The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t21.19

c6.s3.t21.19

I have not visited Nagar myself, but I am informed that it possesses a khera, or mound of brick ruins, and that there are numerous remains of brick buildings in the neighbourhood. As Fa-Hian describes Kapila in the beginning of the fifth century as "literally a vast solitude, in which there was neither king nor people," but only a few monks and some ten or twenty houses, it is scarcely possible that there would be any conspicuous traces of the city which has lain desolate for upwards of twelve centuries. In the middle of the seventh century Hwen Thsang found the place so utterly ruined that it was impossible to ascertain its original size, I am therefore quite satisfied that the absence of any extensive ruins at the present day cannot overthrow the very strong claims which Nagar certainly possesses to be identified with the ancient city of Kapila. But this identification is still further strengthened by the names of several places in the vicinity, which would appear to represent some of the more holy spots that were famous in the early history of Buddhism. I allude more especially to the birthplaces of the two previous Buddhas, Krakuchanda and Kanaka-muni, and the Sara-kupa, or "arrow-fountain," which sprang into existence at the stroke of Buddha's arrow.