Tribes in Ancient India c50.337

c50.337

Hsüan Tsang, the great Chinese traveller, gives the following account of the legendary origin of the name of the city. Once upon a time, a very learned Brahmin had a large number of disciples. On one occasion a party of these disciples were wandering in a wood, and one youth among them appeared unhappy and disconsolate. To amuse the gloomy youth, his companions arranged a mock marriage for him. A man and a woman were chosen to represent the bridegroom’s parents, and another couple, the parents of the imaginary bride. They were all near a Pāṭali tree, which was chosen to symbolise the bride. All the ceremonies of marriage were gone through, and the man acting as father of the bride broke off a branch of the Pāṭali tree and gave it to the bridegroom. When all was over, his companions wanted the pseudo-bridegroom to go with them, but he insisted on remaining near the tree. Here at dusk an old man appeared with his wife and a young maiden, whom he gave to the young student to be his wife. The couple lived together in the forest for a year, when a son was born to them. The student, now tired of the lonely life of the woods, wanted to go back to his home, but the old man, his father-in-law, induced him to remain by promising him a properly built establishment. Afterwards, when the seat of government was removed to this place, it received the name Pāṭaliputra, because it had been built by gods for the son of the Pāṭali tree.¹