On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c22.s9: Su-La-Ch'A (Surat)
On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c22.s9
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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.
v2.c22.s9.3
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.
v2.c22.s9.4
² Colebrooke, 'Essays' Vol. II, p. 191.
v2.c22.s9.5
Here again the pilgrim uses the expression "Mahāyānist Sthaviras", but the Fang-chih has only the single term "Sthavira".