History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c8.s6.20

c8.s6.20

The first notice of Kanauj with some scanty details is in the work of Fa-hian, who visited the town about the beginning of the fifth century A. D. So far, the references to Kanauj were purely legendary and incidental, but the record of Fa-hian is of historical importance, as it contains the impressions of an eye-witness. His meagre account is as follows: "Fa-hian resided in the Dragon *Vihāra* during the summer retreat. After this was over, going south-east seven *yojanas*, he arrived at the city of Ki-jou-i (Kanauj). This city borders on the Ganges. There are two *Sanghārāmas* here, both belonging to the system of Little Vehicle. Going from the city six or seven *li* in a westerly direction, on the north bank of the river Ganges, is the place where Buddha preached for the good of his disciples. Tradition says that he preached on impermanency and sorrow, and also on the body being like a bubble or foam. On this spot they have raised a tower, which still remains."² It is evident from the above description that during the pilgrim's itinerary, when the power of the Guptas was at its meridian, Kanauj was quite an unimportant and negligible place¹. The sun of the glory of Pāṭaliputra was still in the ascendant, but it soon began to decline, and the next century saw the rise of another political centre that was destined to hold pre-eminence till the avalanche of the Moslem conquest.