Ινδικη 10.4

10.4

ὅσαι δὲ ἐν ὑπερδεξίοισί τε καὶ μετεώροισι τόποισι καὶ τούτοισι ψιλοῖσιν ᾠκισμέναι εἰσί, ταύτας δὲ ἐκ πλίνθου τε καὶ πηλοῦ ποιέεσθαι.

The Lakedaimonians, however, hold seven centuries later than his time, for it was seen about the beginning of the 5th century after Christ by the Chinese traveller Fa-Hian, who thus writes of Pataliputra, which he calls Pa-lian-fu: — "The city was the capital of king A-you (Asôka). The palaces of the king which are in the city have walls of which the stones have been collected by the genii. The carvings and the sculptures which ornament the windows are such as this age could not make; they still actually exist." These 'palaces of the king' are mentioned by Diodôros in his epitome of Megasthenes, as will be seen by a reference to p. 39. It was in the interval which separates the journey of Fa-Hian from that of his compatriot Hiwen Thsang — that is, between the year 400 and the year 632 after Christ — that the fall of Pâtaliputra was accomplished, for where the splendid metropolis had once stood Hiwen Thsang found nothing but ruins, and a village containing about two or three hundred houses. The cause of its downfall and decay is unknown. The ruins seen by the Chinese traveller are no longer visible, but lie buried deep below the foundations of modern Pâtnâ. An excavation quite recently made in that city for the construction of a public tank placed this fact beyond question; for, when the workmen had dug down to a depth of 12 or 15 feet below the surface of the ground, some remains were discovered of what must have been the wooden wall spoken of by Megasthenes.