On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c26: The Itinerary of Yuan-Chwang
On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c26
- Language
- English
Contents
- v2.c26.s1 I. China to India — 35 parts
- v2.c26.s2 II. In India — 63 parts
- v2.c26.s3 III. India to China — 15 parts
The Itinerary of Yuan-Chwang
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I. CHINA TO INDIA. II. IN INDIA. III. INDIA TO CHINA. WITH TWO MAPS.
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COMPILED BY
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VINCENT A. SMITH, M. R. A. S.
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Note. The pilgrim's routes from China to India and from India to China are plotted on an extract from Mr. Stanford's map of Asia on the scale of 110 miles to the inch.
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In working out the details the following books treating of Central Asia have been used in addition to Mr. Watters' volumes and Beal's translations:—(1) Chavannes, *Documents sur les Turcs Occidentaux* (St. Pétersbourg, 1903). The map inserted has no scale marked, but the author informs me that it is drawn approximately to the scale of 1 in 250,000, or 39.4 English miles to the inch; (2) same author, *Voyage de Song-yun dans l'Udyāna et le Gandhāra* (École Fr. de l'extrême Or., Hanoi, 1902); (3) Sven Hedin, *Through Asia* (London, 1898, with maps of the Pāmīr and the Tarim basin); (4) Stein, *Sand-buried Ruins of Khotan* (London, 1903, with a map of portions of Chinese Turkestan); (5) Bretschneider, *Mediæval Researches* (London, 1888, Trübner's *Or. Ser.*, with a map of the middle part of Asia); (6) India Office *map of India*, including the countries to the north-west, on the scale of 32 miles to the inch.
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Mr. W. R. Carles, C. M. G. (Consular Service in China, Retd) has kindly supplied me with references and given valuable help in other ways. (V. A. S.)
I. China to India
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From September, 629 A. D. to September, 630 A. D.
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In the month of September 629 A. D.,¹ Yuan-chwang,² being then twenty-eight or twenty-nine years of age,³ quitted Ch'ang-an,⁴ at that time the seat of the imperial court, and started on his long pilgrimage.
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¹ "In the third year and the eighth month of the period Chêng Kwan" (Beal, Life, p. 11). Beal equates that year with 630 A. D., but Mr. Watters and M. Chavannes seem to be right in equating it with 629 A. D. September roughly corresponds with the eighth month as the Chinese year begins with "the nearest new moon to the month of February" (Du Halde, Hist. of China, Engl. transl., 3. ed., Vol. III, p. 97). A later passage in the Life (p. 209) asserts that the pilgrim started in the fourth month, but the date of the eighth month is confirmed by the 'address to the reader' (postface) of the Si-yu-ki (Chavannes, Turcs Occidentaux, p. 198 note), and harmonizes with the details of the narrative of the travels better than the earlier date.
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² The authorities differ widely concerning the proper way of writing the pilgrim's name. Mr. Watters' spelling is one way of representing the pronunciation current in Peking of the second element in the name, and of the syllables, forming the first portion, which have been substituted for the original Hiuen, because that word formed part of the name of the emperor K'ang-hi. The 'scientific spelling' is said to be Hiuen Tsang (Chavannes, Religieux Éminents, p. 2, note 4; addenda, p. 202).
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³ "Twenty-six years of age", according to Beal (Life, p. 11). But the pilgrim was born at some time in the year 600 A. D., according to Watters (p. 10), and so must have completed either twenty-eight or twenty-nine years before starting.
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⁴ "The capital Ch'ang-an, the modern Hsi-an" (Watters, p. 11); = Tch'ang-ngan (Chavannes); = Sian, Si-ngan-fu, Seganfoo, etc. of maps and books of reference; = Kenjanfu of Marco Polo. The city, which is still of importance, was the capital of the empire during the T'sin, Han, and T'ang dynasties. It is now the capital of the province of Shen-si, and includes a quarter known by the ancient name of Ch'ang-an: N. lat. 34° 17', E. long. 108° 58'.
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From the capital he proceeded in a north-westerly direction through the provinces of Shen-si and Kan-suh, passing through the towns of Tsin-chau and Lan-chau, and so arriving at Liang-chau, the great mart and meeting-place for merchants and travellers from the west. The pilgrim was occupied for more than a month at Liang-chau, presumably in completing his equipment, and, when ready, advanced, through Kwa-chau, to the frontier. Crossing the Bulunghir (Hu-lu) river, and traversing the Kwan, or barrier, of Yu-mēn (Yuh-mēn), he passed four out of five of a series of frontier watch-towers, separated one from the other by intervals of a hundred li, or about eighteen miles. In pursuance of friendly advice, he avoided the fifth tower, and plunged into the Mo-ho-yen desert,¹ where he barely escaped with his life, having lost his way and been without water for four nights and five days.
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¹ The transcription Mo-kia-yen is erroneous (Chavannes, *Les Turcs Occidentaux*, p. 74, note 3).
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Beyond the desert, he reached I-gu, the capital of a principality subordinate to the kingdom of Kao-ch'ang, the exact position of which apparently has not been determined. Yuan-chwang, who had intended to travel by the northern route past Kagan-Stūpa, the modern Bishbalik or Pei-t'ing, near Gu-chen (Gutchen), to the north of Turfan, was compelled to change his plans in deference to peremptory orders of Kü-wēn-tai (Khio-wen-t'ai, or Kü-ka), the powerful Turkī king of Kao-ch'ang, who insisted on receiving a visit from the pilgrim. A journey of six days through the desert from I-gu brought Yuan-chwang to Pih-li (? = P'ih-chan or Pi-ch'ang between Hami and Turfan), a frontier town of the Kao-ch'ang State. From Pih-li he advanced to Kiao-ho, the Kao-ch'ang capital, now represented by Yar-khoto, a few miles (20 *li*) to the west of Turfan.²
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² Kiao-ho is generally identified with Karakhojo (Huo-chow), lying about 27 miles (40 versts) to the east of Turfan. But strong reasons exist for believing that the position of the capital in the time of Yuan-chwang is marked by Yar-khoto (Chavannes, *Les Turcs Occ.*, pp. 7, 8, 101, 305, note 2).
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Yuan-chwang was detained at Kiao-ho for a month or more, and was then sent on his way laden with valuable gifts. Passing through the towns of Wu-pwan and To-tsin, which do not seem to have been identified (Beal, *Life*, p. 34), he came to the kingdom of A-k'i-ni (O-ki-ni, Yen-k'i). The pilgrim does not state the name of the capital, but other Chinese authors give it as either Nan-ho-ch'êng or Yun-kü, the latter being perhaps only another form of Yen-k'i (Watters, p. 48). Its site is generally identified with Kara-shahr (Kharashahr), a town situated to the north of Lake Bagrash (Bostang, or Barashahr); but M. Chavannes holds that there is good authority for maintaining that the ancient town, which he calls Yuen-kiu-tch'eng, lay to the west of the lake.³ Yuan-chwang stayed a single night at the capital of A-k'i-ni, and next morning went forwards and crossed 'a great river', now known as the Khaidu (Kaidu, Khaidick, Haïdick, or Tan). After surmounting some hills, and traversing a level valley, he arrived in the kingdom of Ku-chih (Kūcha, Koutcha, K'iu-chi (Beal), Kocha, etc.).
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³ Watters, p. 48; *Les Turcs Occ.*, p. 7. Karashahr is also spelt Karachar by French, or Harashar, by Russian writers. Sven Hedin visited the town, which is now 'the chief commercial emporium in that part of Chinese Turkestan' (*Through Asia*, Vol. II, p. 859).
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At the capital of the same name he was detained for about sixty days waiting for the snow-covered passes of the Tian-shan (Thianshan) mountains, which lay before him, to be open. Enormous masses of snow accumulate during the winter on the mountains to the south of Lake Issik-kül.¹
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¹ Sven Hedin (*Through Asia*, Vol. I, p. 86).
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From the city of Ku-chih, Yuan-chwang proceeded in a direction slightly south of west for a distance estimated as 600 *li*,² across a strip of desert, to the small kingdom of Poh-lu-ka (= Sanskrit *bālukā*, or ‘sandy’; also called Kimē, Kimo, Kumē, or Kumo, with the same meaning in Turki). The intermediate stages are not named by the pilgrim, but he must have passed the towns now called Sairam and Bai. The kingdom of Poh-lu-ka undoubtedly is represented by the modern district of Aksu, but the exact position of the capital is uncertain. The town was known by the name of Nan-ch'eng, or ‘South City’, and also bore the names of Po-hoan (Pu-han) and Wei-jong. Some Chinese writers identify it with Bai, but Mr. Watters prefers to locate it at a place called Khara-yurgun (Kharayurghun, Karayalghan), while M. Chavannes argues that it should be identified with Yaka-aryk to the north-east of Aksu town, which latter stands in N. lat. 41° 12', E. long. 79° 30'.³ Perhaps the problem is not capable of an exact solution.
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² *i. e.* twelve days march, if M. Foucher is right in holding that the expression ‘about 50 *li*’, as used by Yuan-chwang is ordinarily an approximate equivalent for a day's march, which was variable in length, but averaged about four French leagues, nearly ten English miles. Yuan-chwang liked short marches. (*Notes sur la Géographie du Gandhāra*, pp. 20, 27, n. 1). The distance given in the text seems to be excessive.
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³ Watters p. 65; Chavannes, *Turcs Occ.*, pp. 8, 120, and Index *s. v.* Po-hoan and Po-lou-kia.
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Yuan-chwang probably proceeded as far south as Aksu, for it is recorded that when he quitted the kingdom of Poh-lu-ka, he travelled in a north-westerly direction to the foot of the great mountain range now known as the Ping-shan, or ‘Ice-mountains’ (old Chinese Ling-shan; Turki Musur-dabghan, with the same meaning). The transit through the passes occupied seven days, and was so arduous that twelve or fourteen of the company perished, and the number of oxen and horses lost was still greater (Beal, *Life*, p. 41). There seems to be little doubt that the Pass by which Yuan-chwang travelled was the Bedal (Bédel), and not the Muzart.⁴ After emerging from the mountains, he crossed the Ajak-tash or Chen-chu (Tchen-tchou) river, and in due course approached, and, perhaps, actually reached, the shores of Lake Issik-kül, which he designates simply as the ‘Clear (tsing) Lake’. The Turkish tribes call it Issik-kül, or the ‘Warm Sea’, because it never freezes, and a Chinese name, Jo-hai, has the same meaning. This great sheet of water, about 112 miles long by 38 broad, is also known to the Mongols as the ‘Ferruginous Lake’ (Temurtu-nor); and is sometimes called the ‘Salt Sea’.
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⁴ Chavannes, *Turcs Occ.*, p. 9, and Index, *s. v.* Pa-ta-ling and Bédel.
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Opinions differ concerning the question whether the pilgrim passed to the south of the lake, or followed the easier circuitous route through Karakol by the eastern and northern shores. The balance of evidence seems to be in favour of the former supposition, and the direct route is consequently shown on the map as that taken by Yuan-chwang.¹
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¹ Watters (p. 69) advocates the direct route, and this view is supported by the observations of Tomaschek (*Turcs Occ.*, Addenda, p. 304). But M. Chavannes (*ap. cit.*, p. 9) prefers the other opinion.
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A north-westerly course from Lake Issik-kül brought the traveller to the place which he calls ‘the city of the Su-she water’, that is to say, the modern Tokmak on the Chu (Tchou) river, which the Chinese knew by the name of Su-she. This city was the residence of the powerful Khākān, or supreme chief, of the Western Turks, who hospitably received the pilgrim,² and appointed officers to conduct him as far as Kapiśa on the Indian frontier (Beal, Life, p. 44).
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² Tomaschek is positive that Tokmak represents the capital of the Turkish sovereign (*Turcs Occ.*, Addenda, p. 304).
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At a distance of some seventy or eighty miles (400 *li*) to the west of Tokmak, Yuan-chwang entered the pleasant district lying to the north of the Alexander Mountains, which was known by the name of the ‘Thousand Springs’ (Chinese *Ch’ien-chuan*, or *Ts’ien-tsüan*; Turki *Bing-ghyul*, transliterated in Chinese as *Ping-yü*; Mongol *Ming bulak*). The modern town of Tardy seems to mark the position of this district.³
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³ Watters, pp. 72—82; Chavannes, *Turcs Occ.*, references under *Ts’ien-ts’iuen* in Index.
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The next important halting-place was the town of Talossŭ, situated about seventeen miles (5 *farsang*) to the south of the modern Aulié-ata on the river Talas (Taras).⁴
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⁴ *Turcs Occ.*, p. 304.
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The pilgrim’s face was now turned in a south-westerly direction, so that he might traverse in succession the basins of the rivers Jaxartes (Syr Daryā), Zarafshān, and Oxus (Amū Daryā), on his way to India. The town designated as ‘White Water City’ (Pai-shui-ch’êng, Peh-shwui, Beal) cannot have been far from the modern Mankent, which lies about fifteen miles to the north-east of Chimkend. Passing through a town named Kung-yü and a district named Nu-chih-kan, Yuan-chwang arrived at Tashkend (Che-shih, Che-she, etc.), now the capital of Russian Turkestan, situated on a tributary of the Jaxartes in N. lat. 43°, E. long. 69°. From Tashkend probably he proceeded direct to Samarkand (Sa-mo-kin). The descriptions of Ferghana (Fei-han) and Ura-tépé (Ura-Tube, Ouratjübe etc.
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of maps; Chinese Su-tu-li-se-na, ? = Sutrishṇa), which are interpolated, do not seem to be based upon personal observation (Watters, p. 91).
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While staying at Samarkand, Yuan-chwang collected and recorded much information concerning neighbouring regions, and then continued his march, in a direction slightly west of south, to Shahr-i-sabz in Kesh (K'a-sha, K'ê-shih, or Kasanna). From this town he proceeded, by four marches, a distance of about 55 English miles, nearly due south to the famous defile of the ‘Iron Gates’, which marked the boundary between Sogdiana and Tokhāristān (Tu-ho-lo, Bactria), and is situated about eight miles to the west of Derbent (N. lat. 38° 11', E. long. 66° 54').¹ Yuan-chwang thus attained the most westerly point of his pilgrimage, having traversed about forty-two degrees of longitude since he quitted the Chinese capital.
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¹ Full details are given by Bretschneider (*Mediæval Researche*, Vol. I, pp. 81-4); and Chavannes (*Turcs Occ.*, p. 146, n. 5).
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On emerging from the pass he turned in a south-easterly direction through Tokhāristān (Tu-ho-lo), and, crossing the Oxus, reached Kunduz (Huo), where he was obliged to halt for more than a month. From this resting-place he made an excursion westwards to Balkh (Fo-ho, Po-ho), and thence resumed his journey to India. At a distance of about twenty miles (more than 100 *li*) to the south of Balkh, he passed through a district called Ka-chih (Kie-chih), supposed to be that now known as the valley of Gaz; and thence made his way, in a direction east of south, to the ‘Great Snowy Mountains’, or Hindū Kush range, and so arrived at the pass and city of Bāmiān (Fan-yen-na, Wang-yen). He then turned eastwards through the Ghorband Valley, crossed ‘a black range’, that is to say, mountains of moderate elevation without snow, apparently those marked on modern maps as the Paghmān Mountains, and so entered the kingdom of Kapiśa (Ka-pi-shih), roughly corresponding with Kāfiristān. Yuan-chwang fails to specify the position of the capital, which has not been identified.² The pilgrim spent the season of compulsory ‘rest’ or ‘retreat’ during the rains at a monastery named Sha-lo-ka in the capital; and, when travelling was again lawful, resumed his journey. Passing, evidently, down the valley of the Panjshīr river, and crossing a ‘black’ range (Siyāh Kōh) he entered the country of Lamghān (Lan-p'o); which, as a foreigner, he considered to be part of India.³ The traveller had then no difficulty in marching down the valley of the Kābul river until he reached India Proper.⁴ On his way he crossed a large river, the Kunar, and passed through the Na-ka-lo-ho country, or region near Jalalabad, and so entered the kingdom of Gandhara (Kan-t'o-lo), now the Peshawar District. His entry into this kingdom may be dated at the end of September or beginning of October, 630 A. D.
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² For discussions as to the meaning of the term Kapiśa, see Watters, pp. 122-4; Chavannes, *Turcs Occ.*, Index, s. v.; *Voyage de Song-yun*, p. 37.
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³ Watters, p. 180.
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⁴ Not through the Khaibar (Khyber) Pass. See Holdich, *The Indian Borderland*, p. 38; Foucher, *Notes sur la Géographie ancienne du Gandhâra*, Hanoi, 1902.
II. In India
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From October 630 A. D. to July 644 A. D.
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Cunningham's approximate 'Chronology of Hwen Thsang's Travels' (Anc. Geogr. of India, App. A) errs in attempting an unattainable precision of detail. But the devious journeyings of the pilgrim in India may be arranged roughly in chronological order, although it is absurd to profess to indicate his exact position in each month of fourteen years. If we remember that Yuan-chwang, as a Buddhist monk, was bound to observe the 'rest' or 'retreat' during the rainy season, with a certain amount of latitude as to the exact time of the observance (Watters, I, 145), and if we note the longer halts as recorded, we obtain, as an approximately correct outline of his Indian travels in order of time, the following table:—
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| Rains, | 630 | A. D., | at Sha-lo-ka monastery in Kapisa, ('The Master kept the Rain-rest in this temple' Life, p. 56); |
| " | 631 | " | in Kasmir (stayed two years, Life, p. 72; say from |
| " | 632 | " | May 631 to April 633); |
| " | 633 | " | at Chinabhukti in Eastern Panjab (stayed fourteen months, Life, p. 76); |
| " | 634 | " | at Julandhara (four months' stay, Life, p. 77); |
| " | 635 | " | at Matipura in Bijnor District (stayed for half the spring and the summer following, Life, p. 81); |
| " | 636 | " | at Kanauj (stayed at the Bhadra-vihara for three months, Life, p. 84; and, after leaving, was attacked by the river pirates 'in the autumn'); |
| " | 637 | " | at Nalanda in Bihar (stayed for some time, Life p. 113; returned, ibid. p. 120; and then stayed for fifteen months, ibid. p. 121. Counting his subsequent visit at the end of 642 A. D., his total residence at Nalanda amounted to about two years, Life, p 154); |
| " | 638 | " | in Irina country (Mungir), where he stayed for a year 'Life, p. 127); |
| " | 639 | " | at either Amaravati or Bezvada on the Krishna, where he resided for several months (Life, p. 137); |
| " | 640 | " | at Kanchi probably, the most southern point attained, where he halted evidently for a considerable time, hoping to visit Ceylon, Life, p. 139); |
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Rains, 641 A. D., perhaps at the capital of Pulakēśin II (who was dethroned in 642), supposed by Dr. Fleet to have been Nāsik at that time; see *Life*, p. 146;
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” 642 ” in the Po-fa-to country, probably Jamū in south of modern Kaśmīr State, where he stopped for two months, according to Julien. Beal’s version ‘two years’ (*Life*, p. 152 and Watters, II, 256) is difficult of acceptance: Yuan-chwang was at Nālandā ‘in the beginning of the first month’, equivalent to the end of January, 643 (*Life*, p. 156).
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” 643 ” at Pi-lo-shan-na, probably Bilsar in the Ītā (Etah) District of the United Provinces, where he halted for two months (*Life*, p. 190). The early months of 643 were spent in attendance on king Harsha Śīlāditya; whom he quitted apparently in April; and he must have reached the Indus (*Life*, p. 191) about the beginning of 644;
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” 644 ” perhaps at Khotan, somewhat later than the normal time. Yuan-chwang spent seven or eight months at Khotan (*Life*, p. 210) awaiting his sovereign’s permission to return, and, as he reached Ch‘ang-an in the spring of 645 (April), he must have arrived at Khotan in September 644. Probably he had crossed the Hindū Kush early in July.
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This outline cannot be far wrong, and all the pilgrim’s various expeditions in different directions must be fitted into the intervals. There is no need to follow him now through his complicated wanderings, but a few notes are required to justify the entries in the map.
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Mr. Watters’ inveterate scepticism carried him too far when it induced him to treat as ‘doubtful’ (I, 223) the identification of Wu-to-ka-han-t‘u (or ch‘a), the U-to-kia-han-ch‘a of Beal, with Ohind (Waihand or Und) on the Indus. The proofs of the identity are conclusive (Stein, *Rajat. transl.*, Vol. II, p. 337).
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Nothwithstanding Mr. Watters’ sarcastic criticism that certain discrepancies in distances and bearings are ‘not insuperable difficulties to an enthusiastic Indian archaeologist’ (I, 249) desirous of identifying the Salt Range region with the pilgrim’s kingdom of Simhapura, I am convinced that Cunningham and Stein were right in making the identification. Simhapura is described as ‘a network of mountain defiles’ lying midway, as measured by the number of marches, between Jālandhara and Taxila (Beal, *Life*, p. 191); and this description can apply only to the Salt Range.
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The country named Wu-la-shih (Wu-la-cha) by Yuan-chwang is undoubtedly roughly equivalent to the Hazāra or Abbottābād District (= Uraśa), of which the northern portion lies to the north-west of the capital of Kaśmīr. The observations of Stein (*op. cit.*
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Vol. I, p. 215 n.) are sufficient to show that no adequate reason exists for the doubts hinted at by Mr. Watters (I, 257).
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Sākala (I, 290), which Mr. Rodgers believed to be represented by either Chiniōṭ or Shāhkōṭ in the Jhang District (E. Hist. India, p. 274 n.), is supposed by Dr. Fleet and Mr. H. A. Rose to be Siālkōṭ.
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The district of Chinabhukti or Chīnabhukti, the name of which used to be transcribed erroneously as Chinapati (I, 292), must have lain near Firōzpur. The Life is right in placing Tamasāvana (I, 292) at the distance of only 50 *li* to the south-east of Chinabhukti town.
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Ku-lu-to (I, 298) evidently is identified rightly with Kulu, N. N. W. of Simla, in the basin of the upper waters of the Biās, which must be the ‘great river’ crossed by the pilgrim when he turned south. Mr. Watters admits that the designation, She-lō-t‘u-lu, of the country next visited may represent Śatadru. The region so named, which was bounded on the west by a ‘large river’, the Sutlaj or Śatadru, may be taken as comprising the western portion of the Ambāla (Umballa) District, as well as the Sahrind (Sarhind), and Ludīāna Districts, with the Patiāla State, or part of it.
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The bearing S. W., that is to say, west of south, to the next place, named Po-li-ye-ta-lo, or Pāryātra, now represented by Bairāt in Rājputāna, situated N. N. E. of Jaypur, indicates that the pilgrim visited the eastern part of the Śatadru country, equivalent to the western side of the Ambāla District. The distance between Śatadru and Pāryātra is obviously understated as being ‘over 800 *li*’, and Cunningham’s proposal to read ‘1800’ is reasonable.
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The distance eastward from Bairāt to Mathurā (Mo-t‘u-lo), which is about 95 miles, as measured on the map, agrees well with the pilgrim’s estimate of ‘above 500 *li*’. In easy country the *li* may be reckoned as 3/16 ths of a mile, or somewhere between one fifth and one sixth.
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The identification of Mo-t‘u-lo with Mathurā appears to be certain, and that of Sa-ta-ni-ssŭ-fa-lo with Sthāneśvara (Sthānvīśvara, Bāṇa) or Thānēsar is equally free from doubt. But the distance and bearing given in the text (Life, p. 78; Records, I, 183) are erroneous. Thānēsar is described as being situated more than 500 *li* to the N. E. of Mathurā, whereas it really lies N. N. W. of that city, at about double the distance stated. A good many errors in figures have crept into certain parts of the MSS. of Yuan-chwang’s travels.
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From Thānēsar Yuan-chwang travelled more than 400 *li* N. E. to Su-lu-k‘in-na or Srughna. The position of this country is fixed unmistakably by the specification that it was bounded on the north by high mountains, and on the east by the Ganges, while the Jumna flowed through the midst of it. It must have corresponded to the Dehra District, and the north-eastern portion of the Ambāla District, with probably a part of the Sahāranpur District, and some of the Hill States abutting on Dehra.
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∗ Y
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The distance from the Jumna to the Ganges is greatly overstated in the text (I, 319) as being above 800 *li*. In reality it does not exceed 50 or 60 miles, or 300 *li* at the outside. Mo-ti-pu-lo, or Matipur, is represented by the Bijnōr District, or the eastern part of it; but Mr. Watters is right (I, 322) in rejecting Cunningham's identification of the capital with Mandāwar.
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Mo-yü-lo, or Mayūra city, clearly was close to Hardwār, although not exactly identical with it, being on the other side of the river (I, 328).
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The P'o-lo-hih-mo-pu-lo, or Brahmapura, country is unmistakeably Garhwāl, which lies north of Matipur (I, 330). The modern capital is Śrīnagar, N. lat. 30° 14', E. long. 78° 37'.
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There is no reason whatever to doubt the identity of Ngo (or O)-hi-ch'i-ta-lo with Ahikshetra, or Ahichatra, the modern Rāmnagar near Aonlā in the Barēli (Bareilly) District (I, 332).
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Cunningham's later identification (Reports, XI, 15, not cited by Mr. Watters) of Bilsar in the Ītā (Etah) District with the capital of Pi-lo-shan-na (I, 332) may be accepted.
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I do not believe in Cunningham's identification of the little village called Sankisa in the Farrukhābād District with Kapitha or Sankāśya (Sêng-ka-she) (I, 335). Space will not permit of detailed discussion, and I confine myself to the remarks that the position is determined by the fixed points Ahichatra and Kanauj, and that the 'elephant-pillar' at Sankisa cannot be the 'lion-pillar' seen at Kapitha by Yuan-chwang. I should look for Kapitha-Sankāśya in the N. E. corner of the Ītā District not many miles from Patiālī.
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Mr. Watters (I, 354), like Cunningham, has been misled by the apparent similarity of the names A-yü-t'ê and Ayōdhya. Detailed examination of the question would require many pages, and I can only note that in my opinion the A-yü-t'ê country should be sought in the Fatehpur District. Aphui, 29 miles S. E. of Fatehpur may be taken as the approximate site of the capital (See Führer, Monumental Antiquities of N. W. P. and Oudh, p. 157). Aphui was one of the stages on the old road from Kanauj to Prayāga (Allāhābād), along which the pilgrim was travelling.
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The A-ye-mu-k'a country (I, 359) seems to correspond to the Partābgarh and Rāi Barēli Districts in Oudh, or parts of those Districts. The distance of more than 700 *li* from A-ye-mu-k'a to Prayāga (I, 361) is an obvious blunder. Mr. Watters was mistaken, I am convinced, in supposing (I, 360) that Yuan-chwang erroneously applied the name Ganges to some other river. Although errors in the statements of distances undoubtedly exist in the pilgrim's text, as we possess it, the bearings and names are generally correct, and must not be tampered with lightly.
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The question concerning the position of Yuan-chwang's Kośāmbī is a very difficult one (I, 366), and the materials now available do not justify any positive identification. I adhere to the view that the famous Buddhist town was somewhere on an arc distant about 90 miles, more or less, from Allāhābād in a direction between south and west, and am now rather disposed to search for the site at the extremity of the Bandā District to the N. E. of Ajaigarh. The statements of the Records and Life on the subject are specially detailed and precise, and cannot be ignored.
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Guesses as to the exact position of P'i-sho-ka (? = Vīśoka) (I, 373) and Kāśapura must also be unsatisfactory at present; but, after renewed study of the question, I should not be surprised, if the ancient site Nimkhār or Nimsār, 20 miles S. of Sītāpur, turned out to be P'i-sho-ka. If this be so, Kāśapura would be somewhere in the Unāo District. The country is full of old sites; and some lucky discovery is needed to give precision to topographical guesses, which alone can never solve the problem.¹
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¹ Major Vost offers fresh conjectures, more or less plausible, in J. R. A. S., 1905, p. 437.
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As to the position of Śrāvastī (I, 379) I have no doubt that the ruins lie on the upper course of the Rāptī in Nepalese territory, near the point where the river emerges from the hills. The Achiravatī river, which flowed past the city, seems to be the Airāvatī, or Rāptī (p. 398). Similarly, the river at Kuśinagara is called both Ajitavatī and Airāvatī (II, 28), and that river is the Little Rāptī.
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Mr. Watters' descriptions of the mountains, caves, and hill at Śrāvastī (III, 398, 401) offer additional proof that the city lay close to the foot of the Himālaya.
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Concerning Kapilavastu I still hold the opinion that the remains at Piprāwā were shown to Fa-hsien as those of Kapilavastu, while the guides of Yuan-chwang identified the town with the walled city now known as Tilaura-Kōṭ. The reasons for this opinion will be found in my Prefatory Note to Mukherji's Report on the Antiquities in the Tarāi, Nepāl (Archaeol. Surv. Rep. No. XXVI, Part I, Calcutta, 1901).
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Mr. Watters' remarks on the Lumbinī Garden (II, 17, 18) are not quite up to date, and require some correction.
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The site of Rāmagrāma (II, 20) certainly must be sought near Dharmauli (Dharmapuri) on the frontier of Nepāl and Gōrakhpur, in approximately N. lat. 27° 26', and E. long. 83° 52' (J. R. A. S., 1902, p. 151).
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The best indication of the site of Kuśinagara is that given by General H. H. Prince Khadga Shamshēr Jang, Rāna Bahādur, late Governor of Western Nepāl, who places it at the confluence of the Little Rāptī (which he calls Achiravatī) with the Gandak or Hiraṇyavatī, near Bhavasār Ghāṭ (*Pioneer Mail*, 26 Feb., 1904). Mr. Watters erroneously supposed (II, 29) that the names Hiraṇyavatī and Airāvatī (Ajitavatī, Achiravatī) referred to one stream.
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Ghāzīpur must undoubtedly be the approximate representative of the capital of the Chan-chu country (II, 59).
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For discussion of identity of Basār with Vaisāli see *J. R. A. S.*, 1902, p. 267 (II, 63).
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The Vṛiji (*Fu-li-chih*) country (II, 81) evidently is roughly equivalent to the northern part of the Darbhanga District and the adjacent Nepalese Tarāi. A possible site for the capital is offered by the ruins at Balīgaṛh or Kshēmāgaṛh, some 16 miles north of Madhubani, which are miscalled ‘Burdras’ on the map, and ‘Bindras’ in the official *List of Ancient Monuments in Bengal*. I am indebted to the Magistrate of Darbhanga for the real name of the place. The ramparts are said to be ten feet high and in an excellent state of preservation.
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The villages Nataka (*Na-t’ê*) and Koṭi (*Kou-li*) between Vaisāli and Pāṭaliputra (II, 86) perhaps may be identified by local enquiry.
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Mr. Watters’ sceptical remarks (II, 107) fail to shake my belief that the identification of the Ti-lo-shi-ka monastery with the ruins at Tilāḍha (or whatever may be the proper spelling) is well-established (Cunningham, *Reports*, VIII, 34; XI, 165).
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Mr. Watters corrects Julien’s transliteration of I-lan-na-po-fato as Hiraṇyaparvata, and suggests that the first element in the name is the Sanskrit *īraṇa*, meaning ‘a piece of wild or barren land’. This may be substantially right, but the dictionaries give the word as *iriṇa* or *īriṇa*. Whatever be the accurate form of the name, the locality indicated certainly is Monghyr (Mungīr). (Watters, II, 180).
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Kajangala (II, 183) is an improvement on Julien’s Kajughira as the transliteration of the Chinese name, which is said to be properly Ka-chu-wen-k’i-lo. The region so designated is the Rājmahāl District.
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The capital of Karṇa-suvarṇa was Rattamattikā (Rangāmaṭṭī, Rungamutty), some twelve miles to the south of Murshidābād (*J.A.S.B.* 1853; and *ibid.*, Part I, Vol. LXIII, p. 172). The Pundra-vardhana country lay to the north of Karṇa-suvarṇa, and Samataṭa, the delta of the Ganges, lay to the south. As Mr. Watters points out (II, 190), there is no reason to doubt the identity of the ancient port Tāmralipti with the modern Tamlūk. Mr. Watters’ identification of Śrīkshetra with the Tipperah District (II, 189) seems to be correct.
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Colonel Waddell and Mr. Watters agree in placing, at least provisionally, the ancient capital of Orissa near the village named Nendra, a few miles below Cuttack (Kaṭak), on the Mahānadī (II, 195).
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The province which Yuan-chwang calls Kung-yü-t'o is the Gañjām coast, the Koṅgōdamaṇḍala of inscriptions (*Ep. Ind.*, VI, 136).
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The capital of Kalinga in Yuan-chwang's time (II, 198) apparently was Kalinganagaram, the modern Mukhalingam in the Gañjām District (see references in *E. Hist. of India*, p. 356, n.).
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I accept the identification of T'e-na-ka-che-ka or Dhanakaṭaka with Bezvāḍa (II, 216). The pilgrim's notes of distances in this part of his travels are largely in excess.
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I am still of opinion that the Chola (Chu-li-ya) country of Yuan-chwang was substantially the modern Cuddapah District (II, 224; *E. Hist. of India*, p. 344 and *G. O., Madras, Public*, No. 518, dated 18 July, 1905).
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The cave-temples seen by the pilgrim in Mahārāshṭra undoubtedly were those of Ajaṇṭā (Ajiṇṭhā) (II, 240).
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Nobody doubts that the Chinese Po-lu-ka-che-p'o represents Bharōch (Bharōc, Broach, etc.), the town near the mouth of the Narmadā or Narbadā river (II, 241); but considerable misunderstanding has arisen concerning the identity of the kingdom of Mo-la-p'o, which Mr. Beal and most other commentators have wrongly identified with Mālava, or Mālwā, the country of which Ujjain was the capital. In my essay entitled 'The Indian kings named Śīlāditya, and the kingdom of Mo-la-p'o' (*Z. D. M. G.*, 1904, p. 787) I have shown that Mo-la-p'o was a kingdom of Western India lying between Bharukaccha or Bharōch, Kaccha (Cutch), Valabhī, and Ānandapura (Vaḍnagar). It corresponded roughly with the modern Districts of Kheḍā (Kaira) and Aḥmadābād of the Bombay Presidency, together with parts of the Baroda State and some adjoining territory. The identity of Ānandapura (Watters, II, 24) with Vaḍnagar is demonstrated in the same essay (p. 792) on evidence presented by Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar.
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It is not possible to locate precisely the country called A-t'a-li or A-ch'a-li (p. 243); but there is no reason to doubt that Kaccha (Cutch) is designated by the name K'i-ch'a or Ki-t'a (p. 245).
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Mr. Watters was needlessly doubtful about the exact position of Valabhī (Fa-la-p'i, p. 246), which is quite certainly represented by the ruins at Walā, eighteen miles north-west of Bhāonagar (*Arch. S. W. I.*, Vol. II, p. 80; etc.). This identification has never been doubted by any archæologist except, apparently, Mr. Fergusson.
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Kü-che-lo (p. 250) with equal certainty is a transcription of Gurjara or Gurjjarā, an important kingdom, the history of which has been investigated recently by Mr. Bhandarkar, Dr. Hoernle, and other writers. The capital, P'i-lo-mo-lo, has not been successfully identified. Vivien de Saint-Martin's guess, mentioned by Mr. Watters, appears to be erroneous. The country was equivalent to Central and Northern Rājputāna.¹
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¹ 'Gūrjaras', by D. R. Bhandarkar, in J. Bo. Br. R. A. S., read 13th Nov. 1902; Hoernle and Stark, History of India, pp. 62, 64.
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Wu-shê-yen-na (p. 250) is undoubtedly Ujjain or Ujjayinī; and Chih-chi-t'o (p. 251) was understood rightly by Cunningham to represent Jijhoti, or Jejāka-bhukti, the modern Bundēlkhaṇḍ. The suggestion that Chitore (Chitaur) should be considered the equivalent of Chih-chi-t'o is quite out of the question. Careful examination of the map and bearings makes it plain that Maheśvarapura (Mo-hi-ssŭ-fa-lo-pu-lo, p. 251) is the modern Gwalior (Gwāliyar).
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The precise limits of the pilgrim's kingdom of Sind (Sin-tu, p. 252) cannot be determined.
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Notwithstanding Mr. Watters' criticisms (p. 254), I am still inclined to believe that Mou-san-pu-lu was intended to be a transcription of Mūlasthānapura, the modern Mūltān, although inaccurately written. Po-fa-to (p. 255) seems to indicate the region of Jamū (Jummoo), in the south of the Kaśmīr State as present constituted.
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A-tien-p'o-chih-lo, whatever the Sanskrit phonetic equivalent may have been, clearly designates the delta of the Indus (p. 256).
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The countries in the Indus valley, Pi-to-shih-lo and others (II, 258 foll.) cannot be identified with precision. Their approximate relative positions are indicated on the map. Fa-la-na seems to be rightly identified with the valley of the Gūmal (Gumul) river (II, 263).
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Everybody is agreed that Ghaznī is either on or near the site of Ho-si-na, the ancient capital of Tsao-ku-t'a, or Arachosia. Mr. Watters' suggestion (II, 266) that Tsao-ku-t'a is a transcription of jāguḍa, said to mean 'saffron', is novel.
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Hu-pi-na, the capital of Fu-li-shih-sa-t'ang-na (II, 267) should certainly be identified, I think, with Hupiān or Opiān, near Chārikar, some thirty miles distant from Kābul in a northerly direction.
III. India to China
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From July, 644 A. D. to April, 645 A. D.
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Yuan-chwang, after leaving Ghaznī (Ho-si-na), the capital of the Tsao-kut'a (Tsau-ku-cha or Jāguḍa) country, travelled in a northerly direction for a distance estimated as 500 li, or ten easy stages, and so arrived in the Kabul territory, which he calls Fu-li-shih-sa-t'ang-na. The capital was Hu-pi-na (U-pi-na), almost certainly identical with Hupiān or Opiān, situated to the north of Chārikar, in N. lat. 35° 2', E. long. 69° 1'. The city of Kābul, which is 85 miles distant from Ghaznī, is never mentioned by the pilgrim, and perhaps was not important in his time.
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A short journey eastward brought him to the frontiers of Kapiśa (Kafiristān), where he was detained for seven days in attendance on the local king. He next proceeded a few miles (one yojana) to the north-east, took leave of his host, and turned towards the north, crossing the Hindu Kush mountains by the Khāwak Pass (Po-lo-se-na), probably early in July.
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His next important halting-place was Andarāb (An-ta-lo-fo (or -po)); whence he advanced through Khost (K'woh-si-to) to Kunduz (Huo or Hwoh), which he had visited fourteen years before. There he halted for a month (August), and then, instead of taking the northern or Samarkand road by which he had come, he plunged into the mountains, travelling in a direction easterly on the whole. In Badakshān (Po-to-ch'ang-na) he was detained for a month and seven days waiting for the opening of the passes. Proceeding along difficult and devious paths, he traversed Yamgān (Yin-po-kien or In-po-kin), Kurān (Ku-lang-na), Wakhan (Ta-mo-si-ti-ti, Huo-mi, or Hu-mi), the capital of which was Kandūt (Hun-t'ê-to or Hu-en-t'o-to), and so reached Lake Victoria or Sarikul.¹
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¹ See Beal, *Life*, pp. 193-8; *Records*, II, 285 seqq.; Chavannes, *Song-yun*, p. 23 n.
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Yuan-chwang then made his way to the Wakhjīr Pass, on the watershed of the Oxus and Yarkand rivers, and proceeded through the Tāghdumbāsh Pāmīrs to Tashkurghān, the capital of Sarikul (Ka-p'an-t'o, or Kie-p'an-to). Passing along the western flank of the huge mountain named Mustāgh-Ata, and traversing a region named Osh (Wu-sa, or U-sha) he ultimately emerged in the plain of Kashgar (Kāshghar, Ka-sha, or Kie-sha).²
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² Stein, *Sand-buried Ruins of Khotan*, pp. 60, 72.
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From Kashgar the traveller followed the now well-known road through Yarkand to Khotan (Khoten). The capital, Che-ku-ka (Cho-kiu-kia), of the intervening country, should be identified, according to M. Chavannes, with Karghalik to the south of Yarkand. Yuan-chwang thus reached Khotan, probably in September, and was constrained to remain there for seven or eight months waiting for the imperial permission to return to China. In due course the necessary orders were received, and the pilgrim resumed his journey. Passing the town of Pi-mo (= Bhīmā), probably the modern Uzun-tati, about 55 miles E. N. E. from Khotan, he arrived at Niya (Ni-yang, or Ni-jang) on the eastern frontier of the Khotan kingdom.⁴ He then entered the desert, and so came to the small Tukhāra (Tu-ho-lo) country, which may be located at Andere or Endere.⁵ He next passed through the territory known as Che-mo-t'o-na (Chü-mo or Nie-mo), apparently the modern Cherchen.
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³ Chavannes, *Song-yun*, p. 20 n. (Hanoi, 1903).
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⁴ Stein, *op. cit.*, pp. 434, 440.
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⁵ The horrors of this desert are described by a Chinese author Rémusat, *Hist. de la ville de Khotan*, p. 64. Paris 1820).
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From this points onwards the *Life* gives few details of the route, but it is clear that Yuan-chwang passed to the south of Lake Lop-nor (Lob-nor), as he is recorded to have traversed the kingdom of Na-fo-p'o, included in that formerly called Lou-lan, which is known to have extended to the south of the Lake.¹
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¹ Chavannes, *Song-yun*, p. 13 n. See also Watters in *China Review*, VIII, 112.
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He must have proceeded next by the road skirting the base of the Altyn Tāgh Range, from which turning northwards, he reached Sha-chau (Sha-chow, Sachu). Presumably he must have journeyed onward to the Yu-mēn barrier, through which he had made his escape when furtively quitting China sixteen years before, and thence must have travelled by the ordinary road through Liang-chau to the western capital Ch'ang-an (Hsian or Si-ngan-fu), where he arrived ‘in the spring’ of 645 A. D., probably at some time in the month of April.
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POSTSCRIPT. — My views concerning the kingdom of Mo-la-p'o (*ant.* p. 341, *E. Hist. of India*, p. 279) have been criticized recently by Dr. Burgess (*Ind. Ant.*, Aug. 1905, Vol. XXXIV, p. 195) and Prof. Sylvain Lévi (*Journal des Savants*, Oct. 1905, pp. 544—8). The latter scholar holds that the Chinese K'i-ch'a (Kie-tch'a) should be regarded as the phonetic equivalent of Kheṭa (Kaira of maps), and not of Kaccha (Cutch). The discussion is not yet closed, but I may say that I adhere to the opinion that the kingdom of Mo-la-p'o was quite distinct from that of Ujjain; and that consequently all historical theories are erroneous which rest on the assumption that Śīlāditya of Mo-la-p'o was king of Ujjain.