The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s2.t1.1

c5.s2.t1.1

Hwen Thsang entered the valley of Kashmir from the west in September, A.D. 631. At the entrance there was a stone gate, where he was met by the younger brother of the king's mother; and after paying his devotions at the sacred monuments, he went to lodge for the night in the monastery of *Hu-se-kia-lo*, or *Hushkara*.* This place is mentioned by Abu Rihân,† who makes *Ushkara* the same as *Barâmula*, which occupied both sides of the river. In the ‘Raja Tarangini’‡ also *Hushkapura* is said to be near *Varâha*, or *Varâhamula*, which is the Sanskrit form of *Barâmula*. *Hushkara* or *Uskar* still exists as a village on the left or eastern bank of the Behat, two miles to the south-east of *Barâmula*. The Kashmiri Brahmans say that this is the *Hushkapura* of the ‘Raja Tarangini,’ which was founded by the Turushka king *Hushka*, about the beginning of the Christian era.