On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c9.s3.6

v1.c9.s3.6

With reference to this cave and its surroundings the following passage from the "Ariana Antiqua" may be found of some interest—"Tracing the skirts of the Siah koh, is a road leading from Bāla Bágh to Darunta, and thence across the river of Kabul and Jelalabad to Laghman. From Bāla Bágh to the ferry at Darunta may be a distance of seven miles. At about five miles on this road, coming from Bāla Bágh, we meet the topes of Kotpur, situated a little on our right hand. The first is in the midst of cultivation about one hundred yards from the road; a deep ravine, through which flows a stream derived from the Surkh Rúd (red river), separates it from its two companions. These stand on a dák, or barren level, overspread with fragments of potter's ware; and here coins, rings, and other relics are sometimes found. The spot was, therefore, an ancient place of sepulchre.¹ In the 'Life of Asoka', however, the Gopāla cave is located in Gandhāra.