On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c7.s5.13

v1.c7.s5.13

The term *Che-ka* of this passage is evidently a foreign word and it is interpreted in other books as meaning *Chan-shi* (戰士), "soldier" or "warrior."¹ But another supposition is that it stands for Chalak, the name of a town to the north-west of the city of Samarkand. The district in which Chalak lay was at this time famed for its tall strong men who were much sought after as soldiers. The characters read *Che-ka*, however, seem rather to stand for a word like Takka, the name of a country.