On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c10.s2: Po-Lu-Lo (Bolor)
On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c10.s2
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Po-Lu-Lo (Bolor)
v1.c10.s2.1
Proceeding east from Ta-li-lo across mountains and gulleys, going up the Indus, by flying bridges over precipices, a journey of above 500 *li* brought you to the *Po-lu-lo* country. This was.
v1.c10.s2.2
above 4000 *li* in circuit and was situated in the Great Snow Mountains, it was long from east to west and narrow from north to south; it produced wheat and pulse and gold and silver. The people were rich, the climate was cold; the inhabitants were rude and ugly in appearance; they wore woollen clothes, their writing was very like that of India but their spoken language was peculiar. There were some hundreds of Buddhist Monasteries; and some thousands of Brethren who were without definite learning, and were very defective in their observance of the rules of their Order.
v1.c10.s2.3
The *Po-lu-lo* of this passage is apparently, as has been suggested by others, the Bolor of later writers and the modern Balti or Little Tibet. But it may be doubted whether the pilgrim's account was derived from a personal visit; it may have been all obtained at Mangkil. According to the *Fang-chih* the traveller after a journey of 500 *li* east from Dārel crossed the Oxus east into the *Po-lu-lo* country. The narrative in the *Life* does not make any mention of this country.