The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t41: 32. Maheswarapura.
The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t41
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32. Maheswarapura.
c6.s3.t41.1
From Jajhoti the Chinese pilgrim proceeded to the north for 900 *li*, or 150 miles, to *Mo-hi-shi-fa-lo-pu-lo*, or *Maheswarapura*, the king of which was likewise a Brahman. As a northern direction would conduct us to the neighbourhood of Kanoj, I conclude that there is probably a mistake in the bearing. I would, therefore, propose to read 900 *li*, or 150 miles, to the south, in which position stands the old town of Mandala, which was also called *Maheshmatipura*.[^ *] This was the original capital of the country on the Upper Narbada, which was afterwards supplanted by *Tripuri*, or *Tewar*, 6 miles from Jabalpur. The name is old, as the 'Mahawanso' mentions that the Thero Mahadeva was sent to Maheṣa-Mandala, in the time of Asoka, 240 B.C.[^ †] The products of the country are
c6.s3.t41.2
[^ *]: Sleeman, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1837, p. 622. [^ †]: Turnour's 'Mahawanso,' p. 71.
c6.s3.t41.3
said to have resembled those of Ujain, which is a sufficient proof that *Maheswara* could not have been anywhere to the north of Jajhoti, as the light-coloured soils about Gwalior and in the Gangetic Doâb are quite different from the black soil around Ujain. For these reasons, I am inclined to identify Maheshmatipura on the upper Narbada, with the *Maheswarapura* of Hwen Thsang. The kingdom was 3000 *li*, or 500 miles, in circuit. With these dimensions, its boundaries may be fixed approximately as extending from Dumoh and Leoni on the west, to the sources of the Narbada on the east.
Linked texts (1)
- Mahāvaṃsa — Pāli