Historical Geography of Ancient India c6.53

c6.53

Pañcāla was originally the country, north and west of Delhi, from the foot of the Himalaya to the river Chambal (cf. Cunningham, *A.G.I.*, p. 413, 1924 Ed.). The capital of southern Pañcāla was Kāmpilya⁵ (*Mahābhārata*, 138, 73-74) identical with modern Kampil in the Farrukhabad district, U.P. In the Pabhosā Cave Inscription of the time of Udāka (?), Bahasatimitra appears to be the king whose coins have been discovered at Ramnagar (Ancient Ahicchatra, capital of Pañcāla, Bareilly District, U.P.) and Kosam (Ancient Kauśāmbī, capital of the Vatsas, Allahabad District, U.P.). In the same inscriptions we find that Ahicchatra was ruled by Saunakāyani. The Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta refers to a powerful king named Acyuta whose coins have been found at Ahicchatra, modern Ramnagar, in the Bareilly district, U.P. It was still a considerable town when visited by Hiuen Tsang in the 7th century A.D.⁶ This country, according to the Chinese pilgrim, was more than 3,000 li in circuit, and its capital was 17 or 18 li in circuit. The country yielded grain and had many woods and springs and a genial climate. The people were honest and diligent in learning. There were more than ten Buddhist monasteries. Deva-temples were nine in number (Watters, On Yuan Chwang, I, 331). According to Cunningham the history of Ahicchatra goes back to 1430 A.D.