The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s2.t1.17

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also attributed to Asoka; and the other ruins at the same place are said to be the remains of the two *Asokeswara* temples which are noted in the native chronicle of Kashmir. Srinagari was still the capital of the valley in the reign of Pravarasena I., towards the end of the fifth century, when the King erected a famous symbol of the god Siva, named after himself *Pravareswara*. This city still existed in A.D. 631, when the Chinese pilgrim arrived in Kashmir, although it was no longer the capital of the valley. He speaks of the capital of his time as the "new city," and states that the "old city" was situated to the south-east of it, at a distance of ten *li*, or nearly two miles, and to the south of a high mountain. This account describes the relative positions of Pândrethân and the present capital with the lofty hill of Takht-i-Sulimân so exactly, that there can be no hesitation in accepting them as the representatives of the ancient places. The old city was still inhabited between A.D. 913 and 921, when Meru, the minister of Raja Pârtha, erected in *Purânadhisthâna*, that is in the "old capital," a temple named after himself *Meru-Varddhana-swâmi*. This building I have identified with the existing temple of *Pândrethân*, as Kalhan Pandit relates* that, when Raja Abhimanyu set fire to his capital, all the noble buildings "from the temple of *Varddhana Swâmi*, as far as *Bhikshukipâraka*" (or the asylum of mendicants) were destroyed. I attribute the escape of the limestone temple to its fortunate situation in the midst of a tank of water. To this catastrophe I would assign the final desertion of the old capital, as the humble dwellings of the people could not possibly have escaped the destruction.