Historical Geography of Ancient India c6.689

c6.689

Takṣaśilā, which was one of the early capital cities of Gandhāra, was situated to the east of the Indus. Cunningham says that the site of Taxila is found near Shah-Dheri, just a mile to the north-east of Kāla-kā-sarāi in the extensive ruins of a fortified city around which at least fifty-five stūpas, twenty-eight monasteries and nine temples were found out. The distance from Shah-Dheri to Ohind is 36 miles, and from Ohind to Hashtnagar another 38 miles, making 74 miles in all, which is 19 in excess of the distance between Takṣaśilā (Taxila) and Puṣkalāvatī (Peukelaotis) as recorded by Pliny. To reconcile the discrepancy Cunningham suggests that Pliny's 60 miles should be read as 80 miles (LXXX), equivalent to 73½ English miles or within half a mile of the actual distance between the two places (Cunningham, Ancient Geography, p. 121). Dr. Bhandarkar holds (Carmichael Lectures, 1918, p. 54 f.n.) that in Aśoka's time Takṣaśilā does not appear to be the capital of Gandhāra, for from his Rock Edict XIII it appears that Gandhāra was not in his dominions proper; while from Kalinga Edict I, it is clear that Takṣaśilā was directly under him as one of his sons was stationed there. That Takṣaśilā was not the capital of Gandhāra at that time is confirmed by Ptolemy’s statement that the Gandarai (Gandhāra) country was situated to the west of the Indus with its city Proklais, i.e., Puṣkarāvatī (cf. Legge, Travels of Fa-hien, pp. 31-32; B. C. Law, Tribes in Ancient India, pp. 394-95; B. C. Law, Historical Gleanings, Chap. I; B. C. Law, Geography of Early Buddhism, pp. 52-53; Journal of the Ganganath Jha Research Institute, Vol. VI, Pt. 4, August, 1949, pp. 283-288). For an account of the ruins and excavations at Taxila, vide A.S.I.R., II (1871), pp. 112ff.; V (1875), 66ff.; XIV (1882), 8ff.; A.R.A.S.I., 1912-1913 (1916); A.S.I., Annual Report, 1929-30, pp. 55ff.; A.S.I., Annual Report, 1930-34, pp. 149-176; Annual Report of the Arch. Survey of India, 1936-37 (1940). For further details, vide J. Marshall, Guide to Taxila, 3rd Ed. (1936); B. C. Law, Indological Studies, Pt. I, pp. 14-17.