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Fergusson holds that the locust hordes of the white Huns which extended their invasions far and wide in Asia, weakened Persia, and dealt the death blow to the Guptas in India. Mr. Fleet shews some reasons* for believing that the great and relentless * Indian Antiquary, vol, XV, p. 245 &e. Corpus Inscripiionum Indicarum, vol. TH, p. 14, &ec. 70 BUDDHIST PERIOD. [BOOK Iv. Mihirakula of the Punjab and his father Toramana were Huns ; that after the death of-Skandagupta (who had once repelled the Huns) Toram4na wrested Eastern Malwa from the Guptas about 466 A. D.; that Mihira- | kula began his career of conquest and destruction about 515 A. D.; and that he was at last quelled by Yasadharman, the powerful king of Northern India, The sway of the Huns in Central India was thus of short duration, but Cosma Indico Pleustes, writing in the 6th century, tells us that the Huns in his day were a powerful nation settled and holding sway in the Punjab. These and other foreign invaders of whom we have spoken before, settled down among the people, adopted the language, the religion, and the civilization of India, and thus formed new Hindu races destined to play an important part in the political revolution which ensued at ‘the close of the Pauranik Period, in the 9th and toth centuries. \ CHAPTER VI. FA HIAN’S ACCOUNP OF INDIA. IN the last three chapters we lave attempted to give our readers an account, unfortinately scanty and meagre, of some of the principal :uling dynasties in India in the Buddhist Period. But ataccount of ruling dynasties in not a History of India, atd it is necessary that we should try to form a more disinct notion of the numerous races which inhabited Injia, their chief: towns, their arts, and their civilization. ‘Happily we have some material at our disposal to hely us in this undertaking in the records of thé Chinese travellers who visited India about the close of the period of which we are speaking. ‘ Three Chinese travellers of note visited India and have left us their journals. Fa Hian travelled in \ndia about a century before the close of what we have. called the Buddhist Period. Sung Yun came immedi- ately at the close of thgt period ; and Houen Tsang travelled a century after. If then we study the records. of these three travellers, we shall have some idea of the political condition of India, at the close of the Bud- dhist Period. 72 BUDDHIST PEFIOD. [BOOK Iv. It must be remembered, how-ver, that these travellers were pious and enthusiastic Buddhist pligrims, and a great portion of their accourts is taken up with legends and fablesabout Buddha and about holy relics and monuments and sites. Itis only incidentally that they speak of the people aid their civilization, but even these casual notes are wluable towards the elucidation of a subject of whict our knowledge is so meagre and poor. Fa Hian came te India about 400 A. D., and begins his account of it with UpyANA or the country round Cabul with which he says North India commenced. The language chen spoken here was the language of Mid-India, ard the dress and food and drink of the people were che same. * Buddhism was then flourishing, and there were five hundred Sangha-drémas or abodes of monk. He passed through Svat, GANDHARA, Taxasir4 and PESHAWAR, in which last place he saw a Buddhist tower of .remarkable strength, beauty of con- struction and height. Travelling through Nagarah4ra and their countries, ‘and after crossing the Indus, Fa Hian at last reached the MaTHuRA country on the Jumna river. On the sides of the river, both right and left, there were twenty Sanghéramas, with perhaps 35000 priests. The religion of Buddha was progressing and flourishing. “Beyond * Throughout this and the succeeding chapter we rely on Beal’s trans- lation, ‘* Buddhist Records of the Western World.” 2 vols., 1884. CHAP, VL] FA HAN’S ACCOUNT. 73 the deserts are the coutries of Western India. The kings of these countrie (Rajputana) are all firm believers in the law of Budha. * * Southward from ‘this is the so-called midae country (Madhyadesa}. | The climate of this country iswarm and equable, with- out frost or snow. The peopleire very well off, with- out poll’tax or official restrictions; only those who ' till the royal lands return a potion of. profit. of the land. If they desire to go, they go;-if they like to. stop, they stop.* The kings gover: without corporal punishment ; criminals are fined accrding to circum- stances, lightly or heavily. Even in caes of repeated rebellion, they only cut off the right hard. The king’s personal attendants who guard him on the right and left have fixed salaries. Throughout the -ountry the | people kill no living thing, nor drink wine, tor do they eat garlic or onions, with the exception of Chandalas only. * * In this country they do not keep svine nor fowls, and do not deal in cattle; they have no sham- bles or wine shops in their market places. In sling they use cowrie-shells. The Chandalas only hunt atid sell flesh. Down from the time of Buddha’s Nirvaga, the kings of these countries, the chief men and house- holders have raised Vihgras, and provided for their * It is abundantly proved by the literature of the Hindus, and by the testimony of Greek and Chinese travellers, that the system of agricultural slavery, such as prevailed in Europe in the middle ages, was never known in India. 74 . BUDDHIST PEROD. [BOOK Iv. support by bestowing on them filds, houses and gardens. with men and oxen. Engravd title deeds were pre- pared and handed down frog one reign to another ; no “one has ventured to withdxw them, so that till now there has been no intrruption. All the resident priests having chamber; (in these Viharas), have their: beds, mats, food, drink and clothes provided without “stint ; in all places thj is the case.” Our traveller passed through Sankdsya and came to KANOUJ. Our reders will remember that Kanouj was at .this time a flourishing capital of the Gupta. emperors,—but yifortunately Fa Hian has little to say about the city cept its two Sangharamas! Passing theugh Shachi, Fa Hian came to KOSALA and its ancint capital Sravasti. But that great city had declingi since the days of Buddha, and the Chinese: pilgrim sav very few inhabitants in the city, altogether perhaps about 200 families. But Jetavana in which Buddhz had often preached had not lost its natural beauty, and the Vihara there was now ornamented with cleartanks, luxuriant groves and numberless flowers of varegated hues. The monks of the Vihara on learning that Fa Hian and his companion had travelled from China exclaimed, “ Wonderful! to think that men from the frontiers of the earth should come so far as this. from a desire to search for the law.” ' KAPILAVASTU, the birth-place of Gautama, was no more in its glory. “In this -city there is neither king CHAP. VI] FA BIAN’S ACCOUNT. “7g nor people; it is like: great desert. There is simply a congregation of priest, and about ten families of lay people.” KUSHINAGRA, too, where Gautama had died was no longera town. There were but few inhabi-. tants, and such families as there were, were connected with the resident congregationof priests. Fa Hian then came to VASALI, once the proud capital of the Lichchavis, and tle spot where Gautama. had accepted the hospitality of he courtezan Amba- pali. Here, too, was held the Secnd Council, and Fa Hian alludes to it: “One hundrel years after the Nirvana of Buddha there were at Vaiali certain Bhik- shus who broke the rules of the Vinay in ten parti~ _ culars, saying that Buddha had said it wa. so; at which. time the Arhats and the orthodox Bhikshs making an assembly of +700 ecclesiastics compared aid collected the Vinaya Pitaka afresh.” Crossing the Ganges our traveller came tePirati- | PUTRA or Patna, first built by Ajatasatru to cisck his northern foes, and afterwards the capital of Aso:a the Great. “In the city is the royal palace, the difirent parts of which he (Asoka) commissioned the geni to- construct by piling up the stones. The walls, dor- . ways, and the sculptured designs, are no human wrk. The ruins still exist.” By the tower of Asoka was an imposing and elegant Sangh4arama and texple with 600 or 700 monks. The great Brahman tacher Man- jusri himself lived in the Buddhist Sargh4érama, and. 76 BUDDHIST PEROD. [Book Iv. was esteemed by Buddhist Sumans. We have also ‘here an account of the poms and circumstance with which B ist_rites were now celebrated. “ Every - year on the eighth day ofthe second month there is a ‘procession of images. Ot: this occasion they construct a four-wheeled car anderect upon it a tower of five stages, composed of Samboos lashed together, the whole being supportd by a centre post, resembling a spear with three points, in height 22 feet.and more. So it looks like a‘pagoda. They then cover it over with fine white dnen, which they afterwards paint with gaudy coburs,- Having made figure of the Devas, and drorated them with gold, silver and glass, they pkce them under canopies of embroider- ed silk. Then at the four corners (of the car) they construct ' nthes (shrines) in which they place figures of Budd in a sitting posture with a Bodhisattva standing in attendance. There are perhaps 20 cars thus prpared and differently decorated. During the day ofthe procession both priests and laymen assem- ble i great numbers. There are games and music, : whist they offer flowers and incense, The Brahmacharis cose forth to offer their invitations. The Buddhas the..one after the other entgr the city. After coming into ti town again they halt.