The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t27.5

c6.s3.t27.5

At 30 *li*, or 5 miles, to the east of the temple there was a famous stupa built by Asoka on the spot where Buddha had overcome and converted certain evil Demons, who were said to live upon human flesh.* The Demons embraced Buddhism, or as it was expressed by the ancient Buddhists, sought the refuge or asylum of the Three Precious ones, that is, of the Buddhist Triad, *Buddha*, *Dharma*, and *Sangha*. Now *Saraṇa* is the Sanskrit term for asylum or refuge, and as this is also the true name of the district of *Sáran*, in which the conversion of the Demons was said to have taken place, I conclude that the monument erected on the spot must have been called the *Saraṇa* Stupa, or Asylum Tope. The stupa must therefore have been one of considerable celebrity, as there can be little doubt that its name was eventually imposed on the district in which it stood. Now 5 miles to the east of Revelganj will bring us to Chapra, the present capital of the *Sáran* district. Unfortunately I cannot find any information whatever about Chapra; but it is certain that it must have been a place of considerable consequence, otherwise it would not have been selected as the British head-quarters of the district.