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The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s1.t8: Pushkalavati, or Peukelaotis.

The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s1.t8

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Pushkalavati, or Peukelaotis.

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The ancient capital of Gândhâra was *Pushkalavati*, which is said to have been founded by Pushkara, the son of Bharata, and the nephew of Rama.* Its antiquity is undoubted, as it was the capital of the province at the time of Alexander’s expedition. The Greek name of *Peukelaotis*, or *Peucolaïtis*, was immediately derived from *Pukkalaoti*, which is the Pali, or spoken form of the Sanskrit *Pushkalavati*. It is also called *Peukelas* by Arrian, and the people are named *Peukalei* by Dionysius Periegetes, which are both close transcripts of the Pali *Pukkala*. The form of *Proklaïs*, which is found in Arrian’s ‘Periplus of the Erythræan Sea,’ and also in Ptolemy’s ‘Geography,’ is perhaps only an attempt to give the Hindi name of *Pokhar* instead of the Sanskrit *Pushkara*.

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According to Arrian, *Peukelas* was a very large and populous city, seated not far from the river Indus.† It was the capital of a chief named Astes,‡ perhaps *Hasti*, who was killed in the defence of one of his strongholds, after a siege of thirty days, by Hephæstion. Upon the death of Astes the city of Peukelaotis was delivered up to Alexander on his march towards the Indus. Its position is vaguely described by Strabo and Arrian as “near the Indus.” But the geographer Ptolemy is more exact, as he fixes it on the eastern bank of the river of Suastene, that is, the Panjkora or Swât river, which is the very locality indicated by Hwen Thsang. On leaving Parashâwar the Chinese pilgrim travelled towards the north-east for 100 *li*, or nearly 17 miles; and, crossing a great river, reached *Pu-se-kia-lo-fa-ti*, or Pushkalavati. The river here mentioned is the Kophes, or river of Kabul; and the bearing and distance from Peshâwar point to the two large towns of Parang and Chârsada, which form part of the well-known *Hashtnagar*, or "Eight Cities," that are seated close together on the eastern bank of the lower Swât river. These towns are Tangi, Shirpao, Umrzai, Turangzai, Usmânzai, Rajur, Chârsada, and Parang. They extend over a distance of fifteen miles; but the last two are seated close together in a bend of the river, and might originally have been portions of one large town. The fort of Hisâr stands on a mound above the ruins of the old town of Hashtnagar, which General Court places on an island, nearly opposite Rajur.* "All the suburbs," he says, "are scattered over with vast ruins."† The eight cities are shown in No. IV. Map.

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∗ Wilson’s ‘Vishnu Purâna,’ edited by Hall, b. iv. c. 4. † Arrian, ‘Indica,’ i. ‡ Arrian, ‘Anabasis,’ iv. 22.

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† *Ibid.*, 1836, p. 394.

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It seems to me not improbable that the modern name of Hashtnagar may be only a slight alteration of the old name of *Hastinagara*, or "city of Hasti," which might have been applied to the capital of Astes, the Prince of Peukelaotis. It was a common practice of the Greeks to call the Indian rulers by the names of their cities, as Taxiles, Assakanus, and others. It was also a prevailing custom amongst Indian princes to designate any additions or alterations made to their capitals by their own names. Of this last custom we have a notable instance in the famous city of Delhi; which, besides its ancient appellations of *Indraprastha* and *Dilli*, was also known by the names of its successive aggrandizers as Kot-Pithora, Kila-Alai, Tughlakâbâd, Firuzâbâd, and Shahjahânâbâd. It is true that the people themselves refer the name of Hashtnagar to the "eight towns" which are now seated close together along the lower course of the Swât river; but it seems to me very probable that in this case the wish was father to the thought, and that the original name of Hastinagar, or whatever it may have been, was slightly twisted to Hashtnagar, to give it a plausible meaning amongst a Persianized Muhammadan population, to whom the Sanskrit Hastinagara was unintelligible. To the same cause I would attribute the slight change made in the name of *Nagarahára*, which the people now call *Nang-nihár*,* or the "Nine Streams."

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∗ Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1836, p. 479.

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In later times Pushkalavati was famous for a large stupa, or solid tower, which was erected on the spot where Buddha was said to have made an alms-offering of his eyes. In the period of Hwen Thsang’s visit, it was asserted that the "eyes gift" had been made one thousand different times, in as many previous existences: but only a single gift is mentioned by the two earlier pilgrims, Fa-Hian in the fifth century, and Sung-Yun in the sixth century.

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