Historical Geography of Ancient India c6.641

c6.641

*Sāgala*.—Sāgala or Śākala, also called Euthydemia by Ptolemy, was the capital of the Madras (*Mahābh.*, II, 32, 14). It is still known as Madradeśa. It has been identified by Cunningham with Sanglawala Tiba to the west of the Rāvī river (*Ancient Geography*, p. 180). Some have identified it with Sialkot or the fort of the Madra king Śalya (Fleet's note in the *Proceedings of the Fourteenth Oriental Congress*; vide also Cunningham, *C.A.G.I.*, 686). The old town of Śākala (She-kie-lo), according to Hiuen Tsang, was about 20 li in circuit. Although its wall had been thrown down, the foundation was still firm and strong. There was a monastery here containing 100 priests of the Hinayāna school. There was a stūpa about 200 ft. high built by Aśoka, situated to the north-west of this monastery. According to the *Milindapañha* (*Questions of Menander*, pp. 1-2), this city was a great centre of trade. It was the famous city of yore in the country of the Yonakas. It was situated in a delightful country, well watered and hilly. Brave was its defence with many strong towers and ramparts. The streets were well laid out. There were many magnificent mansions. The city is frequently mentioned in the *Mahābhārata* (*tataḥ Śākala (sāgala)-abhyetya Madrāṇām-puṭabhedanam*). The *Divyāvadāna* also refers to it (p. 434). Śākala came under the sway of Alexander the Great in 326 B.C., who placed it under the satrap of the adjacent territory between the Jhelum and the Chenab (*Cambridge History of India*, I, 549-50). The Macedonians destroyed Sāgala, but it was rebuilt by Demetrios, one of the Graeco-Bactrian kings, who in honour of his father Euthydemos, called it Euthydemia. (*I.A.*, 1884, p. 350.) During the reign of Menander, a powerful Greek king ruling at Śākala about 78 A.D., the people lived happily. Even before Menander's time Śākala seems to have come under the Buddhist influence (cf. Mrs. Rhys Davids, *Psalms of the Sisters*, p. 48; *Psalms of the Brethren*, p. 359). In the early part of the 6th century A.D. Śākala became the capital of the Hūṇa conqueror Mihirakula who established his authority in that city and subdued all the neighbouring provinces (*Cambridge History of India*, I, 549, 550). There were matrimonial alliances between the kings of Madra, Kalinga and Benaras (Cowell, *Jāt.*, IV, pp. 144-145; *Jāt.*, V, 22). For further details, vide B. C. Law, *Tribes in Ancient India*, pp. 54ff.; McCrindle, *Ancient India as described by Ptolemy*, ed. by S. N. Majumdar Śāstrī, 1927, pp. 122ff.