English
In connexion also with Kanishka, our traveller informs us that tributary kings from China sent hostages to that powerful monarch, and he treated them with marked attention, and assigned for their residence the tract of the country (between the Ravi and the Sutlej) which became thus known as Chinapati. Houen Tsang visit- ed this country, 400 miles in circuit, with a capital 3 miles in circuit. The Chinese introduced the pear and the peach into India " wherefore the peach is called Chin&ni, and the pear is called Chinar£japutra. * When the people saw Houen Tsang, they pointed with their fingers, and said one to another, 44 This man is a native of the country of our former ruler." Houen Tsang has also something to say about Mihira- kula the great persecutor of Buddhists. " Some centuries ago" Mihirakula established his authority in the town of Sakala (west of the Ravi). Houen Tsang says that this terrible Mihirakula" issued an edict to destroy all Digitized by Google CHAP. VIL] HOUEN TSANG'S ACCOUNT. 87 the priests through the five Indies, to overthrow the law of Buddha, and leave nothing remaining ". The powerful king attacked Bdliditya,* king of Magadha, but was taken prisoner and was allowed to go, humiliat- ed and disgraced. He returned to Kashmir, rose in rebellion, killed the king and placed himself on the throne He conquered Gandh£ra, exterminated the royal family, overthrew Buddhism and Stupas and Monasteries, and killed " three ten myriads of people " on the banks of the Indus. Some allowance must be made for exaggeration on the part of Buddhist chro- niclers ; — but there can be no doubt that Mihirakula of Kashmir was one of the first and greatest persecutors and destroyers of Buddhists. Houen Tsang was pleased with the kingdom of Sata- DRU (Sutlej) 400 miles in circuit, and with a capital town 3 £ miles in circuit The country was rich in cere- als and fruits, in gold and silver and precious stones The people wore rich and elegant garments of bright silk. Their manners were soft and agreeable, they were vir- tuous and believed in the law of Buddha, But never- • Identified by some with Baladitya, the son of Buddhagupta of the Gupta line of emperors. Mihirakula of Kashmir is thus supposed to be the destroyer of the Gupta dynasty about 515 A.D. (See ante p. 70). But in the list of the Kings of Kashmir given in page 55, Mihirakula is shewn to have reigned in the 3rd century A.D., and Houen Tsang too, writing about 640 A.D., says that Mihirakula reigned "some centuries ago." Were there two kings of that name ? Digitized by Google 88 BUDDHIST PERIOD. [BOOK IV. theless the halls of the Sangh£rAmas were deserted and wild, and there were few priests. The country of Mathura was a thousand miles in circuit, and its chief town was four miles round. The soil was rich and fertile, and the country produced white cotton and yellow gold. The manners of the people were soft and complacent, and they esteemed virtue and honored learning. There were 20 Sangh&r&mas and about 2,000 priests. On the six fasting days of each of the three fast months, (1st, 5th and 9th months), the peo- ple honored the Sttipas with offerings. " They spread out their jewelled banners ; the rich parasols are crowd- ed together as net work ; the smoke of incense rises in clouds ; the flowers are scattered in every direction like rain ; the sun and the moon are concealed as by the clouds which hang over the moist valleys. The king of the country and the great ministers apply themselves to these religious duties with zeal." The kingdom of Thanesvara was 1400 miles in circuit, and its capital was 4 miles round. The climate was genial, the soil rich and productive, but the people were cold and insincere, and given to luxury. The capital was near the site of the old Kuru-kshetra battle field, and our traveller has his version of the story to tell. Two kings divided the five Indies between them, and it was given out that whoever fell in the battle which was to be fought would obtain deliverance. " The two countries engaged in conflict, and the dead bodies Digitized by Google CHAP. VII.] HOUEN TSANG'S ACCOUNT. 89 were heaped together as sticks, and from that time till now the plains are everywhere covered with their hopes." The kingdom of SRUGHNA (north Doab), bounded by the Ganges to the east and the Himalayas to the north, was 1,200 miles in circuit Our readers need scarcely be told that this was the land of the ancient Kurus, two thousand years before the time of Houen Tsang. Our traveller was struck by the Ganges with its waves "wide rolling as the sea," and supposed to " wash away countless sins." After describing Mati- PURA (west Rohilkund), 1,200 miles in circuit, Houen Tsang describes Mayd-pura, or HARIDVARA, the source of the Ganges. The town here was 4 miles round. u Not far from the town standing by the Ganges river is the great Deva temple where very many miracles of divers sort are wrought. In the midst of it is a tank of which the borders are made of stone joined skilfully together. Through it the Ganges river is led by an artificial canal.* The men of the five Indies call it the gate of the Ganga river (Gangadvdra.) This is where rjeligous merit is found and sin effaced. There are always hundreds and thousands of people gathered together here from distant quarters to bathe and wash in its waters." Already then in the seventh century, Harid- vira was one of the most famed Hindu shrines, and a great gathering-place of devout pilgrims. ♦ The canal still exists. Digitized 9 o BUDDHIST PERIOD. [BOOK IV. Our traveller goes right into the sub- Himalayas and speaks of a kingdom Brahmapura (identified with Garh- wal and Kumaon) which produced gold, and where " for ages a woman has been the ruler, and so it is called the kingdom of the women. The husband of the reigning woman is called king, but he knows nothing of the affairs of the state. The men manage the wars and sow the land, that is all." This no doubt has reference to an old custom among the hill tribes of the sub- Himalayan regions. Polyandry prevails among them to this day. After passing through some other countries, Houen Tsang come to the kingdom of KaNYAKUBJA, that ancient tract of country which boasted of a civilization two thousand years old in the time of Houen Tsang. For it was here that the Panch&las developed their early civilization wnen magadha was still a realm of aboriginal barbarians. And although Magadha eclips- ed the glory of its western neighbour under Aj&ta- satru and Chandragupta and Asoka the Great, yet a few centuries after the Christian Era, KAnyakubja seems again to have attained its supremacy and was a principal seat of the Gupta emperors. And in the time of Houen Tsang, Sil&ditya II, the lord of Northern India, had his court in the ancient town of K&nya- kubja. And coming down to modern times, Kdnya- kubja and Delhi, (the ancient sites of the Panch&las and the Kurus), were still the centre of Hindu civili- Digitized by Google CHAP. VIL] HOUEN TSANG'S ACCOUNT. 91 zation when Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad of Ghor came and conquered India, four and six centuries subsequent to the time of Houen Tsang. Houen Tsang found the kingdom of Kanyakubja, 800 miles in circuit, and the wealthy capital 4 miles in length and I in. breadth. The city had a moat around it and strong and lofty towers facing each other. The flowers and woods, the lakes and ponds, bright and pure and shining like a mirror, were seen on every side Valuable merchandise was collected here in great quantities. The people were well off and contented, the houses were rich and well found. Flowers and fruits abounded in every place, and the land was sown and reaped in due seasons. The climate was agreeable and soft, the manners of the people honest and sincere. They were noble and gracious in appearance. For clothing they used ornamented and bright shining fabrics. They applied themselves much to learning, and in their travels were very much given to discussion on religious subjects. The fame of their pure language was far spread. The believers in Buddha and the Hindus were equal in number. There were some hun- dred Sangharamas with 10,000 priests. There were 200 Deva temples with several thousand followers. For once, Houen Tsang departs from his usual rule and gives us some account of the history of the country he visits. He says that Prabhakara Var- dhana was the former king of Kanyakubja, and on Digitized 92 BUDDHIST PERIOD. [BOOK V his death, his eldest son Rajyavardhana succeeded but he was defeated and was killed by Sasank: (Narendra Gupta) king of Kama Suvarna (in Bengal) and his ministers selected his younger brother Harsh a vardhana, under the title of Siladitya to the throne Houen Tsang saw this king Siladitya and was kindlj received by him. This was Siladitya II ; for as me have seen before, and will find again when we come to speak of Malwa, Siladitya I reigned sixty years before the time of Houen Tsang, Siladitya II reigned from 610 to 650 A. D. Siladitya II was not slow to assert his power. He assembled a body of 5000 elephants, 2000 cavalry, and 50,000 foot, and in six years " he had subdued the five Indies." He was inclined towards Buddhism, forbade the slaughter of living animals, built stftpas, and erected hospitals in all the highways throughout India, and stationed physicians there, and provided food and drink and medicines. Once in five years he held a great religious assembly,— the quinquennial celebration of the Buddhists, — and gave alms in profusion.