Tribes in Ancient India c9.23

c9.23

In the fifth century A.D., Mathurā was visited by the Chinese pilgrim Fā-Hien, who passed through a succession of monasteries filled with a number of monks.¹ It was also visited later by Hsüan Tsang who described the country as being above 5,000 li in circuit, the capital being above twenty li in circuit. The soil, according to him, was very fertile, and agriculture was the chief industry: mango trees were grown there in orchards. The country also produced a fine striped cotton cloth, and gold. Its climate was hot, the manners and customs of the inhabitants were good. There were Buddhist monasteries, and deva-temples, and the professed adherents of the different non-Buddhist sects lived pell-mell.²