The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t29.5

c6.s3.t29.5

According to Hwen Thsang the country of the Vrijis was long from east to west, and narrow from north to south.* This description corresponds exactly with the tract of country lying between the Gandak and Mahanadi rivers, which is 300 miles in length by 100 miles in breadth. Within these limits there are several ancient cities, some of which may possibly have been the capitals of the eight different clans of the Vrijis. Of these Vaisâli, Kesariya, and Janakpur have already been noticed; the others are Navandgarh, Simrún, Darbanga, Puraniya, and Motihári. The last three are still inhabited and are well known; but Simrún has been deserted for upwards of 550 years, while Navandgarh has probably been abandoned for at least fifteen centuries. Simrûn has been described by Mr. Hodgson,† but its ruins still require to be carefully surveyed before we can form an opinion as to its probable antiquity. I visited Navandgarh myself in 1862, and found it one of the oldest and most interesting places in northern India.