The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t20.7

c6.s3.t20.7

Srâvasti is said to have been built by Raja Sravasta,* the son of Yuvanáswa of the Solar race, and the tenth in descent from Surya himself. Its foundation therefore reaches to the fabulous ages of Indian history, long anterior to Râma. During this early period it most probably formed part of the kingdom of Ayodhya, as the Vâyu Purana assigns it to Lava, the son of Râma. When Srâvasti next appears in history, in the time of Buddha, it was the capital of King Prasenâjit, the son of Maha Kosala. The king became a convert to the new faith, and during the rest of his life he was the firm friend and protector of Buddha. But his son Virudhaka hated the race of the Sâkyas, and his invasion of their country and subsequent massacre of 500 Sâkya maidens, who had been selected for his harem, brought forth the famous prediction of Buddha, that within seven days the king would be consumed by fire. As the story has been preserved by Buddhists, the prediction was of course fulfilled, and upwards of eleven centuries afterwards, the tank in which the king had sought to avoid the flames was pointed out to the credulous Hwen Thsang.*