On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s14.2

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.