The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t36: Nâlanda.
The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t36
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Nâlanda.
c6.s3.t36.1
Due north from Râjgîr and 7 miles distant lies the village of Baragaon, which is quite surrounded by ancient tanks and ruined mounds, and which possesses finer and more numerous specimens of sculpture than any other place that I visited. The ruins of Baragaon are so immense, that Dr. Buchanan was convinced it must have been the usual residence of the king; and he was informed by a Jain priest at Bihâr, that it was the residence of Raja Srenika and his ancestors. By the Brahmans these ruins are said to be the remains of *Kundilpur*, a city famed as the birthplace of Rûkmini, one of the wives of Krishna. But as Rûkmini was the daughter of Raja Bhishma, of Vidarbha, or Berâr, it seems probable that the Brahmans have mistaken Berâr for Bihâr, which is only 7 miles distant from Baragaon. I therefore doubt the truth of this Brahmanical tradition, more especially as I can show beyond all doubt that the remains at Baragaon are the ruins of Nâlanda, the most famous seat of Buddhist learning in all India.
c6.s3.t36.2
Fa-Hian places the hamlet of Nalo at 1 *yojana*, or 7 miles, from the Hill of the Isolated Rock, that is from Giryek, and also the same distance from new Râjagriha.* This account agrees exactly with the position of Baragaon, with respect to Giryek and Râjgîr. In the Pali annals of Ceylon also, Nâlanda is stated to be 1 *yojana* distant fron Râjagriha. Again, Hwen Thsang describes Nâlanda as being 7 *yojanas*, or 49 miles, distant from the holy Pipal-tree at Buddha Gaya,† which is correct if measured by the road, the direct distance measured on the map being 40 miles. He also describes it as being about 30 *li*, or 5 miles, to the north of new Râjagriha. This distance and direction also correspond with the position of Baragaon, if the distance be measured from the most northerly point of the old ramparts. Lastly, in two inscriptions, which I discovered on the spot, the place itself is called Nâlanda.
c6.s3.t36.3
Fa-Hian makes Nâlanda the birthplace of Sâriputra, who was the right-hand disciple of Buddha; but this statement is not quite correct, as we learn from the more detailed account of Hwen Thsang that Sâriputra was born at *Kalapináka*, about halfway between *Nálanda* and *Indra-Sila-Guha*, or about 4 miles to the southeast of the former place. Nâlanda has also been called the birthplace of Mahâ Mogalâna, who was the left-hand disciple of Buddha; but this is not quite correct, as the great Mogalâna, according to Hwen Thsang, was born at Kulika, 8 or 9 li (less than 1½ mile) to the south-west of Nâlanda. This place I was able to identify with a ruined mound near Jagdispur, at 1¼ mile to the south-west of the ruins of Baragaon.
c6.s3.t36.4
∗ Beal's 'Fah-Hian,' c. xxviii. p. 111.
c6.s3.t36.5
The remains at Baragaon consist of numerous masses of brick ruins, amongst which the most conspicuous is a row of lofty conical mounds running north and south. These high mounds are the remains of gigantic temples attached to the famous monastery of Nâlanda. The great monastery itself can be readily traced by the square patches of cultivation, amongst a long mass of brick ruins, 1600 feet by 400 feet. These open spaces show the positions of the courtyards of the six smaller monasteries which are described by Hwen Thsang as being situated within one enclosure forming altogether eight courts. Five of the six monasteries were built by five consecutive princes of the same family, and the sixth by their successor, who is called king of Central India.
c6.s3.t36.6
To the south of the monastery there was a tank in which the dragon or Nâga, Nâlanda, was said to dwell, and the place was accordingly named after him, Nâlanda. There still exists to the south of the ruined monastery a small tank called Kargidya Pokhar, that answers exactly to the position of the Nâlanda tank, and which is therefore, in all probability, the identical pool of the Nâga.
c6.s3.t36.7
I cannot close this account of the ancient Nâlanda without mentioning the noble tanks which surrounded the ruins on all sides. To the north-east are the Gidi *Pokhar* and the *Pansokar Pokhar*, each nearly one mile in length; while to the south there is the *Indra Pokhar*, which is nearly half a mile in length. The remaining tanks are much smaller in size, and do not require any special notice.