draw from the sun’s ray is of normal appearance, but they do
not light it on an altar or keep it in a lantern; instead it is like the rays which come from the sun and are reflected by water, and
apparently it is seen above the ground flickering in mid-air. They pray to the Sun on behalf of the seasons of which it is the guardian,
so that they may come at the right time for the land and India may prosper; by night they pray to the sunbeam, asking it not to be at
enmity with the night but remain in the form it was created by them. That is the meaning of Apollonius’ saying, ‘The Brahmans are on
the earth and not on the earth.’ But ‘walled without walls’ refers to the climate in which they live, since although they appear to camp
in the open air, they bring shade to cover themselves, they are not wetted when it rains, and have sunshine whenever they want.

Apollonius’ saying, ‘with no possessions except the whole world’s’ is interpreted by Damis in this way. Just as springs of water break
from the earth for the worshippers of Bacchus when the god makes them and the earth quake, so they appear for the benefit of those
Indians when the Indians are giving or being given a dinner. It was therefore an appropriate description of people who make no
preparations in advance but obtain everything they want on the spot, when Apollonius said that they ‘possess what they do not
possess.’

They wear their hair long as the Spartans once did and the Thurians of Tarentum and the Melians and all the peoples that are
recorded as having Spartan ways, and they tie it with a white ribbon; their feet are bare, and their style of clothing is similar to a
cloak over one shoulder. The material for their clothing is wool that grows wild from the earth, white like Pamphylian wool but softer,
and it exudes fat like oil. They consider this the stuff of holy garments, and if anybody except these Indians tries to pick this wool, it
stays fast in the earth. The ring and the rod, both of which they carry, have a power which is capable of anything, and both are
magical and highly regarded.

The meeting with Iarchas and the Wise Men:

16. As Apollonius approached, the other Wise Men went up to him and greeted him with embraces, but Iarchas remained seated on a
high chair; it was of dark copper ornamented with golden figures, while the chairs of the others were of undecorated copper and less
high, since they sat at Iarchas’s feet. On seeing Apollonius, Iarchas greeted him in Greek and asked for the Indian’s letter. When
Apollonius showed amazement at his clairvoyance, Iarchas added that there was one letter missing in the document, a D that the
writer had left out. This proved to be true; and when he had read the letter, he said, ‘Apollonius, what is your opinion of us?

‘Why,’ said Apollonius, ‘it is shown by my taking a journey because of you which no one of the people I come from has ever taken.’

‘What knowledge do you think we have that you lack?

‘It is my opinion that your ways are wiser and much more godly. But if I were to find among you nothing that I do not know, I would
also have learned that there is nothing further for me to learn.’

So the Indian replied, ‘Other people ask newcomers where they come from and what their mission is, but for us it is the first proof of
our wisdom that we are not ignorant about our visitors. You may begin by testing this.’ Whereupon he recounted Apollonius’ ancestry
on his father’s and his mother’s side, all his experiences in Aegae, how Damis joined him, all the things that they had discussed on the
journey or had learned from the discussions of others. All this the Indian recited clearly and without pausing just as if he had shared
the journey with them. Apollonius was amazed and asked him how he knew all this, and he replied, ‘You, our visitor, have a share of
this wisdom, but not yet all of it.’

‘Will you let me learn it all, then?’ Apollonius asked.

‘Willingly,’ Iarchas replied; ‘that is more philosophical than grudging and concealing what is important. Besides, Apollonius, I see that
you are well endowed with memory, which is the god we honour most.’

‘What?’ said Apollonius, ‘Have you already discerned my nature?’

‘Apollonius,’ he replied, ‘we discern every kind of soul, and have countless clues to discover them. But it is nearly noon, and we must
prepare the gods’ due rites; so we must attend to them, and later let us discuss whatever you like, and I invite you to attend all our
ceremonies.’

‘Well,’ said Apollonius, ‘I would certainly be doing a wrong to the Caucasus and the Indus, which I passed coming here to see you, if I
did not steep myself in all your rites.’

The sacred rites:

17. ‘Steep yourself,’ Iarchas said, ‘and let us go.’ So they went to a spring of water, which Damis says he saw later and was reminded
of Dirce in Boeotia. First they undressed, then they anointed their heads with an ointment like amber, which had such a warming
effect on the Indians that their bodies steamed and they ran with sweat as if washing themselves with fire. Then, after diving into the
water and washing, they proceeded to the temple garlanded and full of song. There they stood around in a circle and with Iarchas as
their leader struck the ground with the ends of their staves; and the ground, flexing like a wave, shot them three feet into the air. They
then sang a song like the Paean by Sophocles which they sing to Asclepius at Athens.

On knowledge and self-knowledge:

18. When Apollonius had sat down, Iarchas said, ‘Ask me whatever you like, since you have come among men who know everything.’
So Apollonius asked if they knew themselves, expecting them to be like the Greeks in thinking it difficult to know oneself. But to
Apollonius’ surprise Iarchas corrected him and said, ‘We know everything because we begin by knowing ourselves. None of us would
approach our kind of philosophy without knowing himself first.’ Apollonius remembered what he had heard from Phraotes, how the
man who intends to be a philosopher tests himself before making the attempt: so he accepted this statement, having the same belief
about himself. He proceeded to ask what they thought they were, and Iarchas replied, ‘Gods.’

‘Why?’ asked Apollonius.

‘Because we are good men.’

Apollonius thought that this saying showed such enlightenment that later he used it before Domitian in his speech of self-defence.
The transmigration of souls:

19. So he resumed the questioning, and said, ‘What is your belief about the soul?’

‘It is what Pythagoras taught you Greeks,’ said Iarchas, ‘and we taught the Egyptians.

Apollonius replied, ‘Would you say, then, that you were some Trojan or Achaean or someone before you entered this body, as
Pythagoras declared himself to be Euphorbus?

‘Troy was destroyed,’ said the Indian, ‘by the Achaeans that sailed there then, and you Greeks have been destroyed by the tales about
it. You think the only heroes are those that attacked Troy, and so you neglect a larger number of more godlike men produced by your
own country, by Egypt, and by India. But since you asked me about my former body, tell me whom you think most outstanding of those
that attacked or defended Troy’.

‘Achilles the son of Peleus and Thetis, since Homer sings of him as a very handsome man and greater than all the other Greeks, and
mentions great deeds of his. He also has a high opinion of men like Ajax and Nireus, whom he mentions as second to Achilles in
beauty and nobility.’

‘Compare my ancestor,’ Iarchas replied, ‘with Achilles, Apollonius, or rather my ancestral body, since that is what Pythagoras
considered Euphorbus.

Legend of the expulsion of Ethiopians from India and reincarnation:

20. You see, there was a time when the Ethiopians lived here and were an Indian tribe. As yet Ethiopia did not exist, but Egypt had its
boundary at Maroe and the Cataracts, and the same country contained the source of the Nile and ended at its mouth. As long as the
Ethiopians lived here as subjects of King Ganges, the earth fed them plentifully and the gods protected them. But they killed their
king, and were considered unclean by the other Indians. The earth, too, no longer let them stay; it destroyed the seed that they put in
it before it came to the sheath, it aborted women’s conception, and gave poor fodder to the cattle, and wherever they founded a city,
the earth caved in and gave way beneath. Moreover, the ghost of Ganges drove them on as they progressed, causing terror among the
mob, and gave them no peace until they had sacrificed to the earth the murderers and those that had stained their hands with blood.
This Ganges was fifteen feet tall, beautiful as no other man ever was, and was the son of the river Ganges. His father had flooded
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India, but he diverted it into the Red Sea and reconciled it with the land: for this reason the earth produced plenty for him while he
lived, and took vengeance when he died. Now Homer makes Achilles come to Troy for Helen, and says that he had captured twelve
cities by sea and eleven by land, and that he flew into a fury when the king took a woman away from him, showing himself harsh and
savage. Let us compare the Indian with this. He founded sixty cities, the most esteemed in the country; and there is nobody who
thinks sacking cities is more glorious than building them. He also repulsed the Scythians from above the Caucasus when they made an
attack once on this land; and to prove your courage defending the liberty of your own land is far better than bringing slavery on a city,
especially when it is because of a woman who probably did not mind being carried off. He made an alliance with the ruler of the land
that Phraotes now rules; and when the man, in sheer lawlessness and lust, took away his wife, he did not break his treaty, saying he
had sworn so solemnly that he could not harm him even when wronged.

21. ‘I could tell you more about him, except that I am reluctant to start praising myself, since you see, I am that man. I proved this
when I was f our. This Ganges once drove seven swords of adamant into the earth so that no danger could come near this land, and
the gods ordered us to go where the swords were planted and sacrifice, but they did not reveal the place where they were. Still just a
child, I led the prophets to a ditch and told them to dig, saying that the swords were deposited there.

Cures for the sick:

38. In the middle of this conversation, the Wise Men were interrupted by the messenger bringing some Indians who needed cures.

39. Besides that, there came a man of about thirty, who was lame; he had been an expert lion-hunter but had been attacked by a lion
and had dislocated his hip, and so was lame in one leg. But the Wise Man massaged his hip and thus restored the man to an upright
walk. Someone else who had gone blind went away with his sight fully restored, and another man with a paralysed arm left strong
again. A woman, too, who had had seven miscarriages was cured through the prayers of her husband as follows. The Wise Man told
the husband, when his wife was in labour, to bring a live hare under his cloak to the place where she was, walk around her, and
immediately release the hare: for she would lose her womb as well as the foetus if the hare was not immediately driven out.

Apollonius takes leave of the Brahmins:

50. So much for the conversations between Apollonius and the Wise Men. He had stayed there for four months and absorbed all their
doctrines, both avowed and secret. When he decided to leave, they persuaded him to send the guide and the camels to Phraotes with a
letter, while they themselves gave him another guide and camels, and sent him on his way, congratulating themselves as well as him.
They embraced Apollonius, saying that ordinary people would regard him as a god, in life as well as in death; and then they went back
to their place of meditation, though looking back at him and showing their unwillingness to let him go. Apollonius kept the Ganges on
his right and Hyphasis on his left, and after ten days’ journey from the sacred hill reached the sea… and there they found small
trading-stations had been set up, with ferry-boats like the ones in Erythra moored there. The Red Sea is apparently very blue, and is
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named, as I mentioned, after Erythras, who gave his name to that stretch of sea.

Apollonius bids adieu:

51. When Apollonius had arrived there, he sent the camel back to Iarchas with this letter.

‘Apollonius greets Iarchas and the other Wise Men.

‘I come to you by land, and you have shown me the sea; but you also shared your native wisdom with me, and showed me a path
through heaven. I will recall all this to the Greeks, and enjoy your conversations as if you were present, unless I have had only a
useless, tantalising taste of them. Good-bye, good philosophers.’

The return journey by sea and its marvels:

52. So he boarded a ship, and sailed on a gentle, favouring breeze, wondering at the estuary of the Hyphasis and how dangerous it is
where it meets the sea: as I mentioned, it finally runs into rocky, narrow places and over precipices, and after these it pours into the
sea through one mouth, proving dangerous to sailors who cling too close to shore.

BOOK IV

Apollonius teaches the ideal of civic patriotism:

 8. [Apollonius]… gave the Smyrnaeans a disquisition on security in the conduct of cities, because he saw that they were quarrelling
with one another and had no agreed policy. He told them that to behave rightly a city needed unity with faction. This seemed
implausible and confusing, so that Apollonius, aware that most of them could not follow his meaning, said, ‘Black and white can never
be the same, and sweet and bitter can never mix properly, but unity joined with faction will keep a city from harm. You must
understand what I mean in this way. The kind of faction that induces sword-fights and stoning should be avoided by a city, since what
it needs is child-welfare, law, and citizens to whom speech and action can be entrusted. But there is a kind of mutual competition for
the common good, in which one man seeks to give better advice than another, or to hold office better than another, or go on an
embassy, or erect finer buildings than when another man was commissioner: and this, I think, is beneficial strife, faction between
citizens for the public good. The idea that every man should have different pursuits and contribute them to the public benefit was long
ago considered foolish by the Spartans: they practiced the arts of war, and war was their whole passion and their only interest. But in
my opinion it is best that everybody does what he knows and what he can. If one man has a high reputation for persuasiveness,
another for wisdom, another for using his wealth for the public good, another for his virtue, another for his implacable severity
towards wrongdoing, another for his incorruptibility, the city will be firmly grounded, or rather exalted.’

BOOK VI
Apollonius goes to meet the Naked Philosophers of Egypt:

6. They set out from there at sunrise, and before noon reached the Naked Philosopher’s place of meditation. These Naked
Philosophers apparently live on a hill of moderate height a little distance from the bank of the Nile. In wisdom the Indians surpass
them to a greater degree than they themselves surpass the Egyptians. They go naked except for garments like those of sunbathers at
Athens. There are a few trees in their enclosure and a rather small grove where they gather to discuss community affairs. Their
sanctuaries are not built in one place, like the Indian’s, but in different places on the hill, and are highly regarded, so the Egyptians
say. They worship the Nile particularly, because they consider it to be earth and water. For themselves they do not need huts or
houses, and live out under the open sky, but they have built a shelter, sufficient to house their visitors, in the form of a fairly small
colonnade about the length of the ones at Elis in which the athletes wait for the announcement at noon.

Damis discovers a mean trick by Euphrates:

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7. At this point Damis recounts a trick of Euphrates which should be regarded not merely as silly but disgraceful by the standards of
philosophy. He had heard Apollonius many times express a wish to compare Indian and Egyptian wisdom. He therefore sent
Thrasybulus of Naucratis to the Naked Philosophers to slander Apollonius. Thrasybulus said that he had come to converse with them
and that the man from Tyana was coming too. This promised no small trouble for them, he said, because Apollonius was wiser than
the sages of India, whom he extolled in every conversation, and had devised endless tests for the Naked Philosophers; he himself was
not inferior to the sun or sky or the earth, because he could move and transport them to any new place he wanted.

8. When the man from Naucratis had hatched his plot, he left, while the Naked Philosophers believed him entirely. When Apollonius
arrived, they did not refuse an interview but pretended that they were attending to important affairs which were occupying them; they
would, however, come to talk with him if they had time and were informed what he wanted and what his aim was in coming. Their
messenger also invited the party to stay in the colonnade, to which Apollonius replied, ‘You do not need to mention shelter, because
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the climate here is su ch that nobody needs a covering. However, I am not surprised that these people do not yet know what I want
and why I have come: the Indians, on the other hand, did not ask me that’.

Damis sets things right:

9. Apollonius lay under one of the trees, and answered any question his disciples put to him, while Damis took Timasion aside and
asked him privately, ‘You have met these Naked Philosophers, I suppose my friend: what are the subjects of their knowledge?’

‘There are many important subjects,’ he replied.

‘Still, it is not wise of them, sir,’ said Damis, ‘to act like this with us. Refusing to converse with a man like this one about philosophy
and putting on airs with him are things I can only describe as insolence, my friend.’

‘Insolence?’ said Timasion. ‘That is something I have never seen in them, though I have been here twice before. They have always
been courteous and kind to visitors. Why, not long ago, two months back perhaps, there was a Thrasybulus staying here, a man
without any distinction in philosophy, and yet they greeted him warmly, because he called himself a follower of Euphrates.’

‘What did you say, young man?’ asked Damis. ‘Did you see Thrasybulus of Naucratis in the community here?’

‘Not only that,’ said the boy, ‘but I took him in my own boat when he was returning from here.’

‘I see it all, for heaven’s sake,’ said Damis, with a shout of indignation; ‘there has been a trick, it seems.’

Timasion replied, ‘When I asked the master’s name yesterday, he did not let me into the secret; so tell me who it is, if you are not
sworn to silence. I might be able to help you in finding what you are looking for.’ When he was told by Damis that it was the man from
Tyana, he said, ‘You were right. When Thrasybulus was sailing down the Nile with me, I asked him why he had come up here, and he
described a dishonorable trick of his. He was claiming he had made the Naked Philosophers full of suspicion about Apollonius so that
he would be disregarded when he arrived. Why he is an enemy of his I don’t know, but to resort to slander seems to me womanish and
ignorant. I could find out their attitude by talking to them, because they are friends of mine.’

Timasion came back at evening, and said nothing to Apollonius, except that he had talked to them, but reported to Damis privately
that they would be coming the next day, filled with Thrasybulus’s stories.

The Naked Philosophers invite Apollonius:

10. The next day Apollonius was absorbed in contemplation of something, after worshipping the sun in his usual way, when Nilus, the
youngest of the Naked Philosophers, ran up to him and said, ‘We are coming to you.’

‘That is reasonable,’ said Apollonius, ‘since I came to you here all the way from the sea,’ and with these words followed Nilus. He and
the philosophers met by the colonnade, and after he had greeted them and received a greeting in return, he said, ‘Where shall we
talk?’

‘Here,’ said Thespesion pointing to the grove. This Thespesion was the senior among the Naked Philosophers, and he walked at their
head while they followed him at a dignified and leisurely pace, like Judges of the Hellenes behind the chief Judge. Then they sat down
anywhere, abandoning their order, and all looked at Thespesion as the chairman of the discussion. He began in this way:

‘I am told that you have visited Delphi and Olympia, Apollonius, since that is what was reported here by Stratocles of Pharos, who said
he had met you there. I believe also that Delphi greets its visitors with pipes, songs and lyre-music, and treats them to comedy and
tragedy, and only after all this provides the naked competition: Olympia, however, avoids such preliminaries as unbecoming and
improper there, and entertains its visitors to the sight of naked athletes according to the arrangements made by Hercules. That is how
you must consider our life compared with the philosophy of the Indians. They beguile you with a variety of enchantments, as if they
were inviting you to Delphi, but we are naked, as if we were at Olympia. Here the earth does not provide bedding or produce milk or
wine as it does to followers of Bacchus, and the air does not hold us suspended. We make the earth itself our bed, and live off its
material products, so that it may supply them willingly and not be tortured against its will. However, to show that we have the power
to work miracles,’ he spoke to a certain tree, an elm which was third in the row from the one under which they were conversing, and
said to it, ‘Speak to the wise Apollonius.’ The tree spoke to him as it was told, and its voice was articulate and feminine.

He made these remarks about the Indians in the belief that he would convert Apollonius from his regard for them because Apollonius
told everybody about the words and the deeds of the Indians. Thespesion added that it was enough for a wise man to keep himself
undefiled by the flesh of living things, by the desire that enters through the eyes, and by jealousy which visits hands and hearts to
teach them evil, and that truth did not need miracles and magic arts.

‘Look at Apollo of Delphi,’ he said. ‘He dwells in the middle of Greece to dispense oracles. As you know yourself, anybody needing the
god’s advice asks a brief question, and Apollo tells all he knows without any miracles. It would be easy for him to shake all of
Parnassus, to change the waters of Castalia and make them wine, or to stop the Cephisus from being a river. But Apollo reveals the
simple truth without any such flourish. We should not think that he even wants to receive the gold or the dedications that we think so
fine, or that he prides himself on his temple, nor would he even if it were to be made twice the size it now is. This god once lived in a
humble cottage; a little hut was made for him to which the bees contributed wax and the birds their feathers. Thrift is the teacher of
wisdom, as it is of truth, and if you follow it you will be considered entirely wise, and will forget the stories you heard from the
Indians. “Do this” or “don’t do this”, “I know” or “I don’t know”, “this but not that” do not need pomp or storms, or rather
brainstorms.

‘You have seen in descriptions or pictures the Hercules of Prodicus. Hercules is a youth and has not yet chosen a way of life, and Vice
and Virtue both take hold of him and try to draw him to their side. Vice is adorned in gold, ornaments, purple robes; her face is made
up, her hair coiffured, and her eyes pencilled; and she has golden shoes, since she is shown flaunting these too. Virtue, however, looks
like a woman used to work, with a frowning expression, with wrinkles instead of cosmetics, with bare feet and squalid clothing, and in
fact she would appear naked except that she observes the feminine proprieties. Well, Apollonius, think of yourself standing between
the wisdom of India and Egypt. You can hear the Indian kind saying it will strew flowers for you when you go to sleep, give you milk to
drink, for heaven’s sake, and honey to eat: you will have nectar and wines whenever you like; it will wheel in tripods and golden
thrones for you when you drink, and you will have no work; everything will come of its own accord. But you can hear Egyptian
philosophy saying that it’s your duty to sleep on the bare ground, to be seen working naked, like us, not to think anything welcome or
pleasant unless it is the fruit of your labour, not to boast or to be fond of vanity, and even to avoid visions that lift you from the earth.
If you were to choose like Hercules, showing an iron will and not disregarding the truth or shunning a humble life according to nature,
you will be able to say that you have captured many lions and exterminated many hydras, Geryons and Nessuses, and all the creatures
that fell before Hercules. If you choose the life of those parasites, however, you will be indulging your eyes and ears, you will be
thought no better than anyone else, and you will turn out to have fallen before a Naked Philosopher of Egypt.’

Apollonius explains his philosophy of the soul:

11. When he had spoken, the company turned towards Apollonius. His followers knew that he would answer, but Thespesion’s party
wondered what he could say. Apollonius praised Thespesion for his fluency and power, and said, ‘Do you have anything to add?’

‘Of course not,’ he said, ‘I have finished.’

‘Does any of the other Egyptians?’ asked Apollonius.

‘You heard them all,’ replied Thespesion, ‘when you heard me.’

Apollonius then was silent for a little while, with his attention concentrated on what Thespesion had said; and then he began, ‘Your
account, Wise Men of Egypt, of Hercules’s choice, which according to Prodicus he made as a young man, was wise and true to the
spirit of philosophy, but it has nothing to do with me. I have not come here to take your advice about a way of life, since I long ago
chose the one that seemed right to me. I am also older than all of you except Thespesion, so that, I, your visitor, would have been
better suited to advise you about choosing a philosophy, except that I find you have already chosen one.

‘However, old as I am, and far advanced in wisdom, I will not hesitate to let you inspect my choice, and will show you how right I was
to choose my path, since I have never observed a better one. I saw a sign of greatness in Pythagoras. His mysterious philosophy not
only enabled him to know his own true self but also his past identity; he approached altars in purity, he kept his stomach undefiled by
the flesh of living things, and his body uncontaminated by all clothes made from dead creatures; he was the first man to hold his
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tongue by inventing “the ox on the tongue” as a rule of silence. The rest of his philosophy was oracular and true. I therefore ran to
embrace his doctrines. I did not choose one philosophy out of two, as you advise, Thespesion. Philosophy set the whole variety of her
doctrines before me, adorning each with its own special charms, and then told me to look at them and choose wisely. All of them had a
venerable, divine beauty, and some were such as to make other men dazzled with amazement. I, however, looked steadily at them all,
as they themselves encouraged me to do, by trying to win me over and by promising all the things they would give me. This one said
that without any toil I would taste a great feast of pleasures (Epicureanism); that one, that I would toil, and then rest (Stoicism);
another, that she would mix delights with toil (Peripateticism), and on every side I could see pleasures, all restraints on gluttony
abandoned, hands grasping for wealth, the eyes unblinkered; love, desire and all such experiences were permitted. Another
philosophy boasted that she would restrain me from such things (Cynicism): She was rude, quarrelsome, and contemptuous of
everything. But I saw a mysterious kind of philosophy, which once won the devotion of Pythagoras. She was not standing in the crowd,
but apart from them and in silence. Seeing that I resisted the others, but did not yet know her own gifts, she said, “Young man, I have
no pleasures, and am full of labour. A man who joins my society must choose to put aside al l food that consists of living flesh: he must
forget wine, and not cloud the vessel of wisdom that stands in the hearts of those that drink no wine. No cloak or wool shorn from a
living creature shall warm him, and I give him shoes of bark and the ground he stands on as a bed. If I see him yield to sex, I have
abysses to which justice, the servant of wisdom, takes him and pushes him down. So harsh am I to those that choose my way that I
have bits to curb their tongues. But let me tell you what the reward is if you endure all this. You will of course be self-controlled and
just: you will need to envy no one: you will terrify tyrants rather than be in their power: you will please the gods more with humble
sacrifices than those who spill the blood of bulls for them, and being pure you will receive from me the gift of foreknowledge, and I
will so fill your eyes with radiance that you will recognise gods, know heroes, and unmask insubstantial ghosts when they hide in
mortal form.”

“This is the way of life I have chosen, Egyptian philosophers. I chose it honestly and by Pythagoras’s example, and I neither deceived
myself nor was deceived, because I have become what a philosopher should become, and I have been given all that my philosophy said
it would give me if I did. My philosophy has been concerned with the being and the origins of the art: and I have observed that it
belongs to men who are expert in divine science and have the truest conception of the soul, because it is the soul, subject neither to
death nor to birth, that is the source of being.’

Nilus asks about Apollonius’ talks with the Indian philosophers:

12. Damis says that when he heard this, he breathed again, since Apollonius’ words had such an effect on the Egyptians that
Thespesion could be clearly seen blushing, black though he was. The others too showed amazement at Apollonius’ conviction and
eloquence, and the youngest of the Egyptians, who was named Nilus, apparently jumped up in admiration, and going over to
Apollonius gave him his hand and asked him to tell about the conversation he had had with the Indians.

Apollonius replied, ‘I would have no objection to telling you anything, because I can see you are willing to listen and are friendly to
every kind of philosophy, but I would not care to burden Thespesion with talk of the Indians, or anybody else who considers their
wisdom nonsense.’

Thespesion then said, ‘Suppose you were a merchant or a captain bringing some cargo to us from there. Would you expect to dispose
of it without submitting it to examination, just because it was from India, and not allow it to be tested or seen?’

‘If anybody wanted,’ replied Apollonius, ‘I would let them inspect it. But suppose somebody came down to the shore when my boat had
just put in, and denounced my cargo, accusing it of coming from a land that produced nothing good; and suppose he attacked me for
trading in debased goods, and persuaded everyone else to believe him. Do you imagine that someone who had sailed into such a
harbour would let out his anchor or cable at all? Wouldn’t he rather hoist his sails and put out again to the open sea, and trust his
goods to the breeze rather than to undiscriminating and unfriendly people?’

‘Well, said Nilus, ‘I grasp the cables and beg you, captain, to give me some of the cargo you have. I would be willing to come on your
ship as a deck-hand and look after the cargo.’

Apollonius answers the false charges against himself:

13. Thespesion, wanting to cut this talk short, said, ‘I am glad, Apollonius, that what you have heard annoys you. You will be all the
readier to pardon us for being annoyed at the way you criticised our philosophy when you had not yet come to test it.’

For a moment, Apollonius was taken aback by these words, not yet having heard the story about Thrasybulus and Euphrates. Then,
seeing what had happened, as he usually did, he said, ‘No, Thespesion, the Indians would have reacted differently. They would not
have listened to Euphrates when he put this story about, because they have the gift of foreknowledge. My quarrel with Euphrates was
not about any personal matter. I tried to wean him from moneymaking and from being satisfied with profit wherever it came from. But
it seems that my advice was inappropriate and beyond his power. He thinks it was condemnation, and never stops devising some new
plot against me.

‘You believed him when he slandered my character, but you must remember that he slandered you rather than me. It seems to me that
a man who is destined to incur slander will run into no small danger and be hated when he has done no harm: but those who listen to
slander will be proved to esteem falsehood and to put as high a value on it as on truth; second, they will be convicted of silliness and
gullibility.”

14. Nilus, full of eagerness to listen to Apollonius, said, ‘Well, it is you that should begin the conversation by telling us about your
journey to the country of the Indians and your conversations there. They must have been on exalted subjects.’

‘For my part,’ said Thespesion, ‘I am keen to hear about the wisdom of Phraotes, since I am told you have brought from India precious
extracts from his conversation.’ Apollonius therefore began with their experiences in Babylon, and described their whole story, while
the Egyptians were delighted to listen, and hung on his words. When noon came, they ended their conversation, since this is a time
which the Naked Philosophers as well devote to religion.

BOOK VII
Apollonius, arrested by Domitian, philosophises on ways of dealing with tyrants:

30. The clerk then left, while Apollonius lay down on his bed and said, ‘I need sleep, Damis. I have had a bad night trying to recall
something I once heard from Phraotes.’

‘But you ought to stay awake, rather’, said Damis, ‘and prepare yourself for the appointment, since it is so important.’

‘How could I prepare myself,’ asked Apollonius, ‘when I don’t yet know what he is going to ask?’

‘Are you going to improvise, then,’ asked Damis, ‘when your life is at stake?’

‘Yes, Damis,’ he replied, ‘just as I improvise in life itself. But I want to tell you the remark of Phraotes which I recalled, because you
will consider it useful in the circumstances too. Phraotes advises that we should not hit the lions which people make pets of, because
they bear resentment if they are hit, and we should not spoil them because that makes them capricious. Instead, we should mix
caresses with threats, and so educate them to ways of obedience. He was not of course referring to lions, since our conversations
were not about raising pets, but giving me a rein to use with tyrants, which he thought would prevent me from leaving the proper
path.’

‘That saying,’ replied Damis, ‘is a very appropriate description of a tyrant’s character, but there is also in Aesop the lion in the cave,
which Aesop says was only pretending to be ill, and caught the animals that came to visit it. But the vixen said, “what am I to make of
this creature? Nobody comes away from him: there is no trace of anybody coming out.”

Apollonius replied, ‘For myself, I would have thought the vixen more clever if she had gone inside without being caught, and had left
the cave making her own traces.’

BOOK VIII
Apollonius mocks at his accusers in a rigged trial:

7 (iv). ‘However, I do not want to stray into a discussion of folly, so I will ask my accuser what subject I should begin with. There is no
need to ask: it was my clothing that he devoted the beginning of his speech to, and, for that matter, what I eat and do not eat. Defend
yourself on this charge, divine Pythagoras, since we are on trial for customs that you began and I follow.

‘… As for the Indians and Egyptians, the Egyptians criticise the Indians in every way, and speak ill of their beliefs about material
objects: but they have such a high opinion of the Indians’ doctrine about the creator of the universe that they teach it to others,
although it is Indian.

‘This doctrine recognises god as the creator of the universe in its origin and in its essence. What inspired him to this act was
goodness; and since the ideas are related to one another, I affirm the Indians’ doctrine and believe that men who are good have some
share in godhead. The order formed by god’s creation must be understood to be everything in heaven and sea and earth, in all of
which all men have an equal share, except if chance forbids them…
‘What kind of defence is appropriate? I did not sacrifice, I do not; I do not touch blood, even if it is on the altar, since that was the
doctrine of the Naked Philosophers of Egypt and the Wise Men of India, from whom Pythagoras and his sect derived the seeds of their
philosophy.’

Apollonius has a vision of the murder of Domitian as it actually happens:

(25) The time had come in which the gods were deposing Domitian from his supremacy over mankind. He had just executed Clemens,
a man of consular rank, to whom he had given his sister’s hand, and had issued an order about two or three days after the murder that
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she was to join her husband. So Stephanus, a freed man of hers, who was foretold by the shape of the portent, was led by
consideration for the murdered man, or for all Domitian’s victims, to make a plot against the tyrant equal to that of the most freedom-
loving of the Athenians.

…Stephanus, attacking him when he was off his balance, drew the knife from the concealment of his arm and drove it through
Domitian’s thigh; the blow was not so accurate as to be immediately fatal, but accurate enough to be fatal later. The emperor, who had
always been of strong physique, and was then about forty-four, grappled with Stephanus after the blow, knocked him down, and
pinned him, and then gouged his eyes and beat his face with the stem of a golden cup which had been lying there for use in ritual; at
the same time he called on Athena for help.

26. All this happened in Rome, but was seen by Apollonius in Ephesus. He was holding a discussion in the woods of the park about
noon, the very time when the events in the palace took place. First he dropped his voice, as if afraid; then his exposition lost some of
its usual clarity, as happens when a man is distracted by something in the middle of his arguments; then he fell silent, as people do
when they have lost the thread. He stared hard at the ground, stepped three or four paces forward, and shouted, ‘Strike the tyrant!
Strike him!’ it was not as if he was observing some reflection of truth through a mirror, but as if he was seeing the real thing and
seeming to take part in the action.

The tyrant was slaughtered today. Why do I say today? Just now, I tell you, just now, about the moment when I fell silent in my talk.’
Those in Ephesus thought this was madness, and although they wanted him to be right, were afraid of the risks if they listened. ‘I am
not surprised,’ said Apollonius, ‘that you do not believe what I say yet, when not even all of Rome knows about it. But look, Rome is
finding out now; the rumour is spreading; now ten thousand believe it, now twice as many are leaping in joy, now twice as many as
that, now four times as many, now all the cities there. This messenger will get here too; and you may postpone celebrating with a
sacrifice to the time when the news arrives, but I am going to thank the gods for what I have seen.’

27. The story had still gained credence when messengers came with the good tidings and confirmed Apollonius’ wisdom. The
assassination of the tyrant, the day on which it had come (18 September, AD 96), the noon hour, the assassins whom Apollonius had
urged on, proved to correspond in every detail with what the gods had revealed to him during his discourse.

Thirty days later a letter came from Nerva that he now held power in Rome, thanks to the advice of the gods and of Apollonius, but he
would retain it more easily if Apollonius came to advise him.

 CHAPTER — 10
Fragmentary References on India
Diodorus Siculus
Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (the Sicilian) was born at Agyrium in Sicily, and lived in the second half of the first century BC. He
claimed to have travelled in Egypt between 60 and 57 BC and mentioned events occurring in 21 BC. He wrote in Rome during the
days of Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus, spending nearly thirty years writing Bibliotheca Historica (Historical Library), which
comprised forty books, of which only books I to V and XI to XX are intact. The rest survive in fragments preserved in later works. The
extant books contain Alexander’s India campaign, a general description of India, and some incidental notices on India. The extracts
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are based on the English translation of McCrindle.

BIBLIOTHECA HISTORICA
BOOK XVII, CHAPTER LXXXIV
Alexander at Massaga - treachery towards Indian mercenaries and valour of Indian women:

When the capitulation on those terms had been ratified by oaths, the Queen [of Massaga], to show her admiration of Alexander’s
magnanimity, se nt out to him most valuable presents, with an intimation that she would fulfil all the stipulations. Then the
mercenaries at once, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, evacuated the city, and after retiring to a distance of eighty
stadia, pitched their camp unmolested without thought of what was to happen. But Alexander, who was actuated by an implacable
enmity against the mercenaries, and had kept his troops under arms ready for action, pursued the barbarians, and falling suddenly
upon them, made a great slaughter of their ranks. The barbarians at first loudly protested that they were attacked in violation of
sworn obligations, and invoked the gods whom he had desecrated by taking false oaths in their name. But Alexander with loud voice
retorted that his covenant merely bound him to let them depart from the city, and was by no means a league of perpetual amity
between them and the Macedonians. The mercenaries, undismayed by the greatness of their danger, drew their ranks together in the
form of a ring, within which they placed the women and children to guard them on all sides aga inst their assailants. As they were now
desperate, and by their audacity and feats of valour made the conflict in which they closed hot work for the enemy, while the
Macedonians held it a point of honour not to be outdone in courage by a horde of barbarians, great was the astonishment and alarm
which the peril of the crisis created. For as the combatants were locked together fighting hand to hand, death and wounds were dealt
round in every variety of form. Thus the Macedonians, when once their long spikes had shattered the shields of the barbarians,
pierced their vitals with the steel points of these weapons, and on the other hand the mercenaries never hurled their javelins without
deadly effect against the near mark presented by the dense ranks of the enemy. When many were thus wounded and not a few killed,
the women, taking the arms of the fallen, fought side by side with the men for the imminence of the danger and the great interests at
stake forced them to do violence to their nature, and to take an active part in the defence. Accordingly some of them who had supplied
themselves with arms, did their best to cover their husbands with their shields, while others who were without arms did much to
impede the enemy by flinging themselves upon them and catching hold of their shields. The defenders, however, after fighting
desperately along with their wives, were at last overpowered by superior numbers, and met a glorious death which they would have
disdained to exchange for a life with dishonour. Alexander spared the unwarlike and unarmed multitude, as well as the women that
still survived, but took them away under charge of the cavalry.

BOOK II
General abundance and wealth of India:

II. 36. The inhabitants, in like manner, having abundant means of subsistence, are of unusual height and bulk of body. They are also
found to be well skilled in the arts, as might be expected of men who inhale a pure air and drink the very finest water. And while the
soil bears on its surface all kinds of fruits which are known to cultivation, it has also under ground numerous veins of all sorts of
metals, for it contains much gold and silver, and copper and iron in no small quantity, and even tin and other metals, which are
employed in making articles of use and ornament, as well as the implements and accoutrements of war.

Climate and double-cropping:

In addition to cereals, there grows throughout India much millet, which is kept well watered by the profusion of river-streams, and
much pulse of superior quality, and rice also, and what is called bosporum, as well as many other plants useful for food, of which most
are native to the country. The soil yields, moreover, not a few other edible fruits fit for the subsistence of animals, about which it
would be tedious to write. It is accordingly affirmed that famine has never visited India, and that there has never been a general
scarcity in the supply of nourishing food. For, since there is a double rainfall in the course of each year - one in the winter season,
when the sowing of wheat takes place as in other countries, and the second at the time of the summer solstice, which is the proper
season for sowing rice and bosporum, as well as sesamum and millet - the inhabitants of India almost always gather in two harvests
annually; and even should one of the sowings prove more or less abortive they are always sure of the other crop. The fruits, moreover,
of spontaneous growth, and the esculent roots which grow in marshy places and are of varied sweetness, afford abundant sustenance
for man. The fact is, almost all the plains in the country have a moisture which is alike genial, whether it is derived from the rivers, or
from the rains of the summer season, which are wont to fall every year at a stated period with surprising regularity; while the great
heat which prevails ripens the roots which grow in the marshes, and especially those of the tall reeds.

Respect to farmers and nature during war:

But, further, there are usages observed by the Indians which contribute to prevent the occurrence of famine among them; for whereas
among other nations it is usual, in the contests of war, to ravage the soil, and thus to reduce it to an uncultivated waste, among the
Indians, on the contrary, by whom husbandmen are regarded as a class that is sacred and inviolable, the tillers of the soil, even when
battle is raging in their neighbourhood, are undisturbed by any sense of danger, for the combatants on either side in waging the
conflict make carnage of each other, but allow those engaged in husbandry to remain quite unmolested. Besides, they neither ravage
an enemy’s land with fire, nor cut down its trees.

Equality and no slavery:

39. Of several remarkable customs existing among the Indians, there is one prescribed by their ancient philosophers which one may
regard as truly admirable: for the law ordains that no one among them shall, under any circumstances, be a slave, but that, enjoying
freedom, they shall respect the principle of equality in all persons: for those, they thought, who have learned neither to domineer over
nor to cringe to others will attain the life best adapted for all vicissitudes of lot: since it is silly to make laws on the basis of equality of
all persons and yet to establish inequalities in social intercourse.
Fair treatment of foreigners:

42. Among the Indians officers are appointed even for foreigners, whose duty is to see that no foreigner is wronged. Should any of
them lose his health, they send physicians to attend him, and take care of him otherwise, and if he dies they bury him, and deliver
over such property as he leaves to his relatives. The judges also decide cases in which foreigners are concerned, with the greatest
care, and come down sharply on those who take unfair advantage of them.

EXTRACTS ON THE BRAHMANS

Bardesanes of Babylon

Scholars differ whether Bardesanes, who wrote about the Indian Gymnosophists and whom Porphyry called the Babylonian, was the
same as Bardesanes of Edessa (a city in Mesopotamia), who was born in AD 154 and wrote in Syriac against Marcion and other
heretics. Bardesanes the Babylonian acquired his knowledge of India from members of an embassy probably sent to Emperor Marcus
Aurelius Antoninus Elagabalus. While Bardesanes’ work is lost, an extract was preserved by Porphyry (AD 233-306) in the Fourth
Book of his treatise On Abstinence from Animal Food. Two extracts from his work were preserved by Johannes Stobaeus (probably
around the early sixth century), who compiled a valuable series of extracts from Greek authors.

PHYSICA, I. 56. GAISFORD’S EDITION

On judging one’s whole life:

They (the Indian envoys) told me further that there was a large natural cave in a very high mountain almost in the middle of the
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country, wherein there is to be seen a statue of ten, say, or twelve cubits high, standing upright with its hands folded crosswise -
and the right-half of its face was that of a man, and the left that of a woman; and in like manner the right hand and right foot, and in
short the whole right side was male and the left female, so that the spectator was struck with wonder at the combination, as he saw
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how the two dissimilar sides coalesced in an indissoluble union in a single body. In this statue was engraved, it is said, on the right
breast the sun, and on the left the moon, while on the two arms was artistically engraved a host of angels (devas) and whatever the
world contains, that is to say, the sky and mountains and a sea, and a river and ocean, together with plants and animals - in fact,
everything. The Indians allege that the deity had given this statue to his son when he founded the world as a visible representation
thereof. And I inquired, adds Bardisanes, of what material this statue was made, when Sandanes assured me, and the others
confirmed his words, that no man could tell what the material was, for it was neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, nor stone, nor indeed
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any known substance, but that though not wood it most resembled a very hard wood, quite free from rot. And they told how one of
their kings had tried to pluck out one of the hairs about the neck, and how blood flowed out, whereat the king was so str uck down
with terror that, even with all the prayers of the Brachmans, he hardly recovered his senses. They said that on its head was the image
of a god, seated as on a throne, and that in the great heats the statue ran all over with sweat, so copiously discharged that it would
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have moistened the ground at the base, did not the Brachmans use their fans to stop the flux. Farther on in the cave, a long way
behind the statue, all, the Indians say, was dark, and those who wi sh, go in advance with lighted torches till they come to a door from
which water issues and forms a lake around the far end of the cave. Through this door those must pass who desire to prove
themselves. Those who have lived unstained with vice pass through without impediment, the door opening wide to them, and find
within a large fountain of water clear as crystal and of sweetest taste - the source of the stream spoken of. The guilty, however,
struggle hard to push in through that door, but fail in the attempt, for it closes against them. They are thus compelled to confess their
offences against others, and to entreat the rest to pray for them. They also fast for a considerable time.

Sandanes further stated that himself and his companions found the Brachmans on an appointed day assembled together in this place,
that some of them spent their life there, but that ot hers come in the summer and autumn when fruit is plentiful both to see the statue
and meet their friends, as well as to prove themselves whether they could pass through the door. At the same lime, it is said, they
examine the sculptures on the statue and try to discover their meaning, for it is not easy to attend to the whole representation, the
objects being numerous, while some of the plants and animals are not to be found in any part of the country. Such then is the account
which the Indians give to the ordeal by water.

Pseudo-Kallisthenes
Aristotle’s nephew, Kallisthenes, accompanied Alexander to Asia, but offended the king by reproaching him for introducing the dress
and manners of the Persian Court into his own. At Baktra, he was accused of instigating the conspiracy of the Court Pages and
executed. The Romance History was falsely ascribed to him. C. Muller, editor of Geographi Graeci Minores and other classical texts,
published in 1846, along with the Anabasis and Indika of Arrian, the Romance History of Alexander the Great under the title Pseudo-
Kallisthenes. In the midst of conversations between Alexander and the Brahmans is abruptly inserted a small treatise About the
Nations of India and the Brachmans, which does not belong to the History of Alexander, but to the Lausiac Histories of Palladius, who
wrote about 420 AD. Muller subjoined the Latin version of this work prepared by St. Ambrose. The English translation is from the
Greek text.

Book III. vii. We then, prompted by our regard for you, in addition to what we have already related, will further give you a
description of the life of the Brachmans, whose country I have neither visited, nor met with any of its people; for they live far remote,
dwelling near the Ganges, the river of India and Serica…

Now, for what I have been able to learn about the Brachmans I am indebted to a certain Theban scholar, who willingly left his home to
travel abroad, but had unwillingly to endure captivity. This person, so he told me, was unfitted by nature to succeed in the legal
profession, and regarding it with indifference, resolved to explore the land of the Indians….

ix. The traveller stated that the Brachman nation was not an order like that of the monks, which one could enter if he chose – but a
society, admission into which was allotted from above by the decrees of God. They live in a state of nature near the river, and go about
naked. They have no quadrupeds, no tillage, no iron, no house, no fire, no bread, no wine, no implement of labour, nothing tending to
pleasure. The air they breathe is at once bracing and temperate, and altogether most delightful. They reverence the Deity, and are not
so scant of wit as to be unable to discern aright the principles of divine Providence. They pray without ceasing, and, while so engaged,
instead of looking towards the East, they direct their eyes steadfastly towards heaven without averting their gaze to the East. They
subsist on such fruits as chance offers, and on wild lupines that grow spontaneously. They drink water as they roam about the woods,
and they take their repose on the leaves of trees. In their country persunon (elecampane?) grows abundantly and acantha wood, and
the soil elsewhere yields fruits for the sustenance of man. And the men dwell by the shores of the ocean on yonder side of the river
Ganges, for this river discharges its waters into the ocean – but their women live on the other side of the Ganges towards the interior
of India. The men cross over to their wives in the months of July and August. These months are colder with them than the other
months, because at that season the sun is elevated in our direction and over the North; and it is said that the temperature is more
exhilarating and adapted to excite the sexual desires. After spending forty days with their wives they recross the river. When the wife
has borne two children, her husband does not again cross over nor go near his wife. When, therefore, they have given sons as their
substitutes, they abstain for the rest of their lives from intercourse with their wives. But if it happens that a wife proves barren, her
husband crosses over to her for five years and cohabits with her. And if she does not then bear a child, he no longer goes near her. The
race accordingly does not multiply much, both because of the hardships to which life is exposed in these regions, and also the strict
control of the impulse to procreation. Such is the body politic of the Brahmans.

KOSMAS INDIKOPLEUSTES
Kosmas Indikopleustes was an Alexandrian monk who wrote Christian Topography to refute the Ptolemaic system which held that the
earth and the heavens are spherical. Despite this absurdity, his work is valued for important notices on history and geography. He
wrote around the mid-sixth century AD, when Greek learning and culture was being eclipsed by rising mediaeval ignorance. Kosmas
was a merchant in his youth, and thus visited regions far from his birthplace: Alexandria, sailed upon the Mediterranean Sea, the Red
Sea, and the Persian Gulf. He traversed much of Ethiopia (the vast region southward from Egypt to the Equator). The title
Indikopleustes (Indian navigator) suggests he made a voyage to India. Some scholars doubt this, yet his description of Ceylon and the
Malabar coast and the nature of commerce on the eastern seas is so accurate that it seems to have been penned by a personal
observer.

ON CERTAIN INDIAN ANIMALS

FROM KOSMAS INDIKOPLEUSTES DE MUNDO, XI
Rhinoceros:

1. This animal is called the rhinoceros from having horns growing upon its nose. When it walks about the horns shake, but when it
looks enraged it tightens them, and they become firm and unshaken so that they are able to tear up even trees by the roots, such
especially as stand right in their way. The eyes are placed as low down as the jaws. It is altogether a most terrible animal, and is
especially hostile to the elephant. Its feet and its skin closely resemble those of the elephant. Its skin, which is dry and hard, is four
fingers thick – and from this instead of from iron some make ploughshares wherewith they plough their lands.

Taurelaphos or ox-deer:

2. This is an animal found in India and in Ethiopia. But those in India are tame and gentle, and are there used for carrying pepper and
other stuffs packed in bags; these being slung over the back one on each side.

Agriobous or wild ox:

4. This is an animal of great size and belongs to India, and from it is got what is called the toupha, wherewith the captains of armies
decorate their horses and their standards when taking the field. They say of it that if its tail be caught by a tree it no longer stoops,
but remains standing through its unwillingness to lose even a single hair. On seeing this the people of the neighbourhood approach
and cut off the tail, and then the creature flies off when docked entirely of its tail.

Moskhos or Musk-deer:

5. The moschus is a small animal (about three feet long), and is called in the native dialect Kastouri. The hunters pierce it with arrows,
and having tied up the blood collected at the navel, cut this away, for this is the part which has the pleasant fragrance known to us
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under the name of musk. The rest of the carcass is then thrown away.

Piperi-Pepper:

8. … the pepper tree. Each separate plant clings for support to some tall tree which does not yield fruit, being very weak and slender
like the delicate tendrils of the vine. Each cluster is enveloped within a couple of leaves. It is perfectly green like the colour of rue.

Argellia or coconut tree:

9. There is another tree of this sort called argellia, that is – the tall nut-trees of India. It differs in no respect from the date-palm
except in being taller and thicker and having larger leaves. It produces no other fruit than two or three flower-spathes, each having as
many nuts. The taste is extremely sweet and pleasant, being like that of the kernels of green nuts. The nut is at first full of a
deliciously sweet water which the Indians therefore drink instead of wine. This very sweet beverage is called rhongkhosoura. If the
fruit is gathered at maturity, then so long as it keeps its quality, the water in the course of time hardens upon the shell, while the
water in the centre retains its fluidity till it finally disappears. If however it be kept too long without being opened, the concretion on
the shell becomes rancid and unfit for human food.

 CHAPTER — 11

Buddhism in China : A General Outline

Sea voyages and commercial ties between China and India can be traced back to as early as the seventh century BC when Indian
merchants began trading in rubies, pearls, and sugar, and established colonies in Pegu, Cambodia, Java, Sumatra and Borneo and
trading settlements in southern China and the Malayan peninsula. In the first century BC, Kushans of the Yue-chi (also Yuezhi) tribe in
Bactria began to arrive in India, and their rule saw the ingress of Indian sages into China. The earliest reference to India in Chinese
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works dates from the second century BC and speaks of Yan-tu or Yin-tu, meaning Hindu, and Shin-tu meaning Sindhu.

Under King Asoka these nascent contacts easily yielded to a lively religious traffic that persisted for several centuries thereafter, by
both land and sea. The Chinese have meticulously recorded the details of this long engagement, but even in India, historical traces are
visible in the record of a Chinese embassy to Kanchi (Houang-tche) and the unearthing of a Chinese coin of approximately the same
period from Chandravalli in Mysore. Chinese annals of the third to the fifth centuries AD reveal that the Hindu kingdoms of Indo-
China and the archipelago maintained regular ties with south India and China. They often sent prese nts of vaidurya (cat’s eye),
sandalwood, and pearls, quintessential south Indian products, to the Chinese court.

Sea traffic was brisk during the seventh and eighth centuries with the mariner’s compass and improvement in ship-building. The
Sramanas who forged cultural ties between India and China availed of the route that merchants on both sides ploughed through the
sea. I-ching (also I-tsing or Yi Jing) made the first voyage by a Chinese pilgrim. Fa-hien (also Faxian) did not visit the south Indian
mainland, but boarded ship from Tamluk to Ceylon (Sri Lanka); his tale about the Deccan and the ‘pigeon monastery’ is sheer fantasy.
He came to India via the more ancient overland route through Central Asia, which became popular in the second century BC.

Buddhism truly arrived in China in the third century BC, under the zealous efforts of King Asoka. This was a peri od of great turmoil
as China was constantly troubled by the Tartar tribe, Yuchi (compelling monarch Che Hwangti to build the Great Wall in 250 BC), and
the Huns. In one conflict with the Huns, the Chinese general Hou Kiuping saw a golden statue of Buddha, which matched reports from
Chinese envoy Chang-Kian (who was abducted by the Yuchi but managed to escape after ten years) about the worship of Buddha in
Thian (India). The image was brought before the emperor in 121 AD, and is reputed to be the origin of Buddha statues subsequently
made in China.

Emperor Wu-ti and his successor Chaou-ti routed the Huns in 60 BC. A branch of the Yuchi (Great Yuchi) established themselves in
Kashmir and Kabul. Their chief, Khieu-tsiu-ki (died 35 BC) was succeeded by his son, Yen-kao-ching (Hima Kadphises). In the reign of
his successor Kanishka (15 BC-45 AD), according to the Rajatarangini (History of Kashmir), Vasumitra organized an assembly in
Tamasavana Vihara at the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas, for the last authentic revision of Buddhist scriptures, according to
Northern authorities.

Emperor Ming Ti (62 AD) of the Eastern Han dynasty, in his fourth regnal year, had a vision of a golden image, 19 feet high, with a
glistening halo, entering his palace. The Literati (scholar-bureaucrats of imperial China, followers of Confucius) interpreted this as a
reference to the Buddha. Another version (Loyang Temples, iv.4) states: “The golden spirit, speaking to the emperor, said, ‘Buddha
bids you send to the west countries to search for him, with a view to obtain books and images.’” Ming Ti deputed a mission to the land
of the Great Yuchi and to central India. His men returned after eleven years with the Indian Kasyapa Matanga, who translated the
Sutra of 42 Sections and died at Loyang. Soon after his arrival came Tsu-fah-lan, who assisted him. They had jointly brought five
Buddhist texts from India, including the Sutra of 42 Sections, the Dasabhumi Sutra, and the Lalitavistara. These were translated by
Imperial order, around 76 AD. As the books and images entered Loyang on a white horse, the Temple of the White Horse was
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founded.

Buddhism gradually spread through China. The Parthian monk An-shi-kau was listed in the annals in 150 AD as an excellent translator.
About 170 AD, Chi-tsin, a Yuchi priest, translated the Nirvana Sutra. The Wu prince Sun-k’iuen, soon after an embassy from Marcus
Aurelius Antonius, received an Indian monk who translated some Buddhist texts. About 250 AD, Chi-Meng, residing at Kao Tch’ang
(Tourfan) translated the Seng-ki-liuh (Rules of the Priesthood), which he procured at Kusumpura or Pataliputra. In 260 AD, Shaman
Fa-hou (Dharmaraksha) in the reign of the Western Tsin travelled widely in India, acquired proficiency in 36 dialects, and returned to
the Imperial court with several Buddhist and Brahman works. Residing at Loyang, he oversaw the translation of 165 texts between
265–308 AD. These included the second version of the Lalitavistara, a corrected copy of the Nirvana Sutra, and the Suvarna Prabhasa
Sutra.

Around 300 AD, a foreign priest named Chi-kung-ming translated the Wei-ma (Vimalakirti Sutra?) and the Fa-hwa (Saddharma
Pundarika). Soon after, the prince of the Chau kingdom, influenced by an Indian monk Bouddhasimha (Fo-to-ching), permitted his
subjects to take Buddhist monastic vows. Previously, Indian natives could build temples in the large cities; now Chinese were allowed
to become Shamans. At Loyang (Honan-fu) alone, 42 pagodas were built by 350 AD.

Fa-hian lived in this era. He noticed the imperfect rules of discipline observed by the monks of Changan and the fact that translations
of Buddhist books so far received in China were largely incorrect. Emperor Yao-hing (397-415 AD) sent an army to Koutche (a
kingdom westward of Lake Lob) to bring a learned Indian priest, Kumarajiva, to help arrange correct versions of the principal books
available in the country; over 800 monks were deputed to assist him. The Emperor personally attended the conference and Prince Yao-
wang and Count Yao-seng helped transcribe the sheets of the new translations.

Simultaneously, Fa-hian undertook a dangerous journey to India to secure correct copies of the holy texts as early monks like Matanga
and Tsu-fah-lan had brought vastly disparate scriptures. Internal evidence suggests the Sutra of 42 Sections is an ancient text, while
the Dasabhumi Sutra of the Mahayana School is a much later creation. Yet both books were accorded the same status, thus causing
confusion. Fa-hian went to obtain books of a uniform character, that is, those belonging to the Rules of Discipline and the Hinayana
school. Five years after his return, the Tsin dynasty was deposed (420 AD) by the fearsome Tartar tribe, the Northern Wei. The
Southern Sung dynasty ruled in the southern provinces and he published the Fo-koue-ki under their name.

Buddhism underwent several vissicitudes in China, being persecuted during the early period of the Sung and Wei dynasties. Making
images and building temples were forbidden, books and images destroyed, many priests executed, and the worship of foreign
divinities made a capital offence. There was some relief in 451 AD, as a result of which one Buddhist temple was permitted in each
city, and 40 or 50 citizens allowed to become priests. But in 458 AD, a Buddhist priest was implicated in a conspiracy; a royal
proclamation thereafter authorised imperial officers to scrutinise the conduct of monks and execute those found guilty.

Buddhism’s rapid ascent annoyed the Literati and disciples of Lao-tseu (also Lao Tse, Laotze). In 467 AD, the Wei prince commissioned
a 50-foot image of Buddha, using five tons of brass and 6 cwt. of gold; later he renounced the throne and became a monk. Ming Ti,
sixth Sung emperor, built a grand Buddhist temple and was chastised by his Literati. In the early sixth century there were over 3000
Indians and 13,000 Buddhist temples in China. The Wei prince and the first emperor of the Liang dynasty (502-550 AD) in the South
thrice took Buddhist vows and expounded the Sutras to courtiers. In his twenty-sixth regnal year, he entered the T’ung-Tae monastery
in Nanking, enraging the Literati.

The Wei Queen deputed Sung-Yun to India to collect Buddhist scriptures; he went with Hwui-Seng and returned with 175 volumes. By
now Buddhism had come under the influence of magical arts, and in 515 AD several monks were executed for such practices. But
when the King of Siam wrote to Wu-ti offering a 14-foot long hair of the Buddha, he promptly dispatched priests to collect it! Even
earlier, around 460 AD, five monks from Ceylon came to China via Tibet, bringing many images, some with alleged miraculous
properties.

Yuan Chwang (Hiuen Tsang, Xuanzang) left for India in 629 AD. Returning after sixteen years, he met Emperor Tae-Tsung at Loyang to
explain his departure from the country without Imperial permission. Impressed by his account, the Emperor pardoned him and asked
him to write a history of the western countries; Chinese artists made maps to illustrate the book, Si Yu Ki, which divided India into five
parts, hence the reference to Five Indies or Gotenjiku Zu. Yuan Chwang lived nineteen years after this work and devoted himself to
translating texts brought back from India. He completed 740 works in 1335 books. China at this time had 3716 monasteries. At Yuan
Chwang’s request, the Emperor permitted five new monks to be ordained in each monastery, swelling their ranks by nearly 18,000.
Around this time the Nestorian Christians arrived and were permitted to build a church in Changan.

The Confucianists made a comeback in the early eight century and forced 12,000 nuns and monks to return to secular life. Casting
images, writing sacred books, and building temples were banned. But Su Tsung (760 AD) and his successor Tae-Tsung (763 AD) were
avid believers. Emperor Hien-tsung (819 AD) deputed mandarins to escort Buddha’s bone relic to the capital, a fact resented by a
minister who was banished to Canton. In 845 AD, another wave of persecution hit Buddhism, but Emperor Wu-Tsung reinstated the
faith.

Emperor I-tsung (860 AD) learnt Sanskrit and the Indian mode of chanting, invited monks to his private apartments, and often visited
monasteries to the dismay of the Literati. Another relic of Buddha found its way to the Palace and was personally received by the
ruler. Soon foreign priests were flocking to China from Korea and Japan to procure books and escort priests to prestigious
monasteries in their own countries. Monks from India and neighbouring lands arrived with books and images at Honan-fu, which
alone had 1367 Buddhist temples. The tenth century saw renewed persecution of Buddhism.

Kublai Khan (She Tsu), the first Mongol emperor (1280 AD), was a devout Buddhist. He converted Confucian temples to monasteries
and persecuted Taoism. Near the end of his reign, a priest from Tibet arrived, and regretting he could not personally dialogue with
him, the Emperor directed Kalutanasi, a Mongolian, to learn Tibetan. A year later, the complete translation of Buddhist Sutras and
Sastras from Tibetan and Sanskrit into Mongolian (in Uighur character) was presented to Kublai in 1294 AD, the year of his death.

In 965 AD, Buddhist monk Tai-yuen brought back relics and Sanskrit copies of Buddhist texts on palm leaves, totalling forty volumes.
The following year, 157 Chinese priests took the Emperor’s permission to visit India to procure more books; but disappeared from
history. In the Yuen dynasty, monk Tau-wu, inspired by the story of Fa-Hian, travelled to Kipin (Cophene, Kabul), learned the original
language of Buddhist books and reached India; he returned by sea to Canton. This is the last recorded pilgrimage to India.

Much of the cultural intercourse was at the initiative of the Chinese; hence, the source materials of this story are found in Chinese
only. They preserved the names of Indian monks and scholars who took Indian civilisation to their land, as also the Chinese monks
who went to India by land and sea in search of the Law. Many perished en route, and when the Chinese government made no efforts
to trace them, I-tsing decided to honour their memory and eventually collected brief biographies of nearly 60 monks (a few remained
unnamed) who visited India while he was there. They were mostly Chinese, a few Koreans and one from Sogdiana (Khirgiz). They
journeyed in the reign of the Great T’ang dynasty, and received patronage and honour from Indian rulers, princes and Buddhist
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scholars in India. Most were from poor backgrounds, but a few were from aristocratic families with imperial posts.

I-tsing himself suffered privation on the journey: “Many days I have passed without food, even without a drop of water. I was always
worried and no spirit was left in me… If, however, a monk happened to reach India after such perilous journey, he would find no
Chinese monastery there. There was no fixed place to settle down. We had to move from place to place like a blade of grass swept by
wind. I wish to fulfill my desire so that the future generations may know all about the facts. I had heard with my own ears and seen
with my own eyes the difficulties the monks had undergone previously.”

Once Buddhism arrived in China, there arose the problem of correctly translating the Sutras and conveying their complex meanings in
Chinese. The sacred texts had to be made available to the people to propagate the philosophy of the new faith. Translation and
commentary of Buddhist texts thus emerged as a major occupation of Chinese Buddhism and the capital city of Loyang its most
important centre. Important bilingual scholars here included the Parthian monk An Shih-kao, the Indo-Scythian Dharmaraksa and
Lokaksema, and Kumarajiva of Kucha. They joined hands with Chinese monk-scholars and translated nearly 1153 Buddhist texts.
Chinese monk-scholars like Tao-an, Chih-ch’ien, and Hui-yuan prodded young monks to visit India.

After Tao-an’s death in 385 AD, his most renowned disciple, Fa-hien, set off to collect texts on the Vinaya. His sixteen-year sojourn
(399-414 AD) is recorded in the Fo-kuo chi (Record of the Buddhist Country ). Fa-hien knew Sanskrit well and translated a copious
text on the disciplinary code of the Mahasanghika. He was followed by Sung-yun and Hui-sheng (518 AD) who left a brief account of
their journey. The most prolific writer was Yuan Chwang (629-645 AD), who departed for India secretly, but returned to great honour
by the Emperor T’ai-Tsung. The next famous pilgrim was I-ching, born in the reign of the same emperor, and ordained as a monk at
the age of fourteen years.

Chinese annals document embassies exchanged between China and the Pallava court of Kanchi in the eighth century and the Chola
court in the eleventh. There was considerable commercial traffic between China and south India in these centuries. Chau-Ju-Kua, the
Chinese inspector of foreign trade, compiled the Chu-fan-chi around 1225 AD, about south Indian kingdoms in the Middle Ages.
Mongol emperor Kublai Khan sent several embassies to South Indian states.

Chinese merchant Wang Ta-yuan visited many lands between 1330–1349 AD and penned the Tai-i-chi-lio (Description of the
Barbarians of the Isles), listing 99 countries and ports, notably Colombo, the Maldives, Kayangulam, Eli and Calicut. Early in the
fifteenth century, the third emperor of the Ming dynasty commissioned naval expeditions to establish his fame in distant countries,
which in turn deputed embassies to the Chinese court. Seven expeditions led by Cheng Ho came to south India. Later, his fellow
travellers Fei Hsin and Ma Huan respectively penned the Hsing-cha-sheng-lan (Description of the Star Raft, 1436) and Ying-yai-sheng-
lan (Description of the Coasts of the Ocean, 1451) which give significant details about Ceylon, Cochin and Calicut before the rise of
the Portuguese.

We conclude with a few words about Magadha, who’s Emperor Asoka gave Sakya Muni’s creed its international dimension. Magadha
(modern south Bihar) was one of four important kingdoms in Buddha’s lifetime, the others being Kosala, the kingdom of the Vamsas,
and Avanti. It was one of the sixteen mahajanapadas and its capital was Rajagriha, where Bimbisara and his son Ajatasatru reigned.
Later, the capital shifted to Pataliputra. Under Bimbisara, Anga was included in the realm and he was titled king of Anga-Magadha.
His territory comprised of 80,000 villages spanning a circumference of nearly 300 leagues. Ajatasatru annexed Kosala, the only rival
kingdom, with help from the Lichchavis.

Bimbisara and Ajatasatru raised Magadha to such heights that till the time of Asoka, the history of northern India was synonymous
with that of Magadha. In Buddha’s time, Magadha stretched to the river Champa on the east, the Vindhya ranges to the south, the
river Son on the west, and the Ganga to the north. The Ganga formed the natural frontier between Magadha and the Lichchavi
republic and both had equal rights over the river. When Buddha visited Vaishali, Bimbisara built and decorated a five-league long road
from Rajagriha to the Ganga; the Lichchavis did the same on their side. Sakya Muni preached in the Magadhi dialect.

Magadha was a major political and commercial centre in the early Buddhist era. The rulers had cordial ties with their neighbours;
Bimbisara and Pasenadi married each other’s sisters. He also had an alliance with Pukkusati, king of Gandhara. When Candappajjota
of Ujjeni fell sick with jaundice, Bimbisara sent his personal physician, Jivaka, to cure him. Buddha’s leading disciples, Sariputra and
Moggallana, hailed from Magadha. Under Asoka, Pataliputra’s income from the four city gates was 400,000 kahapanas daily; the
Sabha (council) daily yielded another 100,000 kahapanas. The farmlands were rich and fertile.

 CHAPTER — 12
FA-HIEN

Fa-Hien (also Fah-Hian or Faxian), whose family name was Kung, was a native of Wu-yang in P’ing-yang in Shan-hsi province. After
three older brothers died in infancy, his father dedicated him to the Buddhist society while keeping him at home. But after he fell
dangerously ill, he was sent to the monastery, where he recovered and decided to remain. His father died when he was ten; an uncle
urged him to renounce monastic life out of deference to his widowed mother, but he said: ‘I did not quit the family in compliance with
my father’s wishes, but because I wished to be far from the dust and vulgar ways of life. This is why I chose monkhood.’ Soon
thereafter, he completed his noviciate and took the vows of the full Buddhist order.

Buddhism in China suffered a severe lacuna in the rules of discipline observed by monks, and available translations of Buddhist texts
were perceived as flawed. Fa-Hian set off for India to procure complete copies of the Vinaya-pitaka and original copies of works
unknown to his countrymen. He reportedly visited the capital (Nanking) on his return, and along with the Indian Sramana Buddha-
bhadra, translated some of the texts procured in India. However, he died before completing this task, at the age of 88 years, at King-
chow in the monastery of Sin.

M. Abel-Rémusat published a translation of Fa-Hian’s pilgrimage in Paris (1836), but this version of the Fo-koue-ki was widely viewed
207
as faulty. Samuel Beal’s translation is far more readable than the later version of James Legge; hence we have relied upon it for our
extracts. The pilgrim’s gullible acceptance of stories of miracles by former Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are included to reflect his
mindset and the extent of his travels, though our purpose is to glean insights into how India appeared to a foreign visitor in antiquity.

Fa-Hien is a religious title, and means ‘Illustrious in the Law,’ or ‘Illustrious master of the Law.’ The Catalogue of the imperial library
of the Suy dynasty (AD 589–618) mentions Fa-Hien four times, including a reference to his translation work at Kin-ling (Nanking) with
Buddha-bhadra.

Cunningham and Indian geographers and archaeologists have identifed the principal places Fa-Hien touched after crossing the Indus
into the Punjab. Most places from Ch’ang-an to Bannu have also been identified. Woo-e is near Kutcha or Kuldja, in 43°25’ N.,
81°15’E. The country of K’ieh-cha was probably Ladakh, though James Legge thinks he crossed the Indus farther east than Skardo.
T’o-leih is identified with Darda in Greenough’s ‘Physical and Geological Sketch-Map of British India,’ where ‘Dardu Proper’ lies east
of the Indus, as per the narrative. The point at which Fa-hien recrossed the Indus into Udyana is unknown. Taksasila, which he visited,
was on the west of the river and has been incorrectly accepted as the Taxila of Arrian in the Punjab.

CHAPTER 1
Setting out for India:

208
Fah Hian, when formerly resident at Tchang’an, was grieved at noticing the fragmentary character of the Rules of the Buddhist
209 210
Discipline (as then known in China). Whereupon, in the second year of Hung Chi, the cyclical characters being Ki Hae, he agreed
with Hwui King, Tao Ching, Hwui Ying, and Hwui Wu, to go together to India to seek for complete copies of these Rules.
211
Setting out, therefore, from Tchang’an, they first of all crossed the Lung (Mountains), and arrived at the country of Kon Kwei, where
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they sojourned during the season of the Rains. After this they pushed forward, and arrived at the country of Niu Tan; then crossing
213
the Yang Lau Hills they reached the great frontier station of Chang Yeh. This place was in such an unsettled condition that the roads
214
were unsafe for passengers. The Prince of the country prevailed on them to remain there for some time, and himself afforded them
hospitality. It was here they fell in with Chi Yen, Hwui Kan, Sang Chau, Po Wan, and Sang King, and pleased to find they had one
215
common aim in view, they remained together during the season of rains. After this they again set out and arrived at Tun Wang.

They all stopped here a month and s ome odd days, after which Fah Hian and his four companions made arrangements to set out in
advance of the others, and so they were again separated. The military governor of Tun Wang, Li Ho by name, provided them with all
necessaries for crossing the Desert (Gobi Desert). In this desert there are a great many evil demons, there are also sirocco winds,
which kill all who encounter them. There are no birds or beasts to be seen; but so far as the eye can reach, the route is marked out by
the bleached bones of men who have perished in the attempt to cross the desert. After travelling thus for seventeen days, a distance
216 21 7
of about fifteen hundred li, they arrived at the kingdom of Shen-Shen.

CHAPTER II
Buddhism in Shen-Shen:

This land is rugged and barren. The people dress like the Chinese, except they wear garments made of felt and woollen stuff. The King
of this country is well affected to the Law of Buddha. In his dominions are about four thousand priests, all of whom belong to the
218
religious system known as the Little Vehicle (Hinayana). The common people and the Shamans of this and the neighbouring
kingdoms all follow the religious customs of India, only some more exactly than others. All th e kingdoms westward from this, as a
rule, have the same characteristics, except that their languages differ, - each using its own dialect of the Tartar language. All the
followers of Buddha (prajarwikas - those who have renounced their homes), however, practice themselves in reading Indian books,
and conversing in that language.

Buddhism in Uighur:

This kingdom also has about four thousand priests, all professing the doctrines of the Little Vehicle. When Fah Tsih and Tsai Tch’ang,
two Buddhist priests of the land of Thsin, arrived at this country, they were unable to conform to some of the customs of the religious
community. Fah Hian, therefore, having obtained a pass, proceeded to the palace (hall) of the reigning Prince, K ung Sun, there
remained two months and some days; after which, he returned to Po Wan and the rest (who had by this time arrived at the country);
but as there was a general dissatisfaction with the want of politeness which the people of the country showed towards their guests,
three of the pilgrims, viz., Chi Yan, Hwui Kan, and Hwui Wu, resolved immediately to retrace their steps towards Kao Tchang, for the
purpose of obtaining there the provisions necessary for their journey. Fah Hian and the others, in consequence of their possessing a
pass, were furnished with all they needed by Kung Sun. After having provided themselves with these things, they immediately set
forward in a south-westerly direction. On their route they found neither dwelling-houses or people. The miseries they endured in
crossing the rivers, a nd in surmounting the natural difficulties of the road along which they had to journey, exceed all conception.
After being on the road a month and five days, they at last arrived at Khoten (Yu-tien).
 CHAPTER III
Mahayana Buddhism in Khoten:

This country is exceedingly prosperous; the people are very wealthy, and all of them, without exception, reverence the Law of Buddha,
and take delight in attending to their religious duties. The body of priests may, perhaps, amount to ten thousand men, and principally
belong to the system of the Great Vehicle. They all partake of their meals in common. The people of the country build their houses in
clusters. Before the doors of their houses they erect small towers. The smallest are about twenty-two feet high. They also construct
apartments for foreign priests, where they entertain them as guests, and provide them with all they require. The ruler of the country
219
located Fah Hian and his companions in a Sangharama, which was called Gomati (Kiu-ma-ti). The priests of this temple belong to
the system known as the Great Vehicle (Mahayana). At the sound of the gong, three thousand priests assemble together to take their
meal. Whilst entering the dining hall they observe the greatest decorum and propriety of conduct; one after another they take their
seats. Silence is observed amongst them all; they make no noise with their rice-bowls, and when they require more food there is no
chattering one with the other, but they simply make a sign with their fingers (and so are supplied).

The ceremony of images:

Hwui King, Tao Ching, Hwui Ta, set out in advance towards Ki’a-Cha (Kartchou’), whilst Fah-Hian and the rest, wishing to witness the
ceremony of the procession of images, halted here for a period of three months and some days. In this country there are fourteen
large Sangharamas, without reckoning the smaller ones. On the first day of the fourth month, they begin within the city to sweep and
water the roads, and to decorate the streets. Above the chief gate of the city they stretch out a large cloth screen, and ornament the
covered space in every possible way, then the King and the court ladies, with their attendants, take their places there. The priests of
the Gomati temple, belonging to the Greater Vehicle, being chiefly honoured by the King, first take their images in procession. They
construct a four-wheeled image-car about three or four li from the city, its height is about thirty-five feet, and in appearance like a
moving royal pavilion. It is adorned with the seven precious substances, and adorned with silken streamers and flags and curt ains.
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The chief image is then placed upright in the centre of the carriage, with two Bodhisatwas in attendance, and surrounded by all the
Devas (Hindu gods). All are made of gold and silver, whilst glittering gems are hung suspended in the air. When the image is about
one hundred paces from the city gate, the King removes his royal head-dress, and putting on new garments, with bare feet he
proceeds from the city to meet the procession, holding flowers and incense in his hand, and followed by his suite. On meeting the car
he bows down with his face to the ground in adoration, whilst he scatters the flowers and burns the incense. At the time when the
image enters the city, the court ladies and their attendants throw down from the pavilion above the gate flowers in endless variety.
Thus everything is sumptuously arranged. Each Sangharama has its own car, and its own day, for the procession. Beginning on the
first day of the fourth month, they continue till the fourteenth day, after which they conclude, and the King and the ladies return to the
palace.

CHAPTER V
Quinquennial assembly in Kartchou:

The King of this country holds the quinquennial assembly known as the Pan-che-yu-sse (pancha-varsa). At the time of the assembly he
invites the priests of the four quarters (of every country) to attend. A vast concourse of them having come together, they then proceed
to decorate the priests’ session-place with silken flags and canopies. (In the midst) they erect a draped throne adorned with gold and
silver lotus flowers, and behind it they arrange the seats for the priests. The king and his attended ministers then proceed to make
their religious offerings. It is pri ncipally in the spring time that the King convokes the assembly, either during the first, second, or
third month. After it is over, the King again exhorts his ministers to prepare and present further religious offerings. This occupies from
one to five days more. After this is all done, the King further makes an offering of the horse which he rides, with its trappings, whilst
the chief minister, and the principal nobles and officers of the land, offer theirs also; moreover, they make presents of white woollen
stuff and every kind of precious thing which the Shamans require. All these things are given as votive offerings by the various
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ministers of the King. But, after being thus publicly presented by vow, they are redeemed from the priests for a certain value.

Monks invoked for good harvests:

These mountainous regions are so cold that they will produce no cereal but wheat. As soon as the ecclesiastics have gathered in their
harvest (received their dues), the weather becomes cloudy and overcast. The King, therefore, usually supplicates the priests to allow
all the wheat to ripen before they begin to gather in (receive) theirs. In this country is a stone spitting-vessel of Buddha; it is the same
colour as his alms-bowl. There is also one of Buddha’s teeth, over which the inhabitants have raised a tower. There are about 1,000 or
more priests here, all of them belonging to the system called the Little Vehicle.

CHAPTER VI
They cross the treacherous Tsung Ling mountain and enter north India:
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On the confines of this region is a little kingdom called To-li, in which, likewise, there is a congregation of priests belonging to the
Little Vehicle. In this kingdom there was, formerly, an Arhat, who, by his spiritual power, transported a sculptor up to the Tushita
Heavens to observe size, colour, and general appearance of Maitreya Bodhisatwa (the future Buddha), so that, on his return, he might
carve a wooden image of him. Having first and last made three ascents for the purpose of correct observation, he finally completed
the image. It was 94ft. high, and the length of the foot of the image 9ft. 4in. On festival days it always emits an effulgent light. The
pri nces of all the neighbouring countries vie with each other in making religious offerings to it. It still exists in this country.

CHAPTER VII
They reach the Indus; Fah-Hian narrates how Buddhism came to China:

At the base there is a stream called the Sin-to (Indus). Men of old days have cut away the cliff so as to make a passage, and have
carved out against the rock steps for descent, amounting altogether to 700 in number. Having passed these, there is, suspended
across the river, a bridge of ropes, by which travellers pass over it. From one side of the river to the other is eighty paces. According
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to the records of Kau Yih, neither Chang Kian nor Kan Ying of the Han dynasty, reached so far as this. All the priests asked
Fah Hian what he knew as to the time when the law of Buddha began to spread eastward from their country. Hian replied,

“On enquiry, men of those lands agreed in saying, that, according to an ancient tradition, Shamans from India began to carry the
sacred books of Buddha beyond the river, from the time when the image of Maitreya Boddhisatwa was set up.” Now this image was
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set up 300 years or so after the Nirvana of Buddha, which corresponds with the time of Pingwang, of the Chau Family. Hence it may
be said that the diffusion of the great doctrine may be attributed to the influence of this image. For apart from the power of the great
teacher Maitreya, following in the footsteps of Sakya, who would have been sufficient to cause the knowledge of the three precious
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ones to be spread so far, that even men on the outskirts of the world acquired that knowledge? We may conclude therefore, with
certainty, that the origin of this diffusion of the law of Buddha was no human work, but sprang from the same cause as the dream of
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Ming Ti.

CHAPTER VIII

Monasteries of Udyana:

Crossing the river w e arrive at the country of Ou-chang (Udyana). This is the most northern part of India. The language of middle
Indi a is everywhere used. Middle India is that which is called the Middle Country (Madya Desa). The clothes and food of the ordinary
people are, likewise, just the same as in the Middle Country. The law of Buddha is universally honoured. The names given to places
where the priests take up their fixed abodes is Sangharama. There are altogether about 500 of these, all of which are attached to the
system called the Little Vehicle. If any foreign ecclesiastic (Bikshu) arrive amongst them, they are all ready to entertain him for three
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days, after which they bi d him seek for himself a resting place.

Tradition regarding the Buddha:

Tradition says, “When Buddha visited North India, he at once came to this country. When he left he bequeathed to them an impression
of his foot.” The appearance of the impression is large or small, according to the intensity of the rel igious feeling of the person who
beholds it. It exists to the present day. The stone on which Buddha dried his clothes, and the place where he converted the malevolent
dragon (Apalala), still remain. The stone is about 12ft. high and 24 ft. square, and smooth on one side. From this place the three
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pilgrims, Hwui King, To Ching, and Hwui Ta, went on in advance towa rds the kingdom of Na-kie (Nagrak ) where the shadow of
Buddha is to be seen. Fah Hian and the others remained in this country during the season of the Rains. After this they descended

towards the south, and arrived at the kingdom of Su-ho-to (Swat).

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CHAPTER XII
In former births, Buddha gave his flesh to save a dove at Udyana; at Gandhara he sacrificed his eyes, at Takshasila he
gave his head in charity and also his body to feed a starving tiger. At Peshawar, he predicted the arrival of Kanishka:

In old times Buddha, in company with all his disciples, travelled through this country, on whi ch occasion he addressed Ananda thus,
“After my Nirvana there will be a king of this country called Ka-ni-ka (Kanishka), who on this spot will raise a Pagoda.”

In after times King Kanishka was born, and, on one occasion, as he was going on a tour of inspection, the divine ruler Sekra (Indra),
wishing to originate the first thoughts of such a purpose, caused to appear before him a little shepherd boy making a Pagoda on the
road. The King then stopped and asked him what he was doing, to which he replied, “I am making a tower in honour of Buddha.” The
King said, “you are a very good boy,” and immediately set about building a great tower over that of the little shepherd boy. The height
of it was 470ft. and more, and it was decorated with every sort of precious substance, so that all who passed by and saw the exquisite
beauty and graceful proportions of the tower and the t emple attached to it, exclaimed in delight, “these are incomparable for beauty.”
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Tradition says that this was the highest tower in Jambudwipa. When the King had finished his tower, the little one, built by the
shepherded boy, immediately came out it, and removed itself to the south of the great tower, its height was about 3ft. 6in.

Buddha’s alms bowl is also preserved in this country. In former times a King of the Yu-tchi, having raised a great army of soldiers,
came with them all to invade this country, desiring to carry off the alms bowl. When he had subdued the country, the King of the Yu-
tchi, being a firm believer in the law of Buddha, wished to take the bowl and go. He, therefore, prepared to make religious offerings,
and, having performed his vows to the three sacred objects of worship, he caparisoned a great elephant, and placed the alms bowl
upon its back. No sooner had he done so, than the elephant fell to the ground, and was unable to advance a step. He then caused a
four-wheeled car to be constructed to convey the alms bowl, and eight elephants to be harnessed to it; but once more they were
unable to advance. The King was then convinced that the destiny of the alms bowl (in that kingdom) was not yet completed, and, being
deeply ashamed of himself, he forthwith raised a tower upon the spot, and also a Sangharama; moreover he delayed his own
departure, and remained to guard the relic, and performed every kind of religious service in its honour.

CHAPTER XIII
Po Wan, Tsang King and Hwui Ta return home. Hwui King fell ill in Na-kie and To Ching stayed to care for him. Later,
Hwui King went to the temple of Buddha’s alms bowl and died soon after. Fah-Hian proceeded to the place of Buddha’s
skull bone:

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Going westwards sixteen yojanas, we arrive at the borders of the country of Na-kie (Nagrak). In the city of Hi-lo (Hidda) is the
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Vihara containing the relic of the skull-bone of Buddha. This Vihara is entirely covered with plates of gold, and decorated with the
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seven precious substances. The King of the country reverences, in a high degree, this sacred relic. For fear lest any man should
carry off the true bone and substitute another in its place, therefore he appoints eight persons belonging to the principal families of
the country to seal up (every night) the door of the shrine, each one with his own seal, so as to guard and protect it. At early dawn
these eight men all go to the temple, and each one observes if his seal is as he left it. They then open the door, and having washed
their hands with perfumed water, they take out the bone of Buddha, and place it upon a lofty throne which is erected outside the
shrine. On this throne is a circular table composed of the seven precious substances, with a crystal bell-shaped cupola on the top.
Both the table and the cover are highly decorated and enriched with gems. The bone is of a yellowish-white colour, about four inches
square, and somewhat elevated in the middle. Each day after it is thus removed, certain men appointed for the purpose ascend a lofty
belfry and beat a great drum, blow the conch, and clash the cymbals. When the King hears it he immediately repairs to the Vihara and
offers flowers and incense; having done this, he repeatedly bends his head to the ground in adoration and departs. He enters by the
eastern gate and departs by the western one. Thus does the King disch arge his religious duties every morning, and after worship he
proceeds to attend to governmental affairs. The chief men and nobles also attend to these acts of worship first, and then to their
household duties, this, in fact, is the first and unfailing dut y of every day. After the acts of worship are over, they then return the relic
to its shrine. In this Vihara is a Dagoba (small relic tower) ornamented with the seven precious substances, partly solid and p artly
hollow, and about five feet in height. In order to enable worshippers to present their offerings at this Dagoba there are men appointed
to sell flowers and incense at the gate of the Vihara every morning, so that all those who desire to make religious offerings may
purchase everything necessary for the purpose. All the neighbouring princes depute commissioners to present religious offerings in
this chapel. The site of the chapel is a square of forty paces a side. Though the heavens should quake, and the earth open, this place
would remain unmoved.

Buddha’s tooth relic:

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In this town also is a tower of Buddha’s tooth-relic, which is worshipped in the same way as the skull-bone. One yojana to the NE of
this city we reach the entrance of a defile where is preserved Buddha’s religious staff. A Vihara is erected in which religious offerings
are made to it. The staff is made of sandal-wood, of the kind called Gosirchandana, and is about one chang and six or seven-tenths
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long (between 19 and 20 feet). It is contained in a wooden tube case, from which no human power can remove it. Entering the defile
and travelling westward for four days there is a Vihara erected for the purpose of paying religions reverence to Buddha’s robe
(Sanghati). When there is a drought in that country the chief personages of the kingdom assemble together, and taking out the robe of
Buddha, they worship it and pay to it religious devotion. The heavens then yield abundance of rain.

CHAPTER XV
After crossing the Little Snowy Mountains, Hwui Ying fell ill and died. Fah-Hian and his companion proceeded to
Afghanistan and after resting during the rains, arrived at Bannu. Travelling east, they re-crossed the Indus:

On the other side of the river is a country called Pi-cha (Bhida on the Jhelum). The Law of Buddha is prosperous and flourishing here,
and is known both in connection with the Small and Great Vehicle. On seeing disciples from China among them they were much
affected and spoke thus, “How wonderful to think that men from the ends of the earth, should know the character of this religion (that
there is a system of religion requiring one to leave one’s family ), and should come thus far to seek the laws of Buddha.” We received
from them all that we required and were treated according to the provisions of the law.

CHAPTER XVI
At Mathura on the banks of the Jamuna:

On the banks of this river there are twenty Sangharamas, containing perhaps 3000 priests. The Law of Budd ha is in a reviving
condition. All the kingdoms beyond the sandy deserts are spoken of as belonging to western India. The kings of all these countries
firmly believe in the Law of Buddha. When they pay their religious offerings to the priesthood, they uncover their heads. Both they
and the members of their households and the ministers of state (frequently) conduct the priests to their several palaces, for the
purpose of providing them with food. Having placed their entertainment before them, they spread a carpet on the ground opposite the
lofty dens on which the priests sit, and there take their places in front of them, for in the presence of the priesthood it is not allowed
(to laymen) to sit on a loftier seat. These rules for the conduct of princes when offering their religious devotions have been handed
down by tradition from the time when Buddha was in the world to the present day.

Revenue and administration in Madya Desa; the social status of Chandalas:

To the south of this, the country is called Madya Desa (middle country). The climate of this region is exceedingly equable, there is
neither frost nor snow. The inhabitants are prosperous and happy. There are no Boards of Population and Revenue. Those only who
farm the Royal demesnes, pay a portion of the produce as rent. Nor are they bound to remain in possession longer than they like. The
King in the administration of justice inflicts no corporal punishment, but each culprit is fined in money according to the gravity of his
offences; and even in cases where the culprit has been guilty of repeated attempts to excite rebellion, they restrict themselves to
cutting off his right hand. The chief officers of the king have all allotted revenues. The people of this country kill no living creature nor
do they drink intoxicating liquors. And, with the exception of the Chandalas (a caste of hunters), they eat neither garlic or onions. The
word “chandala” signifies a wicked man, who lives apart from others. If such a man enters a town or a market place, he strikes a piece
of wood, in order to keep himself separate; people, hearing this sound, know what it means and avoid touching him or brushing
against him. In this country they do not keep swine or fowls, they do not deal in living animals, nor are there shambles or wine shops
round their markets. They use shells for money in their traffic. The Chandalas alone go to hunting and deal in flesh. From the time of
Buddha’s Nirvana, the kings and nobles of all these countries began to erect Viharas for the priesthood, and to endow them with
lands, gardens, houses, and also men and oxen to cultivate them. The Records of these endowments, being engraved on sheets of
copper, have been handed down from one king to another, so that no one has dared to deprive them of possession, and they continue
to this day to enjoy their proper Revenues.

Status of priests and treatment of visiting monks:

All the resident priests have chambers, beds, coverlets, food, drink and clothes provided for them without stint or reserve. Thus it is in
all places. The priests, on the other hand, continually employ themselves in work of benevolence, in reciting their Scriptures, or in
profound meditation. When a strange priest arrives amongst them, the senior brethren go out to meet him, and conduct him on his
way, carrying for him his clothes and alms dish. They then present him with water to wash his feet and cleanse them from mire, and
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they prepare an extraordinary repast. After a little pause, when the stranger has rested, they ask him his age, according to which
they allot him a chamber with proper materials, in every respect as the Law directs. In every place where the priests take up their
fixed abode (i.e., rainy season), they erect towers in honour of Sariputra, Mogalan, Ananda (Buddha’s disciples), and also towers in
honour of the Abhidharma, Vinaya, and Sutra Pitakas. After the first month of residence the principal religious families in the
neighbourhood exhort them to commence their Religious Services. On this, the priests partake of an extraordinary collation, and
being assembled in a great congregation they repeat the Law; this being over, they present religious offerings to the tower of
Sariputra, every kind of incense and flowers, and throughout the whole night they burn lamps provided by those men for the purpose.
Sariputra was originally a Brahman. On one occasion having met Buddha, he sought to become a disciple. So also did the great
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Kasyapa and the great Mogalan. The Bikshunis principally affect the worship of the tower of Ananda, because it was Ananda who
requested Buddha to permit females to become disciples. The Samaneras principally affect the worship of Rahula (Buddha’s son). The
professors of the Abhidharma pay their religious offerings to that work, and so also with the masters of the Vinaya. Every year there is
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one such religious service, each individual having his own day. Men who belong to the Great Vehicle worship the Prajna Paramita,
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Manjusri, and Avalokiteswara (Bodhisatwa). The Priests’ harvest being finished (the season when priests receive presents), then the
nobles, and householders, and Brahmans, all provide themselves with different sorts of material for making garments such as priests
require and present them to the clergy. The priests likewise make presents one to another. These rules of courtesy for the direction of
the holy Congregation have been handed down without interruption from the time of Buddha’s Nirvana till now.

CHAPTER XVII
From Mathura to Sankasya; Buddha’s ascent to Triyastrinshas heaven and return to earth:
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Going SE from this place (i.e. Mathura) eighteen yojanas, there is a kingdom called Sang-ka-shi (Sankasya). When Buddha went up
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to the Triyastrinshas heave n to say Bana (preach the Law) for the sake of his mother, after three months he descended at this
place. On this occasion he exerted his spiritual power so that his disciples did not know where he had gone. Seven days before the
completion of the three months, he again scattered his spiritual influence, so that Aniruddha (his cousin) by his divine sight was able
to behold the World-Honoured one afar off. Immediately he addressed the venerable Maha Mogalan, “You now can go and pay
reverence to the World-Honoured one.” Mogalan forthwith proceeded and prostrated himself in adoration of the marks on the foot of
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Buddha. This act of adoration being over, Buddha addressed him and said, “After seven days more I shall descend to Jambudvipa.”
Then Mogalan returned. At the appointed time the maharajas of the eight kingdoms and all the ministers and people, not having seen
Buddha for so long, greatly desired to meet him. They flocked therefore in great crowds to this country to await the return of the
World-Honoured One. Then the Bikshuni Utpala began to think thus with herself, “Today the king, ministers, and people are all going
to meet Buddha and render homage to him, but I – a woman – how can I contrive to get the first sight of him.” Buddha immediately, by
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his divine power, changed her into a holy Chakravartti Raja, and in that capacity she was the very first to reverence Buddha on his
return.

The descent of Buddha:

Buddha was now about to descend from the Triyastrinshas heavens. At this time there appeared a threefold precious ladder. Budd ha
standing above the middle ladder which was made of the seven precious substances began to descend. Then the king of the
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Brahmakayikas caused a silver ladder to appear, and took his place on the right hand, holding a white chowry in his hand. Whilst
the divine Sekra caused a bright golden ladder to appear, and took his place on the left hand holding a precious parasol in his hand.
Innumerable Devas were in attendance whilst Buddha descended. After he had accomplished his return the three ladders all
disappeared in the earth except se ven steps, which still continued to be visible.

Asoka investigates the ladders:

In after times king Asoka, wishing to find out the utmost depth to which these ladders went, employed men to dig and examine the
matter. They went down till they came to a spring of yellow water, but yet had not arrived at the bottom. The king deriving from this
an increase of faith and reverence, forthwith built over the ladders a Vihara, and in the middle of it placed a standing figure (of
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Buddha) sixteen feet high. Behind the Vihara he erected a stone pillar thirty cubits high, and on the top placed the figure of a Lion.
Within the pillar on the f our sides are placed figures of Buddha; both within and without it is shining and bright as glass (lapis lazuli).
It happened once that some heretical Doctors had a contention with the Shamans respecting this, as a place of residence. Then the
Shamans agreed to any condition for settling the question that might be considered reasonable. On which they all bound themselves
to this compact, “If this place properly belongs to the Shamans, then there will be some supernatural proof given of it.” Immediately
on this, the lion on the top of the pillar uttered a great roar. Witnessing this testimony, the unbelievers, abashed, withdrew from the
dispute and submitted.

CHAPTER XX
Fah-Hian passes through Kanauj, Kasi, and reaches Kosala:
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Going eight yojanas southwards from this place, we arrive at the country of Kiu-sa-lo (Kosala ) and its chief town She-wei
251
(Sravasti). There are very few inhabitants in this city, altogether perhaps about two hundred families. This is the city which king
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Prasenajit governed. Towers have been erected in after times on the site of the ruined Vihara of Maha Prajapati, also on the
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foundations (of the house) of Sudatta the Nobleman, also on the spot where the Angoulimalya was burnt who was converted and
entered Nirvana; all these Towers are erected in the midst of the city. The unbelieving Brahmans, entertaining a jealous feeling,
desired to destroy these various edifices, but on their attempting to do so the heavens thundered and the lightnings flashed, so that
they were unable to carry their design into execution.

Jetavana Vihara and the image of the Buddha:

Leaving the city by the south gate, and proceeding twelve hundred paces on the road, on the west side of it is the place where the
nobleman Sudatta built a Vihara (Jetavana). This chapel opens towards the East. The principal door is flanked by two side chambers,
in front of which stand two stone pillars, on the top of the left hand one is the figure of a wheel, and on the right hand one, the image
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of an ox. The cle an water of the tanks, the luxuriant groves, and numberless flowers of variegated hues, combine to produce the
picture of what is called the Vihara of Chi-un (Jeta). When Buddha ascended into the Triyastrinshas heavens to repeat the Law for the
sake of his mother, after ninety days absence, king Prase najit desiring to see him again, carved out of the sandal wood called
Gosirchandana an image of the saint and placed it on the seat that he usually occupied. When Buddha returned and entered the
Vihara, the image immediately quitting its place, went forward to meet him. On this Buddha addressed these words to it, “Return I
pray you to your seat. After my Nirvana you will be the model from which all my flowers (members of the four schools or classes)
shall carve their images of me.” On this the Figure immediately returned to its seat. This image, as it was the very first made of all
the figures of Buddha, is the one which all subsequent ages have followed as a model. Buddha subsequently removed and dwelt in a
small Vihara on the south side of the greater one, in a place quite separate from that occupied by the image, and about twenty paces
from it.

Fire in Jetavana Vihara; restoration by the faithful:

The Chi-un Vihara originally had seven storeys. The monarchs of all the surrounding countries and their inhabitants vied with each
other in presenting religious offerings at this spot. They decked the place with flags and silken canopies, they offered flowers and
burnt incense, whilst the lamps shone out day after day with unfading splendour. Unfortunately, a rat gnawing at the wick of one of
the lamps caused it to set fire to one of the hanging canopies, and this resulted in a general conflagration, and the entire destruction
of the seven storeys of the Vihara. The kings and people of the surrounding countries were all deeply grieved, supposing that the
sandal wood figure had also been consumed. Four or five days afterwards, on opening the door of the eastern little chapel, they were
surprised to behold the original figure there. All the people were filled with joy, and they agreed to re-build the chapel. Having
completed two storeys they removed the image from its new situation back to where it was before. When Fah Hian and To Ching
arrived at this chapel of Chi-un, they were much affected to think that this was the spot in which Buddha had passed twenty-five years
of his life.

Buddhist priests express surprise to meet the Chinese pilgrims at Jetavana:

Whereupon the priests, belonging to that community, came forward and addressed Fah Hian and his companion thus, “From what
country have you come?” To which they replied, “We come from the land of Han.” Then those priests, in astonishment, exclaimed,
“Wonderful! To think that men from the remotest corner of the earth should come so far as this, from a desire to search for the Law;”
and then talking between themselves they said, “Our various Superiors and Brethren who have succeeded one another in this place,
the earliest time till now, have none of them seen men of Han come so far as this before.”

Five hundred blind men recover their sight after hearing Buddha:

Four li to the N.W. of the Vihara is a copse called “Recovered Sight” (Aptanetravana, Jul. ii.308). Originally there were five hundred
blind men dwelling on this spot, who were in the habit of attending the Chapel. On one occasion Buddha declared the Law on their
account, after listening to his sermon, they immediately recovered their sight. The blind men, overcome with joy, drove their staves
into the earth and fell down on their faces in adoration. The staves forthwith took root and grew up to be great trees. The people, from
a feeling of reference, did not presume to cut them down, and so they grew and formed a grove to which this name of “Recovered
Sight” was given. The priests of the chapel of Chi-un resort in great numbers to this shady copse to meditate after their midday meal.
Brahmins fail to defame Buddha:

The great Garden enclosure of the Vihara of Chi-un has two gates, one opening towards the East, the other towards the North. This
garden is the plot of ground which the noblemen Sudatta bought, after covering it with gold coins. The chapel is placed in the exact
centre of it; it was here Buddha resided for a very long time and expounded the Law for the Salvation of men. Towers have been
erected on the various spots where he walked for exercise or sat down. These towers have all distinctive titles given them, as for
example, the place where Buddha formerly held a discussion with the followers of the ninety-six heretical schools. The king of the
country, the chief ministers, the landowners and people all came in great numbers to hear him. At this time a woman, who was an
unbeliever, called Chinchimana, being filled with jealousy, gathered up her clothes in a heap round her person so as to appear big with
child, and then accused Buddha, in the midst of the great assembly, of having acted towards her contrary to the Law. On this, Sekra,
the heavenly king, taking the appearance of a white mouse, came and gnawed through the sash which bound the woman’s clothes up
in the heap; on this the whole fell down, and then the earth opened and she herself went down alive into Hell.

Destruction of the Sakyas:

Four li to the SE of Sravasti is the place where the World-Honoured One stood by the side of the road when king Viroudhaka (Leou-
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li) wished to destroy the country of the Sakya family; on this spot there is a tower built. Fifty li to the west of the city we arrive at a
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town called To-wai, this was the original birthplace of Kasyapa Buddha. Towers are erected on the spot where he had an interview
with his father and also where he entered Nirvana. A great tower has also been erected over the relics of the entire body of Kasyapa
Tathagata.

CHAPTER XXII
Birthplace of the Buddha deserted:
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From this spot going eastward less than a yojana we arrive at the city of Ka-wei-lo-wei (Kapilavastu). In this city there is no
government or people, it is just like a great desert. There is simply a congregation of priests and about ten families of lay people. In
the place where stand the ruins of the palace of Sudhodana (Buddha’s father), there is a picture of the Prince-apparent and his
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mother, (supposedly) taken at the time of his miraculous conception. The Prince is represented as descending towards his mother,
riding on a white elephant. Towers have been erected on the following spots – where the royal Prince left the city by the Eastern
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gate, where he saw the sick man, and where he caused his chariot to turn and take him back to his Palace. There are also towers
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erected on the following spots – at the place where the (Rish i) Asita calculated the horoscope of the royal Prince; where Nanda and
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the others struck the elephant and seized it; where the arrow going south-east thirty li entered the earth, from which bubbled up a
fountain of water, which, in after generations, was used as a well for travellers to drink at; also on the spot where Buddha, after
arriving at Supreme Wisdom, met his father; where the five hundred Sakyas having embraced the faith, paid reverence to Upali; at
the place where the earth shook six times in succession; at the place where Buddha expounded the Law on behalf of all the Devas,
whilst the four Heavenly Kings guarded the four gates of the hall, so that his father could not enter; at the place where Maha
Prajapatî presented Buddha with a Sanghati whilst he was sitting under a Nyagrodha tree, with his face to the East, which tree still
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exists; at the place where Viroudhaka Raja killed the offspring of the Sakyas, who had previously entered on the path Srotapanna.
All these towers are still in existence.

Buddha’s birth place – Lumbini:

Fifty li to the east of the city is the royal garden, called Lumbini; it was here the Queen entered the bath to wash herself, and having
come out on the northern side, advanced twenty paces, and then holding a branch of the (Sala) tree in he r hand, brought forth the
Prince. When born he walked seven steps; two dragon Kings washed the Prince’s body, - the place where this occurred was afterwards
converted into a well, from which the priests draw their drinking water. All the Buddhas have four places universally determined for
them: 1. The place for arriving at Supreme Wisdom; 2. The place f or turning the wheel of the Law; 3. The place for expounding the
true principles of the Law, and refuting the heretics; 4. The place for descending to earth after going into the Triyastrinshas heaven
to explain the Law to their mothers.

CHAPTER XXIII
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In Ramagrama:
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The King of this country obtained one share of the Relics of Buddha’s body. On his return home he built a tower (over the relics),
which is the same as the Tower of Ramagrama. By the side of it is a tank in the middle of which resides a Dragon, who constantly
guards and protects the tower, and performs religious service in it, morning and night. When King Asoka was born (and came to the
throne), he wished to dest roy the eight towers and to build eighty-four thousand others (throughout the land). Having destroyed
seven of them, he next proceeded to treat this one in the same way. The Dragon therefore assumed a body, and conducted the King
within his abode, and having exhibited to him all the vessels and appliances he used in his religious services, he addressed the King,
and said: “If you can excel me in these particulars, then you may destroy the tower, go and do so at once, I will have no quarrel with
you.” King Asoka knowing that these vessels were of no human workmanship, immediately returned to his home.

CHAPTER XXIV
Passing through the place where Buddha directed his charioteer Chandaka and horse Kanika to return to the palace, Fah-
Hian arrives at Kusinagara:

Proceeding eastward from this place four yojanas we arrive at the tower raised over the ashes selected after the burning of Buddha’s
body. Here also is a Sangharama. Again advancing twelve yojanas to the eastward we arrive at the town of Kusinagara. To the north of
this town, on the place where the world-honoured Buddha, lying by the side of the Hiranyavatî (Little Gandak) Ri ver, with his head to
the North, and a Sal tree on either side of him, entered Nirvana. Also in the place where Subhadra (an 81-year old Brahmin) was
converted, the very last of all his disciples. Also where, for seven days, they pai d reverence to the world-honoured Buddha, lying in
his golden coffin. Also where Vajrapani threw down his golden mace, and where the eight kings divided the relics; in each of the above
places towers have been raised and Sangharamas built, which still exist.

CHAPTER XXV
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Passing through the site where the Litchavas were prevented from following Buddha to the place of his Nirvana, Fah-
Hian arrives at Vaisali:

To the north of the city of this name there is the Vihara of the great forest (Mahavana Vihara) which has a double tower (two storeys).
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This chapel was once occupied by Buddha. Here also is the tower which was built over half the body of Ananda. Within this city
dwelt Amradarika (courtesan Ambapalli) who built a tower in honour of Buddha, the ruins of which still exist. Three li to the south of
the city, on the west side of the road, is the garden which Amradarika presented to Buddha as a place for him to rest in. When Buddha
was about to enter Nirvana, accompanied by his disciples, he left Vaisali by the western gate, and turning his body to the right as a
token of respect (pradakshana) he beheld the city and thus addressed his followers:- “In this place I have performed the last religious
act of my earthly career.” Men afterwards raised a Tower on this spot.

Legend of the thousand Buddhas:

Three li to the north-west of the city is a tower called “the tower of the deposited bows and clubs.” The origin of this name was as
follows:- On one of the superior affluents of the river Ganges there was a certain country ruled by a king. One of the concubines of this
monarch gave birth to an unformed fœtus, whereupon the wife of the king, being filled with jealousy, said, “Your conception is one of
very bad omen.” So they immediately closed it up in a box of wood and cast it into the middle of the Ganges. Lower down the stream
there was a certain Rajah, who, as he was taking a tour of observation, caught sight of the wooden box as it floated on the surface of
the stream. On bringing it to the shore and opening it, to see what was inside, he beheld a thousand little children very fair and just of
a size. The king hereupon took them and brought them up. Afterwards, when they grew up, they turned out to be very brave and
warlike, and were victorious over all whom they went to attack. In process of time they marched against the kingdom of the monarch,
their father. The k ing was filled with great consternation in anticipation of their approach. On this his concubine asked the Rajah why
he was so terrified, to which he replied, “The king of that country has a thousand sons, brave and warlike beyond compare, and these
are coming to waste my territories, this is why I am alarmed.” To this the concubine replied, “Fear not! But erect on the east of the
city a high tower, and when the robbers come, place me on the top of it, and I will restrain them.” The king did as she requested, and
when the invaders arrived the concubine, from the top of the tower, addressed them, saying, “Are you my children all? Then why are
you engaged in such rebellious acts as these?” They replied, “Who are you, that say you are our mother?” The concubine replied, “If
ye will not believe me, all of you look up towards me, and open your mouths.” On this the concubine, with both her hands, compressed
her breasts, and from each breast forthwith proceeded five hundred jets of milk, which fell into the mouths of her thousands sons. On
this the robbers, perceiving that she was indeed their mother, immediately laid down their bows and clubs. The two royal fathers, by a
consideration of these circumstances, were able to arrive at the condition of Pratyeka Buddhas, and two towers, erected in their
honour, remain to the present day. In after times, when the world-honoured Buddha arrived at Supreme Reason, he addressed all his
disciples in these words, and said, “This is the place where I formerly laid aside my bow and my club.” Men in after times, coming to
know this, founded a Tower in this place, and hence the name given to it. The thousand young children are in truth the thousand
Buddhas of this Bhadra Kalpa. Buddha, when standing beside this tower, addressed Ananda in these words, “After three months I must
enter Nirvana,” on which occasion Mara Raja so fascinated the mind of Ananda that he did not request Buddha to remain in the world.

CHAPTER XXVI
Nirvana of Ananda:

When Ananda was going from the country of Magadha towards Vaisali, desiring to enter Nirvana, all the Devas acquainted king
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Ajasat of it. The king immediately placed himself at the head of his troops, set out after him and arrived at the banks of the river. All
the Litchhavas of Vaisali, hearing that Ananda was coming, likewise set out to meet him and arrived at the side of the river. Ananda
then reflected that if he were to advance, king Ajasat would be much grieved, and if he should go back, then the Litchhavas would be
indignant. Being perplexed he forthwith entered the Samadhi called the “brilliancy of flame,” consuming his body, and entered
Nirvana in the very midst of the river. His body was divided into two parts, one part was found on either side of the river, so the two
kings, each taking the relics of half his body, returned and erected towers over them.

CHAPTER XXVII
In Magadha (Patna), Asoka makes a hill to lure his brother from Gridhrakuta (Vulture’s Peak):
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The king, having a great regard and reverence for his brother, requested him to come to his house to receive his religious offerings.
His brother, pleased with his tranquillity in the mountain, declined the invitation. The king then addressed his brother, saying, “If you
will only accept my invitation, I will make for you a hill within the city.” The king then, providing all sorts of meat and drink, invited
the Genii to come, addressing them thus, “I beg you all to accept my invitation for tomorrow, but as there are no seats (fit for you), I
must request you each to bring his own.” On the morrow all the great Genii came, each one bringing with him a great stone, four or
five paces square. Immediately after the feast, he deputed the Genii to pile up the great stones and make a mountain of them, and at
the base of the mountain with five great square stones to make a Rock chamber, in length about thirty-five feet and in breadth
twenty-two feet, and in height eleven feet or so.

Buddha Ghosa’s eminence:

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In this city (Patna) once lived a certain Brahman called Lo-tai-sz-pi-mi, of large mind and extensive knowledge, and attached to the
Great Vehicle. There was nothing with which he was unacquainted, and he lived apart occupied in silent meditation. The King of the
country honoured and respected him, as his religious superior (Guru). If he went to salute him he did not dare to sit down in his
presence. If the king from a feeling of affectionate esteem took him by the hand, the Brahman immediately washed himself from head
to foot. For something like fifty years the whole country looked up to this man and placed its confidence on him alone. He mightily
extended the influence of the Law of Buddha, so that the heretics were unable to obtain any advantage at all over the priesthood.

The procession of Images in Patna:

Of all the kingdoms of mid-India, the towns of this country are especially large. The people are rich and prosperous and virtuous.
Every year on the eighth day of the second month there is a procession of Images. On this occasion, they construct a four-wheeled car,
and erect upon it a tower of five stages, composed of bamboos lashed together, the whole being supported by a centre post
resembling a large spear with three points, in height twenty-two feet and more. So it resembles a Pagoda. They then cover it over with
fine white linen, on which they afterwards paint all sorts of gaily-coloured pictures. Having made figures of all the Devas, and
decorated them with gold, silver, and coloured glass (lapis lazuli), they place them under canopies of embroidered silk. Then at the
four corners (of the car) they construct niches (shrines) in which they place figures of Buddha, in a sitting posture, with a Bodhisatwa
standing in attendance. There are perhaps twenty cars thus prepared, and decorated each one differently from the rest. During the
day of the procession, both priests and laymen assemble in great numbers. There are all sorts of games and amusements (for the
latter), whilst the former offer flowers and incense in religious worship. The Bramacharis (disciples of Brahmans) come forth to salute
Buddha, and one after the other the cars enter the city. After coming into the town they take up their several positions. Then all night
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long the people burn lamps, indulge in games, and make religious offerings. Such is the custom of all those who assemble on this
occasion from the different countries round about.

The founding of hospitals and shelters:

The respective nobles and landowners of this country have founded hospitals within the city, to which the poor of all countries, the
destitute, cripples, and the diseased, may repair (for shelter). They receive every kind of requisite help gratuitously. Physicians inspect
their diseases, and according to their cases order them food and drink, medicine or decoctions, every thing in fact that may contribute
to their ease. When cured they depart at their own convenience.

CHAPTER XXVIII
Indra (Sekra) questions Buddha:
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From this city, proceeding in a south-easterly direction nine yojanas, we arrive at a small rocky hill standing by itself, on the top of
which is a stone cell facing the south. On one occasion, when Buddha was sitting in the middle of this cell, the Divine Sekra took with
him his attendant musicians, each one provided with a five stringed lute, and caused them to sound a strain in the place where
Buddha was seated. Then the divine Sekra proposed forty-two questions to Buddha, writing each one of them singly with his finger
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upon a stone. The traces of these questions yet exist. There is also a Sangharama built upon this spot.

Sariputra’s Nirvana:

Going south-west from this one yojana we arrive at the village of Na-lo (Nalandagram). This was the place of Sariputra’s birth.
Sariputra returned here to enter Nirvana. A tower therefore was erected on this spot, which is still in existence.

CHAPTER XXIX
From New Rajagriha, the pilgrims reach the Vulture’s Peak, where Mara had tried to frighten Ananda:

Three li from the top is a stone cavern facing the south. Buddha used in this place to sit in profound meditation (dhyana). Thirty paces
to the north-west is another stone cell, in which Ananda practiced meditation. The Deva Mara Papiyan (wicked one) having assumed
the form of a vulture, took his station before the carvern, and terrified Ananda. Buddha, by his spiritual power penetrated the rock,
and with his outspread hand touched the head of Ananda. On this he bore up against his fear, and found peace. The traces of the bird
and of the hand-hole still plainly exist, and from this circumstance the hill is called “the hi ll of the vulture cave” (Gridhrakuta).

Fah-Hian meditates in the hall where Buddha delivered his most celebrated discourses:

The hall in which Buddha delivered the law has been overturned and destroyed; the foundations of the brick walls still exist however.
The peaks of this mountain are picturesque and imposing; it is the loftiest one of the five mountains that surround the town. Fah-Hian
having bought flowers, incense, and oil and lamps, in the New Town procured the assistance of two aged Biks hus to accompany him
to the top of the peak. Having arrived there, he offered his flowers and incense, and lit his lamps, so that their combined lustre
illuminated the gloom of the cave. Fah Hian was deeply moved, even till the tears coursed down his cheeks, and he said, “Here it was
in bygone days Buddha dwelt, and delivered the Surangama Sutra. Fah Hian, not privileged to be born at a time when Buddha lived,
can but gaze on the traces of his presence, and the place which he occupied.” Then taking his position in front of the cave, he recited
the Surangama (Sutra), and remained there the entire night.

CHAPTER XXX
Traversing the Bamboo Garden of Nalanda and other places, the pilgrims arrive at Sattapanni Cave where the first great
Convocation was held:

This is the place where 500 Rahats assembled after the Nirvana of Buddha to arrange the collection of sacred books. At the time when
the books were recited, three vacant seats where specially prepared and adorned. The one on the left was for Sariputra, the one on
the right for Maudgalyayana. The assembly was yet short of 500 by one Rahat; and already the great Kasyapa was ascending the
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throne, when Ananda stood without the gate unable to find admission; on this spot they have raised a tower, which still exists.

CHAPTER XXXI
In Gaya and neighbouring sites:

All within this city likewise is desolate and desert. Going south twenty li, we arrive at the place where Bodhisatwa, when alive, passed
six years in self-inflicted austerities. This place is well wooded. From this spot, proceeding westward three li, we arrive at the spot
where Buddha, entering the water to bathe himself, the Deva held out the branch of a tree to him to assist him in coming out of the
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water. Again, going north two li, we arrive at the place where the village girls gave the milk and rice to Buddha. From this, going
north two li, is the spot where Buddha, seated on a stone under a great tree, and looking towards the east, ate the rice and milk. Both
the tree and the stone remain to the present day. The stone is about six feet square, and two in height.

Buddha seeks a divine sign and fights the forces of Mara:

Going north-east from this half a yojana, we arrive at a stone cell, into which Bodhisatwa entering sat down with his legs crossed, and
his face toward the west. Whilst thus seated, he reflected with himself: “If I am to arrive at the condition of perfect wisdom, then let
there be some spiritual manifestation.” Immediately on the stone wall there appeared the shadow of Buddha, in length somewhat
about three feet. This shadow is still distinctly visible. Then the heavens and the earth were greatly shaken, so much so that all the
Devas resident in space cried out and said, “This is not the place appointed for th e Buddhas (past or those to come) to arrive at
Perfect Wisdom; at a distance less than half a yojana south-west from this, beneath the Pei-to tree, is the spot where all the Buddhas
(past or yet to come) should arrive at that condition.” The Devas having thus spoken immediately went before him, singing and
leading the way with a view to induce him to follow. Then Bodhisatwa, rising up, advanced after them. When distant thirty paces from
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the tree, the Devas presented to him the grass mat of Ki-tseung (Santi). Bodhisatwa, having accepted it, again advanced fifteen
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paces. Then 500 blue birds came flying towards him, and having encircled Bodhisatwa three times in the ir flight, departed.
Bodhisatwa, then going forward, arrived under the Pei-to tree, and spreading out the mat of Santi, sat down upon it, with his face
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towards the east. Then it was that Mara Raja dispatched three pleasure girls from the northern quarter to come and tempt him,
whilst Mara himself coming from the south, assailed him likewise. Then Bodhisatwa striking the toe of his foot against the earth, the
whole army of Mara was scattered, and the three women were changed into hags.

Buddha attains the supreme knowledge:

Buddha having arrived at Supreme Wisdom for seven days sat contemplating the Tree, experiencing the joys of emancipation. On this
spot they have raised a tower, as well as on the following, viz. where he walked for seven days under the Pei-to tree, from east to west;
where all the Devas, having caused the appearance of a hall composed of the seven precious substances for seven days paid religious
worship to Buddha; where the blind dragon Manlun (Mouchalinda, Lalita Vistara 355) for seven days encircled Buddha in token of
respect; also where Buddha seated on a square stone beneath a Nyagrodha tree, and with his face to the east, received the respectful
salutation of Brahma; also where the four Heavenly Kings respectfully offered him his alms bowl; also where the 500 merchants
presented him with wheat and honey; also where he converted the Kasyapas, elder and younger brothers, each of whom was at the
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head of 1,000 disciples. In the place where Buddha arri ved at perfect reason, there are three Sangharamas, in all of which priests
are located. All the ecc lesiastics are supplied with necessaries by the people, so that they have sufficient and lack nothing. They
scrupulously observe the rules of the Vinaya with respect of decorum. They exactly conform to the regulations established by Buddha
when he was in the world, which relate to sitting down, rising up, or entering the assembly; and they have ever done so from the first
till now. The sites of the four great Pagodas have always been associated together from the time of the Nirvana. The four great
Pagodas are those erected on the place where he was born, where he obtained emancipation, where he began to preach, and where
he entered Nirvana.

CHAPTER XXXII
Asoka is blessed by Sakya Muni:
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Formerly, when King Asoka was a lad, when he was playing on the road, he encountered Sakya Buddha going begging. The little
boy, rejoiced to have the opportunity, immediately presented him with a handful of earth as an offering. Buddha received it, and on his
return sprinkled it on the ground on which he took his exercise. In return for this act of charity the lad became an iron-wheel king,
and ruled over Jambudwipa. On assuming the iron wheel (becoming a universal monarch) he was on a certain occasion going through
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Jambudwipa in the administration of justice, at which time he saw one of the places of torment for the punishment of wicked men,
situated between two mountains, and surrounded by an iron wall. He immediately asked his attendant ministers, “What is this place?”
To this they replied and said, “This is the place where Jemma, the infernal king, inflicts punishment on wicked men for their crimes.”
The king then began to reflect and said, “The Demon King, in the exercise of his function, requires to have a place of punishment for
wicked men. Why should not I, who rule these men (on earth), have a place of punishment likewise for the guilty?”

Asoka creates his own hell:

On this he asked his ministers, “Who is there that I can appoint to make for me a Hell, and to exercise authority therein for the
punishment of wicked men?” In reply they said, “None but a very wicked man can fulfill such an office.” The king forthwith dispatched
his ministers to go in every direction to seek for such a man. In the course of their search they saw, by the side of a running stream, a
lusty great fellow of a black colour, with red hair and light eyes, with feet like talons, and a mouth like that of a fish. When he whistled
to the birds and beasts they came to him, and when they approached he mercilessly shot them through, so that none escaped. Having
caught t his man, he was brought before the king. The king then gave him these secret orders, “You must enclose a square space with
high walls, and within this enclosure plant every kind of flower and fruit (tree), and make beautiful lakes and alcoves, and arrange
everything with such taste as to cause men to be anxious to look within the enclosure. Then, having made a wide gate, the moment a
man enters within the precincts, seize him at once, and subject him to every kind of infernal torture. And whatever you do, let no one
(who has once entered) ever go out again. And I strictly enjoin you, that if I even should enter the enclosure, that you tortur e me also
and spare not. Now then, I appoint and constitute you Lord of this place of Torment!” It happened that a certain Bikshu, as he was
going his rounds begging for food, entered the gate. The Infernal Keeper seeing him, (seized his person) and made preparations to put
him to torture. The Bikshu, being very much frightened, suppliantly begged for a moment’s respite, that he might, at least, partake of
his mid-day meal. It so happened that just at this moment another man entered the place, on which the keeper directly seized him,
and, putting him in a stone mortar, began to pound his body to atoms, till a red froth formed on the surface of the mass. The Bikshu
having witnessed this spectacle, began to reflect on the impermanency, the sorrow, the vanity of bodily existence, that it is like a
bubble and froth of the sea, and so he arrived at the condition of a Rahat. This having transpired, the Infernal Keeper laid hold of him
and thrust him into a cauldron of boiling water. The heart of the Bikshu and his countenance were full of joy. The fire was extinguished
and the water became cold, whilst in the middle of it there sprung up a Lotus, on the top of which the Bikshu took his seat. The keeper
(on witnessing this) forthwith proceeded to the king and said, “A wonderful miracle has occurred in the place of Torture – would that
your Majesty would come and see it.” The king said, “I dare not come, in consideration of my former agreement with you.” The keeper
replied, “This matter is one of great moment: it is only right you should come; let us consider your former agreement changed.” The
king then directly followed him and entered the prison; on which the Bikshu, for his sake, delivered a religious discourse, so that the
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king believed and was converted. Then he ordered the place of Torture to be destroyed, and repented of all the evil he had formerly
committed.

Asoka’s queen cuts down the Bodhi tree:

From the time of his conversion he exceedingly honoured the three sacred symbols of his faith (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), and went
continually to the spot underneath the Pei-to Tree for the purpose of repentance, self-examination, and fasting. In consequence of this,
the queen on one occasion asked, “Where is it the king is perpetually going?” on which the ministers replied, “He continually resides
under the Pei-to Tree.” The queen hereupon, awaiting an opportunity when the king was not there, sent men to cut the tree down. The
king, repairing as usual to the spot, and seeing what had happened, was so overpowered with grief that he fell down senseless on the
ground. The ministers, bathing his face with water, after a long time restored him to consciousness. Then the king piled up the earth
on the four sides of the stump of the tree, and commanded the roots to be moistened with a hundred pitchers of milk. Then,
prostrating himself at full length on the ground, he made the following vow: “If the tree does not revive, I will never rise up again.” No
sooner had he done this than the tree immediately began to force up small branches from the root, and so it continued to grow until it
arrived at its present height, which is somewhat less than 120 feet.

CHAPTER XXXIV
Fah-Hian visits Kukutapadagiri (Cock’s-foot) mountain and other sites linked with Kasyapa and Sakya Buddha:

Fah Hian returning towards Pataliputra kept along the course of the Ganges, and after going ten yojanas in a westerly direction
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arrived at a Vihara called “Desert” (Kwang ye) in which Buddha resided. Priests still reside in it. Still keeping along the course of
the Ganges, and going west twelve yojanas, we arrive at the country of Kasi and the city of Benares (Po-lo-nai). About ten li or so to
the NE of this city is the chapel of the Deer Park of the Rishis (Buddha gave his first sermon here). This garden was once occupied by
a Pratyeka Buddha. There are always wild deer reposing in it for shelter. When the world-honoured Buddha was about to arrive at
Supreme Wisdom, all the Devas who resided in space began to chant a hymn and say: “The son of Sudhodana Raja, who has left his
home that he may acquire supreme wisdom, after seven days will arrive at the condition of Buddha.” The Pratyeka Buddha, hearing
this, immediately entered Nirvana. Therefore, the name of this place is the Deer Park of the Rishi. The world-honoured Buddha having
arrived at complete knowledge, men in after-ages erected a Vihara on this spot.

Buddha’s first disciples:

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Buddha being desirous to convert Adjnata Kaundinya (Keou lun) and his companions, known as the five men, they communised one
with another and said: “This Shaman Gotama, having in his own person for six years practiced the severest mortifications, reducing
himself to the daily use of but one grain of millet and one of rice, and in spite of this, having failed to obtain Supreme Wisdom, how
much less shall he now obtain that condition, by entering into men’s society and removing the checks he placed upon his words and
thoughts and actions; today when he comes here, let us carefully avoid all conversation with him.” On Buddha’s arrival the five men
rose and saluted him, and here they have erected a tower – also on the following spots, viz. on a site sixty paces to the north of the
former place, where Buddha, sea ted with his face to the east, began to turn the Wheel of the Law (to preach) for the purpose of
converting Kaundinya and his companions, commonly known as “the five men,” also on a spot twenty paces to the north of this, where
Buddha delivered his prediction concerning Maitreya, also on a spot fifty paces to the south of this, where the Dragon Elapatra asked
Buddha at what time he should be delivered from his Dragon-form; in all these places towers have been erected which still exist. In
the midst (of the Park) there are two Sangharamas which still have priests dwelling in them.

CHAPTER XXXV
Fah-Hian arrives in Ellora:

Going two hundred yojanas south from this, there is a country called Ta-Thsin (Dakshina, Deccan). Here is a Sangharama of the
former Buddha Kasyapa (Ellora caves). It is constructed out of a great mountain of rock, hewn to the proper shape. This building has
altogether five storeys. The lowest is shaped into the form of an elephant, and has five hundred stone cells in it. The second is in the
form of a lion and has four hundred chambers. The third is shaped like a horse and has three hundred chambers. The fourth is in the
form of an ox and has two hundred chambers. The fifth storey is in the shape of a dove and has one hundred chambers in it. At the
very top of all is a spring of water which flowing in a stream before the rooms, encircles each tier, and so, running in a circuitous
course, at last arrives at the very lowest storey of all, where, flowing past the chambers as before, it finally issues through the door of
the building. Throughout the consecutive tiers, in various parts of the building, windows have been pierced through the solid rock for
the admission of light, so that every chamber is quite illuminated and there is no darkness (throughout the whole). At the four corners
of this edifice they have hewn out the rock into steps, as means for ascending. Men of the present time point out a small ladder which
reaches up to the highest point (of the rock) by which men of old ascended it, one foot at a time. They derive the name which they give
to this building, viz. Po-lo-yu, from an Indian word signifying “pigeon.” There are always Rahats abiding here. This land is hilly and
barren and without inhabitants. At a considerable distance from the hill there are villages, but all of them are inhabited by heretics.

CHAPTER XXXVI
Fah-Hian avoids the dangerous Deccan roads and returns to Patna; procures some scriptures:

From Benares going eastward in a retrograde order, we arrive at the town of Pataliputra again. The purpose of Fah Hian was to seek
for copies of the Vinaya Pitaka. But throughout the whole of Northern India the various masters trusted to tradition only for their
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knowledge of the Precepts, and had no written copies of them at all. Wherefore Fah Hian had come even so far as Mid India
(without success). But here in the Sangharama of the Great Vehicle (at Patna) he obtained one copy of the Precepts, viz. the collection
used by the school of the Mahasangikas, which was that used by the first great assembly of priests convened during Buddha’s lifetime.
In the chapel of Chi-un (Jetavana) there is a tradition that this was originally their copy (or, this school originally sprang from them).
The eighteen sects in general have each their own Superior, but they are agreed in their dependence on the Great Refuge (Buddha,
Dharma, Sangha). In some minor details of faith they differ, as well as in a more or less exact attention to some matters of practice.
But this collection is generally regarded as most correct and complete. Moreover, he obtained one copy of Precepts in manuscript,
comprising about 7,000 gathas. This copy was that used by the assembly belonging to the school of the Sarvastivadas. The same, in
fact, as is generally used in China. The masters of this school also hand down the Precepts by word of mouth, and do not commit them
to writing. Moreover, in this assembly he obtained an imperfect copy of the Abhidharma, including altogether about 6,000 gathas.
Moreover, he obtained a collection of Sutras in their abbreviated form, consisting altogether of 2,500 verses. Moreover, he obtained
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an expanded volume (Vaipoulya) of the Parinirvana Sutra, containing about 5,000 verses. Moreover, he procured a copy of the
Abhidharma according to the school of the Mahasangikas. On this account Fah Hian abode in this place for the space of three years
engaged in learning to read the Sanskrit books, and to converse in that language, and in copying the precepts.

To-ching vows to remain in India:

When To-ching arrived in mid-India and saw the customary behaviour of the Shamans, and the strict decorum observed by the
assembly of priests, and their religious deportment, even in the midst of worldly influences, — then, sorrowfully reflecting on the
meagre character of the Precepts known to the different assemblies of priests in the border land of China, he bound himself by a vow
and said, “From the present time for ever till I obtain the condition of Buddha, may I never again be born in a frontier country.” And in
accordance with this expression of his wish, he took up his permanent abode in this place, and did not return. And so Fah Hian,
desiring with his whole heart to spread the knowledge of the Precepts throughout the land of Han (China), returned alone.

CHAPTER XXXVII
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Fah-Hian passes through Champa in modern Bihar and arrives at the kingdom of Tamralipti ; visits Ceylon:

Fah-Hian remained here for two years, writing out copies of the Sacred books (Sutras), and taking impressions of the figures (used in
worship). He then shipped himself on board a great merchant vessel. Putting to sea, they proceeded in a south-westerly direction,
and, catchin g the first fair wind of the winter season (NE monsoon) they sailed for fourteen days and nights and arrived at the
country o f the Lions (Simhala, Ceylon). Men of that country (Tamralipti) say that the distance between the two is about 700 yojanas.

In Ceylon (Sri Lanka):

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On every side of it are small islands, perhaps amounting to 100 in number. They are distant from one another 10 or 20 li, and as
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much as 200 li. All of them depend on the great island. Most of them produce precious stones and pearls. The Mani gem is also
found in one district, embracing a surface perhaps of 10 li. The King sends a guard to protect the place. If any gems are found, the
King claims three out of every ten.

CHAPTER XXXVIII
Fah-Hian is impressed with the beauty and fertility of Ceylon, the miracles performed by Buddha in the island, and the
wealth of the Sangharamas; he becomes homesick:

Fah-Hian had now been absent from China many years; the manners and customs of the people with whom he had intercourse were
entirely strange to him. The towns, people, mountains, valleys, and plants and trees which met his eyes, were unlike those of old
times. Moreover, his fellow travellers were now separated from him – some had remained beh ind and some were dead – to think upon
the past was all that was left him! and so his heart was continually saddened. All at once, as he was standing by the side of this jasper
figure, he beheld a merchant present to it, as a religious offering, a white taffeta fan, of Chinese manufacture. Unperceived (Fah Hian)
gave way to his sorrowful feeling, and the tears flowing down filled his eyes.
A branch of the Bodhi tree is sent to Lanka:
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A former King of this country sent an embassy to mid-India, to procure a slip of the Pie-to tree. This they planted by the side of the
Hall of Buddha. When it was about 220 feet high, the tree began to lean towards the SE. The King, fear ing it would fall, placed eight
or nine props round the tree to support it. Just in the place where the tree was thus supported, it put forth a branch, which pierced
through the props, and descending to the earth, took root. This branch is about 20 inches round. The props, although pierced through
the centre, still surround (the tree), which stands now without their support, yet men have not removed them. Under the tree is
erected a chapel, in the middle of which is a figure (of Buddha) in a sitting posture. Both the clergy and laity pay reverence to this
figure with little intermission. Within the capital, moreover, is erected the chapel of the Tooth of Buddha, in the construction of which
all the seven precious substances have been employed. The King purifies himself according to the strictest Brahmanical rules, whilst
those men within the city who reverence (this relic) from a principle of belief, also compose their passions according to strict rule.
This kingdom, from the time when (this chapel) was erected, has suffered neither from want, famine, calamity, or revolution. The
treasury of this congregation of priests contains numerous gems and a Mani jewel of inestimable value.

CHAPTER XL
The pilgrim collects manuscripts in Ceylon:

Fah Hian resided in this country for two years. Continuing his search (for sacred books), he obtained a copy of the Vinaya Pitaka
according to the school of the Mahisasikas (followers of Rahula). He also obtained a copy of the Great Agama (Dirgagama) and of the
Miscellaneous Agama (Sanyuktagama), and also a volume of miscellaneous collections from the Pitakas (Samyukta Pitaka). All these
were hitherto entirely unknown in the land of Han. Havin g obtained these works in the original language (Pali or Magadhi), he
forthwith shipped himself on board a great merchant vessel which carried about two hundred men.

Typhoon at sea; Fah-Hian saves his books and images:

Astern of the great ship was a smaller one, as a provision in case of the large vessel being injured or wrecked during the voyage.
Having got a fair wind they sailed eastward for two days, when suddenly a tempest (typhoon) sprung up, and the ship sprang a leak.
The merchants then desired to haul up the smaller vessel, but the crew of that ship, fearing that a crowd of men would rush into her
and sink her, cut the towing cable and fell off. The merchant men were greatly terrified, expecting their death momentarily. Then
dreading lest the leak should gain upon them, they forthwith took their goods and merchandize and cast them overboard. Fah Hian
also flung overboard his water-pitcher (koundika) and his washing basin, and also other portions of his property. He was only afraid
lest the merchants should fling into the sea his sacred books and images. And so with earnestness of heart he invoked Avalokiteswara
and paid reverence to the Buddhist saints of the land of Han – speaking thus: “I, indeed, have wandered far and wide in search of the
Law. Oh! would that by your spiritual power, you would turn back the flowing of the water (stop the leak), and cause us to reach some
resting place.” Nevertheless the hurricane blew for thirteen days and nights, when they arrived at the shore of a small island, and, on
the tide going out, they found the place of the leak; having forthwith stopped it up, they again put to sea on their onward voyage.

At Java:

In this ocean there are many pirates who, coming on you suddenly, destroy everything. The sea itself is boundless in extent – it is
impossible to know east or west, except by observing the sun, moon, or stars in their motions. If it is dark, rainy weather, the only plan
is to steer by the wind without guide. During the darkness of night, one only sees the great waves beating one against the other and
shining like fire, whilst shoals of sea monsters of every description (surround the ship). The merchant men were now much perplexed,
not knowing towards what land they were steering. The sea was bottomless and no soundings could be found, so that there was not
even a rock for anchorage. At length, the weather clearing up, they got their right bearings, and once more shaped a correct course
and proceeded onwards. But if (during bad weather) they had happened to have struck on a hidden rock, then there would have been
no way to have escaped alive. Thus they voyaged for ninety days and more, when they arrived at a country called Yo-po-ti (Java). In
this country heretics and Brahmans flourish, but the Law of Buddha is not much known.

Another storm en route to China; Brahmans plot against the pilgrim:

Stopping here the best portion of five months, Fah Hian again embarked on board another merchant vessel, having also a crew of 200
men or so. They took with them fifty days provisions, and set sail on the 15th day of the fourth month. Fah Hian was very comfortable
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on board this ship. They shaped a course NE for Kwang Chow (Canton, China). After a month and some days, at the stroke of two in
the middle watch of the night, a black squall suddenly came on, accompanied with pelting rain. The merchant men and passengers
were all terrified. Fah Hian at this time also, with great earnestness of mind, again entreated Avalokiteswara and all the priesthood of
China to exert their Divine power in his favour, and bring them daylight. When the day broke, all the Brahmans, consulting together,
said: “It is because we have got this Shaman on board with us that we have no luck, and have incurred this great mischief – come let
us land this Bikshu on the first island we meet with, and let us not, for the sake of one man, all of us perish.”

Fah-Hian’s patron intervenes:

The religious patron (Danapati) of Fah Hian then said: “If you land this Bikshu, you shall also land me with him; and if not, you had
better kill me: for if you really put this Shaman on shore (as you threaten), then, when I arrive in China, I will go straight to the King
and tell him what you have done. And the King of that country is a firm believer in the Law of Buddha, and greatly honours the
Bikshus and priests.” The merchantmen on this hesitated, and (in the end) did not dare to land him.

After seventy days at sea, food and water are rationed; the merchants undertake navigation themselves and after twelve
days arrive at the mountains of Lau, far north of Canton. Finally, after replenishing their stocks and many more days of
sailing, they reached Tsing Chow, dependent on the Leou family:

The Prince Lai Ying, who was a faithful follower of the Law of Buddha, hearing that there was a Shaman on board with sacred books
and images, took ship and embarked and came on board (to see Fah Hian). Then, immediately engaging men from the nearest shore,
he dispatched the books and sacred figures to be landed and taken forthwith to the seat of his government.

Fah-Hian and Chinese scholars edit the sacred books:

Meanwhile Leou of Tsing Chow entertained Fah Hian for the whole winter and summer. The summer period of rest being over, Fah
Hian dismissed all the doctors of religion (who had been with him). He had been anxious for a long time to get back to Tchang’an. But
as the engagements he had entered into were pressing ones, he directed his course first towards the southern capital (Nanking),
where the different doctors edited the sacred books he had brought back.

Fah-Hian’s travails and final arrival home:

After Fah Hian left Tchang’an, he was five years in arriving at Mid-India. He resided there during six years, and was three years more
before he arrived at Tsing Chow. He had successively passed through thirty different countries. In all the countries of India, after
passing the Sandy Desert (Gobi), the dignified carriage of the priesthood and the surprising influence of religion (amongst the people)
cannot be adequately described. But, because our learned doctors had not heard of these things, he was induced, regardless of all
personal considerations, to cross the seas, and to encounter every conceivable danger in returning home. Having been preserved
therefore by Divine power (of the Three Honourable Ones), and brought through all dangers safely, he was further induced to commit
to writing these records of his travels, desiring that the virtuous of all ages may be informed of them together, as well as himself.

In this year (414-15 AD) Kea-yin, being the twelfth of the reign of I Hi of the Tsin dynasty, when the star Sheou (autumn equinox) was
just emerging from the summer mansion, Fah Hian, the pilgrim, arrived home. He was detained all the winter in answering the
multitude of questions put to him. Whoever enquired of him respecting his travels he always answered obligingly and exactly
according to truth. Of these answers, the summary is found in this book. But when they pressed him to write a full record of all that
happened to him from first to last, then he said, “If I were to recall all which has occurred to me, then persons of unstable minds
would be excited to strive how they might enter on similar dangers and encounter corresponding risks, reckless of their personal
safety. For they would argue in this way, ‘Here is a man who has escaped all and come back safe and sound;’ and so these foolish
persons would set about jeopardising their lives in lands impossible to explore, and to pass through which, not one in ten thousand
could hope for.” On hearing these remarks, they all said, with a sigh of assent, “This man, in order to preserve the knowledge of old
things and new, has himself penetrated to the eastern source of the great doctrine, and is yet alive. He has sought out the Law, and
now exhibits it to us. Equally with us, then, shall all those who hereafter attain this knowledge, give him boundless thanks. And those
also who assist to diffuse this knowledge, where it has not prevailed, shall acquire incalculable merit; and the chief merit of a sage is
this – to neglect those things which are generally esteemed, and esteem those things which are generally neglected.”

 CHAPTER — 13
HWUI SENG AND SUNG YUN
292
Journey in search of the Buddhist texts:

In the suburb Wan I, to the N.E. of the city of Lo-Yang, was the dwelling of Sung Yun of Tun-Wang, who, in company with the Bikshu
Hwui Seng, was sent on an embassy to the western countries by the Empress Dowager (Tai Hau) of the Great Wei dynasty, to obtain
Buddhist books. Of these they procured altogether 170 volumes, all standard works, belonging to the Great Vehicle.

First of all, having repaired to the capital, they proceeded in a westerly direction 40 days, and arrived at the Chih Ling (Barren Ridge),
which is the western frontier of the country. On this ridge is the fortified outpost of the Wei territory.

Ascending the Chih Ling and proceeding westward 23 days, having crossed the Drifting Sands, they arrived at the country of the To-
kuh-wan (Eastern Turks). Along the road the cold was very severe, whilst the high winds and the driving snow, and the pelting sand
and gravel were so bad, that it was impossible to raise one’s eyes without getting them filled. The chief city of the To-kuh-wan is
pleasantly situated; and the climate of the neighbourhood is agreeably warm. The written character of this country is the same as that
of the Wei empire; the rules both of clergy and laity observed by these people are mostly barbarous. From this country, going west
3,500 li, we arrive at the city of Shen-Shen (now called Makhai). This city, from its foundation, has been under the rule of the To-kuh-
wan; and at present there resides in it a military officer of that country, with a body of troops, who are employed in subjugating the
western Tartars.

From Shen-Shen, going west 1640 li, we arrive at the city of Tso-moh (Tehe-mo-to-na of Yuan Chwang). In this town there are,
perhaps, a hundred families resident. The country is not visited with rain, but they irrigate their crops from the streams of water. They
know not the use of oxen or ploughs in their husbandry.

Buddha images in China:

In the town is a representation of Buddha, with a Bodhisatwa – but certainly not executed by any Tartar. On questioning an old man
about it, he said, “This was done by Lu-kwong, who subdued the Tartars.” From the city, going westward 1275 li, we arrive at the city
of Moh.

Buddha tower in Han-Mo:

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From the city Moh, going west 22 li, we arrive at the city of Han-Mo. Fifteen li to the south of this city is a large temple, with about
300 priests in it. These priests possess a golden full-length figure of Buddha, in height a chang and 6/10 (about 18 feet). Its
appearance is very imposing, and all the characteristic marks of the body are bright and distinct. Its face was placed as usual looking
eastward; but the figure, not approving of that, turned about and looked to the west. The old men have the following tradition
respecting this figure:- They say that originally it came from the south, transporting itself through the air. The King of Khoten desiring
himself to see it for the purpose of paying reverence to it, they attempted to convey it to his city, but in the middle of the route, when
they halted at night, the figure suddenly disappeared. On dispatching men to look after it, they found it had returned to its old place.
Immediately, therefore, (the King) raised a tower (over it), and appointed 400 attendants to sweep and water (the tower). If any of
these servitors receive a hurt of any kind, they apply some of the gold leaf from off this figure to the injured part, and so are directly
cured. Men in after ages began to build houses around the spot where this image was, (and so the town sprang up). The tower of this
image, and the other towers, are ornamented with many thousand flags and streamers of variegated silk. There are perhaps, as many
as 10,000 of these, and more than half of them belonging to the Wei country. Over the flags are inscriptions in the square character,
recording the several dates when they were presented; the greater number are of the nineteenth year of Tai-Wo, the second year of
King Ming (510 AD) and the second year of Yen Chang. There was only one flag with the name of the reigning monarch on it, and this
was in the time of Yaou Tsun.

At Khoten; cremation and royal burials:

From the town of Han-Mo, going west 878 li, we arrive at the country of Khoten. The king of this country wears a golden cap on his
head, in shape like the comb of a cock; the appendages of the head-dress hang down behind him two feet, and they are made of
taffeta (kun), about five inches wide. On State occasions, for the purpose of imposing effect, there is music performed, consisting of
drums, horns, and golden cymbals. The King is also attended by one chief bowman, two spearmen, five halberdiers, and, on his right
and left, swordsmen, not exceeding one hundred men. The poorer sort of women here wear trowsers, and ride on horseback just as
well as their husbands. They burn their dead, and, collecting the ashes, erect towers over them. In token of mourning, they cut their
hair and disfigure their faces, as though with grief. Their hair is cut to a length of four inches, and kept so all round. When the king
dies, they do not burn his body, but enclose it in a coffin and carry it far off and bury it in the desert. They found a temple to his
memory, and, at proper times, pay religious service to his manes.

Buddhism comes to Khoten:

The king of Khoten was no believer in the Law of Buddha. A certain foreign merchantman, on time, brought a Bikshu called Pi-lou-
chan (Vairochana?) to this neighbourhood and located him under a plum-tree to the south of the city. On this, an informer approached
the King and said, “A strange Shaman has come (to your dominions) without permission, and is now residing to the south of the city,
under the plum-tree.” The King, hearing this, was angry; and forthwith went to see Vairochana. The Bikshu then addressed the King
as follows: “Ju-lai (Tathagata) has commissioned me to come here to request your Majesty to build for him a perfectly finished pagoda
(i.e., pagoda with a spire), and thus secure to yourself perpetual felicity.” The King said, “Let me see Buddha and then I will obey
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him.” Vairochana then, sounding a gong, requested (Buddha to appear); on which Buddha commissioned Rahula to assume his
appearance and manifest himself in his true likeness in the air. The King prostrated himself on the ground in adoration, and at once
made arrangements for founding a temple under the tree. Then he caused to be carved a figure of Rahula as he appeared in the air;
and, for fear of its perishing, the King afterwards constructed a chapel for its special preservation. At present it is carefully protected
by a sort of shade (jar), that covers it; but, notwithstanding this, the shadow of the figure constantly removes itself outside the
building, so that those who behold it can scarcely help becoming converts. In this place (or chapel) are the shoes of a Pratyeka
Buddha, which have up to the present time resisted decay. They are made neither of leather or silk, - in fact, it is impossible to
determine what the material is. The extreme limits of the kingdom of Khoten reach about 3000 li or so, from east to west.

In Yerkiang, vegetarianism; Brahman script:

In the second year of Shan Kwai (519 AD) and the 7th month, 29th day, we entered the kingdom of Shih-Ku-Po (Tchakouka, Yerkiang).
The people of that country are mountain dwellers. The five kinds of cereals grow in abundance. In eating these, they make them into
cakes. They do not permit the slaughter of animals, and such of them as eat flesh only use that which dies of itself. The spoken
language both of clergy and laity is like that of the people of Khoten, but the written character in use is that of the Brahmans. The
limits of this country can be traversed in about five days.

Dragon tamed by Brahman spells:

During the first decade of the 8th month, we entered the country of Han-Pan-to (Kie-pan-to; Kartchou of Yuan Chwang). Still going
west six days, we entered on the Tsung Ling mountains; and advancing yet three days to the west, we arrived at the city of Kiueh-Yu;
and after three days more, to the Puh-h o-i mountains (‘Untrustworthy Mountains’). This spot is extremely cold. The snow accumulates
both by winter and summer. In the midst of the mountain is a lake in which dwells a mischievous dragon. Formerly there was a
merchant who halted by the side of the lake. The dragon just then happened to be very cross, and forthwith pronounced a spell and
killed the merchant. The King of Pan-to (Kartchou), hearing of it, dispatched an embassy with his own son to the country of Ou-chang
(Udyana), to acquire knowledge of the spells used by the Brahmans. After four years, having procured these secrets, they came back
to the King, who again sent them to the lake to enchant the dragon. Having recited the spells, lo! the dragon was changed into a man,
who, deeply sensible of his wickedness, approached the King. The King immediately banished him from the Tsung Lung mountains,
more than 1000 li from the lake. The king of the present time is of the 13th generation (from these events).

The pilgrims move to Ye-tha, a rich land of unbelievers:

In the first decade of the 10th month we arrived at the country of the Ye-tha. The lands of this country are abundantly watered by the
mountain streams, which fertilise them and flow in front of all the dwellings. They have no walled towns; but they keep order by
means of a standing army that constantly moves here and there. These people also use felt garments. The course of the rivers is
marked by the verdant shrubs that fringe their banks. In the summer the people seek the cool of the mountains; in the winter they
disperse themselves through the villages. They have no written character. Their rules of politeness are very defective. They have no
knowledge at all of the movements of the heavenly bodies; and, in the division of the year, they have no intercalary month, or any long
and short months; but they merely divide the year into twelve parts, and that is all. They receive tribute from all surrounding nations:
295 296
on the south as far as Tieh-lo; on the north, the entire country of Lae-Leh, eastward to Khoten, and west to Persia – more than
forty countries in all. When they come to the court with their presents for the king, there is spread out a large carpet about forty
paces square, which they surround, with a sort of rug hung up as a screen. The king puts on his robes of state and takes his seat upon
a gilt couch, which is supported by four golden phœnix birds. When the ambassadors of the Great Wei dynasty were presented (Sung
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Yun and Hwui Seng), (the king), after repeated prostrations, received their letters of instruction. On entering the assembly, one man
announces your name and title; then each stranger advances and retires. After the several announcements are over, they break up the
assembly. This is the only rule they have; there are no instruments of music visible at all. The royal ladies of the Ye-tha (Little Yuchi,
White Huns) country also wear state robes, which trail on the ground three feet and more; they have special bearers for carrying
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these lengthy robes. They also wear on their heads a horn, in length eight feet and more, three feet of its length being red coral.
This they ornamented with all sorts of gay colours, and such is their head-dress. When the royal ladies go abroad, then they are
carried (in a chariot); when at home, then they seat themselves on a gilded couch, which is made in the shape of a six-tusked white
elephant, with four lions (for support). As for the rest of the great ladies, they all in like manner cover their heads, using horns, from
which hang down veils all round, like precious canopies. Both the rich and poor have their distinctive modes of dress. These people
are of all the four tribes of barbarians the most powerful. The majority of them are unbelievers. Most of them worship false gods. They
kill living creatures and eat their fle sh. They use the seven precious substances, which all the neighbouring countries bring as
tribute, and gems in great abundance.

In Kashmir:

In the middle decade of the 11th month we entered the country of Shie Mi (Cashmere?). This country is just beyond the Tsung Ling
mountains. The aspect of the land is still rugged; the people are very poor; the rugged narrow road is dangerous – a traveller and his
horse can hardly pass along it, one at a time. From the country of Po-lu-lai (Bolor) to the country of Ouchang (Oudyana) they use iron
chains for bridges. These are suspended in the air for the purpose of crossing (the mountain chasms). On looking downwards no
bottom can be perceived; there is nothing to grasp at in case of a slip, but in a moment the body is hurled down 10,000 fathoms. On
this account travellers will not cross over, in case of high winds.

In Oudyana:

On the first decade of the 12th month we entered Ouchang country. On the north this country borders on the Tsung Ling mountains;
on the south it skirts India. The climate is agreeably warm. The territory contains several thousand li. The people and productions are
very abundant. The fertility of the soil is equal to that of Lin-t sze (in Shantung) and the climate more equable. This is the place where
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Pi-lo (Avalokiteswara?) delivered the child, and where Bodhisatwa gave his body (to the tigress). Once on a time the whole body of
the people left the land, except the clergy, but these availed to protect it. The king of the country religiously observes a vegetable diet;
on the great fast days (vide Jul. ii. 6, n.) he pays adoration to Buddha, both morning and evening, with sound of drum, conch, vina (a
sort of lute), flute and all kinds of wind instruments. After mid-day he devotes himself to the affairs of government. Supposing a man
has committed murder, they do not suffer him to be killed; they only banish him to the desert mountains, affording him just food
enough to keep him alive. In investigating doubtful cases, – as, for example, cases of poisoning by accident (by) administering
medicine for the purpose of cleansing the system, - then, after examination, the punishment is adjusted according to the serious or
trivial character of attending circumstances. At the proper time, they let the streams overflow the land, by which the soil is rendered
soft and fertile. All provisions necessary for man are very abundant, cereals of every kind flourish, and the different fruits ripen in
great numbers. In the evening the sound of the convent bells may be heard on every side, filling the air with their melody; the earth is
covered with flowers of different hues, which succeed each other winter and summer, and are gathered by clergy and laity alike as
offerings for Buddha.

Sung Yun meets the king, tells him about Confucius and Lao-Tse:

The king of the country seeing Sung Yun (enquired about him, and) on their saying that the ambassadors of the Great Wei (dynasty)
had come to salute him, he courteously received their letters of introduction. On understanding that the Empress Dowager was
devotedly attached to the Law of Buddha, he immediately turned his face to the east and, with closed hands and meditative heart,
bowed his head (in prayer); then, sending for a man who could interpret the Wei language, he questioned Sung Yun and said, “Are my
honourable visitors men from the region of Sun-rising?” Sung Yun answered and said, “Our country i s bounded on the east by the
great sea; from this the sun rises according to the Divine will (the command of Tathagata).” The king again asked, “Does that country
produce holy men?” Sung Yun then proceeded to enlarge upon the virtues of Confucius and Laou (Tseu) of the Chow dynasty, and then
of the silver walls and golden palaces of Fairy Land (Pung loi Shan), and then of the spirits, genii, and sages, who dwell there; in
connection with the above he further dilated on the subjects of divination, alchemy and magic, and medicine; descanting on these
various subjects and properly distinguishing their several properties, he finished his address. Then the king said, “If these things are
really as your worship says, then truly yours is the land of Buddha, and I ought to pray at the end of my life that I may be born in that
country.”

The pilgrims visit the holy sites associated with Buddha:

After this, Sung Yun, with Hwui Seng, left the city for the purpose of inspecting the traces which exist of the teaching (religion) of
Tathagata. To the east of the river is the place where Buddha dried his clothes. When first Tathagata came to the country of Ou-chang,
he went to convert a dragon king. He, being angry with Buddha, raised a violent storm with rain. The Sanghati of Buddha was soaked
through and through with the wet. After the rain was over, Buddha stopped on a rock, and, with his face to the east, sat down whilst
he dried his robe (Kasha). Although many years have elapsed since then, the traces of the stripes of the garment are as visible as if
newly done, and not merely the seams and bare outline, but one can see the marks of the very tissue itself, so that in looking at it, it
appears as if the garment had not been removed, and, if one were asked to do it, as if the traces might be lifted up (as the garment
itself). There are memorial towers erected on the sport where Buddha sat, and also where he dried his robe. To the west of the river is
a tank occupied by a Naga Raja. By the side of the tank is a temple served by fifty priests and more. The Naga Raja ever and anon
assumes supernatural appearances. The king of the country propitiates him with gold and jewels, and other precious offerings, which
he casts into the middle of the tank; such of these as afterwards find their way out through a side exit, the priests are permitted to
retain. Because the Dragon thus provides for the necessary expenses of this temple (clothes and food), therefore men call it the Naga
Raja temple.

Traces of Buddha:

Eighty li to the N. of the royal city there is the trace of the shoe of Buddha on a rock. They have raised a tower to enclose it. The place
where the print of the shoe is left on the rock, is as if the foot had trodden on soft mud. Its length is undetermined, as at one time it is
long, and at another time short. They have now founded a temple on the spot, capable of accommodating seventy priests and more.
Twenty paces to the south of the tower is a spring of water issuing from a rock. It was here Buddha once came to cleanse (his person),
on which occasion he bit off a piece of his tooth-stick (Dantakashta) (Jul. iii. 49 and ii. 55), and planted it in the ground; it immediately
took root, and is at present a great tree, which the Tartars call Po-lou (Pilu tree, Salvadora Persica). To the north of the city is the To-lo
(Salatoura) temple, in which there are very numerous appliances for the worship of Buddha. The pagoda is high. The priests’
chambers are ranged in order round the temple (or tower). There are sixty full-length golden figures (herein). The king, whenever he
convenes (or convening yearly) a great assembly, collects the priests in this temple. On these occasions the Shamans within the
country flock together in great crowds. Sung Yung and Hwui Seng, remarking the strict rules and eminent piety (extreme austerities)
of those Bikshus, and from a sense that the example of these priests singularly conduced to increase (their own) religious feelings,
remitted two servants for the use of the convent to prepare the religious offerings and to water and sweep the temple. From the royal
city, going S.E. over a mountainous district, eight days’ journey, we come to the place where Tathagata, practicing austerities, gave up
his body to feed a starving tiger. It is a high mountain, with scarped precipices and towering peaks that pierce the clouds. The
fortunate tree (Kalpa-vriksh) and the Ling chi grow here in abundance, whilst the groves and fountains (or forest rivulets), the docile
stags and the variegated hues of the flowers, all delight the eyes. Sung Yun and Hwui Seng devoted a portion of their travelling funds
to erect a pagoda on the crest of the hill, and they inscribed on a stone, in the square character, an account of the great merits of the
Wei dynasty. This mountain possesses a temple called “collected bones,” with 300 priests and more. One hundreds and odd li to the
south of the royal city is the place where Buddha (Julai), formerly residing in the Ma-hui country, peeled off his skin for the purpose of
writing upon it, and extracted (broke off) a bone of his body for the purpose writing with it. Asoka Raja raised a pagoda on this spot
for the purpose of enclosing these sacred relics. It is about ten chang high (120 feet). On the spot where he broke off his bone, the
marrow ran out and covered the surface of a rock, which yet retains the colour of it, and is unctuous as though it had only recently
been done.

Hill of Prince Sudatta; Sung Yun becomes home-sick:

To the S.W. of the royal city, 500 li, is the Shen-chi hill (of Prince Sudatta). The sweet waters and delicious fruits (of this place) are
spoken of in the Sacred Books (the Sutras and Vyakaranas). The grottoes of this mountain are agreeably warm; the trees and shrubs
retain a perpetual verdure. At the time when the pilgrims arrived, the gentle breeze which fanned the air, the songs of the birds, the
trees in their springtide beauty, the butterflies that fluttered over the numerous flowers, - all this caused Sung Yun, as he gazed on
this lovely scenery in a distant land, to revert to home thoughts; and so melancholy were his reflections, that he brought on a severe
attack of illness; after a month, however, he obtained some charms of the Brahmans, which gave him ease.
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To the S.E. of the crest of the hill Shen-chi, is a rock-cave of the Prince, with two chambers to it. Ten paces in front of this cave is a
great square stone on which it is said the Prince was accustomed to sit; above this Asoka raised a memorial tower.

Piety and Samadhi:

One li to the south of the tower is the place of the Pansala (leafy hut) of the Prince. One li N.E. of the tower, fifty paces down the
mountain, is the place where the son and daughter of the Prince persisted in circumambulating a tree (to escape a Brahman who had
begged them from their father as slaves). On this the Brahman beat them with rods till the blood flowed down and moistened the
earth. This tree still exists, and the ground, stained with blood, now produces a sweet fountain of water. Three li to the west of the
cave is the place where the heavenly king Sekra, assuming the appearance of a lion sitting coiled up in the road, concealed Man-
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kea. On the stone are yet traces of his hair and claws. The spot also where Adjitakouta and his disciples nourished the Father and
Mother (Prince and Princess). All these have memorial towers. In this mountain formerly were the beds of 500 Arhats ranged N. and
S. in a double row. Their seats also were placed opposite one to another. There is now a great temple here with about 200 priests. To
the north of the fountain which supplied the Princes with water is a temple. A herd of wild asses frequent this spot for grazing. No one
drives them here, but they resort here of their own accord. Daily at early morn they arrive – they take their food at noon, and so they
protect the temple. These are spirits who protect the tower commissioned for this purpose by the Rishi Uh-po (Oupagupta?). In this
temple there formerly dwelt a Shami (Samanera), who, being constantly occupied in sifting ashes (belonging to the convent), fell into
a state of fixed composure (Samadhi). The Karmadana of the convent had h is funeral obsequies performed, thinking he was dead, and
not observing that his skin continued unchanged. After his burial, the Rishi Oupa continued to take the office of the Samanera in the
place of sifting the ashes. On this the king of the country founded a chapel to the Rishi, and placed in it a figure of him as he
appeared, and ornamented it with much gold leaf.

Rahats and Yakshas; and the kingdom of Gandhara:

Close to the peak of this hill is a temple of Po-kin (Bhagavan?), built by the Yakshas. There are about 80 priests in it. They say the
Rahats and Yakshas continually come to offer religious services, to water and sweep the temple, and to gather wood for it. Ordinary
priests are not allowed to occupy this temple. The Shaman To Yung, of the Great Wei dynasty, came to this temple to pay religious
worship; but having done so, he departed, without daring to take up his quarters there. During the m iddle decade of the 4th month of
the reign Ching Kwong (520 AD), we entered the kingdom of Gandhara. This country closely resembles the territory of Ou-chang. It
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was formerly called the country of Ye-po-lo. This is the country which the Ye-thas (Little Yuchi) destroyed and afterwards set up
Lae-lih to be king over the country; since which events two generations have passed. The disposition of this king was cruel and
vindictive, and he practiced the most barbarous atrocities. He did not believe the Law of Buddha, but loved to worship demons. The
people of the country belonged entirely to the Brahman caste; they had a great respect for the law of Buddha, and loved to read the
Sacred Books, when suddenly this king came into power, who was strongly opposed to anything of the sort, and entirely self-reliant.
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Trusting to his own strength, he had entered on a war with the country of Ki-pin (Cophene) respecting the boundaries of their
kingdom, and his troops had been already engaged in it for three years.

Gandhara king meets Sung Yun, who feels slighted by his conduct:
The King has 700 war elephants, each of which carries ten men armed with sword and spear, whilst the elephants are armed with
swords attached to their trunks, with which to contend when at close quarters. The King continually abode on the frontier and never
returned (to his kingdom), in consequence of which the seniors had to labour and the common people were oppressed. Sung Yun
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repaired to the royal camp to deliver his credentials. The King was very rough with him, and failed to salute him. He sat still whilst
receiving the letters. Sung Yung perceived that these remote barbarians were unfit for exercising public duties, and that their
arrogancy refused to be checked. The King now sent for interpreters, and addressed Sung Yun as follows:- “Has your worship not
suffered much inconvenience in traversing all these countries and encountering so many dangers on the road.” Sung Yun replied, “We
have been sent by our royal mistress to search for works of the great translation through distinct regions. It is true the dif ficulties of
the road are great, yet we dare not complain or say we are fatigued; but your majesty and your forces as you sojourn here on the
frontier of your kingdom, enduring all the changes of heat and cold, are you not also nearly worn out?” The King, replying, said: “It is
impossible to submit to such a little country as this, and I am sorry that you should ask such a question.” Sung Yun, on first speaking
with the King (thought), “this barbarian is unable to discharge with courtesy his official duties,- he sits still whilst receiving diplomatic
papers, and is wrapped up in himself;” but, on second thoughts, reflecting that he also had the feelings of a man, he determined to
reprove his conduct and said, “Mountains are high and low – rivers are great and small – amongst men also there a re distinctions,
some being noble and others ignoble. The sovereign of the Ye-tha, and also of Ou-chang, when they received our credentials, did so
respectfully; but your Majesty alone has paid us no respect.” The King, replying, said, “When I see the King of the Wei, then I will pay
my respects; but to receive and read his letters whilst seated, is surely no such outrageous occurrence. When men receive a letter
from father or mother, they don’t rise from their seats to read it. The Great Wei sovereign is to me (for the nonce) both father and
mother, and so, without being unreasonable, I will read the letters you bring me, still sitting down.” Sung Yun then took his departure
without any official salutation. He took up his quarters in a temple in which the religious services were very poor. At this time the
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coun try of Po-tai sent two young lions to the King of Gandhara as a present. Sung Yun had an opportunity of seeing them; he
noticed their fiery temper and courageous mien. The pictures of these animals common in China are not at all good resemblances of
them.

Sung Yun continues his pilgrimage; arrives at the Indus:

After this, going west five days, they arrived at the place where Tathagata made an offering of his head for the sake of a man – where
there is both a tower and temple, with about twenty priests. Going west three days, we arrive at the great river Sin-tou. On the west
bank of this river is the place where Tathagata took the form of a great fish called Ma-kie (Magara), and came out of the river, and for
twelve years supported the people with his flesh. On this spot is raised a memorial tower. On the rock are still to be seen the traces of
the scales of the fish.

Buddhist stupas:
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Again going west thirteen days’ journey, we arrived at the city of Fo-sha-fu. The river valley is a rich loamy soil. The city walls are
constructed with double gates. There are very many groves (around the city), whilst fountains of water enrich the soil; and, as for the
rest, there are costly jewels and gems in abundance. Both clergy and laity are honest and virtuous. Within this city there is a heretical
temple of ancient date called “Sang-the” (Santi?). All religious persons frequent it and highly venerate it. To the north of the city, one
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li, is the temple of the White Elephant Palace. Within the temple all is devoted to the service of Buddha. There are here stone
images highly adorned and very beautiful, very many in number, and covered with gold sufficient to dazzle the eyes. Before the temple
and belonging to it is a tree called the White Elephant Tree, from which, in fact, this temple took its origin a nd name. Its leaves and
flowers are like those of the Chinese Date tree, and its fruit begins to ripen in the winter quarter. The tradition common amongst the
old people is this: “That when this tree is destroyed, then the Law of Buddha will also perish.” Within the temple is a picture of the
Prince (Sudatta) and his wife with their children, begging of a Brahman. The Tartar (conquerors), seeing this picture, were so moved
that they could not refrain from tears.

Buddha’s prophecy about Kanishka, who builds a magnificent pagoda:

Again going west one day’s journey, we arrive at the place where Tathagata gave his eyes in charity. Here also is a tower and a temple.
On a stone of the temple is the impress of the foot of Kasyapa Buddha. Again going west one day we crossed a deep river (Indus),
more than 300 paces broad. Sixty li S.W. of this we arrive at the capital of the country of Gandhara (hence Peshawar). Seven li to the
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S.E. of this city there is a Tsioh–li Feou-thou. Investigating the origin of this tower, we find that when Tathagata was in the world he
was passing once through this country with his disciples on his mission of instruction; on which occasion, when delivering a discourse
on the east side of the city, he said, “Three hundred years after my Nirvana, there will be a king of this country called Ka-ni-si-ka
(Kanishka). On this spot he will raise a pagoda (Feou-thou). Accordingly, 300 years after that event, there was a king of this country, so
called. On one occasion, when going out to the east of the city, he saw four children engaged in making a Buddhist tower out of dung;
they had raised it about three feet high, when suddenly they disappeared. [The record st ates, “One of the children, raising himself in
the air and turning towards the king, repeated a verse (Gatha).] The king surprised at this miraculous event, immediately erected a
tower for the purpose of enclosing (the small pagoda), but gradually the small tower grew higher and higher, and at last went outside
and removed itself 400 feet off, and there stationed itself. Then the king proceeded to widen the foundation of the great tower 300
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paces and more. To crown all, he placed a roof-pole upright and even. Throughout the building he used ornamental wood; he
constructed stairs to lead to the top. The roof consisted of every kind of wood. Altogether there were thirteen storeys; above which
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there was an iron pillar, 3 feet high, with thirteen gilded circlets. Altogether the height from the ground was 700 feet. This
meritorious work being finished, the dung pagoda, as at first, remained three paces south of the great tower. The Brahman, not
believing that it was really made of dung, dug a hole in it to see. Although years have elapsed since these events, this tower has not
corrupted; and although they have tried to fill up the hole with scented earth, they have not been able to do so. It is now enclosed with
a protecting canopy. The Tsioh-li pagoda, since its erection, has been three times destroyed by li ghtning, but the kings of the country
have each time restored it. The old men say, “When this pagoda is finally destroyed by lightning, then the Law of Buddha also will
perish.” The record of To-Yung says, “When the king had finished all the work expect getting the iron pillar up to the top, he found
that he could not raise this heavy weight. He proceeded, therefore, to erect at the four corners a lofty stage; he expended in the work
large treasures, and then he, with all his court and princes ascending on to it, burnt incense and scattered flowers, and, with their
hearts, called on the gods to help them; then, with one turn of the windlass, they raised the weight and so succeeded in elevating it to
its place. The Tartars say, therefore, that the four heavenly kings lent their aid in this work, and that, if they had not done so, no
human strength would have been of any avail. Within the pagoda there is contained every sort of Buddhist utensil; here are gold and
jewelled (vessels) of a thousand forms and vast variety – to name which even would be no easy task; at sunrise the gilded discs of the
vane are lit up with dazzling glory, whilst the gentle breeze of morning causes the precious bells (suspended from the roof) to tinkle
with a pleasing sound. Of all the pagodas of th e western world, this one is by far the first (in size and importance). At the first
completion of this tower they used true pearls in making the network-covering over the top; but after some years, the king, reflecting
on the enormous value of this ornamental work, thought thus with himself: “After my decease (funeral) I fear some invader may carry
it off” – or “supposing the p agoda should fall, there will be no one with means sufficient to re-build it;” – on which he removed the
pearl work and placed it in a copper vase, which he removed to the N.W. of the pagoda 100 paces, and buried it in the earth. Above
the spot he planted a tree, which is called Po-tai (Bodhi), the branches of which, spreading out on each side, with their thick foliage,
completely shade the spot from the sun. Underneath the tree on each side there are sitting figures (of Buddha) of the same height, viz.
a chang and a half (17 feet). There are always four dragons in attendance to protect these jewels; if a man (in his heart) covets them,
calamities immediately befall him. There is also a stone tablet erected on the spot, and engraved on it are these words of direction:
“Hereafter, if this tower is destroyed, after long search, the virtuous man may find here pearls (of value sufficient) to help him restore
it.”

Seeking omens from the tower of fortune to return home:

Fifty paces to the south of the Tsioh-li pagoda there is a stone tower, in shape perfectly round, and two chang high (27 feet). There are
many spiritual portents gathered from this building; so that men, by touching it, can find out if they are lucky or unlucky. If they are
lucky, then by touching it the golden bells will tinkle; but if unlucky, then, though a man should violently push the tower, no sound
would be given out. Hwui Seng, having travelled far from his country and fearing that he might not have a fortunate return, paid
worship to this sacred tower, and sought a sign from it. On this, he did but touch it with his finger and immediately the bells rang out.
Obtaining this omen, he comforted his heart. And the result proved the truth of the augury. When Hwui Seng first went up to the
capital, the Empress had conferred upon him a thousand streamers of a hundred feet in length and of the five colours, and five
hundred figured (mats?) of scented grass. The princes, dukes and nobility had given him two thousand flags. Hwui Seng, in his
journey from Khoten to Gandhara, - wherever there was a disposition to Buddhism, - had freely distributed these in charity; so that
when he arrived here, he had only left one flag of 100 feet in length, given him by the Empress. This he decided to offer as a present
to the tower of Sivika Raja, whilst Sung Yun gave two slaves to the Tsioh-li pagoda, in perpetuity, to sweep it and water it. Hwui Seng,
out of the little funds he had left, employed a skilful artist to depict on copper the Tsioh-li pagoda and also the four principal pagodas
of Sakya Mouni.

Crossing the Indus:

After this, going N.W. seven days’ journey, they crossed a great river (Indus), and arrived at the place where Tathagata, when he was
Sivika Raja, delivered the dove; here there is a temple and a tower also. There was formerly here a large storehouse of Sivika Raja,
which was burnt down. The grain which was in it was parched with the heat, and is still to be found in the neighbourhood (of the
ruins). If a man takes but a single grain of this, he never suffers from fever; the people of the country also take it to prevent the power
of the sun hurting them.

Homage to the Buddha’s relics:

The records of To-ung say, “At Na-ka-lo-ho (Nagarahara) there is a skull bone of Buddha, four inches round, of a yellowish-white
colour, hollow underneath, sufficient to receive a man’s finger; to the touch it is soft as wax.”
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We then visited the Ki-ka-lam temple. This contains the robe (kasha) of Buddha in thirteen pieces. In measurement this garment is
as long as it is broad. Here also is the staff of Buddha, in length a chang and seven-tenths (about 18 feet), in a wooden case, which is
covered with gold leaf. The weight of this staff is very uncertain; sometimes it is so heavy that a hundred men cannot raise it, and at
other times it is so light that one man can lift it. In the city of Nagrak is a tooth of Buddha and also some of his hair – both of which
are contained in precious caskets; morning and evening religious offerings are made to them.

We next arrive at the cave of Gopala, where is the shadow of Buddha. Entering the mountain cavern fifteen feet, and looking for a long
time at the western side of it opposite the door, then at length the figure, with all its characteristic marks, appears; on going nearer to
look at it, it gradually grows fainter and then disappears. On touching the place where it was with the hand, there is nothing but the
bare wall. Gradually retreating, the figure begins to come in view again, and foremost is conspicuous that peculiar mark between the
eyebrows (ourna), which is so rare among men. Before the cave is a square stone, on which is a trace of Buddha’s foot.

One hundred paces S.W. of the cave is the place where Buddha washed his robe. One li to the north of the cave is the stone cell of
Mogalan; to the north of which is a mountain, at the foot of which the great Buddha, with his own hand made a pagoda, ten chang
high (115 feet). They say that when this tower sinks down and enters the earth, then the Law of Buddha will perish. There are,
moreover, seven towers here; to the south of which is a stone with an inscription on it; they say, Buddha himself wrote it. The foreign
letters are distinctly legible even to the present time.

Hwui Seng abode in the country of Ou-chang two years. The customs of the clergy and the laity of the western foreigners (Tartars)
are, to a great extent, similar (with ours); the minor differences we cannot fully detail. When it came to the second month of the
second ye ar of Ching-un (521 AD) he began to return.

The foregoing account is principally drawn from the private records of To-Yung and Sung Yun. The details given by Hwui Seng were
never wholly recorded.

 CHAPTER — 14
YUAN CHWANG

Hieun Tsiang (also Hsuan-tsang, now Yuan Chwang) was among the best informed of the writers who visited India. His journey, like
that of Fa-hien, was primarily concerned with Buddhism for he desired to see and worship the sacred land, collect authoritative
Buddhist sutras, and study the depth of Buddhist philosophy. It was, in the words of Asoka’s Rock Edict 8, a dharma-yatra to the
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sacred Buddhist cosmos of Serindia and India proper. The Chinese pilgrim assiduously gathered geographical details of the regions
he traversed, the climate and agriculture, wealth and character of the people, the presence of Buddhist monks and monasteries and
the dominant sects (Hinayana or Mahayana) therein, and also the presence or dominance of Hindus and Jainas. He indicated if the
king was friendly or unfriendly towards Buddhism, and the vitality of Buddhism in a particular kingdom, thus alluding to the
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importance of royal patronage for the faith.

Yuan Chwang has been criticised for being too credulous about stories of Buddhist miracles, yet his record is of lasting significance to
students of ancient Buddhist thought as his collection of tales and traditions then prevalent in India help reconstruct the atmosphere
of the time. As he interacted with important Indian rulers and witnessed some important events, his account gives insight into India of
the first millennium AD.

Northwest India and Central Asia were always regions of intense political and cultural exchange. Yuan Chwang passed through the
region when it was ruled by the Western Turks, necessitating a guarantee of safe conduct from the king of the Turks. Harsha
patronised the pilgrim, whose personal account of the king is arresting. He gives precise data such as the fact that Nalanda was
purchased for B uddhist monks by merchants for ten kotis, and that it was supported from the revenues of one hundred villages. But
his lasting significance was for archaeologists: Gen. Alexander Cunningham discovered Nalanda and Vaisali by following his footsteps.

Scholars have generally assigned three dates for the birth of Yuan Chwang (ca. 600-664), namely, 596, 600, and 602; most Chinese
scholars prefer 600, but the Western favour 602. After an early interest in Yogacara, Yuan Chwang realized the inadequacy of extant
Chinese texts and set off in 627 to procure the authentic teachings and the encyclopædic Yogacara-bhumi. He spent fourteen years
(629-643) in India, studying Yogacara, Sarv astivada, Madhyamika, logic, grammar and the Vedas under eminent teachers. Returning
home, he translated 75 of the 657 works he carried back with him. In 645 he was received by Emperor Tai-ts‘ung who encouraged him
to write the Record of Travels to the Western Regions. His biography was compiled by Hui-li who died while working on it, and the
task was then completed by Yen-tsung on 20 April 688 (K 1071). The first five chapters of “Life” narrate the pilgrim’s family
background, travels from China to Central Asian kingdoms, and his return journey, while the next five chapters describe his activities
in China on the basis of contemporary documents. The ‘Life’ ably supplements Yuan Chwang’s ‘Record of the Western World’ and
furthers understanding of the status of Buddhism in the seventh century Central Asian states, India, and China.

Yuan Chwang and Kumarajiva were the greatest translators of Buddhist texts into Chinese. He was so accomplished in Sanskrit that
he translated Lao-tzu into Sanskrit. He established the Vijnaptimatra school of Buddhism in China. The ‘Record’ and ‘Life’ deepen our
understanding of the Silk Route, and his initiatives paved the way for diplomatic relations between India and China. Several
embassies were exchanged between Harsavardhana and Tai-ts‘ung. He told his countrymen about India’s invention of sugar, called
shimi ‘stone honey’ in Chinese (sarkara ‘sugar, crystals, granules, stonelets’), and the Emperor sent the ambassador Wang Hsüan-ts’e
to get sugar technology from India.

The ‘Life’ was first translated by Stanislas Julien in 1853. The first English translation by Samuel Beal appeared in 1888. Only the first
five chapters by Hui-li were complete; the five final chapters by Yen-Ts‘ung were summarised. In 1951, British Sinologist Arthur Waley
summarised the historical career of Yuan Chwang from the ‘Life’ and other sources in The Real Tripitaka and other Pieces (London,
George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1952). Mr. Li Yung-hsi was the first Chinese scholar to translate the complete ten chapters of ‘Life’ into
English; they were published in 1959 by The Chinese Buddhist Association, Peking, with a foreword by Venerable Chao Pu-chu. Mrs.
D. Devahuti translated the correspondence of Yuan Chwang, Prajnadeva and Jnanaprabha from the Chinese of the ‘Life;’ these were
published under the title The Unknown Hsuan-tsang (New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2001).

Book II
Relates to Three Countries, viz, (I) Lan-po, (2) Na-Kie lo-ho and (3) Kien t’o-lo

1. Names of India
India is In-tu, the moon, because of its eminence:

On examination, we find that the names of India (T’ien-chu) are various and perplexing as to their authority. It was anciently called
Shin-tu, also Hien-tau; but now, according to the right pronunciation, it is called In-tu. The people of In-tu call their country by
different names according to their district. Each country has diverse customs. Aiming at a general name which is the best sounding,
we will call the country In-tu. In Chinese this name signifies the moon. The moon has many names, of which this is one. For as it is
said that all living things ceaselessly revolve in the wheel (of transmigration) through the long night of ignorance, without a guiding
star, their case is like (the world), the sun gone down; as then the torch affords its connecting light, though there be the shining of the
stars, how different from the bright (cool) moon; just so the bright connected light of holy men and sages, guiding the world as the
shining of the moon, have made this country eminent, and so it is called In-tu.

Brahmins a noble caste:

The families of India are divided into castes, the Brahmans particularly (are noted) on account of their purity and nobility. Tradition
has so hallowed the name of this tribe that there is no question as to difference of place, but the people generally speak of India as the
country of the Brahmans (Po-lo-men).

2. Extent of India, Climate, & c

Accurate geography of India:

The countries embraced under this term of India are generally spoken of as the five Indies. In circuit this country is about 90,000 li;
on three sides it is bordered by the great sea; on the north it is backed by the Snowy Mountains. The north part is broad, the southern
part is narrow. Its shape is like the half-moon. The entire land is divided into seventy countries or so. The seasons are particularly hot;
the land is well watered and humid. The north is a continuation of mountains and hills, the ground being dry and salt. On the east
there are valleys and plains, which being well watered and cultivated, are fruitful and productive. The southern district is wooded and
herbaceous; the western parts are stony and barren. Such is the general account of this country.
 3. Measures of Length
To give a brief account of matters. In point of measurements, there is first of all the yojana (yu-shen-na); this from the time of the holy
kings of old has been regarded as a day’s march for an army. The old accents say it is equal to 40 li; according to the common
reckoning in India it is 30 li, but in the sacred books (of Buddha) the yojana is only 16 li.

In the subdivision of distances, a yojana is equal to eight krosas (keu-lu-she); a krosa is the distance that the lowing of a cow can be
heard; a krosa is divided into 500 bows (dhanus); a bow is divided into four cubits (hastas); a cubit is divided into 24 fingers (angulis);
a finger is divided into seven barleycorns (javas); and so on to a louse (yuka), a nit (liksha), a dust grain, a cow’s hair, a sheep’s hair, a
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hare’s down, copper-water, and so on for seven divisions, till we come to a small grain of dust; this is divided sevenfold till we come
to an excessively small grain of dust (anu); this cannot be divided further without arriving at nothingness, and so it is called the
infinitely small (paramanu).

4. Astronomy, the Calendar, &c

Although the revolution of the Yin and Yang principles and the successive mansions of the sun and moon be called by names different
from ours, yet the seasons are the same; the names of the months are derived from the position (of the moon in respect) of the
asterisms.

The shortest portion of time is called a t’sa-na (kshana); 120 kshanas make a ta-t’sa-na (takshana); 60 of these make a la-fo (lava); 30
of these make a mau-hu-li-to (muthurta); five of these make “a period of time” (kala); six of these make a day and night (ahoratra), but
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commonly the day and night are divided into eight kalas.

The period from the new moon till full moon is called the white division (Sukla-paksha) of the month; the period from the full moon till
the disappearance is called the dark portion (Krishna-paksha). The dark portion comprises fourteen or fifteen days, because the month
is sometimes long and sometimes short. The preceding dark portion and the following light portion together form a month; six months
form a “march” (hing, s.ayana). The sun when it moves within (the equator) is said to be on its northward march (uttarayana), when it
moves without (the equator) it is on its southern march (dakshinayana). These two periods form a year (vatsara).

5. Towns and Buildings

The towns and villages have inner gates; the walls are wide and high; the streets and lanes are tortuous, and the roads winding. The
thoroughfares are dirty and the stalls arranged on both side s of the road with appropriate signs. Butchers, fishers, dancers,
executioners, and scavengers, and so on, have their abodes without the city. In coming and going these persons are bound to keep on
the left side of the road till they arrive at their homes. Their houses are surrounded by low walls, and form the suburbs. The earth
being soft and muddy, the walls are constructed of wood or bamboo; the houses have balconies and belvederes, which are made of
wood, with a coating of lime or mortar, and covered with tiles. The different buildings have the same form as those in China: rushes,
or dry branches, or tiles, or boards are used for covering them. The walls are covered with lime and mud, mixed with cow’s dung for
purity. At different seasons they scatter flowers about.

The sangharamas are constructed with extraordinary skill. A three-storeyed tower is erected at each of the four angles. The beams
and the projecting heads are carved with great skill in different shapes. The doors, windows, and the low walls are painted profusely;
the monks’ cells are ornamental on the inside and plain on the outside. In the very middle of the building is the hall, high and wide.
There are various storeyed chambers and turrets of differen t height and shape, without any fixed rule. The doors open towards the
east; the royal throne also faces the east.

6. Seats, Clothing, &c

When they sit or rest they all use mats; the royal family and the great personages and assistant officers use mats variously
ornamented, but in size they are the same. The throne of the reigning sovereign is large and high, and much adorned with precious
gems: it is called the Lion-throne (simhasana). It is covered with extremely fine drapery; the footstool is adorned with gems. The
nobility use beautifully painted and enriched seats, according to their tastes.

7. Dress, Habits, &c

Their clothing is not cut or fashioned; they mostly affect fresh-white garments; they esteem little those of mixed colour or
ornamented. The men wind their garments round their middle then gather them under the armpits, and let them fall down across the
body, hanging to the right. The robes of the women fall down to the ground; they completely cover their shoulders. They wear a little
knot of hair on their crowns, and let the rest of their hair fall loose. Some of the men cut off their moustaches, and have other odd
customs. On their heads the people wear caps (crowns), with flower-wreaths and jewelled necklets. Their garments are made of Kiau-
she-ye (kauseya) and of cotton. Kiau-she-ye is the product of the wild silkworm. They have garments also of Ts’o-mo (kshauma), which
is a sort of hemp; garments also made of Kien-po-lo (kambala) which is woven from fine goat-hair; garments also made from the fine
hair of a wild animal: it is seldom this can be woven, and therefore the stuff is very valuable, and it is regarded as fine clothing.

In North India, where the air is cold, they wear short and close-fitting garments, like the Hu people. The dress and ornaments worn by
non-believers are varied and mixed. Some wear peacocks’ feathers; some wear as ornaments necklaces made of skull bones
(Kapaladharinas); some have no clothing, but go naked (Nirgranthas); some wear leaf or bark garments; some pull out their hair and
cut off their moustaches; others have bushy whiskers and their hair braided on the top of their heads. The costume is not uniform, and
the colour, whether red or white, not constant.

The Kshattriyas and the Brahmans are cleanly and wholesome in their dress, and they live in a homely and frugal way. The king of the
country and the great ministers wear garments and ornaments different in their character. They use flowers for decorating their hair,
with gem-decked caps; they ornament themselves with bracelets and necklaces.

There are rich merchants who deal exclusively in gold trinkets, and so on. They mostly go bare-footed; few wear sandals. They stain
their teeth red or black; they bind up their hair and pierce their ears; they ornament their noses, and have large eyes. Such is their
appearance.

8. Cleanliness, Ablutions, & c

They are very particularly in their personal cleanliness, and allow no remissness in this particular. All wash themselves before eating;
they never use that which has been left over (from a former meal); they do not pass the dishes. Wooden and stone vessels, when used,
must be destroyed; vessels of gold, silver, copper, or iron after each meal must be rubbed and polished. After eating they cleanse their
teeth with a willow stick, and wash their hands and mouth.

Until these ablutions are finished they do not touch one another. Every time they perform the functions of nature they wash their
bodies and use perfumes of sandal-wood or turmeric.

9. Writing, Language, Books, the Vedas, Study

Very acute observations:

The letters of their alphabet were arranged by Brahmadeva, and their forms have been handed down from the first till now. They are
forty-seven in number, and are combined so as to form words according to the object, and according to circumstances (of time or
place): there are other forms (inflexions) used. This alphabet has spread in different directions and formed diverse branches,
according to circumstances; therefore there have been slight modifications in the sounds of the words (spoken language); but in its
great features there has been no change. Middle India preserves the original character of the language in its integrity. Here the
pronunciation is soft and agreeable, and like the language of the Devas. The pronunciation of the words is clear and pure, and fit as a
model for all men. The people of the frontiers have contracted several erroneous modes of pronunciation; for according to the
licentious habits of the people, so also will be the corrupt nature of their language.

Contradicts the view that Indians have no sense of history and records:

With respect to the records of events, each province has its own official for preserving them in writing. The record of these events in
their full character is called Ni-lo-pi-ch’a (Nilapita, blue deposit). In these records are mentioned good and evil events, with calamities
and fortunate occurrences.
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To educate and encourage the young, they are first taught to study the book of twelve chapters (Siddhavastu).

After arriving at the age of seven years and upwards, the young are instructed in the five Vidyas, Sastras of great importance. The
first is called the elucidation of sounds (Sabdavidya). This treatise explains and illustrates the agreement (concordance) of words, and
it provides an index for derivatives.

The second vidya is called Kiau-ming (Silpasthanavidya); it treats of the arts, mechanics, explains the principles of the Yin and Yang
and the calendar.

The third is called the medicinal treatise (Chikitsavidya); it embraces formulae for protection, secret charms, (use of) medicinal
stones, acupuncture, and mugwort.

The fourth vidya is called the Hetuvidya (science of causes); its name is derived from the character of the work, which relates to the
determination of the true and false, and reduces to their last terms the definition of right and wrong.
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The fifth vidya is called the science of “the interior” (Adhyatmavidya); it relates to the five vehicles, their causes and consequence,
and the subtle influences of these.

The Brahmans study the four Veda Sastras. The first is called Shau (longevity); it relates to the preservation of life and the regulation
of the natural condition. The second is called Sse (sacrifice); it relates to the (rules of) sacrifice and prayer. The third is called Ping
(peace or regulation); it relates to decorum, casting of lots, military affairs, and army regulations. The fourth is called Shu (secret
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mysteries); it relates to various branches of science, incantations, medicine.

The teachers (of these works) must themselves have closely studied the deep and secret principles they contain, and penetrated to
their remotest meaning. They then explain their general sense, and guide their pupils in understanding the words which are difficult.
They urge them on and skilfully conduct them…

When they have finished their education, and have attained thirty years of age, then their character is formed and their knowledge
ripe. When they have secured an occupation they first of all thank their master for this attention. There are some, deeply versed in
antiquity, who devote themselves to elegant studies, and live apart from the world, and retain the simplicity of their character. These
rise above mundane presents, and are as insensible to renown as to the contempt of the world. Their name having spread afar, rulers
appreciate them highly, but are unable to draw them to the court. The chief of the country honours them on account of their (mental)
gifts, and the people exalt their fame and render them universal homage. This is the reason of their devoting themselves to their
studies with ardour and resolution, without any sense of fatigue. They search for wisdom, relying on their own resources. Although
they are possessed of large wealth, yet they will wander here and there to seek their subsistence.

10. Buddhist Schools, Books, Discussions, Discipline

The different schools are constantly at variance, and their contending utterances rise like the angry waves of the sea. The different
sects have their separate masters, and in various directions aim at one end.

There are Eighteen schools, each claiming pre-eminence. The partisans of the Great and Little Vehicle are content to dwell apart.
There are some who give themselves up to quiet contemplation, and devote themselves, whether walking or standing still or sitting
down, to the acquirement of wisdom and insight; others, on the contrary, differ from these in raising noisy contentions about their
faith. According to their fraternity, they are governed by distinctive rules and regulations, which we need not name.

The Vinaya (liu), discourses (lun), sutras (king), are equally Buddhist books. He who can entirely explain one class of these books is
exempted from the control of the karmadana. If he can explain two classes, he receives in addition the equipments of an upper seat
(room); he who can explain three classes has allotted to him different servants to attend to and obey him; he who can explain four
classes has “pure men” (upasakas) allotted to him as attendants; he who can explain five classes of books is then allowed an elephant
carriage; he who can explain six classes of books is allowed a surrounding escort. When a man’s renown has reached to a high
distinction, then at different times he convokes an assembly for discussion. He judges of the superior or inferior talent of those who
take part in it; he distinguishes himself by refined language, subtle investigation, deep penetration, and severe logic, then he is
mounted on an elephant covered with precious ornaments, and conducted by a numerous suite to the gates of the convent.

If, on the contrary, one of the members breaks down in his argument, or uses poor and inelegant phrases, or if he violates a rule in
logic and adapts his words accordingly, they proceed to disfigure his face with red and white, and cover his body with dirt and dust,
and then carry him off to some deserted spot or leave him in a ditch. Thus they distinguish between the meritorious and the worthless,
between the wise and the foolish.

11. Castes – Marriage

With respect to the division of families, there are four classifications. The first is called the Brahman (Po-lo-men), men of pure
conduct. They guard themselves in religion, live purely, and observe the most correct principles. The second is called Kshattriya (T’sa-
ti-li), the royal caste. For ages they have been the governing class: they apply themselves to virtue (humanity) and kindness. The third
is called Vaisyas (fei-she-li), the merchant class: they engage in commercial exchange, and they follow profit at home and aboard. The
fourth is called Sudra (Shu-t’o-lo), the agricultural class: they labour in ploughing and tillage. In these four classes purity or impurity
of caste assigns to every one his place. When they marry they rise or fall in position according to their new relationship. They do not
allow promiscuous marriages between relations. A woman once married can never take another husband. Besides these there are
other classes of many kinds that intermarry according to their several callings. It would be difficult to speak of these in detail.

12. Royal Family, Troops, Weapons

The succession of kings is confined to the Kshattriya (T’sa-li) caste, who by usurpation and bloodshed have from time to time raised
themselves to power. Although a distinct caste, they are regarded as honourable (or lords).

The chief soldiers of the country are selected from the bravest of the people, and as the sons follow the profession of their fathers,
they soon acquire a knowledge of the art of war. These dwell in garrison around the palace (during peace), but when on an expedition
they march in front as an advanced guard. There are four divisions of the army, viz.-(1) the infantry, (2) the cavalry, (3) the chariots,
(4) the elephants. The elephants are covered with strong armour, and their tusks are provided with sharp spurs. A leader in a car
gives the command, whilst two attendants on the right and left drive his chariot, which is drawn by four horses abreast. The general
of soldiers remains in his chariot; he is surrounded by a file of guards, who keep close to his chariot wheels.

The cavalry spread themselves in front to resist an attack, and in case of defeat they carry orders hither and thither. The infantry by
their quick movements contribute to the defence. These men are chosen for their courage and strength. They carry a long spear and a
great shield; sometimes they hold a sword or sabre, and advance to the front with impetuosity. All their weapons of war are sharp and
pointed. Some of them are these – spears, shields, bows, arrows, swords, sabres, battle-axes, lances, halberds, long javelins, and
various kinds of slings. All these they have used for ages.

13. Manners, Administration of Law, Ordeals

The integrity of ordinary folks:

With respect to the ordinary people, although they are naturally light-minded, yet they are upright and honourable. In money matters
they are without craft, and in administering justice they are considerate. They dread the retribution of another state of existence, and
make light of the things of the present world. They are not deceitful or treacherous in their conduct, and are faithful to their oaths and
promises. In their rules of government there is remarkable rectitude, whilst in their behaviour there is much gentleness and
sweetness. With respect to criminals or rebels, these are few in number, and only occasionally troublesome. When the laws are broken
or the power of the ruler violated, then the matter is clearly sifted and the offenders imprisoned. There is no infliction of corporal
punishment; they are simply left to live or die, and are not counted among men. When the rules of propriety or justice are violated, or
when a man fails in fidelity or filial piety, then they cut his nose or his ears off, or his hands and feet, or expel him from the country or
drive him out into the desert wilds. For other faults, except these, a small payment of money will redeem the punishment. In the
investigation of criminal cases there is no use of rod or staff to obtain proofs (of guilt). In questioning an accused person, if he replies
with frankness the punishment is proportioned accordingly; but if the accused obstinately denies his fault, or in despite of it attempts
to excuse himself, then in searching out the truth to the bottom, when it is necessary to pass sentence, there are four kinds of ordeal
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used (1) by water, (2) by force, (3) by weighing, (4) by poison.

14. Medicines, Funeral Customs, & c

Every one who falls sick fasts for seven days. During this interval many recover, but if the sickness lasts they take medicine…

When a person dies, those who attend the funeral raise lamentable cries and weep together. They rend their garments and loosen
their hair; they strike their heads and beat their breasts. There are no regulations as to dress for mourning, nor any fixed time for
observing it.

There are three methods of paying the last tribute to the dead: (1) by cremation – wood being made into a pyre, the body is burnt; (2)
by water – the body is thrown into deep flowing water and abandoned; (3) by desertion – the body is cast into some forest-wild, to be
devoured by beasts.

In a house where there has been a death there is no eating allowed; but after the funeral they resume their usual (habits). There are
no anniversaries (of death) observed. Those who have attended a death they consider unclean; they all bathe outside the town and
then enter their houses.

The old and infirm who come near to death, and those entangled in a severe sickness, who fear to linger to the end of their days, and
through disgust wish to escape the troubles of life, or those who desire release from the trifling affairs of the world and its concerns,
these after receiving a farewell meal at the hands of their relatives or friends, they place, amid the sounds of music, on a boat which
they propel into the midst of the Ganges, where such persons drown themselves. They think thus to secure a birth among the Devas.
Rarely one of these may be seen not yet dead on the borders (of the river).

The priests are not allowed to lament or cry for the dead; when a father or mother of a priest dies they recite their prayers, recounting
their obligations to them; reflecting on the past, they carefully attend to them now dead. They expect by this to increase the
mysterious character of their religious merit.

15. Civil Administration, R evenues, &c

As the administration of the government is founded on benign principles, the executive is simple. The families are not entered on
registers, and the people are not subject to forced labour (conscription). The private demesnes of the crown are divided into four
principal parts; the first is for carrying out the affairs of state and providing sacrificial offerings; the second is for providing subsidies
for the ministers and chief officers of state; the third is for rewarding men of distinguished ability; and the fourth is for charity to
religious bodies, whereby the field of merit is cultivated. In this way the taxes on the people are light, and the personal service
required of them is moderate. Each one keeps his own worldly gods in peace, and all till the ground for their subsistence. Those who
cultivate the royal estates pay a sixth part of the produce as tribute. The merchants who engage in commerce come and go in carrying
out their transactions. The river-passages and the road-barriers are open on payment of a small toll. When the public works require it,
labour is exacted but paid for. The payment is in strict proportion to the work done.

The military guard the frontiers, or go out to punish the refractory. They also mount guard at night round the palace. The soldiers are
levied according to the requirements of the services; they are promised certain payments and are publicly enrolled. The governors,
ministers, magistrates, and officials have each a portion of land consigned to them for their personal support.

16. Plants and Trees, Agriculture, Food, Drink, Cookery

The climate and the quality of the soil being different according to situation, the produce of the land is various in its character. The
flowers and plants, the fruits and trees are of different kinds, and have distinct names.

It would be difficult to enumerate all the kinds of fruit… The pear (Li), the wild plum (Nai), the peach (T’au), the apricot (Hang or
Mui), the grape (Po-tau), &c., these all have been brought from the country of Kashmir, and are found growing on every side.

On vegetables and meats consumed or forbidden:

In cultivating the land, those whose duty it is sow and reap, plough and harrow (weed), and plant according to the season; and after
their labour they rest awhile. Among the products of the ground, rice and corn are most plentiful. With respect to edible herbs and
plants, we may name ginger and mustard, melons and pumpkins, the Heun-to (Kandu?) plant, and others. Onions and garlic are little
grown; and few persons eat them; if any one uses them for food, they are expelled beyond the walls of the town. The most usual food
is milk, butter, cream, soft sugar, sugar-candy, the oil of the mustard-seed, and all sorts of cakes of corn are used as food. Fish,
mutton, gazelle, and deer they eat generally fresh, sometimes salted; they are forbidden to eat the flesh of the ox, the ass, the
elephant, the horse, the pig, the dog, the fox, the wolf, the lion, the monkey, and all the hairy kind. Those who eat them are despised
and scorned, and are universally reprobated; they live outside the walls, and are seldom seen among men.

With respect to the different kind of wine and liquors, there are various sorts. The juice of the grape and sugarcane, these are used by
the Kshattriyas as drink; the Vaisyas use strong fermented drinks; the Sramans and Brahmans drink a sort of syrup made from the
grape or sugarcane, but not of the nature of fermented wine.

17. Commercial Transactions

Gold and silver, teou-shih (native copper), white jade, fire pearls (possibly amber), are the natural products of the country; there are
besides these abundance of rare gems and various kinds of precious stones of different names, which are collected from the islands of
the sea. These they exchange for other goods; and in fact they always barter in their commercial transactions, for they have no gold or
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silver coins, pearl shells, or little pearls.

BOOK III
TA-CH’A-SHI-LO (TAKSHASILA)
Land, people and legend:

The kingdom of Ta-ch’a-shi-lo is about 2000 li in circuit, and the capital is about 10 li in circuit. The royal family being extinct, the
nobles contend for power by force. Formerly this country was in subjection to Kapisa, but latterly it has become tributary to Kia-shi-
mi-lo (Kasmir). The land is renowned for its fertility, and produces rich harvests. It is very full of streams and fountains. Flowers and
fruits are abundant. The climate is agreeably temperate. The people are lively and courageous, and they honour the three gems.
Although there are many sangharamas, they have become ruinous and deserted, and there are very few priests; those that there are
study the Great Vehicle.

To the north of the city 12 or 13 li is a stupa built by Asoka-raja. On feast-days (religious commemoration days) it glows with light, and
divine flowers fall around it, and heavenly music is heard. According to tradition, we find in late times there was a woman whose body
was grievously afflicted with leprosy. Coming to the stupa secretly, she offered worship in excess and confessed her faults. Then
seeing that the vestibule (open court before the stupa) was full of dung and dirt, she removed it, and set to work to sweep and water it
and to scatter flowers, she covered the ground with them. On this her evil leprosy left her, and her form became lovely, and her beauty
doubled, whilst from her person there came the famed scent of the blue lotus, and this also is the reason of the fragrance of this
excellent place. This is the spot where Tathagata formerly dwelt when he was practicing the discipline of a Bodhisattva; he was then
the king of a great country and was called Chen-ta-lo-po-la-po (Chandraprabha); he cut off his head, earnestly seeking the
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acquirement of Bodhi: and this he did during a thousand successive births, (for the same object and in the same place).

Sang-ho-pu-lo(Simhapura)

On Svetambara and Digambara Jainas:

By the side of the stupa, and not far off, is the spot where the original teacher of the white-robed heretics arrived at the knowledge of
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the principles he sought, and first preached the law. There is an inscription placed there to that effect. By the side of this spot is a
temple of the Devas. The persons who frequent it subject themselves to austerities; day and night they use constant diligence without
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relaxation. The laws of their founder are mostly filched from the principles of the books of Buddha. These men are of different
classes, and select their rules and frame their precepts accordingly. The great ones are called Bhikshus; the younger are called
Sramaneras. In their ceremonies and modes of life they greatly resemble the priests (of Buddha), only they have a little twist of hair
on their heads, and they go naked (Digambara Jainas). Moreover, what clothes they chance to wear are white. Such are the slight
differences which distinguish them from others. The figure of their sacred master (Mahavira) they stealthily class with that of
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Tathagata; it differs only in point of clothing; the points of beauty are absolutely the same.

Kia-shi-mi-lo (Kasmir)

Land, people, Buddha and king Asoka:

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The kingdom of Kasmir is about 7000 li in circuit, and on all sides it is enclosed by mountains. These mountains are very high.
Although the mountains have passes through them, these are narrow and contracted. The neighbouring states that have attacked it
have never succeeded in subduing it. The capital of the country on the west side is bordered by a great river. It (the capital) is from
north to south 12 or 13 li, and from east to west 4 or 5 li. The soil is fit for producing cereals, and abounds with fruits and flowers.
Here also are dragon-horses and the fragrant turmeric, the fo-chu, and medicinal plants.

The climate is cold and stern. There is much snow but little wind. The people wear leather doublets and clothes of white linen. They
are light and frivolous, and of a weak, pusillanimous disposition. As the country is protected by a dragon, it h as always assumed
superiority among neighbouring people. The people are handsome in appearance, but they are given to cunning. They love learning
and are well instructed. There are about 100 sangharamas and 5000 priests. There are four stupas built by Asoka-raja. Each of these
has about a pint measure of relics of Tathagata. The history of the country says: This country was once a dragon lake. In old tim es the
Lord Buddha was returning to the middle kingdom (India) after subduing a wicked spirit in U-chang-na (Udyana), and when in mid-air,
just over this country, he addressed Ananda thus: “After my Nirvana, the Arhat Madhyantika will found a kingdom in this land, civilise
(pacify) the people, and by his own effort spread abroad the law of Buddha.”

In the hundredth year after the Nirvana of Tathagata, Asoka, king of Magadha, extended his power over the world, and was honoured
even by the most distant people. He deeply reverenced the three gems, and had a loving regard for all living things. At this time there
were 50 0 Arhats and 500 schismatical priests, whom the king honoured and patronised without any difference. Among the latter was
a priest called Mahadeva, a man of deep learning and rare ability; in his retirement he sought a true renown; far thinking, he wrote
treatises the principles of which were opposed to the holy doctrine. All who heard of him resorted to his company and adopted his
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vi ews. Asoka-raja, not knowing either holy or common men, and because he was naturally given to patronise those who were
seditious, was induced to call together an assembly of priests to the banks of the Ganges, intending to drown them all.

At this time the Arhats having seen the danger threatening their lives by the exercise of their spiritual power flew away through the
air and came to this country and concealed themselves among the mountains and valleys. Asoka-raja having heard of it, repented, and
confessing his fault, begged them to return to their own country; but the Arhats refused to do so with determination. Then Asoka-raja,
for the sake of the Arhats, built 500 sangharamas, and gave this country as a gift to the priesthood.

Kanishka reorganises the scriptures:

In the four-hundredth year (about 75 AD) after the Nirvana of Tathagata, Kanishka, king of Gandhara, having succeeded to the
kingdom, his kingly renown reached far, and he brought the most remote within his jurisdiction. During his intervals of duty he
frequently consulted the sacred books of Buddha; daily he invited a priest to enter his palace and preach the law, but he found the
different views of the schools so contradictory that he was filled with doubt, and he had no way to get rid of his uncertainty. At this
time the honoured Parsva said, “Since Tathagata left the world many years and months have elapsed. The different schools hold to the
treatises of their several masters. Each keeps to his own views, and so the whole body is torn by divisions.”

The king having heard this,… said, “Though of no account personally, yet, thanks to the remnant of merit which has followed me
through successive births since the time of the Holy One till now, I have come to my present state. I will dare to forget my own low
degree, and hand down in succession the teaching of the law unimpaired. I will therefore arrange the teaching of the three pitakas of
Buddha according to the various schools…”

Kanishka then summoned a holy assembly, but the multitudes that arrived made meaningful consultation virtually impossible.
Eliminating the less learned and finally retaining only those who knew the three Pitakas and the five vidyas, he was left wi th 499
men. This assembly then deliberated upon the arrangement of the scriptures and composing the Vibhasha Sastra. Vasumitra, who was
initially excluded from the deliberations, demonstrated his divine power, and was appointed president of the assembly.

These five hundred sages and saints first composed in ten myriads of verses the Upadesa Sastra to explain the Sutra Pitaka. Next they
made in ten myriads of verses the Vinaya Vibhasha Sastra to explain the Vinaya Pitaka; and afterwards they made in ten myriad of
verses the Abhidharma Vibhasha Sastra to explain the Abhidharma Pitaka. Altogether they composed thirty myriad of verses in six
hundred and sixty myriad of words, which thoroughly explained the three Pitakas. There was no work of antiquity to be compared
with (placed above) their productions; from the deepest to the smallest questions, they examined all, explained all minute expressions,
so that their work has become universally known and is the resource of all students who have followed them.

Kanishka-raja forthwith ordered these discourses to be engraved on sheets of red copper. He enclosed them in a stone receptacle, and
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having sealed this, he raised over it a stupa with the Scriptures in the middle. He commanded the Yakshas to defend the approaches
to the kingdom, so as not to permit the other sects to get these sastras and take them away, with the view that those dwelling in the
country might enjoy the fruit of this labour.

BOOK IV
CHI-NA-PO-TI (CHINAPATI) 326
Land, people, and King Kanishka and the Chinese hostages:

This country is about 2000 li in circuit. The capital is about 14 or 15 li round. It produces abundant harvests; the fruit trees are thinly
scattered. The people are contented and peaceful; the resources of the country are abundant. The climate is hot and humid; the
people are timid and listless. They are given to promiscuous study, and there are amongst them believers and the contrary. There are
ten sangharamas and eight Deva temples.

Formerly, when Kanishka-raja was on the throne, his fame spread throughout the neighbouring countries, and his military power was
recognised by all. The tributary princes to the west of the (Yellow) River, in recognition of his authority, sent hostages to him.
Kanishka-raja having received the hostages, he treated them with marked attention. During the three seasons of the year he
appointed them separate establishments, and afforded them special guards of troops. This country was the residence of the hostages
during the winter. This is the reason why it is called Chinapati, after the name of the residence of the hostages.

There existed neither pear nor peach in this kingdom and throughout the Indies until the hostages planted them, and therefore the
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peach is called Chinani, and the pear is called Chinarajaputra. For this reason the men of this country have a profound respect for
the Eastern land. Moreover (when they saw me) they pointed with their fingers, and said one to another, “This man is a native of the
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country of our former ruler.”

Three hundred years after the Nirvana of Buddha the master of sastras called Katyayana composed here the Fa-Chi-lun
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(Abhidharmajnana-prasthana Sastra).

CHE-LAN-TO’-LO (JALANDHARA)
This kingdom is about 1000 li from east to west, and about 800 li from north to south. The capital is 12 or 13 li in circuit. The land is
favourable for the cultivation of cereals, and it produces much rice. The forests are thick and umbrageous, fruits and flowers
abundant. The climate is warm and moist, the people brave and impetuous, but their appearance is common and rustic. The houses
are rich and well supplied. There are fifty convents, or so; about 2000 priests. They have students both of the Great and Little Vehicle.
There are three temples of Devas and about 500 heretics, who all belong to the Pasupatas (ash-sprinkled).

K’IU-LU-TO (KULUTA)
Mineral wealth of Kulu district; land, people:

This country is about 3000 li in circuit, and surrounded on every side by mountains. The chief town is about 14 or 15 li round. The
land is rich and fertile, and the crops are duly sown and gathered. Flowers and fruits are abundant, and the plants and trees afford a
rich vegetation. Being contiguous to the Snowy Mountains, there are found here many medicinal (roots) of much value. Gold, silver,
and copper are found here – fire-drops (crystal) and native copper (teou). The climate is unusually cold, and hail or snow continually
falls. The people are coarse and common in appearance, and are much afflicted with goitre and tumours, their nature is hard and
fierce; they greatly regard justice and bravery. There are about twenty sangharamas, and 1000 priests or so. They mostly study the
Great Vehicle; a few practise (the rules of) other schools (nikayas). There are fifteen Deva temples: different sects occupy them
without distinction.

Along the precipitous sides of the mo untains and hollowed into the rocks are stone chambers which face one another. Here the Arhats
dwell or the Rishis stop.

In the middle of the country is a stupa built by Asokaraja. Of old the Tathagata came to this country with his followers to preach the
law and to s ave men. This stupa is a memorial of the traces of his presence.

SHE-TO-T’U-LU (SATADRU) 330

Vegetable and mineral wealth; people; popularity of Buddha:

This country is about 2000 li from east to west, and borders on a great river. The capital is 17 or 18 li in circuit. Cereals grow in
abundance, and there is very much fruit. There is an abundance of gold and silver found here, and precious stones. For clothing the
people wear a very bright silk stuff; their garments are elegant and rich. The climate is warm and moist. The manners of the people
are soft and agreeable; and men are docile and virtuous. The high and low take their proper place. They all sincerely believe in the
law of Buddha and show it great respect. Within and without the royal city there are ten sangharamas, but the halls are now deserted
and cold, and there are but few priests. To the south-east of the city 3 or 4 li is a stupa about 200 feet high, which was built by Asoka-
raja. Besides it are the traces where the four past Buddhas sat or walked.

MO-T’U-LO (MATHURA)
Fruit trees, gold, cotton produce:

The kingdom of Mo-t’u-lo is about 5000 li in circuit. The capital is 20 li round. The soil is rich and fertile, and fit for producing grain.
They give principal care to the cultivation of An-mo-lo (trees), which grow in clusters like forests. These trees, though called by one
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name, are of two kinds ; the small species, the fruit of which, when young, is green, and becomes yellow as it ripens; and the great
species, the fruit of which is green throughout its growth.

This country produces a fine species of cotton fabric and also yellow gold. The climate is warm to a degree. The manners of the people
are soft and complacent. They like to prepare secret stores of religious merit. They esteem virtue and honour learning.

Viharas and stupas:

There are about twenty sangharamas with 2000 priests or so. They study equally the Great and the Little Vehicles. There are five Deva
Temples, in which sectaries of all kinds live.

Reverencing the main Bodhisattvas:

There are three stupas built by Asoka-raja. There are very many traces (footprints) of the four past Buddhas here. There are also
stupas to commemorate the remains of the holy followers of Sakya Tathagata, to wit, of Sariputra (She-li-tseu), of Mudgalaputra (Mo-
te-kia-lo-tseu), of Purnamaitrayaniputra (Pu-la-na-mei-ta-li-yen-ni-fo-ta-lo), of Upali (Yeu-po-li), of Ananda (O’-nan-to), of Rahula (Lo-hu-
lo), of Manjusri (Man-chu-sse-li), and stupas of other Bodhisattvas. Every year during the six fast-days of each month, the priests
resort to these various stupas and pay mutual compliments; they make their religious offerings, and bring many rare and precious
objects for presents. According to their school they visit the sacred object (figure) of their veneration. Those who study the
Abhidharma honour Sariputra; those who practice meditation honour Mudgalaputra; those who recite the sutras honour
Purnamaitrayaniputra; those who study the Vinaya reverence Upali. All the Bhikshunis honour Ananda, the Sramaneras (novice
disciples) honour Rahula; those who study the Great Vehicle reverence the Bodhisattvas. On these days they honour the stupas with
offerings. They spread out their jewelled banners; the rich coverings (parasols) are crowded together as network; the smoke of
incense rises in clouds; and flowers are scattered in every direction like rain; the sun and the moon are concealed as by the clouds
which hang over the moist valleys. The king of the country and the great ministers apply themselves to these religious duties with
zeal.

SU-LO-KIN-NA (SRUGHNA)332
Devout nature of people:

This country is about 6000 li in circuit. On the eastern side it borders on the Ganges river, on the north it is backed by great
mountains. The river Yamuna (Chen-mu-na) flows through its frontiers. The capital is about 20 li in circuit, and is bounded on the east
by the river Yamuna. It is deserted, although its foundations are still very strong. As to produce of soil and character of climate, this
country resembles the kingdom of Sa-t’a-ni-shi-fa-lo (Sthanesvara). The disposition of the people is sincere and truthful. They honour
and have faith in heretical teaching, and they greatly esteem the pursuit of learning, but principally religious wisdom (or, wisdom that
brings happiness).

There are five sangharamas with about 1000 priests; the greater number study the Little Vehicle; a few exercise themselves in other
(exceptional) schools. They deliberate and discuss in appropriate language (choice words), and their clear discourses embody
profound truth. Men of different regions of eminent skill discuss with them to satisfy their doubts. There are a hundred Deva temples
with very many sectaries (unbelievers).

To the south-west of the capital and west of the river Yamuna is a sangharama, outside the eastern gate of which is a stupa built by
Asoka-raja. The Tathagata, when in the world in former days, preached the law in this place to convert men. By its side is another
stupa in which there are relics of the Tathagata’s hair and nails. Surrounding this on the right and left are stupa enclosing the hair
and nail relics of Sariputra and of Mu-te-kia-lo (Maudgalyayana) and other Arhats, several tens in number.

Decline of Buddhism after death of Buddha:

After Tathagata had entered Nirvana this country was the seat of heretical teaching. The faithful were perverted to false doctrine, and
forsook the orthodox views.

Purity and power of the Ganga:

On the east of the Yamuna, going about 800 li, we come to the Ganges river. The source of the river (or the river at its source) is 3 or 4
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li wide; flowing south-east, it enters the sea, where it is 10 li and more in width. The water of the river is blue, like the ocean, and
its waves are wide-rolling as the sea. The scaly monsters, though many, do no harm to men. The taste of the water is sweet and
pleasant, and sands of extreme fineness border its course. In the common history of the country this river is called Fo-shwui, the river
of religious merit which can wash away countless sins. Those who are weary of life, if they end their days in it, are borne to heaven
and receive happiness. If a man dies and his bones are cast into the river, he cannot fall into an evil way; whilst he is carried by its
waters and forgotten by men, his soul is preserved in safety on the other side (other world).
 MA-TI-PU-LO (MATIPURA) 334
Devout people; Sudra king:

This country is about 6000 li in circuit; the capital is about 20 li. The soil is favourable for the growth of cereals, and there are many
flowers and kinds of fruit. The climate is soft and mild. The people are sincere and truthful. They very much reverence learning, and
are deeply versed in the use of charms and magic. The followers of truth and error (Buddhists and Brahmins) are equally divided. The
king belongs to the caste of the Sudras (Shu-t’o-lo). He is not a believer in the law of Buddha, but reverences and worships the spirits
of heaven. There are about twenty sangharamas, with 800 priests. They mostly study the Little Vehicle and belong to the schools of
Sarvastivadas (Shwo-i-tsie-yau). There are some fifty Deva temples, in which men of different persuasions dwell promiscuously.

Natural wealth of Haridwar region; purity and renown of Ganga:

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On the north-west frontier of this country, on the eastern shore of the river Ganges, is the town of Mo-yu-lo; it is about 20 li in
circuit. The inhabitants are very numerous. The pure streams of the river flow round it on every side; it produces native copper, pure
crystal, and precious vases. Not fa r from the town, and standing by the Ganges river, is a great Deva temple, where very many
miracles of divers sorts are wrought. In the midst of it is a tank, of which the borders are made of stone joined skilfully together.
Through it the Ganges river is led by an artificial canal. The men of the five Indies call it “the gate of the Ganga river.” This is where
religious merit is found and sin effaced. There are always hundreds and thousands of people gathered together here from distant
quarters to bathe and wash in its waters. Benevolent kings have founded here “a house of merit” (punyasala). This foundation is
endowed with funds for providing choice food and medicines to bestow in charity on widows and bereaved persons, on orphans and
the destitute.

KIE-PI-THA (KAPITHA)
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This country is about 2000 li in circuit, and the capital 20 li or so… The manners of the people are soft and agreeable. The men are
much given to learning. There are four sangharamas with about 1000 priests, who study the Ching-liang (Sammatiya) school of the
Little Vehicle. There are ten Deva temples, where sectaries of all persuasions dwell. They all honour and sacrifice to Mahesvara (Ta-
tseu-t’sani-tien).

Beauty and wealth of Buddhist sangharama:

To the east of the city 20 li or so is a great sangharama of beautiful construction, throughout which the artist has exhibited his
greatest skill. The sacred image of the holy form (of Buddha) is most wonderfully magnificent. There are about 100 priests here, who
study the doctrines of the Sammatiya school. Several myriads of “pure men” (religious laymen) live by the side of this convent.

Within the great enclosure of the sangharama there are three precious ladders, which are arranged side by side from north to south,
with their faces for descent to the east. This is where Tathagata came d own on his return from the Trayastrimsas heaven. In old days
Tathagata, going up from the “wood of the conqueror” (Shing-lin, Jetavana), ascended to the heavenly mansions, and dwelt in the
Saddharma Hall, preaching the law for the sake of his mother. Three months having elapsed, being desirous to descend to earth,
Sakra, king of the Devas, exercising his spiritual power, erected these precious ladders. The middle one was of yellow gold, the left
hand one of pure crystal, the right-hand one of white silver….

On the outside of the vihara, but close by its side, there is a stone column about 70 feet high which was erected by Asoka-raja (Wu-
yeu). It is of a purple colour, and shining as if with moisture. The substance is hard and finely grained. Above it is a lion sitting on his
haunches, and facing the ladder. There are carved figures inlaid, of wonderful execution, on the four sides of the pillar and around it.
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As men are good or bad these figures appear on the pillar (or disappear).

BOOK V

KIE-JO-KIO-SHE-KWO (KANYAKUBJA)
On the celebrated Siladitya Harsavardhana (606 or 610 – 650 AD):
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The reigning king is of the Vaisya caste. His name is Harsavardhan (Ho-li-sha-fa-t’an-na). A commission of officers hold the land.
During two generations there have been three kings. (The king’s) father was called Po-lo-kie-lo-fa-t’an-na (Prabhakaravardhan); his
elder brother’s name was Rajyavardhana (Ho-lo-she-fa-t’an-na).

Rajyavardhana came to the throne as the elder brother, and ruled with virtue. At this time the king of Karnasuvarna (Kie-lo-na-su-fa-la-
338 339
na), - a kingdom of Eastern India – whose name was Sasangka (She-shangkia), frequently addressed his ministers in these words:
“if a frontier country has a virtuous ruler, this is the unhappiness of the (mother) kingdom.” On this they asked the king to a
conference and murdered him.
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The people having lost their ruler, the country became desolate. Then the great minister Po-ni (Bhandi), whose power and
reputation were high and of much weight, addressing the assembled, said, “The destiny of the nation is to be fixed today. The old
king’s son is dead: the brother of the prince, however, is humane and affectionate, and his disposition, heaven-conferred, is dutiful and
obedient. Because he is strongly attached to his family, the people will trust in him. I propose that he assume the royal authority: let
each one give his opinion on this matter, whatever he thinks.” They were all agreed on this point, and acknowledged his conspicuous
qualities.

On this the chief ministers and the magistrates all exhorted him to take authority… The prince replied, “The government of a country
is a responsible office and ever attended with difficulties. The duties of a prince require previous consideration. As for myself, I am
indeed of small eminence; but as my father and brother are no more, to reject the heritage of the crown, that can bring no benefit to
the people. I must attend to the opinion of the world and forget my own insufficiency. Now, therefore, on the banks of the Ganges
there is a statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva which has evidenced many spiritua l wonders. I will go to it and ask advice (request a
response)”. [The prince accordingly visited the image]

The Bodhisattva replied, “In your former existence you lived in this forest as a hermit, and by your earnest diligence and unremitting
attention your inherited a power of religious merit which resulted in your birth as a king’s son. The king of the country, Karnasuvarna,
has overturned the law of Buddha. Now when you succeed to the royal estate, you should in the same proportion exercise towards it
the utmost love and pity. If you give your mind to compassiona te the condition of the distressed and to cherish them, then before long
you shall rule over the Five Indies. If you would establish your authority, attend to my instruction, and by m y secret power you shall
receive additional enlightenment, so that not one of your neighbours shall be able to triumph over you. Ascend not the lion-throne,
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and call not your self Maharaja.”

Siladitya avenges his brother’s murder:

Having received these instructions, he departe d and assumed the royal office. He called himself the King’s Son (Kumara); his title
was Siladitya. And now he commanded his ministers, saying, “The enemies of my brother are unpunished as yet, the neighbouring
countries not brought to submission; while this is so my right hand shall never lift food to my mouth. Therefore do you, people and
officers, unite with one heart and put out your strength”. Accordingly they assembled all the soldiers of the kingdom, summoned the
masters of arms. They had a body of 5000 elephants, a body of 2000 cavalry, and 50,000 foot-soldiers. He went from east to west
subduing all who were not obedient; the elephants were not unharnessed nor the soldiers unbelted (unhelmeted). After six years he
had subdued the Five Indies. Having thus enlarged his territory, he increased his forces; he had 60,000 war elephants and 100,000
cavalry. After thirty years his arms reposed, and he governed everywhere in peace. He then practiced to the utmost the rules of
temperance, and sought to plant the tree of religious merit to such an extent that he forgot to sleep or to eat. He forbade the
slaughter of any living thing or flesh as food throughout the Five Indies on pain of death without pardon. He built on the banks of the
river Ganges several thousand stupas, each about 100 feet high; in all the highways of the towns and villages throughout India he
erected hospices, provided with food and drinks, and stationed there physicians, with medicines for travellers and poor persons round
about, to be given without any stint. On all spots where there were holy traces (of Buddha) he raised sangharamas.

Siladitya hosts a great religious assembly:

Once in five years he held the great assembly called Moksha. He emptied his treasuries to give all away in charity, only reserving the
soldiers’ arms, which were unfit to give as alms. Every year he assembled the Sramanas from all countries, and on the third and
seventh days he bestowed on them in charity the four kinds of alms (viz., food, drink, medicine, clothing). He decorated the throne of
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the law (the pulpit) and extensively ornamented (arranged) the oratories. He ordered the priests to carry on discussions, and
himself judged of their several arguments, whether they were weak or powerful. He rewarded the good and punished the wicked,
degraded the evil and promoted the men of talent. If any one (priest) walked according to the moral precepts, and was distinguished
in addition for purity in religion (reason), he himself conducted such a one to “the lion-throne” and received from him the precepts of
the law. If any one, though distinguished for purity of life, had no distinction for learning, he was reverenced, but not highly honoured.
If any one disregarded the rules of morality and was notorious for his disregard of propriety, him he banished from the country, and
would neither see him nor listen to him. If any of the neighbouring princes or their chief ministers lived religiously, with earnest
purpose, and aspired to a virtuous character without regarding labour, he led him by the hand to occupy the same seat with himself,
and called him “illustrious friend;” but he disdained to look upon those of a different character. If it was necessary to transact state
business, he employed couriers who continually went and returned. If there was any irregularity in the manners of the people of the
cities, he went amongst them.
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Wherever he moved he dwelt in a readymade building during his sojourn. During the excessive rains of the three months of the
rainy season he would not travel thus. Constantly in his travelling-palace he would provide choice meats for men of all sorts of
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religion. The Buddhist priests would be perhaps a thousand; the Brahmans, five hundred. He divided each day into three portions.
During the first he occupied himself on matters of government; during the second he practiced himself in religious devotion without
interruption, so that the day was not sufficiently long. When I first received the invitation of Kumara-raja, I said I would go from
345 346
Magadha to Kamarupa. At the time Siladitya-raja was visiting different parts of his empire, and found himself at Kie-mi-ou-ki-lo,
when he gave the following order to Kumara-raja: “I desire you to come at once to the assembly with the strange Sramana you are
entertaining at the Nalanda convent.” On this, coming with Kumara-raja, we attended the assembly. The king, Siladitya, after the
fatigue of the journey was over, said, “From what country do you come, and what do you seek in your travels?”

Yuan Chwang meets Siladitya and discusses his own country:

He said in reply, “I come from the great Tang country, and I ask permission to seek for the law (religious books) of Buddha.”

The king said, “Whereabouts in the great Tang country? By what road do you travel? And is it far from this, or near?”

In reply he said, “My country lies to the north-east from this several myriads of li; it is the kingdom which in India is called
Mahachina”.
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The king answered, “I have heard that the country of Mahachina has a king called Ts’in, the son of heaven, when young
distinguished for his spiritual abilities, when old then (called) ‘divine warrior.’ The empire in former generations was in disorder and
confusion, everywhere divided and in disunion; soldiers were in conflic t, and all the people were afflicted with calamity. Then the king
of Ts’in, son of heaven, who had conceived from the first vast purposes, brought into exercise all his pity and love; he brought about a
right understanding, and pacified and settled all within the seas. His laws and instruction spread on ever y side. People from other
countries brought under his influence declared themselves ready to submit to his rule. The multitude whom he nourished generously
sang in their songs of the prowess of the king of Ts’in. I have learned long since his praises sung thus in verse. Are the records
(eulogies) of his great qualities well founded? Is this the king of the great Tang, of which you speak?”

Replying, he said, “China is the country of our former kings, but the ‘great Tang’ is the country of our present ruler. Our king in
former times, before he became hereditary heir to the throne (before the empire was established), was called the sovereign of Ts’in ,
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but now he is called the ‘king of heaven’ (emperor). At the end of the former dynasty the people had no ruler, civil war raged on
every hand and caused confusion, the people were destroyed, when the king of Ts’in, by his supernatural gifts, exercised his love and
compassion on every hand; by his power the wicked were destroyed on every side, the eight regions found rest, and the ten thousand
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kingdoms brought tribute. He cherished creatures of every kind, submitted with respect to the three precious ones. He lightened
the burdens of the people and mitigated punishment, so that the country abounded in resources and the people enjoyed complete rest.
It would be difficult to recount all the great changes he accomplished.”

Siladitya-raja replied, “Very excellent indeed! The people are happy in the hands of such a holy king.”

The religious assembly of kings and holy men of 20 countries:

Siladitya-raja being about to return to the city of Kanyakubja, convoked a religious assembly. Followed by several hundreds of
thousand people, he took his place on the southern bank of the river Ganges, whilst Kumara-raja, attended by several tens of
thousands took his place on the northern bank, and thus, divided by the stream of the river, they advanced on land and water. The two
kings led the way with their gorgeous staff of soldiers (of the four kinds); some also were in boats; some were on elephants; sounding
drums and blowing horns, playing on flutes and harps. After ninety days they arrived at the city of Kanyakubja, (and rested) on the
western shore of the Ganges river, in the middle of a flowery copse.

Then the kings of the twenty countries who had received instruction from Siladitya-raja assembled with the Sramanas and Brahmans,
the most distinguished of their country, with magistrates and soldiers. The king in advance had constructed on the west side of the
river a great sangharama, and on the east of this a precious tower about 100 feet in height; in the middle he had placed a golden
statue of Buddha, of the same height as the king himself. On the south of the tower he placed a precious altar, in the place for washing
the image of Buddha. From this north-east 14 or 15 li he erected another rest-house. It was now the second month of spring-time;

from the first day of the month he had presented exquisite food to the Srama nas and Brahmans till the 21 st
day; all along, from the
temporary palace to the sangharama, there were highly decorated pavilions, and places where musicians were stationed, who raised
the sounds of their various instruments. The king, on leaving the resting-hall (palace of travel), made them bring forth on a gorgeously
caparisoned great elephant a golden statue of Buddha about three feet high, and raised aloft. On the left went the king, Si laditya,
dressed as Sakra, holding a precious canopy, whilst Kumara-raja, dressed as Brahma-raja, holding a white chamara, went on the right.
Each of them had as an escort 500 war-elephants clad in armour; in front and behind the statue of Buddha went 100 great elephants,
carrying musicians, who sounded their drums and raised their music. The king, Siladitya, as he went, scattered on every side pearls
and various precious substances, with gold and silver flowers, in honour of the three precious objects of worship. Having first washed
the image in scented water at the altar, the king then himself bore it on his shoulder to the western tower, where he offered to it tens,
hundreds, and thousands of silken garments, decorated with precious gems. At this time there were but about twenty Sramanas
following in the procession, the kings of the various countries forming the escort. After the feast they assembled the different men of
learning, who discussed in elegant language on the most abstruse subjects. At evening-tide the king retired in state to his palace of
travel.

Siladitya quenches a fire with his personal merit:

Thus every day he carried the golden statue as before till at length on the day of separation a great fire suddenly broke out in the
tower, and the pavilion over the gate of the sangharama was also in flames. Then the king exclaimed, “I have exhausted the wealth of
my country in charity, and following the example of former kings, I have built this sangharama, and I have aimed to distinguish myself
by superior deeds, but my poor attempts (feeble qualities) have found no return! In the presence of such calamities as these, what
need I of further life?”

Then with incense-burning he prayed, and with this vow, “Thanks to my previous merit, I have come to reign over all India; let the
force of my religious conduct destroy this fire; or if not, let me die!” Then he rushed headlong towards the threshold of the gate, when
suddenly, as if by a single blow, the fire was extinguished and the smoke disappeared.

The kings beholding the strange event were filled with redoubled reverence; but he (the king), with unaltered face and unchanged
accents, addressed the princes thus: “The fire has consumed this crowning work of my religious life. What think you of it?”

The princes, prostrate at his feet, with tears, replied “The work which marked the crowning act of your perfected merit, and which we
hoped would be handed down to future ages, has in a moment been reduced to ashes. How can we bear to think of it? But how much
more when the heretics are rejoicing thereat, and interchanging their congratulations!”

The king answered, “By this, at least, we see the truth of what Buddha said; the heretics and others insist on the permanency of
things, but our great teachers’ doctrine is that all things are impermanent. As for me, my work of charity was finished, according to
my purpose; and this destructive calamity does but strengthen my knowledge of the truth of Tathagata’s doctrine. This is a great
happiness (good fortune), and not a subject for lamentation.”

Attempt on the life of Siladitya; banishment of 500 brahmins:

On this, in company with the kings, he went to the east, and mounted the great stupa. Having reached the top, he looked around on
the scene, and then descending the steps, suddenly a heretic (or stranger), knife in hand, rushed on the king. The king, startled at the
sudden attack, stepped back a few steps up the stairs, and then bending himself down he seized the man, in order to deliver him to
the magistrates. The officers were so bewildered with fright that they did not known how to move for the purpose of assisting him.

The kings all demanded that the culprit should be instantly killed, but Siladitya raja, without the least show of fear and with
unchanged countenance, commanded them not to kill him; and then he himself questioned him thus:

“What harm have I done you, that you have attempted such a deed?”

The culprit replied, “Great king! Your virtues shine without partiality; both at home and abroad they bring happiness. As for me, I am
foolish and besotted, unequal to any great undertaking; led astray by a single word of the heretics, and flattered by their importunity, I
have turned as a traitor against the king.”

The king then asked, “And why have the heretics conceived this evil purpose?”

He answered and said, “Great king! you have assembled the people of different countries, and exhausted your treasury in offerings to
the Sramanas, and cast a metal image of Buddha; but the heretics who have come from a distance have scarcely been spoken to. Their
minds, therefore, have been affected with resentment, and they procured me, wretched man that I am! to undertake this unlucky
deed.”

The king then straightly questioned the heretics and their followers. There were 500 Brahmans, all of singular talent, summoned
before the king. Jealous of the Sramans, whom the king had reverenced and exceedingly honoured, they had caused the precious
tower to catch fire by means of burning arrows, and they hoped that in escaping from the fire the crowd would disperse in confusion,
and at such a moment they proposed to assassinate the king. Having been foiled in this, they had bribed this man to lay wait for the
king in a narrow passage and kill him.

Then the ministers and the kings demanded the extermination of the heretics. The king punished the chief of them and pardoned the
rest. He banished the 500 Brahmans to the frontiers of India, and then returned to his capital.

PO-LO-YE-KIA (PRAYAGA)
Buddha has few followers in Prayaga:

This country (modern Allahabad) is about 5000 li in circuit, and the capital, which lies between two branches of the river, is about 20 li
round. The grain products are very abundant, and fruit-trees grow in great luxuriance. The climate is warm and agreeable; the people
are gentle and compliant in their disposition. They love learning, and are very much given to heresy.

There several Deva temples; the number of heretics is very great.

To the south-west of the capital, in a Champaka (Chen-po-kia) grove, is a stupa which was built by Asoka-raja; although the
foundations have sunk down, yet the walls are more than 100 feet high. Here it was in old days Tathagata discomfited the heretics. By
the side of it is a stupa containing hair and nail relics, and also a place where (past Buddhas?) sat and walked.

On the powers of a Hindu temple:

In the city there is a Deva temple beautifully ornamented and celebrated for its numerous miracles. According to their records, this
place is a noted one (sri – fortunate ground) for all living things to acquire religious merit.

If in this temple a man gives a single farthing, his merit is greater than if he gave a 1000 gold pieces elsewhere. Again, if in this
temple a person is able to contemn life so as to put an end to himself, then he is born to eternal happiness in heaven.
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Before the hall of the temple there is a great tree with spreading boughs and branches, and casting a deep shadow. There was a
body-eating demon here, who, depending on this custom (of committing suicide), made his abode here; accordingly on the left and
right one sees heaps of bones. Hence, when a person comes to this temple, there is everything to persuade him to despise his life and
give it up: he is encouraged thereto both by the promptings of the heretics and also by the seductions of the (evil) spirit. From very
early days till now this false custom has been practiced…

The charity enclosure of Prayaga, where Siladitya made generous endowments:

To the east of the capital, between the two confluents of the river, for the space of 10 li or so, the ground is pleasant and upland. The
whole is covered with a fine sand. From old times till now, the kings and noble families, whenever they had occasion to distribute their
gifts in charity, ever came to this place, and here gave away their goods; hence it is called the great charity enclosure. At the present
time Siladitya-raja, after the example of his ancestors, distributes here in one day the accumulated wealth of five years. Having
collected in this space of the charity enclosure immense piles of wealth and jewels, on the first day he adorns in a very sumptuous way
a statue of Buddha, and then offers to it the most costly jewels. Afterwards to the priests who are present; afterwards to the heretics
who live in the place, following the ways of the world; and lastly, to the widows and bereaved, orphans and desolate, poor and
mendicants.

Thus, according to this order, having exhausted his treasuries and given food in charity, he next gives away his head diadem and his
jewelled necklaces. From the first to the last he shows no regret, and when he has finished he cries with joy, “Well done! Now all that I
have has entered into incorruptible and imperishable treasuries.”

After this the rulers of the different countries offer their jewels and robes to the king, so that his treasury is replenished.

Voluntary death in the Prayaga; even animals bathe and die:

To the east of the enclosure of charity, at the confluence of the two rivers, every day there are many hundreds of men who bathe
themselves and die. The people of this country consider that whoever wishes to be born in heav en ought to fast to a grain of rice, and
then drown himself in the waters. By bathing in this water (they say) all the pollution of sin is washed away and destroyed; therefore
from various quarters and distant regions people come here together and rest. During seven days they abstain from food, and
afterwards end their lives. And even the monkeys and mountain stags assemble here in the neighbourhood of the river, and some of
them bathe and depart, others fast and die…

Ascetic practices in Prayaga:

The heretics who practice asceticism have raised a high column in the middle of the river; when the sun is about to go down they
immediately climb up the pillar; then clinging on to the pillar with one hand and one foot, they wonderfully hold themselves out with
one foot and one arm; and so they keep themselves stretched out in the air with their eyes fixed on the sun, and their heads turning
with it to the right as it sets. When the evening has darkened, then they come down. There are many dozens of ascetics who practice
this rite. They hope by these means to escape from birth and death, and many continue to practice this ordeal through several
decades of years.

KIAU-SHANG-MI (KAUSAMBI)
Another predominantly Hindu region visited by the pilgrim:
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This country is about 6000 li in circuit, and the capital about 30 li. The land is famous for its productiveness; the increase is very
wonderful. Rice and sugarcanes are plentiful. The climate is very hot, the manners of the people hard and rough. They cultivate
learning and are very earnest in their religious life and in virtue. There are ten sangharamas, which are in ruins and deserted; the
priests are about 300; they study the Little Vehicle. There are fifty Deva temples, and the number of heretics is enormous.

In the city, within an old palace, there is a large vihara about 60 feet high; in it is a figure of Buddha carved out of sandal-wood, above
which is a stone canopy. It is the work of the king U-to-yen-na (Udayana). By its spiritual qualities it produces a divine light, which
from time to time shines forth. The princes of various countries have used their power to carry off this statue, but although many men
have tried, not all the number could move it. They therefore worship copies of it, and they pretend that the likeness is a true one, and
this is the original of all such figures.

When Tathagata first arrived at complete enlightenment, he ascended up to heaven to preach the law for the benefit of his mother,
and for three months remained absent. This king (Udayana), thinking of him with affection, desired to have an image of his person;
therefore he asked Mudgalyayanaputra, by his spiritual power, to transport an artist to the heavenly mansions to observe the excellent
marks of Buddha’s body, and carve a sandal-wood statue. When Tathagata returned from the heavenly palace, the carved figure of
sandal-wood rose and saluted the Lord of the World. The Lord then graciously addressed it and said, “The work expected from you is
to toil in the conversion of heretics, and to lead in the way of religion future ages.”

To the south-west of the city 8 or 9 li is a stone dwelling of a venomous Naga. Having subdued this dragon, Tathagata left here his
shadow; but though this is a tradition of the place, there is no vestige of the shadow visible.

The law of Sakya becoming extinct, this will be the very last country in which it will survive; therefore from the highest to the lowest
all who enter the borders of this country are deeply affected, even to tears, ere they return.

BUDDHIST RECORDS OF THE WESTERN WORLD,

VOL. II.

BOOK VI
SHI-LO-FU-SHI-TI (SRAVASTI)
A great city in ruin:
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The kingdom of Sravasti (Shi-lo-fu-shi-ti) is about 6000 li in circuit. The chief town is desert and ruined. There is no record as to its
exact limits. The ruins of the walls encompassing the royal precincts give a circuit of about 20 li. Though mostly in ruins, still there
are a few inhabitants. Cereals grow in great abundance; the climate is soft and agreeable, the manners of the people are honest and
pure. They apply themselves to learning, and love religion (merit). There are several hundreds of sangharamas, mostly in ruin, with
very few religious followers, who study the books of the Sammatiya school. There are 100 Deva temples with very many heretics.
When Tathagata was in the world, this was the capital of the country governed by Prasenajita-raja (Po-lo-si-na-chi-to-wang)…

Buddha’s subdues the criminal, Angulimalya:

By the side of the house of Sudatta is a great stupa. This is the place where the Angulimalya (Yang-kiu-li-mo-lo) gave up his heresy.
The Angulimalyas are the unlucky caste (criminals) of Sravasti. They kill everything that lives, and maddening themselves, they
murder men in the towns and country, and make chaplets for the head of their fingers. The man in question wished to kill his mother
to complete the number of fingers, when the Lord of the World (Buddha), moved by pity, went to him to convert him. Beholding the
Lord from far, the Angulimalya rejoicing said, “Now I shall be born in heaven; our former teacher declared that whoever injuries a
Buddha or kills his mother, ought to be born in the Brahma heaven”.

Addressing his mother, he said, “Old woman! I will leave you for a time till I have killed that great Shaman.” Then taking a knife, he
went to attack the Lord. On this Tathagata stepped slowly as he went, whilst the Angulimalya rushed at him without slacking his pace.

The Lord of the World addressing him said, “Why do you persevere in your evil purpose and give up the better feelings of your nature
and foster the source of evil?” The Angulimalya, hearing these words, understood the wickedness of his conduct, and on that paid
reverence to Buddha, and sought permission to enter the law (of Buddha), and having persevered with diligence in his religious
progress, he obtained the fruit of an Arhat.

KIE-PI-LO-SSE-TI (KAPILAVASTU)
Buddha’s birthplace in ruin; Yu an Chwang visits the spot where he met his father after his Enlightenment:
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This country is about 4000 li in circuit. There are some ten desert cities in this country, wholly desolate and ruined. The capital is
overthrown and in ruins. Its circuit cannot be accurately measured. The royal precincts within the city measure some 14 or 15 li
round. They were all built of brick. The foundation walls are still strong and high. It has been long deserted. The peopled villages are
few and waste.

To the south of the city 3 or 4 li is a grove of Nyagrodha trees in which is a stupa built by Asoka-raja. This is the place where Sakya
Tathagata, having returned to his country after his enlightenment, met his father and preached the law. Suddhodana-raja, knowing
that Tathagata had defeated Mara and was engaged in travelling about, leading people to the truth and converting them, was moved
by a strong desire to see him, and considered how he could pay him the reverence due to him. He therefore sent a messenger to invite
Tathagata, saying, “Formerly you promised, when you had completed your purpose to become a Buddha, to return to your native
place. These are your words still unperformed; now then is the time for you to condescend to visit me.” The messenger having come to
the place where Buddha was, expressed to him the king’s desire. Tathagata in reply said, “After seven days I will return to my native
place.” The messenger returning, acquainted the king with the news, on which Suddhodana-raja ordered his subjects to prepare the
way by watering and sweeping it, and to adorn the road with incense and flowers; and then, accompanied by his officers of state, he
proceeded 40 li beyond the city, and there drew up his chariot to wait his arrival. Then Tathagata with a great multitude advanced; the
eight Vajrapanis surrounded him as an escort, the four heavenly kings went before him; divine Sakra, with a multitude of Devas
belonging to the world of desires (Kama-loka), took their place on the left hand; Brahma-raja with Devas of Rupa-loka accompanied
him on the right. The Bhikshu priests walked in order behind, Buddha by himself, as the full moon among the stars, stood in the midst;
his supreme spiritual presence shook the three worlds, the brightness of his person exceeded that of the seven lights; and thus
traversing the air he approached his native country. The king and ministers having reverenced him, again returned to the kingdom,
and they located themselves in the Nyagrodha grove.

KIU-SHI-NA-K’IE-LO (KUSINAGARA)
Yuan Ch wang visits the place of Buddha’s pari-nirvana:
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The capital of this country is in ruins, and its towns and villages waste and desolate...

To the north-west of the city 3 or 4 li, crossing the Ajitavati (Hiranyavati) (‘O-shi-to-fa-ti) river, on the western bank not far, we come to
a grove of sala trees. The sala tree is like the Huh tree, with a greenish white bark and leaves very glistening and smooth. In this wood
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are four trees of an unusual height, which indicate the place where Tathagata died.

There is (here) a great brick vihara, in which is a figure of the Nirvana of Tathagata. He is lying with his head to the north as if asleep.
By the side of this vihara is a stupa built by Asoka-raja; although in a ruinous state, yet it is some 200 feet in height. Before it is a
stone pillar to record the Nirvana of Tathagata; although there is an inscription on it, yet there is no date as to year or month…

Buddha’s last disciple:

To the west of this place, not far off, is a stupa. This is where Subhadra (Shen-hien) died (entered Nirvana). Subhadra was originally a
Brahman teacher. He was 120 years of age; being so old, he had acquired in consequence much wisdom. Hearing that Buddha was
about to die, he came to the two (sala) trees, and asked Ananda, saying, “The Lord is about to die; pray let me ask him respecting
some doubts I have, which still hamper me.” Ananda replied, “The Lord is about to die; pray do not trouble him.” He said, “I hear that
Buddha is difficult to meet in the world, and that the true law is difficult to hear. I have some grave doubts; there is no ground for
fear.” On being invited, Subhadra at once entered, and first asked Buddha, “There are many different persons who call themselves
masters, each having a different system of doctrine, and pretending therewith to guide the people. Is Gautama (Kiu-ta-mo) able to
fathom their doctrine?” Buddha said, “I know their doctrine thoroughly;” and then for Subhadra’s sake he preached the law.

Subhadra having heard (the sermon), his mind, pure and faithful, found deliverance, and he asked to be received into the church as a
fully ordained disciple. Then Tathagata addressed him saying, “Are you able to do so? Unbelievers and other sectaries who prepare
themselves for a pure mode of life ought to pass a four years’ novitiate, to exhibit their conduct and test their disposition; if their
characters and words be unexceptionable, then such persons may enter my profession; but in your case, whilst living amongst men,
you have observed their discipline. There should be no difficulty, then, to prevent your full ordination.”

Subhadra said, “The Lord is very pitiful and very gracious, without any partiality. Is he then willing to forego in my case the four years
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of the threefold preparatory discipline?”

Buddha said, “As I before stated, this has been done whilst living among men.”

Then Subhadra, leaving his home immediately, took full orders as a priest. Then applying himself with all diligence, he vigorously
disciplined both body and mind, and so being freed from all doubt, in the middle of the night (of Buddha’s Nirvana), not long after (the
meeting), he obtained the fruit, and became an Arhat without any imperfection. Being thus perfected in purity, he could not bear to
await Buddha’s death (Nirvana), but in the midst of the congregation, entering the samadhi of “fire-limit” (Agni-dhatu), and after
displaying his spiritual capabilities, he first entered Nirvana. He was thus the very last convert of Tathagata, and the first to enter
Nirvana.

BOOK VII
P’O-LO-NI-SSE (VARANASI)
Wealth and culture and Varanasi Hindus:

This country is about 4000 li in circuit. The capital borders (on its western side) the Ganges river. It is about 18 or 19 li in length and 5
or 6 li in breadth; its inner gates are like a small-toothed comb; it is densely populated. The families are very rich, and in the dwellings
are objects of rare value. The disposition of the people is soft and humane, and they are earnestly given to study. They are mostly
unbelievers, a few reverence the law of Buddha. The climate is soft, the crops abundant, the trees (fruit trees) flourishing, and the
underwood thick in every place. There are about thirty sangharamas and 3000 priests. They study the Little Vehicle according to the
Sammatiya school. There are a hundred or so Deva temples with about 10,000 sectaries. They honour principally Mahesvara (Ta-tseu-
tsai). Some cut their hair off, others tie their hair in a knot, and go naked, without clothes (Nirgranthas); they cover their bodies with
ashes (Pasupatas), and by the practice of all sorts of austerities they seek to escape from birth and death.

In the capital there are twenty Deva temples, the towers and halls of which are of sculptured stone and carved wood. The foliage of
trees combine to shade (the sites), whilst pure streams of water encircle them. The statue of the Deva Mahesvara, made of teou-shih
(native copper), is somewhat less than 100 feet high. It s appearance is grave and majestic, and appears as though really living.

Stupas of the city:

To the north-east of the capital, on the western side of the river Varana, is a stupa built by Asoka-raja (Wu-yau). It is about 100 feet
high; in front of it is a stone pillar; it is bright and shining as a mirror; its surface is glistening and smooth as ice, and on it can be
constantly seen the figure of Buddha as a shadow.

To the north-east of the river Varana about 10 li or so, we come to the sangharama of Lu-ye (Deer Park). Its precincts are divided into
eight portions connected by a surrounding wall. The storeyed towers with projecting eaves and the balconies are of very superior
work. There are fifteen hundred priests in the convent who study the Little Vehicle according to the Sammatiya school. In the great
enclosure is a vihara about 200 feet high; above the roof is a golden-covered figure of the Amra (An-mo-lo, mango) fruit. The
foundations of the building are of stone, and the stairs also, but the towers and niches are of brick. The niches are arranged on the
four sides in a hundred successive lines, and in each niche is a golden figure of Buddha. In the middle of the vihara is a figure of
Buddha made of teou-shih (native copper). It is the size of life and he is represented as turning the wheel of the law (preaching).

FEI-SHE-LI (VAISALI)
Yuan Chwang noticed different groups living peacefully everywhere:
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This kingdom (Vrijji) is about 5000 li in circuit. The soil is rich and fertile; flowers and fruits are produced in abundance. The amra
fruit (mango) and the mocha (banana) are very plentiful and much prized. The climate is agreeable and temperate. The manners of the
people are pure and honest. They love religion and highly esteem learning. Both heretics and believers are found living together.
There are several hundred sangharamas, which still remain have but few priests in them. There are several tens of Deva temples,
occupied by sectaries of different kinds. The followers of the Nirgranthas are very numerous.

The capital city of Vaisali is to a great extent in ruins. Its old foundations are from 60 to 70 li in circuit. The royal precincts are about 4
or 5 li round: there are a few people living in it. North-west of the royal city (precincts) 5 or 6 li, is a sangharama with a few disciples.
They study the teaching of the Little Vehicle, according to the Sammatiya school.

Amrapalli’s house:
Not far from this is a stupa; this is the old house of the lady Amra (courtesan Amrapalli). It was here the aunt of Buddha and other
Bhikshunis obtained Nirvana.

Buddha prepares to take leave of the world:

To the north of the sangharama 3 or 4 li is a stupa; this indicates the place where Tathagata stopped when about to advance to
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Kusinagara to die, whilst men and Kinnaras followed him. From this not far to the north-west is a stupa; here Buddha for the very
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last time gazed upon the city of Vaisali. Not far to the south of this is a vihara, before which is built a stupa; this is the site of the
garden of the Amra-girl, which she gave in charity to Buddha…

[Buddha announces to Ananda that he will die after three months].

Lichchavis lament the impending death of Buddha:

Going north-west of the chief city 50 or 60 li, we come to a great stupa. This is where the Lichchavas (Li-ch’e-p’o) took leave of
Buddha. Tathagata having left the city of Vaisali on his way to Kusinagara, all the Lichchavas, hearing that Buddha was about to die,
accompanied him wailing and lamenting. The Lord of the World having observed their fond affection, and as words were useless to
calm them, immediately by his spiritual power caused to appear a great river with steep sides and deep, the waves of which flowed on
impetuously. Then the Lichhavas were abruptly stopped on their way, moved with grief as they were. Then Tathagata left them his
patra as a token of remembrance…

Going south 80 or 90 li from this place, we come to the sangharama called Svetapura (Shi-fei-to-pu-lo); its massive towers, with their
rounded shapes and double storeys, rise in the air… Going south-east from the Svetapura sangharama 30 li or so, on either (south and
north) side of the Ganges river there is a stupa; this is the spot where the venerable Ananda divided his body between the two
kingdoms.

Ananda realises the message of Buddha is becoming perverted and decides to depart from the world:

“Although my years are many, yet for men’s sake I was wishful to remain longer in the world, to hand down and defend the true law.
But now men are stained with sin, and it is exceedingly difficult to instruct them. To stay longer would be useless: I will die soon.” On
this, going from Magadha, he went towards the city of Vaisali, and was now in the middle of the Ganges in a boat, crossing the river.
At this time the king of Magadha, hearing of Ananda’s departure, his feelings were deeply affected towards him, and so, preparing his
chariot, he hastened after him with his followers (soldiers) to ask him to return. And now his host of warriors, myriads in number,
were on the southern bank of the river, when the king of Vaisali, hearing of Ananda’s approach, was moved by a sorrowful affection,
and, equipping his host, he also went with all speed to meet him. His myriads of soldier s were assembled on the opposite bank of the
river (the north side), and the two armies faced each other, with their banners and accoutrements shining in the sun. Ananda, fearing
lest there should be a conflict and a mutual slaughter, raised himself from the boat into mid-air, and there displayed his spiritual
capabilities, and forthwith attained Nirvana. He seemed as though encompassed by fire, and his bones fell in two parts, one on the
south side, the other on the north side of the river. Thus the two kings each took a part, and whilst the soldiers raised their piteous
cry, they all returned home and built stupas over the relics and paid them religious worship.

BOOK VIII
 Contains the First Part of the Account of the Country of Magadha (Mo-kie-t’o)
A torture chamber created by king Asoka before he accepted the Dhamma:

At first when Asoka (Wu-yau) raja ascended the throne, he exercised a most cruel tyranny; he constituted a hell for the purpose of
torturing living creatures. He surrounded it with high walls with lofty towers. He placed there specially vast furnaces of molten metal,
sharp scythes, and every kind of instrument of torture like those in the infernal regions. He selected an impious man whom he
appointed lord of the hell. At first every criminal in the empire, whatever his fault, was consigned to this place of calamity and
outrage; afterwards all those who passed by the place were seized and destroyed.

At this time a Sramana, just entered the religious order, was passing through the suburbs begging food, when he came to hell-gate.
The impious keeper of the place laid hold upon him to destroy him. The Sramana, filled with fear, asked for a respite to perform an act
of worship and confession. Just then he saw a man bound with cords enter the prison. In a moment they cut off his hands and feet, and
pounded his body in a mortar, till all the members of his body were mashed up together in confusion.

The Sramana having witnessed this, deeply moved with pity, arrived at the conviction of the impermanence (anitya) of all earthly
things, and reached the fruit of “exemption from learning” (Arhatship). Then the infernal lictor said, “Now you must die.” The
Sramana having become an Arhat, was freed in heart from the power of birth and death, and so, though cast into a boiling cauldron, it
was to him as a cool lake, and on its surface there appeared a lotus flower, whereon he took his seat. The infernal lictor, terrified
thereat, hastened to send a messenger to the king to tell him of the circumstance. The king having himself come and beheld the sight,
raised his voice in loud praise of the miracle.

The keeper, addressing the king, said, “Maharaja, you too must die.” “And why so?” said the king. “Because of your former decree
with respect to the infliction of death, that all who came to the walls of the hell should be killed; it was not said that the king might
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enter and escape death.”

The king said, “The decree was indeed established, and cannot be altered. But when the law was made, were you excepted? You have
long destroyed life. I will put an end to it.” Then ordering the attendants, they seized the lictor and cast him into a boiling cauldron.
After his death the king departed, and levelled the walls, filled up the ditches, and put an end to the infliction of such horrible
punishments…

Asoka meets the Arhat Upagupta and accepts the Dhamma; erects 84,000 stupas:

After King Asoka had destroyed the hell, he met Upagupta, a great Arhat, who by the use of means (religious merit), allured him in a
right way according as the opportunity (his power or capacity to believe) led, and converted him. The king addressed the Arhat and
said, “Thanks to my acquired merit in former births, I have got my kingly authority, but in consequence of my faults I did not, by
meeting Buddha, obtain conversion. Now, then, I desire in all the greater degree to honour the bequeathed remains of his body by
building stupas.”

The Arhat said, “My earnest desire is that the great king by his merits may be able to employ the invisible powers as agents in
fulfilling his vow to protect the three precious ones”…

The king having heard this, was overpowered, and he summoned the spirits to assemble, and commanded them, saying, “By the
gracious disposal and spiritual efficacy of the guiding power of the King of Law I have become, as the result of my good actions in
former states of life, the highest amongst them. (I wish now) with especial care to prepare a means of paying religious worship to the
bequeathed body of Tathagata. Do you, then, spirits and genii, by your combined strength and agreement of purpose, raise stupa for
the relics of Buddha throughout the whole of Jambudvipa, to the very last house of all (the extremity of the land). The mind (purpose)
is mine, the merit of completing it shall be yours. The advantage to be derived from this excellent act of religion I wish not to be
confined to one person only; let each of you, then, raise a building in readiness, and then come and receive my further commands.”

Having received these instructions, the genii commenced their meritorious work in the several quarters where they were; and having
finished the task (so far), they came together to ask for further directions. Asoka-raja (Wu-yau-wang) having opened the stupas of the
eight countries where they were built, divided t he relics, and having delivered them to the genii, he addressed the Arhat (Upagupta)
and said, “My desire is that the relics should be deposited in every place at the same moment exactly: although ardently desirous of
this, my mind has not yet been able to perfect a plan for accomplishing it.”

The Arhat addressed the king and said, “Command the genii to go each to this appointed place and regard the sun. When the sun
becomes obscured and its shape as if a hand covered it, then is the time; drop the relics into the stupas.” The king having received
these instructions, gave orders accordingly to the genii to expect the appointed day.

Meantime the king, Asoka, watching the sun’s disc, waited for the sign; then at noon (or the day) the Arhat, by his spiritual power,
stretched forth his hand and concealed the sun. At the places where the stupas had been built for completion, all (genii) observing this
event, at the same moment concluded the meritorious undertaking.

Footprints of the Buddha, with auspicious signs:

By the side of the stupa, and not far from it, in a vihara, is a great stone on which Tathagata walked. There is still the impression of
both his feet on it, about eighteen inches long and six inches broad; both the right and left impress have the circle-sign (chakra), and
the ten toes are all fringed with figures of flowers (or flower scrolls) and forms of fishes, which glisten brightly in the light (morning
light). In old time Tathagata, being about to attain Nirvana, was going northward to Kusinagara, when turning round to the south and
looking back at Magadha, he stood upon this stone and said to Ananda, “Now for the very last time I leave this foot-impression, being
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about to attain Nirvana and looking at Magadha. A hundred years hence there shall be a King Asoka; he shall build here his capital
and establish his court; he shall protect the three religious treasures and command the genii”….

Sasanka tries to destroy the sacred footprints:

Lately Sasanka-raja, when he was overthrowing and destroying the law of Buddha, forthwith came to the place where that stone is, for
the purpose of destroying the sacred marks. Having broken it into pieces, it came whole again, and the ornamental figures as before;
then he flung it into the river Ganges, but it came back to its old place.

Asoka’s inscription bestowing his kingdom on the Three Jewels:

By the side of the vihara which contains the traces of Buddha, and not far from it, is a great stone pillar about thirty feet high, with a
mutilated inscription on it. This, however, is the principal part of it, viz., “Asoka-raja with a firm principle of faith has thrice bestowed
Jambudvipa as a religious offering on Buddha, the Dharma, and the assembly, and thrice he has redeemed it with his jewels and
treasure; and this is the record thereof.” Such is the purport of the record.

Asoka disciplines his wayward brother for the sake of the people:
To the north of the old palace is a large stone house. It looks outside like a great mountain, and within is many tens of feet wide. This
is the house which Asoka-raja commanded the genii to build for his brother who had become a recluse. Early in his life Asoka had a
half-brother called Mahendra (Mo-hi-in-to-lo), who was born of a noble tribe. In dress he arrogated the style of the king; he was
extravagant, wasteful, and cruel. The people were indignant, and the ministers and aged officers of the king came to him (the king),
and remonstrated thus, “Your proud brother assumes a dignity as though he were some great one in comparison with others. If the
government is impartial then the country is contented; if men are agreed, then the ruler is in peace: these are the principles which
have been handed down to us from our fathers. We desire that you will preserve the rules of our country, and deliver to justice those
who would change them.” Then Asoka-raja addressed his brother as he wept, and said, “I have inherited (as my rule of) government
the duty of protecting and cherishing the people; how then have you, my brother, forgotten my affection and my kindness? It is
impossible at the very beginning of my reign to neglect the laws. If I punish you, I fear the anger of my ancestors; on the other hand, if
I excuse you, I fear the opini on of the people.”

Mahendra, bowing his head, replied, “I have not guarded my conduct, and have transgressed the laws of the country; I ask only an
extension of my life for seven days.”

On this the king placed him in a dark dungeon, and placed over him a strict guard. He provided him with every kind of exquisite meat
and every necessary article. At the end of the first day the guard cried out to him, “One day has gone; there are six days left.” The
sixth day having expired, as he had greatly sorrowed for his faults and had afflicted (disciplined) his body and his heart, he obtained
the fruit of sanctity (became an Arhat); he mounted into the air and exhibited his miraculous powers. Then separating himself from
the pollution of the world, he went afar, and occupied the mountains and valleys (as a recluse).

Asoka-raja, going in his own person, addressed him as follows, “At first, in order to put in force the laws of the country, I desired to
have you punished, but little did I think you would have attained to this highest rank of holiness. Having, however, reached this
condition of detachment from the world, you can now return to your country.”

The brother replied, “Formerly I was ensnared in the net of (worldly) affections, and my mind was occupied with love of sounds
(music) and beauty; but now I have escaped all this and my mind delights in (the seclusion of) mountains and valleys. I would fain give
up the world forever and dwell here in solitude”.

The king said, “If you wish to subdue your heart in quiet, you have no need to live in the mountain fastness. To meet your wishes I
shall construct you a dwelling.”

Accordingly he summoned the genii to his presence and said to them, “On the morrow I am about to give a magnificent feast. I invite
you to come together to the assembly, but you must each bring for your own seat a great stone.” The genii having received the
summons, came at the appointed time to the assembly. The king then addressed them and said, “The stones which are now arranged
in order on the ground you may pile up, and, without any labour to yourselves, construct of them for me an empty house.” The genii
having received the order, before the day was over finished the task. Asoka-raja then himself went to invite his brother to fix his abode
in this mountain cell.

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Grandeur of sangharama of Tiladaka (Ti-lo-shi-kia):

This building has four halls, belvederes of three stages, high towers, connected at intervals with double gates that open inwards. It
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was built by the last descendant of Bimbisara-raja (Pin-pi-sha-lo). He made much of high talent and exalted the virtuous. Learned
men from different cities and scholars from distant countries flock together in crowds, and reaching so far, abide in this sangharama.
There are 1000 priests in it who study the Great Vehicle. In the road facing the middle gate there are three viharas, above which are
placed the connected succession of metal rings with bells suspended in the air; below they are constructed storey above storey, from
the bottom to the top. They are surrounded by railings, and the doors, windows, the pillars, beams, and staircases are all carved with
gilt copper in relief, and in the intervals highly decorated. The middle vihara contains an erect image of Buddha about thirty feet high.
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On the left is an image of Tara (To-lo) Bodhisattva; on the right, one of Avalokitesvara (Kwan-tsz’-tsai) Bodhisattva. Each of these
images is made of metallic stone; their spiritually composed appearance inspires a mysterious awe, and their influence is felt from far.
In each vihara there is a measure of relics which emit a supernatural brilliancy, and from time to time shed forth miraculous
indications.

Gunamati (Kiu-na-mo-ti) Bodhisattva defeats Madhava:

In the early time there was in this mountain a heretic called Madhava (Mo-ta-po), who at first followed the law of the Sankhya (Seng-
kie) system, and practiced the acquirement of wisdom. He had studied to the bottom the doctrine of “the extreme void,” as found in
the orthodox and erroneous (books). His fame was great, and surpassed that of former teachers, and outweighed all then living. The
king honoured him exceedingly, and named him “the treasure of the country.” The ministers and people regarded him with admiration,
and spoke of him as “the teacher of the household”…

At this time in Southern India there lived Gunamati Bodhisattva, who in his youth had displayed great talents and acquired in early life
a brilliant reputation. By close study he had penetrated the meaning of the three Pitakas, and investigated the four truths. Hearing
that Madhava discussed on the most mysterious and subtle questions, he desired to humble him by overcoming him (in argument ). He
ordered one of his followers to carry a letter thus written (to Madhava): “I have heard with all respect of Madhava’s virtuous ease. You
must now, without thought of fatigue, take up again your ancient studies, for in three years’ time I intend to overthrow your brilliant
reputation.”

And so in the second an d third years he sent a messenger with the same tidings; and now when he was about to go to meet him, he
again wrote a letter, saying: “The appointed period has expired; your studies, such as they are, I am now coming (to investigate); you
ought to know the fact.”

[Alarmed, Madhava ordered the towns not to entertain any Sramanas. Gunamati found no place to stay, but a novice believer guided
him to the palace, where they sought permission to debate with Madhava. The king summoned Madhava]

Madhava hearing this, his heart was very sad, but as he could not well avoid the difficulty, he set out for the hall of discussion, where
the king, the ministers, and the people were all assembled desiring to hear this great controversy. Gunamati first laid down the
principles of his school, and continued his speech till the setting of the sun. Then Madhava excusing himself on account of his age and
infirmities, to defer his answer, asked permission to retire and meditate. He would then return and answer every objection (difficulty)
in order. At the early morn he returned and ascended the throne, and so they went on to the sixth day, but on that day he vomited
blood and died. When on the point of death he gave this command to his wife, “You have high talent; do not forget the affront paid to
me.” When Madhava was dead, she concealed the fact and had no funeral ceremonies; and clothing herself in shining apparel, she
entered forthwith the assembly where the discussion was held, and a general clamour was raised as the people said one to another,
“Madhava, who boasted to his talents, is unable to reply to Gunamati, and so he sends his wife to make up for his deficiency.”

Gunamati, addressing the wife, said, “He who could bind you, has been bound by me.”

Madhava’s wife seeing the difficulty, retired. The king then said, “What secret words are these at which she remains silent?”
Gunamati said, “Alas! Madhava is dead! And his wife desires to come and discuss with me!”

The king said, “How do you know this? Pray explain it to me.”

Then Gunamati said, “When the wife came her face was pale as death, and her words were toned in bitter enmity. I knew therefore
that Madhava is dead! ‘Able to bind you,’ is a phrase applicable to her husband.”

The king having sent a messenger to verify the statement, he found it even so; then the king in gratitude said, “The law of Buddha is a
mysterious one! Eminent sages succeed one another without interruption; with no personal object they guard themselves in wisdom
and use their secret knowledge for the purpose of converting (transforming the world). According to the old rules of the country the
praises of such a sage (or, of your virtue) should be ever celebrated.”

Gunamati replied, “Whatever poor talents I have, I reserve them for the benefit of all that lives; and when I would draw them to the
truth first of all I subdue their pride, then use the influences of converting power. Now then, in this case, O king, let the descendants
of Madhava’s territory for a thousand generations employ themselves in the service of a sangharama. Your instructions will extend,
then, from age to age, and your reputation will be immortal. Persons of a pure faith, conscious of protection, their religious merit will
benefit the country for ages. They will be nourished as the priests are, and so the faithful will be encouraged to honour their virtue.”

On this he founded the sangharama to celebrate the victory.

The Brahmin Silabhadra converts after meeting Dharmapala Bodhisattva; defeats other heretics:

South-west of the convent of Gunamati about 20 li we come to a solitary hill on which is a convent called (the sangharama of)
Silabhadra (Shi-lo-po-t’o-lo). This is the convent which the master of sastras after his victory caused to be built out of the funds of a
village which were given up. It stands by the side of a single sharp crag like a stupa. It contains some sacred relics of Buddha. This
master of sastras belonged to the family of the king of Samatata (San-mo-ta-ch’a), and was of the Brahman caste. He loved learning
and had gained a wide reputation. Travelling through the Indies to examine into and seek after religious truth, he came to this
kingdom, and in the sangharama of Nalanda (Na-lan-t’o) he encountered Dharmapala Bodhisattva (Hu-fa-pu-sa). Hearing him explain
the law, his understanding was opened, and he requested to become a disciple. He inquired into the most subtle questions, and
investigated the way of deliverance to its conclusion; and thus having reached the highest point of intelligence, he established his
fame over men of his time, even to distant countries.

There was a heretic of South India who delighted in examining profound questions and searching out hidden matters, in penetrating
obscure and abstruse points of doctrine. Hearing of Dharmapala’s fame, the pride of self rose up within him, and, moved by profound
envy, he passed over mountains and rivers in order to sound the drum (challenge) and seek discussion. He said, “I am a man of
Southern India. It is reported that in the king’s country there is a great master of sastras, I am but ignorant, yet I would wish to
discuss with him.”

[The king requested Dharmapala to engage with the ascetic, but Silabhadra, then 30 years old, begged to conduct the debate]:

On the day of discussion the people came together from far and near; both old and young in numbers assembled. Then the heretical
teacher on his part laid open his case with great emphasis, and penetrated to the utmost the abstruse points (of his argument).
Silabhadra followed his arguments (principles), and refuted them by profound and subtle allegations. The heretic, his words being
exhausted, was covered with shame and retired.

The king, in order to reward the virtue (of Silabhadra), gave him the revenues of this town as a bequest. The master of sastras,
declining the offer, said, “A master who wears the garments of religion (dyed garments) knows how to be contented with little and to
keep himself pure. What would he do with a town?”

The king in reply said, “The King of the Law has passed into the obscure (abode), and the vessel of wisdom has been engulfed in the
stream. If there are no distinctions now made (between the learned and ignorant), then no encouragement is given to the scholar to
press forward in the attainment of religion. Pray, of your pity, accept my offering.”

The doctor, not persisting in his refusal, accepted the town and built this sangharama, vast and magnificent, and endowed it with the
revenues of the town, as a means of providing it with the offerings necessary for religious service.

The famous Bodhi tree and the end of the Dhamma:

Going south-west from Mount Pragbodhi about 14 or 15 li, we come to the Bodhi tree. It is surrounded by a brick wall of considerable
height, steep and strong. It is long from east to west, and short from north to south. It is about 500 paces round. Rare trees with their
renowned flowers connect their shade and cast their shadows; the delicate sha (cyperus iria) herb and different shrubs carpet the soil.
The principal gate opens to the east, opposite the Nairanjana river. The southern gate adjoins a great flowery bank. The western side
is blocked up and difficult of access (steep and strong). The northern gate opens into the great sangharama. Within the surrounding
wall the sacred traces touch one another in all directions. Here there are stupas, in another place viharas. The kings, princes, and
great personages throughout all Jambudvipa, who have accepted the bequeathed teaching as handed down to them, have erected
these monuments as memorials.

In the middle of the enclosure surrounding the Bodhi tree is the diamond throne (Vajrasana). In former days, when the Bhadra-kalpa
was arriving at the period of perfection (vivartta), when the great earth arose, this (throne) also appeared. It is in the middle of the
great chiliocosm; it goes down to the limits of the golden wheel (gold circle), and upwards it is flush with the ground. It is composed of
diamond. In circuit it is 100 paces or so. On this the thousand Buddhas of the Bhadra-kalpa have sat and entered the diamond
Samadhi; hence the name of the diamond throne. It is the place where the Buddhas attain the holy path (of Buddhahood). It is also
called the Bodhimanda. When the great earth is shaken, this place alone is unmoved. Therefore when Tathagata was about to reach
the condition of enlightenment, and he went successively to the four angles of this enclosure, the earth shook and quaked; but
afterwards coming to this spot, all was still and at rest. From the time of entering on the concluding portion of the kalpa, when the
true law dies out and disappears, the earth and dust begin to cover over this spot, and it will be no longer visible.

After the Nirvana of Buddha, the rulers of the different countries having learned by tradition the measurement of the diamond throne,
decided the limits from north to south by two figures of Kwan-tsz’-tsai (Avalokitesvara) Bodhisattva, there seated and looking
eastward.

The old people say that “as soon as the figures of this Bodhisattva sink in the ground and disappear, the law of Buddha will come to an
end.” The figure at the south angle is now buried up to its breast. The Bodhi tree above the diamond throne is the same as the Pippala
tree. In old days, when Buddha was alive, it was several hundred feet high. Although it has often been injured by cutting, it still is 40
or 50 feet in height. Buddha sitting under this tree reached perfect wisdom, and therefore it is called the (Samyak sambodhi) tree of
knowledge (Pu-ti-Bodhi). The bark is of a yellowish-white colour, the leaves and twigs, of a dark green. The leaves wither not either in
winter or summer, but they remain shining and glistening all the year round without change. But at every successive Nirvana-day (of
the Buddhas) the leaves wither and fall, and then in a moment revive as before. On this day the princes of different countries and the
religious multitude from different quarters assemble by thousands and ten thousands unbidden, and bathe (the roots) with scented
water and perfumed milk; whilst they raised the sounds of music and scatter flowers and perfumes, and whilst the light of day is
continued by the burning torches, they offer their religious gifts.

King Asoka tries to destroy the Bodhi tree, but repents:

After the Nirvana of Tathagata, when Asoka-raja began to reign, he was an unbeliever and he desired to destroy the bequeathed
traces of Buddha; so he raised an army, and himself taking the lead, he came here for the purpose of destroying (the tree). He cut
through the roots; the trunk, branches, and leaves were all divided into small bits and heaped up in a pile a few tens of paces to the
west of the place. Then he ordered a Brahman who sacrificed to fire to burn them in the discharge of his religious worship. Scarcely
had the smoke cleared away, when lo! A double tree burst forth from the flaming fire, and because the leaves and branches were
shining like feathers, it was called the “ashes bodhi tree”. Asoka-raja, seeing the miracle, repented of his crime. He bathed the roots
(of the old tree) with perfumed milk to fertilise them, when lo! on the morning of the next day, the tree sprang up as before. The king,
seeing the miraculous portent, was overpowered with deep emotion, and himself offered religious gifts, and was so overjoyed that he
forgot to return (to the palace). The queen, who was an adherent of the heretics, sent secretly a messenger, who, after the first
division of night, once more cut it down. Asoka-raja in the morning coming again to worship at the tree, seeing only the mutilated
trunk, was filled with exceeding grief. With the utmost sincerity he prayed as he worshiped; he bathed the roots with perfumed milk,
and in less than a day again the tree was restored. The king, moved by deep reverence at the prodigy, surrounded the tree with a
stone (brick) wall above 10 feet, which still remains visible. In late times Sasanka-raja (She-shang-kia), being a believer in heresy,
slandered the religion of Buddha, and through envy destroyed the convents and cut down the Bodhi tree, digging it up to the very
springs of the earth; but yet he did not get to the bottom of the roots. Then he burnt it with fire and sprinkled it with the juice of the
sugar-cane, desiring to destroy it entirely, and not leave a trace of it behind.

Purnavarma revives the Bodhi tree:

Some months afterwards, the king of Magadha, called Purnavarma (Pu-la-na-fa-mo), the last of the race of Asoka-raja, hearing of it,
sighed and said, “The sun of wisdom having set, nothing is left but the tree of Buddha, and this they now have destroyed, what source
of spiritual life is there now?” He then cast his body on the ground overcome with pity; then with the milk of a thousand cows he again
bathed the roots of the tree, and in a night it once more revived and grew to the height of some 10 feet. Fearing lest it should be again
cut down, he surrounded it with a wall of stone 24 feet high.

The Nyagrodha tree:

At the south-east angle of the wall of the Bodhi tree is a stupa by the side of a Nyagrodha (ni-ken-liu) tree. Beside it there is a vihara in
which is a sitting figure of Buddha. This is the spot where the great Brahmadeva exhorted Buddha, when he had first acquired
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enlightenment, to turn the wheel of the excellent law.

The Naga king Muchilinda:

To the east of the pond which Sakra caused to appear, in the midst of a wood, is the lake of the Naga king Muchilinda (Mu-chi-lin-t’o).
The water of this lake is of a dark blue colour, its taste is sweet and pleasant; on the west bank is a small Vihara in which is a figure of
Buddha. Formerly, when Tathagata first acquired complete enlightenment, he sat on this spot in perfect composure, and for seven
days dwelt in ecstatic contemplation. Then this Muchilinda Naga-raja kept guard over Tathagatha; with his folds seven times round
the body of Buddha, he caused many heads to appear, which over-shadowed him as a parasol; therefore to the east of this lake is the
dwelling of the Naga.

How the Mahabodhi vihara was built by the king of Ceylon:

Outside the northern gate of the wall of the Bodhi tree is the Mahabodhi sangharama. It was built by a former king of Simhala
(Ceylon, Sri Lanka). This edifice has six halls, with towers of observation of three storeys; it is surrounded by a wall of defence thirty
or forty feet high. The utmost skill of the artist has been employed; the ornamentation is in the richest colours (red and blue). The
statue of Buddha is cast of gold and silver, decorated with gems and precious stones. The stupas are high and large in proportion, and
beautifully ornamented; they contain relics of Buddha. The bone relics are as great as the fingers of the hand, shining and smooth, of
a pure white colour and translucent. The flesh relics are like the great true pearl, of a bluish-red tint. Every year on the day of the full
moon of (the month when) Tathagata displayed great spiritual changes, they take these relics out for public exhibition. On these
occasions sometimes a bright light is diffused, sometimes it rains flowers. The priests of the convent are more than 1000 men; they
study the Great Vehicle and belong to the Sthavira (Shang-tso-pu) school. They carefully observe the Dharma Vinaya, and their
conduct is pure and correct.

In old days there was a king of Ceylon, which is a country of the southern sea, who was truthful and a believer in the law of Buddha. It
happened that his brother, who had become a disciple of Buddha, thinking on the holy traces of Buddha, went forth to wander through
India. At all the convents he visited, he was treated with disdain as a foreigner (a frontier countryman). On this he returned to his own
country. The king in person went out to a distance to meet him, but the Sramana was so affected that he could not speak. The king
said, “What has so afflicted you as to cause this excessive grief?” The Sramana replied, “I, relying on the digni ty of your Majesty’s
kingdom, went forth to visit the world, and to find my way through distant regions and strange cities. For many years all my travels,
during heat and cold, have been attended with outrage, and my words have been met with insults and sarcasm. Having endured these
afflictions, how can I be light-hearted?”

The king said, “If these things are so, what is to be done?”

He replied, “In truth, I wish your Majesty in the field of merit would undertake to build convents throughout all India. You would thus
signalise the holy traces, and gain for yourself a great name; you would show your gratitude for the advantage derived from your
predecessors, and hand down the merit thereof to your successors.”

He replied, “This is an excellent plan; how have I but just heard of it?”

Then he gave in tribute to the king of India all the jewels of his country. The king having received them as tribute, from a principle of
duty and affection to his distant ally, he sent messengers to say, “What can I now do in return for the decree?”

The minister said, “The king of Simhala salutes the king of India (Maha Sri raja). The reputation of the Maharaja has spread far and
wide, and your benefits have reached to distant regions. The Sramanas of this inferior country desire to obey your instructions and to
accept your transforming influences. Having wandered through your superior country in visiting the sacred traces, I called at various
convents and found great difficulty in getting entertainment, and so, fatigued and very much worn by affronts, I returned home. I have
therefore formed a plan for the benefit of future travellers; I desire to build in all the Indies a convent for the entertainment of such
strangers, who may have a place of rest between their journey there and back. Thus the two countries will be bound together and
travellers be refreshed.”

The king said, “I permit your royal master to take (for this purpose) one of the places in which Tathagata has left the traces of his holy
teaching.”
On this the messenger returned home, having taken leave of the king, and gave an account of his interview. The ministers received
him with distinction and assembled the Sramanas and deliberated as to the foundation of a convent. The Sramanas said, “The (Bodhi)
tree is the place where all the past Buddhas have obtained the holy fruit and where the future ones will obtain it. There is no better
place than this for carrying out the project.”

Then, sending all the jewels of the country; they built this convent to entertain priests of this country (Ceylon), and he caused to be
engraved this proclamation on copper, “To help all without distinction is the highest teaching of all the Buddhas; to exercise mercy as
occasion offers is the illustrious doctrine of former saints. And now I, unworthy descendant in the royal line, have undertaken to found
this sangharama, to enclose the sacred traces, and to hand down their renown to future ages, and to spread their benefits among the
people. The priests of my country will thus obtain independence, and be treated as members of the fraternity of this country. Let this
privilege be handed down from generation to generation without interruption.”

BOOK IX
The Second Part of the Country of Magadha
King Bimbisara visits Buddha:

To the south-east of the Yashtivana about six or seven li we come to a great mountain. Before a cross-ridge of this mountain is a stupa.
Here in old days Tathagata explained the law during the three months of rain for the benefit of men and Devas. Then Bimbisara-raja
(Pin-pi-so-lo) wished to come to hear the law. He cut away the mountain, and piled up the stones to make steps in order to ascend. The
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width is about twenty paces and the length 3 or 4 li.

Rajagriha (royal residence) - and its beauty:

… we arrive at the city Kusagara-pura (Kiu-she-kie-lo-pu-lo), or “the royal city of best grass (lucky grass).” This is the central point of
the kingdom of Magadha. Here the former kings of the country fixed their capital. It produces much of the most excellent, scented,
fortunate grass, and therefore it is called “the city of the superior grass.” High mountains surround it on each side, and form as it
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were its external walls. On the west it is approached through a narrow pass, on the north there is a passage through the mountains.
The town is extended from east to west and narrow from north to south. It is about 150 li in circuit. The remaining foundations of the
wall of the inner city are about 30 li in circuit. The trees called Kie-ni-kia (Kanakas) border all the roads, their flowers exhale a
delicious perfume, and their colour is of a bright golden hue. In the spring months the forests are all of a golden colour.

The story of Sariputra and his attainment of Arhatship:

[North-east of the north gate of the palace] … is a stupa. This is where Sariputra (She-li-tseu) heard Asvajita (O-shi-p’o-shi) the
Bhikshu declare the law, and by that means reached the fruit (of an Arhat). At first Sariputra was a layman; he was a man of
distinguished ability and refinement, and was highly esteemed by those of his own time. At this time, with other students, he accepted
the traditional teaching as delivered to him. On one occasion, being about to enter the great city of Rajagriha, the Bhikshu Asvajita
(Ma-shing) was also just going his round of begging. Then Sariputra, seeing him at a distance, addressed his disciples, saying, “Yonder
man who comes, so full of dignity and nobleness, if he has not reached the fruit of sanctity (Arhatship), how is he thus composed and
quiet? Let us stop awhile and observe him as he approaches.” Now as Asvajita Bhikshu had reached the condition of an Arhat, his
mind was self-possessed, his face composed and of an agreeable refinement; thus, holding his religious staff, he came along with a
dignified air. Then Sariputra said, “Venerable sir! Are you at ease and happy? Pray, who is your master, and what the system you
profess, that you are so gladsome and contented?”

Asvajita answering him said, “Know you not the royal prince, the son of Suddhodana-raja, who gave up the condition of a
Chakravarttin monarch, and from pity to the six kinds of creatures for six years endured penance and reached the condition of
Sambodhi, the state of perfect omniscience? This is my master! As to hi s law, it has respect to a condition including the absence of
existence, without nonentity; it is difficult to define; only Buddhas with Buddhas can fathom it; how much less can foolish and blind
mortals, such as I, explain its principles. But for your sake I will recite a stanza in praise of the law of Buddha.” Sariputra having
heard it, obtained forthwith the fruit of Arhatship.

Vulture peak and king Bimbisara:

To the north-east of the palace city going 14 or 15 li, we come to the southern Gridhrakuta (Ki-li-tho-kiu-ch’a). Touching the southern
slope of the northern mountain, it r ises as a solitary peak to a great height, on which vultures make their abode. It appears like a high
tower on which the azure tints of the sky are reflected, the colours of the mountain and the heaven being commingled.

When Tathagata had guided the world for some fifty years, he dwelt much in this mountain, and delivered the excellent law in its
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developed form (kwang). Bimbisara-raja, for the purpose of hearing the law, raised a number of men to accompany him from the
foot of the mountain to its summit. They levelled the valleys and spanned the precipices, and with the stones made a staircase about
ten paces wide and 5 or 6 li long. In the middle of the road there are two small stupas, one called “Dismounting from the chariot”
(Hia-shing), because the king when he got here, went forward on foot. The other is called “Sending back the crowd” (Tui-fan), because
the king, separating the common folk, would not allow them to proceed with him. The summit of this mountain is long from the east to
the west and narrow from north to south. There is a brick vihara on the borders of a steep precipice at the western end of the
mountain. It is high and wide and beautifully constructed. The door opens to the east. Here Tathagata often stopped in old days and
preached the law. There is now a figure of him preaching the law of the same size as life.

To the east of the vihara is a long stone, on which Tathagata trod as he walked up and down for exercise. By the side of it is a great
stone about fourteen or fifteen feet high and thirty paces round. This is the place where Devadatta (cousin and mortal enemy of
Buddha) flung a stone from a distance to strike Buddha.

South of this, below the precipice, is a Stupa. Here Tathagata, when alive in old time, delivered the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra.

To the south of the vihara, by the side of a mountain cliff, is a great stone house. In this Tathagata, when dwelling in the world long
ago, entered Samadhi.

Mara frightens Ananda; Buddha reassures him:

To the north-west of the stone house and in front of it is a great and extraordinary stone. This is the place where Ananda (O-nan) was
frightened by Mara. When the venerable Ananda had entered Samadhi in this place, Mara-raja, assuming the form of a vulture, in the
middle of the night, during the dark portion of the month, took his place on this rock, and flapping his wings and uttering loud
screams, tried to frighten the venerable one. Ananda, filled with fear, was at a loss to know what to do; then Tathagata, by his spiritual
power, seeing his state, stretched out his hand to compose him. He pierced the stone wall and patted the head of Ananda, and with his
words of great love he spoke to him thus: “You need not fear the assumed form which Mara has taken.” Ananda in consequence
recovered his composure, and remained with his heart and body at rest and in peace.
Although years and months have elapsed since then, yet the bird traces on the stone and the hole in the rock still remain visible.

Asoka rebuilds Ajatasatru’s stupa:

To the east of the Karandavenuvana is a stupa which was built by Ajatasatru-raja. After the Nirvana of Tathagata the kings divided the
relics (she-li); the king Ajatasatru returned then with his share and from a feeling of extreme reverence built (a stupa) and offered his
religious offerings to it. When Asoka-raja (Wu-yau) became a believer, he opened it and took the relics, and in his turn built another
stupa. This building constantly emits miraculous light.

Relics of Ananda:

By the side of the stupa of Ajatasatru-raja is another stupa which encloses the relics of half of the body of Ananda. Formerly, when the
saint was about to reach Nirvana, he left the country of Magadha and proceeded to the town of Vaisali (Fei-she-li). As these two
countries disputed (about him) and began to raise troops, the venerable one, from pity, divided his body into two parts. The king of
Magadha, receiving his share, returned and offered to it his religious homage, and immediately prepared in this renowned land, with
great honour, to raise a stupa. By the side of this building is a place where Buddha walked up and down.

First Buddhist Council called by Kasyapa to settle the doctrine after seeing Buddha’s Nirvana through divine sight;
Ananda is initially excluded:

To the south-west of the bamboo garden (Venuvana) about 5 or 6 li, on the north side of the southern mountain, is a great bamboo
forest. In the middle of it is a large stone house. Here the venerable Kasyapa with 999 great Arhats, after Tathagata’s Nirvana, called
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a convocation (to settle) the three Pitakas. Before it is the old foundation-wall. King Ajatasatru made this hall for the sake of
accommodating the great Arhats who assembled to settle the Dharma-pitaka.

At first, when Maha Kasyapa was seated in silent (study) in the desert (mountain forests), suddenly a bright light burst forth, and he
perceived the earth shaking. Then he said, “What fortunate change of events is there, that this miracle should occur?” Then exerting
his divine sight, he saw the Lord Buddha between the two trees entering Nirvana. Forthwith he ordered his followers to accompany
him to the city of Kusinagara (Ku-shi). On the way they met a Brahman holding in his hands a divine flower. Kasyapa, addressing him,
said, “Whence come you? Know you where our great teacher is at present?” The Brahman replied and said, “I have but just come from
yonder city of Kusinagara, where I saw your great master just entered into Nirvana. A vast multitude of heavenly beings were around
him offering their gifts in worship, and this flower, which I hold, I brought thence.”

Kasyapa having heard these words said to his followers, “The sun of wisdom has quenched his rays. The world is now in darkness. The
illustrious guide has left us and gone, and all flesh must fall into calamity.”

Then the careless Bhikshus said one to another with satisfaction, “Tathagata has gone to rest. This is good for us, for now, if we
transgress, who is there to reprove or restrain us?”

Then Kasyapa, having heard this, was deeply moved and afflicted, and he resolved to assemble (collect) the treasure of the law
(Dharma-pitaka) and bring to punishment the transgressors. Accordingly he proceeded to the two trees, and regarding Buddha, he
offered worship.

And now the King of the Law having gone from the world, both men and Devas were left without a guide, and the great Arhats,
moreover, were cleaving to (the idea of their) Nirvana. Then the great Kasyapa reflected thus: “To secure obedience to the teaching of
Buddha, we ought to collect the Dharma-pitaka.” On this he ascended Mount Sumeru and sounded the great gong (ghanta), and spake
thus: “Now then, in the town of Rajagriha there is going to be a religious assembly. Let all those who have obtained the fruit (of
arhatship) hasten to the spot.”

In connection with the sounding of the gong the direction of Kasyapa spread far and wide through the great chiliocosm, and all those
possessed of spiritual capabilities, hearing the instructions, assembled in convocation. At this time Kasyapa addressed the assembly
and said, “Tathagata having died (attained Nirvana), the wor ld is empty. We ought to collect the Dharma-pitaka, in token of our
gratitude to Buddha. Now then, being about to accomplish this, there should be profound composure (quiet). How can this be done in
the midst of such a vast multitude? Those who have acquired the three species of knowledge (trividya), who have obtained the six
supernatural faculties (shadabhijnas), who have kept the law without failure, whose powers of discrimination (dialectic) are clear,
such superior persons as these may stop and form the assembly. Those who are learners with only limited fruit, let such depart to
their homes.”

On this 999 men were left; but he excluded Ananda, as being yet a learner. Then the great Kasyapa, calling him, addressed him thus:
“You are not yet free from defects; you must leave the holy assembly.” He replied, “During many years I have followed Tathagata as
his attendant; every assembly that has been held for considering the law, I have joined; but now, as you are going to hold an assembly
after his death (wai), I find myself excluded; the King of the Law having died, I have lost my dependence and helper.”

Kasyapa said, “Do not cherish your sorrow! You were a personal attendant on Buddha indeed, and you therefore heard much, and so
you loved (much), and therefore you are not free from all the ties that bind (the soul).”

Ananda, with words of submission, retired and came to a desert place, desiring to reach a condition “beyond learning;” he strove for
this without intermission, but with no result. At length, wearied out, he desired one day to lie down. Scarcely had his head reached the
pillow when lo! he obtained the condition of an Arhat.

He then went to the assembly, and knocking at the door, announced his arrival. Kasyapa then asked him, saying, “Have you got rid of
all ties? In that case exercise your spiritual power and enter without the door being opened!” Ananda, in compliance with the order,
entered through the keyhole, and having paid reverence to the priesthood, retired and sat down.

At this time fifteen days of the summer rest (Varsavasana) had elapsed. On this Kasyapa rising, said, “Consider well and listen! Let
Ananda, who ever heard the words of Tathagata, collect by singing through the Sutra-pitaka. Let Upali (Yeu-po-li), who clearly
understands the rules of discipline (Vinaya), and is well known to all who know, collect the Vinaya-pitaka; and I, Kasyapa, will collect
the Abhidharma-pitaka.” The three months of rain being past, the collection of the Tripitaka was finished. As the great Kasyapa was
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the president (Sthavira) among the priests, it is called the Sthavira (Chang-tso-pu) convocation.

The assembly of those excluded by Kasyapa:

[to the west] … is the spot where the “great assembly” (Mahasangha) formed their collection of books. Those who had not been
permitted to join Kasyapa’s assembly, whether learners or those above learning (Arhats), to the number of 100,000 men, came
together to this spot and said, “Whilst Tathagata was alive we all had a common master, but now the King of the Law is dead it is
different. We too wish to show our gratitude to Buddha, and we also will hold an assembly for collecting the scriptures.” On this the
common folk with the holy disciples came to the assembly, the foolish and wise alike flocked together and collected the Sutra-pitaka,
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the Vinaya-pitaka, the Abhidharma-pitaka, the miscellaneous Pitaka (Khuddakanikaya), and the Dharani-pitaka. Thus they
distinguished five Pitakas. And because in this assembly both common folk and holy personages were mixed together, it was called
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“the assembly of the great congregation” (Mahasangha).

Bimbisara and the destruction of old city of Rajagriha by frequent fires:

… we come to the town of Rajagriha (Ho-lo-shi-ki-li-hi). The outer walls of this city have been destroyed, and there are no remnants of
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them left; the inner city (walls) although in a ruined state, still have some elevation from the ground, and are about 20 li in circuit.
In the first case, Bimbisara-raja established his residence in Kusagara; in this place the houses of the people, being close together,
were frequently burned with fire and destroyed. When one house was in flames, it was impossible to prevent the whole neighbourhood
sharing in the calamity, and consequently the whole was burned up. Then the people made loud complaints, and were unable to rest
quietly in their dwellings. The king said, “By my demerit the low people are afflicted; what deed of goodness can I do in order to be
exempt from such calamities?” His ministers said, “Maharaja, your virtuous government spreads peace and harmony, your righteous
rule causes light and progress. It is by want of due attention on the part of the people that these calamities of fire occur. It is
necessary to make a severe law to prevent such occurrences hereafter. If a fire breaks out, the origin must be diligently sought for,
and to punish the principal guilty person, let him be driven into the cold forest. Now this cold forest (sitavana) is the place of corpses
abandoned there. Every one esteems it an unlucky place and the people of the land avoid going there and passing through it. Let him
be banished there as a cast-out corpse. From dread of this fate, the people will become careful and guard (against outbreak of fire).”
The king said, “It is well; let this announcement be made, and let the people attend to it.”

And now it happened that the king’s palace was the first to be burned with fire. Then he said to his ministers, “I myself must be
banished;” and he gave up the government to his eldest son in his own place. “I wish to maintain the laws of the country; I therefore
myself am going into exile.”

At this time the king of Vaisali hearing that Bimbisara-raja was dwelling alone in the “cold forest,” raised an army and put it in
movement to invade (make a foray) when nothing was ready (to resist him). The lords of the marches (frontiers), hearing of it, built a
town, and as the king was the first to inhabit it, it was called “the royal city” (Rajagriha). Then th e ministers and the people all
flocked there with their families.

It is also said that Ajatasatru-raja first founded this city, and the heir-apparent of Ajatasatru having come to the throne, he also
appointed it to be the capital, and so it continued till the time of Asoka-raja, who changed the ca pital to Pataliputra, and gave the city
of Rajagriha to the Brahmans, so that now in the city there are no common folk to be seen, but only Brahmans to the number of a
thousand families.

Nalanda vihara and the prophecy of the Nirgrantha:

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Going north from this 30 li or so, we come to Nalanda sangharama. The old accounts of the country say that to the sout h of this
sangharama, in the middle of an Amra (An-mo-lo) grove, there is a tank. The Naga of this tank is called Nalanda. By the side of it is
built the sangharama, which therefore takes the name (of the Naga). But the truth is that Tathagata in old days practiced the life of a
Bodhisattva here, and became the king of a great country, and established his capital in this land. Moved by pity for living things, he
delighted in continually relieving them. In remembrance of this virtue he was called “charity without intermission;” and the
sangharama was called in perpetuation of this name. The site was originally an Amra garden. Five hundred merchants bought it for
ten kotis of gold pieces and gave it to Buddha. Buddha preached the law here during three months, and the merchants and others
obtained the fruit of holiness. Not long after the Nirvana of Buddha, a former king of this country named Sakraditya (Shi-kia-lo-’o-‘tie-
to) respected and esteemed the one vehicle and honoured very highly the three treasures. Having selected by augury a lucky spot, he
built this sangharama. When he began the work he wounded, in digging, the body of the Naga. At this time there was a distinguished
soothsayer belonging to the heretical sect of the Nirgranthas. He having seen the occurrence, left this record: “This is a very superior
site. If you build here a sangharama, it must of necessity become highly renowned. Throughout the five Indies it will be a model. For a
period of a thousand years it will flourish still. Students of all degrees will here easily accomplish their studies. But many will spit
blood because of this wound given to the Naga.”

Chinese monks visit the assembly called by Baladitya; he renounces the throne, but not desire:

Baladitya-raja (P’o-lo-‘o-tie-lo) succeeded to the empire. On the north-east side he built a sangharama. The work being done, he called
together an assembly for congratulation. He respected equally the obscure and the renowned, and invited common folk and men of
religion (holiness) without distinction. The priests of all India came together for the distance of 10,000 li. After all were seated and at
rest, two priests arrived. They led them up the three-storeyed pavilion. Then they asked them, saying, “The king, when about to call
the assembly, first asked men of all degrees (common and holy). From what quarter do your reverences come so late?” They said, “We
are from the country of China. Our teacher was sick. Having nourished him, we set out to accept the king’s far-off invitation. This is
the reason why we have arrived so late.”

The assembly hearing this, were filled with astonishment, and proceeded at once to inform the king. The king knowing that they were
holy persons, went himself to interrogate them. He mounted the pavilion, but he knew not where they had gone. The king then was
affected by a profou nd faith; he gave up his country and became a recluse. Having done so, he placed himself as the lowest of the
priests, but his heart was always uneasy and ill at rest. “Formerly (he said) I was a king, and the highest among the honourable; but
now I have become a recluse, I am degraded to the bottom of the priesthood.” Forthwith he went to the priests, and said words to the
above effect. On this the sangha resolved that they who had not received the full orders should be classed according to their natural
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years of life. This sangharama is the only one in which this law exists.

Stupa of Mudgalaputra in village Kulika (kiu-li-kia):

[Built by Asoka-raja]. This is where the venerable Mudgalaputra (Mo-te-kia-lo-tseu) was born. By the side of the village is a stupa. This
is where the Venerable One reached complete Nirvana, and in it are placed the remains of his bequeathed body. The venerable (Maha-
mudgalaputra) was of a great Brahman family, and was an intimate friend of Sariputra when they were young. This Sariputra was
renowned for the clearness of his dialectic skill; the other for his persevering and deep penetration. Their gifts and wisdom were alike,
and moving or standing they were always together. Their aims and desires from beginning to end were just the same. They had
together left the world from distaste to its pleasures, and as hermits had followed Sanjaya (Shen-she-ye) as their master. Sariputra
having met Asvajita (Ma-shing) the Arhat, hearing the law, understood its holy (meaning). On returning he repeated what he had
heard for the sake of the venerable (Mudgalaputra). On this he understood the meaning of the law and reached the first fruit. Then
with 250 followers he went to the place where Buddha was. The Lord of the World, seeing him at a distance, pointing him out, said to
his disciples, “That one coming here will be the first among my followers in the exercise of spiritual faculties (miraculous powers).”
Having reached the place where Buddha was, he requested to enter the law (the society). The Lord replying, said, “Welcome, O
Bhikshu; carefully practice a pure life; and you shall escape this limits of sorrow.” Hearing this, his hair fell off, and his common robes
were changed into others. Observing in their purity the sections of the rules of moral discipline, and being in his exterior behaviour
faultless, after seven days, getting rid of all bonds of sin, he reached the condition of an Arhat and the supernatural powers.

Gautam visits Magadha after becoming Buddha; Bimbisara leads the welcome:
East of the old village of Mudgalaputra, going 3 or 4 li, we come to a stupa. This is the place where Bimbisara raja went to have an
interview with Buddha. When Tathagata first obtained the fruit of a Buddha, knowing that the hearts of the people of Magadha were
waiting for him athirst, he accepted the invitation of Bimbisara-raja, and early in the morning, putting on his robes, he took his
begging-dish, and with a thousand Bhikshus around him, on the right hand and the left (he advanced). In front and behind these there
were a number of aged Brahmans who went with twisted hair (jalina), and being desirous of the law, wore their dyed garments
(chivara). Followed by such a throng, he entered the city of Rajagriha.

Then Lord Sakra (Ti-shih), king of Devas, changing his appearance into that of a Manava (Ma-na-p’o) youth, with a crown upon his
head and his hair bound up, in his left hand holding a golden pitcher and in his right a precious staff, he walked above the earth four
fingers high, leading Buddha along the road in front, in the midst of the vast assembly. Then the king of the Magadha country,
Bimbisara (Pin-pi-lo) by name, accompanied by all the Brahman householders within the land, and the merchants (ku-sse), 100,000
myriads in all, going before and behind, leading and following, proceeded from the city of Rajagriha to meet and escort the holy
congregation.

Sariputra’s birthplace; his mothers’ dream; he became the first to seek nirvana before Buddha:

South-east from the spot where Bimbisara-raja met Buddha, at a distance of about 20 li, we come to the town of Kalapinaka (Kia-lo-pi-
na-kia). In this town is a stupa which was built by Asoka-raja. This is the place where Sariputra, the venerable one, was born. The
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well of the place still exists. By the side of the place is a stupa. This is where the venerable one obtained Nirvana; the relics of his
body, therefore, are enshrined therein. He also was of a high Brahman family. His father was a man of great learning and erudition; he
penetrated thoroughly the most intricate questions. There were no books he had not thoroughly investigated. His wife had a dream
and told it to her husband. “Last night,” said she, “during my sleep my dreams were troubled by a strange man whose body was
covered with armour; in his hand he held a diamond mace with which he broke the mountains; departing, he stood at the foot of one
particular mountain.” “This dream,” the husband said, “is extremely good. You will bear a son of deep learning; he will be honoured in
the world, and will attack the treatises of all the masters and break down their teaching (schools). Being led to consider, he will
become the disciple of one who is more than human.”

And so in due course she conceived a child. All at once she was greatly enlightened. She discoursed in high and powerful language,
and her words were not to be overthrown. When the venerable one began to be eight years old, his reputation was spread in every
direction. His natural disposition was pure and simple, his heart loving and compassionate. He broke through all impediments in his
way, and perfected his wisdom. He formed a friendship when young with Mudgalaputra, and being deeply disgusted with the world,
and having no system to adopt as a refuge, he went with Mudgalaputra to the heretic Sanjaya’s abode, and practiced (his mode of
salvation). Then they said together, “This is not the system of final deliverance, nor is it able to rescue us from the trammels of sorrow.
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Let us each seek for an illustrious guide. He who first obtains sweet dew, let him make the taste common to the other.”

At this time the great Arhat Asvajita, holding in his hand his proper measure bowl (patra), was entering the city begging for food.

Sariputra seeing his dignified exterior and his quiet and becoming manner, forthwith asked him, “Who is your master?” He answered,
“The prince of the Sakya tribe, disgusted with the world, becoming a hermit, has reached perfect wisdom. This one is my master.”
Sariputra added, “And what doctrine does he teach? May I find a way to hear it?” He said, “I have but just received instruction, and
have not yet penetrated the deep doctrine.” Sariputra said, “Pray tell me what you have heard.” Then Asvajita, so far as he could,
explained it and spoke. Sariputra having heard it, immediately reached the first fruit, and went forthwith with 250 of his followers to
the place where Buddha was dwelling.

The Lord of the World seeing him afar off, pointing to him and addressi ng his followers, said, “Yonder comes one who will be most
distinguished for wisdom among my disciples.” Having reached the place, he bent his head in worship and asked to be permitted to
follow the teaching of Buddha. The Lord said to him, “welcome, O Bhikshu.”
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Having heard these words, he was forthwith ordained. Half a month after, hearing Buddha preach the law on account of a Brahman
called “Long-nails” (Dirghanakha), together with other discourses, and understanding them with a lively emotion, he obtained the
fruit of an Arhat. After this, Ananda hearing Buddha speak about his Nirvana, it was noised abroad and talked about (by the disciples).
Each one was affected with grief. Sariputra was doubly touched with sorrow, and could not endure the thought of seeing Buddha die.
Accordingly, he asked the Lord that he might die first. The lord said, “Take advantage of your opportunity.”

He then bade adieu to the disciples and came to his native village. His followers, the Sramaneras, spread the news everywhere
through the town and villages. Ajatasatru-raja and his people hastened together as the wind, and assembled in clouds to the assembly,
whilst Sariputra repeated at large the teaching of the law. Having heard, it, they went away. In the middle of the following night, with
fixed (correct) thought, and mind restrained, he entered the Samadhi called “final extinction.” After awhile, having risen out of it, he
died.

BOOK X
Chen-Po- (Champa)
Origin of government in Jambudvipa:
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This country (Champa) is about 4000 li in circuit. The capital is backed to the north by the river Ganges, it is about 40 li round. The
soil is level and fertile; it is regularly cultivated and productive; the temperature is mild and warm; the manners of the people simple
and honest. There are several tens of sangharamas, mostly in ruins, with about 200 priests. They follow the teaching of the Little
Vehicle. There are some twenty Deva temples, which sectaries of every kind frequent. The walls of the capital are built of brick, and
are several “tens of feet” high. The foundations of the wall are raised on a lofty embankment, so that by their high escarpment, they
can defy the attack of enemies. In old times at the beginning of the kalpa, when things (men) first began, they inhabited dens and
caves of the desert. There was no knowledge of dwelling houses. After this, a Devi (divine woman) descending in consequence of her
previous conduct, was located amongst them. As she sported in the streams of the Ganges, she was affected by a spiritual power, and
conceiving, she brought forth four sons, who divided between them the government of Jambudvipa. Each took possession of a district,
founded a capital, built towns, and marked out the limits of the frontiers. This was the capital of the country of one of them, and the
first of all the cities of Jambudvipa.

Spiritual power of a Hindu temple and cave dwellings:

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To the east of the city 140 or 150 li, on the south of the river Ganges, is a solitary detached rock, craggy and steep, and surrounded
by water. On the top of the peak is a Deva temple; the divine sprits exhibit many miracles (spiritual indications) here. By piercing the
rock, houses have been made; by leading the streams (through each), there is a continual flow of water. There are wonderful trees
(forming) flowering woods; the large rocks and dangerous precipices are the resort of men of wisdom and virtue; those who go there
to see the place are reluctant to return.

KIE-CHU-HOH-KHI-LO (KAJUGHIRA OR KAJINGHARA)

 A deserted country, taken over by Siladitya-raja:
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This kingdom is about 2000 li or so in circuit. The soil is level and loamy; it is regularly cultivated, and produces abundant crops;
the temperature is warm; the people are simple in their habits. They greatly esteem men of high talent, and honour learning and the
arts. There are six or seven sangharamas with about 300 priests; and there are some ten Deva temples frequented by sectaries of all
sorts. During the last few centuries the royal line has died out, and the country has been ruled by a neighbouring state, so that the
towns are desolate, and most of the people are found scattered in villages and ha mlets. On this account, Siladitya-raja, when roaming
through Eastern India, built a palace in this place, in which he arranged the affairs of his different states. It was built of branches and
boughs for a temporary residence, and burnt on his departure. On the southern frontiers of the country are many wild elephants.

PUN-NA-FA-TAN-NA (PUNDRAVARDDHANA)
A district rich in produce; people revere learning; Jaina monks most numerous:
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This country is about 4000 li in circuit. Its capital is about 30 li round. It is thickly populated. The tanks and public offices and
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flowering woods are regularly connected at intervals. The soil is flat and loamy, and rich in all kinds of grain-produce. The Panasa
(Pan-na-so) fruit, though plentiful, is highly esteemed. The fruit is as large as a pumpkin. When it is ripe it is of a yellowish-red colour.
When divided, it has in the middle many tens of little fruits of the size of a pigeon’s egg; breaking these, there comes forth a juice of a
yellowish-red colour and of delicious flavour. The fruit sometimes collects on the tree-branches as other clustering fruits, but
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sometimes at the tree-roots, as in the case of the earth-growing fu-ling. The climate is temperate; the people esteem learning.
There are about twenty sangharamas, with some 3000 priests; they study both the Little and Great Vehicle. There are some hundred
Deva temples, where sectaries of different schools congregate. The naked Nirgranthas are the most numerous.

To the west of the capital 20 li or so is the Po-chi-p’o sangharama. Its courts are light and roomy; its towers and pavilions are very
lofty. The priests are about 700 in number; they study the law according to the Great Vehicle. Many renowned priests from Eastern
India dwell here…

A spiritually powerful Bodhisattva image:

Not far from this there is a vihara in which is a statue of Kwna-tsz’-tsai Bodhisattva. Nothing is hid from its divine discernment; its
sp iritual perception is most accurate; men far and near consult (this being) with fasting and prayers.

KIA-MO-LU-PO (KAMARUPA)
A predominantly Hindu country; not a single vihara:
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The country of Kamarupa is about 10,000 li in circuit. The capital town is about 30 li. The land lies low, but is rich, and is regularly
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cultivated. They cultivate the Panasa fruit and the Na-lo-ki-lo (Narikela) fruit. These trees, though numerous, are nevertheless much
valued and esteemed. Water led from the river or from banked-up lakes (reservoirs) flows round the towns. The climate is soft and
temperate. The manners of the people simple and honest. The men are of small stature, and their complexion a dark yellow. Their
language differs a little from that of Mid-India. Their nature is very impetuous and wild; their memories are retentive, and they are
earnest in study. They adore and sacrifice to the Devas, and have no f aith in Buddha; hence from the time when Buddha appeared in
the world even down to the present time there never as yet has been built one sangharama as a place for the priests to assemble.
Such disciples as there are of a pure faith, say their prayers (chant the name of Buddha) secretly, and that is all. There are as many as
100 Deva temples, and different s ectaries to the number of several myriads.

Bhaskara-varman patronises the learned; calls the Chinese pilgrim to court:

The present king belongs to the old line (tso yan) of Narayana-deva. He is of the Brahman caste. His name is Bhaskara-varman, his
title Kumara (Keu-mo-lo). From the time that this family seized the land and assumed the government till the present king, there have
elapsed a thousand successions (generations). The king is fond of learning, and the people are so likewise i n imitation of him. Men of
high talent from distant regions aspiring after office visit his dominions as strangers. Though he has no faith in Buddha, yet he much
respects Sramanas of learning. When he first heard that a Sramana from China had come to Magadha to the Nalanda sangharama
from such a distance, to study with diligence the profound law of Buddha, he sent a message of invitation by those who reported it as
often as three times, but yet the Sramana (Yuan Chwang) had not obeyed it. Then Silabhadra (Shi-lo-po-‘t’o-lo), master of sastras, said,
“You desire to show your gratitude to Buddha; then you should propagate the true law; this is your duty. You need not fear the long
journey. Kumara-raja’s family respect the teaching of the heretics, and now he invites a Sramana to visit him. This is good indeed! We
judge from this that he is changing his principles, and desires to acquire merit (or, from merit acquired) to benefit others. You
formerly conceived a great heart, and made a vow with yourself to travel alone through different lands regardless of life, to seek for
the law for the good of the world. Forgetful of your own country, you should be ready to meet death; indifferent to renown or failure,
you should labour to open the door for the spread of the holy doctrine, to lead onwards the crowds who are deceived by false
teaching, to consider others first, yourself afterwards; forgetful of r enown, to think only of religion.”

Yuan Chwang is reluctant, but goes after Silabhadra’s exhortation; Bhaskara-varman asks about the Tsin king:

On this, with no further excuses, he hastened in company with the messengers to present himself to the king. Kumara-raja said,
“Although I am without talents myself, I have always been fond of men of conspicuous learning. Hearing, then, of your fame and
distinction, I ventured to ask you here to visit me.”

He replied, “I have only moderate wisdom, and I am confused to think that you should have heard of my poor reputation.”

Kumara-raja said, “Well, indeed! From regard for the law and love of learning to regard oneself as of no account, and to travel abroad
regardless of so great dangers, to wander through strange countries! This is the result of the transforming power of the king’s
government, and the exceeding learning, as is reported, of the country. Now, through the kingdoms of India there are many persons
who sing about the victories of the Tsin king of the Mahachina country. I have long heard of this. And is it true that this is your
honourable birthplace?”

He said, “It is so. These songs celebrate the virtues of my sovereign.”

He (the king) replied, “I could not think that your worthy self was of this country. I have ever had esteem for its manners and laws.
Long have I looked towards the east, but the intervening mountains and rivers have prevented me from personally visiting it.”

In answer I said, “My great sovereign’s holy qualities are far renowned, and the transforming power of his virtue reaches to remote
districts. People from strange countries pay respect at the door of his palace, and call themselves his servants.”
Kumara-raja said, “If his dominion is so great (covering thus his subjects), my heart strongly desires to bear my tribute to his court.
But now Siladitya-raja is in the country of Kajughira (Kie-chu-hoh-khi-lo), about to distribute large alms and to plant deeply the root of
merit and wisdom. The Sramans and Brahmans of the five Indies, renowned for their learning, must needs come together. He has now
sent for me. I pray you go with me!”

On this they went together.

SAN-MO-TA-CHA (SAMATATA)
A prosperous and cultured district; mixed population; Jainas dominant:

This country (Eastern Bengal) is about 3000 li in circuit and borders on the great sea. The land lies low and is rich. The capital is
about 20 li round. It is regularly cultivated, and is rich in crops, and the flowers and fruits grow everywhere. The climate is soft and
the habits of the people agreeable. The men are hardy by nature, small of stature, and of black complexion; they are fond of learning,
and exercise themselves diligently in the acquirement of it. There are professors both of false and true doctrines. There are thirty or
so sangharamas with about 2000 priests. They are all of the Sthavira (Shang-tso-pu) school. There are some hundred Deva temples, in
which sectaries of all kinds live. The naked ascetics called Nirgranthas (Ni-kien) are most numerous.

Not far from this, in a sangharama, is a figure of Buddha of green jade. It is eight feet high, with the marks on its person perfectly
shown, and with a spiritual power which is exercised from time to time.

TAN-MO-LI-TI (TAMRALIPTI)
Rich country and mixed population:
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This country is 1400 or 1500 li in circuit, the capital about 10 li. It borders on the sea. The ground is low and rich; it is regularly
cultivated, and produces flowers and fruits in abundance. The temperature is hot. The manners of the people are quick and hasty. The
men are hardy and brave. There are both heretics and believers. There are about ten sangharamas, with about 1000 priests. The Deva
temples are fifty in number, in which various sectaries dwell mixed together. The coast of this country is formed by (or in) a recess of
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the sea; the water and the land embracing each other. Wonderful articles of value and gems are collected here in abundance, and
therefore the people of the country are in general very rich.

KIE-LO-NA-SU-FA-LA-NA (KARNASUVARNA)
Rich country and mixed population; people love learning:

This kingdom is about 1400 or 1500 li in circuit; the capital is about 20 li. It is thickly populated. The householders are very (rich and
in ease). The land lies low and is loamy. It is regularly cultivated, and produces an abundance of flowers, with valuables numerous and
various. The climate is agreeable; the manners of the people honest and amiable. They love learning exceedingly, and apply
themselves to it with earnestness. There are believers and heretics alike amongst them. There are ten sangharamas or so, with about
2000 priests. They study the Little Vehicle of the Sammatiya (Ching-tiang-pu) school. There are fifty Deva temples. The heretics are
very numerous. Besides these there are three sangharamas in which they do not use thickened milk (u lok), following the directions of
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Devadatta (Ti-p’o-ta-to).

By the side of the capital is the sangharama called Lo-to-wei-chi (Raktaviti, ‘red mud’), the halls of which are light and spacious, the
storeyed towers very lofty. In this establishment congregate all the most distinguished, learned, and celebrated men of the kingdom.
They strive to promote each other’s advancement by exhortations, and to perfect their character.

U-cha (UDRA)
Rich country, uncivilised people, but dedicated to learning:
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This country (Utkal, Orissa) is 7000 li or so in circuit; the capital city is about 20 li round. The soil is rich and fertile, and it produces
abundance of grain, and every kind of fruit is grown more than in other countries. It would be difficult to name the strange shrubs and
the famed flowers that grow here. The climate is hot; the people are uncivilised, tall of stature, and of a yellowish black complexion.
Their words and language ( pronunciation) differ from Central India. They love learning and apply themselves to it without
intermission. Most of them believe in the law of Buddha. There are some hundred sangharamas, with 10,000 priests. They all study
the Great Vehicle. There are fifty Deva temples in which sectaries of all sorts make their abodes. The stupas, to the number of ten or
so, point out spots where Buddha preached. They were all founded by Asoka-raja.
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In a great mountain on the south-west frontiers of the country is sangharama called Pushpagiri (Pu-se-po-k’i-li); the stone stupa
belonging to it exhibits very many spiritual wonders. On fast-days it emits a bright light. For this cause believers from far and near
flock together here and present as offerings beautifully embroidered canopies; they place these underneath the vase at the top of the
cupola, and let them stand there fixed as needles in the stone. To the north-west of this, in a convent on the mountain, is a stupa
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where the same wonders occur as in the former case. These two stupas were built by the demons, and hence are derived the
extraordinary miracles.

KONG-U’T’O (Konyodha?)
A predominantly Hindu land:
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This kingdom is about 1000 li in circuit; the capital is 20 li round. It borders on a bay. The ranges of mountains are high and
precipitous. The ground is low and moist. It is regularly cultivated and productive. The temperature is hot, the disposition of the
people brave and impulsive. The men are tall of stature and bl ack complexioned and dirty. They have some degree of politeness and
are tolerably honest. With respect to their written characters, they are the same as those of Mid-India, but their language and mode of
pronunciation are quite different. They greatly respect the teaching of heretics and do not believe in the law of Buddha. There are
some hundred Deva temples, and there are perhaps 10,000 unbelievers of different sects.

Within the limits of this country there are several tens of small towns which border on the mountains and are built contiguous to the
sea. The cities themselves are strong and high; the soldiers are brave and daring; they rule by force the neighbouring provinces, so
that no one can resist them. This country, bordering on the sea, abounds in many rare and valuable articles. They use cowrie shells
and pe arls in commercial transactions. The great greenish-blue elephant comes from this country. They harness it to their
conveyances and make very long journeys.
 KIE-LING-KIA (KALINGA)
Land and people, most Hindus and Jainas:

This country is 5000 li or so in circuit; its capital is 20 li or so round. It is regularly cultivated and is productive. Flowers and fruits are
very abundant. The forests and jungle are continuous for many hundred li. It produces the great tawny wild elephant, which are much
prized by neighbouring provinces. The climate is burning; the disposition of the people vehement and impetuous. Though the men are
mostly rough and uncivilised, they still keep their word and are trustworthy. The language is light and tripping, and their
pronunciation distinct and correct. But in both particulars, that is, as to words and sounds, they are very different from Mid-India.
There are a few who believe i n the true law, but most of them are attached to heresy. There are ten sangharamas, with about 500
priests, who study the Great Vehicle according to the teaching of the Sthavira school. There are some 100 Deva temples with very
many unbelievers of different sorts, the most numerous being the Nirgranthas (Jainas).

KIAO-SA-LO (KOSALA)
Land, people, and Bodhisattva Nagarjuna:
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This country is about 5000 li in circuit; the frontiers consist of encircling mountain crags; forests and jungle are found together in
succession. The capital is about 40 li round; the soil is rich and fertile, and yields abundant crops. The towns and villages are close
together, the population is very dense. The men are tall and black complexioned. The d isposition of the people is hard and violent;
they are brave and impetuous. There are both heretics and believers here. They are earnest in study and of a high intelligence. The
king is of the Kshattriya race; he greatly honours the law of Buddha, and his virtue and love are far renowned. There are about one
hundred sangharamas, and somewhat less than 10,000 priests: they all alike study the teaching of the Great Vehicle. There are about
seventy Deva temples, frequented by heretics of different persuasions.

Not far to the south of the city is an old sangharama, by the side of which is a stupa that was built by Asoka-raja. In this place
Tathagata, of old, calling an assembly, exhibited his supernatural power and subdued the unbelievers. Afterwards Nagarjuna
Bodhisattva (Longmeng-p’u-sa) dwelt in the sangharama. The king of the country was then called Sadvaha. He greatly prized and
esteemed Nagarjuna, and provided him with a city-gate hut.

On the mystical powers of Nagarjuna and his longevity:

Nagarjuna Bodhisattva was well practiced in the art of compounding medicines; by taking a preparation he nourished the years of life
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for many hundreds of years, so that neither the mind nor appearance decayed. Sadvaha-raja had partaken of this mysterious
medicine, and his years were already several hundred in number. The king had a young son who one day addressed his mother thus,
“When shall I succeed to the royal estate?” His mother said, “There seems to me to be no chance of that yet; your father the king is
now several hundred years old, his sons and grandsons are many of them dead and gone through old age. This is the result of the
religious power of Nagarjuna, and the intimate knowledge he has of compounding medicines. The day the Bodhisattva dies the king
will also succumb. Now the wisdom of this Nagarjuna is great and extensive, and his love and compassion very deep; he would give up
for the benefit of living creatures his body and life. You ought, therefore, to go, and when you meet him, ask him to give you his head.
If you do this, then you will get your desire.”

The king’s son, obedient to his mother’s instructions, went to the gate of the convent. The doorkeeper, alarmed, ran away, and so he
entered at once. Then Nagarjuna Bodhisattva was chanting as he walked up and down. Seeing the king’s son he stopped, and said, “It
is evening time now; why do you at such a time come so hastily to the priests’ quarters? Has some accident happened, or are you
afraid of some calamity that you have hastened here at such a time?”

He answered, “I was considering with my dear mothe r the words of different sastras, and the examples (therein) of sages who had
forsaken the world, and I was led to remark on the great value set on life by all creatures, and that the scriptures, in their examples
given of sacrifice, had not enforced this duty of giving up life readily for the sake of those who desired it. Then my dear mother said,
“Not so; the Sugatas (shen shi) of the ten regions, the Tathagatas of the three ages, whilst living in the world and giving their hearts
to the objects, have obtained the fruit. They diligently sought the way of Buddha; practicing the precepts, exercising patience, they
gave up their bodies to feed wild beasts, cut their flesh to deliver the dove. Thus Raja Chandraprabha (Yueh-kwang) gave up his head
to the Brahman; Maitribala (Ts’e li) raja fed the hungry Yaksha with his blood. To recite every similar example would be difficult, but
in searching through the history of previous sages, what age is there that affords not examples? And so Nagarjuna Bodhisattva is now
actuated by similar high principles; as for myself, I have sought a man who for my advantage would give me his head, but have never
yet found such a person for years. If I had wished to act with violence and take the life of a man (commit murder), the crime would
have been great and entailed dreadful consequences. To have taken the life of an innocent child would have been infamous and
disgraced my character. But the Bodhisattva diligently practices the holy way and aspires after a while to the fruit of the Buddha. His
love extends to all beings and his goodness knows no bounds. He esteems life as a bubble, his body as decaying wood. He would not
contradict his purpose in refusing such a gift, if requested.”

Nagarjuna agrees to relinquish his life for the king’s son:

Nagarjuna said, “Your comparisons and your words are true. I seek the holy fruit of a Buddha. I have learnt that a Buddha is able to
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give up all things, regarding the body as an echo, a bubble, passing through the four forms of life, continually coming and going in
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the six ways. My constant vow has been not to oppose the desires of living things. But there is one difficulty in the way of the king’s
son, and what is that? If I were to give up my life your father also would die. Think well of this, for who could then deliver him.”

Nagarjuna, irresolute, walked to and fro, seeking for something to end his life with; then taking a dry reed leaf, he cut his neck as if
with a sword, and his head fell from his body.

Having seen this, he (the prince) fled precipitately and returned. The guardian of the gate informed the king of the event from first to
last, who whilst listening was so affected that he died.

T’O-NA-KIE-TSE-KIA (DHANAKATAKA)
This country is about 6000 li in circuit, and the capital (Bejwada) some 40 li round. The soil is rich and fertile, and is regularly
cultivated, affording abundant harvests. There is much desert country, and the towns are thinly populated. The climate is hot. The
complexion of the people is a yellowish black, and they are by nature fierce and impulsive. They greatly esteem learning. The convents
(sangharamas) are numerous, but are mostly deserted and ruined; of those preserved there are about twenty, with 1000 or so priests.
They all study the law of the Great Vehicle. There are 100 Deva temples, and the people who frequent them are numerous and of
different beliefs.

Bhavaviveka awaits Maitreya Bodhisattva; fails to discourse with Dharmapala:

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To the south of the city a little way is a great mountain cavern. It is here the master of sastras P’o-pi-fei-kia (Bhavaviveka) remains
in the palace of the Asuras (‘O-ssu-lo), awaiting the arrival of Maitreya Bodhisattva as perfect Buddha. This master of sastras was
widely renowned for his elegant scholarship and for the depth of his vast attainments (virtue). Externally he was a disciple of Kapila
(Sankhya), but inwardly he was fully possessed of the learning of Nagarjuna. Having heard that Dharmapala (Hu-fa-p’u-sa) of
Magadha was spreading aboard the teaching of the law, and was making many thousand disciples, he desired to discuss with him. He
took his religious staff in hand and went. Coming to Pataliputra (Po-ch’a-li) he ascertained that Dharmapala Bodhisattva was dwelling
at the Bodhi tree. Then the master of sastras ordered his disciples thus: “Go you to the place where Dharmapala resides near the
Bodhi tree, and say to him in my name, ‘Bodhisattva (i.e. Dharmapala) published abroad the doctrine (of Buddha) bequeathed to the
world: he leads and directs the ignorant. His followers look up to him with respect and humility, and so it has been for many days;
nevertheless his vow and past determination have borne no fruit! Vain is it to worship and visit the Bodhi tree. Swear to accomplish
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your object, and then you will be in the end guide of gods and men.”

Dharmapala Bodhisattva answered the messenger thus: “The lives of men (or, generations of men) are like a phantom; the body is as a
bubble. The whole day I exert myself; I have no time for controversy; you may therefore depart – there can be no meeting.”

The master of sastras having returned to his own country, led a pure (quiet) life and reflected thus: “In the absence of Maitreya as a
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Buddha, who is there that can satisfy my doubts?” Then in front of the figure of the Bodhisattva Kwan-tsz’-tsai, he recited in order
the Sin-to’-lo-ni (Hridaya-dharani), abstaining from food and drink. After three years Kwan-tsz’-tsai Bodhisattva appeared to him with
a very beautiful body, and addressed the master of sastras thus: “What is your purpose (will)?” He said, “May I keep my body till
Maitreya comes.” Kwan-tsz’-tsai Bodhisattva said, “Man’s life is subject to many accidents. The world is as a bubble or a phantom. You
should aim at the highest resolve to be born in the Tushita heaven, and there, even now, to see him face to face and worship.”

The master of sastras said, “My purpose is fixed; my mind cannot be changed.” Bodhisattva said, “If it is so, you must go to the
country of Dhanakataka, to the south of the city, where in a mountain cavern a diamond-holding (Vajrapani) spirit dwells, and there
with the utmost sincerity reciting the Chi-king-kang-t’o-lo-ni (Vajrapanidharani), you ought to obtain your wish.”

On this the master of s astras went and recited (the dharani). After three years the spirit said to him, “What is your desire, exhibiting
such earnest diligence?” The master of sastras said, “I desire that my body may endure till Maitreya comes, and Avalokitesvara
Bodhisattva directed me to come here to request the fulfilment (of my desire). Does this rest with you, divine being?”

The spirit then revealed to him a formula and said, “There is an Asura’s palace in this mountain; if you ask according to the rule given
you, the walls will open, and then you may enter and wait there till you see (Maitreya).” “But,” said the master of sastras, “dwelling in
the dark, how shall I be able to see or know when the Buddha appears?” Vajrapani said, “When Maitreya comes into the world, I will
then advise you of it.” The master of sastras having received his instruction, applied himself with earnestness to repeat the sentences,
and for three years, without any change of mind, he repeated the words to a nicety (perfectly). Then knocking at the rock-cavern, it
opened out its deep and vast recesses. Then an innumerable multitude appeared before him looking about them, but forgetful of the
way to return. The master of sastras passed through the door, and addressing the multitude said, “Long have I prayed and worshipped
with a view to obtain an opportunity to see Maitreya. Now, thanks to the aid of a spiritual being, my vow is accomplished. Let us
therefore enter here, and to gether await the revelation of this Buddha.”

Those who heard this were stupefied, and dared not pass the threshold. They said, “This is a den of serpents; we shall all be killed.”
Thrice he addressed them, and then only six persons were content to enter with him. The master of sastras turning himself and
advancing, then all the multitude followed him with their gaze as he entered. After doing so the stone wall closed behind them, and
then those left without chided themselves for neglecting his words addressed to them.

CHU-LI-YE (CHULYA OR CHOLA)

Not a gre at place at the time of the pilgrim:

The country of Chulya (Chola) is about 2400 or 2500 li in circuit; the capital is about 10 li round. It is deserted and wild, a succession
of marshes and jungle. The population is very small, and troops of brigands go through the country openly. The climate is hot; the
manners of the people dissolute and cruel. The disposition of the men is naturally fierce; they are attached to heretical teaching. The
sangharamas are ruined and dirty as well as the priests. There are some tens of Deva temples, and many Nirgrantha heretics.

TA-LO-PI-CH’A (DRAVIDA)
Speaks highly of character and learning of the people; birthplace of Dharmapala Bodhisattva:

This country is about 6000 li in circuit; the capital of the country is called Kanchipura (Kanjivaram, Kin-chi-pu-lo), and is about 30 li
round. The soil is fertile and regularly cultivated, and produces abundance of grain. There are also many flowers and fruits. It
produces precious gems and other articles. The climate is hot, the character of the people courageous. They are deeply attached to
the principles of honesty and truth, and highly esteem learning; in respect of their language and written characters, they differ but
little from those of Mid-India. There are some hundreds of sangharamas and 10,000 priests. They all study the teaching of the
Sthavira (Chang-tso-pu) school belonging to the Great Vehicle. There are some eighty Deva temples, and many heretics called
Nirgranthas. Tathagata in olden days, when living in the world, frequented this country much; he preached the law here and
converted men, and therefore Asoka-raja built stupas over all the sacred spots where these traces exist. The city of Kanchipura is the
native place of Dharmapala Bodhisattva. He was the eldest son of a great minister of the country. From his childhood he exhibited
much clearness, and as he grew up it increased and extended. When he became a young man, the king and queen condescended to
entertain him at a (marriage) feast. On the evening of the day his heart was oppressed with sorrow, and being exceedingly afflicted,
he placed himself before a statue of Buddha and engaged in earnest prayer. Moved by his extreme sincerity, the spirits removed him
to a distance, and there he hid himself. After going many hundred li from this spot he came to a mountain convent, and sat down in
the hall of Buddha. A priest happening to open the door, and seeing this youth, was in doubt whether he was a robber or not. After
interrogating him on the point, the Bodhisattva completely unbosomed himself and told him the cause; moreover he asked permission
to become a disciple. The priests were much astonished at the wonderful event, and forthwith granted his request. The king ordered
search to be made for him in every direction, and at length finding out that Bodhisattva had removed to a distance from the world,
driven by the spirit (or, spirits), then he redoubled his deep reverence and admiration for him. From the time that Dharmapala
assumed the robes of a recluse, he applied himself with unflagging earnestness to learning.

MO-LO-KIU-CH’A (MALAKUTA)
This country is about 5000 li in circuit; the capital is about 40 li. The land and fields are impregnated with salt, and the produce of the
earth is not abundant. All the valuables that are collected in the neighbouring islets are brought to this country and analysed. The
temperature is very hot. The men are dark complexioned. They are firm and impetuous in disposition. Some follow the true doctrine,
others are given to heresy. They do not esteem learning much, but are wholly given to commercial gain. There are the ruins of many
old convents, but only the walls are preserved, and there are few religious followers. There are many hundred Deva temples, and a
multitude of heretics, mostly belonging to the Nirgranthas.
The camphor and other trees:
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On the south of this country, bordering the sea, are the Mo-la-ye mountains, remarkable for their high peaks and precipices, their
deep valleys and mountain torrents. Here is found the white sandal-wood tree and the Chan-t’an-ni-p’o (Chandaneva, like sandalwood)
tree. These two are much alike, and the latter can only be distinguished by going in the height of summer on the top of some hill, and
then looking at a distance, great serpents may be seen entwining it: thus it is known. Its wood is naturally cold, and therefore serpents
twine round it. After having noted the tree, they shoot an arrow into it to mark it. In the winter, after the snakes have gone, the tree is
cut down. The tree from which Kie-pu-lo (Karpura, camphor) scent is procured, is in trunk like the pine, but different leaves and
flowers and fruits. When the tree is first cut down and sappy, it has no smell; but when the wood gets dry, it forms into veins and
splits; then in the middle is the scent, in appearance like mice, of the colour of frozen snow. This is what is called (in Chinese) long-
nao-hiang, the dragon-brain scent.

BOOK XI
SANG-KIA-LO (SIMHALA)
On the mission of Asoka’s brother, Mahendra:

The kingdom of Simhala formerly was addicted to immoral religious worship, but after the first hundred years following Buddha’s
death the younger brother of Asoka-raja, Mahendra by name, giving up worldly desires, sought with ardour the fruit of Arhatship. He
gained possession of the six supernatural powers and the eight means of liberation; and having the power of instant locomotion, he
came to this country. He spread the knowledge of the true law and widely diffused the bequeathed doctrine. From his time there has
fallen on the people a believing heart, and they have constructed 100 convents, containing some 20,000 priests. They principally
follow the teaching of Buddha, according to the dharma of the Sthavira (Shang-ts’o-pu) school of the Mahayana sect. When 200 years
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had elapsed, through discussion, the one school was divided into two. The former, called the Mahaviharavasinas (Mo-ho-pi-ho-lo-
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chu-pu), was opposed to the Great Vehicle and adhered to the teaching of the Little Vehicle; the other was called Abhayagirivasinas
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(O-p’o-ye-k’i-li-chu-pu); they studied both vehicles, and widely diffused the Tripitakas. The priests attended to the moral rules, and
were distinguished for their power of abstraction and their wisdom. Their correct conduct was an example for subsequent ages; their
manners grave and imposing.

By the side of the king’s palace is the vihara of Buddha’s tooth, several hundred feet high, brilliant with jewels and ornamented with
rare gems. Above the vihara is placed an upright pole on which is fixed a great Padma raja (ruby) jewel. This gem constantly sheds a
brilliant light, which is visible night and day for a long distance, and afar off appears like a bright star. The king three times a day
washes the tooth of Buddha with perfumed water, sometimes with powdered perfumes. Whether washing or burning, the whole
ceremony is attended with a service of the most precious jewels.

KONG-KIN-NA-PU-LO (KONKANAPURA)
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This country is about 5000 li in circuit. The capital is 3000 li or so round. The land is rich and fertile; it is regularly cultivated, and
produces large crops. The climate is hot; the disposition of the people ardent and quick. Their complexion is black, and their manners
fierce and uncultivated. They love learning, and esteem virtue and talent. There are about 100 sangharamas, with some 10,000
priests. They study both the Great and the Little Vehicle. They also highly reverence the Devas, and there are several hundred temples
in which many sectaries dwell together.

By the side of the royal palace is a great sangharama with some 300 priests, who are all men of distinction. This convent has a great
vihara, a hundred feet and more in height. In it is a precious tiara belonging to Sarvarthasidda (Yih-tsai-i-sh’ing) the prince. It is
somewhat less than two feet in height, and is ornamented with gems and precious stones. It is kept in a jewelled casket. On fast-days
it is brought out and placed on a high throne. They offer to it flowers and incense, on which occasions it is lit up with radiance.

Tala tree leaves used for writing:

To the north of the city not far is a forest of Tala trees about 30 li round. The leaves are long and broad, their colour shining and
glistening. In the countries of India these leaves are everywhere used for writing on. In the forest is a stupa. Here the four former
Buddhas sat down and walked for exercise, and traces of them still remain. Beside this is a stupa containing the bequeathed relics of
the Arhat Srutavimsatikoti.

MO-HO-LA-CH’A (MAHARASHTRA)
Strong character of the people:
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This cou ntry is about 5000 li in circuit. The capital borders on the west on a great river. It is about 30 li round. The soil is rich and
fertile; it is r egularly cultivated and very productive. The climate is hot; the disposition of the people is honest and simple; they are
tall of stature, and of a stern, vindictive character. To their benefactors they are grateful; to their enemies relentless. If they are
insulted, they will risk their life to avenge themselves. If they are asked to help one in distress, they will forget themselves in their
haste to render assistance. If they are going to seek revenge, they first give their enemy warning; then, each being armed, they attack
each other with lances (spears). When one turns to flee, the other pursues him, but they do not kill a man down (who submits). If a
general loses a battle, they do not inflict punishment, but present him with woman’s clothes, and so he is driven to seek death for
himself. The country provides for a band of champions to the number of several hundred. Each time they are about to engage in
conflict they intoxicate themselves with wine, and then one man with lance in hand will meet ten thousand and challenge them in
fight. If one of these champions meets a man and kills him, the laws of the country do not punish him. Every time they go forth they
beat drums before them. Moreover, they inebriate many hundred heads o f elephants, and, taking them out to fight, they themselves
first drink their wine, and then rushing forward in mass, they trample everything down, so that no enemy can stand before them.

King Pulakesi - Siladitya could not subjugate him:

The king, in consequence of his possessing these men and elephants, treats his neighbours with contempt. He is of the Kshattriya
caste, and his name is Pulakesi (Pu-lo-ki-she). His plans and undertakings are wide-spread, and his beneficent actions are felt over a
great distance. His subjects obey him with perfect submission. At the present time Siladitya Maharaja (of Kanauj) has conquered the
nations from east to west, and carried his arms to remote districts, but the people of this country alone have not submitted to him. He
has gathered troops from the five Indies, and summoned the best leaders from all countries, and himself gone at the head of his army
to punish and subdue these people, but he has not yet conquered their troops.

So much for their habits. The men are fond of learning, and study both heretical and orthodox (books). There are about 100
sangharamas, with 5000 or so priests. They practice both the Great and Small Vehicle. There are about 100 Deva temples, in which
very many heretics of different persuasions dwell.

On the eastern frontier of the country is a great mountain with towering crags and a continuous stretch of piled-up rocks and scarped
precipice. In this there is a sangharama constructed, in a dark valley. Its lofty halls and deep side-aisles stretch through the (or open
409
into the) face of the rocks. Storey above storey they are backed by the crag and face the valley.
410
This convent was built by the Arhat Achara (O’che-lo). This Arhat was a man of Western India. His mother having died, he looked to
see in what condition she was re-born. He saw that she had received a woman’s body in this kingdom. The Arhat accordingly came
here with a view of convert her, according to her capabilities of receiving the truth. Having entered a village to beg food, he came to
the house where his mother had been born. A young girl came forth with food to give him. At this moment the milk came from her
breasts and trickled down. Her friends having seen this considered it an unlucky sign, but the Arhat recounted the history of her birth.
The girl thus attained the holy fruit (of Arhatship). The Arhat, moved with gratitude for her who had borne and cherished him, and
remembering the end of such (good) works, from a desire to requite her, built this sangharama. The great vihara of the convent is
about 100 feet or so in height; in the middle is a stone figure of Buddha about 70 feet or so high. Above it is a stone canopy of seven
411
stages, towering upwards apparently without support. The space between each canopy is about three feet. According to the old
report, this is held in its place by the force of the vow of the Arhat. They also say it is by the force of his miraculous powers; others say
by the virtue of some magical compound; but no trustworthy account has yet explained the reason of the wonder. On the four sides of
the vihara, on the stone walls, are painted different scenes in the life of Tathagata’s preparatory life as a Bodhisattva: the wondrous
signs of good fortune which attended his acquirement of the holy fruit (of a Buddha), and the spiritual manifestations accompanying
his Nirvana. These scenes have been cut out with the greatest accuracy and fineness (in the Ajanta frescoes). On the outside of the
412
gate of the sangharama, on the north and south side, at the right hand and the left, there is a stone elephant. The common report
says that sometimes these elephants utter a great cry and the earth shakes throughout. In old days Jina (or Channa) Bodhisattva often
stopped in this Sangharama.

MO-LA-P’O (MALAVA)
The great learning of the people:

This country is about 6000 li in circuit. The capital is some 30 li round. It is defended by the Mahi river on the south and east
(Dongarpur or Dharanagara). The soil is rich and fertile, and produces abundant harvests. Shrubs and trees are numerous and
flourishing. Flowers and fruit are met with in great quantities. The soil is suitable in an especial manner for winter wheat. They mostly
eat biscuits and (or, made of) parched corn-flour. The disposition of the men is virtuous and docile, and they are in general of
remarkable intelligence. Their language is elegant and clear, and their learning is wide and profound.

Two countries in India, on the borders, are remarkable for the great learning of the people, viz., Malava on the south-west, and
Magadha on the north-east. In this they esteem virtue and respect politeness . They are of an intelligent mind and exceedingly
studious; nevertheless the men of this country are given to heretical belief as well as the true faith, and so live together. There are
about 100 sangharamas in which some 2000 priests dwell. They study the Little Vehicle, and belong to the Sammatiya school. There
are 100 Deva temples of different kinds. The heretics are very numerous, but principally the Pasupatas (ash-covered).

Siladitya raja of Malava:

The records of the country state: Sixty years before this flourished Siladitya, a man of eminent wisdom and great learning; his skill in
literature was profound. He cherished and protected the four kinds of creatures, and deeply respected the three treasures. From the
time of his birth to his last hour, his face never crimsoned with anger, nor did his hands ever injure a living thing. His elephants and
horses drank water that had been strained, after which he gave it them, lest any creature living in the water should be injured. Such
were his love and humanity. During the fifty years and more of his reign, the wild beasts became famil iar with men, and the people
did not injure or slay them. By the side of his palace he built a vihara. He exhausted the skill of the artists, and used every kind of
ornament in decorating it. In it he put images of the seven Buddhas, Lords of the World. Every year he convoked an assembly called
Moksha mahaparishad, and summoned the priests of the four quarters. He offered them “the four things” in religious charity; he also
gave them sets of three garments used in their religious services, and also bestowed on them the seven precious substances and
jewels in wonderful variety. This meritorious custom has continued in practice without interruption till now.

‘O-CH’A-LI (ATALI)
Commerce, not agriculture, mainstay of people; no faith in Buddha:

This country is about 6000 li in circuit; the capital of the country is about 20 li or so in circuit. The population is dense; the quality of
gems and precious substances stored up is very great; the produce of the land is sufficient for all purposes, yet commerce is their
principal occupation. The soil is salt and sandy, the fruits and flowers are not plentiful. The country produces the hutsian tree. The
leaves of this tree are like those of the Sz’chuen pepper (Shuh tsiau); it also produces the hiun-lu perfume tree, the leaf of which is
like the thang-li. The climate is warm, windy, and dusty. The disposition of the people is cold and indifferent. They esteem riches and
despise virtue. Respecting their letters, language, and the manners and figures of the people, these are much the same as in the
country of Malava. The greater part of the people have no faith in the virtue of religious merit; as to those who do believe, they
worship principally the spirits of heaven, and their temples are some thousand in number, in which sectaries of different characters
congregate.

FA-LA-PI (VALABHI)
Rich country, mixed population:

This country is 6000 li or so in circuit, the capital about 30 li. The character of the soil, the climate, and manners of the people are like
those of the kingdom of Malava. The population is very dense; the establishment rich. There are some hundred houses (families) or so,
who possess a hundred lakhs. The rare and valuable products of distant regions are here stored in great quantities. There are some
hundred sangharamas, with about 6000 priests. Most of them study the Little Vehicle, according to the Sammatiya school. There are
several hundred Deva temples with very many sectaries of different sorts.

King Dhruvapata, nephew of Siladitya-raja of Malava, believes in Buddha:

The present king is of the Kshattriya caste, as they all are. He is the nephew of Siladitya-raja of Malava, and son-in-law of the son of
Siladitya, the present king of Kanyakubja. His name is Dhruvapata (T’u-lu-h’o-po-tu). He is of a lively and hasty disposition, his wisdom
and statecraft are shallow. Quite recently he has attached himself sincerely to faith in the three “precious ones.” Yearly he summons a
great assembly, and for seven days gives away most valuable gems, exquisite meats, and on the priests he bestows in charity the three
garments and medicaments, or their equivalent in value, and precious articles made of rare and costly gems of the seven sorts.
Having given these in charity, he redeems them at twice their price. He esteems virtue and honours the good; he reverences those
who are noted for their wisdom. The great priests who come from distant regions he particularly honours and respects.
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Not far from the city is a great sangharama which was built by the Arhat Achara (‘O-che-lo); here the Bodhisattvas Gunamati and
414
Sthiramati (Kien-hwui) fixed their residences during their travels and composed treatises which have gained a high renown.

SU-LA-CH’A (SURASHTRA)
Population mixed; people do not care for learning:

This country is 4000 li or so in circuit, the capital about 30 li. On the west the chief town borders on the Mahi river; the population is
dense, and the various establishments (families) are rich. The country is dependent on Valabhi. The soil is impregnated with salt;
flowers and fruit are rare. Although the climate is equable, yet there is no cessation of tempests. The manners of the people are
careless and indifferent; their disposition light and frivolous. They do not love learning and are attached both to the true faith and also
to heretical doctrine. There are some fifty sangharamas in this kingdom, with about 3000 priests; they mostly belong to the Sthavira
school of the Great Vehicle. There are a hundred or so Deva temples, occupied by sectaries of various sorts. As this country is on the
western sea route, the men all derive their livelihood from the sea and engage in commerce and exchange of commodities.
415
Not far from the city is a mountain called Yuh-chen-to (Ujjanta), on the top of which is a sangharama. The cells and galleries have
mostly been excavated from the mountain-side. The mountain is covered with thick jungle and forest trees, whilst streams flow round
its limits. Here saints and sages roam and rest, and Rishis embued with spiritual faculties congregate here and stay.

KIU-CHE-LO (GURJJARA)
Rich country; mostly Hindu:
416
This country is 5000 li or so in circuit, the capital, which is called Pi-lo-mo-lo, is 30 li or so round. The produce of the soil and the
manners of the people resemble those of Surashtra. The population is dense; the establishments are rich and well supplied with
materials (wealth). They mostly are unbelievers; a few are attached to the law of Buddha. There is one sangharama, with about a
hundred priests; they are attached to the teaching of the Little Vehicle and the school of the Sarvastivadas. There are several tens of
Deva temples, in which sectaries of various denominations dwell. The king is of the Kshattriya caste. He is just twenty years old; he is
distinguished for wisdom, and he is courageous. He is a deep believer in the law of Buddha; and highly honours men of distinguished
ability.

U-SHE-YEN-NA (UJJAYANI)
This country (Avanti, Malava) is about 6000 li in circuit; the capital is some 30 li round. The produce and manners of the people are
like those of the country of Surashtra . The population is dense and the establishments wealthy. There are several tens of convents,
but they are several tens of Deva temples, occupied by sectaries of variou s kinds. The king belongs to the Brahman caste. He is well
versed in heretical books, and believes not in the true law.

MO-HI-SHI-FA-LO-PU-LO (MAHESVARAPURA)
This kingdom is about 3000 li in circuit; the capital city is some 30 li round. The produce of the soil and the manners of the people are
like those of the kingdom of Ujjayani. They greatly esteem the heretics and do not reverence the law of Buddha. There are several
tens of Deva temples, and the sectaries principally belong to the Pasupatas. The king is of the Brahman caste; he places but little faith
in the doctrine of Buddha.

From this, going in a backward direction to the country of Kiu-che-lo (Gurjjara) and then proceeding northward through wild deserts
and dangerous defiles about 1900 li, crossing the great river Sin-tu, we come to the kingdom of Sin-tu (Sindh).

SIN-TU (SINDH)
The different types of salt; Buddhist land:

This country is about 700 li in circuit; the capital city, called P’i-shen-p’o-pu-lo, is about 30 li round. The soil is favourable for the
growth of cereals and produces abundance of wheat and millet. It also abounds in gold and silver and native copper. It is suitable for
the breeding of oxen, sheep, camels, mules, and other kinds of beasts. The camels are small in size and have only one hump. They find
here a great quantity of salt, which is red like cinnabar; also white salt, black salt and rock salt. In different places, both far and near,
this salt is used for medicine. The disposition of the men is hard and impulsive; but they are honest and upright, they quarrel and are
much given to contradiction. They study without aiming to excel; they have faith in the law of Buddha. There are several hundred
sangharamas, occupied by about 10,000 priests. They study the Little Vehicle according to the Sammatiya school. As a rule, they are
indolent and given to indulgence and debauchery. Those who are very earnest as followers of the virtue of the sages live alone in
desert places, dwelling far off in the mountains and forests. There night and day they exert themselves in aiming after the
acquirement of the holy fruit (of Arhatship). There are about thirty Deva temples, in which sectaries of various kinds congregate.

The king is of the Sudra (Shu-t’o-lo) caste. He is by nature honest and sincere, and he reverences the law of Buddha.

Upagupta, the great Arhat, sojourned very frequently in this kingdom, explaining the law and convincing and guiding men. The places
where he stopped and the traces he left are all commemorated by the building of sangharamas or the erection of stupas.

Violent people:

By the side of the river Sindh, along the flat marshy lowlands for some thousand li, there are several hundreds of thousands of families
settled. They are of an unfeeling and hasty temper, and are given to bloodshed only. They give themselves exclusively to tending
cattle, and from this derive their livelihood. They have no masters, and, whether men or women, have neither rich nor poor; they
shave their heads and wear the kashaya robes of Bhikshus, whom they resemble outwardly, whilst they engage themselves in the
ordinary affairs of lay life. They hold to their narrow (little) views and attack the Great Vehicle.

The old reports state that formerly these people were extremely hasty (impatient), and only practiced violence and cruelty. At this time
there was an Arhat, who, pitying their perversity, and desiring to convert them, mounted in the air and came amongst them. He
exhibited his miraculous powers and displayed his wonderful capabilities. Thus he led the people to believe and accept the doctrine,
and gradually he taught them in words; all of them joyfully accepted his teaching and respectfully prayed him to direct them in their
religious life. The Arhat perceiving that the hearts of the people had become submissive, delivered to them the three “Refuges” and
restrained their cruel tendencies; they entirely gave up “taking life”, they shaved their heads, and assumed the soiled robes of a
Bhikshu, and obediently walked according to the doctrine of religion. Since then, generations have passed by and the changed times
have weakened their virtue, but as for the rest, they retain their old customs. But though they wear the robes of religion, they live
without any moral rules, and their sons and grandsons continue to live as worldly people, without any regard to their religious
profession.

MU-LO-SAN-P’U-LU (MULASTHANAPURA)
This country (Multan) is about 4000 li in circuit; the capital town is some 30 li round. It is thickly populated. The establishments are
wealthy. This country is in dependence on the kingdom of Cheka (Tse-kia). The soil is rich and fertile. The climate is soft and
agreeable; the manners of the people are simple and honest; they love learning and honour the virtuous. The greater part sacrifice to
the spirits; few believe in the law of Buddha. There are about ten sangharamas, mostly in ruins; there are a few priests, who study
indeed, but without any wish to excel. There are eight Deva temples, in which sectaries of various classes dwell. There is a temple
dedicated to the sun (famous Sun Temple), very magnificent and profusely decorated. The image of the Sun-deva is cast in yellow gold
and ornamented with rare gems. Its divine insight is mysteriously manifested and its spiritual power made plain to all. Women play
their music, light their torches, offer their flowers and perfumes to honour it. This custom has been continued from the very first. The
kings and high families of the five Indies never fail to make their offerings of gems and precious stones (to this Deva). They have
founded a house of mercy in which they provide food, and drink, and medicines for the poor and sick, affording succour and
sustenance. Men from all countries come here to offer up their prayers; there are always some thousands doing so. On the four sides
of the temple are tanks with flowering groves where one can wander about without restraint.

PO-FA-TO (PARVATA)
This country (in the Punjab) is 5000 li or so in circuit, its capital is about 20 li. It is thickly populated, and depends on the country of
Cheka (Tse-kai). A great deal of dry-ground rice is here grown. The soil is also fit for beans and wheat. The climate is temperate, the
disposition of the people honest and upright. They are naturally quick and hasty; their language is low and common. They are well
versed in composition and literature. There are heretics and believers in common. There are some ten sangharamas with about 1000
priests; they study both the Great and Little Vehicle. There are four stupas built by Asoka-raja. There are also some twenty Deva
temples frequented by sectaries of different sorts.

By the side of the chief town is a great sangharama with about 100 priests in it; they study the teaching of the Great Vehicle. It was
here that Jinaputra, a master of sastras, composed the Yogacaryabhumi Sastrakarika; here also Bhadraruchi and Gunaprabha, masters
of sastras, embraced the religious life. This great sangharama has been destroyed by fire, and is now waste and ruined.

THE LIFE OF HSUAN-TSANG 416

BOOK II
Yuan Chwang learns from Samghakirti in Kashmir:

He reached the country of Kashmira (modern Hazara). Finally he reached a monastery by the name of Huskara, in which he spent the
night. In the course of a few days the Master approached the royal capital, and had reached a guest-house a distance of about one
yojana from the city. The king and his ministers and the monks in the capital came to the guest-house to welcome him.

Having arrived at the capital the Master stayed in the Jayendra Monastery (built by the king’s maternal uncle). On the following day
he was invited to the palace to receive offerings, and many virtuous monks, Samghakirti and others were invited to accompany him.
After the meal the king requested him to preach the Law and to start a discussion, regarding which the king was highly pleased.

Moreover, as he had come from a distant land to study and there was no written book for him to read, the king ordered twenty
copyists to copy the scriptures and commentaries for him. Five men were appointed to be his attendants, and whatever he needed was
provided by the king.

The reverend teacher Samghakirti was a man of high virtues who observed the vinaya rules very strictly. He was a deep thinker,
learned and had great talents. He loved sages and respected scholars, and since the Master was a royal guest, he treated him with
special favour. The Master also learned from him whole-heartedly both day and night without feeling tired, and requested him to
expound the various Sastras.

The teacher, being nearly seventy years old, was very feeble, but he was glad to have met an intelligent pupil and so, with great effort,
he exerted himself to teach him. In the mornings he expounded the Abhidharma-kosa Sastra and in the afternoons he explained the
Abhidharma-nyayanusara Sastra, while after the first part of the night, he taught him the Hetuvidya Sastra and the Sabdavidya
Sastra.

Thus the Master stayed in this country for two years to learn the scriptures and commentaries and to visit the holy places.

Learning from a Brahmin disciple of Nagarjuna:

(Yuan Chwang) reached the eastern part of the country of Cheka and arrived at a big city. To the west of the city and by the northern
side of the road, was a large mango grove, in which lived a Brahmin 700 years old. He visited him and saw that he looked like a man
of thirty with a strong body and clear mentality. He was learned in the Madhyamika Sastra and the Sata Sastra, as well as in the
Vedas. He had two attendants, both of whom were over 100 years old. When he saw the Master, he received him with great pleasure,
and on hearing that he had been robbed, the old teacher sent one of his attendants to the city to ask the Buddhist followers to prepare
food for the Master.

The Master stayed here for one month to study the Sata Sastra and the Sata-Sastra-vaipulya.

This old man was a disciple of Nagarjuna, and as he had received his learning from his teacher personally, his expositions were clear
and easy to understand.

Visits to Buddhist monasteries in north India:

(Yuan Chwang) reached the Tamasavana Monastery, in which lived more than 300 monks who studied the teachings of the
Sarvastivadin School. The one thousand Buddhas of the Bhadra-kalpa will all come to this place to preach the Law for men and
heavenly beings. In the 300th year after the Nirvana of the Sakyamuni Buddha, the Sastra-master Katyayana had composed the
Abhidharma-jnana-prasthana Sastras in this monastery.

From here north-east 140 or 150 li was the country of Jalandhara. Here, the Master went to the Nagaradhana Monastery, in which
lived a virtuous monk named Chandravarma, who was well learned in the Tripitaka. He stayed for four months to study the
Abhidharma-prakaranapada-vibhasa Sastra.
Stupas of Buddha’s disciples still surviving:

Eastward 500 li from Paryatra was the country of Mathura. Here were stupas for the remains of Sariputra and the other holy disciples
of the Sakya Tathagata. The stupas for Sariputra and Maudgalyayanaputra and the others were still in existence, and there were also
stupas for Maitrayaniputra, Upali, Ananda, Rahula and Manjusri. Each year on the days of performing meritorious deeds, the monks
came together to make offerings to the different stupas in accordance with their different studies. The monks who studied
Abhidharma made offerings to Sariputra, the Samadhists to Maudgalyayanaputra, the Sutraists to Maitrayaniputra, the Vinayists to
Upali, the Bhiksunis to Ananda, the Sramaneras to Rahula, and the Mahayanists to the various Bodhisattvas.

At the Ganga; studying Vibhasa Sastra:

Still going eastward, after travelling 800 li, he reached the source of the Ganges (possibly Hardwar where the Ganga emerges into the
plains), which was three or four li wide and flowed towards the south-east. The mouth of the river was more than ten li wide. The
water was sweet, and fine sands came down with the current. It was said in the books of the country that the Ganges was a “river of
felicity”; that those who bathed in it would be purified of all sins; that those who washed their mouths with the water would be saved
from calamities; that those who were drowned in it would be reborn to heaven to enjoy happiness. Thus ignorant men and women
flocked to the bank of the river. But all this was a wrong belief of heretics, without reality. Later the Deva Bodhisattva came and
417
showed them the truth, and they stopped their practices.

In this country was a virtuous monk named Jayagupta, who was well learned in the Tripitaka. The Master stayed during the winter
and half of the following spring in order to study the Vibhasa Sastra of the Sautrantika School.

Crossing the river to the eastern bank, he reached the country of Matipura (identified with Madawar in western Rohilkhand, near
Bijnor). The king was of the Sudra caste. Here were ten monasteries with 800 monks, who studied the teachings of the Hinayana
Sarvastivadin School.

In Harsha’s Kanauj:

Going north-west for 200 li, the Master reached Kanyakubja (modern Kanauj)… The Master went to the Bhadra Monastery in which he
lived for three months, and studied Buddhadasa’s Vibhasa Sastra and Suryavarman’s Vibhasa Sastra under the learned teacher
Viryasena.
418
BOOK III (‘LIFE’)
Yuan Chwang on a theological controversy in the Dhamma:

From here travelling towards the east for 500 li, the Master reached the country of Visoka (on the northern bank of Gomati river,
north of Lucknow) in which were 20 monasteries with 3,000 monks, who studied the teaching of the Hinayana Sammatiya school. In a
large monastery on the east side of the road south-east of the capital, the Arhat Devasarman composed the Vijnana-kayapada Sastra in
which he denied the existence of ego and non-ego, and the Arhat Gopa wrote the Treatise on the Essential Realities of Buddhism,
affirming the existence of ego and non-ego. Thus serious controversies arose between the followers of these two opposite doctrines. It
was also the place where the Dharmapala Bodhisattva defeated 100 Hinayana Sastra-masters in seven days. Beside it stood the place
where the Tathagata had preached the Law for six years.

Sravasti:

North-east again for another 500 li, and the Master reached the country of Sravasti (the old site is said to be in Sahet-Mahet district
north west of Patna, but according to others district Khajura in Nepal). It was more than 6,000 li in circuit with several hundred
monasteries and several thousand monks who studied the teaching of the Sammatiya School. During the Buddha’s time, this was the
capital of King Prasenajit. In the city could be seen the ruins of the King’s palace, and not far to the east, the ruins of the Great
Preaching Hall which King Prasenajit had built for the Buddha. A stupa was built over the site. There were other stupas at the place of
the nunnery of Prajapati (Buddha’s aunt), on the ruins of Sudatta’s residence, and on the spot which marked where Angulimalya had
given up his heretical views.

Ruins of Jetavana:

The Jetavana, which was the garden of Anathapindaka, lay five or six li to the south of the city. Formerly a monastery had been on the
site but it is now in ruins. On the left and righ t sides of the eastern gate were two stone pillars, 70 feet high, erected by King Asoka.
All the buildings were dilapidated, with the exception of one brick house, which contained a golden image of the Buddha. When the
Buddha had ascended to the heaven to preach the Law for his mother, King Prasenajit desired to see him, and on hearing that King
Udayana had carved an image of the Buddha with sandalwood, he made also this image.

Conspiracy against the Buddha:

In a place not far behind the monastery some heretical brahmacarins had slain a harlot in order to bring reproach on the Buddha. One
hundred paces to the east of the monastery a deep pit indicated the place where Devadatta, trying to kill the Buddha by poison, fell
alive into hell. To the south another pit marked where Bhikshu Kokalika, having slandered the Buddha, fell alive into hell. 800 paces to
the south, still another pit marked where Chandamana, a Brahmin woman, having slandered the Buddha, fell alive into hell. All three
pits were so deep that one could not see the bottom.

The sala grove of Buddha’s pari-nirvana:

Three or four li to the north-west of the city, he crossed the Ajitavati River, and not far along, by the side of the river, he reached the
Sala Grove. The sala trees were like the oak with a greenish bark and white leaves which were very smooth. There were four pairs of
sala trees of the same height at the place where the Tathagata entered Nirvana. In a large brick temple was an image of the Tathagata
in the posture of entering Nirvana, with its head lying towards the north. Beside the temple was a large stupa, more than 200 feet
high, built by king Asoka. He also erected a stone pillar on which was inscribed the event of the Buddha’s Nirvana, but no date was
recorded on it. It was said in tradition that the Buddha lived for eighty years and entered Nirvana on the 15th day of the second half of
the month Vaisakha, corresponding with the 15th day of the 2nd month of our calendar, but the Sarvastivadins held that the Buddha
entered Nirvana on the 8th day of the second half of the month Karttika, corresponding with the 8th day of the 9th month of our
calendar. It had been 1,200 years since the Buddha’s Nirvana, while some people said that it had been 1,500 years, and still others
said that it had been over 900 but less than 1,000 years.

Collecting manuscripts:

In the south of Vaisali the Master crossed the Ganges and after having travelled for more than 100 li, he reached the city of Svetapura
(a monastery) where he obtained a copy of the Bodhisattva pitaka.
At Nalanda; meeting with the Venerable Silabhadra:

On the tenth day the people of the Nalanda monastery sent four monks of great virtue to welcome the Master, and he went with them.

When he had reached the monastery, all the monks assembled to meet him, and a special seat was prepared for him by the side of the
abbot. When the monks had seated themselves, the director of duties, beating a bell, announced that the Master was to live in the
monastery and that he might use all the utensils and implements of the monastery with the other monks. Then a number of twenty
monks, who were neither too old nor too young, well learned in the Tripitaka and good in manners, were ordered to accompany the
Master to see the Right Dharma Keeper, I.E., the Venerable Silabhadra. Out of respect the monks did not call him by his name but
mentioned him as the Right Dharma Keeper. The Master went with the monks to see him, and having seen him, worshipped him as a
teacher with utmost respect.

After they had seated themselves, he asked the Master: “Where do you come from?”

In reply, the Master said, “I came from China to learn the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra from the teacher.”

On hearing this, the Right, Dharma Keeper shed tears and called for his disciple Buddhabhadra, who was his nephew, more than
seventy years old, thoroughly learned in the Tripitaka and eloquent in discussion. He said to him: “You may tell the monks how I
suffered from illness three years ago.”

On hearing this, Buddhabhadra dried his tears and related the event, saying: “The teacher used to suffer from rheumatism and each
time when it relapsed he fell into convulsions and felt pain as sharp as if he were burned by fire or pricked by a knife. This illness
troubled him for a period of more than twenty years; he sometimes recovered, sometimes relapsed. Three years ago the pain was
aggravated to such an extent that the teacher became tired of his body and wished to end his life by starvation. One night he saw in a
dream three heavenly beings, of whom one was golden yellow in colour, one was green and the other one silver white in colour. They
had good features and were well-dressed, and they came and asked the teacher: ‘Do you intend to give up your body? It is said in the
scriptures that this body is an object of suffering, but it is not taught to give up one’s body. You were once a king in one of your past
lives and caused much pain to the people, and thus you are suffering your retribution now. You should meditate on your past evil
deeds with a sincere mind of repentance. Be patient with the pain and preach the scripture and commentaries diligently, and then it
will disappear. By giving up your body, you can never end your pains.’

“Upon hearing this, the teacher respectfully worshipped them, and the golden figure, pointing at the green person, said to the
teacher: ‘Do you recognise him? He is the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.’ He then pointed at the silvery person and said: ‘This is the
Maitreya Bodhisattva.’ The teacher then worshipped the Maitreya Bodhisattva and asked: ‘I have always wished to be reborn in your
palace, but I do not know whether I shall be able to realize my wish.’ In reply, the Bodhisattva said: ‘If you widely spread the Right
Law, you will be able to be reborn there.’ Then the golden figure said: ‘I am the Manjusri Bodhisattva. As we saw that you intended to
abandon your body without any advantageous purpose, we have come to give you some advice. You should act according to my words
to propagate the Right Law and preach the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra and the other books to those people who have not yet heard about
them. You will then gradually recover from your illness and you need not worry about it. A Chinese monk who wishes to learn the
great Law will come to study from you. You may wait to teach him.’ Upon hearing this Right Dharma Keeper worshipped them and
said: ‘I will act according to your instructions.’

When he had said so, the Bodhisattvas disappeared. Since then, the teacher is relieved of his painful illness.”

The Master felt both excited and happy, and he again worshipped the teacher, saying: “since such is the case as has been said, I will
study with utmost effort. May you be kind enough to accept me as a pupil.”

The Right Dharma Keeper asked again: “How many years did you spend on the way?”

“Three years,” replied the Master.

Since the time coincided with his dream, the teacher said many pleasant things to please the Master, in order to show his affection as
a teacher to a pupil.

After the interview the Master took his leave. He was lodged on the fourth storey of Buddhabadra’s house in the courtyard of King
Baladitya. After having been entertained for seven days, he was lodged in a guest-house, to the north of the house of the Dharmapala
Bodhisattva, and his daily requisites were increased.

He was attended by one servant and one Brahman and was exempted from ordinary monastic duties, and when he went out he had an
elephant to ride on. Of a total number of 10,000 host and guest monks of the Nalanda Monastery, only ten persons, including the
Master, enjoyed such privileges. Wherever he travelled the Master was always treated with respect like this.

Nalanda means “insatiable of giving”. It was said in tradition that there was a pond in the mango grove to the south of the monastery.
In the pond was a dragon by the name of Nalanda, and as the monastery was built beside it, it was called by this name. It was also
said that when the Tathagata was a king during the time when he pracitsed the ways of a Bodhisattva, he founded his capital at this
place, and as he often gave alms to the poor and the lonely with a mind of compassion, the people named this place as “insatiable of
giving” in gratitude for his favours. This place was originally the garden of the elder Amra, and five hundred merchants bought it over
with ten million golden coins to offer to the Buddha, who preached the Law at this place for three months and many of the merchants
realised sainthood. After the Buddha’s Nirvana a former king of this country, Sakraditya, built this monastery in memory of the
Buddha. After the death of the king, his son, King Buddhagupta, succeeded him and built another monastery to the south. His son,
King Tathagata, also built a monastery at the east. His son, King Baladitya, again built another monastery to the north-east, and when
he saw that a holy monk had come from China and stayed in his monastery, he was so pleased that he abdicated and became a monk
himself. His son, Vajra, succeeded him and built another monastery at the north. Afterwards a king of Central India built a monastery
beside it. Thus six kings built as many monasteries one after the other, and an enclosure was made with bricks to make all the
buildings into one monastery with one entrance for them all.

The Hamsa-stupa:

Several li towards the east, a stupa marked the place where the King Bimbisara and hundreds and thousands of his people welcomed
the Buddha when he was coming to Rajagrha after he had attained enlightenment. Thirty li further was Indrasailaguha. In front of the
monastery on the east peak of the mountain, was a stupa called the “Hamsa-stupa.” Formerly the monks of this monastery ate the
three kinds of pure meat according to the “gradual teaching” of the Hinayana School. Once this kind of food could not be purchased,
and the monk in charge did not know what to do. When he saw a flock of wild geese flying in the sky, he said jokingly: “Today the
monks are short of food, and the Mahasattva should know that this is the proper time to make a sacrifice.”

When he had said so, the goose that led the others in the flight, returned and dropped from the high clouds to the ground. On seeing
this the monk was frightened and felt ashamed. He informed the monks, and those who heard of it shed tears of regret. They said,
“This is a bodhisattva, and who are we to dare to eat his flesh?

The Tathagata has taught the ‘gradual teaching’ for us to advance gradually, but we grasped what he has taught at the beginning as
his final teaching. It is owing to our stupidity without trying to correct our error that caused this disaster. From now onwards we
should act according to the Mahayana teachings and never eat the three kinds of pure meat again.”

Thereupon they built a stupa to bury the dead goose in memory of its spirit of self-sacrifice, and this was the stupa that they had built
for that purpose.

Studying the Sastras for five years at Nalanda:

In the Monastery the Master attended the lectures on the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra for three times, the Abhidharma-nyayanusara, the
Prakaranaryavaca Sastra and the Abhidharma-samuccaya-vyakhya each for one time, the Hetuvidya Sastra, the Sabdavidya Sastra
and the Samuccaya-pramana Sastra each for two times, the Madhyamika Sastra and the Sata Sastra each for three times. As regards
the Abhidharma-kosa Sastra, the Vibhasa Sastra, the six Abhidharma-pada Sastras, etc. which he had already learned in Kasmira and
the other countries, he merely clarified the doubtful points that he had found in them.

He also studied the Brahmanic book, and this Indian Brahmanic book was known as the Mnemonic Treatise, the origin and author of
which were unknown. It was first taught by Brahma to the devas at the beginning of each kalpa, and as it was taught by Brahma, it
was called the Brahmanic Book. It is a voluminous work, having one million stanzas, which was translated in old times as the Pi-chieb-
lo Sastra, but the spelling was incorrect. Its proper name is Vyakarana, meaning a mnemonic treatise on the science of words. It is so
called because it deals extensively with the words that convey all the dharmas.

Formerly at the beginning of the Constructive Kalpa, Brahma first taught it in one million stanzas, and later at the beginning of the
Duration Kalpa, Indra abridged it to one hundred thousand stanzas. Still later the Rsi Panini of Salatura City of Gandhara in North
India, again reduced it to eight thousand stanzas, and this was the text which was prevalent in India. Recently a Brahman of South
India again shortened it to two thousand and five hundred stanzas for the king of south India, but this text was prevalent only in the
frontier countries and the learned scholars of India never studied it.

The Master thoroughly understood this language and was able to discuss the holy scriptures with the people of India. Thus he studied
the scriptures of the various schools and the Brahmanic books for a period of five years (at Nalanda).

The Kapota (Pigeon) Monastery:

From here he went again to the country of Hiranyaparvata (modern Monghyr). On his way he reached the Kapota Monastery.

An image of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva carved from sandalwood stood in the central temple. It was particularly miraculous, and
always before it were several tens of people fasting for seven or even fourteen days, praying for the fulfilment of their wishes. Those
who were most devout might behold the Bodhisattva coming out of the sandalwood image in a stately manner with a brilliant light, to
console them and grant their wishes. Many people saw the Bodhisattva in such a way and thus more and more devotees came to
worship him.

The man who attended the image feared that the visitors might soil it, and so he enclosed it with a wooden railing on the four sides at
about seven steps from it. The people who came to worship the image did so outside the railings and could not go near it. Offerings to
it of incenses and flowers were scattered at a distance. When the flowers rested on the hand or hung upon the arm of the image, it
was regarded as auspicious and that one’s wishes would be fulfilled.

Wishing to pray before the image, the Master brought different flowers and made some garlands with them. On approaching the
image, he worshipped and praised it with a sincere mind. Then he knelt and made three wishes, saying: “First, may the flowers rest
on your hand if I may safely return to my own country after I have completed my studies here; second, may the flowers hang upon
your arms if I may be reborn to the Tusita Heaven to serve the Maitreya Bodhisattva by the merit and wisdom which I have cultivated;
third, as it is taught in the holy teachings that a part of the sentient beings do not possess the Buddha-nature, I am now in doubt, not
knowing whether I have it or not – may the flowers hang upon your neck if I have the Buddha-nature and may become a Buddha in the
future.”

Having said so, he scattered the flowers at a distance and they all stayed at the places as he had wished. Having fulfilled his wishes,
he was greatly delighted, and on seeing this event the people who worshipped together with him and the keeper of the temple
snapped their fingers and stamped their feet on the ground, saying that it was an unprecedented affair, and they suggested that the
Master on account of this event should come to save them first when he should become a Buddha in the future.

Studying the holy books:

From the monastery the Master continued to the country of Hiranyaparvata.

Two great teachers, Tathagatagupta and Ksantisimha, dwelt here both of whom were well versed in the teachings of the Sarvastivadin
School. The master stayed for one year to study from them the Vibhasa Sastra and the Abhidharma-nyayanusara and some other
books.

BOOK IV (‘LIFE’)
En route to Sri Lanka (Ceylon, Simhala):

At that time the Master heard that there was the country of Simhala situated in the sea, and that there were people who were learned
in the Tripitaka of the Sthavira School and understood the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra. One had to sail over the sea for 700 yojanas
before one could reach that country. Before he started the voyage, he met a monk of South India, who advised him, saying: “If you
want to go to the Country of Lions, you need not take the sea route, as there are always tempests and the trouble of Yaksas in the sea.
You may go from the south-east corner of South India and reach that country after a voyage of only three days. You will have to climb
over mountains and go across rivers, but it will be much safer for you, and moreover you may go to visit the holy places in the country
of Uda and in the other countries.”

Thus the Master proceeded towards the south-west to the country of Uda. In its 100 monasteries 10,000 monks studied the teachings
of Mahayana Buddhism. There were also heretical deva-temples; and the Buddhists and non-Buddhists lived together. Ten stupas, all
built by King Asoka, often had miraculous manifestations.

From Kalinga the Master proceeded north-west for 1,800 li to the country of South Kosala (ancient Vidarbha or Berar). The king was a
Ksattriya by birth, and he respected Buddhism and loved the arts and learning. The country had 100 monasteries with 10,000 monks.
Heretics, who worshipped in deva-temples, were also numerous. Not far to the south of the city was an old monastery, beside it a
stupa, built by King Asoka. Formerly the Tathagata subdued the heretics at this place with his great supernatural powers, and
afterwards the Nagarjuna Bodhisattva lived in this monastery. At that time the king of this country, named Satavahana, respected
Nagarjuna and provided him with rich offerings.

The Deva Bodhisattva came from the country of Simhala, wishing to have a discussion with Nagarjuna. He requested to be admitted.
The door-keeper reported to Nagarjuna, who, having heard the fame of the visitor, filled a bowl with water and asked his disciple to
show it to him. On seeing the water Deva silently dropped a needle into it, and the disciple took it back to his teacher. Nagarjuna was
greatly pleased by this and said with delight: “The bowl filled with water signifies my learning, and his dropping of the needle means
that he could fathom the depth of my knowledge. With such a man I could discuss the mysterious teachings and to whom I may hand
down the lamp of learning.”

Thus he gave the order to admit him, and when they had seated themselves, they talked and discussed to their mutual delight and
were as happy as a fish put in water. Nagarjuna said: “I am old and feeble, and it will depend on you to make the Sun of Wisdom
shine.”

Deva stood up and saluted Nagarjuna at his feet, saying: “Although I am stupid, I will be glad to receive your kind instructions.”

In this country a certain Brahmin was well versed in Hetuvidya, and the Master stayed there for more than a month to study the
Samuccaya-pramana Sastra.

From this place the Master travelled south-east through a big forest 900 li to the country of Andhra (modern Telingana). Beside the
city stood a large monastery, a magnificent construction of a beautiful and stately appearance. In front of it stood a stone stupa,
several hundred feet high, built by the Arhat Acara. At a distance of 20 li to the south west for the arhat’s monastery, on an isolated
hill, was a stone stupa, built at the place where the Dinnaga Bodhisattva composed the Hetuvidya Sastra.

Going south 1,000 li the Master reached the country of Dhanakataka (modern Bezwada on the Kistna river).

In this country the master met two monks. One was named Subhuti and the other one, Surya. They were well versed in the Tripitaka
of the Mahasamghika School. He stayed for several months to study the Mulabhidharma Sastra and some other books of the
Mahasamghika school from them, while they also studied the various Mahayana Sastras from the Master. Then they travelled together
to visit and worship the holy places.

Birthplace of Dharmapala Bodhisattva:

From Culya the Master went through a big forest towards the south for 1,500 or 1,600 li to the country of Dravida (modern
Nagapatam). The capital of this country was Kancipura, which was the birthplace of the Dharmapala Bodhisattva. This bodhisattva
was the son of a minister of this country and was very intelligent since his youth. When he had come to age, the king admired his
talents and wanted to marry the princess to him. But as the Bodhisattva had practiced celibacy for a long time, he had no desire to be
attached by marriage, and he was greatly worried on the night of the wedding. Wishing to escape from his trouble he prayed before
an image of the Buddha. In response to his earnest prayers, a great king of gods bore him out and sent him to the shrine hall of a
monastery on a hill at a distance of several hundred li from the capital. When the monks came and saw him, they took him to be a
thief. The Bodhisattva told them of his dilemma, and those who heard it were amazed and respected him for his sublime ambition.
Thus he renounced his home and became a monk. Afterwards he devoted himself to the study of the Right Law and thoroughly
mastered all the scriptures of the different categories and wrote many books. He composed the Sabdavidya-samyukta Sastra in 25,000
stanzas and also wrote several tens of books in exposition of the Sata-Sastra-vaipulya, the Vijnaptimatra-siddhi Sastra, the Hetuvidya
Sastra and some other works. All his books were widely read, and there was a special biography of him detailing his rich virtues and
high talents.

Simhala monks arrive in Kancipura:

The city of Kancipura was a seaport of South India, and starting from here one could reach the country of Simhala after a voyage of
three days. Before the Master started his voyage, the king of that country had died and a severe famine occurred in that land. More
than 300 learned monks, headed by Bodhimedhesvara and Abhayadanstra, came to India and arrived at Kancipura. Having met the
monks, the Master asked them: “As I know that the learned monks of your country are well versed in the Tripitaka of the Sthavira
School and in the Yogacarvya-bhumi Sastra, I am prepared to go there. How is it that you teachers have come here?”

In reply they said: “As the king of our country has died and the people are suffering from famine, we have nobody to depend upon. We
have heard that Jambudvipa is a rich and happy country in which one could live in safety, and moreover it is the land in which the
Buddha was born and there are many holy places. Therefore we have come here. As regards those knowing the Dharma, none
surpassed us in our country, and if your reverence has any doubtful questions, you may inquire of us as you please.”

The Master then quoted some important passages of the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra for elucidation, but they could not give a better
explanation than Silabhadra.

Sandal and camphor trees:

The Master had heard that at a distance of more than 3,000 li was the country of Malakuta (including modern Tanjore and Madura on
the east, and Coimbatore, Cochin and Travancore on the west). It was situated by the seaside and was rich in unusual jewels. To the
east of the capital was a stupa, built by King Asoka. Formerly the Tathagata preached the Law and exhibited great supernatural
powers to convert countless people at this place. In the south by the seaside was the Malaya Mountain which had lofty peaks and deep
valleys. On the mountain were many white candana and candaneva trees. The latter resembled the poplar and its wood was cool by
nature, and thus serpents used to twine around these trees till the winter when they went away to hibernate. By this way the
candaneva trees were distinguished from the candana trees. There were also fragrant karpura trees, which looked like the pine, but
had a different kind of leaf and their flowers and fruits also were different. When the wood of these trees was sappy, it had no scent,
but when it was dried it produced a kind of fragrant substance resembling mica with a snow-white colour. This is what we call
camphor.

Crown of prince Sarvasiddhartha:

From Dravida the Master travelled back towards the north-west with more than 70 monks from the country of Simhala to visit and
worship the holy places. After more than 2,000 li he reached the country of Konkanapura (Annagundhi on the northern bank of the
Tungabhadra river was its capital). It had 100 monasteries with more than 10,000 monks who studied the teachings of both the
Mahayana and Hinayana Schools. Numerous heretics worshipped in deva-temples. Beside the king’s palace city was a large
monastery in which lived 300 monks, all well learned scholars. In the monastery the precious crown of prince Sarvasiddhartha, which
was less than two feet high, was kept in a precious casket. On festival days it was displayed on a high terrace, and those who
worshipped it with a sincere mind might cause it to emit a wonderful light. The monastery beside the palace city had a shrine hall, in
which an image of the Maitreya Bodhisattva carved in sandalwood, more than ten feet high, also often emitted a bright light. It was
said that this image was made by the Arhat Sronakotivimsa.

Tala trees:

To the north of the city was a wood of tala-trees, 30 li in circuit. The leaves of these trees were oblong with a bright colour, and they
were the most valuable material for writing in the various countries.

In Maharastra:
Proceeding towards the north-west through a big forest infested with wild beasts, and after travelling for 2,400 or 2,500 li, the Master
reached the country of Maharastra (Nasik capital of this ancient land). The people of this country preferred death to disloyalty, and
the king, being a Ksattriya by birth, was warlike and loved military arts. Thus the troops of this country were well disciplined under
strict military rules. When his generals went to fight with his enemies and were defeated in battle, they were not inflicted with any
punishment, but were simply ordered to wear women’s dress in order to humiliate them. Many of them, filled with shame, committed
suicide. The king kept a number of several thousand brave men and several hundred wild elephants. As the time of battle approached
he gave them much wine to drink, and they were sent to the front when they were almost drunk. Thus they would dash forward and
break up the enemy’s line. Depending on his military strength, the king was arrogant and regarded with contempt his enemies in the
neighbouring counties. King Siladitya, who was sure of his own strategic talents and military strength, came to attack this country
personally, but failed to subjugate it.

More than 100 Monasteries existed with 5,000 monks who studied the teachings of both the Mahayana and Hinayana Schools. In the
country were also deva-temples of the heretics who smeared dust on their bodies. The five stupas inside and outside the capital city
were all several hundred feet high. These were places where the four past Buddhas had visited, and the stupas were built by King
Asoka.

About Buddha in Sindh:

Again north-east for 300 li, to the country of Avanda (Middle Sindh). In the big forest to the north-east of the capital, were the old
foundations of a monastery, in which the Buddha had formerly permitted the monks to wear leather sandals. Beside a stupa built by
King Asoka was a temple, in which stood an image of the Buddha made of blue stone, which often issued a bright light. Further to the
south in the big forest at a distance of more than 800 paces was another stupa which was built by King Asoka. This was the place
where the Tathagata had formerly spent a night, and as it was cold he covered himself with three robes at the same time. Thus in the
following morning, he permitted the monks to wear double robes.

From here the Master went east for more than 700 li to the country of Sindh. This land produced gold, silver, bronze, oxen, sheep and
camels, as well as red, white and black salt, which the people of other places used as medicine.

Multan’s Sun temple:

Continuing east 900 li, he crossed the river to the eastern bank and reached the country of Morasampuru (modern Multan). The
people worshipped the devas in a magnificent temple, in which there was an image of Surya which was cast in gold and adorned with
the various kinds of gems. The people of the different countries often came to pray before this image. All around the temple were
flowers, trees, ponds and terraces connected with one another, and those who visited the place would feel delighted with its scenery.

Studying in Parvata:

Going north-east for 700 li, the Master reached the country of Parvata. In a large monastery lived more than 100 monks, who all
studied Mahayana teachings. This was the place where the Sastra-master Jinaputra composed the Commentary on the Yogacarya-
bhumi Sastra, and it was also the place where the Sastra-masters Bhadraruci and Gunaprabha renounced their home to become
monks. As there were two or three well-learned teachers under whom one might study, the Master stayed here for two years to learn
the Mulabhidharma of the Sammatiya School, the Sadharma-Samparigraha Sastra and the Prasiksa-satya Sastra.

Return to Nalanda and further studies with Prasenajit:

He returned from Parvata to the Nalanda monastery in Magadha. After having paid homage to the Right Law Keeper, he heard that at
a distance of three yojanas to the west of the monastery was the Tiladaka Monastery, in which lived a learned monk named
Prajnabhadra, who was a native of Balapati and had become a monk of the Sarvastivadin School. He was well versed in the Tripitaka
of his own school, as well as in Sabdavidya and Hetuvidya.

After staying two months to solve some doubtful points that he had in his mind, he again went to the Staff-forest Hill to visit the
hermit Sastra-master Prasenajit. Prasenajit was a native of Suratha and a Ksatriya by birth. He had loved learning since his youth, and
studied at first Hetuvidya from the Sastra-master Bhadraruci and learned Sabdavidya and the various Sastras of both Mahayana and
Hinayana Schools under the Sthitamati Bodhisattva. He also learned the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra from the venerable Silabhadra, and
he thoroughly mastered all the non-Buddhist books, such as the Four Vedas, astronomy, geography, medicine and mathematics, of
which he had a deep understanding in their full details. Since he was well-learned in both Buddhist and non-Buddhists knowledges
and was respected by the people for his virtue, King Purnavarman of Magadha, who respected sages and scholars, was quite pleased
to hear his name and sent an envoy to invite him to be the royal teacher with a conferment of twenty villages as his fief. But the
Sastra-master declined the offer. King Siladitya then invited him to be his teacher with a conferment of eighty large villages in the
country of Uda as his fief, but the Sastra-master also declined this offer. The king insisted on his invitation again and again, but
Prasenajit refused with determination to accept it. He said to the king: “I have heard that if one accepted the gifts of others, one
would have to share their responsibilities. Now as I am urgently engaged in my work for the liberation of rebirth, how can I have time
to attend to the king’s affairs?”

Saying so, he saluted the king and went away, and so the king could detain him no more. Since then he had always lived on the Staff-
forest Hill teaching pupils and expounding Buddhist scriptures.

The Master stayed with him for two years to learn the Explanatory Treatise on the Vijnaptimatrasiddhi Sastra, the Treatise on
Doctrinal Theories, the Abhaya-siddhi Sastra, the Treatise on Non-attachment of Nirvana, the Treatise on the Twelve Nidanas and the
Mahayana-Sutralamkara Sastra, and he also solved some doubtful points in the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra and the Hetuvidya Sastra.

Prophecy of the fall of Nalanda:

When the Master had completed his studies, he dreamed one night that the buildings of the Nalanda Monastery were deserted and in
a dirty condition with some buffaloes tied in the houses. He entered the monastery through the western gate of King Baladitya’s Court
and saw a golden figure on the fourth storey, who had a stately appearance and whose light filled the room. With a happy mind he
desired to ascend to the storey, and as he could not find the way, he requested the golden figure to lead him. But the figure said: “I am
the Manjusri Bodhisattva. Owing to your karmic force, you cannot come up here.” Then he pointed at the outside of the monastery and
said: “Look there!”

The Master looked and saw that a great fire consumed all the villages and towns outside the monastery. The golden figure said to him:
“You may return home at an early time, as after ten years King Siladitya of this country will die and India will be in a state of famine
and disorder, and the evil people may hurt you. You ought to know this.”

Having said so the golden figure disappeared.

When the Master awoke, he thought the dream very strange and told it to Prasenajit, who said to him: “It may be true, as the three
Realms are indeed a place of insecurity. Since you have been told so, you may make your own decision.”

Later at the end of the period of Yung Hui (AD 650-655), King Siladitya actually died and India fell into a state of famine and disorder,
just as had been foretold. Wang Hsuan-tse, the imperial envoy to India, witnessed all these events…

The Master expounds the Law:

The Sastra-master Silabhadra asked the Master to expound the Mahayana-samgraha Sastra and the Explanatory Treatise on the
Vijnaptimatrasiddhi Sastra for the monks. The learned teacher, Simhaprabha, had previously expounded the Madhyamika Sastra and
419
the Sata Sastra for the four groups of followers, in refutation of the teachings of the Yoga School. Being well versed in the
Madhyamika Sastra and the Sata Sastra, as well as in the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra, the Master considered that the saints established
their teachings in accordance with their particular views without contradiction. If one did not thoroughly understand the teachings
and said that they were contradictory, it was but the fault of the student and had nothing to do with the Law. Having pity for his
narrow-mindedness, the Master went to interrogate him several times, but he was unable to give adequate replies. Thus his pupils
gradually dispersed and came to study under the Master.

The Master told him that the teachings of the Madhyamika Sastra and the Sata Sastra only refuted the theory which regarded the
seeming to be real, but did not mention about the nature of dependant arising and the nature of absolute reality. Simhapraha could
not comprehend this, but asserted that the theory concerning the nature of absolute reality as advocated by the Yogacarya School
should also be discarded, as it was taught in the Sastras that everything was void without a true nature. Thus he often expressed his
opinion in his sayings. In order to harmonise the teachings of the two schools without any contradiction, the Master composed the
Treatise on the Harmony of Teachings in 3,000 stanzas. When it was completed, he presented it to Silabhadra and all the monks, who
praised it as a good work and declared that it should be studied by all.

Feeling ashamed of himself, Simhaprabha went away to the Bodhi monastery and asked Candrasimha of East India, who was his
schoolmate, to come and raise a debate with the Master in order to erase his humiliation. But when that man came, he felt so awed in
the presence of the Master that he could not utter a word. Thus the Master’s reputation rose still higher.

King Siladitya accepts a challenge:

Before Simhaprabha went away, King Siladitya had constructed a bronze temple over a hundred feet high beside the Nalanda
Monastery, and this bronze temple was well-known in the various countries. Afterwards the king went to conquer Konyodha and
arrived in the country of Uda on his way. The monks of this country all studied Hinayana teachings and did not believe in Mahayana
Buddhism, which, they said, was the teaching of the Sunyapuspa heretics and was not taught by the Buddha. On seeing the king they
said to him with derision: “We have heard that Your Majesty has constructed a bronze temple beside the Nalanda Monastery, which is
indeed a grand and magnificent work. But why did Your Majesty choose to build it there and not beside some heretical temple of the
Kapalikas?”

The king said: “what do you mean by saying so?”

They replied: “because the monks of the Nalanda Monastery are Sunyapuspa heretics and are just the same as the Kapalikas.”

Formerly an old Brahmana named Prajnagupta, who was the Master conducting the coronation ceremony of the king of South India
and was well-learned in the teachings of the Sammatiya School, composed a treatise in 700 stanzas for the refutation of Mahayana
Buddhism. The Hinayana teachers were all delighted with the work, and they showed it to the king, saying: “This is the teaching of
our school. Could there be any Mahayanist who could refute a single word of it?”

The king said: “That will not be difficult.”

He wrote a letter on that day and dispatched a messenger to send it to the venerable Silabhadra, the Keeper of the Right Law, of the
Nalanda Monastery.

“…I am writing this to inform you of the above and wish you would send four virtuous monks who are well versed in the teachings of
both Mahayana and Hinayana Schools, as well as in non-Buddhist knowledge, to come to the country of Uda where I am staying.”

On receiving this letter, the Keeper of the Right Law assembled the monks to select the competent persons, and he appointed
Sagarajnana, Prajnaprabha, Simhaprabha and the Master as the four persons to comply with the king’s order. Sagarajnana and the
other two monks were quite worried, but the Master said to them: “I have learned the whole Tripitaka of the various sects of
Hinayana Buddhism while I was in my own country and when I was staying in Kasmira, and thus I thoroughly understand their
teachings. It is impossible for them to refute Mahayana teachings with their own theories: although I am not deeply learned with but
little wisdom, I shall be able to deal with them, and therefore you need not worry about it. If I am defeated in the debate, it will be the
failure of a Chinese monk and will have nothing to do with you.”

On hearing this, the other monks were pleased.

But afterwards King Siladitya sent another letter to them, saying that the virtuous monks whom he had invited previously, need not go
immediately, but should wait for further notifications before they started. …

At the time when the Master intended to visit Uda, he obtained a copy of the Hinayana treatise composed in 700 stanzas in refutation
of Mahayana teachings. He read through the composition and found several doubtful points in it. Thus he asked the Brahmana (his
slave after defeat in an oral contest) whom he had defeated in the debate: “Have you studied this treatise before?”

He replied: “I have studied it five times.”

The Master desired him to explain it for him, but he said: “Being a slave of yours, how can I explain anything to your reverence?”

The Master said: “This is the theory of some other school, which I have not heard before. You may explain it for me without scruple.”

In the night the Master sent away all the people and asked the Brahmana to expound the treatise once, and he grasped the essential
principles of the treatise. Having found out all the fallacious points in the work, he composed the Refutation of Evil Views in 1,600
stanzas to refute them all with the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism. He presented his work to the venerable Silabhadra and showed
it to his students, who all praised him, saying: “With his profound wisdom, he has no opponent whom he cannot vanquish!”

This treatise is preserved somewhere else.

Then he said to the Brahmana: “You have been sufficiently humiliated to be my slave after you were defeated in the debate. Now I
give you freedom and let you go wherever you like.”

The Brahmana was highly pleased, and taking leave of the Master, he went to the country of Kamarupa (present western Assam) in
East India, where he talked with King Kumara about the virtue and righteousness of the Master. The king was delighted to hear this
and immediately sent an envoy to invite the Master to go to his country.
 BOOK V (‘LIFE’)
Prophecy of a Jaina saint:

Before the arrival of the envoy of King Kumara, one day a certain naked Nirgrantha, named Vajra, came into the chamber of the
Master. Having heard that the Nirgranthas were good at divining, the Master asked him to take a seat and requested him to solve
some of his doubts, saying: “Being a Chinese monk I have come here to study for so many years. Now I intend to return home, but I do
not know whether I shall be able to reach my native country. Moreover, which would be better for me – staying in this country or going
home? And I wish to know the length of my life. Will you please divine these matters for me?”

The Nirgrantha then asked for a piece of white stone and used it to draw lines on the ground for divination. He said to the Master: “It
will be good for you to stay, as the religious people and laymen of the five Indias will all treat you with respect. If you return home,
you will be able to reach your home safely and will also be treated with respect, but it will not be as good as staying here. As regards
the length of your life, you will live for ten more years from now on, but if you perform meritorious deeds to prolong your life, then it
is beyond my knowledge.”

The Master then stated that, as he was desirous of returning, he did not know whether he was able to carry home the great amount of
scriptures and images of the Buddha.

The Nirgrantha replied: “Don’t worry about that. King Siladitya and King Kumara will appoint men to send you back and you can
reach home without difficulty.”

The Master said: “As I have never seen these two kings, how can they grant me such favours?”

The Nirgratha said: “King Kumara has already sent an envoy to come to invite you and he will be here in two or three days. After
having seen King Kumara, you will also see King Siladitya.”

Yuan Chwang prepares to return home:

The Master then made arrangements about his scriptures and images of the Buddha, preparing for his homeward journey. Having
heard of this, the monks all came to advise him to stay, saying: “India is the country where the Buddha was born. Although the Great
Saint has passed away, the holy traces left by him are still in existence, and it will be quite delightful for you to go round and pay
homage to them. Why do you want to go away after having come to this country? Moreover, China is but a border-land where good
people are not respected and the Dharma is despised. Therefore the Buddhas are never born in that country, and as the people are
narrow-minded with deep impurities, the saints and holy men will never go there. The climate is cold there and the road is dangerous.
Why do you think of going back?”

The Master replied: “When the Buddha founded his teaching he meant them to be propagated. How can I forget about those who have
not heard the Law, while I have been benefitted by it? Moreover China is a highly civilised country where the people have a high
standard of behaviour, the emperor is sagacious. And his ministers are loyal, and the father is kind towards his son while the son is
filial towards his father. Kindness and righteousness are esteemed and the aged and the wise, respected. They are moreover able to
discern what is subtle and profound, and their wisdom is corresponding with that of the gods. They act in accordance with the law of
nature, and the seven planets could not overshadow their cultural brilliance. They have invented the device for the division of time
and created the musical instruments of six notes. They are able to enslave the birds and beasts, inspire the ghosts and spirits and
employ the principles of negativity and positivity (yin and yang) for the benefit of all creatures. Since the Buddha’s bequeathed Law
was introduced to the East, they have believed in Mahayana Buddhism. They practice meditation as tranquilly as a pond of clear
water, and they observe the Vinaya rules in a manner as lovely as the fragrance of flowers. They cherish the mind to practice the
deeds of a Bodhisattva with the wish to attain the Ten Stages, (of development to the Bodhisattva stage) and they cultivate spiritual
perfection with joined palms in order to realize the Three Bodies of a Buddha (the Dharmakaya or body of Dharma which is the reality
of everything; the Sambhogakaya or body of reward; and the Nirmanakaya or body of transformation). Great saints have always
appeared in that land to edify the people, who have heard their wonderful teachings with their own ears and witnessed their golden
features with their own eyes. They are just like a carriage drawn by two horses – how far it could travel you can never know. How can
you despise that land simply because the Buddha was not born there?”

Seeing that the Master would not accept their advice, the monks asked him to go with them to see the Venerable Silabhadra to whom
they expressed their wishes. Silabhadra inquired to the Master: “what is your decision?”

The Master said in reply: “As this is the country where the Buddha was born, I am certainly not unwilling to stay here. But I came here
with the intention to acquire the great Law for the benefit of all living beings. Since my arrival I have been privileged to learn the
Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra from your Reverence, and thus all my doubts have been solved. I have visited the various holy places and
studied the teachings of the different schools to my great content that I feel I have not come in vain. Now I wish to return home to
translate the books that I have learned into Chinese, so that those who have the good chance may also study them. In this way I wish
to repay the kindness of my teacher, and that is why I do not wish to linger here any longer.”

Silabhadra was quite pleased to hear this and said: “This is indeed the wish of a Bodhisattva and it is also what I expect of you. Let
him make the necessary arrangements and you people need not try to detain him any more.”

Two days afterwards the envoy of King Kumara of East India arrived with a letter for Silabhadra, in which the king said: “Your disciple
wishes to see the venerable monk of China. May the teacher be kind enough to let him come so as to satisfy my wish.”

After receiving the letter, Silabhadra said to the monks: “King Kumara desires to invite Hsuan-tsang to his country. But he has already
been appointed by the community to go to King Siladitya to debate with the Hinayanists. If he goes now where shall we find him
again, should King Siladitya send for him? We should not let him go.”

Then he said to the envoy: “The Chinese monk is preparing to return to his own country and has no time to accept the king’s
invitation.”

When the envoy returned home, the king send him again with the messages, saying: “Even if the teacher is intending to go back to his
own country, it will not be difficult for him to come to my place for sometime before he leaves. May you comply with my request and
do not decline my invitation again.”

But Silabhadra still would not let him go, and thus the king was greatly enraged [threatened to destroy the Nalanda Monastery…]

Yuan Chwang goes to meet King Kumara:

On receiving this letter Silabhadra said to the Master.

“You had better go to him since we renounced our homes for the benefit of others and this is the right time to carry out our duties. It
is like cutting a tree – you just break the root and the branches will wither by themselves. You may go there and make the king a
Buddhist, and then this people will follow his example. If you do not accept his invitation, something disastrous might happen. I wish
you will not refuse the trouble of going there.”

Thus the Master took leave of his teacher and went away with the king’s envoy.

The Master stayed there for more than a month.

When King Siladitya returned from his campaign in Konyodha, he heard that the Master was at Kumara’s place.

King Siladitya sends for Yuan Chwang:

He sent an envoy to King Kumara, asking him to send the Chinese monk to him immediately. But king Kumara said: “You could have
my head, but I will not let the Master come immediately.” (Siladitya responded that the king may send his head back with his envoy…)

King Kumara feared that he had spoken wrongly, and he immediately gave order to arrange 20,000 elephant troops in 30,000 boats
and sailed together with the Master along the Ganges to the place of King Siladitya. When they reached the country of Kajangala
(probably situated at Sicligully or Rajmahal, or in their vicinity) they met King Siladitya.

Before he started the voyage, King Kumara had sent his men to prepare a temporary palace at the northern side of the Ganges. On the
day of his arrival he crossed the river and reached his temporary palace, and after having lodged the Master in his palace, he and his
ministers went to see King Siladitya at the southern side of the river.

It was the custom of King Siladitya that wherever he went a number of several hundred golden drums were beaten to keep time with
his pace and this was called as the “pace-rhythm drum”. Only King Siladitya enjoyed such a privilege and no other kings had the same
honour.

When he had arrived, he worshipped the Master at his feet and scattered flowers with adoration. After having praised the Master with
numerous eulogistic stanzas, he said to him: “How is it that you did not come when I previously invited you?”

The Master replied: “I came from a distant land to seek for Buddhism and to learn the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra. When I received your
order I was just in the midst of learning the Sastra and so I was unable to come to pay my respect”.

The king asked again: “You came from China, and I have heard that you have a musical composition called as the ‘Triumph of the
Prince of Chin’ in your country. I do not know who this Prince of Chin is and what meritorious deeds he has done so as to earn such
praises for himself.”

The master said: “It is the custom of my country that the people composed songs in praise of that sagacious and virtuous person who
could suppress evil powers for the people and be advantageous to all. These songs are either sung on ceremonial occasions in the
ancestral temple, or sung by the common people as folk-songs. The prince of Chin is the present emperor of China, and he was made
the Prince of Chin before he ascended the throne. At that time the whole country was in a condition of complete tumult without a lord
to rule over the people. Human corpses piled high in the wild fields and human blood flowed in the rivers. Evil stars appeared in the
sky at night and an ominous atmosphere condensed during the day. The three rivers were suffering under avaricious pigs and the four
seas were troubled by poisonous snakes. Being a son of the emperor, the prince led his troops personally and suppressed the
rebellious forces, in compliance with the order of Heaven. With his military power he established peace in the whole country and
restored tranquillity in the universe, making the sun, the moon and the stars shine brightly again. As the people in the whole country
felt grateful to him, they composed that music in praise of him.”

The king remarked: “Such a man is indeed sent by Heaven to be the ruler of men!”

In the morning of the following day an envoy of King Siladitya arrived, and so the Master and King Kumara went together to King
Siladitya. When they had reached the side of King Siladitya’s palace, the king and more than twenty of his personal teachers came out
to receive the Master and invited him to take a seat in his palace.

After having entertained him with the performance of music and delicious food, and after having scattered flowers, the king said: “I
have heard that the teacher has composed the Refutation of Evil Views. Where is the book now?”

The Master said that it was in hand and presented it to the king. After reading the treatise, the king was quite delighted and said to
his personal teachers: “I have heard that when the sun is shining, the light of a candle is dimmed, and when the heaven thunders, the
noise of a hammer is muffled. Now he has refuted all the theories which you teachers have always adhered to. Would you try to save
them?”

But none of the monks dared to say anything.

King Siladitya arranges debate between Hsuan-tsang and the Hinayana monks:

The king said: “Your treatise is excellent. I and my teachers here all believe in it. But as I fear that the Hinayanists and heretics of the
other countries may still keep their ignorant views, I wish to hold a meeting for you at Kanyakubja and invite all the monks and
Brahmanic heretics of the five Indias to come, so as to show them the wonderful and subtle teachings of Mahayana Buddhism in order
to prevent them from slandering it, as well as to exhibit your rich virtues in order to subjugate their arrogance.”

At the beginning of the eleventh month, the Master sailed together with the king up the Ganges and arrived at the place of meeting in
the twelfth month. Eighteen kings of the five Indias were present in the meeting, and a number of more than 3,000 monks who were
learned in both Mahayana and Hinayana teachings, more than 2,000 Brahmanic and Nirgrantha heretics and more than 1,000 monks
of the Nalanda Monastery had also come to the assembly. All these scholars were widely learned and talented in debate, and they all
came to attend the meeting with the desire to hear the Law. They had attendants and came either by elephants or by carriages, and
they were surrounded by pennants or banners in a great congregation, overcrowding in an area of several tens of li just like a
conglomeration of clouds.

The king had beforehand ordered his people to construct two thatched halls at the place of meeting to install the Buddha’s image and
to accommodate the monks. When he reached there, both of the two halls had already been built. They were spacious, each being
capable of containing 1,000 men. The king’s temporary palace was at a distance of five li to the west of the place of meeting.

The king made a golden image of the Buddha in his palace, and he caparisoned a large elephant. On the elephant, behind precious
curtains, was installed the Buddha’s image. King Siladitya dressed himself like Indra, and holding a white duster he attended at the
right side, while King Kumara dressed himself like Brahma, and holding a precious umbrella he attended at the left side. Both of them,
wearing heavenly crowns, were adorned with garlands and strings of pearls and jade. Two other caparisoned elephants carried
flowers and followed behind the Buddha’s image. The flowers were scattered as the elephants went along the road. The Master and
the king’s personal teachers rode on different elephants and followed behind the kings. The kings, ministers and monks of great virtue
of the various countries rode on three hundred large elephants that walked by the side of the road, and chanted praise as they
proceeded. They dressed themselves in the morning and, starting from the king’s temporary palace, they proceeded towards the place
of meeting.

They alighted from the elephants when they reached the gate of the courtyard, and carried the Buddha’s image into the hall, in which
it was placed on a precious throne.

After the meal he offered to the Buddha’s image one golden tray, seven golden bowls, one golden bathing-jar, one golden religious
staff, three thousand golden coins and three thousand robes made of the finest felt. The Master and the other monks all received
different offerings.

When the offerings had been made, the Master was invited to sit on a specially decorated seat to be the chairman of the meeting to
propagate Mahayana Buddhism and to expound the meaning of his treatise. The Venerable Vidyabhadra, a monk of the Nalanda
Monastery, was appointed to read out the treatise to the audience, while a written copy of the same was hung outside the gate of the
place of meeting for the public to read, with the announcement that if one single word in the treatise was found illogical and
refutable, the writer would cut his head in apology. But, till as late as nightfall, nobody had ventured to raise an objection. Being
greatly delighted, King Siladitya adjourned the meeting and returned to his palace. The other kings and monks all returned to their
different places, and the Master, accompanied by King Kumara, returned to the palace.

Attempt to murder Yuan Chwang:

In the morning of the following day they assembled again, carrying the Buddha’s image in a procession in the same way as on the
previous day. Five days afterwards the Hinayanists and the heretics, seeing that the Master had destroyed their doctrines, tried to
murder him with a feeling of hatred.

Being informed of this intrigue, the king issued an order, saying: “…Anyone among the congregation who dares to injure the Master
will be beheaded, and anyone who insults him will have his tongue cut off. But those who wish to argue with him in defence of their
doctrines are not prohibited from doing so.”

Thenceforward the evil people were subdued, and for a period of eighteen days nobody was able to raise an objection in debate. In the
evening when the meeting was to be dispersed, the Master furthermore praised Mahayana Buddhism and extolled the merits of the
Buddha, making numerous people give up what was wrong and accept what was right, and converting them from Hinayana teachings
to Mahayana Buddhism. Thus King Siladitya respected him all the more and presented him with 10,000 golden coins, 30,000 silver
coins and 100 robes made of the finest felt. The eighteen kings also offered him different jewels and precious articles. But the Master
accepted none of the offerings.

The king ordered his attending ministers to decorate a large elephant with tapestries and invited the Master to ride on it and go
through the crowd, accompanied and protected by his noble ministers, to announce that he had established his theories unchallenged.
It was the custom in the western countries that the winner in debate was always honoured in this way.

The Master declined the honour and would not go, but the king said: “This is an ancient custom and we should not act against it.”

Then the Master’s robe was placed on the elephant and a man announced to the public, saying: “The Chinese teacher has established
the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and has refuted the various heterodox views. For a period of eighteen days, none has ventured
to raise an objection in debate. Let all the people be informed of this fact.”

As the Master had already taken leave of the virtuous monks of the Nalanda Monastery and collected his scriptures and images of the
Buddha, he desired to take leave of the king and return home on the nineteenth day when the meeting was over. The king said: “Since
I ascended the throne to be the lord of the world, it has been more than thirty years. I have always been worried that my felicity and
virtue will not increase and that my good causes of the past will not continue. Therefore, I accumulated wealth and valuables and
made a great meeting place between the two rivers in the country of Prayaga, (modern Allahabad) and invited all the monks,
Brahmanas and the poor and the lonely people to receive my unlimited offerings for a period of seventy-five days in every five years. I
have already conducted five such meetings and I am now going to hold the sixth meeting. Would you not like to come and join in the
meeting?”

The Master said in reply: “When a Bodhisattva practices the Way, he tries to cultivate both worldly welfare and spiritual wisdom, and
when a wise man has obtained the fruit, he never forgets about the tree. If Your Majesty is generous in giving his wealth to the people,
why should I not stay here a little longer? Please let me go with you.”

Alms-giving by King Siladitya at Prayag:

On the twenty-first day they started for the place of great alms-giving in the country of Prayaga. The Ganges was in the north while
the Jumna, in the south, both flowing from the north-west towards the east, met in this country. To the west of the confluence of the
two rivers, was a great tableland about fourteen or fifteen li in circuit, which was as flat as a mirror. The kings of the past all came to
this place to give alms, and so it was called the place of alms-giving. It was said in tradition that the merit of giving one coin at this
place was greater than the merit of giving hundreds or thousands of coins at other places. Thus the people valued this place since the
old times.

The king had ordered a meeting place for alms-giving to be built on the tableland, surrounded with a fence of reeds, one thousand
paces long on each side. Within the fence were built several tens of thatched halls to store the various sorts of precious articles, such
as gold, silver, pearls, red agate, emerald, sapphire, etc. Beside the halls were several hundred rooms in rows to store robes made of
silk and spotted felt, gold and silver money, etc. Outside the fence was a separate place for cooking food. In front of the treasure-
houses, houses were constructed in more than a hundred rows, resembling the shops in our capital, and each row of the houses was
capable of seating more than one thousand men.

The king had beforehand issued an order inviting all the monks, heretics, Nirgranthas, the poor and the lonely of the five Indias to
assemble at the place of alms-giving to receive alms. Some of the people who attended the Master’s discussion meeting at Kanyakubja
did not return home, but went directly to the place of alms-giving. The kings of eighteen countries also followed King Siladitya to that
place. When they reached the place of meeting, a number of more than 500,000 men, including monks and laymen, were present.
King Siladitya encamped on the northern bank of the Ganges, and King Dhruvabhata of South India encamped at the west side of the
confluence, while King Kumara encamped beside a flower forest on the southern bank of the Jumna and the almsmen encamped to the
west of King Dhruvabhata’s camp.

On the following morning King Siladitya and King Kumara going by warships, and King Dhruvabhata, followed by his elephant troops,
went to the place of alms-giving, all attended by properly arranged bodyguards. The kings of eighteen countries and those below in
rank accompanied them.

On the first day they installed the Buddha’s image in the thatched hall at the place of alms-giving. They offered to it the best of the
valuables, and robes and delicious foods, to the playing of music and scattering of flowers, till the evening when they returned to their
camps.

On the second day they installed the image of Surya, to which they offered half the amount of valuables and robes as they had offered
to the Buddha’s image on the first day.

On the third day they installed the image of Isvaradeva, to which the offerings were the same as those made to the Surya.

On the fourth day alms were distributed to a number of more than 10,000 monks who sat in one hundred rows. Each of them was
presented with one hundred golden coins, one piece of pearl, and one suit of felt robe, together with food, drink, incense and flowers.
They came out of the place when they had received the offerings.

The fifth group was the Brahmanas. It took more than twenty days to make offerings to them all.

The heretics formed the sixth group. It took ten days to distribute alms to them.

The seventh group consisted of those people who came from distant lands, and ten days were occupied in distributing alms to them
all.

The poor and the lonely formed the eighth group. This distribution took one month.

Thus the king exhausted all he had stored in his treasure-house during the last five years, except his elephants, horses and weapons
which he kept for the purpose of suppressing rebellions and protecting his ancestral temple. All other valuables including his own
garments, pearls, ear-rings, bracelets, jewels, necklace and the precious pearl in his headdress, were given to the people as alms
without omitting a single article.

When he had given all his properties, he asked his younger sister to give him some coarse garment to wear, and he saluted all the
Buddhas in the ten quarters with a happy mind. With his hands joined palm to palm he said: “Since I accumulated these properties I
have always feared that they could not be kept in a strong store-house. Now I have stored them all in the field of good deeds, and they
are now really stored in the proper place. I wish that I shall always be able to possess both worldly wealth and the Buddha’s Law in all
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my future lives, so that I may give them to all living beings in order to achieve the Ten Stages of Freedom and the Two Glories.”

When the meeting was over, the kings of the various countries gave their different valuables and money to the people to redeem the
pearls, the headdress jewel and the royal garment which King Siladitya had given to them as alms, and presented the same to him.
Thus after a few days the king wore his royal garment and his best ornaments as usual.

The Master then desired to take his leave and return home, but the king said: “As I am intending to work with you to spread the
bequeathed Law of the Buddha, why do you want to go back so soon?” And so he stayed for another period of more than ten days.

King Kumara also was anxious to detain him and said to the Master: “If you come to stay in my country to receive my offerings, I will
build one hundred monasteries for you.”

Yuan Chwang desires to return home:

On seeing that the Kings would not let him go, the Master appealed to them sincerely saying: “China is far away from here and
Buddhism was known there at a very late time. Although we knew something about Buddhism, we could not understand its complete
teachings. That was why I came here to search for what was unknown to us. It is owing to the sincerity of the sages of my country who
longed to study Buddhism that I have been able to fulfill my desires. Therefore, I could never forget them. It is said in the scriptures
that those who obstruct the spreading of the Law will be reborn without eyes for many lives in the future. If you keep me in this
country, you would deprive many people in that land of the advantage of learning the Law. Wouldn’t it be fearful to suffer the
retribution of being born without eyes?”

The Kings facilitate his return:

With his scriptures and Buddha’s images, the Master travelled together with the army of King Udita of North India, and riding on a
horse he proceeded onwards. King Siladitya also gave one big elephant, 3,000 golden coins and 10,000 silver coins to King Udita to
cover the Master’s travelling expenses. Three days after departure, the king together with King Kumara and King Dhruvapata, each
attended by several hundred horsemen, came again to say farewell to him – so greatly did they respect him. He also sent four officials,
called Mahataras, to send letters written by the king on white silk and sealed with red seals, to the various countries through which
the Master would pass, requesting the authorities to supply him with horses and escort him until he reached the land of Han.

Starting from the country of Prayaga, he travelled towards the south-west and walking for seven days through a big wild forest, he
reached the country of Kausambi. To the south of the city was the garden which was presented to the Buddha by the elder Ghosila.
After having paid homage to the holy place, he travelled again with King Udita towards the north-west.

Meeting with Simhaprabha and Simhacandra before departing:

422
Proceeding further towards the north-west for three yojanas, he reached the capital of Vilasana, where he stayed for two months
and met with two schoolmates, Simhaprabha and Simhacandra, who were preaching on the Abhidharma-Kosa Sastra, the Mahayana-
samgraha Sastra and the Vidyamatra-Siddhi Sastra. Both welcomed him with delight. The Master lectured on the Yoga dharma Sastra
and the Abhidharma-samuccaya-vyakhya Sastra for a period of two months, after which he took his leave.

Going north-west for more than a month and passing through several countries, he reached the country of Jalandhara (modern
Jalandhar) which was the capital of the king of the North India, where he again stayed for a month. King Udita then appointed men to
423
escort him towards the west. Travelling for twenty days, he reached the country of Simhapura.

Mishap on the return journey:

After staying for seven days, he travelled again towards the north-west for three days and reached the great Indus River, which here
was five or six li wide. His scriptures and Buddha’s images were loaded into a boat with his companions to cross the river, while the
Master waded across on his elephant. He had appointed a man to take care of the scriptures and some seeds of rare Indian flowers.
When the boat reached the middle of the river, a hurricane suddenly arose shaking the boat and nearly overturned it. The man who
looked after the scriptures was so frightened that he fell overboard, but was rescued by the others. Fifty fascicles of scriptures and
the flower seeds were lost, while his other things narrowly escaped damage.

The king of Kapisa who was in the city of Udakakhanda (modern Und, north of Attock) hearing of the arrival of the Master, personally
came to the riverside to welcome him, and inquired: “I hear that you have lost some scriptures in the river. Did you bring any seeds of
Indian flowers or fruits?”

The master replied: “Yes, I did”.

The king said: “That was the cause of the hurricane which nearly overturned your boat. Since ancient times anyone who tried to bring
flower seeds across the river always met with such an accident.”
Then he returned to the city with the Master, who stayed in a monastery for more than fifty days. In order to replace the lost
scriptures, he sent some men to the country of Udyana to copy the Tripitaka of the Kasyapiya School.

Having heard of the Master’s arrival, the king of Kasmira came personally to pay his homage to him, regardless of the long distance,
and returned home after spending a whole day with him.

The Master and the king of Kapisa travelled together towards the north-west for more than a month and reached the domain of the
country of Lampaka (modern Lamghan near the source of the Kabul River).

Arriving in the capital, the Master stayed in a Mahayana Monastery, and the king convoked a great alms-giving meeting for seventy-
five days.

Yuan Chwang continues the journey homeward:

… the Master reached the country of Kustana (modern Khotan, Sinkiang Uighur). A greater part of the country was desert. This
country yielded cereals in abundance. It produced rugs and fine felt, and felt makers also weaved silk. The land produced much white
jade and black jade. The climate was temperate, and the people were civilised and fond of learning and music. They had a good
deportment which was different from the custom of the other H u peoples. Their system of writing was derived from the Indian
language, having only slight variations. They believed in Buddhism and had 100 monasteries with more than 5,000 monks, most of
whom studied Mahayana Buddhism.

The king was a brave and warlike man and he respected and loved men of virtue. He claimed to be a descendant of Vaisravana-deva.
His ancestor was a prince of King Asoka, who lived in the country of Taksasila and was later exiled to the north of the Snow Mountain
to be a shepherd. In the course of looking for water and pasture, he came to this place where he founded his capital. For a long time
he did not have a son, and so he prayed for one in the temple of Vaisravana-deva, from whose forehead a son was born to him.
Moreover the ground in front of the temple produced a kind of wonderful liquid which was as sweet and fragrant as milk. This was
brought to feed the child and he gradually grew up. After the death of the king, his son succeeded him, and his political influence
reached far and wide and his military strength surpassed all the other countries. The reigning king was a descendant of that king. As
his ancestor was brought up with “earth-milk,” so the country was called as “Ku-stana” (earth-teat).

… as the Master had lost some scriptures when he was crossing the Indus, he sent some men to Kucha and Kashgar after having
arrived in this country, to look for new texts to replace the lost ones.

Yuan Chwang writes to the Chinese emperor:

The king of Kustana invited the Master to stay for some time. As he could not continue his return journey at once, he wrote a letter
and asked a young man of Kaochang to go with some traders and send it to the Court of China, informing the emperor that he had
gone to the Brahmanic countries to seek for the Law and was now at Kustana on his return journey. The letter said:

“Hsuan-tsang had formerly thought that, although Buddhism which flourished in the western countries, had been introduced to the
East, the teachings were far from being complete, in spite of the fact that the holy scriptures had come to us. Thus I had always
intended to make further inquirers. And so in the fourth month of the third year of Chen Kuan (AD 629) I started privately for India in
violation of the imperial law….

Though I travelled through many different countries and experienced all kinds of hardship, I met with no obstruction on the way
owing to the imperial influence of Your Majesty. As I have always been treated with hospitality, I do not feel any tiredness. In
fulfilment of my wishes, I have visited the Grdhrakuta Mountain and worshipped the Bodhi-tree. I have seen what I never saw before
and have read the scriptures which I never read before. I have seen all the wonders of the universe and have seen the manifestations
of nature, and I have also proclaimed the virtue of Your Majesty so as to win the respect and admiration of the foreign peoples. After
having spent seventeen years in my journey, leaving the country of Prayaga, passing through the domain of Kapisa, climbing over the
Pamir Ranges and crossing the Pamir Valley, I have now reached Kustana on my return journey. As my elephant has been drowned and
I have brought with me a great amount of scriptures for which I have not yet found horses to carry, I have to stop on the way for some
time and am unable to hasten to see Your Majesty at an earlier moment. For this I feel deep regret. Now I am sending Ma Hsuan-chih,
a layman of Kaochang, to come with some traders to submit this letter to Your Majesty beforehand.”

The emperor welcomes the pilgrim:

After the lapse of seven or eight months, the messenger returned with an imperial decree to welcome and console the Master. It said:
“I am highly delighted to hear that the teacher is returning home after seeking for the Way in the foreign lands. You may come to see
me as quickly as possible, and you may, as well, bring the foreign monks who understand the Sanskrit language and the meanings of
the scriptures to come with you. I have already ordered the authorities of Kustana and the other regions to escort you, and so you will
not be in want of carriers and horses. I have also instructed the officials of Tunhuang to receive you at the Desert, as well as those of
Shanshan to receive you at Chemo.”

When he had arrived at Shachou, he wrote another letter to the emperor, who was then in his palace at Loyang. On receiving this
letter, the emperor knew that the Master was approaching, and instructed Prime Minister Fang Hsuan-ling, the Duke of Liang Kuo,
who was then the Imperial Guard of the Western Capital, to issue orders to the authorities to welcome the Master.

Having heard that the emperor was about to leave on a military expedition for a region near the Liao River, the Master did not wish to
delay on the way, but proceeded with double speed and reached the Canal very soon.

BOOK VI (‘LIFE’)
Yuan Chwang is received with honour:

On the seventh day of the first month in the spring of the nineteenth year of Cheng Kuan (AD 645), Prime Minister Fang Hsuan-ling,
who was the Duke of Liang Kuo and the Imperial Guard of the Capital, sent Hou-mochen Shih, the Great General of You Wu Hou, Li
Shu-shen, the Governor of Yungchou, and Li Chien-you, the Magistrate of Changan, to receive the Master when he arrived with the
scriptures and images of the Buddha.

On that day the authorities instructed the various monasteries to prepare banners and tapestries to send the scriptures and images of
the Buddha to the Hung Fu Monastery. The people were glad to make the required arrangements, and on the following day they
assembled at the south end of The Red Bird Street. Several hundred receptacles were arranged in rows to receive the scriptures and
images of the Buddha which the Master had obtained in the western countries, including 150 grains of red sarira of the Tathagata;
one golden replica of the Buddha’s shadow-image in the Dragon Cave on the Pragbodhi Mountain in Magadha, three feet and three
inches high including the stand; one sandalwood image of the Buddha, three feet and five inches high including the stand, made in
imitation of the image of Turning the Wheel of Law at the Deer Park in Benares; one sandalwood image of the Buddha, two feet and
nine inches high including the stand, made in imitation of the sandalwood images carved by King Udayana of Kausambi when he was
desirous of seeing the Tathagata; one silver image of the Buddha, four feet high including the stand, made in imitation of the image of
the Tathagata descending from heaven on the Precious Terrace in Kapitha; one golden image of the Buddha, three feet and five inches
high including the stand, made in imitation of the image of the Buddha as preaching the Saddharmapundarika Sutra, etc., on the
Vulture Peak in Magadha; one sandalwood image of the Buddha, one foot and three inches high including the stand, carved in
imitation of the shadow-image of the Buddha as subduing a poisonous dragon in Nagarahara; one sandalwood image of the Buddha as
going on his daily round for alms in Vaisali; and some other images of the Buddha.

They also received the scriptures which the Master had obtained in the western countries, namely, 224 books of Mahayana Sutras,
192 books of Mahayana Sastras, 15 books of the Tripitaka of the Sthavira School, 15 books of the Tripitaka of the Sammatiya school,
22 books of the Tripitaka of the Mahisasaka School, 17 books of the Tripitaka of the Kasyapiya School, 42 books of the Tripitaka of the
Dharmagupta School, 67 books of the Tripitaka of the Sarvastivadin School, 36 books concerning the Hetuvidya Sastra and 13 books
concerning the Sabdavidya Sastra, making a total number of 657 books, bound in 520 cases, being loaded on twenty horses.

For a distance of several tens of li, beginning from The Red Bird Street and ending at the main gate of the Hung Fu Monastery, the
people of the capital, scholars and imperial and local officials, stood by the sides of the road and looked on the procession with
respect. Those who joined in the procession forgot the dust and their tiredness and declared that it was a rare occurrence, and that
they were delighted at being present on that rare occasion. As the street was overcrowded, the authorities, fearing that the people
might tread upon one another, ordered that they should not move and that they should burn incenses and scatter flowers only at the
places where they were standing. Thus the smoke of incense and the voice of praise progressed from place to place.

Yuan Chwang meets the Emperor:

On the first day of the second month the emperor received him in the Yi Luan Palace with great favour. Having sat down the emperor
asked: “Why did you go (to India) without telling me?”

The Master replied with apology: “When I was preparing for my journey, I had sent petitions to Your Majesty several times, but as my
project was unworthy, I did not enjoy the favour of being granted with an official permission. Because of my utmost sincerity for
seeking the Law, I went away privately, for which offence I beg the pardon of Your Majesty.”

The emperor said: “Since you are a monk, you are different from lay people in this matter. I am delighted that you went to seek for the
Law at the risk of your life for the benefit of all the people. There is no need to ask my pardon. I wonder how you managed to reach
that country at so great a distance beyond mountains and rivers with different people with strange customs.”

The Master said in reply: “I have heard that it is not far to reach the Heavenly Lake for those who could ride on a speedy wind, and it
is not difficult to cross a stormy river, if one sailed in a dragon-boat. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne to rule over the country,
your virtue and benevolence prevailed in all the areas, with the wind of morality blowing to the hot countries in the south and your
political influence reaching as far as beyond the Pamirs. Therefore, when the sovereigns of the foreign people saw a bird flying from
the east, they would suspect it as coming from the supreme country and would bow to it to show their respect, not to say that I am a
human being under the protection of Your Majesty. It is owing to the imperial influence of Your Majesty that I have been able to go and
return without any difficulty.”

The emperor remarked: “You say so out of politeness, and I am not worthy of such praises.”

The emperor asks Yuan Chwang to write about his journey:

The emperor said to the Master: “As the Buddhist country is far away from our country and there is no detailed record of the holy
places and Buddhist teachings in our historical books, you should write an account of the places which you have visited in person so
as to inform those who have not heard of them.”

Yuan Chwang unveils his translation project:

The Master said to the emperor: “I have brought back more than 600 volumes of Sanskrit scriptures, of which not a word has been
translated into Chinese. I know of the Shao Lin Monastery at the south of the Sung Mountain and the north of the Shao Shih
Mountain, situated at a quiet place far from noisy towns and villages. It was built by Emperor Hsiao Wen of the Later Wei dynasty and
it was the place where Bodhiruci translated Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. I wish to stay at that place to translate the Sanskrit
texts. I am waiting for an imperial approval.”

The emperor said: “You need not go to the mountains. After you had gone to the West, I had constructed in memory of my queen
mother Mu, the Hung Fu Monastery in the Western Capital (Changan in present-day Shensi Province), which is a quiet place suitable
for you to translate the Buddhists scriptures.”

The Master responded: “As curious people know that I have returned from the West, they flock together to see me and make my place
as noisy as a market. Their behaviour is not only against the law, but it also hinders me in my religious affairs. I hope that gate-
keepers will be appointed to prevent them from committing blunders.”

Yuan Chwang moves to the Hung Fu Monastery:

On the first day of the third month the Master returned to Changan from Loyang and lived in the Hung Fu Monastery. Before he
started his translation work, he sent a petition to Prime Minister Fang Hsuan-ling, the Imperial Guard of the Capital and the Duke of
Liang Kuo, requesting him to provide the necessary assistant translators, grammarians, stenographers and copyists. Fang Hsuan-ling
ordered the authorities to make a report to the emperor at Tingchow, who issued a decree to the effect that whatever the Master
needed must be provided sufficiently.

On the second day of the sixth month in the summer twelve renowned monks arrived who were well versed in both Mahayana and
Hinayana Sutras and Sastras were appointed to be his assistant translators.

There arrived also nine grammarians, one etymologist, and one Sanskrit scholar.

There arrived also some stenographers and copyists, together with the necessary appliances which the authorities had supplied.

Yuan Chwang begins his work:

On the first day of the seventh month the Master started to translate the palm-leaf Sanskrit scriptures, and at the beginning he
translated the Bodhisattva-pitaka Sutra, the Buddha-bhumi Sutra, the Sanmukha-dharani Sutra, and the Prakaranaryavaca Sastra. He
completed the translation of the Sanmukha-dharani Sutra on that same day and finished the translation of the Buddha-bhumi Sutra on
the fifteenth day. While the Bodhisattva-pitaka Sutra and the Prakaranaryavaca Sastra were done by the end of the year.

On the first day of the first month in the spring of the twentieth year (AD 646) he again translated the Mahayanabhidharma-
samyuktasangiti Sastra and finished it in the second month, after which he again translated the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra.

On the first day of the seventh month in the autumn the Master presented the translated scriptures to the emperor… and he also
completed his Record of the Western Countries as was ordered by the emperor when he saw him at Loyang….

In the spring of the twenty-second year (AD 648) the emperor visited the Yu Hua Palace. On the fourteenth day of the fifth month in
the summer the Master completed the translation of the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra in 100 volumes.

On the eleventh day of the sixth month the emperor invited the Master to the (Yu Hua) Palace.

The emperor inquired of the Master what scripture he had been translating. In reply the Master said: “I have recently completed the
translation of the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra in 100 volumes.

The emperor commented: “That is a voluminous work. Who wrote this book and what is it about?”

The Master replied, saying, “It is taught by Maitreya Bodhisattva in exposition of the seventeen stages of Bodhisattvaship.”

The emperor writes the Preface for Yuan Chwang’s translated scriptures:

The emperor had earlier consented to compose a preface to the newly translated scriptures, but as he was busily engaged in state
affairs, he did not have time to make the composition. The Master requested him again to do it, and so in a short time the emperor
wrote the “Preface to the Holy Teachings of the Tripitaka of the Great Tang Dynasty” in 781 characters, which he copied with his own
hand and ordered to be put at the beginning of the scriptures. In the Ching Fu Palace the emperor, being attended by all his ministers,
asked the Master to be seated, and ordered Shangkuan Yi, a scholar of the Imperial Institute, to read the preface which he had
composed in the most elegant style with much praise about Buddhism.

BOOK VII (‘LIFE’)

Yuan Chwang continues his work:

…the new translation of the Vajracchedika-Prajna-paramita-Sutra was entirely based on the Sanskrit text. When it was reported to the
emperor, he was greatly pleased.

In the tenth month in the winter, the emperor returned to the capital, and the Master returned with him. The emperor had previously
ordered the authorities to build a house, with the name of the “Hung Fa Court” at the west of the Tzu Wei Palace in the north of the
Imperial Residence. On his arrival the Master stayed in this new house, and he was invited to converse with the emperor during the
daytime, while he returned to the Hung Fa Court at night to spend his time in translating the scriptures. He completed the translation
of the Mahayana-samgraha Sastra with commentaries by Asvabhava Bodhisattva in 10 volumes, the same Sastra with commentaries
by Vasubandhu in 10 volumes, the Pratitya-samutpada Sutra in one volume and the Satadharmavidyanikaya Sastra in one volume.

Letter from the monks Jnanaprabha and Prajnadeva:

On the twenty-third day of the fifth month in the summer, Jnanaprabha and Prajnadeva, two monks of the Mahabodhi Monastery in
Central India, wrote a letter to the master. Jnanaprabha was thoroughly learned in both Mahayana and Hinayana scriptures, as well as
in such heretical books as the Four Vedas and the treatises of the Five Knowledges. Being a prominent disciple of the Venerable
Silabhadra, he was respected by the scholars of the five Indias. Prajnadeva was an expert in the teachings of the eighteen Hinayana
Schools and was also respected by the people. When the Master was travelling in the west, he used to discuss Buddhism with them.
Although they were well-learned in Hinayana teachings, they did not know much about the Vaipulya doctrines. For their persistence in
biased opinions, the Master used to censure them. In the religious meeting held at Kanyakubja they were once again defeated by him
in debate, and acknowledged frustration with a sense of shame. Since the Master parted with them, they always remembered him
with admiration. So they entrusted Dharmarudha, a fellow-monk of their monastery, with a letter to him to convey their greetings with
two rolls of cotton cloth as a token of their deep veneration. In the letter they said:

“The Venerable Prajnadeva, who is surrounded by a group of well-learned scholars, of the Mahabodhi Monastery at the Varjrasana of
the Buddha, the Abstruse and Auspicious One, sends his best greetings to the Moksacarya of Maha-Cina who is erudite in the sublime
teachings of the Tripitaka, and wishes him in his best health.

“I, Bhiksu, Prajnadeva, have composed a stanza in praise of the great divine powers of the Buddha, as well as the Sutras, Sastras and
the Four Noble Truths, which I have entrusted Bhiksu Dharmarudha to send to you.

“The old virtuous Acarya Jnanaprabha of this place whose knowledge is unlimited, also sends his greetings to you, and Upasaka
Suryalabdha also pays homage to you.

“We are now sending you two rolls of white cotton cloth to show our remembrance of you. As the way is too far we hope that you will
accept it without thinking it is so small a gift. If you are in need of any Sutra or Sastra, you may just give us a list and we shall make
copies of the required books for your use.

“May the Moksacarya note the above.”

This shows how the Master was admired by the scholars in the distant lands.

Reply to Jnanaprabha:

In the second month in the spring of the fifth year (of Yung Hui, AD 654), Dharmarudha took his leave to return home and asked the
Master to make a reply. The Master wrote a letter in reply and prepared some gifts, which he gave to the messenger after having
made a report to the emperor. In the letter he said:

“Bhiksu Hsuan-tsang of the great Kingdom of Tang begs to send his greetings to the Venerable Jnanaprabha, the Tripitaka-Master of
Magadha in central India. It is more than ten years since we parted, and as we are separated by a long distance, I have scarcely heard
of you. My remembrance of you increases as the time passes. When Bhiksu Dharmarudha arrived he conveyed your kind regards to
me and informed me that you were in your best health. His information made me feel as if I saw you with my own eyes and my
pleasure was indescribable. The season is becoming warmer and I wonder how you are getting on since you wrote me that letter.
Some years ago our envoy returned from India and informed me that the Right Dharma-Keeper had shown the principle of
Impermanence, which was indeed sad news for me. The boat on the sea of suffering has sunk and the eyes of devas and men have
closed. His death is all too soon for us. The Right Dharma-Keeper had cultivated good deeds and performed meritorious acts during a
long period in his past lives, and thus he inherited the good nature of equanimity and peace, and was endowed with great and eminent
talents. He succeeded Aryadeva and continued the Brilliancy of Nagarjuna. He re-lit the torch of wisdom and re-established the
banner of Dharma, and thus he quenched the flame of heterodox views and changed the current in the sea of mistaken theories,
exhorted the lazy people to go onward to the place of treasure and showed the right direction to those who lost their way. He was a
great and magnificent pillar in the gate of Buddhism. Moreover, he was well versed in the teachings of both Mahayana and Hinayana
Buddhism, and fully understood the heterodox theories of annihilation and permanence. He could understand the most difficult
literature and make abstruse meanings clear to all. Therefore, both Buddhists and non-Buddhists became his pupils and regarded him
as a great teacher of India. He taught his students day and night without feeling tired and satisfied them all according to their
different requirements. When I was studying in India he enlightened me with his kind instructions, and stupid as I am, I have been
highly benefited by his teaching. He gave me special instructions when I left him to return to my own county, and his kind words are
still sounding in my ears. I hoped that he would live long to propagate the teachings of the Buddha and never expected that he should
have died so soon. It is unbearable for me to think of this sad event of my teacher. You studied under him for a long time and are a
great disciple of the teacher. It must be hard for you to suppress your emotion after his death. What can we do? We can’t help it since
such is the law of impermanence! I hope you will overcome your sad feelings. When the Enlightened One passed away, Mahakasyapa
succeeded him in his great task, and after the death of Sanakavasa, Upagupta continued to disseminate his good teachings. Now the
teacher is dead and it is your turn to succeed to his post. I hope your eloquence in preaching will always be as fluent as the water in
the fours seas, and your adornments of felicity and wisdom will be as permanent as the five mountains. Of the scriptures and
commentaries which I have brought back from India, I have already translated into Chinese the Yogacarya-bhumi Sastra and some
other books of a total number of more than thirty works. The Abhidharma-Kosa Sastra and the Abhidharma-nyayanusara are in the
course of translation and will be competed in this year. The Emperor of the great Kingdom of Tang, who is in his best health and
enjoys all sorts of felicity in a land of peace, and who is spreading the Buddha’s teachings with the compassion of a king of Cakravarti,
has personally composed an imperial preface to all the Chinese translations of the scriptures and commentaries, and ordered the
authorities to copy them for circulation in the whole country as well as in the neighbouring lands. Although we are at the end of the
Semblance Period, the brilliant doctrine of Buddhism is still as prosperous as it was taught in the Jetavana Garden in Sravasti. This
you may be interested to know. When I was crossing the Indus I lost a horse-load of scriptures in the river, of which I have made the
attached list, and I hope you will kindly send the books to me at your convenience. Attached under separate cover is some small gift
from me. As the way is far, I could not send more gifts to you, and please accept it without thinking it is too little. Homages from
Hsuan-tsang.”

Reply to Prajnadeva:

He also wrote a reply to the venerable Prajnadeva as the following:

“Bhiksu Hsuan-tsang of the great Kingdom of Tang begs to send his greetings to the Venerable Prajnadeva of the Mahabodhi
Monastery. Since we parted, I have always been thinking of you, and as it is difficult to send you a letter, I could find no means to pay
my respects to you. When Bhiksu Dharmarudha arrived he conveyed to me your kind letter, which I received with great delight. I have
also received two rolls of fine white cotton cloth and one fascicle of eulogistic stanzas. These are great gifts indeed which I, being a
man of little virtue, am unworthy to accept. The season is becoming warmer and I don’t know how your health is since you wrote me
that letter. I think life must be pleasant for you, since you well understand the theories of a hundred schools and the Sutras of the nine
divisions. You established the banner of the right Dharma to convert people to Buddhism, and beat the drum of victory of vanquish
boastful heretics. You are proud in the presence of kings and nobles and your friends are all learned scholars. Being a man of ordinary
ability, I am growing weak, and my remembrance of your virtues and my admiration for your benignity make me think of you all the
more. When I was studying in India I had the opportunity to meet your Reverence, and in the meeting of Kanyakubja we had debated
together to find out the truth in the presence of the kings and numerous followers of the different schools. It was unavoidable that
there had been bitter arguments as one party holding the doctrines of Mahayanism, while the other party the teachings of
Hinayanism. Truth was what was sought after, regardless of personal feelings. Thus I had probably offended you during the course of
debate, but as soon as the meeting was over, all resentment was cleared immediately. Now the messenger still conveyed to me your
apology for that event. How scrupulous you are! You are a good scholar of great eloquence and noble character. The water in the
Anavatapta Lake is not comparable to the amount of your knowledge and a pure Mani-pearl cannot exceed the purity of your
character. Being a man of high virtue, you are an example to your students, and I hope that you will exert yourself to spread the right
Dharma. No doctrine is as perfect as Mahayana Buddhism and I regret that you did not have a deep faith in it. It is like those who are
content with a sheep or deer cart but give up a bull carriage. One should appreciate crystal instead of a piece of glass. Learned
scholar as you are, why are you so persistent in your biased views? This physical body of ours can never last long. It befits you to
embrace the right views of Mahayana teaching at an earlier date, so that you will not repent at the moment of death. The messenger
is now returning home and I am entrusting him with this letter with my respects to you. Attached is a small gift for you, and it is but a
sign of my gratitude, quite inadequate to express my deep admiration of you. This I hope you will note. Formerly I had lost a horse-
load of scriptures while I was crossing the Indus on my returning journey. Attached is a list of books, which I hope you will kindly send
to me. The other things I am unable to relate in detail in this letter. With homage from Bhisku Hsuan-tsang.

BOOK VIII (‘LIFE’)

On the first day of the fifth month in the summer of the sixth year of Yung Hui (AD 655), the Master also translated the
Nyayadvarataraka Sastra besides his regular work. He had previously translated the Hetuvidya Sastra while he was living in the Hung
Fu Monastery. These two Sastras are of one volume each, being works of logic in explanation of the methods of argumentation and
refutation by direct knowledge and inference.

BOOK IX (‘LIFE’)
As the Master studied strenuously while he was young and owing to the hardships of travelling over icy mountains and snowy ranges
to the west, he suffered a kind of “cold disease.” During these paroxysms his heart would be affected. He was much troubled by his
illness. For several years he depended on medicines for keeping himself in health.

While the Master was in the capital he had already translated the Abhidharma-jnana-prasthana in 30 volumes and had not yet
completed the translation of the Maha-vibhasa Sastra.

BOOK X (‘LIFE’)
On the first day of the first month in the spring of the fifth year (AD 660), he started the translation of the MahaPrajnaparamita Sutra.
The original Sanskrit text had a total number of 200,000 verses.

He ordered the Venerable Chia-shang to make a list of the Sutras and Sastras he had translated into Chinese, which amounted to a
total number of 74 works in 1,335 volumes. It was also recorded that he had painted one thousand images of the Buddha and one
thousand images of Maitreya, as well as a million statues of the Buddha. He had also copied the VajracchedikaPrajnaparamita Sutra,
the Bhaisajyaguru Sutra, the Sanmukhadharani Sutra and some other Sutras each for one thousand copies. He had given alms to
more than ten thousand Bhiksus as well as to more than ten thousand poor people, lighted hundreds and thousands of sacrificial
lamps and redeemed the lives of tens of thousands of living creatures. When the list had been made he ordered Chia-shang to read it
aloud, and he felt glad.

 CHAPTER — 15
I-TSING

I-tsing, one of the three great Chinese pilgrims to India, was born in 635 AD in Fan-yang near Beijing, in the reign of Tai-tsung (627–
649 AD). At the age of seven, he went to the teachers Shan-yu and Hui-hsi in a temple on the mountain Tai in Shan-tung. He was
admitted to the Order (Pravragya) at the age of fourteen, and some years later developed a deep desire to travel to India, which was
accomplished at the age of thirty-seven.

He was fully ordained as a monk at the age of twenty (654). His new teacher, Hui-hsi, impressed upon him the importance of holding
firm to the Noble Precepts of the Buddha, and the fact that the teaching was becoming misinterpreted. This led I-tsing to study the
Vinaya text exclusively for five years (654-658), followed by the larger Sutras. Encouraged by his teacher, he went to Eastern Wei (in
Honan) to study Asanga’s two sastras belonging to the Abhidharma-pitaka; to the Western Capital to study the Abhidharma-kosa and
Vidyamatrasiddhi of Vasubandhu and Dharmapala respectively. At Ch’ang-an, he may have witnessed the ‘noble enthusiasm of Yuan
Chwang,’ and the grand funeral accorded by the emperor as Yuan Chwang died during I-tsing’s stay in the capital (664).

I-tsing left for India in AD 671, and arrived in Tamralipti at the mouth of the Hooghly in AD 673. In India, he studied Sanskrit grammar
(Sabdavidya). While studying in Nalanda, the high seat of Buddhist learning, he collected nearly 400 Sanskrit texts, comprising
500,000 slokas, and procured a real plan of the Diamond Seat (Vajrasana) of the Buddha. On his return journey, he stopped for further
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study at Sribhoga (Sumatra) and translated Buddhist books in Sanskrit or Pali. From Sribhoga he sent home the present work in AD
692, through the Chinese priest Ta-ts’in. Hence the title: ‘Nan-hai-chi-kuei-nai-fa-ch’uan’ or ‘A Record of the Inner Law sent home
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from the Southern Sea.’ It is not certain when I-tsing reached Sribhoga and compiled his work, but as he used the dynastic name
Chou adopted in AD 690 by the Usurper Queen (reigned AD 684–704), scholars believe his Record was most likely compiled within AD
690–692.

I-tsing returned home in AD 695 after nearly twenty-five years; he was honoured by the ruling empress, Wu-hou of the Chou dynasty.
He immersed himself in interpreting Buddhist texts with some nine Indian priests, including Sikshananda and Isvara. He completed
fifty-six translations in 230 volumes, AD 700–712. There are besides, five works of compilation, including the Record and biographical
sketches of Chinese and Korean monks who visited India while he was there (The Lives of Eminent Monks). He died in AD 713, aged
seventy-nine. His life and works were commended by Emperor Chung-tsung in the preface to the Tripitaka Catalogue.

I-tsing visited India to rectify the Vinaya rules of his time and refute incorrect beliefs of Chinese Buddhist schools. Hence his focus on
the nitty-gritty of monastic discipline, though he sometimes noted facts of significance to students of history. I-tsing’s work is critical
in the study of the development of the Schools of the Chinese Vinaya, of which little is still known. The present work is an exclusive
representation of the Mulasarvastivada School, one of the four chief Nikayas prevalent in India, though I-tsing also gives an
interpretation of the divisions of Buddhist sects along with their general geographical locations. He relates the orthodox tradition of
worship and ritual as he understood it. On the whole, however, among Buddhist pilgrims, I-tsing was poor in recording details of
contemporary Indian society. We have selected passages we hope would interest the contemporary reader, based on the Japanese
edition, the arrangement of which is more convenient. I-tsing’s works as well as the whole canon were preserved in MS (manuscript
form) only and not printed till AD 972.

INTRODUCTION
IV. …. According to the noble teaching and the principal customs actually carried on in India, I have carefully written the following
articles which are forty in number, and have divided them into four books. This is called ‘Nan-hai-chi-kuei-nai-fa-ch’uan,’ i.e. ‘The
Record of the Sacred Law, sent home from the Southern Sea.’ I am sending you with this another work of mine, ‘Ta-t’ang-si-yu-ku-fa-
kao-seng-ch’uan,’ i.e. ‘Memoirs of Eminent Priests who visited India and Neighbouring Countries to search for the Law under the
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Great Tang Dynasty’ (AD 618–907), and several Sutras and Sastras, in all, ten books. I hope that the venerable priests with mind
intent on the promulgation of their religion, without having any prejudice, will act with discrimination and in accordance with the
teaching and practice of the Buddha, and that they will not disregard the weighty laws described in this work because they deem the
author of no note…

If you read this Record of mine, you may, without moving one step, travel in all the five countries of India, and before you spend a
minute you may become a mirror of the dark path for a thousand ages to come. Will you, I pray, read and examine carefully the
Tripitaka and beat the Ocean of the Law, as it were, to stir up the four waves (all the people); and resting on the authority of the five
skandhas, launch the ship of compassion to carry across the beings who are plunged into the six desires. Although I have received the
personal direction from my teachers, and have fully examined the deep purport of our doctrine, I must, nevertheless, further deepen
and expand my knowledge; for if I do not, I am afraid I shall be an object of ridicule in the ‘eye of wisdom’…

All the things mentioned in this work are in accordance with the Aryamulasarvastivadanikaya, and should not be confounded with the
teaching of other schools. The matters contained in this work resemble generally the Vinaya of the Dasadhyaya (Ten Readings).
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There are three subdivisions of the Aryamulasarvasti-vadanikaya:

1. The Dharmagupta: 2. The Mahisasaka; 3. The Kasyapiya.

These three do not prevail in India, except in the following places: Udyana, Kharakar, and Kustana, where there are some who
practice the rules laid down in these schools.

The Vinaya of the so-called Dasadhyaya (though not unlike) does not belong to the Aryamulasarvastivada school.

CHAPTER IV DISTINCTION BETWEEN PURE AND IMPURE FOOD

I-tsing was meticulous in recording details of proper conduct for priests:

Among the priests and laymen in India, it is customary to distinguish between clean and unclean food. If but a mouthful of the food
have been eaten, it becomes unclean (i.e., ‘touched’); and the utensils in which food was put are not to be used again. As soon as the
meal is finished, the utensils used are removed and piled up in one corner. All the remaining food is given to those who may legally eat
such (e.g., birds); for it is very improper to keep the food for further use.

This is the custom among both rich and poor, and is not only a custom observed by us, but even by the Brahmans. It is said in several
Sastras: ‘It is considered to be mean not to use a tooth-wood, and not to wash the hands after evacuation, and not to distinguish
between clean and unclean food.’ How can we consider it seemly to use again the utensils that have already been touched, to preserve
food remaining over in the kitchen, to keep in a jar the rice that has been left from a meal, or to put back the reminder of the soup in a
pot? Nor is it right to eat next morning the soup and vegetables that have been left, or to partake later of the remaining cake or
fruits…

If they neglect these points, any prayers or charms that they may have offered will have no efficacy, and any offering they may make
will not be accepted by the Spirits…

Now the first and chief difference between India of the five regions and other nations is the peculiar distinction between purity and
impurity.

Once upon a time when th e Mongolians of the North sent men to India, the messengers were despised and ridiculed, as they did not
wash themselves after evacuation, and preserved their food in a tray. This was not all; they were scorned and spoken ill of, as they sat
together (on the floor) at a meal, with their feet straight out, and touching one another’s, and they did not keep out of the
neighbourhood of pigs and dogs, and did not use a tooth-brush. Therefore those who are practicing the Law of the Buddha ought to be
very careful on these points. But in China the distinction of pure and impure food has never been recognised from ancient time.

CHAPTER VII THE MORNING INSPECTION OF WATER AS TO INSECTS

On the principal of respect for the humblest forms of life:

Water must be examined every morning. According as it is found in different places, I.E. in jars, in a well, in a pond, or in a river.

The means also of examining it differ. Early in the morning jar-water is first to be examined. After pouring about a handful of it, by
inclining the jar, into a pure bronze cup, a ladle made of bronze, a conch-shell, or a plate of lacquer-work, pour it slowly on a brick. Or,
by means of a wooden instrument made for this purpose, observe the water for some moments, shutting the mouth with the hand. It is
likewise well to examine it in a basin or in a pot. Insects even as small as a hair-point must be protected. If any insects are found,
return the wa ter again into the jar, and wash the vessel with other water twice until no insects are left in it. If there is a river or a
pond in the neighbourhood, take the jar there and throw away the water containing insects; then put in fresh filtered water. If there is
a well, use its water, after filtering it, according to the usual manner…

The Indians use fine white cloth for straining water; and in China fine silk may be used, after having slightly boiled it with rice-cream;
for small insects easily pass though the meshes of raw silk…

During the sixth or the seventh month [of the year] the insects are so minute, and different from what they are in the other seasons,
that they can pass even through ten folds of raw silk.

Those who wish to protect life should try to set the insect free by some means or other. A plate-like tray may be used for the purpose,
but the silk strainer is also very useful. The tray is generally made of copper, in India, in accordance with the rules laid down by the
Buddha: one must not neglect these points…

As regards living creatures, an injury to them is a sin, and is prohibited by the Buddha…

It is this prohibition that is the most weighty of all, and an act of injury is placed at the head of the ten sins. One must not be
neglectful of this. The filter is one of the six possessions necessary to the priests, and one cannot do without it. One should not go on a
journey three or five Chinese miles without a filter. If a priest be aware of the fact that the residents in the temple where he is staying
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do not strain their water, he must not partake of food there. Even if the traveller die on his way from thirst or hunger, such a deed is
sufficient to be looked upon as a splendid example.

CHAPTER IX RULES ABOUT THE RECEPTION AT THE UPAVASATHA DAY

Buddha turns a demoness into the protector of children:

It is never customary to say a prayer before meals. The host, having cleansed his hands and feet, makes an offering to saints (images
of arhats) at the upper end of the row of seats; then he distributes food to the priests. At the lowest end of the row an offering of food
is made to the mother, Hariti.

At the former birth of this mother, she from some cause or other, made a vow to devour all babes at Rajagriha. In consequence of this
wicked vow, she forfeited her life, and was reborn as a Yakshi; and gave birth to five hundred children. Every day she ate some babes
at Rajagriha, and the people informed the Buddha of this fact. He took and concealed one of her own children, which she called Her
Beloved Child. She sought for it from place to place, and at last happened to find it near the Buddha. ‘Art thou so sorry,’ said the
World-honoured One to her, ‘for thy lost child, thy beloved? Thou lamentest for only one lost out of five hundred; how much more
grieved are those who have lost their only one or two children on account of thy cruel vow?’ Soon converted by the Buddha, she
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received the five precepts and become an Upasika. ‘How shall my five hundred children subsist hereafter?’ the new convert asked
the Buddha. ‘In every monastery,’ replied the Buddha, ‘where Bhikshus dwell, thy family shall partake of sufficient food, offered by
them every day.’ For this reason, the image of Hariti is found either in the porch or in a corner of the dining-hall of all Indian
monasteries depicting her as holding a babe in her arms, and round her knees three or five children. Every day an abundant offering
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of food is made before this image. Hariti is one of the subjects of the four heavenly kings. She has a power of giving wealth. If those
who are childless on account of their bodily weakness (pray to her for children), making offerings of food, their wish is always fulfilled.
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A full account of her is given in the Vinaya; so I have only given it in brief. The portrait of ‘the demon mother of the children’ (Kuei-
tze-mu) has already been found in China.

The miraculous power of Mahakala in the monasteries:

There is likewise in great monasteries in India, at the side of a pillar in the kitchen, or before the porch, a figure of a deity carved in
wood, two or three feet high, holding a golden bag, and seated on a small chair, with one foot hanging down towards the ground.
Being always wiped with oil its countenance is blackened, and the deity is called Mahakala or the great black deity. The ancient
tradition asserts that he belonged to the beings (in the heaven) of the Great god (Mahesvara). He naturally loves the Three Jewels,
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and protects the five assemblies from misfortune. Those who offer prayers to him have their desires fulfilled. At meal-times those
who serve in the kitchen offer light and incense, and arrange all kinds of prepared food before the deity. I once visited the Pan-da-na
monastery (Bandhana, in Kusinagar), a spot where the great Nirvana was preached (by Buddha). There, usually more than a hundred
monks dine. In spring and autumn, the best seasons for pilgrimages, the monastery is sometimes unexpectedly visited by a multitude
(of travellers). Once five hundred priests suddenly arrived there, about midday. The re was no time to prepare food for them exactly
before noon. The managing priests said to the cooks: ‘How shall we provide for this sudden increase?’ An old woman, the mother of a
monastic servant, replied: ‘Be not perplexed, it is quite a usual occurrence.’ Immediately she burnt abundant incense, and offered
food before the black deity; and invoked him saying: ‘Though the Great Sage has gone to Nirvana yet beings like thyself still exist.
Now (a multitude of) priests from every quarter has arrived here to worship the holy spot. Let not our food be deficient for supplying
them; for this is within thy power. May thou observe the time.’

Then all the priests were asked to take seats. The food, provided for only the priests in residence at the monastery, when supplied was
sufficient for that great multitude of priests, and there was as much remaining over as usual. All shouted ‘Good!’ and applauded the
power of that deity. I myself went there to worship the spot; consequently I saw the image of that black deity before which abundant
offerings of food were made. I asked the reason, and the above account was related to me. In China the image of that deity has often
been found in the districts of Kiang-nan, though not in Huai-poh. Those who ask him (for a boon) find their wishes fulfilled. The
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efficacy of that deity is undeniable. The Naga (snake) Mahamukilinda of the Mahabodhi monastery (near Gaya) has also a similar
miraculous power.

The distances of India:

As to the five countries of India, their boundaries are wide and remote; roughly speaking, the distance from Central India to the limit
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in each direction (east, west, south, and north) is about 400 yoganas, the remote frontier not being counted in this measurement.
Although I, myself, did not see all these parts of India, I could nevertheless ascertain anything by careful inquiry.

Food preparations:

All food, both for eating and chewing, is excellently prepared in various ways. In the north, wheat-flour is abundant; in the western
district, baked flour (rice, barley) is used above all; in Magadha wheat-flour is scarce, but rice is plentiful: and the southern frontier
and the eastern border-land have similar products to those of Magadha.

Abundance of food:

Ghee, oil, milk, and cream are found everywhere. Such things as cakes and fruit are so abundant that it is difficult to enumerate them
here. Even laymen rarely have the taste of grease or flesh. Most of the countries have the rice which is not glutinous in abundance;
millet is rare, and glutinous millet is not found at all. There are sweet melons; sugar-canes and tubers are abundant, but edible
mallows are very scarce. Wan-ching (a kind of turnip) grows in sufficient quantities; there are two kinds of this, one with a white seed,
the other with a black seed. This has recently become known as Chieh-tze (mustard seed) in China. Oil is extracted from it and used
for flavouring purposes; this is done in all countries. In eating leaves of it as a vegetable will find them of the same taste as Wan-ching.
But the root is hard, not like the Chinese turnip. The seed is somewhat larger and can no longer be considered ‘mustard seed.’ The
change in the growth of this plant is considered to be something like the change of an orange-tree into a bramble when brought north
of the Yang-tze River.

Indian abstinence from onions:

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When I was in the Nalanda monastery, I discussed this point with the Dhyana master Wu-hing , but we were doubtful still and could
not exactly distinguish one from the other. None of the people of all the five parts of India eat any kind of onions, or raw vegetables,
and therefore they do not suffer from indigestion; the stomach and the intestines are healthy, and there is no trouble in their
becoming hard and aching.

Entertainment on a fast day:

In the ten islands of the Southern Sea, the entertainment on the fast-day is made on a grander scale. On the first day the host
prepares a Pin-lang nut (arecanut), fragrant oil prepared from Fu-tzu (mustaka, Cyperus rotundus), and a small quantity of crushed
rice placed on a leaf in a plate; these three items being arranged on a large tablet are covered with a white cloth, water is poured out
and kept in a golden jar, and the ground in front of this tablet is sprinkled with water. After these have been prepared, the priests are
invited. In the forenoon of the last day, the priests are asked to anoint their bodies and wash and bathe. When the horse-hour (midday)
of the second day has passed, a holy image is conveyed (from the monastery) on a carriage or on a palanquin, accompanied by a
multitude of priests and laymen, playing or striking drums and musical instruments, making offerings of incense and flowers, and
taking banners which shine in the sun, - in this manner it is carried to the courtyard of the house. Under a canopy amply spread, the
image of gold or bronze, brilliant and beautifully decorated, is anointed with some aromatic paste, and then put in a clean basin. It is
bathed by all those present with perfumed water (gandhodaka). After being wiped with a scented cloth, it is carried into the principal
hall of the house, where it is received amidst rich offerings of lights and incense, while hymns of praise are sung. Then the priest first
in rank (Sthavira) recites the Danagatha for the host to declare the merit of a religious feast with regard to the future lif e. Then the
priests are led outside the house to wash their hands and rinse their mouths, and, after this, sugar-water and Pin-lang fruits are
offered to them in sufficient quantity; then they withdraw from the house. In the forenoon of the third day, the host, going to the
monastery, announces to the priests: ‘It is the time’. They, after bathing, come to the festal house. This time too the image is set up,
and the ceremony of bathing it is held more briefly. But the offerings of flowers and incense and music are twice as grand as on the
previous morning. Numerous offerings are arranged orderly before the image, and on both sides of it five or ten girls stand in array;
and also some boys, according to convenience. Every one of them either carries an incense-burner, or holds a golden water jar, or
takes a lamp or some beautiful flowers, or a white fly-flapper. People bring and offer all kinds of toilet articles, mirrors, mirror-cases,
and the like, before the image of the Buddha. ‘For what purpose are you doing this?’ I once inquired of them. ‘Here is the field, and we
sow our seed of merit,’ they replied; ‘if we do not make offerings now, how can we reap our future rewards?’ It may be said reasonably
that such is also a good action. Next, one of the priests, on being requested, kneels down before the image, and recites hymns in
praise of the Buddha’s virtues. After this two other priests, being requested, sitting near the image, read a short Sutra of a page or a
leaf. On such an occasion, they sometimes consecrate idols and mark the eyeballs of them, in order to obtain the best reward of
happiness. Now the priests withdraw at pleasure to one side of the room; and, folding up their kashayas (yellow robes), and binding
their two corners at the breasts, they wash their hands: then they sit down to eat.

As to the processes such as strewing the ground with cow-dung, examining water, or washing the feet, and as to the manner of taking
or serving food, all these particulars are much the same as in India, with this addition, that in the islands of the Southern Sea the
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priests take the three kinds of pure meat also. They frequently use leaves sewn together for plates as capacious as half a mat (on
which they sit); and rice-cakes made of one or two Shang (a Shang=about 2½ qt.) of non-glutinous grains, are prepared in such a
plate. Having made similar vessels capable of one or two Shang of grains, they bring them and offer them before the priests. Then
twenty or thirty kinds of food are served to them. This, however, is the case of an entertainment by comparatively poor people. If it be
by kings or rich men, bronze-plates, bronze-bowls, and leafed plates as large as a mat are distributed; and the number of the several
kinds of food and drink amounts to a hundred. Kings on such an occasion disregard their own high dignity, and call themselves
servants, and help the priests to the food with every sign of respect. The priests have to receive as much food as is given, but never to
resist it, however excessive it may be. If they have only food just enough to satisfy, the host would not be pleased; for he only feels
satisfied when seeing food served over-abundantly. Four or five Shang of boiled rice and cakes in two or three plates are given to
each. The relations and the neighbours of the host help the entertainment, bring with them several kinds of food, such as rice-cakes,
boiled rice, vegetables for soup, &c. Usually the remainder of the food (i.e. Ukkhishtabhogana) given to one person may satisfy three
persons; but in case of a richer entertainment, it could not be eaten up even by ten men. The food remaining over is left to the priests,
who order their servants to carry it to the monastery.
Comparison with fast-breaking ceremony in China:

The ceremony of the Upavasatha-day reception in China differs from that of India. In China the host gathers the food left over, and the
guests are not allowed to take it away. The priests may act according to the custom of their time, being self-contented and free from
blame; thus the host’s intention of gifts is by no means incomplete. But if the host (i.e. Danapati) has made up his mind not to gather
the food remaining, and asks the guests to take it away, one may act as best suits the circumstance.

Indulgence towards the monks:

Now perfume paste, about the size of a fruit of the Wu-tree (Dryandra-seeds), is given to each of them, and they rub their hands with
it in order to make them fragrant and clean. Next, some Pin-lang fruit and nutmegs, mixed with cloves and Baros-camphor, are
distributed: in eating these they get the mouth fragrant, the food digested and the phlegm removed. These fragrant medicinal things
and the others are given to the priests, after they have been washed with pure water, and wrapped in leaves.

Now the host, approaching the priest first in rank, or standing before the reciter (of the Sutras), pours water from the beaked mouth
of a jar (Kundi) into a basin, so that water comes out incessantly like a slender stick of copper. The priest mutters the Danagathas,
while taking flowers, and receiving with them the flowing water. First, verses from the words of the Buddha are recited, and then
those composed by other persons. The number of the verses may be many or few according to the reciter’s will, and according to
circumstances. Then the priests, calling out the host’s name, prays for happiness upon him, and wishes to transfer the happy reward
of good actions done at present to those already dead, to the sovereigns, as well as to the snakes (Nagas) and spirits; and prayers,
saying, ‘May there be good harvests in the country, happy be the people and other creatures; may the noble teaching of the Sakya be
everlasting.’ I have translated these Gathas as seen elsewhere. These are blessings given by the World-honoured himself, who always
said the Dakshinagathas after the meal. This (Dakshina) means a gift offered, while Dakshiniya is one worthy to be honoured with
gifts. The Holy One, therefore, commands us that, after t he meal, we should recite one or two Danagathas in order to reward the
host’s hospitality; and if we neglect it, we are against the holy laws, and are not worthy to consume the food offered. The rule of
begging the remaining food is sometimes carried out after the feasts.

I-tsing on the truth of permanence:

… One should never be ignorant of the Tripitaka, nor be perplexed in the teaching and principles contained in it. Some have
committed sins as numerous as the grains of sand of the Ganges, yet they say that they have realized the state of Bodhi (true wisdom).
Bodhi means enlightenment, and in it all the snares of passion are destroyed. The state in which neither birth nor death is found is the
true permanence. How can we thoughtlessly say, as some do, while living in the sea of trouble, that we live in the Land of Bliss
(Sukhavati)?

One who wishes to realise the truth of permanence should observe the moral precepts in purity. One should guard against a small
defect which results, just as a small escape of air from the life-belt may result in loss of life; and one should prevent a great offence
that makes one’s life useless, just as a needle the eye of which has been broken off becomes useless. First and foremost of all the
great offences are those in food and clothing. Final Liberation (Moksha) will not be very far from one who follows the teaching of the
Buddha, but transmigration will go on for evermore for one who disregards the noble words. I have thus far mentioned the lawful
practices and briefly described the former examples, all resting on noble authorities, but not on opinions of my own. I hope that I do
not offend you in my straightforward statements, and that my Record will help towards the solution of any doubts that you may have.
If I did not exactly state the good and bad practices (of India and China), who would ever know what is good or bad in the two?

CHAPTER X NECESSARY FOOD AND CLOTHING

I-tsing was very meticulous about the proper forms of the dhamma:

It may be observed that the earthily body which support is only maintained by food and clothing, while the spiritual knowledge that is
beyond the bond of births can only be increased by means of the principle of nothingness. If the use of food and clothing be against
proper rules, every step will involve some crime; while tranquilisation of the mind without moral regulation will cause more and more
perplexity as one goes on meditating.

Therefore those who seek for Final Liberation (Moksha) should use food and clothing according to the noble words of the Buddha, and
those who practice the principle of meditation should follow the teaching of former sages in tranquilising their thoughts. Watch over
the life here below, which is but a dungeon for the beings that have gone astray, but look eagerly for the shore of Nirvana, which is the
open gate of enlightenment and quietude. The ship of the Law should be manned ready for the sea of suffering, and the lamp of
wisdom should be held up during the long period of darkness. There are express laws in the Vinaya text on the observance and
neglect that are evident in the light of the regulations of clothing and the rules of eating and drinking, so that even beginners in the
study can judge the nature of an offence.

Each individual must himself be responsible for the results of his own practices, whether good or bad, and there is no need of
argument here. But there are some who are, as teachers of the students, grossly offending against the Vinaya rules; there are others
who say that the usage of the world, even if against the Buddha’s discipline, does not involve any guilt. Some understand that the
Buddha was born in India, and Indian Bhikshus follow Indian customs, while we ourselves live in China, and, as Chinese monks, we
follow Chinese manners. ‘How can we,’ they argue, ‘reject the elegant dress of the Divine Land (China) to receive the peculiar style of
garments of India?’ For the sake of those who adhere to this view I here roughly state my opinion, founded on the authority of the
Vinaya.

The regulations of clothing are the most important for the life of a homeless priest (Pravragya), and I should therefore mention here in
detail the style of garments, because these cannot be neglected or curtailed.

Use of silk and the necessity for violence to maintain life:

… As to fine and rough silk, these are allowed by the Buddha. What is the use of laying down rules for a strict prohibition of silk? The
prohibition was laid down by some one; though intended for lessening complication, such a rule increases it. The four Nikayas of the
Vinaya of all the five parts of India use (a silk garment). Why should we reject the silk that is easy to be obtained, and seek the fine
linen that is difficult to be procured? Is not this the greatest hindrance to religion? Such a rule may be classed with the forcible
prohibitions that have never been laid down (by Buddha).

The result is that curious students of the Vinaya increase their self-conceit and cast slight upon others (using silk). People who are
disinterested and less avaricious are much ashamed of such, and say: ‘How is it that they regard self-denial as a help to religion?’ but
if (refusal of silk) comes from the highest motive of pity, because silk is manufactured by injuring life, it is quite reasonable that they
should avoid the use of silk to exercise compassion on animate beings. Let it be so; the cloth one wears, and the food one eats, mostly
come from an injury to life. The earthworms (that one may tread on while walking) are never thought of; why should the silkworm
alone be looked after? If one attempts to protect every being, there will be no means of maintaining oneself, and one has to give up
life without reason. A proper consideration shows us that such a practice is not right.

There are some who do not eat ghee or cream, do not wear leather boots, and do not put on any silk or cotton. All these are the same
class of people as are mentioned above.

On killing - no guilt incurred on unintentional killing:

Now as to killing. If a life be destroyed intentionally, a result of this action (Karma) will be expected; but if not intentionally, no guilt
will be incurred, according to the Buddha’s words. The three kinds of meat that are pure are ordained as meats that can be eaten
without incurring guilt. If the spirit of this rule be disregarded, it will involve some offence though small.

On eating meat without guilt:

(In eating the three kinds of meat), we have no intention of killing, and therefore we have a cause or reason that makes our eating of
flesh guiltless. (Such meat is as pure) as any other thing which we receive as a gift, and therefore we have an example (or instance)
which helps us in making our reasoning very clear. When the cause and instance (of our eating flesh) are so clear and faultless, then
the doctrine we advocate becomes also clear and firm. Now the three branches of reasoning have been as clearly constructed as
above and besides, we have the golden words of the Buddha to the same effect. What then is the use of arguing any further?

On gifts:

Such deeds as begging personally for cocoons containing silkworms, or witnessing the killing of the insects, are not permissible, even
to a layman, much less to those whose hearts aspire to final emancipation. These deeds, when looked at in this light, prove themselves
to be quite impermissible. But supposing a donor (Danapati) should bring and present (silk cloth), then a priest should utter the word
‘Anumata’ (‘approved’) and accept the gift in order to have a means of supporting his body while he cultivates the virtues; no guilt will
be incurred by so doing.

On sharing the harvest with cultivators:

According to the teaching of the Vinaya, when a cornfield is cultivated by the Sangha, a share in the product is to be given to the
monastic servants or some other families by whom the actual tilling has been done. Every product should be divided into six parts,
and one-sixth should be levied by the Sangha; the Sangha has to provide the bulls as well as the ground for cultivation, while the
Sangha is responsible for nothing else. Sometimes the division of the products should be modified according to the seasons.

Most of the monasteries in the West follow the above custom, but there are some who are very avaricious and do not divide the
produce, but the priests themselves give out the work to servants, male and female, and see that the farming is properly done.

Those who observe the moral precepts do not eat food given by such persons, for it is thought that such priests themselves plan out
the work and support themselves by a ‘wrong livelihood;’ because in urging on hired servants by force, one is apt to become
passionate, the seeds may be broken, and insects be much injured while the soil is tilled. One’s daily food does not exceed one Shang,
and who can endure hundreds of sins incurred while striving to get even that?

Problems with agriculture:

Hence an honest man hates the cumbersome work of a farmer, and permanently keeps away from it (rejects it) carrying with him a pot
and a bowl.

Such a man sits still in a place in a quiet forest and takes pleasure in company with birds and deer; being free from the noisy pursuit
of fame and profit he practices with a view to the perfect quietude of Nirvana. According to the Vinaya it is allowable for a Bhikshu to
try to gain profits on behalf of the Brotherhood (Sangha), but tilling land and injuring life are not permitted in the Buddha’s teaching,
for there is nothing so great in injuring insects and hindering proper action as agriculture.

When I for the first time visited Tamralipti, I saw in a square outside the monastery some of its tenants who, having entered there,
divided some vegetables into three portions, and having presented one of the three to the priests, retired from thence, taking the
other portions with them. I could not understand what they did, and asked of the venerable Tashang Tang (Mahayana Pradipa) what
was the motive. He replied: ‘The priests in this monastery are mostly observers of the precepts. As cultivation by the priests
themselves is prohibited by the great Sage, they suffer their taxable lands to be cultivated by others freely, and partake of only a
portion of the products. Thus they live their just life, avoiding worldly affairs, and free from the faults of destroying lives by ploughing
and watering fields.’

Norms governing meetings between nuns and monks:

… The following things also came under my notice. When the nuns were going to the priests in the monastery, they proceeded thither
after having announced (the purpose of assembly). The priests, when they had to go to the apartments of the nuns, went there after
having made an inquiry. They (nuns) walked together in a company of two, if it was away from their monastery; but when they had to
go to a layman’s house for some necessary cause, they went thither in a company of four…

Proprieties observed by the monk Rahula-mitra:

Whenever women entered into the monastery, they never proceeded to the apartments (of the priests), but spoke with them in a
corridor for a moment, and then retired. At that time there was a Bhikshu named A-ra-hu-la-mi-ta-ra (Rahula-mitra) in that monastery.
He was then about thirty years old; his conduct was very excellent and his fame was exceedingly great. Every day he read over the
Ratnakutasutra which contains 700 verses. He was not only versed in the three collections of the scriptures, but also thoroughly
conversant with the secular literature on the four sciences. He was honoured as the head of the priests in the eastern districts of
India. Since his ordination he never had spoken with women face to face, except when his mother or sister came to him, whom he saw
outside (his room). Once I asked him why he behaved thus, as such is not holy law. He replied: ‘I am naturally full of worldly
attachment, and without doing thus, I cannot stop its source. Although we are not prohibited (to speak with women) by the Holy One,
it may be right (to keep them off), if it is meant to prevent our evil desires.’

Honours bestowed upon learned monks:

The assembly assigned to venerable priests, if very learned, and also to those who thoroughly studied one of the three collections,
some of the best rooms (of the monastery) and servants. When such men gave daily lectures, they were freed from the business
imposed on the monastics. When they went out, they could ride in sedan-chairs, but not on horse-back. Any strange priest who arrived
at the monastery was treated by the assembly with the best of their food for five days, during which he was desired to take rest from
his fatigue. But after these days he was treated as a common monastic. If he was a man of good character, the assembly requested
him to reside with them, and supplied him with bed-gear as suited to his rank. But if he was not learned, he was regarded as a mere
priest; and, if he, on the contrary, was very learned, he was treated as stated above. Then his name was written down on the register
of the names of the resident priests. Then he was just the same as the old residents. Whenever a layman came there with a good
inclination, his motive was thoroughly inquired into, and if it was his intention to become a priest, he was first shaved. Thenceforth his
name had no concern with the register of the state; for there was a register book of the assembly (on which his name was written). If
he afterwards violated the laws and failed in his religious performances, he was expelled from the monastery without sounding the
Ghanta (bell). On account of the priest’s mutual confession, their faults were prevented before their growth.
I-tsing appreciates the conduct of monks:

When I have observed all these things, I said to myself with emotion: ‘When I was at home, I thought myself to be versed in the
Vinaya, and little imagined that one day, coming here, I should prove myself really one ignorant (of the subject). Had I not come to the
West, how could I ever have witnessed such correct manners as these!”

Of these above described some are the monastic rites, while others are specially made for the practice of self-denial; and all the rest
are found in the Vinaya, and most important to be carried out in this remote period (from Buddha’s time). All these form the ritual of
the monastery Bha-ra-ha at Tamralipti.

Wealth of Nalanda monastery:

The rites of the monastery Nalanda are still more strict. Consequently the number of the residents is great and exceeds 3000. The
lands in its possession contain more than 200 villages. They have been bestowed by kings of many generations. Thus the prosperity of
the religion continues ever, owing to nothing but (the fact that) the Vinaya (is being strictly carried out).

CHAPTER XX BATHING AT PROPER TIMES

Climate and land of India:

Now I shall describe the manner of bathing. Bathing in India is different from that in China. The weather is moderate in all seasons,
somewhat different from other districts. There are flowers and fruits always, even in the twelfth month. Snow and ice are unknown.
There is frost, but slightly. Though it is hot (in certain seasons), yet the heat is not intense; and even in the warmest season people do
not suffer from ‘prickly heat’. When it is very cold, they have not chapped feet, for they wash and bathe frequently, and think much
about the purity of the body. In their daily life they do not eat without having first washed.

Importance and abundance of pools:

Water is exceedingly abundant in the pools everywhere. It is considered meritorious to dig ponds. If we go but one yogana, we see
twenty or thirty bathing-places; and they vary in size, some being one mou (about 733 ½ square yards), others five mou. On all sides
of a pond Sala-trees are planted, which grow to the height of about forty or fifty feet. All these pools are fed by rain-water, and are as
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clear as a pure river. Near every one of the eight Kaityas there is a pool in which the World-honoured One used to bathe. The water
in these pools is very pure, different from that in others.

There are more than ten great pools near the Nalanda monastery, and there every morning a ghanti is sounded to remind the priests
of the bathing-hour. Every one brings a bathing-sheet with him. Sometimes a hundred, sometimes a thousand (priests) leave the
monastery together, and proceed in all directions towards these pools, where all of them take a bath.

The World-honoured One taught how to build a bath-room, to construct a brick pond in an open place, and to make a medical bath in
order to cure a disease. Sometimes he ordained the whole body to be anointed with oil, sometimes the feet to be rubbed with oil every
night, or the head every morning; for such a practice is very good for maintaining clear eyesight and keeping off the cold.

CHAPTER XXV BEHAVIOUR BETWEEN TEACHER AND PUPIL

Chinese names for India:

Some say that Indu means the moon, and the Chinese name for India, I.E. Indu, is derived from it; although it may mean this, it is,
nevertheless, not the common name. As to the Indian name for the Great Chou (China), ie. Kina, it is only a name and has no special
meaning.

Further we ought to note that the whole country comprising the five parts of India is called the ‘kingdom of the Brahmans’
(Brahmarashtra).

Suli on the north is all called the Mongolian Frontier (or Border). One should not confuse them nor call all of them by one name.

CHAPTER XXVII ON SYMPTOMS OF BODILY ILLNESS

Honouring of physicians and merchants:

Indians greatly honour physicians and much esteem merchants, for they do not injure life, and they give relief to others as well as
benefit themselves.

Medical herbs in India:

Further we must notice that the medical herbs in India are not the same as those of China (Eastern Hsia); those which exist in one
country are not found in the other, and the materials used cannot be treated in the same way. For instance, the ginseng (Aralia
cordata), the Yuan-chih (Polygala sibirica), the tubers of aconite (Aconitum Fischeri), the Fu-tsze hsin (Asarum Sieboldii), and such like
are the best herbs in the Divine Land (China) and are never found in the West (India). Haritaka (yellow myrobalan) is abundant in
India; in North (India) there is sometimes the Yu-chin-hsiang (saffron), and the A-wei (assafoetida) is abundant in the western limit of
India. The Baros camphor is found a little in the islands of the Southern Sea, and all the three kinds of cardamoms are found in Dvara
(-vati); two kinds of cloves grow in Pulo Condore. Only the herbs above mentioned are used in India in the same way (as in China); all
other herbs are not worth gathering.

CHAPTER XXVIII RULES ON GIVING MEDICINE

On Chinese medicine:

… There are in China more than four hundred kinds of herbs, stones, stalks, and roots, most of which are excellent and rare in colour
and taste, and very fragrant in their smell; thereby we can cure any disease and control the temper. In the healing arts of acupuncture
and cautery and the skill of feeling the pulse China has never been superseded by any country of Gambudvipa (India); the medicament
of prolonging life is only found in China. Our hills are connected with the Himalaya, and our mountains are a continuation of the
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Gandhamadana; all sorts of things strange and precious are found there in abundance. From the character of men and the quality
of things, China is called the ‘Divine Land.’ Is there any one, in the five parts of India, who does not admire China? All within the four
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seas respectfully receive the command. They (Indians) say that Mangusri is at present living in that country (China). When they
hear that one is a priest of the Deva-putra, all pay great honour and respect, wherever one goes. Deva means ‘heaven’ and putra ‘son’,
the priest of the Deva-putra is more fully ‘One who has come from the place where dwells the Son of Heaven of Kina (China).’

Differences in food habits of China and India:

In China, people of the present time eat fish and vegetables mostly uncooked; no Indians do this. All vegetables are to be well cooked
and to be eaten after mixing with the assafoetida, clarified butter, oil, or any spice.

People (in India) do not eat any kind of onions. I was tempted and ate them sometimes, but they cause pain while taking a religious
fast and injure the belly, besides spoiling the eyesight and increasing disease, and causing the body to become more and more weak.
This is why Indians do not eat them.

CHAPTER XXIX HURTFUL MEDICAL TREATMENT MUST NOT BE PRACTICED

Cow products as medicine:
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Feces and urine are permitted to be used as medicine in the Vinaya, but these are the dung of a calf and urine of a cow.

CHAPTER XXXII THE CEREMONY OF CHANTING

Praising the virtues of Buddha in India; chanting names in China:

The custom of worshipping the Buddha by repeating his names has been known in the Divine Land as it has been handed down from
olden times, but the custom of praising the Buddha by reciting his virtues has not been in practice. (The latter is more important than
the former), because, in fact, to hear his names only does not help us to realise the superiority of his wisdom; whilst in reciting his
virtues in descriptive hymns, we may understand how great his virtues are. In the West (India) priests perform the worship of a Kaitya
and the ordinary service late in the afternoon or at the evening twilight.

The hymns of Matriketa:

In India numerous hymns of praise to be sung at worship have been most carefully handed down, for every talented man of letters has
praised in verse whatever person he deemed most worthy of worship. Such a man was the venerable Matriketa, who, by his great
literary talent and virtues excelled all learned men of his age. The following story is told of him. While the Buddha was living, he was
once, while instructing his followers, wandering in a wood among the people. A nightingale in the wood, seeing the Buddha, majestic
as a gold mountain, adorned by his perfect signs, began to utter its melodious notes, as if it sang in praise of him. The Buddha, looking
back to his disciples, said: ‘The bird, transported with joy at sight of me, unconsciously utters its melodious notes. On account of this
good deed, after my Departure (Nirvana) this bird shall be born in human form, and named Matriketa; and he shall praise my virtues
with true appreciation.’ Previously, as a follower of another religion, when born as man, Matriketa had been an ascetic, and had
worshipped Mahesvardeva. When a worshipper of this deity, he had composed hymns in his praise. But on becoming acquainted with
the fact that his birth had been foretold, he became a convert to Buddhism, robed in colour, and free from worldly cares. He mostly
engaged himself in praising and glorifying the Buddha, repente d of his past sins, and was desirous henceforward of following the
Buddha’s good example, regretting that he could not see the Great Teacher himself, but his image only. In fulfilment of the above
prediction (Vyakarana), he wrote hymns in praise of the Buddha’s virtues to the greatest extent of his literary powers.

He composed first a hymn consisting of four hundred slok as, and afterwards another of one hundred and fifty. He treats generally of
the Six Paramitas, and expounds all the excellent qualities of the Buddha, the World-honoured One. These charming compositions are
equal in beauty to the heavenly flowers, and the high principles which they contain rival in dignity the lofty peaks of a mountain.
Consequently in India all who compose hymns imitate his style, considering him the father of literature. Even men like the
Bodhisattvas Asanga and Vasubandhu admired him greatly.

Throughout India every one who becomes a monk is taught Matriketa’s two hymns as soon as he can recite the five and ten precepts
(Sila).

This course is adopted by both the Mahayana and Hinayana schools. There are six reasons for this. Firstly, these hymns enable us to
know the Buddha’s great and profound virtues. Secondly, they show us how to compose verses. Thirdly, they ensure purity of language
(cause the tongue to be pure). Fourthly, the chest is expanded in singing them. Fifthly, by reciting them nervousness in an assembly is
overcome. Sixthly, by their use life is prolonged, free from disease. After one is able to recite them, one proceeds to learn other
Sutras. But these beautiful literary productions have not as yet been brought to China. There are many who have written
commentaries on them, nor are the imitations of them few. Bodhisattva Gina (Jina) himself composed such an imitation. He added one
verse before each of the one hundred and fifty verses, so that they became altogether three hundred verses, called the ‘mixed’ hymns
(probably Samyukta-prasamsa). A celebrated priest of the Deer Park, Sakyadeva by name, again added one verse to each of Gina’s,
and consequently they amounted to four hundred and fifty verses (slokas), called the ‘Doubly Mixed’ hymns.

All those who compose religious poems take these for their patterns. Bodhisattva Nagarguna (Nagarjuna) wrote an epistle in verse
which is called the Suhrillekha, meaning ‘Letter to an intimate friend;’ it was dedicated to his old Danapati, named Gi-in-ta-ka
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(Gateka) a king in a great country in Southern India, who was styled So-to-pho-han-na (Satavahana). The beauty of the writing is
striking, and his exhortations as to the right way are earnest. His kindness excels that of kinship, and the purport of the epistle is
indeed manifold. We should, he writes, respect and believe the Three Honourable Ones (Triratna, Tibetan Suhrillekha, verse 4), and
support our fathers and mothers (verse 9). We should kept the precepts (Sila, verse II), and avoid committing sinful deeds (verses 10-
12).

On the Jataka stories:

There is another work of a similar character called Gatakamala. Gataka means ‘previous births,’ and mala ‘garland’; the idea being
that the stories of the difficult deeds accomplished in the former lives of the Bodhisattva (later the Buddha) are strung together in one
place.

Siladitya and the poems on Buddha:

The object of composing the Birth-stories in verse is to teach the doctrine of universal salvation in a beautiful style, agreeable to the
popular mind and attractive to readers. Once king Siladitya (of Kanauj), who was exceedingly fond of literature, commanded, saying:
‘Ye who are fond of poetry, bring and show me some pieces of your own tomorrow morning.’ When he had collected them, they
amounted to five hundred bundles, and, on being examined, it was found that most of them were Gatakamalas. From this fact one
judges that Gatakamala is the most beautiful (favourite) theme for laudatory poems...

King Siladitya versified the story of the Bodhisattva Gimutavahana (Ch. ‘Cloud-borne’), who surrendered himself in place of a Naga.
This version was set to music. He had it performed by a band accompanied by dancing and acting, and thus popularized it in his time.
Mahasattva Kandra (‘Moon-official,’ probably Candradasa), a learned man in Eastern India, composed a poetical song about the prince
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Visvantara (Chinese, Pi-yu-an-ta-ra), hitherto known as Sudana, and people all sing and dance to it throughout the five countries of
India.

Asvaghosha’s poems:
Asvaghosha also wrote some poetical songs and the Sutralankarasastra. He also composed the Buddhakaritakavya (‘Verses on the
Buddha’s career’). This extensive work, if translated, would consist of more than ten volumes. It relates the Tathagata’s chief
doctrines and works during his life, from the period when he was still in the royal palace till his last hour under the avenue of Sala-
trees:- thus all the events are told in a poem.

It is widely read or sung throughout the five divisions of India, and the countries of the Southern Sea. He clothes manifold meanings
and ideas in a few words, which rejoice the heart of the reader so that he never feels tired from reading the poem. Besides, it should
be counted as meritorious of one to read this book, inasmuch as it contains the noble doctrines given in a concise form. I am sending
to you the ‘Hymn in one hundred and fifty slokas’ and the ‘Epistle of Nagarguna’ (Suhrillekha), both translated for special objects,
trusting that those who like praise-songs will often practice and recite them.

CHAPTER XXXIV THE METHOD OF LEARNING IN THE WEST

IX. The Pei-na
On the Brahmins, Vedas and learning:

The Brahmans are regarded throughout the five parts of India as the most honourable (caste). They do not, when they meet in a place,
associate with the other three castes, and the mixed classes of the people have still less intercourse with them. The scriptures they
revere are the four Vedas, containing about 100,000 verses; ‘Veda’ hitherto was wrongly transcribed by the Chinese characters ‘Wei-
t’o’; the mea ning of the word is ‘clear understanding’ or ‘knowledge’. The Vedas have been handed down from mouth to mouth, not
transcribed on paper or leaves. In every generation there exist some intelligent Brahmans who can recite the 100,000 verses. In India
there are two traditional ways by which one can attain to great intellectual power. Firstly, by repeatedly committing to memory the
intellect is developed; secondly, the alphabet fixes one’s ideas. By this way, after a practice of ten days or a month, a student feels his
thoughts rise like a fountain, and can commit to memory whatever he has once heard [not requiring to be told twice]. This is far from
being a myth, for I myself have met such men.

I-tsing meets a great sage:

In Eastern India there lived a great man (Mahasattva) named Kandra (Candra), being like a Bodhisattva, endowed with great talent.
This man was still alive when I, I-tsing, visited that country. One day a person asked him: ‘Which is the more injurious, temptation or
poison?’ He at once answered: ‘There is indeed a great difference between the two; poison is injurious only when it is swallowed;
whilst the other destroys one’s intellect when only contemplated.’

Indian monks who visited China:

443 444
Kasyapa-matanga and Dharmaraksha preached good tiding in the eastern capital Lo (Honan-fu); the fame of Paramartha reached
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even to the Southern Ocean (Nanking) and the venerable Kumaragiva supplied a virtuous pattern to the foreign land (China).
Afterwards the Bhadanta Hiuen Thsang followed out his professional career in his own country. In this way, both in the past and
present, have teachers spread far and wide the light of Buddhism.

To those who learn the doctrines of ‘existence’ and ‘non- existence’ the Tripitaka itself will be their Master, while for those who
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practice the Dhyana (meditation) and Pragna (wisdom) the seven Bodhi-angas will be a guide.

Distinguished teachers at the time of I-tsing:

The following are the (most distinguished) teachers who now live in the West. Gnanakandra, a master of the Law, lives in the
monastery Tiladha (in Magadha); in the Nalanda monastery, Ratnasimha; in Eastern India, Divakarmitra; and in the southernmost
district, Tathagatagarbha. In Sribhoga of the Southern Sea resides Sakyakirti, who travelled all through the five countries of India in
order to learn and is at present in Sribhoga (Sumatra).

All these men are equally renowned for their brilliant character, equal to the ancients, and anxious to follow in the steps of the Sages.
When they have understood the arguments of Hetuvidya (logic), they aspire to be like Gina (the great reformer of logic); while tasting
the doctrine of Yogakarya they zealously search into the theory of Asanga.

When they discourse on the ‘non-existence’ they clearly imitate Nagarguna; whilst when treating of the ‘existence’ they thoroughly
fathom the teaching of Sanghabhadra. I, I-Tsing, used to converse with these teachers so intimately that I was able to receive
invaluable instruction personally from them…

While still gathering a few gems left behind on the Vulture Peak. I picked up some very choice ones; when searching for jewels
deposited in the Dragon River (Nagandai=Agiravati), I have obtained some excellent ones. Through the unseen help of the Three
Jewels and by the far-reaching influence of the royal favour, I was enabled at last to turn the course of my travel eastward, sailed from
Tamralipti and arrived at Sribhoga.

Here I have remained over four years, and, employing my time in various ways, have not yet determined to leave this place for my
native country.

CHAPTER XL SUCH ACTIONS WERE NOT PRACTISED BY THE VIRTUOUS OF

OLD
7. His Fore-knowledge of the Decrees of Heaven
On saints who visited China and India respectively:
447 448
From the time that the white horse was unbridled till the dark elephant was saddled, Kasyapamatanga and Dharmaraksha,
illumining the world by their rays (of wisdom), became as it were the sun and moon of the Divine Land, and K’ang-seng hui and Fa-
449
hien, by virtue of their example, became the ford and bridge to the Celestial Treasure House (India). Tao-an and Hui-yen were
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stooping like tigers on the south of the rivers Yang-tze and Han; Hsiu and Li were flying high like falcons on the north of the rivers
Hwang and Chi.

Successors in the Order were found regularly and continuously; thus the wave of wisdom has been perpetuated uncorrupted. Devout
laymen praised and appreciated the unceasing fragrance of the Law. …

I-tsing pr epares to return home:

At last I embarked from the coast of Kwang-chou (Canton), in the eleventh month in the second year of the Hsien Heng period (AD
671), and sailed for the Southern Sea…

In the forty chapters of the present work I have treated only of important matters, and what I have recorded is customary at the
present time among the teachers and pupils of India. My record rests distinctly on the words of the Buddha, and is not evolved from
my own mind.

Our life passes swiftly like a rapid river. We cannot prognosticate in the morning what will happen in the evening. Thus fearing lest I
may not be able to see you and state these things to you in person, I send the record and present it to you before my return.
Whenever you have time to spare, pray study the matter recorded in the book, and thus you may approach my heart. All that I state is
in accordance with the Aryamulasarvastivadanikaya (School) and no other.

 CHAPTER — 16
HYE CH’O

Hye Ch’O, a native of Hsin-lo or the Kingdom of Silla in the Korean peninsula, was born around 700 AD. There is little information
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about him in the collections of monks in Chinese, but his Memoir is invaluable to historians, religious scholars, and sociologists, as
he visited India and Central Asia when Islam was emerging as a force in the region. Fragments of the manuscript Memoir of a
Pilgrimage to the Five Regions of India, were discovered by Paul Pelliot at Tun-huang in 1908, and subsequently translated by
scholars from Korea, China, Japan and Canada.

Hye Ch’O left South China before 724 AD and travelled by sea to India. Landing in the east, he visited the holy sites of Sarnath,
Kusinagara, Rajagraha and Bodhgaya, besides the cities of Varanasi and Kanauj. From north-central India, he went south to the
capital of the Chalukya kingdom, and thereafter to the Valabhi kingdom in the Kathiawar peninsula. He went to the north-west via
Jalandhara and visited the kingdoms on the banks of the Indus, going further north to the Kashmir valley and its neighbouring
countries. Travelling through Gandhara, Kapisa and other Central Asian states, he arrived at An-hsi, frontier city of the T’ang empire,
which he identifies as Kucha, in December 727 AD.

On his return, Hye Ch’O probably stayed at Ch’ang-an in the Ta chien-fu monastery and worked under Vajrabodhi. The preface to the
Mahayana-yogavajra-prakrtisagara-manjusri-sahasrabahu-sahasrapatra-mahatantraraja-sutra states that he begun to study this sutra

on 21 January 733 (seventh day of the 21 st

year of the K’ai-yuan era). After eight years of study, the translation of the sutra was
inaugurated by Vajrabodhi on 6 January 741. Hye Ch’O was assistant translator (pei-shu) or scribe. Vajrabodhi’s death in the autumn
of 74 1 caused suspension of the work, and under Vajrabodhi’s last testament, the original Sanskrit manuscript of the sutra was sent
back to India on 30 March 742. Thereafter, Hye Ch’O studied the later part of the sutra under Amoghavajra (704–774 AD) in
November-December 774. On 23 May 780, he took the translation to the Wu-t’ai Mountain to be copied at the Ch’ien-yuan P’u-t’i
Monastery.

Hye Ch’O was associated with the school of Tantric Buddhism which arrived in China with the Indian monk Subhakarasimha in 716;
the latter settled at Ch’ang-an, and died in 735 at the age of ninety-nine. Both Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra were Tantra masters, and
scholars speculate that Vajrabodhi inspired Hye Ch’O’s voyage to India to gain better knowledge of Tantric Buddhism. Hye Ch’O’s
Chinese prose was average, and his knowledge of Indian and Central Asian languages poor. Though he records the difference in
language between countries, he fails to mention specific Indian languages or dialects. The accounts of different regions and kingdoms
are skimpy, with even the names of rulers omitted. Further, like other Chinese pilgrims, he freely mixed facts with legends. Still, his
Memoir is a valuable source for Indian and Central Asian history of the early eighth century AD because it is a contemporary record of
the changing religio-political landscape of the region.

Hye Ch’O’s records which countries in 727 were under the control of the Arabs, Turks, Tibetans, Chinese, and which were
independent. The Arab thrust into Central Asia saw the waning of Chinese control of the region after the battle of the Talas River in
751, making Hye Ch’O’s account probably the last Buddhist narrative of Central Asia before its conquest by the new religion of Islam.
As Buddhism vanished from Central Asia, the traditional land route for its dissemination to China also withered away. As Hye Ch’O’s
account is already fragmentary, we present the passages in full:

1. VAISALI (?)
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[… they do not honour the Three] Jewels … They go barefoot and naked. The non-believers do not wear clothes…. They eat at any
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time because they do not observe uposatha. The land is completely flat… They have [no] slaves. The crime of selling people is not
different from that of murder…

2. KUSINAGARA
After a month’s journey, I arrived at the country of Kusinagara. This is where the Buddha entered nirvana. The city is desolate and no
people live there. The stupa was built at the site where the Buddha entered nirvana. There is a dhyana master who keeps the place
clean. Every year on the eighth day of the eighth month (Karthik, a Sarvastivada tradition), monks, nuns, clergy and laymen hold a
great assembly of worship there. [On this occasion], numerous banners which were seen by all people would appear in the sky. On the
same day, many people would resolve their minds [for the religion].

West of the stupa is the Airavati river (Ajitavati of Yuan Chwang). The river flows two thousand li southwards before it enters the
Ganges. The stupa is isolated on all sides; no people go there. The forests are very deserted. Those on pilgrimage are [often] wounded
by rhinoceros and tigers.

Thirty li southeast from the stupa is a monastery named Bandhana. There are more than thirty villages [allocated to this monastery,
three or four of which] constantly make offerings to the dhyana masters to enable them to maintain religious services at the stupa…

3. VARANASI
[After …] days I arrived at the country of Varanasi. This country is also desolate. There is no king…
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…the band of five [headed by Kaundinya]. I saw a clay statue on the stupa.
455
On top [of the pillar] there is a [statue of] a lion. The pillar is extremely beautiful. [Its circumference measures that of] five people
with joined arms. The lines carved on it are delicate. The pillar was made at the time the stupa [was constructed]. The monastery is
named the Dharmacakra Sangharama…
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The non-believers wear no clothes. They smear ashes on their bodies and worship Mahadeva. In this monastery there are gilt
bronze images [of Buddha] and the five hundred [Pratyeka Buddhas]. These images were made by Siladitya, a former king of
Magadha. He also made a gilt (dharma wheel), which is over thirty paces in diameter. The city is built on the northern bank of the
Ganges.

This Deer Park, along with Kusinagara, Rajagraha and Mahabodhi are the four great holy stupas. All these are situated in the territory
of the Magadha kingdom. Both Mahayana and Hinayana are practiced in this country.
…I arrived at the Mahabodhi monastery. I was very happy as my long cherished wish had been fulfilled. I expressed my humble wishes
in a five-word poem:

Untroubled by the distance to Mahabodhi

Unafraid that the Deer Park is far,

Only the dangerous path worried me.

Not caring how the evil wind blows.

To visit the eight stupas is truly not easy.

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All places were burnt.

How then could one’s desire by fulfilled?

With my eyes I saw it this very day.

4. CENTRAL INDIA AND THE CUSTOMS OF THE FIVE REGIONS OF INDIA

From the country of Varanasi [I walked west for a] month and arrived at the city where the central-Indian king resides. The place is
called Kanyakubja. The terr itory of the central-Indian king is very broad and the inhabitants are many. The king possesses nine
hundred elephants while other great chiefs possess two to three hundred each. The king himself often leads troops into battle and
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frequently fights with the other four regions of India. The central-Indian king is always victorious. According to the conventions of
the countries, when one knows that it possesses a smaller number of elephants and soldiers, it immediately begs for peace and pays
tribute annually. They do not fight on the battlefield and kill each other.

The dress, language, customs, and laws of the five regions of India are similar. Only the language of the village folk in south India is
different. The class of officials is not different from that of central India.

The national laws of the five regions of India prescribe no cangue, beatings or prison. Those who are guilty are fined in accordance
with the degree of the offence committed. There is no capital punishment. From the king down to the common people one sees no
pleasure hunting with falcons or dogs or such similar activities. Although there are many bandits on the roads, they let their victims
go alive after taking away their things. If the victim holds his things too dear, then he will at once suffer for it.

The land is very warm. All plants are always green. There is no frost or snow. The foods include rice, baked wheat flour, butter, milk
and curds. Soy is not available but salt is. Everybody eats food cooked in earthenware pots. They do not have iron cauldrons or similar
things.

Apart from paying one picul of grain out of every five to the king annually, the people have no other labour service or taxes. The king
sends his own men to transport [the grain]; it is not the duty of the landowners. Most people of the land are poor; few are rich. Those
from the royal family, official households, and the rich wear a pair of cotton cloths. Ordinary people wear one piece while the poor
wear only half a piec e. Women do the same.

Whenever the king sits in audience, chiefs and commoners all come and sit around him. Everyone argues for his own cause. Charges
and countercharges are many and it becomes very confusing and noisy. The king listens but does not become angry. Deliberating, he
passes judgment saying, ‘you are right’ or ‘you are wrong’. The co mmoners and others take the word of the king as final and
complain no further.

The king and the chiefs sincerely honour and worship the Three Jewels. If they meet a monk-master, they sit on the ground, unwilling
to sit on couches. The king and chiefs take their couches with them wherever they go or stay. They rest on them wherever they are
and never use the couches of others. Monasteries and royal houses are all three-storeyed buildings. The ground floors are used as
storage rooms while the upper floors are for dwelling. The [houses of the] great chiefs are the same. These houses are all even roofed,
made of bricks and wood. Other houses are straw huts similar to the gabled Chinese houses. They are also one-storeyed.

The products of the land are only cotton cloths, elephants, horses, and other things. The land itself does not produce gold and silver,
which are imported from foreign countries. Domestic animals such as camels, mules, asses, and pigs are not kept. Most cows are
white. Among ten thousands head there is rarely one which is red or black. Both sheep and horses are few. Only the king has two to
three hundred sheep and sixty to seventy horses. The great chiefs and the common people do not keep these domestic animals. They
are only interested in rearing cattle, as they obtain milk, cu rds, and butter from them. The people of the land are good natured. They
do not like killing. In the markets one does not see any butchering or meat selling.

5. THE FOUR GREAT STUPAS OF CENTRAL INDIA

Both Mahayana and Hinayana are practiced in central India. In the territory of central India there are four great stupas. Three are
situated north of the Ganges. One is located at the Anathapindika park in Sravasti. There are monasteries and monks there. The
second one is at the Amarapali park in Vaisali. The stupa still exists but the monastery is deserted and ruined and without monks. The
third one is situated in Kapilavastu, the city where the Buddha was born. The Asoka tree is still there but the city is already ruined.
There is a stupa but no monks or inhabitants. The city is situated at the northernmost part [of the country]. The forests are mostly
deserted and there are many bandits on the roads. It is very difficult for those on pilgrimage to go safely.

The fourth is the stupa with the three-landed jewelled staircase situated at a distance of seven days’ journey west of the city where
the central-Indian king resides. It lies between two streams of the Ganges. This is the place where the Buddha descended from the
Trayastrimsa heaven to Jambudvipa by magically creating a three-landed jewelled staircase. The left lane is golden, the right one is
silver, and the middle one is glazed with vaidurya. The Buddha came down the middle lane, Brahma from the left lane, Sakra from the
right lane, both attending the Buddha. At this very spot a stupa was constructed. At present there are monasteries and monks.

6. SOUTH INDIA
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From central India, walking south for more than three months, I arrived at the place where the south Indian king resides. The king
has eight hundred elephants. His territory is very broad: the south extends to the Southern sea, the east to the Eastern sea, the west
to the Western sea, and the north adjoins the borders of central, west and east India. The dress, food, and customs are similar to those
of central India. Only the languages are slightly different. The land is hotter than central India. The products of this land are cotton
cloth, elephants, water buffalo, and yellow cattle. Also, there are fewer sheep. They do not have camels, mules and asses. They have
rice fields but no sorghum or millet. As for things such as floss and thin silks, they are not available in the five regions of India.

The king, the chiefs, and the common people highly revere the Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks. Both Mahayana
 460
and Hinayana are practiced. In the mountains there is a large monastery which was constructed by Yaksas under order from the
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Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and not built by human beings. Moreover, the pillars were cut from [rocks of the] mountain and built in
three storeys. The monastery is over three hundred paces in circumference. During the days when Nagarjuna was alive, the
monastery had three thousand monks. Only fifteen piculs of rice were given daily to them for maintenance, but the rice was never
exhausted. [The excess rice] would be returned immediately, but afterwards there would be no reduction [in supply]. But at present
the monastery is ruined and there are no monks. Seven hundred years after Nagarjuna this place began to decay.

When I was on the way to south India, I composed a poem in the five-word style:

On a moonlit night I looked towards the homeward path,

Floating clouds return by the wind,

I wish this letter to go with this opportunity,

The wind blows too fast; the clouds neither listen or return.

My country is in the northern horizon,

Other lands lie at the western extremity.

No wild geese in the hot south,

Who will take my words to the homeland?

7. WEST INDIA
Here Hye Ch’O makes the first reference to Arab invasions and the devastation of the land:

From south India I walked north for two months and arrived at the city where the king of west India resides. The west Indian king also
possesses five to six hundred elephants. The products of this land are cotton cloth, silver, elephants, horses, sheep, and cows. Barley,
wheat, and various kinds of beans are produced in large quantities [but the production of] rice and corn is much less. Food is mainly
bread, wheat preparations, curds, butter, and ghee. In the markets, silver money and cotton cloths are used.

The king, the chiefs, and the common people highly revere and believe in the Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks.
Both Mahayana and Hinayana are practiced.

The land is very broad. To the west it reaches the Western sea. The people of this country are good at singing. [In this] the other four
regions of India cannot be compared with this country. Here there is no cangue, beating, prison, capital punishment, and similar
affairs. At present half the country has been invaded by the Arabs and is already ravaged. According to the law of the five regions of
India, those who travel do not carry food. They can beg for food wherever they go. When the king and the chiefs travel, they take food
with them so as not to bother the people.

8. NORTH INDIA (JALANDHARA)

For over three months I travelled north from west India and arrived at the country of north India, which is called Jalandhara. The king
of this co untry has three hundred elephants. He resides in a city built on the hillside. From the hills the place gradually stretches
northwards. As a country it is very narrow. The army and cavalry are small. It is often annexed by the central Indian king and Kashmir.
This is the reason [the king] resides on the hillside.

The customs, dress, and language are not different from those of central India. The land is slightly cooler than central India and the
other regions. There is also no frost or snow, but there is a cold wind. The products of this land are elephants, cotton cloth, rice, and
wheat. Mules and asses are few. The king possesses a hundred horses, while each chief has three to five, and the common people have
none. The western part of the country is a plain and the eastern part is close to the snowy mountains. There are many monasteries
and monks in this country. Both Mahayana and Hinayana are practiced.

9. SUVARNAGOTRA

A small kingdom is to the east, a month’s journey through the snowy mountains. It is called Suvarnagotra, and is under the control of
the Tibetans. The dress is similar to that of north India, but the language is different. The land is extremely cold.

10. TAKKA
From Jalandhara I walked west and after a month arrived at the country called Takka. The language is slightly different, but the dress,
customs, products of the land, climate, and temperature are similar to north India. There are also many monasteries and monks. Both
Mahayana and Hinayana are practiced. The king, chiefs, and common people greatly revere the Three Jewels.

11. SINDHUKULA
Hye Ch’O mentions that half the territory has been lost to Arabs already:

From Takka I walked towards the west for another month and arrived at the country of Sindhkula. The dress, customs, climate, and
temperature are similar to north India, although the language is slightly different. This county has many camels from which the
people obtain milk and butter for food. The king and the people greatly revere the Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and
monks. Sanghabhadra (from northern Kashmir), the Reverend Master of the Sastras and author of the Nyayanusara sastra was a
native of this country. Both Mahayana and Hinayana are practiced in this country. At present it is being invaded by the Arabs and half
of its territory has been lost. From this land to the five regions of India [people] rarely drink much. I have travelled across the five
regions, but not have seen any drunken brawls. Those who drink do so only for the sake of energy and strength, but nothing more. I
did not see any people who excessively enjoyed dance, drama, and feasting.

12. TAMASAVANA
Further from north India there is a monastery called Tamasavana. During the days when the Buddha was still alive he came and
preached the dharma there. He enlightened large numbers of human and divine beings. There is a stupa on the bank of a stream east
of the monastery where the hair and nails of the Buddha are preserved. At present there are over three hundred monks. The
monastery also has the relic tooth, bone, and other things of a great Pratyeka Buddha. There are seven or eight other monasteries.
Each of these has five to six hundred monks. The monasteries are well-managed. They are highly respected by the king and common
people.

13. NAGARADHANA
Hye Ch’O grieves for a Chinese monk who died in Central India while preparing to return home:

There is another monastery called Nagaradhana situated in the mountains. There was a Chinese monk who died in this monastery.
The senior monks of the monastery said that the Chinese monk had come from central India and was brilliant and well-versed in the
sacred teachings of the Tripitaka. He was about to return to his homeland, but suddenly fell ill and immediately died. Upon hearing
the story, I grieved deeply. Thus, I wrote a poem in four rhymes to commemorate the monk who is now dead. The poem is in the five-
words style:

The lamp at your home village has no owner.

The jewel tree fell in another country.

Where does the spirit go?

The precious countenance has turned into ashes.

Pondering this my sorrow is deep.

I grieve that your wish was not fulfilled.

Who knows the road to his native land?

Nothing to be seen but white clouds returning.

14. KASMIR
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From there [Sindhukula] I walked north for fifteen days, entered a mountainous place, and reached the country of Kasmir. Kasmir is
counted as part of north India. It is a rather big country. The king possesses three hundred elephants and resides in the mountains.
The roads are dangerous and bad. It has not been invaded by any foreign country. The population of this country is quite flourishing.
The poor are many and the rich are few. The dress of the king, chiefs, and rich men is not different from that of central India. The
common people cover their ugly bodies with woollen blankets.

The products of this land are copper, iron, cotton cloth, woollen blankets, cows, and sheep. There are elephants, a few horses, rice,
grapes, and other things. The land is extremely cold, which is different from the countries mentioned before. There is frost in autumn
and snow in winter. In summer there is plenty of rainfall. The plants are always green and the leaves thick. In winter the grasses
wither.

The valley is narrow and small. From south to north it takes a journey of five days. From east to west, it takes one day to complete the
journey. These are the boundaries of the valley. The rest [of the country] is dense mountains. The roofs of the houses are covered by
rows of plants. Straw and tiles are not used. The king, chiefs, and the common people greatly revere the Three Jewels. There is a
dragon pool. The dragon king gives daily offerings to one thousand arhat monks. Although no one has witnessed these holy monks
taking food, after the offerings, cakes and rice have been seen coming up from below the water. From this it is known [that they
receive food]. To this day these offerings have not ceased. The king and chiefs ride on elephants when they go out. Minor officials ride
on horses while the common people all go on foot. There are numerous monasteries and monks in the country. Both Mahayana and
Hinayana are practiced.

Following the practice of the five regions of India, from the king, the queen, consorts, and princes down to the chiefs and their wives,
all separately build monasteries in accordance with their respective capabilities. They say when each person has his own meritorious
virtues, why should joint effort be necessary? Such being the case, other princes follow that [practice].

Whenever a monastery is built, a village and its inhabitants are immediately donated as an offering to the Three Jewels. Building a
monastery without making any donation of a village and its folk is not done. It being the practice of this foreign country, the king and
his wives have separate villages with their inhabitants. The princes and chiefs also have their villages and their inhabitants which they
donate independently without consulting the king. This also applies in the case of building monasteries. When necessary to build, they
do so, and the king is not asked. The king dares not stand in the way because he is afraid that it would taint him with bad deeds.

As for the rich commoners, though having no villages to donate, they also try their best to build monasteries and manage them by
themselves. Whenever they obtain things, they offer them to the three Jewels. As in the five regions of India, human begins are not
sold. Since there are no slaves, it is necessary to donate villages and their inhabitants [to the monasteries].

15. GREATER BOLOR

Tibetan rule and Buddhism:

From Kasmir I crossed the mountains and travelled northeast for fifteen days. The countries here are Greater Bolor, Yang-t’ung, and
Sha-po-tz’-u. These three countries are all under Tibetan authority. The dress, language, and customs of the people are all different.
People wear furs, cotton shirts, boots, and trousers. The land is narrow and the mountains and streams are extremely dangerous.
There are also monasteries and monks. People respect and believe in the Three Jewels. Eastwards from here is Tibet [where] there are
no monasteries or houses [and where] Buddhism is not known. Because the people [of Greater Bolor, Yang-t’ung and Sha-po-tz’-u] are
Hu people, they believe [in Buddhism].

16. TIBET
No Buddhism in Tibet at this time:

To the east li es Tibet. It is situated among glaciers, snowy mountains and valleys. People dwell in tents made of felt. Here there are
no cities, suburbs or houses. The residential quarters are similar to those of the Turks. Their dwellings shift with the course of water
and grass. Though the king stays in a fixed place, there is no city. He resides and carries on with his work in felt tents. The products of
this land include sheep, horses, yaks, and woollens. The dress [of the people] is made of woollens and furs. The dress of the women is
the same. The land is extremely cold, unlike the other countries. Usually the food of families is parched grain; rice and pastry are rare.
The king and the common people all do not know Buddhism. There are no monasteries or houses. The people hollow out the ground
and thus make earthen beds to sleep on. There are no couches and mats. The people are very dark; there are no fair ones. The
language is different from other countries. The inhabitants here are fond of eating lice, as they wear woollens which have many lice
and nits. Whenever they catch one, they immediately put it into their mouths. They would never throw it away.

17. LESSER BOLOR

Chinese rule, religion not stated:

From Kasmir I travelled further northwest for seven days, crossed the mountains, and arrived at the country of Lesser Bolor, which is
under Chinese rule. The dress, customs, food and language are similar to those of Greater Bolor. The people wear cotton shirts and
boots, cut their beards and hair, and bind their heads with a piece of cotton cloth. Women keep their hair. The poor are many and the
rich are few. The valleys are narrow and cultivable lands are limited. The mountains are withered and sterile with no trees or grass.
Greater Bolor was originally the place where the king of Lesser Bolor resides. It was because the Tibetans have come that he fled and
shifted his residence to Lesser Bolor. The chiefs and common people remained and did not come [with the king].

18. GANDHARA
Buddhism and the Turks:

From Kasmir I travelled further northwest. After one month’s journey across the mountains I arrived at the country of Gandhara. The
463
king and military personnel are all Turks. The natives are Hu people; there are also Brahmins. The country was formerly under the
influence of the king of Kapisa. A-yeh, the Turkish prince, took a defeated cavalry and allied himself to the king of Kapisa. Later, when
the Turkish force was strong, the prince assassinated the king of Kapisa and declared himself king. Thereafter, the territory from this
country to the north was all ruled by the Turkish king, who also resided in this country.

The mountains are withered with no grass or trees. The dress, customs, language, and climate are all different [from other lands]. The
dress includes furs, cotton shirts, boots, and trousers. The land is suitable for barley and wheat. There is no sorghum, millet, or rice.
People mostly eat parched grain and pastry. Except for Kasmir, Greater and Lesser Bolor, and Yang-t’ung, the rest of the countries
from Gandhara to the five regions of India, and further to the Malay archipelago, all do not produce grapes, but only sugarcane.

The Turkish king possesses five elephants and countless sheep and horses. Camels, mules, and asses are plentiful. [Because] China
[fights] against the Hu people one cannot go east without detour. Towards the south the road is dangerous and difficult, and there are
many bandits. From here to the north, evil occupations are many. There are many butcheries in the towns’ shops.

Though the king is of Turkish origin, he greatly believes and respects the Three Jewels. The king, the royal consort, the prince, and
the chiefs build monasteries separately and worship the Three Jewels. The king institutes the great feast of the Wu-che assembly twice
a year. Whatever he personally likes and uses – his wife, elephants, and horses – he donates [to the Sangha]. The king asks only that
the monks fix the price of his wife and elephants, so that he can redeem them. As for the rest, the camels, horses, gold and silver,
clothes, and furniture, are all sold by the monks. The amount is shared by the monks for their expenditures. These are the differences
between this king and the other Turkish kings of the north. His sons and daughters act similarly, separately building monasteries,
offering feasts, and giving donations.

The city is built on the northern bank of the great Indus river. Three days’ travel from this city to the west, there is a great monastery
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which was the residential monastery of Bodhisattvas Vasubandhu and Asanga. The monastery is called Kaniska. There is a great
stupa which constantly glows. The monastery and the stupa were built by the former king Kaniska, so the monastery was named after
him.

465
Southeast... li from this city is the place where the Former Buddha saved the dove for King Sibi. At present there are monasteries
and monks. The place where the Former Buddha offered his head and eyes to the five Yaksas is also situated in this country. The
places are all in the mountains southeast of the city. Each of these places has monasteries and monks, which are presently being
supported. Both Mahayana and Hinayana are practiced here.

19. UDYANA
Buddhism prevails:

From Gandhara, going directly north, I entered the mountains, travelled for three days and arrived at the country of Udyana, which its
people call Uddiyana. The king of this country greatly reveres the Three Jewels. Most of his villages and their inhabitants have been
donated for the support of the monasteries. Only a few villages remain his own and even food and clothing from them are donated to
the monasteries. He daily offers feasts [to the Sangha]. There are many monasteries and monks. There are slightly more monks than
laymen. The dress, food, and customs here are similar to Gandhara, though the languages are different. The land has many camels,
mules, sheep, cotton clothing, and similar things. The climate is very cold.

20. CHITRAL
Buddhis m prevails here:

From Udyana, after fifteen days journey travelling further north-east, I arrived at the country of Chitral which its people call Sha-mo-
chieh-lo-che. The king also reveres and believes in the Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks. The dress and language
are similar to those of Udyana. The people wear cotton shirts and trousers. There are also sheep and horses.

21. LAMPAKA
Buddhism prevails here:

Further to the west from Gandhara, I entered the mountains, and after seven days journey arrived at the country of Lampaka. The
country has no king, but has a great chief. The country is also subject to Gandhara. The dress and language are similar to those of
Gandhara. There are also monasteries and monks here. The Three Jewels are revered and believed. Mahayana Buddhism is practiced.

22. KAPISA
The region is ruled by Turks; the native people are Hu; also a Buddhist country:

From Lampaka, I again entered the mountains. After eight days journey I arrived at the country of Kapisa. This country is also under
the authority of the king of Gandhara. During the summer the king comes to Kapisa and resides here because of the cool temperature.
During the winter he goes to Gandhara and resides at that warm place because there is no snow and it is warm and not cold. In the
winter the snows accumulate in Kapisa. This is the reason for the cold.
The natives of the country are Hu people; the king and the cavalry are Turks. The dress, language, and food of this place are mostly
similar to Tokharistan (the Turkish race and ancestors of the T’ukuh), though there are small differences. Whether man or woman, all
wear cotton shirts, trousers, and boots. There is no distinction of dress between men and women. The men cut their beards and hair,
but the women keep their hair. The products of this land include camels, mules, sheep, horses, asses, cotton cloth, grapes, barely,
wheat, and saffron.

The people of this country greatly revere the Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks. The common people compete in
constructing monasteries and supporting the Three Jewels. In the big city there is a monastery called Sha-hsi-ssu. At present, the
curly hair and the relic bones of th e Buddha are to be seen in the monastery. The king, the officials, and the common people daily
worship these relics. Hinayana Buddhism is practiced in this country. The land is situated in the mountains. On the mountains there is
no vegetation. [It looks] as if the land had been burned by fire.

23. ZABULISTAN
The region is ruled by Turks; the native people are Hu; also a Buddhist country:

From Kapisa I travelled further west and after seven days arrived at the country of Zabulistan which its people call She-hu-1o-sa-t’a-
na. The native are Hu people; the king and cavalry are Turks. The king, a nephew of the king of Kapisa, himself controls his tribe and
the cavalry stationed in this country. It is not subject to other countries, not even his own uncle. Though the king and the chiefs are
Turks, they highly revere the Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks. Mahayana Buddhism is practiced. There is a
great Turkish chief called Sha-tuo-kan, who once a year lays out his gold and silver, which is much more than the king possesses. The
dress, customs, and products of this land are similar to those of Kapisa, but the languages are different.

24. BAMIYAN
Buddhism prevails here:

From Zabulistan I travelled further north and after seven days arrived at the country of Bamiyan. The king here is a Hu, and is
independent of other countries. His cavalry is strong and numerous, and other countries dare not invade this land. The clothing
consists of cotton shirts, furs, felt shirts and such. The products of this country include sheep, horses, and cotton. There are plenty of
grapes. The land has snow and is extremely cold. The dwellings are mostly on the mountainside. The kings, the chiefs, and the
common people highly revere the Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks. Both Mahayana and Hinayana are practiced.
The inhabitants of this country and those of Zabulistan cut their beards and hair. The dress is similar to that of Kapisa. Nevertheless,
there are also many differences. The local dialects are different from those of other countries.

25. TOKHARISTAN
Arab armies are in control here:

From Bamiyan I travelled further north and after twenty days arrived at the county of Tokharistan. The capital city is called Pactra. At
present, the place is guarded and opposed by Arab forces. The original king was compelled to leave the capital, and he resided at
Badakshan which is one month’s journey from the capital towards the east. It is also under the authority of the Arabs.

The language [of this country] is different from that of other countries. Though it is similar to the language of Kapisa, for the most
part it is different. The dress is mostly made of fur, cotton, and similar things. From the king and chiefs down to the common people,
all use fur as the outer garment. The land has many camels, mules, sheep and grapes. As far as food is concerned, the people are only
fond of pastry. The land is cold. There is fog and snow during the winter. The king, the chiefs, and the common people respect the
Three Jewels. There are many monasteries and monks. Hinayana Buddhism is practiced. They eat meat, onions and leeks. They do not
profess any other religions. All men cut their beards and hair, but women keep their hair. The land is mountainous.

26. PERSIA
Arab rule in Persia:

From Tokharistan I travelled further west and after one month arrived at the country of Persia. Formerly, the king of this country ruled
over the Arabs. One Arab, the camel keeper of the Persian king rebelled, assassinated the king, and declared himself the ruler. This is
the reason why the country is now annexed by the Arabs.

The dress is a wide cotton shirt. [The people] cut their beards and hair. They eat pastry and meat. Even if there is rice, they would
grind it, make it into pastry, and then eat it. The products of the land are camels, mules, sheep, horses, big asses, cotton cloth, and
precious articles. The language is different from that of other countries.

The natives of this land are naturally skilful in trade. They frequently sail to the western sea and enter the southern sea, and take
precious things from the country of Ceylon. Thus, they claim that the land [Persia] produces all precious things by itself. They also
take gold from the Malay archipelago, sail to Chinese territory, and proceed straight to Canton to buy silk gauze, silk wadding, and
similar things. The land produces fine cotton. The inhabitants like to slaughter animals. They serve Heaven and have no knowledge of
Buddhism.

27. ARABS
A new religion of heaven:

From the country of Persia, I travelled further north and after ten days arrived at the country of the Arabs. The king of this country
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does not stay on his own land. At present, he resides in Lesser Fu-lin because he has conquered it. Moreover, that place is an island-
like strong fortress, which is the reason the king resides there.

The products of this country are camels, mules, sheep, horses, cotton, woollen carpets, and precious things. The dress is a wide shirt
made of fine cotton. Another piece of cotton added over the shirt is the outer garment. The king and the common people wear the
same kind of clothing without distinction. Women also wear wide shirts.

Men cut their hair, but keep their beards. Women keep their hair. When they eat food, there is no distinction between noble and
commoner. They take food together from the same plate with their hand: and also use spoons and skewers. They very much dislike
taking readymade things. They say that to eat the meat that is slaughtered by one’s own hands brings boundless fortune. The
inhabitants of this country are fond of slaughtering. They serve Heaven, and have no knowledge of Buddhism. In the law of the
country, there is no convention of prostration.

28. GREATER FU-LIN

The Arabs and Turks have failed to subjugate this region at present:
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Northwest of Lesser Fu-lin, along the sea shore, is the country Greater Fu-lin. The king has a very strong and large army. He is not
subject to any other country. The Arabs made a few attacks, which did not succeed. The Turks also tried an invasion, which was also
unsuccessful. The land has many precious things. Camels, mules, sheep, horses and such are very abundant. The dress is similar to
that of Persia and the Arabs. The language is distinct from others.

29. SIX COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA

The Arabs have subjugated all of these countries:

From the country of the Arabs to the east, all the countries belong to the Hu people. These are the countries of Bokhara, Kaputana,
Kish, Shih-lo, Maimarg, and Samarkand. Though each of these countries has its own king, they are all under the authority of the
Arabs. These countries are small, their armies are very limited, and they are unable to protect themselves. The products of these lands
include camels, mules, sheep, horses, and cotton. The dress is cotton shirts, trousers, and furs. The languages are different from those
of other countries.
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Moreover, all these six countries serve the Fire Religion. They have no knowledge of Buddhism. Only in Samarkand is there one
monastery and monk, who does not know how to revere [the Three Jewels]. In these countries of the Hu people, both the beard and
hair are cut. People like to wear white caps made of cotton. One extremely bad custom is incestuous marriages, [which allows] one to
take his own mother or sisters as his wives. The Persians also take their mothers as their wives. In the country of Tokharistan and
those of Kapisa, Bamiyan, and Zabulistan, two, three, five, or even ten brothers are jointly married to one wife. They are not allowed
to marry separately as they are afraid that separate marriages would ruin their livelihood.

30. FERGHANA
The Arabs and Turks are ruling this region:
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To the east of Samarkand is the country of Ferghana where they have two kings. The great Fu-yu river flows to the west from the
centre of the country. The king to the south of the river is subject to the Arabs. The king to the north of the river is subject to the
Turks. The products of the land include camels, mules, sheep, horses, and cotton cloth. The dress is made of fur and cotton. The food
is mainly pastry and parched wheat. The language is different from that of other countries. The inhabitants have no knowledge of
Buddhism. There are no monasteries, monks or nuns.

31. KHUTTAL

Turks and Arabs incharge here; people Hinayana Buddhists:

East of Ferghana there is a country called Khuttal (from the Caspian to the Aral Sea; or the latter to the Balkhash). The king is of
Turkish origin. Half of the local inhabitants are Hu people, and the other half are Turks. The products of this land include camels,
mules, sheep, horses, cows, asses, grapes, cotton cloth, and woollen rugs. The dress is made of cotton and fur. The language is one-
third Tokharian, one-third Turkish, and one-third local dialect. The kings, the chiefs, and the common people respect and believe the
Three Jewels. Hinayana Buddhism is practiced. This country is under the control of the Arabs. Although other countries call it a
country, its size is only comparable with a great prefecture in China. The men of this country cut their beards and hair. The women
keep their hair.

32. TURKS
The Turks rule:

From the country of the Hu people up to the northern sea in the north, the western sea in the west, and China in the east, is the
territory inhabited by the Turks. The Turks have no knowledge of Buddhism. There are no monasteries or monks. The dress is fur and
woollen shirts. Insects are used for food. There are no cities or houses. Felt tents are used for houses, which people carry with them
wh erever they go. The movement of the Turks follows the course of water and grass. The men cut their beards and hair. The women
keep their hair. The language is different from that of other countries. The people of this land are fond of killing. They do not
distinguish between good and bad. The land has many camels, mules, sheep, horses and such.

33. WAKHAN
Another region dominated by Arabs; here Hye Ch’O met the Chinese envoy:

From Tokharistan I walked east for seven days and arrived at the city where the Wakhan king resides (in Persia). When I was at
Tokharistan, I met the Chinese Ambassador to foreign lands. I wrote a five-word poem in four rhymes, to express my feelings:

You complain that the way to the Western Barbarians

is distant.

I lament for the long way east:

Barren roads on huge snowy ranges,

Dangerous torrents and bandits at every turn,

Flying birds are alarmed by the precipitous cliffs,

People are in danger walking on slanting bridges.

I, who have never wept in my life,

Now shed a thousand tears.

[Another poem on the] snowy day at Tokharistan in the five word style:
Cold snow becomes ice,

Cold winds crack the earth,

Great oceans of snow, frozen, and extending far,

Rivers and streams erode the sides of the cliffs,

Even the Dragon Gate waterfall becomes frozen.

Wells seem to be covered by coiling snakes,

With fire I climb up the steps and sing.How can I cross the Pamirs?

The king of Wakhan has a small and weak cavalry and can not protect himself. At present he is under the authority of the Arabs. He
pays annually three thousand rolls of silk to the Arabs. He is stationed in a valley which is narrow and most people are poor. The dress
is fur and woollen shirts. The king wears silk gauze and cotton cloth. Only pastry and parched wheat are used for food. The land is
much colder than other countries. The language is different. The sheep and cows of this country are very small. There are also horses
and mules. The monasteries and monks are there. Hinayana Buddhism is practised. The king, the chiefs, and the common people all
serve Buddha and do not belong to other religions. This is the reason why other religions are not in this land. The men cut their
beards and hair. The women keep their hair. The people live on the mountains where there are no trees, water, or grass.

34. NINE SHIH-NI COUNTRIES

Land dominated by Chinese rulers:
470
In the northern mountains of Wakhan there are nine Shih-ni countries. Each of these nine kings commands his troops and they are
stationed [in one place]. One of them is subject to the king of Wakhan. The rest are independent and not subject to any other country.
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Recently there were two K’u kings who submitted to China, and messengers are continuously sent to An-hsi. Only the king and
chiefs wear cotton and furs; the rest of the common people wear fur and woollen shirts. The land is extremely cold, [people] make
their homes on the snowy mountains. This is different from other countries. Here there are sheep, horses, cows, and donkeys. The
language is different from that of other countries. The king often sends two to three hundred men to the valley if Ta-po-mi to plunder
the Hu traders as well as the messengers. Even if they took silk, they would pile it in storage rooms, and let it rot as they do not know
how to make clothing. In these Shih-ni countries, Buddhism is not practiced.

35. TS’UNG LING

Chinese control, then Tibetan:

From Wakhan I travelled for another fifteen days towards the east, across the Po-mi valley and arrived at the garrison town of Ts’ung
Ling (Tashkurghan). The town is under Chinese control and Chinese troops are on guard here. Formerly, this was the territory of King
472
P’ei-hsing, but that king rebelled against China, fled and submitted to the Tibetans. There are no inhabitants in this country at
present. The foreigners call this place K’o-fan-t’an (Kharbanda, Iran), the Chinese name is Ts’ung Ling.

36. KASHGAR
Chinese control and Hinayana Buddhism:

From Ts’ung Ling I travelled (same route Yuan Chwang took back to China) another month and arrived at Kashgar. The foreigners call
this place Kashgiri. The place is also guarded by Chinese troops. There are monasteries and monks. Hinayana Buddhism is practised.
People eat meat, onions, leeks, and such. The local inhabitants wear cotton clothes.

37. KUCHA
Chinese control and Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism:
473
From Kashgar I travelled further east for one month and arrived at the country of Kucha. This is the headquarters of the great
474
protectorate of An-hsi, the place where Chinese troops are gathered. In Kucha there are many monasteries and monks. Hinayana
Buddhism is practised. The foods are meat, onions, leeks, and such. The Chinese monks practice Mahayana Buddhism.

38. KHOTAN
Chinese control and Mahayana Buddhism:
475
Two thousand li from An-hsi is the country of Khotan. There are also many Chinese troops stationed here. There are many
monasteries and monks. Mahayana Buddhism is practised. No monks eat meat.

From here eastward is all the territory of the Great T’ang empire. This is known to all. One can understand [the Situation] without
further explanation.

39. MONASTERIES OF AN-HSI

This region is controlled by China and is still Buddhist:

I arrived at An-hsi during the first ten day period of the eleventh moon of the fifteenth year of the Kai-yuan era (18-27 December 727
AD). At that time, the military governor was his excellency Chao.

There are two monasteries presided over by Chinese monks. They practice Mahayana Buddhism and eat no meat. The abbot of the Ta-
yun monastery is Hsiu-h sing, who is well versed in discourse and speech. Previously, he was a monk of the Ts’i-pao-t’an Monastery in
the capital. The Duty Distributor (temple in-charge) called Yi-ch’ao understands the Vinaya Pitaka very well. Previously he was a monk
of the Chuang-yen Monastery in the capital. The Chief Chair of the Ta-yun Monastery called Ming-yun, who had a high moral
character, originally came from the capital. The se monks are good chiefs. They possess religious determination and perform religions
worship with joy.

The abbot of the Lung-hsing Monastery is called Fa-hai. Though he is a Chinese born in An-hsi, his scholarship and manners are not
different from those of China.
There is a Chinese monastery called Lung-hsing-ssu in Khotan. A Chinese monk called … is the abbot of the monastery, and he is a
good abbot. This monk is a native of Chi-cho in Ho-pei.

There is also a Chinese monastery called the Ta-yun-ssu in Kashgar. A Chinese monk resides over the monastery, who is a native of
Min-chou.

40. WU CHIH
Chinese troops are in control here:

From An-hsi I travelled further east for… and arrived at the country of Wu-chih. The place is also guarded by Chinese troops. There is
a king, and the inhabitants are Hu people. There are many monasteries and monks. Hinayana Buddhism is practiced.

There are four towns in the An-hsi region, namely An-hsi [Kucha], Khotan, Kashgar, and Wu-chih… they follow Chinese customs.
Around their heads they wear [turbans]…

 CHAPTER — 17
KHMER’S HINDU KINGDOM

Many years after publishing his famous article on Funan, French Sinologist Paul Pelliot published some notes on Indo-China, from
which the extract below is taken. Pelliot believed Hun-t’ien made a continuous voyage from India, and that Hun-t’ien is the exact
Chinese transcription of Kaundinya, whom Indian legend maintains was a great Brahmin who received his spear from Asvatthaman,
son of Drona, teacher of the Pandavas in the epic Mahabharata. He felt the name of the native queen, Liu-yeh, “Willow Leaf,” was
possibly a graphic alteration of Ye-ye, “Coconut Leaf,” as the willow was unknown to Funan. Others think the story of Hun-t’ien and
Liu-yeh is a local variant of the Indian legend of the Brahmin Kaundinya and the Nagi Soma, daughter of Soma, King of the Nagas. It
is likely Kaundinya gave his wife the mythological n ame of Soma, as he had taken that of Kaundinya (a Brahmin gotra).

According to Pelliot, Kaundinya’s conquest of Liu-yeh probably took place in the second half of the first century AD. They had a son
who succeeded to the throne, giving rise to the Hun, or First Kaundinya, dynasty, which ruled Funan for over one hundred and fifty
years. The kingdom seems to have initially consisted of settlements along the Mekong, between the present cities of Chaudoc and
Phnom Penh, each under a local chief. Chinese accounts state that Kaundinya gave seven “cities” to h is son as a royal fief, thus
introducing a sort of feudalism into Funan, while keeping the rest of the country under his direct rule. The Angkorean civilisation
lasted five centuries. The earliest Chinese visitors called the Khmer empire Funan, and the unflagging Chinese commitment for
recording history has bequeathed valuable documents on this civilisation which was built, neither by Chinese nor Indians, but by the
unique Mon-Khmer people.
476
THE FIRST KAUNDINYA DYNASTY AND THE ‘FAN’ RULERS
The Legend of Hun-t’ien and Liu-yeh
The legend of the founding of the Kingdom of Funan, probably in the latter part of the first century AD, comes to us from Chinese
sources.

At the beginning, Funan had for a sovereign a woman named Liu-yeh. There was a man from the country of Mo-fu, called Hun-t’ien,
who loved to render a cult to a genie, with unrelaxing ardour. The genie was touched by his extreme piety. At night, (Hun-t’ien)
477
dreamed that a man [genie?] gave him a divine bow and ordered him to go on board a great merchant junk and go to sea. In the
morning Hun-t’ien entered the temple, and, at the foot of the tree of the genie, he found a bow. He then boarded a great ship and went
to sea. The genie directed the wind in order to make (the ship) arrive at Funan. Liu-yeh wished to pillage (the ship) and take
possession of it. Hun-t’ien raised the divine bow and fired. (The arrow) pierced the bark (of Liu-yeh) from side to side. Liu-yeh,
frightened, submitted, and thus Hun-t’ien became king of Funan (666, 245-246).

According to Chinese accounts, the young queen, Liu-yeh, was “celebrated for her virile force and her exploits” (584, 436). Hun-t’ien
married her and became king. Not content with seeing her go naked, as was then the custom of both men and women in Funan, he
dressed her in a fold of cloth, with a hole through which she passed her head, and made her do her hair up in a knot. This was the
beginning of women’s clothing and styles in Funan.

No fixed amount or type of raiment, it appears, was demanded by the tribunal of Fame, and Liu-yeh (Willow Leaf) had become queen
of her little riverain kingdom and was to go down to posterity “clad only in tropical sunbeams.” This did not, however, please the
educated taste of her newly-acquired husband, and he became the initiator of the first styles of women’s costumes in Funan; which
styles, moreover, have changed little in the nineteen centuries which have elapsed since the coming of Hun-t’ien to that remote and
beautiful little kingdom in the delta jungle beside the turbulent Mekong. If, however, the dress demanded by Hun-t’ien was designed
to cover the breast, it soon descended to the lower level; for, to this day, in the region where once lived the primitive Funanese, the
Cambodian descendants, male and female, often go naked above the waist.

The colossal and awesome statuary of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat has ever left visitors spellbound and speechless. Communist China’s
478
most famous writer, Han Suyin, found herself drawn repeatedly to the monuments, bewitched by their beauty and power. Yet many,
she discovered, simply hated it for its sheer size and the fact that it was built for non-human use.

Angkor was built for the idea of divinity; for the setting down in stone of the divine power of the kings of Angkor. But the kings and the
nobles and the people did not live in these stone structures. They lived in houses of wood, or thatch, in and around the temples.
Angkor is therefore the greatest complex of temples and monuments massed together in the world; none of these was ever intended
to be utilised by mere mortals. The king who built his monument might live near it; and the monument assured his power, his linga,
his rule, his worship. It was his divine substance; his body was the mere human envelope.

One night two thousand years ago, it is said, a god visited a youth in India and said to the young man, named Kaundinya: “Find a bow,
board your boat, sail toward the rising sun.” Kaundinya went to the temple next morning and there found, on the floor, a bow with a
quiver full of arrows; he embarked and the god-driven wind blew him across the elephant-backed sea to a shore where Willowleaf, the
beautiful queen and leader of the Khmer amazons, reigned. The queen launched her war canoe to repel Kaundinya, but the youth shot
it through with his arrows, and she submitted to him. They were married, and thus was born the dynasty of the first Khmer kingdom.

… In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the kingdom was at the heig ht of its power, under such monarchs as Suryavarman II and
Jayavarman VII. The latter built many monuments, but his greatest undertaking was the Bayon temple at the centre of Angkor Thom,
which was supposed to be the centre of the world, the umbilicus, the omphalos.

The Bayon is perhaps the most fabulous and strange monument in the world. It is a work of sculpture, not architecture, and it is a
riddle until suddenly one looks at it and exclaims, “It is a lotus, a flower of stone!” For it is an enormous flower, with all its many
towers, looking to encompass the whole world, up to the farthest horizon; the visible and the invisible; as the sun’s eye makes the
harvest ripen, so th e eyes of the Bayon keep the world in equilibrium, assure that the sun and moon do not change places; for sight is
command and possession, sight is immortality through awareness. It is said that the heads and the faces are those of the great king
Jayavarman VII, whose compassion was so great he suffered his subjects’ woes, and thus his eyes multiplied many times to look to
their welfare beyond death.

The Bayon is also an astrological monument; for today, as a thousand years ago, the Khmers believe in soothsayers and prophecies….
The Bayon housed within it a huge replica of Jayavarman VII as Buddha; it had no other purpose than the commemoration of the
king’s divinity. Today, no Khmer will come by night to the Bayon, nor venture near it, for it is said that to do so is to tempt fate, and a
swift death follows…
Angkor Wat, the largest and the best proportioned and harmonious of all the temples, is like a prodigious funeral pyre of a divine
king… And along the galleries, hundreds of yards long, are the scenes from the great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata…

One of the most popular of the Khmer monuments for many Westerners is Banteay Srei, “The Citadel of Women,” a work much nearer
to the Indian style. Personally, I do not feel so stimulated by it; it is too beautiful, too perfect – exquisite and small and charming in its
pink stone…

To Keo, the crystal tower; Pre Rup, the pyramid with the name of “the body turning”; the enormous Bakong – these and so many of the
other great temples are representations of Mount Meru, the great cosmic, five-tiered mountain of the world, which is also symbolised
in the five-roofed pagodas of Nepal, in the gopuras of India, the pagodas of China, and Barabudur in Indonesia.… And wherever these
temple-mountains appear, it is in celebration of the divine essence, the power and the glory, not in tribute to man. All the fabulous
enormousness of Angkor is the tremendous expression in stone of man’s will to live beyond himself, to govern time and space beyond
the allotted span of his own days. Hinduism, Buddhism, the strong imagination and vivid skill of the indig enous Khmers – all
combined to produce an order, a culture, which lasted many centuries, and died of its own profligacy, of its own lavish and heedless
use of manpower to build for the gods, until no one was left for the wars or for the harvest.

For that is what happened. At the time of Angkor’s greatest splendour, under Jayavarman VII, the Bayon was built. Yet parts of it have
been left unfinished, as if some great war, some scourge, had stopped the sculptor’s chisels in place. After the Bayon, no more great
monuments were built – the Bayon marks the end…

Thus Angkor died: it died of its own splendour, magnificence, architectural megalomania. In 1432 it was abandoned as the capital of
the kingdom. The irrigation system that had kept it alive fell into disuse. Then another invader came – the jungle: trees ate into the
heads and stones; they smothered Angkor. But Angkor was not forgotten by the Khmer peasants, although it appeared lost to those
who knew only a later capital city, Phnom Penh… it was not until the nineteenth century that an adventurous Frenchman made his
way through the jungle, perceived the cone-shaped towers of Angkor Wat, and then wrote about the Khmer monuments to bring them
back to general public awareness.

The prophecy had predicted, the peasants said, that after 500 years Angkor would rise again. And it was in the twentieth century,
almost exactly five centuries later, that the French School of the Far East, which had many eminent members, helped to reconstruct a
large part of Angkor and made it the wonder and pride of Cambodia, a marvel of the world, an unbelievable, enriching experience for
all those who are sensitive to beauty and great art.

“As the grace of spring on the gardens, as the night of fullness for the moon, thus, ravishing in its splendour the beauty of your body
… and like the bees gathering at the hive, the eyes of men have turned toward you, to quench their thirst for beauty.”

 CHAPTER — 18
IL YON

The ancient history of Korea, titled, Samguk Yusa or “Annals of the Three Kingdoms,” hints at early ties between Korea and India.
The reference to an Indian princess from Ayodhya, who married King Kim Suro, founder of the “Kaya” or Gaya Kingdom (42-562),
which possibly stimulated direct contacts with India, is fascinating to scholars and general readers alike. According to the legend, the
princess arrived at a Korean port with a stupa on 27 July, 48 AD. Parts of the stupa are still extant; the stones are not Korean, but
imported. This unique stupa in front of the Ayodhya queen’s tomb bears the Hindu symbol of “Surya,” the sun god.

Samguk Yusa was compiled by the monk II Yon (also Ilyon) in the thirteenth century, with a view to foster Korean unity in the face of
an impending Mongolian invasion. He claimed it to be a sketchy extract from Karak-kuk-ki, a narrative by Munin, magistrate of
Kumgwan County during the reign of the Koryo King Munjong (1046-1083). It mostly comprises of legends, but some is based on fact.
Karak lay on Korea’s southern coast in ancient times and the tribes were known as Kaya.

Although Ilyon was not among the pilgrims who visited India, his narrative contains a Korean queen’s claim: “I am a princess of
Ayodhya,” and thus links the region to India. Ayodhya, capital of King Dasratha, father of Sri Rama, is situated in present day
Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. Korean writer Lee Jong Ki visited Ayodhya in 1974 and found an amazing similarity between the motifs on
certain temples in the Indian town and the royal tomb at Kimhae, ancient capital of Kaya. The symbol of two fishes depicted on the
main beam under the eaves of the entrance to the queen’s tomb in Kimhae, which long perplexed Buddhist scholars in Korea, was
found upon virtually every house and hut in Ayodhya!

BOOK II
479
58. Karak-kuk
[From the beginning of the creation, there was no national name and no king in the Kimhae region (north of the Naktong River delta).
Nine chiefs Ado-kian, Ypdo-Kan, P’ido-kan, Odo-Kan, Yusu-kan, Yuch’on-Kan Sinch’on-Kan, Och’on-Kan and Sinkwi-Kan ruled over
75,000 natives, who lived simple agrarian lives].

In the eighteenth year of the Kien-wu era of Emperor Kuang Wu of the Later Han in the year of the tiger (42 AD) on the day of the
spring festival in Bathing Valley the villagers heard a strange voice calling from Kuji (Turtle’s Back), the summit of North Mountain,
saying “Does anyone live here?”

– “Yes,” the chief replied.

– “What is this place?”

– “This is Kuji, the Turtle’s Back, the highest peak of our North Mountain.”

– “A heavenly god has commanded me to descend to earth, establish a kingdom, and become its king, and therefore I am here. You
people must dig in the earth on the peak, while you dance and sing,

‘Kuha! Kuha! (Turtle, Turtle) Push out your head!

If you don’t, we’ll burn and eat you.’

Then you will meet a great king.”

[The people did as told]

The heavens opened and a purple rope descended to the earth, with a golden bowl wrapped in a red cloth tied to the end of it. When
the cloth was removed the bowl was found to contain six golden eggs, round like the sun. The people worshipped the eggs, and,
having replaced the cloth, took the heavenly gifts to the house of Ado, the paramount chief, where they laid them on a table and went
home to rest. When they returned at sunrise and removed the cloth they found that the eggs had hatched into six boys of noble and
handsome appearance. All the people bowed low and offered congratulations.

The boys grew rapidly day-by-day, and after ten days the height of the boy who had hatched first had reached nine feet. His face was
like that of a dragon, h is eyebrows like two eight-coloured rainbows (like those of Yao, sage-king of ancient China) and his eyes
sparkled with double pupils (like those of Shun, Yao’s son-in-law). On the fifteenth of the same month he was crowned king with the
title “Suro”. He named his kingdom Karak-kuk (or Kayaguk) and the other five men became the rulers of the five neighbouring Kaya
tribes.

[The kingdom of Karak-kuk lay between the Hwangsan River on the east, the Ch’anghae (Blue Sea) on the southwest, Mt. Chiri on the
northwest, Mt. Kaya on the northeast and the sea to the south. Initially, the king lived simply in a temporary residence of earth and
uncut reeds, but soon after his coronation decided to build a capital in a valley surrounded by hills].

“Beautiful and wonderful!” the King exclaimed. “Though small and narrow as a blade of grass, this place is fit to be the abode of the
sixteen Nahans (disciples of Buddha) or the seven sages (Legendary Chinese philosophers). With proper development of the
surrounding country, this will make a fine place for people to live.” And he selected the locations of the outer city walls, the royal
palaces, government offices, armouries and storehouses before returning to his temporary headquarters.

[The project was completed within one year].

In the twenty-fourth year of Kien-wu of Kuang Wu-ti in the Later Han period in the year of the monkey (Mu-sin, 49AD) on the twenty-
seventh day of the seventh month, the nine chief courtiers of King Suro repaired to the palace and were received in royal audience.

“It is not good for the King to be alone,” they said, “Let Your Majesty choose the most beautiful and virtuous maiden from among the
girls whom we shall bring to the palace and make her your queen.”

“I was sent down from heaven to rule this land,” the King replied, “and so my spouse will also descend from heaven at divine
command. Sail toward Mangsan-do (Mountain-Viewing Island) in the south and see what happens.”

The courtiers obeyed. When they were far out at sea, a ship with a red sail and flying a red flag appeared on the horizon, darting
toward the north like an arrow. The Kaya sailors waved torches and made signs for the mysterious ship to come near. When it did so,
they found that a beautiful princess was on board. The sailors escorted her to the shore, where a courier mounted a swift steed and
galloped off to convey the news to the King.

The King was exceedingly glad. He commended the nine senior courtiers to meet the princess on the seashore and conduct her to the
palace.

[The courtiers welcomed the princess and invited her to the royal palace].

“You are strangers,” the princess modestly replied. “I cannot follow you, nor can I be so unmaidenly as to enter the palace without due
ceremony.”

The courtiers conveyed the princess’ words to the King, and he was struck by her virgin modesty and queenly dignity. He ordered a
tent pitched in front of his detached palace on a hill sixty feet south-west of the royal residence and awaited her arrival.

The princess left her ship with her suite, which consisted of the two courtiers Sin Po and Cho Kuang, their wives Mojong and Moryang
and twenty slaves who carried gold, silver, jewels, silk brocade and tableware in countless boxes as her trousseau. When she reached
the top of the hill she changed her brocade trousers and offered them as a gift to the mountain spirit. Then she approached the tent
and the King rose to meet her…

“I am a princess of Ayuta (in India),” the princess said. “My family name is Ho, my given name is Hwang-Ok (Yellow Jade), and I am
sixteen years old. In May this year my royal father and mother said to me, “Last night we had a dream, and in our dream we saw a god
who said, ‘I have sent down Suro to be King of Karak, and Suro is a holy man. He is not yet married, so send your daughter to become
his Queen.” Then he ascended to heaven. It is the command of the god, and his words are still ringing in our ears. My daughter, bid
farewell to your parents and go.’ So I started on my long voyage, with steamed dates of the sea and fairy peaches of heaven for my
provisions. Now I blush to stand in your noble presence.”

“I knew that you were coming,” the King told her, “so I refused all the maidens whom my courtiers recommended as my spouse. Now
my heart leaps with joy to receive a most beautiful and virtuous princess as my Queen.”…

On the first day of the eighth month the King and his Queen entered the royal palace in colourful palanquins, accompanied by
courtiers in carriages and on horseback and followed by a long train of wagons laden with trousseau which the princess had brought
with her from India. She was escorted into the inner palace, and the two courtiers and their wives who had accompanied her from
India were accommodated in separate apartments. The rest of her suite were given a guest house of twenty rooms and given food and
drink, and her household articles and precious jewels were put in a store-room for her use at all times.

The marriage of the King and Queen was like the combination of two harmonious beings – heaven and earth, sun and moon, yang and
yin. She was a faithful and true helpmeet to the King, shining like a ruby or a sapphire – and indeed she was an Indian jewel and
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rendered valuable service in the rise of his royal household, like the vassals who assisted the King of Hsia and the two daughters of
Yao who attended Shun, their royal husband, in ancient China.

The royal couple lived happily for many years. In due time they both dreamed of seeing a bear, and sure enough the Queen conceived
and bore a son. This was Crown Prince Kodung.

On the first of March in the sixth year of Chung-p’ing in the reign of Ling-ti, the year of the snake, Kisa (189) the Queen died at the
age of one hundred and fifty-seven. The people mourned as if they had lost their own mothers and buried her on a hill northeast of
Kuji. They changed the name of the beach where she first landed to Chup’och’on, that of the hill on which she changed her brocade
481
skirt to Nunghyon, and that of the seacoast where she waved her red flag at the shore to Kich’ulpyon, so that her arrival in Karak
should always be remembered.

Sin Po and Cho Kuang, who attended the Queen on her voyage from India, each begat daughters about thirty years after their arrival,
and both died a few years later…

The King spent many lonely hours in deep grief after the death of the Queen, and at last he also died ten years later at the age of one
hundred and fifty-eight, on the 23rd of March in the fourth year of Kien-an during the reign of Hsien-ti in the year of the hare, Ki-myo
482
(199). The people wailed as if heaven had fallen and buried him in a mausoleum ten feet high and 300 feet in circumference to the
northeast of the palace. A shrine was erected and sacrifices were offered annually on the third and seventh of January, the fifth of May
and the 15th of August to the spirits of King Suro and his royal descendants for nine generations.

 ANNEXURE — 1
LIVES OF EMINENT KOREAN MONKS
483
HYEOP
Sok Hyeop was a serene and profound man, solid in spiritual matters. Early in life he bade farewell to his remote country and went
directly to the Middle Kingdom. During the era chen-kuan he travelled to the Western Regions, crossing the vast desert and the steep
ridges of the Himalayas, suffering tremendous hardships. He took his life lightly for the sake of the Law, his only ambition being its
propagation. At last he arrived at the Bodhi monastery and worshipped the sacred traces. He then stayed in the Nalanda monastery.
He studied the Vimalakirtinirdesa, compared it with the T’ang translation, and expounded it thoroughly and systematically. The
marginalia to the Liang lun reads: “A Silla monk, Hyeop, copied it under the Buddha’s toothwood tree (Dantakastha).” Hyeop died at
Nalanda, in his sixties; the texts he copied in Sanskrit are still in the monastery.

HYERYUN
Sok Hyeryun was a native of Silla; his Sanskrit name was Prajnsvarman (Chinese, Hyegap). From the time he left his family to become
a monk, he yearned for the holy land. Finally, he sailed to Min and Yueh (modern Fukien), walked to Ch’ang-an, suffering cold and
heat and all manner of hardships. Then, by imperial order, he went to the West as an attendant to the master of the Law, Hyonjo.
Arriving in India, they made a pilgrimage to the miraculous traces of Buddha. Hyeryun stayed at the Cinaccavihara in Amravati for
nearly ten years before moving east to the wealthy Gandharachand monastery. Most foreign monks from the north [Serindia] usually
resided there, each studying his own discipline. Hyeryun knew Sanskrit well and studied the Abhidharmakosa deeply. I-ching noted
that Hyeryun was around forty years old when he (I-ching) returned to China.

ARYAVARMAN
Sok Aryavarman possessed supernal wisdom, being self-enlightened. Coming to China from Silla in search of a good teacher to study
under, he was determined to set a standard for his contemporaries and to save future generations. His quest led him to seek the Law
in western India; he scaled the distant Pamirs, and travelled far and wide and witnessed all the sacred traces. He exhausted his funds
and food, and stayed at Nalanda monastery, where he died.

At this time, the eminent monk, Hyeop, was staying in the Bodhi monastery, while the monks Hyon’gak and Hyonjo were at the
Mahabodhi monastery. These four monks completed their journey during the era chen-kuan, having left their native country to
observe Indian manners. They acquired towering reputations in the east and west and left behind an undying legacy. According to the
484
chronology, they probably departed for India around the same time as the master Hsuan-tsang (602-664), but the exact year is not
known.

ANNEXURE — 2
485
CHINESE MONKS IN INDIA

I-ching returned to Srivijaya486 from India, and from there dispatched the manuscript of Chei-Kuei and the sketch of Nalanda
monastery. After Fa-hien, many Chinese monks came to India to study the Law, disregarding the risk to their lives as they took the
perilous road, crossing the Great Wall, or the sea route. Those who arrived suffered for want of a Chinese monastery, which made
their study of Buddhism even more difficult. I-ching wished to honour them for posterity and garnered information about more than
56 monks who were still living or had passed away, though some remained unnamed. He could personally meet only five – Wu-hsing,
487
Tao-lin, Hui-lun, Seng-che and Chih-hung. In the first year of the Ch’ui-Kung era, I-ching set off for India with the Dhyan a-master,
Wu-hsing. Till the time of his departure, no Chinese commission had been set up to find out the fate of these monks; some were from
Korea.

Sramana Hsuan-chao Fa-shih was a native of Hsien-chang (modern Che-kiang) in Tai-chou; his Sanskrit name was Prakasamati
(Chinese Jnanaprabha). His grandfather and father both held high posts in the Imperial Service, but he underwent tonsure at an early
age.

As he grew older, he wished to visit the sacred places, and went to the capital city Lan-chou for discussions on the Buddhist Sutras
488
and Sastras. In the mid-Chen-Kuan period, in the monastery of Ta-hsing-shan of Hsien-chang, he began learning Sanskrit literature
with the monk Hsuan-chang. Then he set off with a mendicant staff towards the West as a parivrajaka, leaving the capital city and
crossing the drifting sands, the Iron gate, the snow-clad mountains, the Pamir or Onion range, till he finally reached Jalandhara
(Punjab).

Surviving such a hazardous journey, he fell into the hands of robbers just before entering the city, and despairing of human assistance,
chanted some sacred words. The following night he had a dream that fulfilled his desire – he woke to find the robbers fast asleep and
quietly escaped. Hsuan-chao Fa-shih stayed in Jalandhara for four years, being warmly received by the king who patronised him. He
practiced the Sanskrit language and studied Buddhist Sutras and Vinaya texts, with little success.
489 490 491
Moving on, he spent four years in the Mahabodhi Sangharama. He studied Chu-she Kosa, Chieh-tui-fa I.E. Abhidharma and the
Vinayas of the Mahayana and Hinayana schools. From here he went to the Nalanda monastery where he stayed for three years,
492
studying the Chung-lun, Pranya-mula sastra like Sata Sastra etc. with the Indian monk Sheng-kuang, Vijayarasmi, and
493
Saptadasabhumisastra-yogacaryabhumi with Bhadanta, the virtuous preceptor, Pao-shih-tze, Ratnasimha. He learned the various
degrees of abstract meditation to free the mind from subjective and objective bondages. Then he moved towards the Ganga, receiving
hospitality from the King of Shan-pu country, north of the Ganga. He resided at the monastery of the Hsin-che (Great Faith) and other
monasteries for about three years.
494
Envoy Wang Hsuan-ts’e from the Court of the T’ang Emperor, on return to China, gave a very good report about the monk
Prakasamati, prompting the empe ror to dispatch people to West India to escort the monk back to the imperial Capital. The journey
495
took them to Nepal, where the King helped monk Hsuan-chao proceed towards Tibet. There he visited Princess Wen-Ch’ang who
financed the journey from Tibet to China.

In September, he left Shan-pu and arrived at Lo-yang in January, traveling over 10,000 li in five months. In Lin-te period the Emperor
gave him a long audience in the Imperial Court and sent him to Kashmir to escort an old Brahmin named Lokaditya. In Lo-ya ng
Hsuan-chao Fa-shih met several venerable monks and debated the fundamental principles of Buddhism. He undertook the translation
496
of the Vinaya of the Sarvastivada School with the assistance of the great Vinayacarya Tao and Dharmacarya Kuan of the Ching-ai
temple. Soon after, however, he set off for India in deference to the Emperor’s wishes, leaving behind all the Sanskrit manuscripts in
the capital.

En route, he met a Chinese envoy sent by the T’ang Emperor, who was already escorting Lokaditya. The envoy commissioned Hsuan-
chao, who told them to accompany the band of travellers going to Lata (southern Gujarat), to collect medicinal herbs for longevity.
This led him to Nava Vihara in Bukhara, where he saw a washing bowl and other relics of Tathagata. Then he reached Kapisa
(Gandhara-Kashmir) and worshipped the Usnisa of Tathagata, offering flowers, burning incense, and inscribing a prasasti.

Then he moved towards Lata country in Hsin-tu (Sindhu), receiving a warm welcome from the king; he stayed for four years before
going to South India, from where he sent various medicinal herbs to China. As the road from Nepal to Tibet and the road through the
country of Kapisa to Tuo-tie (Tajiks, Tumasik) was blocked; travel was difficult. He proceeded to the Grdhrakuta mountain and
Venuvana, Rajagriha. At the age of sixty, he fell sick and died at A-mo-luo-p’o in Mid-India.

Tao-hsi Fa-shih hailed from an aristocratic family of Ch’i-chou (Shan-tung); his Sanskrit name was Srideva. From childhood he was
virtuous and kind, studied metaphysics and was deeply drawn to the Buddha’s faith. He had a great desire to visit Mid-India.
Proceeding towards Tibet, he found the road very dangerous and turned westwards, where he encountered even more difficulties.
Traversing many countries, he reached the Mahabodhi Sangharama where he spent a couple of years in search of Buddhist Sutras
and worshipped the sacred relics of the Buddha. He visited Nalanda and Kasi. The king of An-mo-luo p’o received him with great
respect. He immersed himself in the study of the Mahayana, Ta-ch’ang Sutras at Nalanda. He studied the Vinayapitaka and the
Sabdavidyasastra (science of grammar). As a renowned calligraphist and literary genius, he inscribed a memorial tablet in the
Chinese language on a stone slab in the monastery of Great Enlightenment; at Nalanda he left more than four hundred volumes of old
and new Chinese Sutras and Sastras. Srideva was residi ng at An-mo-luo-p’o when he fell sick and died at the age of around fifty. I-
ching came to Amraka after his death and paid respects to the room where Srideva had lived.

497
Shih-Pien Fa-shih, Sri Kas, was a native of Chi’chou (Shan-tung), well versed in the Sanskrit language and Vidyamantra. He
followed monk Hsuan-chao to North India and then moved to city of Amraka and received hospitality from the ki ng. While in the Raja
Vihara, he met Dharmacarya Tao-hsi, who hailed from his native place. They became close friends, but at the age of thirty-five, Pien
fell ill and passed away.

A-nan Alyeh-po-m o, Anandavarman was a native of Hsin-luo (ancient name of Korea). During the Chen-kuan period (of the T’ang
Emperor) he set off from Kuang-hsieh in the capital city of Ch’ang-an in search of the Truth and to pay homage to the sacred relics of
the Buddha. At Nalanda, he studied the Vinayas and copied a large number of Sutras. He died in the west of the Lung-ch’uan, the
mango grove to the south of the Nalanda monastry, at the age of more than seventy.

Hui-yeh Fa-shih, Jnanasampada, also hailed from Korea. In the Chen-k uan period, he went to India, lived in the Bodhi monastery
and paid homage to the sacred relics of Buddha. He spent a few years at Nalanda, studying Buddhism and listening to religious
discourses. While checking Chinese manuscripts, I-ching discovered the manuscript of Liang-lun (Liang Dynasty, AD 502-557) at
498
Nanking, which said that the Korean monk (Jnanasampada) Hui-yeh recorded it under the shade of Buddha’s Tooth-stick tree. He
inquired from monks living in Nalanda and learnt that the monk had died there at the age of over sixty. Whatever Sanskrit texts he
copied, remained there.

499
Hsuan-t’ai Fa-shih also came from Korea; his Sanskrit name was Sarvajnadeva. During the Yung-hui period, he went to Tibet and
on to Mid-India via Nepal. He visited the Bodhi-Tree, the Wisdom Tree, and studied Buddhist Sutras and Sastras diligently. He visited
many sites in the eastern region. While returning, he reached T ’u-ku-hun (Lap Nor), where he encountered monk Tao-his, and they
continued their journey together. They moved towards the monastery of Great Enlightenment and from there to China, but nothing
was heard of them thereafter.

Hsuan-k’o Fa-shih, Paramapujya, was from Korea. In the Chen-kuan period, he and Dharmacarya Hsuan-chao left for pilgrimage to
the monastery of Great Enlightenment. But he fell sick a few days later and died at the age of fifty.

There were two other monks from Hsin-luo (Korea), whose names and origins are unknown. They left Ch’ang-an and reached the
South Sea, journeying to Srivijaya and P’o-lu’shih, the country west of Sribhoga, where they fell ill and died.

Fo-t’o-ta-mo, Bodhidharma belonged to Tu-huo-shu-li. He studied Hinayana Buddhism. He went to Shen-chou and entered monastic
life in I-fu. He was very fond of travelling and visited many places in China. In India, he met I-ching at the Nalanda monastery.
Thereafter, he left for north India; he was around fifty at this time.

Tao-fang Fa-shih, the Law Master Dharmadesa, was a native of Ping-chou. He left home for Nepal where he stayed at the monastery
of Great Enlightenment for some years as head of the temple. Later, he returned to Nepal where he stayed till the time of I-ching. He
was quite indisciplined and seldom studied the Buddhist Sutras; he was quite old.

Tao-sheng Fa-shih was also a native of Ping-chou; his Sanskrit name was Candradeva. In the last year of the Chen-kuan period, he
went to Tibet and Mid-India. He visited the Bodhi monastery and worshipped Caitagrha with great reverence. At Nalanda, he was the
500
youngest student and was treated very courteously by the king. He went to the Wang-Ssu Rajavihara and lived there for a couple of
years, studying the principles of Hinayana Buddhism and the essence of the Tripitaka. He carried many Buddhist texts and Buddha
images to his own country, but on reaching Nepal on his way back home, fell sick and died at the age of fifty.

Ch’ang-min Ch’an-shih, Nityadaksa Dhyanacarya, hailed from Ping-chou. In childhood itself, he accepted the tonsure and wore
Buddhist robes. Desiring to be born in India, he devoted himself to a life of purity and religion, chanting the name of Buddha. He
visited the capital city of Lo-yang and decided to propagate Buddhism by writing the whole of the Prajna Sutras in 10,00 0 chuan.
Keen to go to India on pilgrimage, he went to the palace for the Emperor’s permission, which was granted. He travelled all over south
China, copying the Prajna Sutra.

Then he sailed for Kalinga (Java) and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, planning to reach Mid-India. He boarded a cargo vessel
with heavy merchandise, which got caught in a sudden storm and began to sink. The captain, a follower of Buddha, boarded the safety
boat and called him to join them for safety. But Ch’ang-min refused, asking the captain to save someone else, and fervently chanted
the name of Amitabha. He was more than fifty when he died.

He had only one disciple with him, about whom little was known. He received help from his companions. This story was narrated
by the survivors of the wrecked ship.
501
Mo-to-seng-ho, Matisimha, came from Ching-chao; his family name was Hsing-fu. His personal name was not known. He
travelled widely with monk Pien, visiting Mid-India and the monastery of Great Faith Hsin-che-Ssu. He knew Sanskrit but did not learn
the Buddhist Sutras and Sastras in depth, and decided to return to his land, but died on the way back in Nepal at the age of forty.

Hsuan-hui Fa-shih belonged to the Capital City of China, and was the son of General An. He took the overland route to Northern
India, entering Kashmir and receiving the job of looking after the royal elephants. Daily, the King sent food to the Nagahrada Parvata
Vihara where monk Hsuan-hui lived, and five hundred Arhats also received the royal hospitality regularly. It wa s here that the
venerable Madhyantika, disciple of Ananda, converted the dragon-king. The King of Kashmir was so impressed by the pilgrim monk
that he pardoned over a thousand convicts condemned to death and set them free. After living some years as a royal guest, he became
disappointed over something, and left for the South.

He visited the monastery of Great Enlightenment; worshipped the Bodhi Tree; and visited the Muchalinda lake. He often climbed the
Grdhrakuta mountain. He overcame many difficulties to master Sanskrit pronunciations, but acquired very little knowledge in
Sanskrit Sutras and religious thoughts, so decided to return home. But when he reached Nepal, he died at the young age of thirty odd
years, possibly from consuming poisonous herbs there.

A person went with the Chinese envoy to Bukhara by the northern route and become a monk under the name of Cittavarman, in the
Nava Sangharama (Hinayana school). Having received the precept, he declined to eat the three kinds of pure food. The master of the
monastery admonished him, saying “Tathagata himself took five kinds of food considered proper for a monk. It is not a crime. Why
should you not eat?” Cittavarman replied that this was not the rule observed by the Hinayanists and he could not change his old
habits, the master asserted that: “I have established a practice here in agreement with the three pitakas; I have never read such a
rule. If you so please you may find out a suitable preceptor. I can no longer be your preceptor.” Thus forced to eat the food,
Cittavarman was reduced to tears. He knew very little Sanskrit. He took the northern route back to China, and no one knew where he
went. His story was told by Indian monks from North India.

Two monks in Nepal were the children of the wet nurse of the princess of Tibet. They left home young to become monks, though one
later returned to family life. They lived at the Rajavihara, and mastered the Sanskrit language and Sanskrit texts. One was thirty-five
and the other twenty-five.

Lung Fa-shih Gauravadharma left home during the Chen-kuan period and took the northern route to Ind ia. He wanted to witness
the transformating influence of Buddhism in Mid-India. He recited Saddharmapundarika Sutra in Sanskrit beautifully. He died on
reaching Gandhara, according to monks coming from North India.
502
Ming-yuan Fa-shih came from the city of Ch’ing in I-chou; his Sanskrit name was Cintadeva. He was given a religious education
from childhood, and grew up virtuous, handsome, respectful, and dignified. He was respected in China, and was conversant in
Madhyamika and Satasastra respectively. He could expound the discourse of philosopher Chuang-chou. While young, he visited many
places in Hu-nan and in the area east of Yang-tze river valley. Later, he probed the Buddhists Sutras and Sastras and practiced
meditation, spending the summer retreat in a lonely top of mountain Lu.
 503
As Buddhism was already in a decadent state, he determined to restore its glory, became a mendicant and sailed to Chiao-chih. He
crossed the sea to K’o-ling and on to Simhala (Sri Lanka). When the King of the country was worshipping, he tried to steal the famous
Tooth-relic to take back to his own country, but was detected and humiliated. Ceylonese sources say he moved to South India and
while going to the monastery of Great Enlightenment, passed away. His age was not known. Following this incident, the King of
Ceylon kept the Tooth-relic in a well-guarded and lofty tower for safety.

I-lang Lu-shih, Arthadipta, came from Ch’eng-tu (Szu-ch’uan) in I-chou. He was knowledgea ble in Vinaya and the interpretation of
Yoga System. He set off from Ch’ang-an with monk Chih-an and I-Hsuan, for pilgrimage. They reached Wu-lei (Ch’in-hsien) and took
a merchant ship to Fu-nan, and reached Pegu in Lower Burma where they were received by the king. The fellow monk Chih-an fell
sick and died; Lang and his fellow companions sailed for Ceylon where they secured new religious texts and worshipped Lord
Buddha’s Tooth-relic. He then reached the Western country. I-ching collected this information; but no more could be learnt about his
whereabouts.

Hui-ning Lu-shih, Mahabhisayanavinayacarya, also hailed from Ch’eng-tu in I-chou. He was a very intelligent child, and visited
visited temples and monasteries in pursuit of knowledge even as a young boy. He renounced the world and joined the Order
(pravrajya), studying the Buddhist Sutras, Sastras and Vinaya canons. His quest for the Buddhist Law took him to the Western country.
504
In Lin-te period (AD 665) he reached the South Sea and sailed for K’o-ling, where he lived for three years with monk Jnanabhadra.
505 506
He translated a portion of the Agama Sutra with Jnanabhadra, concerning the last ceremony held after the Mahaparinirvana of
Tathagata. This work is different from Nirvana of the Mahayana Sutra. I-ching could find the Nirvana Sutra of the Mahayana
comprising 25,000 slokas. More than sixty chuan were translated into Chinese; he wanted to collect the entire Sutra but failed; he got
a collection of the first 4,000 slokas of the Mahasanghika.

Hui-ning translated the Agama Sutra only. He asked his disciple monk Yun-ch’i to go to China and present the Sutra with respect; he
returned to Chiao-fu (Kuang-tung) from where it was taken by horses assigned by the Government. Yun-ch’i presented the book to the
Emperor and requested him to propagate this book among the people of Tung-hsia (China). Yun-ch’i left the capital and reached
Chaio-chih; he announced that he received a gift of hundred pieces of fine shining silk from the Court.

When he returned to K’o-ling he reported to Jnanabhadra that the monk Hui-ning wanted to meet him. But Hui-ning set off for the
Western country. Yun-ch’i waited anxiously for Hui-ning, sending messengers to five Indies in search of him, in vain. Hui-ning travelled
alone in search of Dharma. But in the very first leg of his travel, at Pao-chu (Ratnadvipa), he died at the age of thirty-four or five.

Yun-ch’i, Kalacakra, was a native of Chaio-chou. He travelled with T’an-rung. He was ordained by Fu-chih-hsien. He acquired
some knowledge of Sanskrit, but later retired to lay life and lived in Sri-vijaya up to the time of I-ching. Then, he was again moved by
the Law of Buddha and again travelled over the island preaching the faith among non-believers. He breathed his last at the age of
forty.

K’uei-ch’ung Fa-shih from Chiao-chou was a disciple of Ming-yuan; his Sanskrit name was Citradeva. He took a ship to Ceylon,
whereafter he moved to western India, where he met the venerable monk Hsuan-chao and went to Mid-India with him. He was honest,
sincere and intelligent, and proficient in reciting Sanskrit Sutras. He assiduously collected Sanskrit Sutras and recited them with
tunes and actions. He paid homage to the Bodhi tree, and dwelt at length at the Bamboo Grove in Rajagrha. Here he fell sick and died
at the age of thirty.

Hui-yen Fa-shih, Prajnaratna, native of Chiao-chou, was a disciple of Hsing-kung, with whom he went to Simhala. Nothing is
known of him thereafter.

Hsin-chou Fa-shih’s native place is unknown; his Sanskri t name was Sraddhavarman. He took the northern route to India and lived
in the Monastery of Faith. Here he built a brick chamber and donated it for the use of those who retired from the cares of public life.
Here he fell sick and just before his death one night he cried out that Bodhisattva with outstretched hands was beckoning him to his
beautiful abode. He stood up with folded hands and breathed his last at the age of thirty-five.

Chih-hsing Fa-shih was a native of Ai-chou; his Sanskrit name was Prajnadeva. Sailing from the South Sea, he reached West India
and worshipped the sacred relics of the Buddha. He then went to the north of the river Ganga, dwelt in the Monastery of Faith and
died there at the age of fifty.

Ta-ch’eng-teng Ch’an-shih also hailed from Ai-chou; his Sanskrit name was Mahayanapradipa. While still young, he sailed for
Dvaravati, ancient capital of Siam, with his parents and here became a monk. Thereafter, he followed T’an-su, envoy from the
507
Imperial Court, and reached the capital. He lived in the monastery of Tz’u-en, Mahakaruna, the great compassion monastery
where the Tripitaka master Hsuan-chuang lived. Here Mahayanapradipa was ordained to the Buddhist faith. For some years, he
studied the sacred Buddhist Sutras here, and nurtured a desire to visit India.

Carrying Buddhists images, Sutras and Sastras, he crossed the South Sea and reached Ceylon where he worshipped the Buddha’s
Tooth. Moving through South India he reached Eastern India a nd proceeded towards Tamralipti (Tamluk, W. Bengal). At the river, his
boat and other valuables were robbed, but the pirates spared his life. At Tamralipti, he devoted twelve years to perfect himself in
Sanskrit Sutras. He studied the Nidana Sut ra and other important texts and entered into an ecclesiastical life.

He joined a group of merchants and with the venerable I-ching reac hed Mid-India, where they first visited Nalanda, then
Bodhimanda and Vaisali, and finally Kusinagara. Dhyana master Wu-hsing visited these places with them.

It was his ambition to achieve Dharma and propagate it in China, and as he neared his end, he wished to accomplish this in his next
life. He expressed a desire to visit the home of Maitreya, daily drawing the picture of one or two branches of Nagapuspa (dragon
flower) to express his sincerity. He lived in the old room of the monk Tao-his, who had already died, and whose Chinese and Sanskrit
texts on Buddhist Sutras and Sastras were still present there. Looking at the books, he shed tears as they had previously always
moved together, discussed Dharma together at Ch’ang-an, but could not meet in this foreign land. The Dhyana master died in the
Parinirvana Vihara in Kusinagara.

Seng-chia-p’mo Sanghavarman was a native of K’ang-kuo, Sogdiana (Kirghiz). A wanderer from childhood, he walked through
508
drifting sand and reached the Imperial city. He had a great passion for religion. During the Hsien-ch’ing period, the Emperor
ordered him to go on pilgrimage to the Western country along with the imperial envoy. At the monastery of Great Enlightenment, he
paid homage to Bodhimanda. He lit the lamp for seven days and seven nights as offerings to the Council of discourses on Dharma, and
under the Asoka tree in the courtyard of Bodhimanda he carved images of Buddha and Bodhisattva Avalokiteswara.

On his return to China, he was again sent to Chiao-chih to collect medicinal herbs at a time when the region was under the grip of
severe famine and people were dying without food. He prepared and distributed food to the famine-stricken people daily. Because of
his compassion he came to be known as ‘Weeping Bodhisattva incarnate’. Some time later, he fell sick and died immediately at the age
of sixty.

Pi-an Fa-shih Dharmacarya Nirvana and Chih-an Fa-shih (Jnanaparin) were both natives of Kao-ch’ang, Turfan (Central Asia).
They went to the capital city to become monks, and were keen to visit Mid-India and to witness the transforming influence of the
Doctrine there. They boarded a ship with the Chinese envoy Wang Hsuan-k’uo, but fell sick on board and died. Their copies of
Buddhist Sutras and Sastras in Chinese translation, including texts on Yoga, were left in the country of Srivijaya.

T’an-jun Fa-shih, Meghasikta, was from-Lo-yang; he had deep knowledge of the art of exorcism and of metaphysics. He studied the
Vinaya texts and practiced Cikitsa Sastra (science of medicine), and displayed a keen desire to serve all living creatures. He sailed the
South Sea and reached Chiao-chih where he stayed one year before sailing for West India. He reached K’o-ling, fell sick and died at
the age of thirty at Po-p’en (Pempuan, Borneo).

I-hui Lun-shih, Artharasmi Sastracarya, was a native of Lo-yang. An extraordinarily brilliant man, he strove for scholarship and
Truth, listening to discourses on Samparigraha Sastra, Kosa etc. and acquired deep knowledge. Noting much discrepancy in the texts,
he wished to see the original Sanskrit texts and personally hear the meanings. He came to Mid-India hoping to return to China, but
died on arrival at Lang-chi, at the age of thirty odd years.

Three other Chinese monks took the northern route and reached Udyana country where they worshipped the relics of the Buddha’s
skull. Their whereabouts were not known thereafter, and I-ching learnt of them from monks coming from Udyana.

Hui-lun-shih was a native of Hsin-luo; his Sanskrit name was Prajnavarman. He renounced the world while in his hometown and set
off on pilgrimage to the famous shrines of his faith. Arriving at Min-yeh (Che-kiang) in China, he travelled a long distance to Ch’ang-
an, and received an imperial order to follow Hsuan-chao who had gone to the Western countries, find him, and assist him there. In
India, he lived in the Monastery of Faith in the city of An-mo-luo-pa (Amravati) for nearly ten years. Moving east he visited Gandhara
Sanda (Tukhara Sangharama), built to accommodate Buddhists monks from Tukhara. It was one of the richest Sangharamas. Hui-lun
stayed there to study Sanskrit and Kosa. He was forty years old when I-ching met him there.
509
West of this monastery was the Gunacarita monastery, for the people of Chia-pi-shih. It was renowned for its prosperity, moral
virtues, and high standards of learning. The monks were Hinayanists.

Nearly forty yojanas east of the Nalanda Vihara, downstream of the Ganga, was Mrgasthapana, the Deer Park monastery. Nearby was
another monastery in ruins, known as the Chih-na or Chinese monastery. It had been built by the great king Sri-Gupta. During his visit
510
there were more than twenty monks from China. They came via Ko-yang, through Shu-ch’uan (modern Sze-ch’uan) and reached the
Mahabodhi Sangharama. The King received them great respect and made an endowment of twenty-four villages for their
maintenance. Later, all the Chinese monks died, and only three villages remained in the possession of the Mrgasthapana monastery.
Five hundred years had elapsed since the Chih-na monastery was built. The Chin-kan-tso, Vajrasana and Mahabodhi temple were built
by the King of Ceylon, and monks from Ceylon always stayed in this temple.

Tao-lin Fa-shih was a native of Chiang-ling in Ching-chou (Hunan ); his Sanskrit name was Silaprabha. He renounced the world at a
very young age and resolved to become a Buddhist monk. At the age of twenty, he sought an able teacher, collected the Vinaya Pitaka,
controlled his passions and spent most of his time in mediation. He seldom rested, spending the major part of the day and night in
511
study; he took just one meal a day. Though Buddhism had come to China long ago, the Intuitional School had just begun;
nevertheless, the canonical texts stressing the importance of monastic discipline were rare. He thought of going to India to procure
the sources and the history of the Vinaya Pitaka and set sail from the South Sea. He passed through copper pillar T’ung-chu and
arrived at Lang-chia; crossed Ho-ling and Luo-kuo (Nicobar) and reached India, where he was warmly received by the kings of the
countries he passed through. Spending some years there, he reached Tamralipti in East India and devoted three years in studying
Sanskrit language.

Tao-lin rejected the old precepts, accepted the important ones and studied the Vinayas of Sarvastivada school. He studied the
canonical rules of Vinaya and tried to make a synthesis of Knowledge with Dhyana-meditation. He scrutinised carefully the Dharani
Pitaka. He witnessed the changing influences of the Law in Mid-India, paid homage to the sacred shrines of Bodhimanda, and went to
the Nalanda monastery to learn the true significance of the Mahayana Sutra and Sastras. He lived there for many years to completely
512 513
master the Abhidharma Kosa. Then he went to the Vulture’s Peak mountain, Yastivanagiri and Wild Goose Forest. He travelled all
over South India in search of monk Hsuan-mu.
514
Proceeding to West India, he spent nearly a year at Lata country where he established an altar and learnt Ming-chu Vidya
(Vidyadhara Pitaka). The Sanskrit text reputedly contained 100,000 slokas; possibly the Chinese translation comprised three hundred
chuans (chapters), most of which were lost at the time of I-ching. After Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana, Nagarjuna Bodhisattva preserved
its true spirit. As this Dharani Pitaka was never very popular in China, Tao-lin desired to protect this mysterious Sutra. Tao-lin
proceeded towards North India and witnessed the transforming influence of Buddhism in Kashmir. Arriving at Udyana, he sought
proper guidance for meditation and collected the Prajna -Sutra. He worshipped the sacred lotus skull, Usnisa (cranium of the
Buddha).

T’an-kuang Lu-shih, Krsnamegharasmi hailed from Chiang-ling in Ching-chou. He renounced the world and his native place and
went to the capital city where he became a disciple of Vinaya master Ch’eng. T’an-kuang had a refined literary taste and was an
eloquent speaker. He studied the classics of his own country and of other countries and observed the canonical rules of discipline.

Crossing the ocean to worship the sacred relics of Buddha, he first arrived in West India and there went to Harikela (Chandradvipa,
Bakharganj, Bangladesh). At Harikela, aged fifty years, he met a monk from the land of the T’ang rulers. He was warmly received by
the king of Harikela and appointed head of the monastery there. He acquired many sacred Sutras in original along with Buddha
images. He fell sick and passed away in a foreign land.

Hui-ming-shih, Prajnajnapti came from Chiang-ling in Ching-chou. He was a man of high moral principles and clear understanding,
and studied the classics of China and other nations. The desire to see the sacred Nairanjana river and Venuvana inspired him and he
set for Champa (Vietnam region). He suffered much due to a typhoon at sea, reached the copper pillar of Ma-Yuan, rested, and
returne d to China.

Hsuan-k’eue Lu-shih, Mahamarga, was a native of Chiang-ning in Jun-chou (Chiang-su), and hailed from a very noble clan Hu. He
was educated in history and literature. He left home at an early age, and quickly made progress in the field of religion. He thoroughly
studied the Vinaya texts and specialised in meditation. He observed strict discipline and regularly attended discussions on the
515
Buddhist Sutras; he made a special study in Hsuan-I. He was skilled in ancient Chinese calligraphy. He used only three garments
like a Buddhist sramana.

Travelling widely, he reached Tan-yang, where he made an agreement with a man to go to India on pilgrimage. He reached Kuang-
chou (Canton) where he came down with pneumonia and returned disappointed to his native place; he was only twenty-five or twenty-
six years old.

Shan-hsing, Sugati was a native of Chin-chou. He left home at a young age to seek the Way (Buddhism). He studied the rites on
Discipline and wished to learn Vidyamantra, spells. He became a disciple of I-ching and followed him to Sri-vijaya. When he developed
ulcers, he returned to China at the age of a little over forty.

Lian-yun came from Hsiang-yang (in Hu-pei); his Sanskrit name was Prajnadeva. A man of uncommon qualities, he renounced the
world when young, and determined to pay homage to the sacred relics of Buddha. He accompanied monk Che and reached India by
sea. He studied the Sanskrit language and commanded respect and honour from the king and the people alike. His sketch of the
image of Maitreya was an exact replica of the image under the Wisdom Tree. Later, he devoted his life to the cause of Buddhism in
China and had a rare ability to translate Buddhist texts.

Seng-che Ch’an-shih, Bhiksu Darsana Dhyanacarya, hailed from Li-chou and was inclined towards Buddhism from childhood. He
diligently studied the different collections of the Vinaya and mastered the entire system of Dhyana. Keen to visit the sacred places, he
set sail for India and visited many places of surrounding countries before coming to Eastern India. He reached Samatat a; its king was
516
Hu-luo-she-po-t’o, a great admirer of the “Three gems” (the Buddha, the Law and the Order). The monk Che lived in the Raja-
vihara to study Sanskrit; he received special honour and respect from the king. I-ching could not meet him as he arrived in the
monastery after the monk had left.

Hsuan-yu, disciple of monk Che, came from Kao-li. He accompanied his teacher to Simhala where he was ordained as a monk and
remained there for the rest of his life.
517
Chih-hung Lu-shih, Mahaprajna, belonged to Lo-yang, and was nephew of Wang Hsuan-t’se who had been sent by the Emperor
as an envoy to the Western world. From childhood Chih-hung abhorred the company of rich, frivolous and worthless people. He left
home, took refuge in Shao-lin monastery (in Hu-nan) and lived mainly on roots and fruits, studying the Chinese classics; he was
himself a good writer.

He became a mendicant under the guidance of preceptor Dhyanarasmi. After many years of study, he went to Ch’i-chou (Hu-pei)
where Dhyana master Jen taught; but he was still unsuccessful in his study. He crossed the Hsiang (tributary of Yang-tze) river, the
Heng-ling mountains, and entered the Kuei-lin monastery where he studied for many years under Dhyana master Chi. Then he
acquired knowledge from the teacher of San-wu and learned from the talented scholars of Chin-chiang.

Leaving China to pay homage to the western lands, he met Dhyana master Wu-shing and with him reached reached He-p’u (Lien-chou,
Kuang-tung) and set sail, but was stranded for a while at Sheng-ching. However, he reached Chaio-chou where he passed the summer
retreat. At the end of winter, he took a ship to Sri-bhoga in South Sea, and the journey was recorded by Dhyana-master Wu-hsing.
They spent two years in the monastery of Great Enlightenment, where he improved his language. After learning the Sabda Sastra
(Treatise on words and their meanings), he acquired the ability to understand Sanskrit scriptures. He studied the rules and
ceremonies of the Vinaya texts and Abhidharma. He could expound Kosa and was accomplished in Hetuvidya (Logic).

At Nalanda monastery he learned the Mahayana, and at the Bodhimanda he learned the Hinayana. He studied the Vinaya Sutras
composed by monk Te-kuang, Punyaprabha, and had the talent to translate into Chinese whatever he heard. He visited Vulture’s Peak
518
mountain near Rajagrha, Mrgadava or Deer Park, Jetavana Vihara, T’ien-chieh Deva Sopana, Amravana or Mango grove, and the
caves for meditation. After for eight years, he went to Kashmir, accompanied by monk Lin-kung. I-ching d id not know what became
of him, but he contributed much in translating sacred texts into Chinese.

Wu-hsing Ch’an-shih belonged to Chiang-ling in Ching-chou; his Sanskrit name was Prajnadeva. He was a gentle, humble and
cultured man, with a great love for learning; from childhood he frequently visited the library. At twenty, he was honoured with an
Imperial officer’s post Chin-ma-men (Imperial Academy) where he studied the classics of hundred schools of philosophers and three
Chinese Classics.

He admired the Buddhists doctrines, and met five eminent men who helped him pursue his quest. At the Teng-chieh monastery, he
started studying Buddhism with other disciples under monk Hui-ying (Prajnavira) of the Ta-fu-tien monastery. Prajnadeva became the
best disciple of the preceptor Chi-ts’ang (Srigarbha).
519
Travelling in search of perfect knowledge and wisdom, he often studied the world of Dignaga and Dharmakirti. He lived by begging
alms once a day. He devoted himself to translating the Agama Sutra and the events of the Mahaparinirvana of Tathagata. Before
returning to China, he completed the translation of the Vinayas of the Sarvastivada school. I-ching came from Nalanda to see him off.
Wu-hsing was fifty-six years old at that time.

Dhyana-master Fa-chen Dharmavikampana was from Ching-chou. A sincere follower of Dharma, he recited the rules and precepts
of the Vinaya and the Sutras. Yearning to visit the Western regions and pay devotional homage to the sacred shrines, he and two
friends embarked on a ship and arrived at Sheng-ching, from there to north of K’eling, on to Kedah. Soon after, he fell sick and passed
away at the age of thirty-five or thirty-six.

Ta-t’sin, the Great Vinaya and Law master belonged to Li-chou and joined the monastic life at an early age. He hoped to visit the
520
sacred shrines, especially the sacred city of Rajagrha. In the second year of Yung-shun (Ch’un) period, he sailed the South Sea with
many companions but later they decided not to proceed further and he was left alone. He followed the Chinese envoy with Buddhist
Sutras and images, and they reached Sri-Vijaya Island, where they remained for some years. He could not understand the language
spoken by the people of K’un-lun, but stud ied Sanskrit books there. I-ching met him here. He wanted to return to China to urge the
521
Emperor to build a monastery in the West. On the fifteenth day of the second month of the third year of T’ien-shou era, he sailed
for Ch’ang-an. He carried with him ten chuan of miscellaneous Buddhist Sutras and and Sastras newly translated, four chuan of the
Record of the inner law or religion sent from the South Sea country through one who returns and two chuan of Memoirs of eminent
monks who visited Western region or India and its neighbouring countries in search of Law.

Pi-ch’u-chen-ku Lu-shih, the Vinaya-master Bhiksu Chen-ku was known as Salacitta (firm and erect) in Sanskrit. He hailed from
522
Jung-ch’uan in Cheng (K’aifeng, Honan) and his family name was Meng. From childhood he was drawn towards Hui-yuan. The
death of his father when he was fourteen made him realise the impermanence of life. He decided to visit the sacred places and went to
523
the monastery of Teng-t’ze-Ssu, where monk Yuan was living at Fan-shui. He learnt to recite the Buddhist Sutras, but his preceptor
passed away after three years.

He went to Lin-lu and other monasteries in Hsiang-chou (modern Chang-te) to seek a teacher, and went further towards the Kingdom
524
of the Eastern Wei ruler Tung Wei to study the text Wei-shih, Vijnapimatrata. Moving to An-chou (in P’ing-an) he studied Fang-
525
teng under the Great Dhyana-master Yu.

The spiritual quest took him to Hsiang-chou and Dhyana-master Shen-t ao who taught him the knowledge of victorious deeds of
Amitabha. Then he went to the monastery of Great enlightenment, the place of Dhyana-master Pradipa, and learnt the canonical rules.
526
He deeply studied various Sutras and Sastras, and was a strong upholder of Szu-I Catursarana. He was anointed with the principle
of Pa-chieh, eight stages of mental concentration, asta vimoksa (liberation in eight forms) that greatly influenced the different sects.
527
He was specially invited and permitted to enter the divine capital, and lived many years in the Purvarama Tung-Ssu under the
Dynastic rule of the Wei. He was a little more than twenty years old.

Vinaya-master Hsiu was the best disciple of Vinaya-master Hsing (Abhyudaya) of Shu-chun (Sze-ch’uan). At the age of twenty he was
fully ordained and continued living at Sze-ch’uan studying the Vinaya for four years from a monk teacher. He proceeded to Ch’ang-an
and stayed for sixteen years with monk Hsuan. He immersed himself in the study of numerous schools of thought. Then he went to
San-yang in Pa-shui, from there he went to Kuang-chou, his birthplace, to report his achievements. He moved to An-chou and taught
the Vinaya. The princes showed him honour and respect. He lived in the Dasabala monastery and went to the abode of peace at the
age of little more than seventy.

The monk Ku obtained the Vinaya texts and studied them, besides the Sutras and Sastras. He recited thousand times the Saddharma
Pundarika Sutra (Lotus Sutra) and Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra and followed the canonical rules. Though he believed in karma, he was
528
equally interested in observing the four ceremonies Szu-i. He went to Hsiang-chou and heard discourses on the Sutras (sermons of
Buddha) and searched for the mystery Abhidharmapitaka. Crossing river Hsiang-shui, monk Ku went towards Lu-shan and lived in the
Tung-lin monastery.
529
Keen to visit Ceylon and glimpse Buddha’s Tooth and other sacred places, he went to Kei-lin in the Ch’ui-kung period. He reached
P’an-yu in Canton, where Buddhist disciples urged him to teach the Vinaya treatises.

Monk Ku wished for a life of rest and meditation in a monastery and to propagate the purity and richness of Astavimoksa, eightfold
path of liberation. However, at the age of forty, at the invitation of I-ching, the monk agreed to travel with him. On the first day of the
eleventh month (AD 689) they sailed by merchant ship for Fan-yu (in Canton), advanced towards Champa and hoped to reach Sri-
vijaya. The duo reached Chin-chou (Suvarnadvipa). On reaching Sri-vijaya, he listened to discourses on religion which he had never
heard before and observed practices and customs he had never seen before. He translated many texts and acquired much knowledge.

Monk Chen-ku had a disciple, Hsuan-yeh, whose family name was Meng and Sanskrit name was Sangadeva. Though his
grandfather hailed from the north, he lived in the south as an Imperial officer; so the family also shifted to Kuang-fu. Hsuan-yeh was
predestined to study Buddhism, and sailed for Sri-vijaya. He understood the local language of K’un-lun, studied Sanskrit books and
chanted the Abhidharma Kosa verses and other Buddhist hymns. He became an attendant, and an interpreter. He was seventeen years
old (in three editions it is 70 year s old).

Bhiksu Tao-hung, Buddhadeva, belonged to Yung-ch’iu in Pien-chou (K’ai-feng in north Honan) His family name was Chin. His
father served a merchant and the family travelled extensively. He went to Dhyana-master Chi to study the mystery of the soul, and
acquired knowledge about the essential meaning of the doctrine. Then he went to Hsia-shan. Tao-hung left home and became a monk,
acquiring some knowledge in all branches at the age of twenty. He left for Kuang-fu and entered the Buddhist monastery.

Hearing of I-ching’s arrival, he went to visit him at the Chih-chih monastery, where he disco vered they had common ideals. He
returned to Kuang-fu with monk Chen-ku, and thereafter embarked on a voyage to the South Sea and reached Suvarnabhumi to copy
the Tripitaka so he would be remembe red for thousands of years. Arriving in Sri-vijaya, he devotedly studied the Vinaya Pitaka and
translated Buddhists texts and took notes on scriptures to propagate Buddhism. He was only twenty years old.

Pi’ch’iu Fa-lang, Dharmadeva, a native of Hsing-yang in Hsiang-chou (Hu-pei province) lived in the temple of Ling-chi (Spirit
temple). His surname was An-shih. He came from an enlightened aristocratic family which traditionally held high offices in the
Imperial services. At young age he l eft home to enter the ecclesiastical life.

Lang desired to travel with I-ching on his sea-voyage, and a month later they arrived at Bhoga. Lang concentrated on the study of
Hetuvidya and the mystical and abstruse doctrine of Abhidharma. He devotedly studied the Tripitaka, yet never shirked manual
labour. He lived on alms and scrupulo usly observed the important ceremonies and rituals. He was only twenty-four years old.

The monk Chen-ku and four others also arrived in Sri-vijaya. He spent three years at Sri-vijaya, studied and acquired proficiency in
Sanskrit and Han (Chinese) literature. After some time, monk Lang left for K’o-ling, where he passed the summer, fell sick and died.

Chen-ku and Tao-hung preferred to stay at Sri-vijaya and did not return to Fan-yu, but the rest of the monks went back to Kuang-fu.
Chen-ku went to the Tripitaka Dharmamanda and widely taught the Vinaya. Tao-hung returned alone and spent the rest of his days in
the South. No news was available about Tao-hung after that; I-ching occasionally wrote to him, but there was no reply from the other
side.

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Basham, A.L., The Wonder That Was India, New Delhi, 1995 [first pub. 1954].

Beal, Samuel, trans., Travels of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun, Buddhist Pilgrims from China to India (400 AD and 518 AD), London 1869,
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Buddhist Records of the Western World, Trans. from Chinese of Hiuen Tsiang, AD 629, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.,
2004 (original 1884).

Caldwell, Bishop Robert, A Comparative Grammar of the Drav idian or South Indian Family of Languages; Third Edn., revised and ed.
by Rev. J.L. Wyatt, T. Ramakrishna Pillai, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Madras, 2001.

Chandra, Lokesh, Preface, The Life of Hsuan-tsang By his disciples Hui-li and Yen-ts‘ung, complete Chinese text translated into
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Chinese Monks in India. Biography of Eminent Monks Who Went to the Western World in Search of the Law During the Great T’ang
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Gole, Susan, India Within The Ganges, Jayaprints, Delhi, 1983.

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Legge, James, trans., A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms Being An Account By The Chinese Monk Fa-Hien Of Travels In India And
Ceylon (AD 399–414) In Search Of The Buddhist Books Of Discipline, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1998; original Clarendon Press,
Oxford.

Lives of Eminent Korean Monks, Trans. with introduction by Peter H. Lee, Harvard-Yenching Institute Studies XXV, Harvard University
Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1969.

McCrindle, J.W., Ancient India as described in Classical Literature, First Indian ed. 1979 (rpt. 1901- Westminster), Oriental Books
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Majumdar, R.C., The Classical Accounts of India, Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyaya, Calcutta, 1960

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Lahiri, Latika, trans., Chinese Monks in India, I-Ching, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1986.

Monuments of Civilization. Ancient Cambodia. Donatello Mazzeo and Chiara Silvi Antonini. Foreword by Han Suyin, Cassell, London,
1978.

Mookerji, R.K., Indian Shipping, Allahabad, Kitab Mahal, 1962.

Ray, Himanshu Prabha, The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia, Cambridge University Press, 2003.

- and Daniel T. Potts, ed., Memory As History. The Legacy of Alexander in Asia, Aryan Books International, New Delhi, 2007.

Ray, Niharranjan et al, A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization, Orient Longman Ltd., 2000.

Saletore, R.N., Early Indian Economic History, London, 1975.

Samguk Yusa. Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea, Il Yon; Trans. Tae-Hung Ha, Grafton K. Mintz, Yonsei
University Press, Seoul, Korea, 1972.

Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta, A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar, Oxford University Press, 4th ed.,
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Singh, G.P., Ancien t Indian Historiography, New Delhi, 2003.

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The Ancient Khmer Empire, Lawrence Palmer Briggs, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, Vol. 41, Part I,
1951, p 17.

The Hye Ch’O Diary: Memoir of the Pilgrimage to the Five Regions of India (Religions of Asia Series, No 2) by Hyecho, Jan Yun-Hua,
Iida Shotaro, Yang Han-Sung, Laurence Preston (Ed.), Asian Humanities Press, PO Box 3056, Berkeley, California 94703 and Po Chin
Chai Ltd. 8 – 5 Ga Dangsan-Dry Yeongdueng po-ku, Seoul, Korea, Year not stated.

The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, Soka Gakkai, Japan, 2002.

U.P. Arora, Greeks on India. Skylax to Aristoteles, Indian Society for Greek and Roman Studies (ISGARS), Bareilly, India, 1996.


 Notes
[←1]

Dharma, artha, kama, moksa are the four purusharthas or aims of human life in the Hindu tradition.
[←2]
Singh, G.P., Ancient Indian Historiography, New Delhi, 2003, p 11.
[←3]

See Majumdar, R.C., “Ideas of History in Sanskrit Literature,” in Historians of India, Pakistan and Celylon, ed., C.H. Philips, London, OUP, 1961, rpt.
1967.
[←4]

Basham, A.L., The Wonder That Was India, New Delhi, 1995 [first pub. 1954], p 47.
[←5]
Philostratus, Vita Apolloniii, III, 20.
[←6]

Herodotus, III, 20.

[←7]

Herodotus, III, 97, 114. Diodorus I, 33, 3, also mentioned its production in Ethiopia.
[←8]
Theophrastos, Hist. Plant., IV, 4, 6. The Periplus Maris Erythraei (GGM Vol. I) stated that ebony logs were exported from Barygaza (Bharuch) to the marts
of Omana and Apologos.
[←9]

A Semitic people who originated in Lebanon.

[←10]

. Saletore, R.N., identifies this with Sindhu Sauvira region in Early Indian Economic History, London, 1975, pp 243-45 and p. 737, n. 396; cited in Arora,
U.P., Greeks on India. Skylax to Aristoleles. Indian Society for Greek and Roman Studies, Bareilly, India, 1996.
[←11]
An old South Arabian people who spoke a distinct tongue.
[←12]

Mookerji, R.K., Indian Shipping, Allahabad, Kitab Mahal, 1962, p. 84.

[←13]

Ray, Himanshu Prabha, The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 168-9.
[←14]
The Arthasastra notes that the duty of the Gopa, in-charge of 5 to 10 villages, was to record everything from trade to agricultural products, number of
residents, caste and profession, income and expenses, young and old per family, and even character of the residents. Hiuen Tsang confirmed this
tradition in the 7th century.
[←15]

Bosworth, A.B., 1993, Aristotle, India and Alexander, Topoi, 3(2), p. 407-24, cited in Ray, Himanshu P., op. cit., p. 26.
[←16]
Ray, Himanshu Prabha, op. cit., p. 8.
[←17]
The remains of the town still exist—23°55’ N., 35o 34’E.
[←18]

In April 2004, archaeologists of the Centre for Heritage Studies, Thripunithura, excavated six copper coins and nearly 100 beads of the Adi Chera
(Sangam) period from Pattanam, near North Paravur, Kerala. Previous excavations had yielded fragments of Roman amphora, rouletted wares and beads
of semi-precious stones and glass, indicating the ancient port town of Muziris could have been in this vicinity rather than near Kodungalloor as popularly
believed. Prof. M.G.S. Narayanan noted this was the first time Adi Chera era coins were excavated from Kerala. H itherto, the State’s historical
connection with Muziris and the Adi Chera empire was restricted to references in Greek and Tamil literature and inscriptions.
[←19]
Musse l Harbour, situated in the bay of Ras abn Somer— 27°12 N., 35o5’5 E.
[←20]
Mookerji, R.K. , op. cit., p. 84.
[←21]

Ray, Himanshu Prabha, op. cit., p. 25.

[←22]
Gole , Susan, India Within The Ganges, Jayaprints, Delhi, 1983. I am indebted to Dr. B.M. Pande for this information.
[←23]
Ray, Himanshu Prabha, op. cit., p. 61.
[←24]

Gole, Susan, Indian Maps and Plans, New Delhi: Manohar, 1989, pp. 16-23.


[←25]

Agrawala, R.C., Brhatkathaslokasamgraha, Varanasi, 1974, p. 337.

[←26]
Bishop Robert Caldwell says the Indian segment seems older than Ptolemy’s Geography. It mentions Andre Indi and Damirice, which he identifies with
the Telugu and Tamil lands (A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South Indian Fa mily of Languages; Third Edn., revised and ed. by Rev. J.L.
Wyatt, T. Ramakrishna Pillai, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, Madras, 2001; p. 10).
[←27]

Ray, Himanshu Prabha, op. cit., p. 170.
[←28]

Kaul, H.K., ed., Travellers’ India. An Anthology, Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1979.
[←29]

Parker, Grant, Hellenism in an Afghan Context, in Memory As History. The Legacy of Alexander in Asia, ed. Himanshu P. Ray and Daniel T. Potts, Aryan
Books International, New Delhi , 2007, op. cit., 2007:181.
[←30]
Scholars feel this is at odds with Greek brutality in other battles, notably Massaga, where Alexander violated the pact with the Queen and massacred
nearly 7000 mercenaries whose safe passage had been negotiated. This was condemned as treacherous by Plutarch and Diodorus Siculus; Arrian
defended it calling the mercenaries unreliable. The battles of Nysa, Sangala, and all fights on the return journey were equally brutal. See also Cartledge,
Paul, Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past. London: Macmillan, 2004: 183-94, cited in Garton, Stephen, in Memory As History, op. cit., 2007:11.


[←31]
I am indebted to Prof. Madhavan Palat for this insight.
[ ←32]

In the battle with Porus, Arrian claims almost 20,000 Indian infantry and 3000 cavalry were killed, as were the two sons of Porus, Spitaces, governor of
the district, and several officers and generals of Porus’ army (Chapter XVIII). The Macedonians lost only 80 of 6000 foot-soldiers, 10 horse-archers, 20
Companion cavalry, and about 200 other horsemen. If these figures are true, how does one account for the sheer decimation of the Greek forces that
retreated from India?
[←33]

Curtius Rufus, Alexander the Great, Book IX, Chapter I.

[←34]

This suggests impoverishment of the army at this stage.
[←35 ]
Possibly the experience with Indian war elephants forced the Greeks to retreat; the war-fatigue of the army was thought up by Greek hi storians many
centuries later, under the Roman Empire.
[←36]

I owe this insight to Prof. Lokesh Chandra.

[←37]
Ray, Himanshu Prabha, Alexander’s Campaign (327–326 BC): A Ch ronological Marker in the Archaeology of India, in Memory As History, op. cit.,
2007:106.
[←38]

Ray, Himanshu Prabha, ibid., p. 105-7.

[←39]
Nearchus’ mem oirs are now lost, but their contents are largely preserved in the works of Strabo and Arrian.
[←40]
Salles, Jean-François, ‘Travelling to India Without Alexander’s Log-books’, in Memory As History, op. cit., 2007:157-8.
[←41]
Nearchus’ account makes it abund antly clear that the Greeks were in flight, unwilling to undertake further risks in India.
[←42]

The Indus Valley civilisation had developed a script many centuries previously, though it remains undeciphered to this day. Even Panini, who precedes
Ashoka, mentions the written word.


[←43]
Goody, J., 2000, The Power of the Written Tradition, Washington-London: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 144, cited in Ray, Himanshu P., op. cit, p. 2.
[←44]

Dani, A.H. and Bernard, P., Alexander and his successors in Central Asia, in J. Harmatta, ed., History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. II, Paris: Unesco
Publishing, 1994, p. 88.
[←45]
Allon, Mark, ‘Recent Discoveries of Buddhist Manuscripts from Afghanistan and Pakistan: The Heritage of the Greeks in the North-West’, in Memory As
History. The Legacy of Alexander in Asia, 2007: 132-3.
[←46]

Interested readers can find the complete versions in the collections of J.W. McCrindle, R.C. Majumdar, and others.
[ ←47]
The Classical Accounts of India, R.C. Majumdar, Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyaya, Calcutta, 1960 and Ancient India as described in Classical Literature, J.W.
McCrindle, First Indian ed. 1879 (rpt. 1901- Westminster), Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, New Delhi.
[←48]
Freed from paying taxes in lieu of the costs incurred in feeding the dogs.
[←49]
McCrindle be lieves this tribute was levied on countries west of the Indus as Persian power never extended beyond the Punjab and the lower Indus
Valley. In Alexander’s time it was bounded by that river. See McCrindle, op. cit.


[←50]

Hekataeus called Kaspapyrus a city of the Gandarians; Sanskrit Kasyapapur; some think it was Kashmir.

[←51]
Forerunners of the modern Pashtuns, Pathans.
[←52]
People of northern Afghanistan.
[←53]

Repeated by Megasthenes and Nearchus, who even claimed to have seen in India the skin of a gold-digging ant, possibly the skin of a marmot or other
burrowing animal. McCrindle cites Dr. Wilson that the Sanskrit name for alluvial gold (gold dust) is paippilaka (“ant-gold,” a reference to its size and
form). Unable to grasp this symbolism, the Greek s gave it a literal meaning. The Mahabharata speaks of ‘that gold which is dug up by Pipilakas (ants)
and is therefore called Pippilikas (ant-gold).’ Pippilikas may have been Tibetan miners as Megasthenes says the gold was carried away from the Derdai
(people of Dardistan). Sir H. Rawlinson and Dr. Schiern of Copenhagen, learning of the customs of Tibetan gold-miners, concluded that the myrmeces of
Herodotos and Megasthenes were Tibetan miners and their dogs, which can be identified with griffins – From a Paper read before the Royal Irish
Academy, June 9, 1884, by Prof. V. Ball, Director, Science and Art Museum, Dublin.
[←54]
An error based on the silky fibres of the seed of goss ypium arboreum (tree-cotton); used for padding cushions, pillows.
[←55]
Skylax probably sailed on the Hydaspes (Jhelum). As he was He rodotus’ countryman, there is no reason to doubt, as some scholars have, that the voyage
actually took place.
[←56]
Son of Darius I and grandson of Cyrus, founder of the Persian empire.
[←57]
For a complete translation of his surviving fragments, see U.P. Arora’s Greeks on India. Skylax to Aristoteles, Indian Society for Greek and Roman Studies
(ISGARS ), Bareilly, India, 1996.
[←58]
Lassen suggests this passage means that auriferous ores were melted to obtain liquid gold. The spring must be an error, but there must have been a
cistern to rec eive the gold. A pitcher need not be very large to contain one talent (approx. 53 pounds) of gold. This suggests Indians knew how to extract
gold from ore by melting.
[←59]
Probably the magnet, whose properties were not properly known then.
[←60]

For unknown reasons this myth was already prevalent among the Greeks. Later, Alexander’s hi storians located it in the realm of king Sopithes.
[←61]
Obviously incorrect.
[←62]

The bamboo can attain a height of sixty feet and may be two feet in diameter. Ktesias was the first to record that there are male and female reeds and
that only the female had a pith, while the male was stronger and more compact. The same reed is mentioned by Her odotus (III, 98).
[←63]

Some think this uninhabited region was the Gobi desert; others believe the great desert east of the Indus where sun worship flourished in early times,
which was also about fifteen days’ journey from the mountains which produced onyx and sardine stones. Some think it is in the Vindhyas.
[←64]
Obviously a forest tribe; the claim that hair was so long as to substitute for clothes is, of course, fictitious.
[←65]
Indian silver mines occur only in Udayapura in Ajmer; Badakshan in the upper Oxus valley is rich in silver.
[ ←66]

Narratives like this gave Ktesias his bad reputation! See footnote 53 for an explanation.
[←67]
Lassen says this passage is remarkable because the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien noted something similar about Udyana, west of the Indus and north of
Peshawar. Pliny mentioned an Indian plant (Hist. Nat. xxiv, 102). Guilty persons who swallowed pills prepared from its roots and mixed with wine were
tormented by night visions and confessed their sins. No doubt some drink was used for judicial purposes.
[←68]
A misunderstanding based on some mythological tale or an excessive admiration for India.
[←69]

They appear to be a real tribe, despite the fictitious properties given to them. They probably kept big dogs for hunting wild oxen and other wild animals,
and hence the confusion about them.

[←70]
A slightly inaccurate description of the cochineal insect.
[←71]

Obviously a talented tribe of cattle-herders, reputed for collecting forest produce, hunting and archery, and making weapons of war. The men obviously
served the king in times of war; a com mon phenomenon in India.
[←72]

Indians were reputed for their sense of justice and Ktesias was deeply impressed by this fact.
[ ←73]
This could be the rhinoceros, though the colour and other details do not match.
[←74]
This suggests the rhinoceros despite certain errors in the narrative.


[←75]
Five kilos.
[←76]

Aelian gives more details. Lassen says Ktesias’ report is the corruption of an ancient Indian idea based on the worship of snakes which was particularly
current in north-western frontier region (vol. II, p. 468). It is probably based on the story of a fi re-weapon lent to man by a serpent-god, which he depicts
as real.
[←77]

Ktesias’ description, though somewhat exaggerated, suggests the product was cinnamon oil.
[←78]

Balada in Sanskrit means ‘giving strength’; applies to a bullock and a medical plant (Physalis flexuosa).


[←79]
Ancient India as described in Classical Literature, John W. McCrindle, First Indian ed. 1979 (rpt. 1901- Westminster), Oriental Books Reprint
Corporation, New Delhi.
[←80]

The kingdom of Pandion lay in the extreme south and was founded by the family of Pandu, father of the five Pandava brothers of the epic Mahabharata.
The king and his capital were both named Madura (Mathura) after the celebrated north Indian city. The kingdom is mentioned by Pliny, by the author of
the Periplus of the Erythroean Sea, and by Ptolemy. In the “Contemporary Review” of September 1891, Sir M.E. Grant Duff mentions a Roman coin – the
Aureus of Claudius – found in Madurai district and now in the Madras museum, struck to commemorate the conquest of Britain! Duff himself had a coin
of the Arian Emperor Valens, found in Madurai’s Vaigai river.
[←81]

Three princes were called Poru s in the Greek classics: (i) The great Porus defeated by Alexander on the banks of the Hydaspes (Jhelum); (2) a
contemporary kinsman of Porus, who ruled a district east of the Hydraotes (Ravi); (3) the Porus here mentioned. They were descendants of king Puru of
the Mahabharata.
[←82]
The Greeks believed India was limited to the eastern side of the Indus. But the name sometimes covered regions between the Indus and the Hindukush
mountains and Paropanisos (see Pliny, vi. 23) as many names of tribes, mountains and rivers of Northern Afghanistan, as given by Alexander’s historians
and Ptolemy’s Geography, were of Sanskrit origin.


[←83]
A reference to Seleukos Nikator’s surrender to Sandrokottos of provinces westward of the Indus.
[←84]

India has two distinct species of cotton, gossypium herbaceum, which is woven into cloth, and gossypium arboreum or tree-cotton, which yields a soft
and silky texture used for padding cushions, pillows, etc.
[←85]
Seric fabrics were silk-webs imported from the northern provinces of China.
[←86]

The reference is to sugar-cane. The author of the Periplus mentions honey from canes called sakkhar (Sanskrit sarkara, Prakrit sakhar).
[←87]

Mousikanos was a flourishing kingdom in Upper Sindh; now the ruins of Alor.
[←88]

Curtius (viii.9) says Indians drank much wine; Megasthenes insisted it was used only on sacrificial occasions. Brahmins of the Ganga punished
intoxication severely, but the people of Punjab loved their drink and the Periplus lists wine as an Indian import.
[←89]

Indigo (Indikon Melan of the Periplus and Nili of Sanskrit).

[←90]

At the time of Alexander’s invasion, Taxila was ruled by Omphis (Sansk. Ambhi), also called Taxiles, who surrendered meekly to the Greek warrior.
[←91]
Curtius (viii. 12) says Taxiles presented Alexander and all his friends with golden crowns, and eighty talents of coined silver. Alexander returned the
presents and added a thousand talents wit h many banqueting vessels of gold and silver, Persian drapery, and thirty chargers from his own stalls,
caparisoned as when he rode them himself. Maleager made the envious remark at supper, in Alexander’s presence. The King, chastened by the murder of
Kleitos, replied that envious persons only tormented themsel ves.
[←92]
Abisaros or Abisares ruled part or whole of Kashmir; he was as powerful as Taxiles and Porus. His name derives from that of his kingdom, Abhisara, now
Hazara. Afte r Alexander subdued Massaga, Abisares sent troops to help the Indus tribes; but could not arrive in time to help Porus, with whom he had
an alliance. Porus’ defeat caused him to surrender to Alexander.
[←93]

The Western Himalayas. Lassen derives the word from the Sanskrit haimavata, meaning ‘snowy’.
[←94]
A large and powerful breed of dogs is still found in the part of Punjab where the dominions of Sopeithes were situated. Aristotle, Diodoros, Pliny, and
Aelian concur that tig er blood ran in the veins of these dogs. This story is also found in Curtius ix. I; Diodoros xvii. 92; and Aelian viii. I.
[←95]
Pataliputra, modern Patna, ancient capital of Magadha. The wooden wall mentioned was seen in the fifth century AD by the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hian. Two
centuries later, Yuan Chwang found not hing but ruins and an insignificant village of 200 to 300 houses. The inhabitants are Prasioi, Sanskrit Prachya
(Eastern), probably given to them by the people of Punjab.
[←96]

The Indian King called Sandrokottos by the Greeks is generally identified with Chandragupta, founder of the Mauryan dynasty of Magadha, to which
Asoka belonged.

[←97]
The account of Indian castes which Strabo extracted from Megasthenes is also found in Diodoros (ii. 40-42), and Arrian’s In dika (cc. 11 and 12). Hindus
have four varnas; possibly Megasthenes reported seven distinct occupations as castes.
[←98]
Strabo diverges into a discussion on gold-digging ants, claiming to have seen their skins which resembled the hides of leopards. He cites Megasthenes to
locate them in Dardistan or north-west Kashmir, on the banks of the Indus. The gold is collected by the Derdai, the Daradas of Sanskrit literature.
[ ←99]

Strabo was in Egypt with his friend Aelius Gallus in 24 BC, six years after the death of Cleopatra.
[←100]

The Indian gharial is a fish-eater.

[←101]

The drachma was a silver coin nearly equal in value to the Roman denarieus.
[←102]

Megasthenes must have known that Indians knew the art of writing. He probably meant they did not have written laws.
[←103]
Curtius says this happens within the palace (viii.9): ‘The palace is open to all comers, even when the king is having his hair combed and dressed. It is
then that he gives audience to ambassadors and administers justice to his subjects. His slippers are after this taken off and his feet are rubbed with
scented ointments’.
[←104]

Alexander’s men identified Indian gods with Greek gods with similar attributes or similar rites of worship.
[←105]

Garmanes is an error; it should be Sarmanes, Sanskrit Sramana, ascetic. Megasthenes failed to grasp the philosophy of the Brahmins, but made some
acute observations, noting that they recognize five principle things of which all things consist, for they add a fifth substance called akasa, i.e ether.
[←106]
The time period of studentship is exaggerated.
[←107]
This passage about ascetics is found also in Clemens Alexandrinus (Strom. i.) He calls them correctly Sarmanai, but errs in cal ling the ascetics of the
woods Allobioi instead of Hylobioi, Sanskrit Vanaprastha.
[←108]

It was actually the younger man who went with Alexander; the Greeks called him Kalanos. His real name, says Plutarch, was Sphines. The elder was
Dandamis, or Mandanes. These and other Indian philosophers were caught by Alexander while walking in the open meadow. At the sight of the king and
his army they stamped their feet on the ground. Asked by interpreters what this meant, they replied: ‘O King Alexander! Every man possesses as much of
the earth as this upon which we have stepped, but you, though but a man like ourselves, only more arrogant and meddlesome, have traversed so much of
the world troubling both yourself and others; and yet you must soon die and possess no more than the spot of earth which will suffice to bury you.’
[←109]
Onesikritos followed the Cynic School of Philosophy founded by Diogenes.


[←110]
Possibly a reference to the practice of Svayamvara, choice of husband by a princess or daughter of a Kshatriya at a public assembly of appropriate
suitors.
 [←111]
McCrindle says Kalanos burnt himself at Susa, not Pasargadai.
[←112]
Pramnai should be Sramanai, ascetics.
[←113]
The Classical Accounts of India, R.C. Majumdar, Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyaya, Calcutta, 1960 and Ancient India as described in Classical Literature, John
W. McCrindle, First Indian ed. 1979 (rpt. 1901- Westminster), Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, New Delhi.


[←114]

The length of India from 350 N. Lat. to Cape Comorin 805’ is about 1900 miles; its breadth, reckoned along the parallel of 250 N. Lat. eastward to the
river Brahmaputra, is about 1400 miles.
[←115]
Greeks after Alexander remained for centuries in thrall of Indian philosophers and the severe austerities they practiced.
[←116]

A jugerum is 240 feet long by 120 broad; the pristis may be saw-fish.
[←117]
The se eels are probably water-snakes, whose length has been grossly exaggerated.
[←118]
It appears that a school of whales, not tunnies, alarmed the fleet.
[←119]

Possibly dolphin of the Ganga, which has the muzzle and tail of the common dolphin, but its length has been exaggerated. The jaws have conical recurved
teeth.
[←120]

Sola India nigrun Fert ebenum.- Georg. ii. 116, 117.
[←121]

Some think this is the banana tree, others the pomegranate; some say pala is the paquovera of India, the fruit of which is called pacona.
[←122]
This may be the tamarind tree – Tamarindus Indica – the pulp of w hich is slightly laxative.
[←123]
Pepper grew along the Malabar coast; Periplus of the Erythroean Sea lists Tyndis, Muziris, Nelkynda, and Bacare as ports from which pepper was
exported.

[←124]
Possibly the clove-tree; possibly the Myrtus Caryophyllata of Ceylon whose fruit matches Pliny’s description.
[←125]
The Periplus says lycion was exported from the port of Barbarikon on the Indus and Barygaza (Bharoch) on the Nerbudda. It is a thorny plant whose juice
was used for dyeing yellow; a liquor prepared from it was used as a medicine.
[←126]
The first Western writer to mention sugarcane is Theophrastus, disciple of Aristotle. He called it a sort of honey extracted from reeds. Strabo, citing
Nearchus, says Indian reeds yield honey without bees. Aelian mentions a kind of honey extracted from reeds which grew among the Prasii (people of
upper Bengal).
[←127]
Costus (Sans. Kushtha) was prized as the best aromatic root; it was exported from Barbarikon and Barygaza.


[←128]
Nard-oil was extracted from a plant called jatamansi in Sanskrit, a species of valerian found in the mountainous p arts of India, Nepal, Bhutan.
[←129]
There is n o consensus among scholars about the identity of this plant.
[←130]
The cardamum is found in India, but not in Arabia.
[←131]

‘Blood-staunching.’
[←132]
The identity of this kind of calamus is uncertain. It may be a gramineous plant of the genus Andropogon, or the Indian Gent iana chirayta, called lemon-
grass from its scent.
[←133]
This may refer to mangrove swamps, but the reference to the height of the trees is absurd.
[←134]
The oil is used for food, medicinal purposes, and as a cosmetic.
[←135]

The Salt Range between the Indus and Hydaspes (Jhelum).

[←136]

The preparation of the drug from the indigo plant has great antiquity in India.


[←137]
The electron or amber of trees was shellac; lac insects found with it yielded a red dye.
[←138]

Adamas was used for several minerals, such as quartz, specular iron ore, emery, and other hard substances, besides diamond. However, the reference to
its hexangular a nd hexahedral forms suggests some other mineral.
[←139]

Actually opal is found in many parts of the world.



[←140]
The word sardonyx is compounded of the Greek words ‘sard’ and ‘finger-nail’.


[←141]

Onyx is an agate formed of alternating white and black or dark brown stripes of chalcedony.
[←142]

Possibly the cherry-coloured ruby, but could also be tourmaline, a silicate of alumina.
[←143]

Sarda is carnelian of a very deep red colour; it was first found at Sardis and thence its name.
[←144]
Star-stone, some kind of star-sapphire.


[←145]
Possiby refers to tree and moss agates.
[←146]
This stone gets its name from ‘a tortoise;’ Pliny says it was used by magicians for divination.

[←147]
The Classical Accounts of India, R.C. Majumdar, Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyaya, Calcutta, 1960.


[←148]
They fought Alexander when he passed the Kunar river valley. Also Aspasiosi, Greek Hippasiosi; known for their horses, the name probably derives from
Persian Aspa, Sanskrit Asva; identifie d with Asvakenos, Asvayanas of Panini; Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World; G.R. Garg, p. 711.
[←149]

Swat Valley
[←150]
Alexander continued hi s conquest, defeating the Glausians; the Assacenians and the puissant Cathaeans, Oxydracians and Mallians. After these bloody
victories, his men refused to advance further.


[←151]
The Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and the Beas rivers.
[←152]

Coenus’ speech makes it clear that the Greek casualties in the Indian wars were far higher than stated by Greek historians after every battle. Alexander
sulked for three days, but failed to change the minds of the Macedonians and Grecian allies. Retreating, he battled the val iant tribes he encountered,
notably the Mallians, and was severely wounded in the chest and nearly bled to death. His army faced immense difficulties and privations on the way
back.
[ ←153]
The Classical Accounts of India, R.C. Majumdar, Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyaya, Calcutta, 1960.


[←154]
Arrian repeats the by now entrenched Greek belief in seven castes, along with the prohibition on changing professions and marrying outsi de the caste.
The discussion on capturing and taming of wild elephants is greatly elaborated by him, and taken up after the enumeration of castes.
[←155]

The commerce and navigation of the Erythraean Sea and Ancient India as described by Ktesias the Knidian (rp. 1984 of Calcutta-London 1879, 1882
editions), Today & Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi.
[←156]

Used by women to dye their nails and feet; also as a dye.
[←157]

Sanskrit Guggula, used as a tonic, and for skin and urinary diseases.
[←158]

More likely from Nepal, where it is called tejapat.
[←159]

Obtained from the root of Nardostachys jatamansi, a native of the eastern Himalayas.
[←160]

Nero paid 300 talents for one; equivalent of 58,125 a century ago. They were first seen at Rome in the triumphal procession of Pompey.
[←161]

Possibly lapis lazuli.

[←162]

Ariake or Aparantika, the author says, was the frontier of India. The part bordering Skythia was called Aberia or Abiria, from Abhira. The sea-board of
Ariake was called Surastrene, Sanskrit Surashtra. Its capital was Minnagar, a city of the Min (Skythians), different from Minnagar which was the capital
of Indo-Skythia. It lay south of Ozene (Ujjain) on the road to the Narmada, probably near Indore.
[ ←163]

The promontory Papike projects into the Gulf of Khambhat; its distance from Barbarikon on the Indus’ middle mouth is correct. Astakapra has been
identified with H astakavapra (Hathab near Bhaunagar), a name found in a copper-plate grant of Dhruvasena I of Valabhi.
[←164]
The gulf beyond Papike is only the northern portion of the Gulf of Khambhat, which Periplus calls the Gulf of Barugaza. It receives the river Mais (Mahi).
Barugaza (Bharoch) was th e greatest seat of commerce in Western India.
[←165]

The aromatic spikenard was a product of three districts, hence known as the Kattybournine, the Patropapigic and the Kabolitic. The places indicated by
the first two cannot be ascertained, but the last was undoubtedly the region round Kabul (Ptolemy called its inhabitants Kabolitai).
[ ←166]

Periplus places Paithana 20 days’ journey to the south of Barugaza, and Tagara 10 days’ eastward from Paithana. Tagara is not iden tified - some think it
is Devagiri or Deogarh, near Ellora, about 8 miles from Aurangabad, but the distances do not match. It could be Junnar (i.e. juna-nagar=the old city.),
which must always have been an emporium due to its location.
[←167]
Celobotras, Sanskrit Keralaputra; his capital was Karoura (Karur), an important town in Coimbatore district.
[←168]

Scholars have identified Muziris with the Muyiri of Muyiri-kotta; Tyndis with Tundi, and Kynda, of Nelkynda.
[←169]

Nelkunda probably lay between Kanetti and Kolum in Travancore.

[←170]

Sanskrit Pandu, father of the Pandava brothers. The capital of this prince was Modura, Sanskrit Mathura.
[←171]
Nelkunda was probably the limit of the author’s voyage along the Indian coast, as the sequel of his narrative is vague about places and the details at
times grossly inaccurate, eg: the Malabar Coast extends southwards beyond Cape Como rin and Ceylon stretches westward almost as far as Africa!
[←172]

P aralia is South Travancore and South Tinnevelly, it began at the Red Cliffs south of Quilon and included Cape Comorin.
[←173]

Kamara may be the emporium Ptolemy calls Khaberis at the mouth of the Kaveri; Sopatma is not identified.
[←174]

The last place mentioned in the Periplus is Thinai, an inland city of the Thinai or Sinai, with a large commerce in silk and woollen goods. It may be the
city Marco Polo called Kenjan-fu (Singan-fu or Chauggan), the most c elebrated city in Chinese history and capital of several important dynasties.
[←175]

Ray, Niharranjan et al, A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization, Orient Longman Ltd., 2000, p. 606-612.
[←176]
L. Casson, ‘New Light on Maritime Loans: P. Vindob G 40822’, Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphick, Band 84, 1990, pp. 195-206; quotation from
p. 200-202.
[←177]
The Classical Accounts of India, R.C. Majumdar, Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyaya, Calcutta, 1960 and Ancient India as described in Classical Literature, John
W. McCrindle, First Indian ed. 1979 (rpt. 1901- Westminster), Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, New Delhi.
[←178]

This palace is probably that of Sandrokottos at Palibothra (Patna) and the account maybe from Megasthenes.
[←179]
It is not clear what bird this is.
[←180]
This bird is not mentioned anywhere else; said to be like the attagen.
[ ←181]

People of northern Bengal and Bihar.

[←182]
‘Sora,’ is the Sanskrit Chola and Tamil Sora or Chora. Soras would be the king.


[←183]
Eukratides, one of the most powerful of Graeco-Baktrian kings, reigned from 181 to 147 BC.
[←184]

Not identified.
[←185]

The panther, not the lion, was used for hunting.

[←186]
The Peripatetic school of philosophy associated with Aristotle and Theophrastus. The colonnade in which the philosophers discoursed is called peripatos
in Greek.
[←187]

During Apollonius’ visit, the king was Gondophares. Excavations at Taxila endorse Philostratus’ account of the city: cf. Sir John Marshall, A Guide of
Taxila, 4th edn., 1960, p. 28-30.
[←188]
This is the temple of Jandial; ibid., p 29, 88-9.


[←189]
This shrine has been identified in excavations at Taxila with the discovery of a stone image of the Sun-god, Marshall, op. cit., p. 30.
[←190]
Excavations have confi rmed Philostratus’ report of the modest proportions of the palace at Taxila, ibid., p. 30 and 69.
[←191]
Both the translator and editor consider ‘and their fruit’ to be an interpolation in the text.
[←192]
In antiquity, Red Sea was a generic t erm for the Indian Ocean and its offshoots, the Persian Gulf, Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez, and the Egyptian Red Sea.
[←193]
Erythros is Greek for ‘red’, hence Philostratus’ etymology.
[←194]

A rival philosopher and enemy of Apollonius.

[←195]

This was a mild rebuke that they went naked, not out of asceticism, but necessity or comfort.
[←196]
An ox on one’s tongue was an allusion to keeping silent. C f., for example, Aeschylus, Agamemnon, 36.
[←197]
Flavius Clemens, nephew of Vespasian, consul in AD 95, married Flavia Domitilla. They were probably executed soon after Clemens’ consulate on
charges of impiety; scholars believe they may have been Christians.
[←198]
The Classical Accounts of India, R.C. Majumdar, Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyaya, Calcutta, 1960 and Ancient India as describ ed in Classical Literature, John
W. McCrindle, First Indian ed. 1979 (rpt. 1901- Westminster), Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, New Delhi.
[←199 ]
The embassy probably came from the Maratha region, given the name of its chief, Sandanes, and the mention of the Rock-temple, which abound there,
especially in the marit ime district which Ptolemy called Ariake Sadinon, meaning Ariake ruled by the Sadaneis or Sandaneis. This district was
commercially very active, and probably undertook the embassy to the Roman Emperor for this reason.
[←200]
Shiva as Ardhnarishwar; depicted in the rock temples and on Scythian coins.

[←201]
Lassen thinks the statue was made of teakwood.
[ ←202]
Lassen thinks this suggests an image of the river goddess Ganga.

[←203]
The cyst of the male, about the size of a hen’s egg, contains a clotted, oily, fri able matter of dark brown colour; this is the true musk.
[←204]

This chapter is based upon (i) Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta, A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to t he Fall of Vijayanagar, Oxford University Press,
4th ed., Delhi, 2006; (ii) Travels of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun, Buddhist Pilgrims from China to India (400 AD and 518 AD), translated from the Chinese,
Samuel Beal, London 1869, rpt. Asian Educational Services, New Delhi 2003; (iii) The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, Soka Gakkai, Japan, 2002;
(iv) Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, G.P. Mala lsekera, Vol. II, London, Luzac & Co. Ltd., 1960; (v) Chinese Monks in India, I-Ching, trans. Latika Lahiri,
Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1986; (vi) Chinese Sources for Indian History, National Archives of India; and (vii) H.K. Kaul, ed., Travellers ’ India. An
Anthology, Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1979.
[←205]
In our own era, Indian President Pratibha Patil revived the ancient civilisat ional ties between the two lands when on 29 May 2010, she inaugurated an
Indian style Buddhist temple at the White Horse temple complex in Loyang, cradle of Buddhism in China. This is the first Indian-style Buddhist temple to
be erected in China in 1,900 years, since the Indian monks Kashyapamatanga and Dharmaratna helped e stablish the first Buddhist shrine there. Built
with red sandstone and Kota stone from India, the temple stands on 6,000 square metres of land allotted by the Chinese Government during the visit of
the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003, Times of India, 30 May 2010.
[←206]
Chinese scholar Prof. Liang ch’i-ch’ao (1873-1929) listed as many as 180 monk-pilgrims in his essay “Chinese students going abroad 1500 years ago and
afterwards” (See Chine se Sources for Indian History, National Archives of India, p. 83).
[←207]

T ravels of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun, Buddhist Pilgrims from China to India (400 AD and 518 AD), trans. from Chinese, Samuel Beal, London 1869, rpt.
Asian Educational Services, New Delhi 2003. See also A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms Being An Account By The Chinese Monk Fa-Hien Of Travels In
India And Ceylon (AD 399–414) In Search Of The Buddhist Books Of Discipline, Trans. James Legge, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1998; original
Clarendon Press, Oxford.
[← 208]

Former capital of the province of Shense.

[←209]

The Vinaya Pitaka, collection of sacred books relating to Discipline and Morality. The Sutra Pitaka contains the discourses of Buddha, and the
Abhidharma Pitaka includes all compositions explaining doctrine.
[←210]

This should be the cyclical characters Kang tsze, i.e., 400-1 AD.
[←211]
Prince who ruled Yuen Chun in the western part of Shense.


[←212]
Prince who ruled Ho Si, to the west of the Yellow River.
[←213]

In the province of Kansu, just within the north-west extremity of the Great Wall.
[←214]

Tun-nieh of Liang Chow, who died in 401 AD.

[←215]

A frontier town of military significance, mentioned by Marco Polo as Sachion.

[←216]

The Chinese mile; five li equal one English mile.

[←217]

The Leou-lun of Yuan Chwang. Fah-Hian and Yuan Chwang departed from China through the Yuh Mun (Gem Gate) just beyond Su-Chow. Yuan Chwang
proceeded northwards towards Kamil, while Fah-Hian advanced SW towards Lake Lob. Yuan Chwang returned to India by the outward route.
[←218]
Sanskrit Sramana; Pali Samana.
[←219]

Garden of the priests; includes the vihara, living quarters, and surrounding grounds.
[←220]

A being who has attained the Buddha knowledge, but remains in the world for the benefit of men.
[←221]

Asoka gav e the whole of Jambudwipa to the monks and then redeemed it for a sum of money.
[←222]

Rémusat identifies this with Darada or Dardu, but Beal thinks it is a small town called Dhir, near River Tal.
[←223]
Rémusat thinks this refers to the office of interpreters in the foreign affairs department under the Han dynasty.
[←224]

A Chinese general in the reign of Wou-ti of the Han dynasty, 122 BC; he led the first memorable expedition into Central Asia.
[←225]
Sent to the Caspian Sea to subdue the Roman empire in the first century AD, he returned on being told it would take two years to cross the sea owing to
an unfavourable wind.
[←226]

Eastern Han dynasty (25–190 AD).

[←227]

770 BC. It is a Chinese tendency to push back the date of the Buddha and Buddhism.


[←228]

Refers to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.

[←229]
Second emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty (discussed previously).
[←230]
A custom from the time of Alexander; Apollonius was permitted to reside in Taxila for three days.
[←231]
Nagarahara in the basin of the Kabul river; mentioned by Ptolemy; close to Jalalabad.
[←232]

Continent to the south of Mt. Sumeru, including India and China, according to Chinese accounts.
[ ←233]

The distance now comes to be measured in yojanas, which differ in different districts. In the north-west provinces a yojana = 7 miles, but i n the
Magadha region it is 4½ miles.
[←234]

The ele vated skull-bone is an index of great religiosity of character. Called Sariras, these relics are supposed to be indestructible and are found among
the ashes after the cremation of a great saint.
[ ←235]
These include gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, cornelian, coral, ruby.


[←236]
Yuan Chwang also mentions this stupa, whose foundations alone remained; the relic had vanished.
[←237]
This absurd length is attributed to the fact that the Buddha is often given a stature of 12 or even 18 cubits.
[←238]

A meal prepared at an unusual hour; Buddhists do not eat after mid-day except when ill or travelling.
[←239]

Maha Kasyapa was the first Buddhist patriarch. One of three brothers who worshipped fire, he submitted to Buddha and converted his brothers, each
bringing 250 disciples to the fold. These, with the 500 of Sariputra and Mogalan comprise the 1250 f ollowers of Buddha frequently mentioned in the
Sutras.
[←240]

A collection of Buddhist literature.

[←241]

A semi-historical character deified in Nepal and Tibet; the Chinese regard him as a great teacher.
[←242]
Near Farakhabad, the Kapitha of Yuan Chwang.
[←243]

Buddha’s mother died seven days after his birth; later he ascended heaven to preach the Law for her sake.
[←244]

108 auspicious marks on each foot.

[←245]

Universal monarch in whom the chakra (discus) of Vishnu abides.

[←246]

The lowest heavens in the world of forms (Rupa loka) .

[←247]
Cunningham visited the spot (1862) and found a pillar of the age of Asoka, with a w ell carved elephant on the top, minus trunk and tail. Possibly Fah-
Hian mistook the animal for a lion.
[←248]

Error in text; it should be north and not south.
[←249]

Not to be confused with that of Yuan Chwang, which is in the Deccan (Dakshina Kosala).
[←250]

Buddha spent 25 years here after his enlightenment.

[←251]

Buddha’s aunt (mother’s sister); she nursed him a fter the death of his mother.
[←252]

Known as Anathapindika, he gifted the Jetavana Garden to Buddha.

[←253]

Yuan Chwang reported the pillars were 70 feet high, erected by Asoka, with a dome/cupola on one and elephant on the other. Cunningham thinks the
elephant’s trunk was broken; hence Fah-Hi an mistook it for an ox.
[←254]
The son of Prasenajit; he exterminated the Sakya tribe of Buddha.
[←255]

Village Tadwa, nine miles west of Sahet-Mahet.
[←256]

Birthplace of the Buddha, on the river Rapti.
[←257]

Legend states Bodhisatwa descended from Tushita heaven in the form of a white elephant, surrounded by a halo of light and entered his mother’s left
side. The text says he descended seated on a white elephant.


[←258]

On a trip outside the palace, Buddha witnessed in succession an old man, a sick man, a dead man and a Shaman, and realized the ephemeral nature of
life; he turned towards the spiritual life.
[←259]

The prince, his cousin Nanda and uncle Devadutta were leaving a sporting event when Devadutta spotted a huge elephant in the gateway and killed it
with his fist. Nanda dragged the carcass to the side of the road. The Prince raised the carcass with one hand and flung it outside the city walls; it
created a huge dyke in the earth, called Hastigarta.
[←260]

In a competition with the Sakyas at the age of fifteen, the prince with one arrow perforated seven golden drums, and with another seven iron blocks.
The arrows went SE and struck the earth; water fountains gushed out.

[←261]
Viroudhaka abducted 500 Sakya women for his harem, but when they refuse d to submit to such disgrace, mutilated them and left them to die. They took
recourse to Buddha and attained the condition of Devas (Jul. ii.307).
[←262]

Ramagamo of the Mahawanso; the distance between Kapilavastu and Ramagrama matches that given by Yuan Chwang.


[←263]

Originally divided into eight parts and given to eight claimants.



[←264]

Spelt variously in the text as Lichhavas, Lichchavis, etc.



[←265]
During the fifth year of his teaching.
[←266]
Ajatas atru, son of Bimbisara, king of Magadha; he flourished around 560 BC.
[←267]

Probably Mahendra, listed in Singhalese records as the son of Asoka.

[←268]

The description matches Buddha Ghosa, who translated Singhalese Buddhist scriptures into Pali, and must have been living in Patna at the time of Fah-
Hian’s visit.


[←269]

Beal says this account suggests Buddhist worship had already begun to change from original simplicity.


[←270]

Indrasilaguha, cave of the stone of Indra, identified with a peak called Giryek.

[←271]

Probably the Sangharama on the neighbouring peak, the Hansa (Wild Goose) Sangharama.
[←272]

As he had not yet attained the condition of a Rahat (attained full enlightenment).
[←273]
To break his fast, as six years of austerities had not given him complete wisdom.
[←274]

En route, the Brahman Santi gave him eight bundles of Kusa grass as he knew they would be required.
[←2 75]

The fourth dream of Buddha on the night prior to complete wisdom was that Lohini birds of different colours flew towards him from all quarters, but as
they approached, they all became a golden hue.
[←276]

Names Tanha, Rati, Ranga.

[←277]

Bodhi-mandala, reputed to be in the exact centre of Jambudwipa.



[←278]
An obvious invention to give divine sanction to Asoka’s later ascent; he was born long after Buddha.
[←279]
Buddhists believe in hells where sinners are punished for some time; these are normally sit uated between high mountains in particular parts of the
earth.
[←280]

Yuan Chwang’s account is very different (Jul. ii.415).

[←281]

Probably in the kingdom of Yuddhapati, mentioned by Yuan Chwang (Jul. i.134), near Ghazipura.
[←282]

Buddha first wanted to teach the Law to the ascetics Alara and Uddaka, but they were already dead. So he decided to seek the five ascetics who had
practiced austerities with him for six years near Gaya, and now dwelt in the Deer Park. They were Adjnata Kaundinya, Asvajit, Vashpa, Mahanama, and
Bhadrika.
[←283 ]

Beal says this is significant as it shows that even at this time the different Buddhist centres were preserving the doctrine mainly by tradition. This could
account f or the various schools which came up later.
[←284]
Later date sutras with repetitions of the same ideas.
[←285]
A wo rk reputedly delivered by Buddha prior to his Nirvana.
[←286]

Near the mouth of the H ooghly; port of intense traffic with Ceylon and the southern coasts of India.
[←287]

Possibly refers to the Maldives.

[←288]

Possibly the carbuncle; greatly valued by Buddhists, as seen in the Tibetan prayer “Om mani padme hum.”


[←289]

Devanampiyatissa sent the embassy shortly after the arrival of Mahindo; he also invited Sanghamitta to come to Lanka.
[←290]
On account of a patron he found on board.


[←291]
The Mission of Hwui Seng and Sung Yun to obtain Buddhist Books in the West (518 AD) [Trans. from the 5th Section of the History of the Tem ples of Lo-
Yang (Honan Fu); in Travels of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun Buddhist pilgrims from China to India (400 AD and 518 AD), trans. from Chinese, Samuel Beal,
London, 1869; rpt. Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 2003. All spellings are as in the text.

[←292]

Probably the Pi-Mo of Yuan Chwang (Julien iii.243). He also alludes to the figure in the Text, identified with the sandalwood image of Oudyana, king of
Kausambi.
[←293]

This implies the use of magical influence to compel Bud dha to send Rahula.
[←294]

Possibly Hi-mo-ta-la country of Yuan Chwang, bordering the Hindukush range.

[←295]

The La-la or Lara people were probably a Northern Scythian tribe, perhaps akin to the Paralatæ of Herodotus.

[←296]

It is a Chinese custom to receive royal messages with great ceremony.

[←297]

There is no other way of translating this passage, yet it is puzzling how they could carry such a head-dress.
[←298]

Possibly refers to some local legends.

[←299]

Sudatta, Bountiful Prince, gave the King of Kalinga a white elephant with the power to cause rainfall. This made the subjects force king Sanda to banish
the prince with his wife, Madri Devi and his two children, to the rock Wankagiri, where the events alluded to in the text occurred.
[←300]

P ossibly Madri Devi, but the passage is obscure.

[←301]

An ascetic called Achhuta in Singhalese accounts.

[←302]
Possibly Dragon Apalala, whose fountain to the N.E. of Moungali (capital of Udyana) gave rise to the river Subhavastu that flows through this territory.
[←303]
Then in the possession of the Great Yuchi, whose capital was Kabul.
[←304]
Possibly Onowei, known as “the Prince who seizes and ho lds firmly.” He refused homage to the Wei Tartars, alluding probably to the circumstances
recorded in this account of Sung-Yun.
[←305]

Possibly the Fa-hsienti (Betik) of Yuan Chwang, 400 li to the west of Bokhara.
[←306]

The Varousha (Po-lou-sha) of Yuan Chwang.

[←307]

Probably the Pilousara Stupa of Yuan Chwang.

[←308]
Tsioh-li means a sparrow; possibly a corruption of She-li (Sariras), relics in this celebrated pagoda.
[←309]
Yuan Chwang says it was a li and a half in circumference.
[←310]
Possibly a mistake in the text, as the height of the pillar should be 30 feet.
[←311]

Khakkaram Temple or Temple of the Religious Staff (vide Fah Hian, cap. xiii).
[←312]

Lokesh Chandra, Preface, The Life of Hsuan-tsang By his disciples Hui-li and Yen-ts‘ung, complete Chinese text translated into English by Li Yung-his,
Akshaya Prakashan, New Delhi, 2005 (original 1959).
[←313]

The subsequent selections are based upon Buddhist Records of the Western World, Trans. from Chinese of Hiuen Tsiang, AD 629, Samuel Beal,
Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2004 (original 1884). Supplementary selections from The Life of Hsuan-tsang By his disciples Hui-li and Yen-
ts‘ung are given separately thereafter as they make interesting reading and deepen the narrative.
[←314]
Copper-water may re fer to the size of the small hole made in the tamri (copper) cup for admission of water.
[←315]
The five degrees of rel igious advance among Buddhists: (I) The Vehicle of Buddha, (2) of the Bodhisattvas, (3) of the Pratyeka Buddha, (4) of the
ordained disciple, (5) of the lay disciple.
[←316]

The order in which the four Vedas are mentioned here: Ayur Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda.
[←317]

These are explained at length, but need not detain us.

[←318]

There seems to be a corruption in the text.

[←319]

This legend gave the place the name Taksha-siri, “the severed head,” as noticed by Fa-hian and Sung-yun. The man for whose sake he gave his head was
the wicked Brahman Rudraksha.
[←320]
The white-robed Svetambara Jaina munis; Yuan Chwang says their original teacher achieved enlightenment and first preached at Simhapura and there
was an inscription to that effect.
[ ←321]
A sectarian prejudice!
[←322]
The images are simil ar, except that the Digambara images are without clothing.
[←323]

Kasmir was a large kingdom in ancient times; originally Kasyapapura; Kasmir was used in the Mahabharata.
[←324]

Meaning, did not distinguish holy from ordinary men.



[←325]

Supernatural beings who guard treasures.

[ ←326]

The country from the Ravi to the Sutlej; Cunningham placed it 11 miles north of Amritsar.

[←327]
Cunningham says there can be no doubt about the introduction of the China peach as it is still so-called in NW India.
[←328]
Kanishka and his associates hailed from the Gushan tribe of the Yuei-c hi, who originally came from the borders of China.
[←329]

Katyayana probably flourished around 20 BC. The Abhidharmajnana-prasthana Sastra was translated into Chinese by Sanghadeva and another in AD
383, and by Yuan Chwang in AD 657.
[←330]

Probably the name of a kingdom of which Sarhind was the chief town, referred to in the text.
[←331]

Beal feels these trees are amla trees and mango trees; in other places in the text, An-mo-lo is said to be amra (mango).
[←332]

400 li north-east from Sthanesvara; capital at or near Kalsi.

[←333]
A river cannot be three-quarter miles wide at its source.
[←334]
Madawar or Mundore, in Western Rohilkhand, near Bijnore; the people may be the Mathai of Megasthenes.
[←335]

Mayapura or Haridwara; now on the western bank of the Ganga.

[←336]

Present Sankisa, 40 miles (200 li) south-east of Atranji.

[←337]

Possibly means the Rajput clan of Bais or Vaisa, not the mercantile caste.
[←338]

The town of Ranjamati, 12 miles north of Murshidabad in Bengal.

[←339]

This was Sasangka Narendragupta, king of Gauda or Bengal.

[←340]

Bana, author of Harshacharita, says his name was Bhandin. Siladitya patronised the best writers at his court.
[←341]

The promise of this or acle appears to be that if the advice is followed, then by mysterious energy the neighbouring kingdoms will have no one strong
enough to resist the king. Siladitya indeed conquered the whole of north India and was checked in the south only by Pulikesi (Pulakesa), who received
the title of Paramesvara for his victory.


[←342]

Possibly the mats or seats for discussion or religious services.

[←343]

Temporary, portable rest-house.

[ ←344]

Siladitya patronised all religious groups.

[←345]

Yuan Chwang was invited by the ruler of Kamrup, the western portion of Assam.
[←346]

Kajinghara, a small kingdom on the banks of the Ganga, 92 miles from Champa.
[ ←347]

A reference to the first emperor (Hwang-ti) of the Ts’in dynasty (221 BC), who broke up the feudal dependencies and centralized the government; he
built the Great Wall to k eep out invaders.
[←348]

Probably refers to the troubles which prevailed at the end of the Chow dynasty, which preceded the Ts’ in.
[←349]

The Chinese believe the first Buddhist monks arrived there in the reign of the Ts’in emperor.

[←350]

The Akashya Vata, “undecaying banyan tree,” which Cunningham found still worshiped at Allahabad.
[←351]

Kosambi-nagar, an old village on the Yamuna, 30 miles from Allahabad (Cunningham); mentioned in the Ramayana.
[← 352]
Sravasti, in north Kosala, has been identified by Cunningham with a great ruined city on the south bank of the Rapti, called Sahet Mahet, 58 miles north
of Ayodhya. Yuan Chwang apparently took a longer route.
[←353]

Buddha was born here.



[←354]

Kusinagara, where Buddha died, has been identified by Wilson and Cunningham with the present village of Kas ia, 35 miles east of Gorakhpur.
[←355]

Most records speak of two sala trees (Shorea robusta), as does Yuan Chwa ng himself in the following extract.
[←356]

Exaggeration, based on inf ormation of local people; scholars think it could not be so large.
[←357]

Horse-faced musicians of Kuvera; the Chinese depict them as “something different from men.”
[←358]
Mentioned also by Fa-hien.
[←359]

Fa-Hian’s version (chap.xxxii) is different; the story seems to have been embellished with time.
[←360]

This prediction actually refers to Kalasoka, grandson of Ajatasatru, who made his capital at Pataliputra.
[←361]

Twenty-one miles west of Nalanda.

[←362]

His descendant Nagadasaka, who preceded the nine Nandas, seems to be the same as Maha-Nandin.
[←363]
Female deity of Tibetan origin; worshipped by the Yogachara school.
[←364]

Buddha was in doubt if there were men fit to hear the doctrine.
[←365]

This mountain corresponds to the lofty hill of Handia, 1463 feet in height (Cunningham).
[←366 ]

Fa-hien also said the five hills surrounding the town were like the walls of a city (ch. xxviii.)
[ ←367]

No caves have been discovered on this hill; but many later sutras relate to this hill.
[ ←368]

The famous Sattapanni cave housed the seven month long First Buddhist Council, Dipavamsa (Oldenberg, v. 5).
[←369]

The hall was constructed; the cave at the back was natural. See Fergusson, Cave Temples of India, p. 49.
[←370]

Others date the Sthavira school from the second convocation at Vaisali.
[←371]

Perhaps the Sannipata-nikaya.

[←372]

This account differs from common tradition, which dates th is great assembly from the schism at Vaisali. Yet Yuan Chwang’s statement that additional
pitakas were collected at this assembly is useful and suggestive.
[←373]

That is, the walls of the citadel.

[←374]

Identified with village Baragaon, 7 miles north of Rajgir.

[ ←375]
The normal order of the sangha is that Bhikshus are classed according to the number of years in t he sangha. But in Baladitya’s vihara, they were classed
according to their natural age. The king, though a disciple, was not fully ordained.
[←376]
Could also mean the stone foundation.
[←377]
The water of immortality.


[←378]

Communicate to the other.

[←379]

This Brahmin is well known from a work called Dirghanakha parivrajaka pariprichcha.
[←380]

Capital of Anga; country around Bhagalpur.

[←381]

An islet or detached rock; Cunningham identifies it with the rocky island opposite Patharghata with its temple-crowned summit (Anc. Geog. of India, p.
477).
[←382]
The Mahabharata mentions a kingdom of Kalingha in eastern India.


[←383]

Includes the districts of Rajashahi, Dinajpur, Nadiya, Birbhum, Bardwan, Midnapu r, Jangal Mahals, Ramgadh, Pachit, Palaman and part of Chunar.
[←384]

Jack or bread fruit.

[←385]

A root that grows under old fir trees in China.



[←386]

Pragjyotisha; the kingdom included Manipur, Jaintia, Kachhar, West Assam, and parts of Mymensingh and S ylhet.
[←387]
Coconut.
[ ←388]
Modern Tamluk above the Selai, just above its junction with the Hooghly.
[←389]
The coast is a large bay.
[←390]

Devadatta appears to have had his own followers. Due to his inferiority vis-à-vis the Buddha, he became his enemy. One rule of his sect was not to use
butter. A sect revering him as a Buddha existed up to AD 400.


[←391]

Identified as Jajipura on the Baitani; Fergusson suggests Midnapur.

[←392]

Remains, possibly of a stupa, have been found near Aska.

[←393]

Means divine beings. Cunningham thinks these hills are Udayagiri and Khandagiri, wherein many Buddhist caves and inscriptions have been found; they
are 5 miles west of the grand temples at Bhuvaneswara.
[←394]
Cunningham thinks this is Ganjam.
[←395]

Different from Sravasti or Ayodhya, which was also called Kosala.
[←396]

Some say he lived 600 years; others say the 400-600 years accorded him refers to the development of the Mahayana.


[←397]

These forms of life are creatures oviparous, viviparous, born from spawn, or by transformation.
[←398]

The six ways of birth are as Devas, as men, as asuras, as pretas; as beasts; and in hell.
[←399]

There are many caves in a hill south of Bejwada.

[←400]

The passage is obscure. It seems Bhavaviveka challenges Dharamapala on the ground that his aim has not yet been accomplished and worshipping the
Bodhi tree is foolish and inoperative. “Vow to accomplish your purpose, and it shall be accomplished irrespective of worship or humility” was probably
the slant of Nagarjuna’s teaching; Bhavavikeka, though a follower of Kapila, was full of Nagarjuna’s spirit.

[←401]
This is an important passage. It shows that Bhavaviveka, imbued “with the spi rit of Nagarjuna” though a follower of Kapila, exhibited his faith by going
to Avalokitesvara.
[←402]

Either the Malabar Ghats or the ghats south of Coimbatore.



[←403]

Two hundred years after the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka would be about BC 75, when the three pitakas were reduced to writi ng there.
[←404]

The Mahavihara was south of Anuradhapura.

[←40 5]

Probably the vihara with the tooth-relic.

[ ←406]
Possibly an error in the text; could be 30 li.
[ ←407]
Not identified clearly.
[←408]

Probably the famous rock-temples at Ajanta, in the Indhyadri range of hills.

[←409]

The ascetic Sthavira Achala; mentioned in an inscription on Caitya cave no. xxvi.
[←410]

An exaggerated account of the Chaityas; Yuan Chwang doesn’t seem to have visited them personally.


[←411]
Seems to refer to two elephants sculptured on the rock in front of Cave XV, now scarcely recognizable.
[←412]
Confirmed by a grant of Dharasena II of Valabhi; the Sanskrit name of the founder is given as Atharya.
[←413]

A famous disciple of Vasubandhu.
[←414]

The old Prakrit name of Girnar near Junagadh in Kathiawar.

[←415]

Barmer in Rajasthan; many Kathiawar clans hailed from here.



[←416]

Extracts from The Life of Hsuan-tsang by his disciples Hui-li and Yen-ts‘ung; wri tten after the pilgrim’s return to China, it shows his religious studies,
royal patronage, and success in gathering manuscripts.
[←417]

The pilgrim’s wishing thinking; the Ganga remains a potent force in Hindu belief to this day.
[←418]
Supplements the narrative of his visit to Sravasti.
[←419]
Monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.
[←420]

Freedom of life; freedom of mind; freedom of having the conduciv e requirements; freedom of karma; freedom of rebirth; freedom of understanding;
freedom of will; freedom of supernatural powers; freedom of Dharma; and freedom of wisdom.
[ ←421]

The glory of wisdom and of blessed virtues.

[←422]

Identified with the ruins of Atranjikhera, four miles south of Karsana.

[←423]

Ketas on the north side of the Salt Range, 16 miles from Pind Dadan Khan.
[←424]
A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago AD 671-695; I-Tsing, translated by J. Takakusu, Munshiram
Manoharlal, 1998; originally pub. Clarendon Press, London, 1896.
[←425]

Nanjio’s Catalogue of the Chinese Buddhist Books, No. 1492.
[←426]

These included Nagarju na’s Suhrillekha, Matriketa’s hymn in 150 verses, the Anitya-sutra.
[←427]

There are four sub-divisions, though I-Tsing mentions only three. One school is called the Mulasarvastivada, and as it is the same name as that of the
original school, I–Tsing does not list is separately.
[←428]

According to the Samyuktavastu, Bo ok vi (Nanjio’s Catal., No. 1121), two Bhikshus from the south set out for Sravasti to see the Buddha. As the water
around them was full of insects, the elder did not drink and died, and was born in heaven. The younger drank an d was censured by Buddha. A similar
story is told in the Jataka Commentary (Rhys Davids’ Buddhists Birth Stories, vol. I, p. 278; and in Kullavagga V, 13, 2).
[←429]

Supposed to have happened in the sixteenth year of Buddha’s ministry; see Rhys Davids, Buddhism, p. 73.
[←430]
Katurmaharagadevas, Mahavagga I, 6, 30.
[←431]
The Samyuktavastu, chap. xxxi; Samyuktaratna-sutra VII, 106.
[←432]

The fi ve assemblies (parishads) are Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Sikshamanas, Sramaneras, and Sramaneris.
[←433]

Mukilinda, i n Mahavagga I, 3 comes to protect Buddha and hear his sermon; see SBE vol xiii, p. 80.
[←434]

Yojanas, spelt as yoganas throughout original text.

[←435]

A Chinese priest I-tsing met unexpectedly in India; his Sanskrit name was Pragnadeva.
[←436]

Three kinds of pure meat: (i) when it is not seen that it is being killed for oneself; (2) when it is not heard that it has been killed for oneself; (3) when it is
not suspected that it may have been killed for oneself. See Mahavagga VI, 31,14, 2, SBE, vol. xvii, p. 117.
[ ←437]
The eight Chaityas are: Lumbini Garden at Kapilavastu; the Bodhi tree at Magadha; in Varanasi; Geta Garden at Sravasti; Kanauj; Rajagriha; Vaisali and
Kusinagara.
[←438]

Gandhamadana, ‘Fragrant Mountain,’ lies in the region of the Anavat apta lake from which the four rivers, Sita, Ganga, Sindhu and Oxus originate. This
is perhaps Manasarowar lake (lat.310N., long. 8103).
[←439]

Indians had an impression that Manjusri dwelt in China in I-tsing’s time.

[←440]

Buddhaghosa in Mahavagga VI, 14, 7: Mutta-haritakan ti gomutta p aribhavitam haritakam.

[←441]

The identity of this king is uncertain.

[←442]
A song about Buddha’s last but one birth.
[←443]
The first Indian Buddhists who visited China in AD 67 and tr anslated several sutras.
[←444]

Paramartha visited China in AD 548 and translated 31 works.

[←445]

Kumaragiva (Kumarajiva) visited China in AD 401 and translated 50 Sanskrit books into Chinese.
[← 446]

The seven constituents of Bodhi are: recollection; investigation; energy; joy; calmness; contemplation; and equanimity.
 [←447]

Two priests came to China AD 67; translations of Buddhist texts came loaded on a white horse, the White Horse Monastery was built at Loyang.
Kasyapamatanga did one translation and Dharmaraksha five; Nanjio’s Catal., App. ii, 1-2.
[ ←448]
K’ang-seng hui was an Indian of Tibetan origin who visited China in AD 241; Fa-hien visited India in AD 399–414 and is probably the ‘dark elephant.’
[←449]
Tao-an died AD 389; Hui-yen submitted to the Eastern Tsin AD 317–419 and founded the White Lotus Society; he sent his disciples to Udyana to procure
Sansk rit texts AD 408.
[←450]

Hui-hsiu and Fa-li lived under the Sui dynasty (AD 589–618); the former was a teacher of t he Mahayana Samparigraha School.
[←451]

The Hye C h’O Diary: Memoir of the Pilgrimage to the Five Regions of India (Religions of Asia Series, No 2) by Hyecho, Jan Yun-Hua, Iida Shotaro, Yang
Han-Sung, Laurence Preston (Ed.), Asian Humanities Press, PO Box 3056, Berkeley, California 94703 and Po Chin Chai Ltd. 8 – 5 Ga Dangsan-Dry
Yeongdueng po-ku, Seoul, Korea, Year not stated.
[←452]

The Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.
[←453]

Absence of slavery in India im pressed the Greeks who came with Alexander the Great as well.
[←454]

Statues of the first five converts; now in the Calcutta Museum.

[←455]
Excavations show the column measured over 27½’ in height and tapered from 2’4" diameter at the bottom to 1’10" diameter at the top; column was a
short distance west of the main shrine.
[←456]
Identical with Yuan Chwang’s record.
[ ←457]

Cunningham noted that all excavations near Sarnath have “revealed traces of fire, I myself found charred timber and half-burned grain. The same things
were also found by Major Kittoe… [who] summed up his conclusions to me in a few wo rds: ‘All has been sacked and burnt, priests, temples, idols, all
together. In some places, bones, iron, timber, idols, etc. are all fused into huge heaps; and this has happened more than once.’” Cunningham reports that
some scholars believe “the place might have been burnt down by the Huns when they invaded northern India during the 5th and 6th century… [while
others believe that] the Buddhist monuments mi ght have suffered from the fury of the Moslem conquerors.”
[←458]

This king should be Yasovarman, who sent his minister, Bhandanta Po-ta-hsin to the Chinese emperor Hsuan-tsang of the T-ang dynasty for diplomatic
ties.
[←459]

Presumably Vatapi or Badami, capital of the Western Chalukyas, as this was the most important dynasty of the region at the time of Hye Ch’O’s visit;
though scholars argue that the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi could equally be indica ted. A solution is not possible due to the brevity of the account.
[←460]
Fa-hien and Yuan Chwang mention a cave temple called Bhramara in the mountain of Undavilli near Bezwada.
[←461]
Nagarjuna actually requested a Satavahana king.
[←462]
Oriens Extremus, p. 176: “The King of Kashmir, in 713 AD, when the Korean general Ko Hsien Chih was alive, applied to the Chinese Emperor for aid
against the Arabs.”
[←463]

Gandhara was Buddhist under Kanishka; famous for its sculptures.

[←464]

Vasubandhu was born in Peshawar in 400 AD; Asanga was his younger brother.
[←465]

A popular story in the Jataka tales in which Gautama, king of Sibi, was tested by Sakra (as a pigeon) and Brahma (as an ea gle). The king offered his own
flesh to the eagle to save the life of the pigeon.
[←466]
Damascus was the capital of the Arab empire which extended from Spain and Mor occo to Turkestan and Sind by 715 AD, and dominated the
Mediterranean.
[←467]
The Eastern Roman Empire. Hye Ch’O says the clothing of Eastern Romans, Arabs and Persians was similar.
[←468]
Possibly a reference to the Parsi faith.
[ ←469]

According to National Geographic Magazine, December 1959, Atlas Plate 44, Ferghana lies between Tadzhik SSR and Kirgiz SSR.
[←470]

Shignan, Shughnan in Badakhshanskaya, Tajikistan (former USSR), is north-west of Gilgit, Kashmir, in Yuan Chwang.


[←471]

Since Yuan Chwang did not go to Shignan, Hye Ch’O’s descriptions here are very valuable.
[←472]
According to Fujita, King P’ei-hsing’s ancestral home was Kashgar.


[←473]
In Kucha, the Tokharistan language was used by the people of Tarim basin at Kucha and Karashr, which are part of Sin-kiang in China; this language is
classified as Indo-European.
[←474]
The general protectorate of An-hsi maintained control of all nations of the Tarim basin and monitored nations to the wes t of Tashkurgen, and controlled
the traffic and trade.
[←475]

Khotan along with Kucha and Kashgar directly belonged to the general protectorate of An-hsi; Chinese officials ran the civil administration. The
Khotanese language is classified as Indo-European.
[←476]

The Ancient Khmer Empire, Lawrence Palmer Briggs, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, Vol. 41, Part I, 1951, p 17. I am
grateful to Prof. Lokesh Chandra for this information.
[←477]

Briggs’ comments are inserted in brackets. Material in parentheses is either a literal translation of the original source or indicates what was implied by
the original author.
[←478]

Monuments of Civilization. Ancient Cambodia. Donatello Mazzeo and Chiara Silvi Antoni ni. Foreword by Han Suyin, Cassell, London, 1978. I am grateful
to Prof. Lokesh Chandra for this information.
[←479]
Samguk Yusa. Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea, Il Yon; Trans. Tae-Hung Ha, Grafton K. Mintz, Yonsei University Press,
Seoul, Korea, 1972. I am indebted to Prof. Lokesh Chandra for this information.
[←480]
Hsia is the name of the earliest Chinese dynasty of which there is actual ev idence.
[←481]

Previously described as a trouser.

[←482]

There is obviously some confusion in these dates.

[←483]

Based on the Lives of Eminent Korean Monks, Trans. with introduction by Peter H. Lee, Harvard-Yenching Institute Studies XXV, Harvard University
Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1969. It gives the reader an idea of the religious traffic to India.
[←484]

Yuan Chwang was in India b etween 629-645 AD.

[←485]
Based on Chinese Monks in India. Biography of Eminent Monks Who Went to the Western World in Search of the Law During the Great T’ang Dynasty, I-
Ching, trans. Latika Lahiri, Motilal Banar asidass, Delhi, 1986
[←486]
Sumatra; I-ching came to India by sea and stayed here seven years from AD 688-695 en route to India, as also on his return voyage .
[←487]

In AD 685 the Dowager Empress Wu of the T’ang Dynasty usurped the throne for twenty years, and started thi s era and the Dynastic title of Chou from
this date.
[←488]

T’ai-Tsung, the second Emperor of the T’ang Dynasty started this era in AD 627.
[←489]

In Bodhgaya, Bihar; the Sangharama w as erected in the Gupta period.

[←490]

Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakosa, a general exposition of Abhidharma.

[←491]
Third section of the Tripitaka, Abhidharmapitaka.


[←492]
Discourse on the Madhyamika Sastra.
[←493]

One of the works of Asanga of the fourth century AD; reputedly dictated to him by Maitreya Bodhisattva.
[←494]

Came to the court of Kanauj in AD 655; Harsha had already died, and he was not received with honour.
[←495]

Wife of the most powerful Tibetan ruler, Srongstan-Ga mpo, who compelled the Emperor of China to give him a lady from the Imperial Court in marriage.
She was a devout Buddhist and brought her faith to Tibet.
[←496]

Built by Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty in the period of P’u-t’ung (AD 520-527).
[←497]
Dharani, a collection of protective magical mantras.
[←498]

Tree near the Dragon lake which grew out of the twig thrown by Buddha after cleaning his teeth.
[←499]

The third T’ang Emperor Kao-Tsung started this era in AD 650.

[←500]

A vihara established by a king in present Bangladesh is mentioned in the Gunaighar plate inscription of Gupta ruler Vinayagupta, dat ed AD 507, 18 miles
north-west of Comilla.
[←501]

A district of Ch’ang-an in Shen-si province under the Han dynastry. Peking was called Ching-Chao under the Republic.


[←502]
Under the Western Hans, I-chou comprised parts of Szu-ch’uan and Yun-an.
[ ←503]
Modern Hanoi near Tonkin in North Vietnam was a Chinese province from 111 BC to AD 939.

[←504]

Started by the third Emperor Kao-Tsung of Ta’ng Dynasty in AD 664.

[←505]

Generic term for Hinayana texts.

[←506]

The Mahaparinirvana of the H inayanist was first translated into Chinese by Po Fa-tsu in AD 290-360 and by Fa-hsien between AD 417-420 in Tao-Ch’ang
monastery. The Chinese Tripitaka contains three Hinayana translations and seven of the Mahayana.

[←507]

Built in AD 648 at Ch’ang-an in the reign of the great T’ang Emperor T’ai-Tsung.
[←508]

Started by third Emperor Kao-Tsung of Ta’ng Dynasty in AD 656, six years after his ascension to the throne.
[←509]

Sangharama donated by Calukya dynasty for Buddhist monks, sixth century AD.
[←510]
Besides the Central Asian route, there were two more overland routes from China to India. One was through Yunan province, Upper Burma and Assam,
but was not commonly used; the other was through Tibet and Nepal.
[←511]

First founded in China by Bodhidharma who probably arrived in China in the mid-sixth century AD.
[←512]

Jethian, six miles south-west of Rajagriha; Buddha visited the place and Asoka built a stupa there. B.C. Law says it is two miles from Tapavana in Gaya,
Bihar.

[←513]

The eastern peak of Indra sala-guha mountain at Rajagriha, where a wild goose fell dead to satisfy the hunger of the Hinayanist monks in the monastery
there.
[←514]

Mantras of mystic knowledge.

[←515]
Method of teaching of the T’ien-t’ai sch ool in China, sixth century AD.
[←516]
Dr. N.R. Ray thinks this king is Rajaraja (bhata) of the Ashrafpur copp er plate inscriptions.
[←517]

Envoy to Harsha, king of Kanauj, in AD 641.

[←518]

The place where Buddha descended from Trayastrimsa heaven accompanied by Indra and Brahma.
[←519]

Eminent monk of South India, AD 635.

[←520]

Started by third Emperor Kao-Tsung of T’ang Dynasty in AD 662.

[←521]

The Dowager Emperor Wu of the T’ang Dynasty usurped the throne for 20 years and changed the dynastic title to Chou in AD 690; to commemorate this
event she began a new era in the same year.
[ ←522]
Celebrated monk of the T’ang period, AD 618-907.
[←523]

Constructed in the Chen-Kuan period, AD 627-650, of T’ang Emperor T’ai-Tsung in Ch’ang-an.

[←524]

Ruled sixteen years from AD 534 to 550. Their capital was at Yeh in Honan province.
[←525]

The Vaipulya Sutra s or Sutras of ‘infinite meaning’ are the Mahayana Sutras, supposed to be preached by the Buddha before he first moved the Wheel of
Law. They are nine, and among the Mahayana Sutras have the greatest merit.
[ ←526]

Four requisites of the Bhiksu: civara, pindapata, senasana, and gilan-paccaya-bhesajja (Majjhima Nikaya I.33)


[←527]
Monastery of the Eastern grove built by the authorities at the request of a Budd hist monk Hui-yung at Lu mountain, called Purva Vihara.
[←528]
The four rituals taught by Confucius: Literature, Personal Conduct, Being one’s true self, Honesty in social relationship.


[←529]

Started AD 685 by Empress Wu of the T’ang Dynasty.



Table of Contents
PUBLISHER’S NOTE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER — 1

CHAPTER — 2

CHAPTER — 3

CHAPTER — 4

CHAPTER — 5

CHAPTER — 6

CHAPTER — 7

CHAPTER — 8

CHAPTER — 9

CHAPTER — 10

CHAPTER — 11

CHAPTER — 12

CHAPTER — 13

CHAPTER — 14

CHAPTER — 15

CHAPTER — 16

CHAPTER — 17

CHAPTER — 18

ANNEXURE — 1

ANNEXURE — 2

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Notes