The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s2.t3.26

c5.s2.t3.26

We now lose sight of Taxila until A.D. 400, when it was visited by the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hian, who calls it Chu-sha-shi-lo, or the "severed head;" and adds, that "Buddha bestowed his head in alms at this place, and hence they gave this name to the country.‡ The translation shows that the original Sanskrit name must have been Chutyasira, or the "fallen head," which is a synonym of Taksha-síra, or the "severed head," the usual name by which Taxila was known to the Buddhists of India. In A.D. 502, “the place where Buddha made an alms-gift of his head” was visited by Sung-yun, who describes it as being three days’ journey to the east of the river Sin-tu, or Indus.*