On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s14: Ta-Mo-Si-Ti-Iè-Ti
On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s14
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Ta-Mo-Si-Ti-Iè-Ti
v2.c23.s14.1
From Kuran, the narrative in the Records proceeds to relate, the pilgrim going north-east over hill and through valley by steep narrow paths travelled more than 500 *li* to *Ta-mo-si-ti-iè-ti*, which lay between two hills. This country, formerly Tokhara territory, was 1500 or 1600 *li* east to west and four or five *li*, (but in its narrowest part not above a *li*), from north to south. It lay along the *Po-chu* (Oxus) river, following the windings of the river; it was full of hillocks with sand and gravel everywhere; its winds were icy cold; the only crops were wheat and pulse and there was little vegetation; the country yielded many fine horses of small size but capable of long journeys. The people were ill-tempered and ill-favoured, and their clothing was of felt and serge; their eyes differed from those of other people in being of a turquoise hue. There were above ten Buddhist monasteries but very few Brethren. The capital, which was called *Hun-t'ê-to*, had a monastery built by a former king of the country by quarrying the cliff and filling up the gully. Our pilgrim then gives the conversion of this king to Buddhism by a mendicant missionary, and the consequent introduction and establishment of Buddhism. The shrine (ching-shê) of this monastery had a stone image of the Buddha over which was freely suspended a gilt copper canopy set with precious stones; this canopy moved with the worshipper as he performed pradakshina to the image, and stopped when he stopped. Our pilgrim examined the walls, and questioned the residents, but could not learn the secret of the self-acting canopy.
v2.c23.s14.2
The native annotator to our text here tells us that another name for Ta-mo-si-t'iè-ti was Chên-k'an (鎮侃) or Huo(護)-k'an, the latter being apparently the correct reading. He also tells us that the country was also called Huo-mi (護蜜). This latter, written also Hu(護)-mi, is the name used in the T'ang-Shu¹ and by the pilgrim Wu-k'ung.² We may regard Huo-k'an or Huo-mi as the local and popular name, while that given by our pilgrim was probably known only to the Buddhists. The T'ang-Shu also records as another name for this country Po-ho (鉢和) which is taken from the Wei History and the travels of Sung-yun.³ The latter traveller describes the country as being north of the Great Snow Mountain (the Hindu Kūsh) with high hills and deep defiles, as being extremely cold, its inhabitants living with their domestic animals in pits excavated in the earth. Julien suggests Tamasthiti as a conjectural restoration of our pilgrim's transcription, but we should perhaps restore it as Dhammasthiti. The name which Yuan-chuang gives to the capital is, as we have seen, Hun-t'ê-to (昏駄多), but in the T'ang-Shu the capital of Huo-mi is Han-ka-shên (寒迦審), or in one text Sai(塞)-ka-shên. It is described as being to the south of the Oxus, but Sung-yun tells us that the hill was turned into the city. Yule agrees with Cunningham in identifying Dhammasthiti with Wakhan, the long valley of the Wakh, taking in also the upper part of the Chitral valley.⁴ The Chinese name *Huokhan* seems to be merely a transcription of Wakhan, and *Po-ho* may be for Wakh pronounced Vakh.
v2.c23.s14.3
¹ Ch. 221.
v2.c23.s14.4
² Shih-li-ching and J. A. Vol. VI, p. 347.
v2.c23.s14.5
³ Wei Shu, ch. 102; Ka-lan-chi, ch. 5.
v2.c23.s14.6
⁴ op. c. p. 112.
v2.c23.s14.7
The Records, as we have seen, make this country to be only from one to four or five *li* wide (from north to south), but in the Fang-chih it is from ten to nearly 100 *li* from north to south.