The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t4.18

c6.s3.t4.18

The earliest historical notice of Bairât is that of the Chinese pilgrim Hwen Thsang in A.D. 634.* According to him, the capital was 14 or 15 *li*, or just 2½ miles, in circuit, which corresponds almost exactly with the size of the ancient mound on which the present town is built. The people were brave and bold, and their king, who was of the race of *Fei-she*, either a *Vaisya* or a *Bais* Rajput, was famous for his courage and skill in war. The place still possessed eight Buddhist monasteries, but they were much ruined, and the number of monks was small. The Brahmans of different sects, about 1000 in number, possessed 12 temples, but their followers were numerous, as the bulk of the population is described as heretical. Judging from the size of the town as noted by Hwen Thsang, the population could not have been less than four times the present number, or about 30,000, of whom the followers of Buddha may have amounted to one-fourth. I have deduced this number from the fact that the Buddhist monasteries would appear to have held about 100 monks each, and as those of Bairât are said to have been much ruined, the number of monks in Hwen Thsang’s time could not have exceeded 50 per monastery, or 400 altogether. As each Buddhist monk begged his bread, the number of Buddhist families could not have been less than 1200, allowing three families for the support of each monk, or altogether about 6000 lay Buddhists in addition to the 400 monks.