Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c30.7

c30.7

Bravely he had climbed fabled mountains high beyond conjecture, rugged asd barren, ever chilled by icy wind and cold with eternal snow" (p. 12). The difficulties due to man were not less. An imperial edict forbade foreign travel The expected companions of his travel gave up the project. Once a chief, for his truthful-ness, revoked the order for his arrest! Once he had to go without a drop of water to drink for four nights and five days! At another time a royal host became too fond of him to part with him till he had to resort to hunger-strike as a means of release! Within India, while Fa-Hien travelled in perfect safety, Hiuen Tsang was once robbed of everything but his life and, on another occa-sion, while sailing down the Ganges from Kanouj with eighty country-folk, he was seized by a party of pirates as the most suitable human sacrifice for their deity till a storm arose to remind them of the wrath of Heaven and they set free the pilgrim and became his disciples! Even on his return journey Hiuen Tsang had to be conducted to the frontier by a mounted escort under a chief named Udhita (p. 297).