Geography of Early Buddhism c6.1

c6.1

1. Sources.—Pāli literature, in fact ancient literature of India is a vast treasure-house of information with regard to the geographical condition and situation of the numerous cities, countries, villages and other localities as well as of rivers, lakes, parks, forests, caityas, vihāras, etc., of the vast continent of India. It is not unoften that such geographical information is supplemented by historical accounts of interest as well; and when they are collated together, we have before us a picture of the entire country of the times of which this literature may be said to have a faithful record. Early Pāli literature is mainly canonical relating in most cases to rules and regulations of conduct of the monks of the Order as well as of the laity. Incidentally there are also Jātakas or birth-stories of the Buddha as well as many other anecdotes and narratives having obviously an aim or purpose. Texts or narratives of purely historical or geographical nature are thus altogether absent in the literature of the early Buddhists; and whatever historical or geographical information can be gathered are mainly incidental and, therefore, more reliable. From a time when Indian history emerges from confusion and uncertainties of semi-historical legends and traditions to a more sure and definite historical plane, that is from about the time of the Buddha to about the time of Asoka the Great, the canonical literature of the early Buddhists is certainly the main, if not the only, source of all historical and geographical information of ancient India supplemented, however, by Jaina and Brahmanical sources here and there. Thus, for the history of the rise and vicissitudes as well as for the geographical situation and other details of the Soḷasa Mahājanapadas, the sixteen Great States, the most important chapter of Indian history and geography before and about the time of the Buddha, the Pāli Aṅguttara Nikāya is the main and important source of information which, however, is supplemented by that contained in the Jaina Bhagavatī Sūtra and in the Karṇaparva of the Mahābhārata.¹ Even for later periods when epigraphical and archæological sources are abundant, and literary sources are mainly brahmanical or are derived from foreign treatises such as those of the Greek geographers and Chinese travellers, the importance of geographical information as supplied by Pāli and Sanskrit Buddhist sources is considerable. The commentaries of Buddhaghosa and the Ceylonese chronicles—Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa—for instance, contain information with regard to the contemporary geography of India whose value can hardly be overestimated. The non-canonical Pāli and Sanskrit Buddhist literature belong no doubt to a later date, but being mostly commentaries on older texts, or treatises of a historical nature they speak of a time when Buddhism had just launched on its eventful career and was gradually gaining new converts and adherents. The information contained in them is, therefore, almost equally useful and trustworthy.