History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c7.s1.53

c7.s1.53

Pre-Pallava History of Kāñchī.—Kāñchī which is one of the seven great holy cities of India is believed to have had a history much anterior to the beginning of the Christian era. From the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang we learn that in the days of Buddha in the fifth century B.C. he frequented the region around Kāñchīpuram and made conversions. From the same source we learn also that Aśokarāja built several stupas none of which has survived to the present day. It would be remembered that Dharmapāla, the celebrated Buddhist savant and scholar at Nalanda, hailed from Kāñchīpuram. Whether Buddhism made any progress at Kāñchī at the time of Buddha is doubtful as there is not much evidence that Buddhism had advanced into the heart of the Tamil land in this period. Whether Aśoka ordered stupas to be built at the city of Kāñchīpura or not, it is not possible to say. The presumption that he might have done so gains strength in view of the discovery of Aśoka's inscriptions as far south as Siddāpura in the region of Mysore, and from the fact that his inscriptions mention the Chōḷas, the Pāṇḍyas and the Kēraḷaputras. At any rate Hiuen Tsang says that he noticed a stupa about 100 feet high built by Aśokarāja.¹