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On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c22: Chapter XVII

On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c22

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English

Contents

Chapter XVII

v2.c22.1

CEYLON.

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According to the Records the pilgrim proceeded from Malakuṭa to Sêng-ka-lo or Ceylon, but the Life represents him as merely hearing of that country. If we had only the Records we should be at liberty to believe that he proceeded to Ceylon, and returned thence to Draviḍa. But it is perhaps better to regard him as writing about Malakuṭa and Ceylon from information given to him in Draviḍa, and from books. There seems to be much in *Chuan* X and XI that is not genuine, and it may be observed that in certain old texts like C these two *chuan* are given without mention of Pien-chi as compiler. They are also, together with *Chuan* XII, marked by the character *yi*, meaning *doubtful*. It does not seem, therefore, to be necessary to dwell much on the curious legends and descriptions given in this part of the Records.

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Of the legends about Ceylon related by the pilgrim the first tells how a princess of South India was carried off by a lion into the woods. To this lion the princess became mother of a son and a daughter, and in the course of time the son secretly carried off his mother and sister to the native place of the mother. Thereupon the lion, utterly distressed and enraged by the loss of his family, committed dreadful havoc in the land, and the son for the reward offered by the king killed his own father. When the king learned the circumstances, he banished the patricide, sending him away in a boat which brought him to Ceylon. Here the young man settled, and marrying a trader's daughter, he introduced order and government, and his descendants gave him the name Lion-catcher, which they applied also to the country. This was the story in the popular accounts. The second legend is from the Buddhist scriptures. This tells of the 500 merchants being taken captive by the Rākshasīs of Ceylon, and of their chief and some of the others being carried away from destruction by the "Heaven-Horse".

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We may remark about these two legends that they are well known from other treatises. In the Rājāvalī we have a version of the Lion-marriage which agrees pretty well with the story here told by our pilgrim.¹ It is given also in the Dīpavaṃsa, which makes the ravished princess to be a daughter of the Vanga King,² and it is referred to in other books. The second legend is related with artistic skill in the "Fo-pên-hsing-chi-ching". It is told also in the "Jātaka", and in the "Liu-tu-chi-ching".³ In all these, as in the pilgrim's story, the wonderful horse called Cloud-horse, or Horse-king, is the Bodhisattva, that is, the Buddha in a former existence. But in the Tibetan version of the legend the rescuing horse is an incarnation of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva,⁴ and in the Divyāvadāna he is Maitreya.⁵

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¹ Upham 'Sacred Books of Ceylon', Vol. II, p. 27 and p. 164; J. Ceylon B. R. A. S. Vol. VII, p. 66 ff.

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² Dīp. IX.

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³ Hsing-chi-ching, ch. 49 (No. 680); Jāt. Vol. II, p. 127; Liu-tu-chi-ching, ch. 6 (No. 143).

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⁴ J. R. A. S. Vol. XX, p. 504.

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⁵ Divyāv. p. 524.

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Our pilgrim now goes on to describe the Buddhist Brethren in Ceylon, the result of Mahendra's mission-work, as Mahāyānist Sthaviras. Above 200 years after Mahendra's time, he continues, too much attention to peculiarities made two sects, the Hīnayānist school of those who belonged to the Mahāvihāra, and the school of those who belonged to the Abhayagiri and embraced both "vehicles". The Brethren, he adds, were very precise in the observance of their rules, perfectly clear in meditation and wisdom, and very grave in their model deportment.

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On this passage we observe that the expression "Mahāyānist Sthaviras" is applied to the Brethren of Ceylon only in the Records; the Life describes them as Mahāyānists and Sthaviras, and the Fan-chih calls them simply Sthaviras. The two local sects here mentioned derived their names from the monasteries in which they arose. Of these establishments the Mahāvihāra, which was at the capital, was built B. C. 306, and was evidently a very grand monastery with all kinds of comforts and luxuries. The Abhayagiri monastery was built in B. C. 89 by king Vaṭṭagāmiṇi, otherwise Abhaya, at the place where the Nirgrantha Giri dwelt. In the course of time ill-will arose between the Brethren of these establishments, and some of the Abhayagiri fraternity were accused of heterodox ways, excommunicated, and banished. Then in the reign of Mahāsena the monks of Mahāvihāra were accused of heterodoxy, the monastery was closed and partially destroyed, the materials being used for the improvement of the rival establishment Abhayagiri.¹ The Brethren of this latter may have been regarded by the pilgrim as having had Mahāyānist tendencies on account of their admission of irregular objects of worship. In the high praise which he gives all the Brethren in the above passage the term rendered by "meditation and wisdom" is *ting-hui* (定慧). In common Buddhist use *ting* denotes *samādhi*, and *hui* is for *prajñā* or "transcendental wisdom", but the compound *ting-hui* has also the technical sense of *Vinaya*, and it is perhaps so used in this passage.

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¹ See Mah. chs. XV, XXXVI, XXXVII; Dīp. ch. XIX. Cf. Fokuo-chi, chs. 38, 69.

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The narrative in the Records proceeds to describe that beside the king's palace was the Buddha's Tooth-Shrine some hundreds of feet high, bright and beautiful with gems and jewels. From its roof rose a signal-post on the top of which was a large ruby which shed a brilliant light, and could be seen shining like a bright star, day and night, for a great distance. Three times a day the king washed the tooth with scented water and burned incense to it, all articles used in his service to the tooth being rare and costly. Beside this temple was a small one with a gold life-size image of the Buddha set up by a former king, the *uṣṇīṣa* of the image being adorned with a valuable jewel. The mention of this gives occasion for the story of the thief to whom the image, overcome by the thief's persuasion, bowed down his head and gave up the jewel.

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The Records further tell us that Ceylon lay on the side of a corner of the sea, and that in the south-east angle of the land was the *Lêng-ka* or Lankā mountain on which the Buddha delivered the sūtra which bears the name of the mountain.

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The account in the Records proceeds to relate that over the sea some thousands of *li* to the south of the [Sêng-ka-lo or Simhala] country was the *Na-lo-ki-lo-chou* (for Nālikila- or Nārikira-dvīpa, "Cocoa-nut Island"). The inhabitants of this island were dwarfs three feet high with human bodies and bird-beaks; they did not raise any crops and subsisted on cocoa-nuts. Westward from this island, some thousands of *li* over the sea, was an isolated isle. On the cliff which formed the east side of this isle was a stone sitting image of Buddha above 100 feet high facing east, the *ushnisha* of the image being a *yue-ai-pao* or "Moon-loved Pearl" (the Chandrakānta gem). From this rare ornament while the moon shone on it water gushed forth, and falling down the cliff ramified in the valleys. This information had been derived from a shipwrecked trader who had climbed the cliff to make personal examination. To the west of the [Simhala] country, and some thousands of *li* over the sea, was the Great Precious-substances Island, uninhabited by human beings, but a temporary lodging-place for supernatural creatures. From this island a bright light shines far out on calm nights, but traders who visit the island do not get anything.

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It is interesting to notice that the writer of this account of *Sêng-ka-lo* or Simhala seems to regard the district as a country on the mainland. He represents it as "bordering on a corner of the sea" (*Kuo-p'in-hai-yü* 國 濱 海 隅), and all his description of the country seems to indicate that he regarded it as a part of the continent. At the end of *Chuan* X, however, Sêng-ka-lo is said to be 3000 *li* by sea from Malakuṭa, and in the legends given in the present *chuan* about the country it is styled the "Island of Precious substances", a name derived from Buddhist books.

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In the passage now under notice we are told that the *Lêng-ka-ching* or Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra was delivered on the Laṅkā mountain in Sêng-ka-lo, whereas this sūtra professes, as we have seen, to have been uttered in the city of Laṅkā on the Malaya mountain. We do not seem to know anything about the Cocoa-nut Island, and the isle with the great image of Buddha having a candrakānta on the top of its head, and the Great Precious-substances Island, except from the mention of this passage. Our pilgrim evidently derived all his information about them, as about Ceylon, from books, and the stories of the Brethren from Ceylon whom he met in Draviḍa and the Brethren of the latter country.

Kung-Kan-Na-Pu-Lo

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We return again to the narrative of the pilgrim's travels as told in the Records. From the Draviḍa country, we read, he went north into a jungle, infested by troops of murderous highwaymen, passing an isolated city and a small town, and after a journey of above 2000 *li* he reached the Kung-kin (or kan)-na-pu-lo country. He describes this country as being above 5000 *li* and its capital above thirty *li* in circuit. It had more than 100 Buddhist monasteries and above 10 000 Brethren who were students of both "Vehicles". Close to the capital was a large monastery with above 300 Brethren all men of great distinction. In the temple of this monastery was a tiara of Prince Sarvārthasiddha (that is, the prince who afterwards became Gautama Buddha) which was nearly two feet high adorned with gems and enclosed in a case; on festival days it was exhibited and worshipped, and it could emit a bright light. In the temple of another monastery near the capital was a sandal-wood image of Maitreya made by the arhat Śroṇaviṃśatikoṭi. To the north of the capital was a wood of tāla trees above thirty *li* in circuit, and within the wood was a tope where the Four Past Buddhas had sat and walked for exercise, and near this was the tope over the relics of Śroṇaviṃśatikoṭi. Near the capital on the east side was a tope which had associations with the Buddha's preaching; to the south-west of the capital were an Asoka tope at the spot where Śroṇaviṃśatikoṭi made miraculous exhibitions and had many converts, and beside the tope the remains of a monastery built by that arhat.

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In the Chinese text of this passage for the Kung-kin (or kan)-na-pu-lo of the other texts, the D has *Tu* (that is, *Da*) han-na-pu-lo, the Life has *Kan* (or *Kin*)-na-pu-lo, and the Fang-chih has *Kung-ta-na-pu-lo*; but we may regard Kung-kin (or kan)-na-pu-lo, as the correct reading, the variations being probably misprints or copyists' errors. The original name has been restored as Koṅkanapur, and the restoration has been generally accepted. In all texts of the Records, and in the Fang-chih, the direction from Draviḍa is given as north, but the Life makes it to have been north-west. M. Saint-Martin, Cunningham, and their successors all adopt the direction given in the Life, passing over the statement in the Records. Saint-Martin thinks it possible that Banavasi (or Vānavasa) may have been the Koṅkana-city of our pilgrim.¹ Cunningham suggests "Annagundhi on the northern bank of the Tungabhadra river" as the capital of the country, and Fergusson can only refer the capital to some place in Mysore.² Mr. Burgess is disposed to seek for Koṅkanapur about Kopal or Kokanūr (? Koṅkanūr) which is 310 miles as the crow flies from Kāñchi and 335 miles from Nāsik;" this seems to be also the present opinion of Dr. Fleet who was at one time disposed to identify Koṅkanapur with Karnūl.³ But these identifications seem to be all beset with difficulties. The country Koṅkaṇa was in the southern division of the Bṛihat Saṃhitā, and Alberuni places it in the south near the sea.⁴ If we could adopt the reading of the D text, viz-Tu (茶) or Ch'a (茶) for Kung, the original would be a word like Dakkanapura or Thakkanapura.

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¹ Julien, III, p. 401.

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² A. G. I. p. 552; Fergusson, op. c., p. 267.

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³ Ind. Ant. Vol. XXIII, p. 28 and XXII, p. 115.

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⁴ Alberuni, Vol. I, p. 301; Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII, p. 182.

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The pilgrim describes the country as having a fertile soil yielding good crops, with a hot climate; its inhabitants were of swarthy complexion and had rude rough ways, but they were fond of intellectual and moral acquirements.

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Our pilgrim here, as before, gives "Heard 200 koṭi", instead of "Heard twenty koṭi", as the translation of the name Śroṇa (or Śrota)-viṃśatikoṭi.

Mo-Ha-La-Ch'A (Mahārāṣṭra)

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Continuing his narrative the pilgrim relates that "north-west from this he entered a great forest-wilderness ravaged by wild beasts and harried by banded robbers, and travelling 2400 or 2500 *li* he came to the *Mo-ha-la-ch'a* (or *ta*) country". This country, he tells us, was 6000 *li* in circuit and its capital, which had a large river on its west side, was above thirty *li* in circuit. The inhabitants were proud-spirited and warlike, grateful for favours and revengeful for wrongs, self-sacrificing towards suppliants in distress and sanguinary to death with any who treated them insultingly. Their martial heroes who led the van of the army in battle went into conflict intoxicated, and their war-elephants were also made drunk before an engagement. Relying on the strength of his heroes and elephants the king treated neighbouring countries with contempt. He was a kshatriya by birth, and his name was *Pu-lo-hi-shê* (Pulakeśa, Julien). The benevolent sway of this king reached far and wide, and his vassals served him with perfect loyalty. The great king Śīlāditya at this time was invading east and west, and countries far and near were giving in allegiance to him, but *Mo-ha-la-ch'a* refused to become subject to him. The people were fond of learning, and they combined orthodoxy and heterodoxy. Of Buddhist monasteries there were above 100, and the Bretbren, who were adherents of both Vehicles, were more than 5000 in number. Within and outside the capital were five Asoka topes where the Four Past Buddhas had sat and walked for exercise; and there were innumerable other topes of stone or brick. Not far from the south of the capital was an old monastery in which was a stone image of Kuan-tzŭ-tsai P'usa of marvellous efficacy. In the east of this country was a mountain range, ridges one above another in succession, tiers of peaks and sheer summits. Here was a monastery the base of which was in a dark defile, and its lofty halls and deep chambers were quarried in the cliff and rested on the peak, its tiers of halls and storeyed terraces had the cliff on their back and faced the ravine. This monastery had been built by the A-chê-lo (Āchāra) of West India. The pilgrim then relates the circumstances in Āchāra's life which led to the building of the monastery. Within the establishment, he adds, was a large temple above 100 feet high in which was a stone image of the Buddha above seventy feet high; the image was surmounted by a tier of seven canopies unattached and unsupported, each canopy separated from the one above it by the space of three feet. The walls of this temple had depicted on them the incidents of the Buddha's career as Bodhisattva, including the circumstances of his attaining bodhi and the omens attending his final passing away, all great and small were here delineated. Outside the gate of the monastery, on either side north and south, was a stone elephant, and the pilgrim was informed that the bellowing of these elephants caused earthquakes. The P'usa Ch'ên-na or Diūnāga stayed much in this monastery.

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The *Mo-ho-la-ch'a* of this passage has been restored as Mahārāṣṭra, but the Chinese transcription seems to represent a local form like Mahāraṭṭha. Various identifications have been proposed for the capital by St. Martin, Cunningham, and Fergusson, and Messrs Fleet and Burgess seem to agree in thinking that it was at Nāsik or thereabouts.¹

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¹ Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII, p. 113 and XXIII, p. 28.

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As to Āchāra's great monastery in the east part of the country Mr. Burgess and others are confident that the pilgrim's description applies to the Ajaṇṭā caves.² This may be so, but it may be doubted whether the Achala of the inscription given by Mr. Burgess is the A-chê-lo of the pilgrim's description. This inscription merely states that "The ascetic Sthavira Achala, who glorified the faith and was grateful, caused to be built a mountain-dwelling for the Teacher, though his wishes were fulfilled". It is to be noted, however, that the pilgrim does not use the translation *so-hsing*, and his transcription may, as Mr. Burgess contends, represent Achala. All commentators on the pilgrim's account of this monastery seem to assume that he did not go to it, and the silence of the Life is in favour of the assumption. But the description, especially the part which tells of the temple of the monastery, seems to favour the view that he made a personal visit, and this view is apparently supported by the distance and direction of the pilgrim's next journey. There is not a word in the text to warrant the statement that he describes the monastery from report, and it was apparently on the spot that he learned its history, and heard the unsatisfactory explanations of its marvels.¹

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² Arch. Sur. West India *chs.* IX, X; Cave Temples of India, p. 135 and p. 280 ff.

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¹ This country is the Mahāraṭṭha of Dīpavamsa. VIII, and of Vinaya Vol. III, p. 314.

Po-Lu-Ka-Che-P'O (Bharoch)

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Going on with his narrative the pilgrim relates that "from this he went west above 1000 *li* (about 200 miles), crossed the *Nai-mo-t'ê* river, and came to the *Po-lu-kie'ka-che-p'an* (or *p'o*) country. This was 2400 or 2500 *li* in circuit, and its capital above twenty *li*; the soil was brackish and vegetation was sparse; salt was made by boiling sea-water, and the people were supported by the sea; they were mean and deceitful, ignorant and believers in both orthodoxy and heterodoxy. There were above ten Buddhist monasteries with 300 Brethren, all students of the Mahāyānist Sthavira school.

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The *Life* makes the pilgrim travel north-west from Mahārāṣṭra, and this is probably more correct than the west of the above passage. The name of the country here transcribed was restored by Julien as "Barou-gatchéva" which St. Martin made "Varoukatcheva",² and Cunningham regarded it as the "Bhārukachha" of the old inscriptions.³ This country is no doubt the Bharukaccha of the Dīpavamsa, and later Pali books,⁴ but in the form Bharukacchapa as found in the Bṛihat Samhitā.⁵ It is the modern Bharōch or Broach at the mouth of the Narbada, the *Nai-mo-t'ê* of our pilgrim. From Ajaṇṭā to Broach the distance is about 200 miles, and the direction is north-westerly. So we are perhaps justified in regarding the "from this" of the text as meaning from the mountain of Āchāra's monastery, a place to which the pilgrim would naturally be attracted, and at which he may have spent some days.

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² Julien, III, p. 400 ff.

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³ A. G. I. p. 326.

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⁴ Dīpavamsa IX, 26; Jātaka passim, See Index at VII, 116.

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⁵ See Böhtlingk-Roth, *sub voce*.

Mo-La-P'O (Mālava)

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The narrative in the Records proceeds to relate that from Bharukachcha the pilgrim went north-west above 2000 *li* to the Mo-la-p'o country. This is described as being above 6000 *li* in circuit, and its capital as being above thirty *li* in circuit. It was situated on the south-east side of the Mo-ha river. The people were of a gentle disposition, and for the most part very intelligent, of refined speech and with a liberal education. Mo-la-p'o in the south-west, and Magadha in the north-east, were the two countries of India in which learning was prized. In this country virtue was esteemed and humanity respected, and the intellectually clever were zealous students; there was miscellaneous belief in orthodoxy and heterodoxy. There were some hundreds of monasteries, and more than 20 000 Brethren belonging to the Sammatiya school of the Hīnayāna; of Deva-temples there were some hundreds, and the adherents of the various sects were very numerous, the majority being Pāśupatas. The local records told of a king, by name Śīlāditya, who had reigned over the country 60 years before the pilgrim's arrival, a monarch of great administrative ability, and of rare kindness and compassion. By the side of his palace this king had built a Buddhist temple, extremely artistic in structure and ornament, in which were images of the Seven Buddhas. Every year a great religious assembly was summoned, the Brethren from all sides being called together. The four matters of service to the Brethren were carefully attented to, and these were presented with the three robes and religious requisites, or with precious valuables. This fine work had been continued for successive generations without interruption. Above twenty *li* north-west from the capital was the "brahmin's town", and beside it the "Pit of Descent"; the torrents of summer and autumn never fill the latter, and at its side was a small tope. The pilgrim then gives the local legend of the proud blasphemous brahmin of the town who went down alive into hell at the spot where the Pit appeared. This brahmin had been vanquished in public discussion by the bhikshu Bhadraruchi, who was a consummate logician, and well versed in the non-Buddhist *śāstras*. When the king condemned the defeated brahmin to be exposed, as an impostor, to a cruel death the bhikshu interceded, and obtained a mitigation of the punishment. He then went to see the brahmin to give him support and consolation in his shame and degradation, but the brahmin gave vent to his passion, vilified the "Great Vehicle" and abused former saints; while he was still speaking the earth parted, and he descended alive, leaving this trace (i. e. the Pit) of his descent.

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A note added to the text at the beginning of this passage tells us that another name for this country was "South Lo", and a note to the passage in the Life calls it "South Lo-lo". For the characters read mo-la-p'o here we must suppose on original like Mālabha or Mālava, but we cannot properly regard this name as covering the modern district of Malwa. It has not been ascertained yet what was the precise situation, and what is the modern designation, of the South Lo or Mālava country.¹ This (or as Julien translates, its capital), according to the pilgrim, lay to the south-east of the river called Mo-ha in all the texts (except D), and in the Fang-chih. In the D text we have Mo-hi which is the name of a well known river. The observation which the pilgrim makes in the above passage about the fame of Mālava and Magadha is apparently a quotation from some one who lived between those two countries, for Magadha is uniformly described as being in Mid-India, not in the north-east. The Mālava of the present passage may perhaps be the Mālava of some passages of Tāranātha, but it cannot be the Mālava in Prayāga.

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¹ See A. G. I. p. 490; Fergusson op. c. p. 270; Fleet op. c. p. 184.

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Of the great Buddhist scholar and controversialist here mentioned by the name Bhadraruchi, (translated Hsien-ai (賢愛) or "Eminent affection") nothing seems to be known beyond what we learn from our pilgrim's narrative. Yuan-chuang styles this man "a bhikshu of West India", and the Bhadraruchi of our passage seems to resemble in some circumstances the Bhadrānanda of Tāranātha.

A-T'A-Li

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Proceeding with his narrative the pilgrim relates that "south-west from this he entered an estuary, and going north-west 2400 or 2500 li he arrived at the A-t'a(or -ch'a)-li country". This, he states, was above 6000 li in circuit, and its capital was above twenty li in circuit. The inhabitants were rich and flourishing, they were more traders than farmers; the soil was sandy and brackish and fruits and flowers were rare. The country produced a pepper-tree the leaves of which were like those of the *Shu-chiao*, and also the olibanum tree the leaves of which were like those of the *t'ang-li*. The climate was hot, and there was much wind and dust; the people were mean-spirited, prizing wealth and slighting moral worth. In speech and writing, and in social regulations and laws the inhabitants resembled those of Mālava; the majority did not believe in happiness (i. e., religious merit) but there were some who did; they worshipped Devas and of Deva-temples there were some more than ten (or, according to the B text, more than 1000); the followers of the various systems lived pell-mell.

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The term here rendered by "estuary" is *hai-chiao* (海交) which Julien translates "confluent de deux mers". This may be right but the expression denotes rather a place where a river joins the sea and so forms an estuary. In the *Fang-chih* instead of *hai-chiao* we have *hai-tao* or "sea-way", and the clause is a separate sentence—"from this, south-west, is an entrance to the sea". This may be the correct interpretation, the pilgrim merely making the general statement that there was a seaport or an estuary on the south-west side of the capital, and his description evidently applies to a maritime district. In the Life the estuary to the south-west is not mentioned, and the pilgrim proceeds north-west from Mālava, or rather from the brahmin's city, twenty *li* to the north-west of the capital, direct to *A-t'a-li*. Although there does not seem to be anything in the texts to support the view, yet we may with some probability assume that the pilgrim did not actually proceed to this country; there was no Buddhist sacred spot in it to attract him, and it was out of his way. Julien restores the original name of the country as Atali, but the characters may represent a word like Adal, or Akshal, or Atli, and the country here described still remains unidentified. It produced, the pilgrim tells us, a pepper-tree which had leaves like the *Shu* (that is, Ssŭ-chuan)-*chiao*, a species of Xanthoxylon, the fruit of which possesses properties like those of the pepper-plant. There was also the olibanum tree which he calls *hün-lu* (薰陸), a Chinese transcription of the Turkish word *ghyunluk*, as Dr. Hirth has shown. This tree, the pilgrim states, had leaves like the t'ang-li (棠梨), a name applied in China to a Pyrus and other trees. By his statement that "the majority of the people did not believe in happiness", he merely wished to intimate that they did not believe in karma, and so were not Buddhists.

K'i-t'a

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The narrative in the Records goes on to relate that from Mālava the pilgrim went north-west above 300 *li* (or, according to D, three days) to the *K'i-t'a* (or *ch'a*) country. This was above 3000, and its capital above 20 *li*, in circuit. It was a rich district subject to Mālava to which it bore a resemblance. There were above ten Buddhist monasteries with more than 1000 Brethren who were adherents of both "Vehicles"; and there were numerous members of other religions, with several tens of Deva-temples.

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In the Life the pilgrim goes on from Aṭali to *K'i-t'a*, and it makes the journey one of three days in a north-west direction; but the Fang-chih agrees with the Records in placing *K'i-t'a* three days' journey (that is, 300 *li*) north-west from Mālava. There is thus a serious difference between the Life and the other authorities. Julien suggests Khach as the possible restoration of the native name of the country. Cunningham in his usual manner alters the 300 *li* of the Chinese traveller to 1300 *li*, and makes *K'i-t'a* to be Kheda, "the true Sanskrit form of *Kaira* a large town of Gujarāt, situated between Ahmedabad and Khambay."[1] Fergusson dissents from this; and is inclined to place *K'i-t'a* about Cambay.[2] But there does not seem to be much in favour of either of these proposals, and the Khach, that is, Cutch, of Julien and St. Martin may be considered. In the Bṛihat-Saṃhitā there is a southern country called Kachchha which in Dr. Fleet's words, "is evidently the modern Kach, *vulgo* Cutch".[3]

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¹ A. G. I. p. 492.

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² op. c. p. 272.

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³ Fleet op. c. p. 179.

Fa-La-P'I

v2.c22.s7.1

Our narrative in the Records proceeds to tell that from K'i-t'a the pilgrim went north above 1000 *li* to *Fa-la-p'i*. This country, 6000 *li*, with its capital above 30 *li* in circuit, resembled Mālava in products, climate, and the character and ways of the people; and it was very rich and prosperous. It had above 100 Buddhist monasteries with 6000 Brethren adherents of the Hinayāna Sammatiya school; of Deva-temples there were some hundreds, and the adherents of the various systems were very numerous. While Ju-lai was in the world he often visited this country, and so Asoka had set up topes at all the places where the Buddha had stayed in order to commemorate the event. There were also traces of the Three Past Buddhas having sat, and walked up and down, and preached. The reigning sovereign was of Kshatriya birth, a nephew of Śīladitya the former king of Mālava, and a son-in-law of the Śīladitya reigning at Kanyākubja; his name was *Tu-lo-p'o-po-t'a*; he was of a hasty temper and of shallow views, but he was a sincere believer in Buddhism. Not far from the capital was a large monastery erected by Āchāra in which the P'usas Guṇamati and Sthiramati had lodged, and composed treatises which had great vogue.

v2.c22.s7.2

The *Fa-la-p'i* of this passage, said in a note to the text to have been called also "North Lo-lo", has been restored as Valabhi (or Balabhi). Cunningham and others regard Bhaonagar (Bhaunagar) in the east part of Gujarāt as the site of the city Valabhi,¹ but Fergusson gives good reasons for not accepting this identification.² The "Lo-lo" of the Chinese annotator to our text may perhaps be for Lāṭa the name of a country which "corresponds to what might now be called Central and southern Gujarāt".³ In his "Indian Empire" (p. 229) Hunter writes that "the Valabhi's ruled over Cutch, north-western Bombay, and Málwá from 480 to after 722 A. D.".

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¹ A. G. I. p. 317.

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² op. c. p. 272.

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³ Fleet op. c. p. 183.

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In the passage with which we are now concerned the pilgrim calls the reigning sovereign of Valabhi "a nephew of Śīladitya formerly king of Mālava". For the word formerly here the original is *hsi* (昔) which has the meaning of former or formerly. But the B text, and it alone, has instead of *hsi* the character *chi* (皆) meaning "all"; as the construction shows, this is evidently a printer's or copyist's mistake, and it makes nonsense; this mistake caused the serious misunderstanding of the passage to be found in Julien's translation. The king on the throne was the nephew and successor of the good king Śīlāditya, who reigned in the latter part of the sixth century and about sixty years before the time of Yuan-chuang's visit, ruling over Mālava and Valabhi. He was also, the pilgrim tells us, "a son-in-law of the Śīlāditya reigning then at Kanyākubja". Here the words rendered "son-in-law" are *tzŭ-hsü* (子婿) and Julien took these to mean "son-in-law, of son", but the phrase means simply "son-in-law", and the Life employs the common term *nü-hsü* (女婿). Julien transcribes the name of the reigning king by "T'u-lo-p'o-po-tu" and he restores the name as Dhruvapatu; this agrees with the translation *Ch'ang-jui* (常 叡), or "permanent acuteness", added in a note to the text. But the name is *Tu-lo-p'o-po-t'a* (杜魯婆 跋陀) which is perhaps for Dhruva-bhaṭṭa. In the Life we have the same transcription but a different rendering, viz. *ti-ch'ou* (帝 幬) that is, "Indra's(?) helmet", and this seems to require a different restoration of the original.

v2.c22.s7.7

The builder of the large monastery near the capital was the arhat A-che-lo of previous passages, and instead of Āchāra the name ought perhaps to be restored as Achala.

Ānandapura

v2.c22.s8.1

The pilgrim's narrative goes on to relate that "from this" (that is, the capital of Valabhi) he went north-west above 700 *li* to *A-nan-t'o-pu-lo* (Ānandapura). This country was above 2000 *li*, and its capital above 20 *li* in circuit, and it was rich and flourishing. It was a dependency of Mālava, and like that country in products, climate, written language, and institutions. In it there were more than ten Monasteries with nearly 1000 Brethren belonging to the Hīnayānist Sammatiya school.

v2.c22.s8.2

It is not certain that Yuan-chuang actually visited this district, but there is nothing in the text or in the Life to indicate that he is describing merely from report. Cunningham proposes to identify the country with "the triangular tract lying between the mouth of the Banās river on the west and the Sābarmati river on the east".¹ The city of Ānandupura is probably the *Huan-hsi-ch'êng*, or "city of joy", mentioned as the capital of Hai-t'ien (海天) or "Sāgaradeva", one of the mythical royal ancestors of the Buddha.²

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¹ A. G. I. p. 494.

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² Sar. Vin. P'o-sêng-shi, *ch*. I.

Su-La-Ch'A (Surat)

v2.c22.s9.1

Our pilgrim next relates that from the Valabhi country a journey of above 500 *li* west brought him to the *Su-la-ch'a* (or *-tha*) country. This he describes as being above 4000 *li* in circuit, and its capital above 30 *li*; it had the *Mo-hi* river on its west side; the inhabitants were rich and flourishing; it was subject to Mālava; the soil was brackish, and fruit and flower were scarce; although heat and cold were uniform, storms made disturbance; the people were of a rude violent nature, did not care for education, and their belief embraced orthodoxy and heterodoxy. There were more than 50 monasteries with above 3000 Brethren, the majority being students of the Mahāyānist Sthavira system, the Deva-temples were above 100 in number; and the sectaries lived pell-mell. As the country was on the highway to the sea all its inhabitants utilized the sea and were traders by profession. Near the capital was the *Yü-shan-to* hill on the top of which was a monastery with most of its various buildings quarried in the cliff; it was densely planted and watered by running streams; it was visited by saints and sages and in it congregated supernatural rishis.

v2.c22.s9.2

Julien restored the *Su-la-ch'a* (or *-t'a*) of this passage as Surāshṭra, the modern Kāthiāwāḍ. Here again we have a book-term ascribed to the pilgrim who apparently uses the local or popular name. It would be better to read Surath or Suratha, the latter being the form used in the Andhra inscription of Nāsik. In the Life the direction from Valabhi to Suratha is north-west (instead of the west of the present passage) the distance being the same. All texts of this passage have the reading *Mo-hi* as the name of the river which was on the west of the country, or of the capital according to Julien's interpretation. The hill here called Yü-shan (or Yhu-shen)-to was restored by Julien as Ujjanta. Cunningham states that this is the Pali form of Ujjayanta, and identifies the pilgrim's hill with the mountain of that name in Surāshṭra—"the Girinar hill that rises above the old city of Junagarh".¹ This city, called by other writers, Junāgaḍh, is supposed to correspond to our pilgrim's capital of his Surat. The name of the hill is also given as Ujjinta, which is nearer the Chinese transcription, and it was on this peak that the Jaina Arhat named Nemi died at a very advanced age.² It may be noted that the Fang-chih does not give the name of this hill, and the Life has no particulars about the country.

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¹ A. G. I. p. 325. I cannot trace any such Pali form as Ujjanta. It is not in the hist of names in the Julien Pali, Text Soc. 1888.

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² Colebrooke, 'Essays' Vol. II, p. 191.

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Here again the pilgrim uses the expression "Mahāyānist Sthaviras", but the Fang-chih has only the single term "Sthavira".

Kü-Che-Lo

v2.c22.s10.1

Our pilgrim next relates that from the Valabhi country he travelled above 1800 *li* north to the Ku-che-lo country. This, he states, was more than 5000 *li* in circuit, and its capital named Pi-lo-mo-lo was above 30 *li* in circuit. The country was like Surath in its products and the ways of the people. It had a flourishing population in good circumstances, mostly non-Buddhists, only a few believing in Buddhism. There was only one Buddhist, monastery with above 100 Brethren who were adherents of the Hinayānist Sarvāstivādin School. There were some tens of Deva-Temples, and the adherents of the various religions lived pell-mell. The king, who was a Kshatriya by birth, was a young man celebrated for his wisdom and valour, and he was a profound believer in Buddhism, and a patron of exceptional abilities.

v2.c22.s10.2

In the Life the pilgrim is represented as starting not from Valabhi, but from Surath, and he goes thence north-east 1800 *li* to Ku-che-lo; the text of the passage reads—

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“from this (that is Surat) going north-east 1800 *li*”. In several editions of the Life the word *this* has been left out, but it is in the D text. Then the Fang-chih agrees with the Records in making Ku-che-lo to be 1800 *li* to the north of Valabhi. Julien restores the Sanskrit name of the country as “Gurjjara”, but the pilgrim probably transcribed a name like Guchala or Guchara. The name here given to the capital probably stands for a word like Bhilmala, and according to Saint-Martin the name is preserved in the modern Balmair (or Barmer or Balmer). This city, Cunningham tells us, is “exactly 300 miles to the north of the ruins of Balabhi”.¹

v2.c22.s10.4

¹ A. G. I. p. 312.

Wu-Shê-Yen-Na (Ujayana?)

v2.c22.s11.1

The narrative in the Records continues and relates that the pilgrim proceeded south-east from Guchala, and after a journey of above 2800 *li* arrived at the Wu-she-yen-na country. This country he describes as being above 6000 *li*, and its capital as being above 30 *li*, in circuit; in its products and in the ways of the people it resembled Surath; it had a rich and flourishing population. There were some tens of Buddhist Monasteries, of which the majority were in ruins, and only three or four were in a state of preservation; the Brethren, who were students of both “Vehicles”, were above 300 in number; there were some tens of Deva-Temples, and the non-Buddhists lived pell-mell. The king was of the brahmin caste; he was well learned in heterodox lore, but was not a Buddhist. Not far from the capital was a tope at the place where Asoka had made a Hell (that is, a jail like a hell, as before).

v2.c22.s11.2

The Wu-she-yen-na of this passage, restored as Ujayana, is generally supposed to be the wellknown Ujain or Ujjen.² In some of the canonical scriptures Ujain, written Wu-she-ni (烏 逝 尼), is to the west of Kanoj, which lies between Ujain and Benares, and then between Ujain and Rājagaha lay the Kosāmbi district.³ This Chinese transcription may represent the Pali word Ujjeni, the name of the capital of Avanti which was the residence of Asoka when he was Governor of Avanti.¹ If this Ujjeni be the Ujayana of our pilgrim we can understand the presence of a tope at the place where Asoka had a hell-prison.

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² A. G. I. p. 489.

v2.c22.s11.4

³ Sar. Vin. Tsa-shih, *ch*. 23.

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¹ Dīp. V , 15; Vin. Mah. VIII, 1, 27; Mah. chs. V and XIII.

Chih-Chi-T'O

v2.c22.s12.1

Going on with his narrative the pilgrim relates that he went north-east from Ujayana above 1000 *li* to *Chih-chi-t'o* (Julien's *Chi-ki-to*). This country was above 4000 *li*, and its capital about 15 *li*, in circuit; the soil was rich, the crops were abundant, and pulse and wheat were products. The majority of the people were not Buddhists, but there were some tens of monasteries with a few Brethren; there were above ten Deva-temples and 1000 professed adherents of the other systems. The king, who was a brahmin, was a firm believer in Buddhism, and encouraged men of merit, and learned scholars of other lands collected here in numbers.

v2.c22.s12.2

A note added to our text places this country in "South India". The Fang-chih makes the pilgrim go east from Ujayana 1000 *li* to this Chih-chi-t'o, but the Life and all the texts of the Records have north-east. Chitore is said to be the modern representative of Chih-chi-t'o. Cunningham identifies this with the kingdom of Jajhoti, the capital of which was Kajurāha or Kajūra which corresponds "with the modern district of Bundelkhand".²

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² A. G. I. p. 481; J. III, p. 408.

Maheśvarapura

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The narrative proceeds to relate that from *Chih-chi-t'o* the pilgrim went north above 900 *li* to *Mo-hi-ssŭ-fa-lo-pu-lo* (Maheśvarapura). This country was above 3000 *li*, and its capital was above 30 *li*, in circuit. In its products and the ways of the people it resembled Ujayana; the people were not Buddhists; there were a few score Deva-temples, and the majority belonged to the Pāśupatas. The king was a brahmin, and was not a believer in Buddhism.

v2.c22.s13.2

All the texts and the Fang-chih give the direction of this country from Chih-chi-t'o as north, but the Life makes it north-east, the distance being the same. Cunningham in his usual manner changes north to south, and then finds our pilgrim's Maheśvarapura corresponds to the old town of Mandala, "the original capital of the country on the upper Narbada".¹ This "Śiva's city" is said to have been in "Mid India", but it does not seem to have been known by this name to other authors.

Sindh

v2.c22.s14.1

The narrative in the Records proceeds to state that the pilgrim went back from Maheśvarapura to Guchala and from that proceeded north again through a wild rugged region for 1900 *li* and crossing the *Sin-tu* (Sindh) river reached the country with the same name. Yuan-chuang describes Sindh as being above 7000 *li* in circuit and its capital, *Pi-shan-p'o-pu-lo* by name, as above thirty *li* in circuit. The products of the country were early wheat (in B text, millet and wheat), gold, silver, *t'u-shih*, and it had oxen, and sheep, and dromedaries, and mules; it yielded also various kinds of salt, red, white, and black, and a white rock-salt; the people of various foreign countries used the salt as medicine. The inhabitants were quick-tempered but upright, quarrelsome and vituperative and of superficial learning; they were thorough believers in Buddhism. There were several hundreds of monasteries and above 10000 Brethren all of the Hīnayānist Sammatiya school. Most of these were indolent worthless persons; of the superior Brethren who, leading lives of lonely seclusion, never relaxed in perseverance, many attained arhatship. There were above thirty Deva-Temples and the various sectaries lived pell-mell. The king, who was of the Sudra caste, was a sincere man and a believer in Buddhism. The Buddha while in this world had travelled in this country, and Asoka had erected some tens of topes as memorials of his visits; there were also monasteries or topes erected where the great arhat Upagupta, who often visited this country, had preached and taught. Among the low marshes near the *Sin-tu* (Sindh, Indus) for above 1000 *li* were settled some myriads of families of ferocious disposition, who made the taking of life their occupation, and supported themselves by rearing cattle; they had no social distinctions and no government; they shaved off their hair and wore the bhikshu garb, looking like bhikshus yet living in the world; they were bigoted in their narrow views and reviled the "Great Vehicle". According to local accounts the ancestors of this people were originally cruel and wicked and were converted by a compassionate arhat who received them into the Buddhist communion; they thereupon ceased to take life, shaved their heads and assumed the dress of Buddhist mendicants; in the course of time, however, the descendants of these men had gone back to their old ways, but they still remained outwardly bhikshus.

v2.c22.s14.2

In this passage, the reader will observe, the pilgrim represents himself as having gone back from Maheśvara to Guchala, and to have continued his journey thence north to Sindh. But the Life makes him return from Maheśvara to Suraṭha and go from that to A-tien-p'o-ki-lo, thence on to Lang-ka-lo and Pitośila and Avanta, and then from this last east 700 li to Sindh. Julien suggests Vichavapura as possibly the original for the name of the capital here transcribed P'i-shan-p'o-pu-lo, and other restorations have been proposed, but no one seems to be perfectly satisfactory. The name given in our text moreover may have been a book name, and not current among the people at the time. Cunningham takes it to be another name for Alor the capital of Upper Sindh about this period.¹ General Haig writes—"Hiuen Tsang's Sindh, in fact, is not the Sindh of any period known to history, and his description of it is wholly irreconcilable with the facts which we gather from the contemporary history embodied in the "Tārīkh Hind-wa-Sind".² He thinks that Julien's Sin-tu country must have included the Salt Range, and that its capital must be looked for somewhere in the Derajāt. In a Dhāraṇī Sūtra the "Mālava (Mo-la-wan) country and the Indus-river city" are mentioned, along with other districts, as places in which "Perfection" may may be sought.³ According to I-ching Sin-tu and Lo-t'u, (or -ch'a) or Sindh and Lāṭa, were in West India and Sindh lay between Kapis and Lāṭa, the latter being in Central Gujarat according to Professor Bühler.¹

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¹ J. III, p. 409; A. G. I. p. 249 and 259.

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² "The Indus Delta Country", p. 34.

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³ Fo-shuo-ta-pei &c. ch. 2 (No. 1060).

v2.c22.s14.6

¹ Hsi-yü-ch‘iu, ch. 1; Nan-hai-ch‘i-kuei, ch. 1, and Takakusu pp. 9, 217.

v2.c22.s14.7

As to the strange inhabitants in the lowlands along the Indus the Fan-chih gives an account slightly different from the pilgrim’s. The Fang-chih places the tribe on the side of the Black (Wu 烏) River, and makes the people to have been sheep-rearers; it adds that all of them, male and female, shaved off their hair, wore the monk’s garb, and were outwardly bhikshus.

Mou-Lo-San-Pu-Lu

v2.c22.s15.1

The narrative in the Records proceeds to tell that Yuan-chuang from Sindh went east above 900 *li* and crossing to the east bank of the Indus came to the *Mou-lo-san-pu-lu* country. This country was above 4000 *li* and its capital above 30 *li* in circuit; it was a dependency of the *Che-ka* (Teka) country. It had a good soil and a mild climate; it had upright inhabitants who liked learning and led moral lives, but only a few of them were Buddhists. Of above ten monasteries most were in ruins and only a few had Brethren. Among the temples of other religions was a magnificent one to the Sun-deva; the image was of gold ornamented with precious substances, it had marvellous powers and its merits had extended far; there was a constant succession of females performing music, lights were kept burning all night, and incense and flowers were continually offered; the kings and grandees of all India gave precious substances as religious offerings and erected free Rest-houses with food, drink, and medicine for the sick and needy. At this temple there were constantly 1000 pilgrims from various lands offering up prayers. All round the temple were tanks and flowery woods making a delightful resort.

v2.c22.s15.2

The *Mou-lo-san-pu-lu* of this passage has been tentatively restored by Julien as Mulasambhura, but this does not seem to be quite correct. It is better, however, than the Mūlasthānipura of St. Martin and others, which is evidently an impossible restoration.² This Mūlasthānipura is the modern Multan which is far to the *north* of Sindh, whereas the *Mou-lo-san-pu-lu* of the Records is 900 *li* (about 180 miles) to the east of that country. The Chinese characters seem to represent a word like Morasampuru or Molasampul, the name not being necessarily a pure Sanskrit word. The Teka country to which this district was subject has already been mentioned in *Chuan* IV (above Vol. 1, pp. 286—291). This Mou-lo-san-pu-lu country was probably commonly known by some other name.

v2.c22.s15.3

² See Julien II, p. 410; A. G. I. p. 281 ff.

Po-Fa-To

v2.c22.s16.1

Continuing the account the Records tell us that from Mou-lo-san-pu-lu the pilgrim went north-east above 700 *li* to the *Po-fa-to* country. This was, he relates, above 5000 *li* in circuit and its capital above 20 *li*; it was well peopled; was subject to the Teka country; its productions were upland rice, pulse, and wheat. There were above ten Buddhist monasteries and 1000 Brethren adherents of the two "Vehicles"; and there were four topes built by Asoka. By the side of the capital was a large monastery with above 100 Brethren all Mahāyānists. In this monastery the Śāstra-Master *Shên-na-fuh-ta-lo* (Jinaputra) composed the "Yü-ka-shih-ti-shih-lun", and in it the Śāstra-Masters *Hsien-ai* (Bhadraruchi) and *Tê-kuang* (Guṇaprabha) entered the religious life as bhikshus. This monastery was in ruins, having been burned by fire from heaven.

v2.c22.s16.2

The *Po-fa-to* of this passage is supposed to be for *Po-lo-fa-to*, that is, Parvata. In the D text of the Life the reading is *Po-fa-to*, but in the other texts it is *Po-fa-to-lo*. In the Fang-chih this country is placed to the east of Mou-lo-san-pu-lu, but in all the texts of the Life and Records it is to the north-east of that country.

v2.c22.s16.3

The treatise here ascribed to Jinaputra is not named correctly as its proper title is "Yü-ka-shih-ti-lun-shih", which has been restored as "Yogāchāryabhūmi-śāstra vyākhyā(-kārikā)".¹ It is a short commentary on a part of the "Yogāchāryabhūmi-śāstra" already mentioned. On the title-page of the Chinese translation made by Yuan-chuang the work is ascribed to *Tsui-shêng-tzŭ* (Jinaputra) and other p'usas. The treatise mentions works by Nāgā- rjuna, Deva, and Asanga, and we may with some probability assign Jinaputra to the second half of the sixth century A. D.

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¹ Bunyiu Nanjio, No. 1201.

v2.c22.s16.5

From the Life we learn that the pilgrim found a few learned Brethren in this place and remained two years studying the “Sammatiya-mūla-Abhidharma”, the “Shê-chêng-fa-lun (攝 正 法 論) and the “Chiao-shih (教 實)-lun”. Of these the first is apparently the No. 1272 of Bunyiu Nanjio’s Catalogue, and the names of the others are apparently not in the Catalogue.

A-Tien-P‘O-Chih-Lo

v2.c22.s17.1

The pilgrim next relates that from Sindh he travelled south-west 1500 or 1600 *li* to the *A-tien-p‘o-chih-lo* country. This he describes as being above 5000 *li* in circuit. Its capital named *Kie(ka)-chi-ssŭ-fa-lo* was above 30 *li* in circuit; it was away in the west on the Sin-tu (Indus) and near the sea; its houses were handsome and rarities abounded. The country had latterly been without a sovereign and was under Sindh. The land was low and moist and the soil saltish. There were above 80 monasteries with above 5000 Brethren the most of whom were of the Hinayānist Sammatiya school. In the capital was a large handsomely ornamented Maheśvara Temple, the image in which had supernatural powers. As the Buddha had preached and taught in this land, Asoka had raised six topes in places associated with the Buddha’s visit.

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