The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c6.s3.t43.4

c6.s3.t43.4

Hwen Thsang mentions that there were two kingdoms in India that were specially esteemed for the study of the Buddhist religion, namely, Magadha in the north-east, and Malwa in the south-west. In accordance with this fact he notes, that there were many hundreds of monasteries in Malwa, and no less than twenty thousand monks of the school of the Sammatiyas. He mentions, also, that 60 years previous to his visit, Malwa had been governed for 50 years by a powerful king, named *Ṣilāditya*, who was a staunch Buddhist.