On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s17: Kie-P'An-T'Ê
On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s17
- Language
- English
Kie-P'An-T'Ê
v2.c23.s17.1
The Records proceed to relate that "to the south of the Pamir Valley across a hill is the Po-lu-lo country", which yielded much gold and silver, the former being of a fiery hue. It adds that from the centre of the Pamir Valley going south-east the road has no inhabited villages, over hills by risky paths where frozen snow prevailed, a journey of over 500 *li* brought the pilgrim to Kie-(ha)-p'an-to. This country was above 2000 *li* in circuit; its capital, founded on a rocky ridge and having the river Sītā at its back, was above twenty *li* in circuit. The country was a system of mountains with narrow river-courses and downs; there were little of other crops but much of pulse and wheat, and there were few fruit and other trees; its downs and swamps were wastes and its cities and towns uninhabited. The people had no social etiquette or common feeling of right; they had little education and were fierce, daring, and ugly; their clothes were of coarse woollen material (lit. felt and serge); their written and spoken languages were like those of Kashgar; and they were sincere Buddhists. There were more than ten monasteries with above 500 Brethren, all Hinayānists of the Sarvāstivādin School. The reigning king was a patron of Buddhism, and a scholar of culture. Many years had elapsed since his dynasty was established; before that event the country was a wild valley of the Ts'ungling. A king of Po-li-ssŭ, the pilgrim continues, had married a lady in China, and the bride-elect had reached this place on her way to her husband's home. At the time of her arrival armed rebellion had broken out in the country, and the roads were impassable. So the king's bride was taken to the top of a high steep rocky hill, and kept there for safety. When tranquillity was restored, and the journey was to be continued, the king's envoy in charge of the bride discovered that she was enceinte. On making enquiry he found that the sun-deva had visited the lady every day at noon, and that it was by him she was with child. So it was decided that the party should remain at the place; a palace was built on the hill, and the whole company settled there, and made the Chinese lady their queen. In due time she gave birth to a son who grew up very handsome and accomplished, famed for his power over the elements and his good government, and neighbouring States became his vassals.
v2.c23.s17.2
The pilgrim next tells of the petrified body of this sovereign preserved in a cave in the steep side of a mountain above 100 *li* to the south-east of the capital. His lineal descendants had reigned ever since, and because their first ancestress was a Chinese lady and their first ancestor a sun-deva, they styled themselves "China-[sun]-deva stock". But the successors of the first king came to lose their prestige and be kept down by powerful Countries, and when Asoka came to rule he built a tope in the palace. Hereupon the king then reigning removed to the north-east of the palace, and made a splendid monastery of the old palace for the śāstra-master *T'ung-shou* (Kumāralabdha). This man, we are told by the pilgrim, was a native of Takshaśilā who in early youth embraced the religious life, and became an enthusiastic student of sacred literature. He composed some tens of treatises which were widely known and read; and he was the founder of the Sautrāntika School. He was brought by force from his native land to this country. In his time Aśvaghosha in the east, Deva in the south, Nāgārjuna in the west, and Kumāralabdha in the north were called the Four Shining Suns.
v2.c23.s17.3
Above 300 *li* to the south-east of the capital was a cliff in which were two caves, each containing an arhat in a trance which had been prolonged for more than 700 years: the bodies were like skeletons, and the only sign of life was that the hair kept growing, and had to be cut periodically. Going to the north-east of this cliff over a mountain for 200 *li* the pilgrim came to a Puṇyaśāla. This had been built and endowed, according to tradition, by an arhat in pity for distressed caravans crossing the wild bleak region.
v2.c23.s17.4
Foreign commentators on the contents of this passage are not agreed as to the modern representative of the *P'o-lu-lo* country which the pilgrim places on the other side of a mountain to the south of his "Pamir Valley".
v2.c23.s17.5
It is apparently the "Pu-lu-chou (布路州) country" of the Sung pilgrim, who places it beyond a snowy range before the "Ts'ung-ling snow mountains" on the way down to Kashmir.¹ It is also the Po-lu-lo (鉢盧勒) of the Wei-Shu, which was to the east of the Shê-mi country over mountains with precipitous sides up which travellers climbed by means of chains.² Yule follows Cunningham in identifying the district with the modern Balti adding that "doubtless the territory included Gilghit and Kanjut the latter famed for its gold produce";³ but objections have been made to this identification.
v2.c23.s17.6
¹ Ma T. l., ch. 338.
v2.c23.s17.7
² Wei Shu, ch. 102.
v2.c23.s17.8
³ op. c. p. 117.
v2.c23.s17.9
From the "Pamir Valley" the pilgrim's journey lay south-east according to the Records, but east according to the Life. After travelling above 500 li (perhaps about 60 miles) he came to the country which he calls Ka-p'an-t'o. This is apparently the K'ê-p'an-t'o (竭盤陀) of earlier writers, called also K'ê-lo and Han-t'o (漢陀). The capital of this country was in the Ts'ung-ling. Beyond the country on the south and south-west was the Hindu-Kūsh, to its north was Kashgar, and to its west was Hu-mi (Wakkhan).⁴ Sung-yun mentions a country Han-p'an-t'o which he locates on the Ts'ung-ling, the last before Po-ho (Wakhan?) on his itinerary.⁵ Julien suggests Khavandha as the possible restoration of the pilgrim's transcription, and the name was probably something like Kabhanda or Kavanda. The country has been identified by modern Chinese writers with Sol-gol or Sariq-gol, the chief city of which is Tashkurghan,⁶ and this is the identification made by Cunningham and his successors. It is admitted, however, that Tashkurghan cannot represent the capital of Kabhanda, the former being situated in a plain. St. Martin regards Karchu as occupying the site of Yuan-chuang's capital, and adds that the river which passes Karchu is one of the principal upper branches of the Yarkand river, that is, the Sitā of our pilgrim.¹ But the situation of Karchu (or Karachu) seems to make the identification inadmissible.
v2.c23.s17.10
⁴ Ma T. l., ch. 339. The situation here assigned to the country does not agree with that in the Wei Shu which tallies with the Life's account of our pilgrim's journey.
v2.c23.s17.11
⁵ Ka-lan-chi, ch. 5.
v2.c23.s17.12
⁶ Hsin-chiang, ch. 1.
v2.c23.s17.13
¹ Julien, III, p. 426.
v2.c23.s17.14
In the legend here related by the pilgrim about the origin of the dynasty reigning in Kabhanda at the time of his visit, we find the king of a country called P'o-li-ssŭ contracting a marriage with a Chinese lady. In the C text the reading is P'o-la-ssŭ which is Yuan-chuang's transcription for Persia. The D text has "P'o-li-la-ssŭ" which is evidently a mistake. The correct reading as we can learn from the D editor's note is P'o-li-ssŭ. This was not Persia, but a country not far from the region of the Pamirs, it is also called P'o-ssŭ, and it is probably sometimes confounded with Persia. Julien transcribes correctly P'o-li-ssŭ, but Yule turns this into Persia, and adds that "in Persian legendary history we find king Jameshid marrying a daughter of Máháng, king of China". The king of P'o-li-ssŭ, however, never actually became the husband of the Chinese lady who had only a temporary husband in the sun-god. By him she became the mother of the king who founded the reigning dynasty of Kabhanda, and made the country prosperous and powerful. The kings of this dynasty styled themselves "China-deva-gotra" translated by "China and sun-god stock". But this interpretation seems to be absurd, and Chinadeva may be a proper name.
v2.c23.s17.15
The T'ung-shou or Kumāralabdha of this passage is the Śāstra-master with whom we have met already in the account of Takshaśilā. Here as before the Life has the faulty reading "Youth-long-life" or Kumārajīva. The transcription shews that Kumāralabdha is the name, and this agrees with Tāranātha.² He mentions a Sautrāntika āchārya of the west whose name was Gzom-nu-lena, that is Youth-received, or Kumāralabdha. None of the treatises written by this great Buddhist have come down to us in the Chinese collections, but his name is occasionally mentioned in the Śāstras.
v2.c23.s17.16
² Tār. S. 78.
v2.c23.s17.17
The pilgrim, it will be noticed, describes the people of Kabhanda as having a writing and a language like those of Kashgar; but in his description of the latter country he represents its writing as taken from that of India, and the spoken dialect as being peculiar to the people.