Geography of Early Buddhism c9.5

c9.5

In the Sussondi Jātaka (Jāt., III, pp. 187 ff.) we read of the minstrel Sagga’s journey from Benares to Bharukaccha. It was a seaport town from which ships used to sail for different countries. In one of the Jātakas it is stated that some merchants once sailed from Bharukaccha to Suvaṇṇabhūmi (identified with Lower Burma). In the Divyāvadāna (pp. 544-586) there is a very interesting story accounting for the name of the city. It is said that Rudrāyana, King of Roruka (may be identical with Alor, an old city of Sindh), in Sauvira was killed by his son Sikhandi. As a punishment of this crime, the realm of Sikhandi, the parricide king, was destroyed by a heavy shower of sands.